Henri Wirth, well-known art and book restorer, passed away on 1 June 2019. Henri became a legend in his lifetime. Through his excellent work some of South Africa's most important cultural heritage has been preserved for generations to come. He has rescued works by artists such as Pierneef, Thomas Baines, Hugo Naudé and Maggie Laubser, which now form part of SU's art collection, from total ruin and destruction.
Henri was born in Fulda, East Germany in 1941 and received training in the art of bookbinding and restoration in West Germany. In 1964 he emigrated to South Africa to take up a position as book restorer at the Carnegie Library of SU. He retired in 2009.
Henri was generally acknowledged for being a craftsman of the highest order and enjoyed worldwide acclaim. At the time of his appointment the intention was that he would mainly concentrate on fine book binding. After his appointment, however, he also applied himself to the restoration of a variety of other library material such as maps, documents, manuscripts, graphic works and paintings. It included valuable antiquarian maps, of which the oldest dates back to 1672.
Some of his most important work included the restoration of all Maggie Laubser's paintings, which were bequeathed to SU upon her death. Some of the paintings were discovered in her garage in Strand and were so damaged that they could hardly be handled. Other important work was the restoration of the 168 aquarelles in the Solomon Ceasar Malan collection.
Other work of Henri's included further developing the technique of “conservation framing" for the conservation of works of art and original maps, and designing the Pro Bene Merito medal, which is awarded for exceptional service to SU. Two television programmes were made, and numerous newspaper and journal articles were published about his work.
In 1996 he received the medal of honour from the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns for his outstanding work. The award was considered a fitting tribute to someone who had made an immeasurable contribution to the conservation of irreplaceable South African cultural heritage in the preceding decades.
Twice, Henri was the recipient of a bursary of the Kaapse Drie Eeue Stigting, which enabled him to undergo further training, in the restoration of books and documents, in Europe.
“There is one way only, and that is the correct way", were Henri's words, and that attitude ran like a golden thread through his 45 uninterrupted years of service at the University. As a result of this, the University Library and the SU campus became a much more beautiful place. His legacy will live on for a long time.
