Heritage et AL

Over the next few months we’ll be running a series of posts featuring the digitised items in the Ephemera collections of Sir George Grey Special Collections, specifically focussing on the Old Colonists’ Museum (OCM) Ephemera Collection. The Old Colonists’ Museum was opened by Mayor J.H. Gunson on the 22 March, 1916 and was located in the same building as the Auckland Public Library and the Auckland Art Gallery. Ref: James D. Richardson,  Looking east from Lorne Street showing Auckland Public Library, c1903, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections,  4- 2416 . It occupied two large rooms on the top floor of the building and contained, “a collection of pictures, maps, prints, documents (printed and manuscript), and objects illustrating the history and development of New Zealand, especially the Auckland Province and City.” This quote is from OCM founder and director John Barr ’s 1922 history of the three institutions, of which he was in charge until his retirement i...

Although Easter still has religious significance for many people, for others it is an opportunity to have a holiday and enjoy the last few rays of  the Kiwi autumn before the long winter months set in. Events such as race meetings, day trips, tramps, horticultural shows and sports tournaments are often held over the Easter period. And of course there is the obligatory hot cross buns and Easter egg eating! You can use the  Ephemera Index to search for heritage related resources at Auckland Libraries such as information about Easter shows and Easter cards. The Manuscripts Online database has letters and other unpublished material relating to Easter. This includes a letter from Bishop Selwyn to Sir George Grey in 1883, in which he discusses grass seeds and advises Grey that he will be in Auckland over Easter (GLNZ S17.2). Simply enter Easter into the keyword search box of both databases and have a browse. In the meantime, here is a selection for you to flick through in...

Ephemera is the term for printed material originally intended to have a limited life-span, such as pamphlets, posters, tickets and flyers. Libraries collect ephemera because it enhances information found in longer-lasting documents, giving us a more complete picture of life at a given point in time. Some of this 'throwaway' material has considerable visual appeal because it often combines text with images. The performing arts is a major subject area of the  ephemera collection  in the Heritage Collections at Auckland Libraries. Material in this collection dates from the 1850s to the present, with active collection by librarians beginning in the 1970s. The ephemera collection has a wide geographic scope which is nationwide. Usage of the collection for research purposes is broad and varied; with researchers ranging from social historians and popular non-fiction authors, to graphic design students and academics. Ephemera reflects both changing attitudes in society...