Locating MacGregor in the field: a study of labels, markings and inscriptions in the Official and Personal collections

Abstract

Sir William MacGregor’s field activities in British New Guinea are revealed through the many hundreds of despatches he wrote to his superiors between 1888 and 1898. And yet, the acquisition of artefacts specifically for the Official collection is rarely mentioned. This lack of documentation makes it difficult to connect objects in the assemblage to particular collecting events, something which is further complicated by the fact that MacGregor made multiple visits to some places. We argue that by analysing a previously underutilised body of evidence associated with MacGregor’s field collections – the labels, markings or inscriptions which are still preserved on artefacts – it may be possible to reconstruct the social contexts during which objects were obtained. We show how this material archive can add to our current knowledge about key elements in the formation of the assemblage – collector, place and date – all essential data for identifying and reconstructing the types of cross-cultural encounters which underlay the acquisition of the objects that comprise the Official collection.