24 November 2023

Sure to Rise

Papakāinga. Homestead.

WRITERS: PETER ALSOP, KATE PARSONSON & RICHARD WOLFE

ILLUSTRATORS: VARIOUS (CREDITED THROUGHOUT)

It’s one of the best-known and most recognised brands and slogans in New Zealand: Edmonds Sure to Rise, with its radiant sun. The man behind the company, Thomas John Edmonds, came to New Zealand with his wife Jane in 1879. His legacy has been brought to life in Sure to Rise: The Edmonds Story. In an edited excerpt from the book, Shepherdess shares some favourite depictions of the brand’s iconic logo and advertisements over time.

A range of nostalgic baking from the Edmonds’ recipe range laid out on a table, with a classic Edmonds cookbook open in the foreground.

Top image. Free recipe leaflets were a popular innovation to attract customers and encourage the use of Edmonds products. The cookery book’s photographs have a nostalgic appeal for many New Zealanders. The example shows lamingtons and custard cups. Illustration detail from the 1955 De Luxe edition of Edmonds Cookery Book (Collection of Peter Alsop). Above. A range of nostalgic baking from the Edmonds’ recipe range. Photo of Adrienne Stephen’s baking, 2021 (Hazel Redmond, photographer, image courtesy of Barry & Adrienne Stephen).

The Edmonds baking powder label is one of New Zealand’s most enduring and recognisable brands. Unusually, the design has remained remarkably stable. The combination of diverse elements, strong, positive colours and the universally appealing themes of sunshine and cooking has ensured its popularity. It has become a mainstay of both Kiwiana and this country’s culinary culture.

Yet, as extensive research has revealed, there have been a number of modest changes to the label over the years. One aspect, however, remains a stubborn secret: the identity of the label’s designer.

1923 Edmonds' baking powder tin illustration on a yellow background.

Edmonds tin, 1923, illustration from Edmonds Cookery Book fourth edition (Collection of Peter Alsop).

The biggest changes to the label were perhaps those made at the very beginning. The earliest such designs were published as advertisements in August 1890 and January 1891. Curiously, both designs were rotated ninety degrees and printed on their side. This certainly created significant visual impact, but the reason may have been purely practical: a single column advertisement was cheaper.

Much remains to be discovered about this iconic and beloved design. It has helped to underpin Edmonds’ success as one of New Zealand’s most enduring and best-known brands – a credit to the original, unknown designer. The marketing experts say that a brand is far more than a logo, but, as the Edmonds story makes clear, a logo is most certainly an essential part of a brand.

Illustrated recipe for 'Carnival Cake' from a 1936 Edmonds cookery book.

The cookery book had always been a vehicle for promoting Edmonds’ products. By the early 1930s it included attractive colour advertisements and illustrated recipes, providing visual relief from pages of dense text. This page appeared in the cookery book in 1936. Carnival Cake was a popular recipe; it was beautifully presented in the illustration, although the method omitted any instructions to actually bake the raw mixture. ‘A Perfect Carnival Cake,’ 1936, Edmonds Cookery Book sixth edition (Collection of Peter Alsop).

The cover of the 1910 second edition Edmonds' Cookery Book.

The cover of the 1910 second edition used an accomplished illustration that may have been the work of Philip Presants. It was also used as the third edition cover in 1913 although the back covers were different. The fourth edition had two different cover designs, both presenting idyllic rural scenes. Cover of the second edition of the Edmonds Cookery Book (Collection of Peter Alsop).

Photo of a sponge cake from a 1955 Edmonds' cookery book.

Christmas, sponge cakes and the factory were all popular themes for Edmonds’ advertising. The “model factory” built in 1922 was a central feature of many advertisements. Photo of sponge cake with flowers (detail), 1955, De Luxe edition of Edmonds Cookery Book (Collection of Peter Alsop).

A striking illustration of an Edmonds' baking powder tin from 1937.

An illustration called ‘Edmonds’, 1937, The Coronation Plunket Cookery Book (Invercargill City Libraries & Archives).

Illustration of festive table setting from the 1955 De Luxe edition of Edmonds Cookery Book.

The festival table appeared in the 1955 De Luxe edition; from then on the cookery book was no longer free. Illustration of festive table setting, 1955, De Luxe edition of Edmonds Cookery Book (Collection of Kate Parsonson).

Extracted from Sure to Rise: The Edmonds Story by Peter Alsop, Kate Parsonson & Richard Wolfe. Published by Canterbury University Press, 2023. Hardcover, $59.99.

The cover design of Sure to Rise: The Edmonds Story is titled ‘Above All Others’, 1945 (December). Mirror, Mirror Publishing Company (Collection of Peter Alsop). Brendan Graham has superimposed a Sure to Rise baking powder label over the Acto original.