Cover image of Feeling for Daylight
The Jack Adamson Collection, a rare and unique collection of glass plate photographs, was celebrated last month by the South Canterbury Museum with the opening of an exhibition and book launch — Feeling for Daylight: The Photographs of Jack Adamson.
The Adamson Collection is one of the Museum’s real treasures. Pat Adamson, Jack Adamson’s grandson, has been instrumental in ensuring the preservation of these delicate glass plates, which date from the late nineteenth century. The unique documentary record that his grandfather’s photographs contain is, he believes, a legacy to the nation. The Adamson’s family selfless placement of the collection into the care of the South Canterbury Museum allows this unique collection to be available to the public and helps to ensure the long-term protection of Jack Adamson’s work.
The photographs take viewers on a stunning photographic journey around the Southern Alps and early settler communities on the eastern and western side of the mountains. A hundred years away from rescue helicopters you can see early mountaineers doing daredevil moves at time when the Southern Alps were far more isolated than they are today. Adamson captured some of the pivotal moments in the history of earlier mountaineering. His photographs include wonderful character studies, beautiful topographical views and his work contains a surprising array of emotion — the everyday, the humorous and moments of spontaneity that were rare for this period of photography.
The photographs have been sumptuously reproduced in Feeling for Daylight: The photographs of Jack Adamson. The author, Rhian Gallagher, received a Canterbury Community Historian grant in 2007. Gallagher sets Adamson’s photography in context, unravelling some of the complicated twists and turns of his story that would in the end reduce Adamson to the point of bankruptcy. Adamson started taking photographs when first employed at the Mt Cook Hermitage in 1889. He was the first New Zealand-born guide to work at the Mount Cook Hermitage and became manager of the hotel in 1893. Prejudicial attitudes about Adamson’s working class background were a significant factor in how he and his wife, Nora, were forced to leave the Hermitage.
Tony Rippin, Curator of Documentary History, and Rhian Gallagher have worked in collaboration on the design and production of the book. The production has been supported by Creative Communities Timaru, The South Canterbury Museum Development Trust, Raymond Sullivan McGlashan, and the South Canterbury Historical Society. Enquiries can be directed to either myself or our Director Philip Howe via the museum website or our main email address museum@timdc.govt.nz
Advance information sheet on ordering the book
A guide to the work of the South Canterbury Museum (pdf)
I was privileged to be able to attend the above workshop run by Lynn Campbell the Paper Conservator at the Christchurch Art Gallery.
Heres an overview of a most enjoyable morning:
IMPORTANT: You must be able to reverse your repair, i.e. don’t use anything that you cannot remove such as pva, cellotape, even book tape apparently.
CLEANERS Commercial draught cleaners used to clean paper are expensive so the alternative is to use a grated rubber (non-abrasive such as Pelican White) which is rubbed, using clean fingers or cotton wool etc., over the area to be mended. Note: don’t rub over pencil, chalk, pastels etc. Please note that papers made in Asia will be damaged by this method due to the fibres.
PAPER TYPES European paper can be easily cleaned by the rubber method, however the method used to make this paper is quick, produces acidic paper, the fibres are shorter and therefore don’t make strong patches.
Japanese paper is made from trees that are cut down then soaked for 6 months in alkaline river-fed waters. Apart from reducing acidity this method also gets rid of lignum which will eventually destroy the paper. This makes it the paper of choice for artists and printers. Therefore strong but flexible papers such as Kozo or Mulberry are ideal to use as repairers.
GLUES An excellent glue is methyl cellulose which is reversible with water. (Never buy the sodium… version). Mix with warm water – add the powder to the water not vice versa. (Don’t use metal spoon – glass cocktail stirrers are ideal, or plastic or wood). Keep refrigerated. When it goes watery or even like a plastic sheet, it has gone off.
(Wheat glue is the best but takes half a day to prepare- about 40 minutes of stirring for a start, if I remember correctly. Incidentally, in Japan the apprenticeship period for a paper repairer is 10 years. The first year is spent stirring and making the glue and the second is tearing paper. At the end of the apprenticeship they are given a large bucket of the glue which means they never have to make it again).
METHOD After cleaning area to be mended, lay item on a “light-box” table if available. Overlay with a mylar and then your mending paper. Using a fine paintbrush dipped in water, paint around the outline of the damaged area onto the mending paper, to make the patch. The mylar will keep the original dry. (Wet paper loses 80% of its strength and hence easier to tear). Tear out the shape of the patch – dont cut it. This means that the fibres will then grab on to the paper better. (There are special water pens you can buy – they look like a pen, have a brush on the end, and you unscrew and pour water in).
Paste the patch, flicking the glue across to draw out the fibres for a better “grab”. Now glue paper together. Note” if there is a long tear, just use small pieces not one long piece.
On top of the mended area lay Mono baking paper (cheapest and best). Run a wooden spatula over the area to flatten, then dry by either running a hot spatula iron over or putting weights (such as bags filled with lead shot) on top and leave for half a day. If repairing a number of items you can pile them up, with baking paper between, and top with the weights.
Sue Julian
Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury
Do you manage a group of volunteers, or work in an organisation that is mainly run by volunteers? Volunteering Canterbury is running a series of workshops around volunteer management, training and motivation. There are workshops scheduled for this week, and some for later in the year. See the VolCan website for more information and other events.
If you are a not-for-profit NGO and require volunteers, VolCan can also refer volunteers to you.
A big thank you to Lynn Campbell for running such a successful workshop on paper mending. It was great to have both of our reading rooms filled with people making their first attempts at mending items from their collections.
For those of you who attended – please make sure you give it a go! Remember the methyl cellulose is reversible with water and once you have done it a few times you will feel far more confident! It is such a great technique to help save your precious documents.
Any questions please contact Lynn at the Art Gallery (lynn.campbell@ccc.govt.nz). Thanks for coming!
Annabel
View photos on Flickr
Lyttelton Times
Heaps of new content has been added to Papers Past including the Lyttelton Times from 1851-1862. There are now 7 papers on the site covering the Canterbury region between 1851 and 1921.
Papers Past contains more than one million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1945 and includes 61 publications from all regions of New Zealand. You can search the site by keyword or browse by year, region or newspaper title.
UCSA End of lectures 1981
The Information and Records Management unit at the University of Canterbury has launched a new web presence. The Information and Records team provide UC staff with advice and guidance on how to most efficiently and effectively manage their information assets.
This site also contains information specifically for members of the public including how to locate student records. While you are there, check out the Unit’s blog, Flight 712 and other curiosities and view their online exhibitions.
