[Source - Chloe Rushovich for FHYA, 2020, using material provided Nessa Leibhammer, Rosemary Lombard, Kevin Carnie-Thompson, Benny Bytebier, Thingahangwi Tshivhase and OAW 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. Additionally, Mayr wrote several educational and religious books during his time in southern Africa, including isiZulu language manuals and scholarly articles on aspects of what was regarded as 'Zulu' culture related to his collections. The FHYA curation of Reverend Father Franz Mayr materials encompasses the material that he collected, wrote or produced during his time in southern Africa relating to the region.]
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