On the cover this month
Artist unknown
[Filipina] c.1916
composite photograph, sketch and wash; 19.2 x 15.3 cm
Odey Beyer Collection; from the Pictorial Collection
This photograph is one of hundreds from the Otley Beyer Collection
which are now housed in the National Library's Pictorial Collection.
The photographs encompass all aspects of life and culture in the
Philippines from the early years of this century. Sadly, many of the
photographs have deteriorated badly in the intervening years. And most,
like the one featured on this month's cover, came to the Library with
little or no identification. Nevertheless, in conjunction with Beyer's
extensive library and unique ethnographical works, they constitute a
rich resource to which present and future scholars will doubtless
turn to enrich their knowledge and understanding of the Philippines.
Henry Otley Beyer (1883-1966) was an American scholar, teacher and
collector who spent most of his adult life in the Philippines. He
conducted numerous anthropological studies and went on to become the
University of the Philippines' first professor of anthropology. During
four decades of teaching and research he inspired many young Filipinos
with an interest in their cultural heritage. Beyer described his life's
work thus: 'to procure and conserve for the People of the Philippines
the evidence of their abundant ancient culture'.
July 1997 Volume VII Number 10
BEHIND THE SCENES
In the first of this two-part series Barry York ventures into the Library's innermost regions to discover what happens to an ordinary book on its way to becoming part of the nation's collective memory
AN AMERICAN IN MANILA
Andrew Gosling surveys the life and work of American Otley Beyer, dubbed the Philippines' greatest anthropologist, whose extensive library now occupies an important place in the National Library's Asian Collections
COLLECTING CULTURE
This year's Petherick Lecture was the forum for a thought-provoking and wide-ranging dissertation by a former 'professional collector' and 'cup of tea' man, the author and historian Tom Griffiths
PICTURING THE RECORD
The holdings of a well-rounded library comprise more than just
books. As John Thompson reports, the development of a pictorial record
of Australia has been central to the National Library's collection
program since the early 1900s
FRIENDS
A regular news page about the activities of the Friends of the National Library of Australia
NLA PUBLICATIONS
The superbly illustrated A Passion for Dance gives voice and identity to talented Australian dancers and choreographers
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