[Source - Chloe Rushovich for FHYA, 2018, using material provided by Kevin Carnie-Thompson and Benny Bytebier, and KZNM materials: Reverend Father Franz Mayr was an Austrian missionary and collector active in southern Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. While living in southern Africa, Mayr was a proficient collector, amassing a wide range of different items, including examples of local medicinal plants, minerals, animals and ethnological artefacts, such as tools, household items, beadwork clothing and weapons, as well as recordings of local music. He collected a substantial quantity of material objects – including items such as local beadwork and household goods – at the request of Dr Ernest Warren, director of the Natal Government Museum. Mayr wrote several educational and religious books, including isiZulu language manuals and scholarly articles on aspects of what was regarded as ‘Zulu’ culture related to his collections. The articles were published in the European journal ‘Anthropos’ and the ‘Annals of the Natal Government Museum’. His publications allow for the gleaning of additional contextual information pertaining to the recordings and collected material. The FHYA selected items identified as definitely having been collected by Mayr, as identified by Nessa Leibhammer, Linda Ireland, Rosemary Lombard, Gavin Whitelaw, and Thingahangwi Tshivhase.]
