Published on: Thursday, October 22, 2009 |
Sandakan: Curator of the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, Jacky Borgeson said it was a shock to learn about the disappearance of some 3,000 photos left by Martin with British officials for historic preservation here.
She said her museum is the largest repository of Johnsonsian photos and films in the world and it had received many enquiries from researchers from Africa and the South Seas looking for photos and films since its opening.
"But pre-2003, never anyone in Borneo. We knew that Martin Johnson had left some 3000 photographs with the British officials in Sandakan for use in historic preservation.
"We assumed no one came looking because you had the same images we didÉthat the history of Martin and Osa was well known throughout Sabah," she said during the launching of the Spirit of Borneo book here Monday.
Borgeson said she received a pleasant surprise when the Daily Express came knocking on the museum's website door.
"We were shocked to learn that the photos left by Martin had disappeared - likely having been destroyed in the war. We are a small museum, so we are very thankful to the Daily Express for finding us and connecting us with the Sabah Museum. This partnership has become one of the most important in our museum's history," she said.
Having been the curator of the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum for 15 years, she believed that the Johnsons had despite their love for Africa planned to come back here as Borneo kept calling them.
Only Martin's death and then World War Two could forever sever the Johnsons from this beautiful island, she said.
She also thanked Masri Angau and his sister, Pamar both children during the Johnsons' expedition along the Kinabatangan for telling the stories behind some of the pictures taken by Johnsons.
She said that as a historian, it is the people in and behind the photos - their stories, their lives that fascinated her and lend these amazing Johnsonian images a backstory of infinite value.
"Now thanks to Masri and Pamar, and so many other people, when I look at the photos and the films, I see the peoples names - I see their faces today - or the faces of their children who I have had the pleasure of meeting.
"I know their stories, I have laughed with some and cried with others. The photos are a historic record, true, but they are still alive today with the spirit and resonance of the individuals they portray and the incredible land they depict," she said.
"We are a non-profit, biographical museum, and our mission is to 'collect, preserve, and make available the life work of Martin and Osa Johnson, while continuing their work of sharing the knowledge of natural history and cultural anthropology with the global community'."
Expressing honour to be back in Sabah to witness the launch of the first photographic homage to Martin and Osa Johnson, Borgeson said believed Martin and Osa would be so proud that the first book was published here in Malaysia.
"My museum board, our director, and of course myself, are so appreciative to both the Daily Express and your right honorable Chief Minister for making this book a reality and ensuring that it will be accessible by donating copies to your museums, schools and libraries," she said.
According to her besides the 2,700 photographs, there were hundreds of feet of film footage of 1920 and 1935 Sabah existing today.
Of the 35 films they made, she said 13 were considered "lost" and two of these missing films were about Borneo namely, 1920's Jungle Callings and 1937's Jungle Depths of Borneo.
In her tenure as curator, she managed to find two other complete "lost" Johnsons films, one African, one south seas.
Borgeson was confident that they would be able to find these missing Borneo films as well, and even if this is not the case there was a good chance that it can be recreated using stock footage from her museum and other Johnson film repositories around the US.
Towards this end, she said this book is the first major step in what she hoped will be a long and lasting connection between the Martin and Osa Johnson Museum Safari, Kansas and the people of Sabah.
"You have an amazing state museum in Kota Kinabalu and you will soon have an exhibition of Martin and Osa's photographs in Sandakan, but I want you to know that you also have a museum in Kansas that is just as committed to preserving your history," she said. Chris Maskilone SANDAKAN: Curator of the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, Jacky Borgeson said it was a shock to learn about the disappearance of some 3,000 photos left by Martin with British officials for historic preservation here.
She said her museum is the largest repository of Johnsonsian photos and films in the world and it had received many enquiries from researchers from Africa and the South Seas looking for photos and films since its opening.
"But pre-2003, never anyone in Borneo. We knew that Martin Johnson had left some 3000 photographs with the British officials in Sandakan for use in historic preservation.
"We assumed no one came looking because you had the same images we didÉthat the history of Martin and Osa was well known throughout Sabah," she said during the launching of the Spirit of Borneo book here Monday.
Borgeson said she received a pleasant surprise when the Daily Express came knocking on the museum's website door.
"We were shocked to learn that the photos left by Martin had disappeared - likely having been destroyed in the war. We are a small museum, so we are very thankful to the Daily Express for finding us and connecting us with the Sabah Museum. This partnership has become one of the most important in our museum's history," she said.
Having been the curator of the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum for 15 years, she believed that the Johnsons had despite their love for Africa planned to come back here as Borneo kept calling them.
Only Martin's death and then World War Two could forever sever the Johnsons from this beautiful island, she said.
She also thanked Masri Angau and his sister, Pamar both children during the Johnsons' expedition along the Kinabatangan for telling the stories behind some of the pictures taken by Johnsons.
She said that as a historian, it is the people in and behind the photos - their stories, their lives that fascinated her and lend these amazing Johnsonian images a backstory of infinite value.
"Now thanks to Masri and Pamar, and so many other people, when I look at the photos and the films, I see the peoples names - I see their faces today - or the faces of their children who I have had the pleasure of meeting.
"I know their stories, I have laughed with some and cried with others. The photos are a historic record, true, but they are still alive today with the spirit and resonance of the individuals they portray and the incredible land they depict," she said.
"We are a non-profit, biographical museum, and our mission is to 'collect, preserve, and make available the life work of Martin and Osa Johnson, while continuing their work of sharing the knowledge of natural history and cultural anthropology with the global community'."
Expressing honour to be back in Sabah to witness the launch of the first photographic homage to Martin and Osa Johnson, Borgeson said believed Martin and Osa would be so proud that the first book was published here in Malaysia.
"My museum board, our director, and of course myself, are so appreciative to both the Daily Express and your right honorable Chief Minister for making this book a reality and ensuring that it will be accessible by donating copies to your museums, schools and libraries," she said.
According to her besides the 2,700 photographs, there were hundreds of feet of film footage of 1920 and 1935 Sabah existing today.
Of the 35 films they made, she said 13 were considered "lost" and two of these missing films were about Borneo namely, 1920's Jungle Callings and 1937's Jungle Depths of Borneo.
In her tenure as curator, she managed to find two other complete "lost" Johnsons films, one African, one south seas.
Borgeson was confident that they would be able to find these missing Borneo films as well, and even if this is not the case there was a good chance that it can be recreated using stock footage from her museum and other Johnson film repositories around the US.
Towards this end, she said this book is the first major step in what she hoped will be a long and lasting connection between the Martin and Osa Johnson Museum Safari, Kansas and the people of Sabah.
"You have an amazing state museum in Kota Kinabalu and you will soon have an exhibition of Martin and Osa's photographs in Sandakan, but I want you to know that you also have a museum in Kansas that is just as committed to preserving your history," she said.
