Burden of years - portrait of Rangi Whakiorna aged 109 years., n.d.

Black and white photographic prints collected by Judy Siers, author of the bookThe life and times of James Walter Chapman-Taylor . Series 1 comprises photographs of a number of well-known Auckland landmarks, including the University of Auckland clock tower. All of these photographs have been mounted for exhibition; the original mounts include Chapman-Taylor’s pencil captions and signature. The photographs in Series 2 are all of Maori subjects, including portraits of Maori and photographs of carved meeting houses or wharenui. A number of the wharenui photographed by Chapman-Taylor during the 1940s have since been rebuilt or extensively renovated. Chapman-Taylor’s detailed photographs of these buildings are therefore an important record of the earlier structures.