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Overview
Tuhinga 21: 1 - 11
ABSTRACT: Since the 1960s, Samoan-born graphic designer Joseph Churchward has hand-created over 570 typefaces (fonts), the greatest number designed by any individual in the world. In 2008, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) acquired a large number of samples of Churchward’s work and showcased a range of pieces in the exhibition Letter Man: Joseph Churchward’s world of type. This new acquisition and exhibition deviated from the historical practice of collecting and exhibiting artefacts from the Pacific Islands, which previously had an ethnographic focus. This paper considers the rationale for acquiring an extensive archive of this nature for the Pacific Cultures collection.
KEYWORDS: typography, Pacific, collections, Samoa, New Zealand, history, Te Papa, design, exhibition.