My name is Lemuel Lyes and I grew up in the South Island of New Zealand.

My obsession with history started when I was very young.  At the age of eight I was the proud owner of the world’s first postage stamp, the Penny Black.  I relished trips to the big city where I could be found in collectables stores rummaging through jars of pennies looking for the elusive bust of King George III.

Like many teenagers I went off the rails, although in my case this involved staying up late at the local philatelic society or singeing my eyebrow while learning to fire a flintlock musket.

I emerged into my twenties as a shabby wannabe filmmaker armed with a broadcasting degree and a storage unit filled with antiques.

Things pretty much went downhill from there and now in my 20-somethings I work full time as an archive producer in the television industry, locating and licensing all sorts of film, video and photographs for use in documentary films. My work can be seen on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Travel Channel, A&E’s Biography Channel, TVNZ and many other networks.

Career highlights have included on site visits to archives in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom and being listed among the illustrious company of the likes of Martin Scorsese as an award winner at the 2010 FOCAL International Archive Awards.

In my spare time I watch an unhealthy amount of historical television drama, travel when I can, dabble in stereoscopic photography and drool over eBay auctions that I can’t afford.

This blog is both an attempt to hone my writing skills and a very genuine effort to share some of my passion for the past.