Peter Lane retired from Art Gallery of South Australia on Friday 10 September 2021. During his over 14 years at the Gallery, Peter recorded thousands of objects, wrote a book on the collection: The Coin Cabinet, A Cultural History of the Numismatic Collection in the Art Gallery of South Australia. Peter expressed appreciation for the support of Walter Bloom as its Editor. He also acknowledged the Director Nick Mitzevich for agreeing to publish the book and Antonietta Itropico for doing the layout work and much more.
Apart from the book, and due to his position at the Gallery, Peter was able to write a number of articles for the Journal of the Australian Numismatic Association and the Australiana Society’s publication Australiana. His two favorite articles are Francis (Frank) W. Giles, a forgotten Adelaide numismatist: his era and legacy. Peter was fortunate to acquire a medal that was awarded to Giles for a display of coins, while at the same time as cataloguing his coin collection acquired by the Gallery. The other article Fire Insurance Companies’ Fire Marks: the Art Gallery of South Australia’s collection. The most poignant mark in that collection is from the Western Front, issued by the Belgium Joint Stock Company. An employee of the State Library of SA enlisted into the army and while marching in Ypres saw it on a wall of a building that had been blown up. That night he went back and souvenired it and sent it back to the Gallery’s coin room. The finder eventually became the General Secretary of the Public library, Museum and Art Gallery of SA.
Leave A Comment