New donation from Canada
The Alexander Turnbull Library recently accepted a donation from Canada to its Photographic Archive.
An ornate boxed album gives insight into a time when mining activities were revered, rather than protested. The album, bound in red leather with a gilded cover and enclosed in a velvet lined kauri casket, was presented to mining entrepreneur David Ziman in 1909 by the grateful citizens of Reefton. Inside are 12 photographs of the West Coast town and surrounds and the mining machinery by noted local photographer William Sherlock.
"These days we might sniff at mining activities," says John Sullivan, Curator of the Photographic Archive. "But in those days, mining made the West Coast the Silicon Valley of New Zealand."
"David Ziman was really an international businessman, and the local papers of the time show that the locals hung on his every word."
John says the significance of the album lies in the fact that its entire history is documented, its excellent condition and the art of the box and album-makers. The photographer was also a "good craftsman and the pictures are informative - they give a pretty good idea of the whole landscape."
John and colleague Kirsty Cox, Digital Materials Librarian, found Papers Past, Timeframes and other online sources invaluable in researching the albums. Information that would have taken months to compile was found in a matter of days.
An 1909 article about the presentation of the album to David Ziman has been digitised and is available here on the Papers Past website.
