I have been pondering why Joseph Mann's name has not been mentioned in items on the Royal Collection site and in Roberts' book. For the Royal Collection site, I suspect that they have the information, but have not amended their online information - or perhaps do not want to.
M Vine's paper was published in 1997, so the information was there for researchers assisting Roberts. Mann was also identified as the maker in a number of Australian media publications in 1954, and now that so many Australian newspapers have been digitised, the information is there for anyone to access comparatively easily.
Surely, when writing the book Roberts would have seen Mann's name as I did; yet only the retail jewellery firm of WM Drummond was mentioned.
Could this be a case of 'snobbery' where the craftsmen who actually constructed items are ignored?
I can understand that retail jewellers, given a commission for significant pieces, wish to promote their business but, after all this time, I would have thought that the particular craftsmen involved would be acknowledged.
In her paper M Vine says that Laszlo Puzar, who made the Andamooka opal necklace, had to promise in writing that he would not claim credit, and I suspect that only the name of the retail jewellery firm of Wendts Ltd would have been stamped on the necklace and earrings. I can understand the commercial perspective for the firm, but I personally think that, for historical purposes, all the relevant information should be recorded. I am more interested in the skill of the craftsmen employed to construct these jewels than the prestige of a firm of retail jewellers.