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Olaf Petersen - Papers, ca. 1940s - 1980s

documentary heritage
  • Description

    Correspondence, exhibition catalogues, awards, scrapbooks, payment receipts and printed matter relating to Petersen's work as a photographer. Folder 8 contains material relating mostly to former Howick-based lapidary Norm [Norman Ronald] Gibbs (1910-1988), Tangiwai Greenstone NZ Ltd., and his work with New Zealand jade, serpentine and bowenite.

    The material also includes mention of Gibbs' association with mentor Jim Staples [James Arthur John Staples (1891-1981)], a well-known West Coast prospector and New Zealand jade expert; Jack ('Rangi') Redman [John E. Redman], a local Howick woodcarver known for his Maori design work in kauri wood and sometime collaborator with Gibbs; and Hone Te Kauru Taiapa, MBE (1911-1979), also known as John Taiapa, Tohunga Whakairo, Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, Rotorua. A list of captions describing photographs taken by Petersen of the liqueur bottle collection of vintner George Antonovich is also included. Folder 9 contains a series of receipts received by Petersen from Wilson & Horton Ltd. ('New Zealand Herald', 'New Zealand Family Doctor', 'New Zealand Journal of Agriculture', and 'New Zealand Gardner'), detailing payments for photographic work carried out by Petersen between 1959 and 1983.

  • Other Id

    139 (Presto content ID)

    MS-1741 (Reference Number)

    M 146 (DBTextworks system ID)

    89/54 (Registration number)

  • Department

    Manuscripts

Images and documents

Catalogue

  • Object Type

    manuscript

  • Name/Title
    Olaf Petersen - Papers, ca. 1940s - 1980s
  • Primary Maker

     Olaf Petersen

  • Date
    Circa 1940s-1980s
  • Physical Description

    2 boxes (9 folders)

  • Collection
    Olaf Petersen
  • Level of Current Record
    Parent
  • Related Object Notes
    PH-1988-9; MS-1998-107
  • Public Access Text

    See also Reference File 747.

  • Subject Notes
    Olaf Petersen was born on 13 February 1915, in Auckland, and lived all his life in Swanson. He was the past editor of the Waitakere Gazette (now the Western Leader). He became patron of the Auckland Photographic Society and also freelanced for the Weekly News and the New Zealand Herald. He photographed the West Coast beaches, especially Bethells Beach, and their birdlife, and won the Maadi Cup in 1972. He was also the unofficial photographer of the Ornithological Society. He died on 12 September 1994, aged 79. The Olaf Petersen photograph collection contains approximately 3,300 prints and 50,400 negatives.
  • Copyright
    Collection contains multiple items - rights applied at item level
  • Last Update
    18 Jul 2023
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