Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1912-1987 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
5 boxes, 3 parcels, 3 albums.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Max Afford was born in Adelaide on 8 April 1906. He was a versatile writer of novels, plays and radio serials He worked for the ABC in Sydney and freelanced for local radio stations. His stage plays were commercial successes at a time when overseas productions were preferred. His wife was actor, designer and art teacher Thelma Afford (née Thomas) (1907-1966). He died on 2 November 1954.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in Broken Hill in 1908. Her professional theatre career began as an actress with the avant-garde Ab-Intra Studio Theatre in Adelaide. After moving to Sydney and marrying Max Afford, she designed costumes for the Independent Theatre (1941-1947) and the Minerva Theatre (1946-1949). She was the costume designer for pageants and several early ABC television productions, most notably J.M. Barrie's The twelve pound look. This was the first play on Australian television. She spent her later years as an art teacher.
Repository
Archival history
Collection previously titled as: Papers, 1912-1987
Collection alternatively titled as: Max and Thelma Afford collection.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Collection reflects the work of both Max and Thelma Afford, particularly from the early 1930s to the late 1950s. Personal and business correspondence (Max Afford : 1939-1966; Thelma Afford : 1930-1987). Drafts, typescripts and recordings from Max Afford's work for stage and radio. Transcript of interview, "Conversation with Thelma Afford" by Hazel De Berg. Typescript "Adelaide, little theatres of the 1930s and their visionaries" by Thelma Afford. Press books of Max Afford (1929-1936, 1936-1954). Albums of costume designs by Thelma Afford for the Minerva Theatre (1946-1949) and Sydney theatres and television (1938-1958). Family photograph album of Thelma Afford, with images of her early life in Broken Hill and Adelaide, and with Max Afford. Press material relating to Sesquicentenary parades costumed by Thelma Afford.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright varies. Can be reproduced for personal research and study. For other uses see About copyright . Please attribute the Fryer Library.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Digital copies of audio cassettes held in Fryer Library (Restricted) collection in UQ eSpace.
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Alma MMS ID
Millennium Local System Number
Libraries Australia ID
OCLC Number
Alma MMS ID
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Afford, Max, 1906-1954 (Subject)
- Afford, Thelma, 1908-1996 (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Migrated
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Migrated from LMS: April 2019, P.A.