🔍 Archway-style Collections Search

cURL request stats

Raw data from Axiell backend

Array
(
    [entityType] => ITEM
    [entity] => Array
        (
            [contextId] => aims
            [description] => Array
                (
                    [0] => The mid-nineteenth century letters and letter covers (or "postal covers") in this artificial series are documents that were stolen from, and later returned to, National Archives Wellington Office.
                )

            [id] => 22603
            [idSort] => 22603
            [name] => Letters and letter covers
            [custom] => Array
                (
                    [custom5] => Letter covers (postal covers) are single sheets of paper that were folded around a letter, functioning as an envelope. Letter covers were closed by a wax seal which has been removed in many cases. Some documents have cut edges as though they had been removed from a group of letters that had been bound together.
                )

            [identifier] => Array
                (
                    [priref] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => 29121
                        )

                )

            [digitalRecordInArchive] => 
            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                (
                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => unknown
                        )

                )

            [hasEndDate] => Array
                (
                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => unknown
                        )

                )

            [hasOrHadCategory] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Loose Papers
                            [type] => SeriesFormat
                        )

                )

            [history] => 
The mid-nineteenth century letters and letter covers (or "postal covers") in this artificial series were stolen from National Archives Wellington Office in c.1988. They were returned ('surrendered on demand') to it under Section 9 of the Archives Act 1957.  
These items were stolen because they had value for collectors of postal history. They are examples of "pre-stamp" postal records and contain handstamps and other markings such as "handstruck rate marks" made by government officials. These documents contain rare or unusual handstamps and/or markings.
The thefts led to tighter restrictions on access to boxes of archives and stricter reading room security,  being implemented at National Archives.  
The records have been artificially arranged and listed individually as follows:

    
Schedule A - these 34 documents (letters and a small number of letter covers) were immediately identified in 1991,  by contemporary correspondence registers, letterbooks and National Archives descriptive lists, as public archives. Some items have file registration numbers that identify them as belonging to series 8333 (Colonial Secretary inwards correspondence). Other items belonged to Old Land Claim and various Provincial Government registered filing systems. In some cases whole items (i.e. letters) have been removed, in others half an item has been torn off. 

 

    
Schedule B - these 65 documents (letter covers and a few partial or complete letters) are documents addressed to New Zealand Government officials that required additional research before they were also confirmed as public archives in 1995. Some additional documents to these were found to have little likelihood of being public archives 

Rather than attempting to attach each letter cover to its corresponding letter and return each letter to its relevant box of correspondence, it was decided to document the unique provenance of these stolen documents by keeping them together as an artificial series.  Documents belonging to series 8333 have been linked to that series.
Many of the letter covers have a pencilled annotation (e.g. '880-301'), added whilst out of National Archives custody. Each document has now been item-coded with a unique number (within each box) by Archives New Zealand.
            [isAssociatedWithDate] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [type] => HoldingsYears
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => YearStartHoldings
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1841-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => YearEndHoldings
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1861-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                )

            [isAssociatedWithPlace] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Wellington repository
                        )

                )

            [itemType] => Series
            [managementRelation] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Archives New Zealand, National Office
                            [type] => controlled_by
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2000-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => unknown
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Agency
                            [relationHasSource] => ARNZ
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => National Archives of New Zealand, Head Office
                            [type] => controlled_by
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1954-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2000-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Agency
                            [relationHasSource] => ARCH
                        )

                    [2] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Department of Internal Affairs, Head Office
                            [type] => controlled_by
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => unknown
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1954-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Agency
                            [relationHasSource] => AAAC
                        )

                )

            [rdfType] => recordSet
            [recordIsMissing] => 
            [ricClassificationDescription] => This is an artificial series created by Archives New Zealand, however these documents originally belonged to various registered filing systems (for example some documents have an annual single number registration). See 'Series  description' for more information.
            [seriesAccessContacts] => 
Access Services
Archives New Zealand
Wellington Office
            [seriesRestrictionReason] => 
Access to these records is permitted under the supervision of Archives New Zealand staff. This access condition is permitted under section 49(1)(a) of the Public Records Act 2005. 



These records are subject to this condition for an indefinite period for reasons of preservation and security.
            [setSpec] => series
        )

)