Taking stock: A history of collecting collections at the University of Pretoria (1908-2014) by GERARD DE KAMPER A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MAGISTER HEREDITATIS CULTURAEQUE SCIENTIAE (HISTORY) in the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies in the Faculty of Humanities UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA SUPERVISOR: Prof K. L. Harris 2018 1 CONTENT Page Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations v Introduction 1 Chapter One: Background 3 Chapter Two: Writing on collecting collections 10 Chapter Three: Large mixed collections 41 Chapter Four: Object collections 85 Chapter Five: Art collections 119 Chapter Six: Book and document collections 155 Conclusion 190 Bibliography 195 ii Abstract Until relatively recently the histories of collections across the world was a subject sadly neglected. Generally most research on museums was specifically collections- based, meaning research that focused on the actual or individual objects with no real effort being made to preserve or research the actual collecting or acquiring history in detail. The question then arises, what is the importance of preserving collection history? Besides the pragmatic necessity to keep record of the details of the acquisition from a legal perspective, the actual provenance and historical context is also of relevance. On the one hand it is telling of what a particular society or institution deemed worthy of preservation within a particular time and therefore reflects on that past – while on the other hand, it also speaks to the nature and context of the collections themselves. It is from this perspective that this proposed study considers the range of collections that the University of Pretoria gathered over a period of just over a century. iii Acknowledgements I would firstly like to thank my advisor Prof Karen Harris who went above and beyond to keep me on track in writing this thesis, even on a rainy day. Along with her I would like to thank Prof Norman Duncan, at the start of this research the Dean of Humanities at the University of Pretoria who inadvertently chose my topic for me by asking for a short (now not so short) history on the University of Pretoria’s collections. I would also like to thank some of the staff at UP Arts, the UP Archive and the UP Library services for helping me search and discover the necessary information. Furthermore retired staff members, especially Dr Andre Breedt as the fount of knowledge for all things not written down as well as the previous Registrar of the University, Prof Niek Grove for his permissions and trust to access sensitive documents. Finally I have to express my gratitude to my family but especially my wife, Teresa and my son Darius, the former for her support during this process and the latter for being the excuse when I handed in late, being born during this process and all. iv Abbreviations AAA Art Archives of America AIC Academic Information Centre ANC African National Congress ANS Afrikaans-Nasionale Studentebond BIC Bantu Investment Corporation of South Africa Ltd CHU Christelijk-Historische Unie CIK Centre for Indigenous Knowledge DMS Decoration for Meritorious Service DTD Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst ICLA Institute for Comparative Law in Africa ICOM International Council of Museums NBI Nederlandsch Beheersinstituut NHK Nederduits Hervormde Kerk NKP Normal Kollege Pretoria NUSAS National Union of South African Students NWU North West University POW Prisoner of war RAU Rand Afrikaanse Universiteit RGN Raad vir Geesteswetenskaplike Navorsing RKD Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie RSA Republic of South Africa SABC South African Broadcasting Corporation SAMA South African Museums Association SAAWK Suid Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns SCU UPLS Special Collections Unit of the University of Pretoria Library Services SINDEK Centre for Indigenous Knowledge SOP-Trust Stigtingsfonds van die Onderwyskollege van Pretoria Trust TUC Transvaal University College UCT University of Cape Town UJ University of Johannesburg UK United Kingdom UP University of Pretoria UPA University of Pretoria Archive UPHC UP Heritage Committee UPLS University of Pretoria Library Services WAM WITS Art Museum WITS University of the Witwatersrand WPAM Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum ZAR Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek v Introduction In the last 30 years, the history of the “collecting habits” that forms the broad base of collections across the world has become an object of study. One of the key academic developments in this regard was the launch by Oxford University Press of the Journal of the History of Collecting in 1989. The journal was described as follows: The Journal of the History of Collections is dedicated to providing the clearest insight into all aspects of collecting activity. For centuries collecting has been the pursuit of princes and apothecaries, scholars and amateurs alike. Only recently, however, has the study of collections and their collectors become the subject of great multidisciplinary interest.1 As the University of Pretoria holds more than 80 collections with probably more than 80 different individuals being involved in the collecting, it is imperative that a study of the history of the collection trends of the institution should be investigated. The nature of the collections acquired as well as the habits inherent in the collecting process requires attention. The way the institution managed these collections will also play a large role in the investigation. To investigate the history of the collections at the institution, the concept of “history” in its broadest meaning will be applied. This is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the past events concerned in the development of a particular place, subject…”.2 As this is a history of a subject, in particular collections at a university, the history of the institution will be the broader context to inform the study. According to the Oxford dictionary “collecting” is defined as “an act of bringing things together into one place”3 and a “collection” as “a group of objects, often of the same sort that have been collected…”.4 This study, therefore, concerns itself with the gathering of information concerned with the development of groups of objects brought together over time at the Transvaal University College and the University of Pretoria. 1 http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/hiscol/about.html 2 J. Turnbull (ed.) et al., Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English, p. 711. 3 J. Turnbull (ed.) et al., Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English, p. 278. 4 J. Turnbull (ed.) et al., Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English, p. 278. 1 Another term which requires attention in the context of this proposed study is “object”. This generally refers to “a thing that can be seen and touched…”.5 It is important to note that some definitions of the word “object” do not include live samples. However, for the purposes of this study, plants are included in the definition of objects. As to the University of Pretoria, this will include reference to the Transvaal University College (TUC) 1908-1932, as well as the subsequently constituted University of Pretoria, 1932-2014. In her article “Appropriating commemoration: The University of Pretoria 1960, 1980 and 2008”, B.L. Strydom sees the writing of a university’s history as “…an important means of lending weight and legitimacy to an institution’s standing…the celebration of a university’s past is one way of adding to its status as a respected institution”.6 In the same way as a written history of the University adds legitimacy to the institution, a written history about a collection and its collection trends adds legitimacy to that collection and the collecting thereof. 5 J. Turnbull (ed.) et al., Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English, p. 1011. 6 B.L. Strydom, “Appropriating commemoration: The University of Pretoria 1960, 1980 and 2008”, New Contree 60, p. 113. 2 Chapter 1: Background 1. Overview The University of Pretoria was originally founded as the Transvaal University College (TUC) in 1908 and remained active under the name until 1932.7 The name was changed to the University of Pretoria in 1932 when the university was officially constituted and granted legal status.8 For the purpose of this study the current name University of Pretoria or the acronym UP will be utilised. When studying the University of Pretoria’s collections it is firstly necessary to understand the “University of Pretoria” as an entity within the political milieu in which the institution found itself. After its foundation in 1908, the University essentially operated as an English-medium university (and later bilingual), until September 1932 when a decision was taken by the Council to cater for the Afrikaans-speaking community. This change in the language policy signified a political change that was to have a huge bearing on this study. Along with the change in language policy came a change in the culture of the institution which adopted a largely Afrikaner-orientated political stance. The aforementioned political change ushered in a period where the institution was regarded as the “hot bed of Afrikaner nationalism” followed by the depression and the “lean years”9, with the concomitant blossoming of the Afrikaner ideology on campus in a mostly colonial setting that was South Africa then. As the political situation in South Africa changed the nationalistic views within the institution became more aligned and acceptable to a Nationalist party government voted into power in 1948. This political stance and pro-Afrikaner view became the essence of the institution. To demonstrate how intense this situation had become by the mid twentieth century, one only needs to refer to historians F.A. Mouton & A. van Jaarsveld when they write about history academic S.P. Engelbrecht as a, “a powerful censor [who] academically silenced anyone who dared to deviate from what he deemed to be politically acceptable”.10 It is telling to note that this Engelbrecht was also intimately involved in the collecting at the institution.