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WILLIAM OLDMAN 163 159 I would write about his life. Some four decades later, this opportunity has fi nally arisen, and a book authored by Kevin Conru and myself containing new information about Oldman and his collection is about to be published. This brief article serves as a preview for it. Most of the images that accompany this text are previously unpublished and represent just a small part of the documentary material that was acquired as part of Oldman’s papers on that Tuesday in 1974. Together they give some sense of the scope of the Oldman Collection, the bulk of which is now dispersed throughout New Zealand museums. In the case of many if not most of the objects, the Oldman provenance was lost in this process, so these images represent a unique look at this incredible collection as it once existed. The above text is adapted from the new book W. O. Oldman: The Remarkable Collector. 272 pages, 300 previously unpublished illustrations. Hardcover, limited edition of 300 copies available only from Librairie Mazarine, Paris; Charles Vernon-Hunt Books, London; and Vasco & Co, Brussels. FIG. 14 (below): A newspaper clipping from 1947 addressing Oldman’s efforts to fi ght the compulsory sale of his house at Poynders Road, Clapham Park, London. He was unsuccessful and his frustration from this incident directly led to the bulk of his collection being sold to the New Zealand government rather than fi nding a permanent place in the UK. FIG. 16 (below): An Oldman marketing photo showing a Maori war canoe prow. FIG. 15 (above): Letter dated May 19, 1948, from W. G. Stevens, representing New Zealand, to Oldman discussing the terms of the sale of the latter’s collection.


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