It was Norman Sher, the owner of the artwork and father of the artist Eric Sher, who initiated the painting of Chancellor House after re-visiting the building in 2008. He worked for attorneys Gershon and Jack Berman during the early 1950s. Their offices were situated one floor below the offices of Mandela and Tambo, where he made their personal acquaintance.

Jan de Veer (1 February 1874-19 January 1964), a Dutch immigrant, describes his work at the Nederlandse Zuid Afrikaanse Spoorweg Maatschapij (N.Z.A.S.M.) and life on the Reef and in Pretoria, in the old Transvaal province. Also included in his autobiography are several vivid descriptions of various incidents in his life, as well as the lifestyle, entertainment and relaxation of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in this area. The Jameson Raid played a role in his experiences as well. The story moves on to his involvement in the second Boer War mainly in the siege at Colesburg and the destruction of the Norvaals Pont bridge. In 1901 he was interned in the Bird Cage concentration camp which was located on the hill in the Pretoria Zoo where the lion enclosures are now situated on a charge of assisting the Boers. He was tried and found not guilty of treason due to lack of evidence, and released. De Veer later ran a shop and post office business, followed by a few years of farming, before settling into the teaching profession and raising a family in Pretoria, where he had a street named after him de Veer Avenue, in Arcadia.

John David Rheinallt Jones was born at Llanrug, Caernarvonshire, Wales, on the 5th July, 1884.

He completed his formal education in 1900 when he received his Senior Certificate, as he never had a formal university education. He was honoured by the University of the Witwatersrand in 1930, when an honorary M.A. was conferred on him in recognition of his services to the University, as well as his contributions to research on Africa and Southern Africa in particular.

His father, the Rev. John Eiddon Jones, was a minister of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church; thus from his earliest years Rheinallt Jones was instilled with strong Christian beliefs and the conviction of the necessity of social justice.

He came out to South Africa in 1905, landing in Cape Town where he remained until 1918. In 1910 he met and married his first wife, Edith Barton.

The marriage was a happy one and his wife worked alongside him, striving to improve race relations in Southern Africa. They had one daughter, Helen (later Mrs Wynne of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia).

He moved to Johannesburg in 1919 and was appointed Secretary to the Witwatersrand Council of Education, which played an important part in the provision of higher education. Thus Rheinallt Jones was also brought into contact with the South African School of Mines and Technology, which was later to become the University of the Witwatersrand.

He later became Assistant Registrar of the University, lecturer in Race Relations and an honorary graduate.

Rheinallt Jones, together with Charles T. Loram, was one of the founders of the Joint Council system in the 1920s, which replaced the Native Welfare Societies

Unfortunately this aspect of his work is not represented in this collection.

The movement was born out of the need to improve the plight of the poverty-stricken Africans, who were ignored by the majority of Europeans, and also to promote co-operation between Europeans and Africans

The need for a body to promote understanding between the various racial groups was sorely felt, and in 1929, with the aid of funds made available by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the South African Institute of Race Relations came into being, through the efforts of Rheinallt Jones. The Institute was declared a non-political organisation.

Rheinallt Jones and his wife travelled extensively in those years. Rheinallt Jones was appointed Adviser on Race Relations and a few years later, Director. His lifelong devotion to the Institute continued until his death in 1953. His activities for the Institute covered many fields such as African education, African land rights, health and social welfare facilities for Africans, as well as improved wages and employment opportunities for Africans

He also contributed regularly to publications of the Institute but his writing was not only limited to Institute publications

His activities were not confined to the Institute of Race Relations. Despite his crowded and busy life he still found time for other interests such as his long association with the Pathfinders movement (African Boy Scouts).

To complement his interest, Edith Rheinallt Jones devoted herself to the Wayfarers (African Girl Guides).

Many welfare institutions received his support and he donated generously to their causes. He was associated with other institutions such as Jan H. Hofmeyr School of Social Work and the University of the Witwatersrand.

He was a member of: National Council for Adult Education; Consumers' Advisory Committee of the National Marketing Council; National Liaison Committee of F.A.O.; Committee on Minimum Accommodation Standards; President Sections E (1925) and F (1947) and He supported the Christian missions and was also a trustee of the Bantu Welfare Trust.

He was a member of Council of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science; served on the Transvaal Advisory Board for Native Education; the National Advisory Council for Adult Education; the Joint Native Advisory Board; the South African Institute of International Affairs; the South African National Council of Young Men's Christian Associations and several other public bodies

In 1937 Rheinallt Jones was elected Senator, representing the Africans of the Transvaal and Orange Free State in Parliament. He held office until 1942. He was thus able to use his influence to encourage legislation to improve the lot of the Africans

In 1944 Edith Rheinallt Jones died.

He continued his activities and travelled more extensively than before.

In 1947 he married his second wife, Clare, who associated herself with all his activities

On the 1st May 1947, Rheinallt Jones left the Institute and took up an appointment as Adviser on Native Affairs for the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa.

His post as Director of the Institute was left open for him but he never returned to it.

In 1950 he was elected President of the Institute. With Anglo-American, he was able to implement schemes to improve accommodation facilities for mine workers and thereby reduced the proportion of migrant labour. During these years he was also able to visit other parts of Africa.

He died on 30th January 1953.

William Hills (1869-1959)

William Hills came to South Africa in 1895 as reporter for the "Port Elizabeth Advertiser", and thereafter worked on several newspapers in Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Durban. He served as special war correspondent in the last campaign against the Zulu in Magatoland 1898 and interviewed Cecil Rhodes after the Jameson Raid. Later he formed the Amalgamated Press in 1921, and was the editor of 6 Rand papers. He undertook extensive tours overseas which were reported in his chain of newspapers. William Hills was interested in matters of education, religion, labour movement.

Samuel Evans, 1859-1935

Born in Wales, he took up the profession of journalism. In 1883 he was appointed to a post in the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, where probably because of his ability as a shorthand-writer in both English and French, he became private secretary to Sir Edgar Vincent, financial adviser to the Khedive of Egypt. From 1886-1889 he acted as chief controller of the Egyptian coast guards service and later when Sir Edgar became governor of the Imperial Ottoman Bank at Constantinople, he accompanied his chief as inspector-general of that bank, travelling extensively in Asia Minor and Persia. From 1892-1896 he managed the Turkish tobacco regie.

Samuel Evans' association with the Witwatersrand began in 1896 when he arrived in Johannesburg. Two years later he joined H Eckstein & Co, becoming a partner in 1902 and retiring in 1909. During the 2nd Anglo-Boer War he served on the staff both of Lord Roberts and the military governor of Johannesburg. After the war Evans helped to organise the gold-mining industry and in 1909 he became chairman and managing director of Crown Mines Ltd. He was a pioneer in applying scientific methods of hygiene to the mining industry and was largely responsible for the establishment of the S A Institute for Medical Research. He also helped to found a gold refinery and a branch of the Royal Mint soon after the end of World War I. He was a strong advocate of gold as a medium for currency, retaining his interest in economic matters throughout his life. Another field of interest was education and he was closely associated with the Council of Education and the University of the Witwatersrand. He was one of the first to recognise the importance of aviation.

The Malaboch war resulted from Chief Malaboch's refusal to pay hut taxes to the Transvaal Republic Government (ZAR), and his resistance to be moved from his traditional area of Blouberg. The Boer Campaign following these developments in 1894, led by Commandant-General Piet Joubert, was essentially a punitive action against Malaboch. He was taken prisoner and tried on the 2 August 1894, where he was found guilty but was never sentenced. He was kept prisoner of war until released by the British forces during the Anglo-Boer War in 1900, after which he returned to his people. He died in 1939.

The Hon. William Francis Littleton was born in 1847 into a distinguished family, his father being Edward Richard Littleton, 2nd Baron Hatherton, and his mother the Lady Margaret Percy, daughter of the 5th Duke of Northumberland.

He accompanied Sir B. Frere to South Africa as a Private Secretary and remained with him in this capacity from 1877-1880, when Sir B. Frere was recalled. Littleton was awarded the C.M.G. for his services in South Africa.

Little is known about his subsequent career except that he became a barrister-at-law and Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Staffordshire. He died unmarried in 1889.

Born in 1870 and at the age of 22 came to South Africa as a clerk to seek his fortune. He worked as a clerk with the railways and in a chemist shop. On being unable to find permanent employment, he tried to join the Cape Mounted Rifles but was turned down due to bad eyesight and decided to return to England.

Later in life he became a J.P. for Rye in Sussex and was the father of Rev Dr Alexander Roper Vidler, the distinguished writer and theologian.

The Ossewa Brandwag was a movement started in South Africa by Colonel J.C. Laas about 1938. It was semi-military in its organisation and the more active group was represented by the Stormjaers. It appealed to Afrikaner sentiment, being strongly in favour of severing the tie with the British Empire and forming a Republic.

Their aim was to make Afrikaans the only official language and to have a benevolent dictatorship, rather on the lines of Nazi Germany. Not only were they anti-imperial but also anti-communist (for fear it would lead to the end of separated societies according to race) and yet at the same time anti-capitalist. During World War II the O.B. was declared illegal and as they did not offer any clear policy the movement gradually disintegrated and the Nationalists won over their members.

Sir Thomas Cullinan - (1862-1936)

He was born in the Eastern Cape, entered the building trade, and took part in the native wars during the eighteen seventies. He moved to the Eastern Transvaal where he was successful at his trade but soon entered the field of mining. In 1896 he founded a plant at Olifantsfontein for the production of brick and tiles. After taking part in the South African War, Cullinan secured the right to exploit the still unprospected property of Willem Prinsloo, on which in 1902 was discovered the Premier Diamond Mine, the world's largest diamond property. During his industrial career he was Chairman of the Premier Mine, Chairman and Director of the New Eland Diamonds Ltd., director of several gold mining companies and owner of the Consolidated Rand, Brick, Pottery & Lime Co, Ltd. In addition he was interested in farming and aforestaton and owned several farms.

Sir Thomas took a keen interest in politics, being an advocate of responsible government for the Transvaal and the Free State and representing Pretoria North in the first Transvaal parliament, He was a great advocate for Union and was elected for the same constituency to the first Union Parliament. In 1910 he was knighted for his services to the Diamond Fields. During the First World War he served as a major in the campaign against the Germans in S. W. Africa and was mentioned in despatches for gallantry in the field.