Reference and contact details:GB 0254 MS 81 Title:
Michael Peto
Dates of creation:
1943-[ca 1970]
Held at:
Dundee University Archive Services
Extent:
1 folder and ca 130,000 photographs and negatives.
The records are on paper and glass and include photographs.
Name of Creator:
Michael Peto
Level of Description: fonds
Creation Information:
This document was generated by Javascript from an HTML form which structured the input according to the elements of ISAD(G) Version 2.
Revisions:
Modified at:
Wed Feb 13 12:50:37 GMT+0000 (GMT Standard Time) 2002
Note
Fonds level description compiled by Sarah Chubb, Archives Hub Project Archivist, January 2002.
Michael Peto, photographer, was born in Bata, Hungary on 2 June 1908. On completion of his secondary education Peto worked in his father's general store, and a keen interest in arts and crafts soon developed into a business venture. It was the connection with his work in the export of Hungarian craft products that enabled him to reach Britain at the outset of the Second World War.
Peto's war years were spent in London where he became engaged in war work of national importance and was involved with the ARP. He was devoted to the establishment of a Socialist Hungary after the war and advocated an international exchange school of teachers and pupils once peace was established. He was greatly concerned with the education of both adults and children after the war and greatly favoured progressive education systems. Peto was a strong supporter of A S Neill and became involved with Summerhill School in 1944.
Peto developed his skills in photography and graphic art after technical instruction from Ervin Marton. He was concerned to achieve his own personal style and eventually became a renowned photographer. He died on 25 December 1970.
Scope and Content
Correspondence 1944-1955. Miscellanea 1943-1945. Photographic
collection of c 130,000 original and copy prints, transparencies
and glass
plate and film negatives depicting scenes in locations including Israel,
Korea, North Africa and India; productions by the Royal Ballet, BBC
drama, and the Prospect Theatre; events such as the 1948 Olympic
Games; and leading political, literary and entertainment figures
including
the Beatles and C S Lewis.
Nearly 400 photographs of the Beatles, many of which have not been seen before, have recently been catalogued by Archive Services at the
University of Dundee. They form part of the Michael Peto collection held
by the University. Consisting of 130,000 negatives and prints the
collection has been sorted and many of the images digitised as part of
the Visual Evidence, a project to create a database of the photographic
archives of St Andrews, Dundee and Aberdeen Universities. Michael
Peto, a Hungarian who came to Britain at the outbreak of the Second
World War, was a charismatic individual who persuaded many famous
but private figures, such as CS Lewis, to allow him to photograph them.
The Beatles images are particularly striking, many of them show the four
in informal poses relaxing or on the sets of their films. Other significant
images in the Peto collection include scenes from the 1948 Olympic
Games and Royal Ballet productions and shots of many of the leading
political, literary and entertainment figures of the 1950s and 1960s.
System of Arrangement
Records are arranged within series.
Administrative Information
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Michael Peto's collection of photographs and letters was donated to the University of Dundee in 1972.
Accruals
None expected.
Access Conditions
Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act and any other appropriate legislation.
Copyright/Reproduction
Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges are made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply.
Existence of Copies
No known copies.
Existence/Location of Originals
The material is original.
Further Information
Finding Aids
A descriptive list is available for the non-photographic material. For the information about the Michael Peto Photographic Collection please contact the Archives.
access keys | text only 
