Private Commissions & Estates
Built with you, from oral history to permanent publication.
Some families want to build the memorial themselves. Others want an editor to sit with them, record the stories, gather the photographs, and write it properly. This is the second kind.
A private commission pairs your family with a dedicated biographer. We record spoken memories, restore fragile prints, preserve audio tapes, and craft an authoritative, private digital monument held in perpetuity without advertising.
The Atelier
For a life that deserves an editor.
The Family Biographer
A parent whose papers fill a study. A grandmother whose stories were only ever told aloud in the evening. A public figure whose family wants the record kept quietly and authoritatively on their own terms. A commission is for families who would rather spend their hours remembering and honoring than sorting files and formatting text.
Personal oral history • Document conservation
Dedicated & Unhurried Care
We accept only a strictly capped roster of commissions each season so that every family has one single editor from the initial conversation to final publication and binding. Nothing is ever made public until every family member has read, revised, and given explicit approval.
Private review • Family custody
Commission Levels
Two levels of commission.
Both are bespoke works of biographical craftsmanship. Choose the scope that matches your family’s archive.
Bespoke Commission
From ₦3,500,000
One-time commission fee. Written proposal first.
A personal biographer, recorded oral histories, and an authoritative digital memorial.
- ✦A dedicated family editor and biographer
- ✦Recorded oral history interviews with family & close friends
- ✦Curated biography, timeline, and life narrative
- ✦Digitization, archival scanning, and retouching (up to 100 items)
- ✦Private family review and unlimited draft revisions
- ✦Permanent archival hosting with custom domain and perpetuity charter
- ✦Full offline digital archive export for family heirs
Estate Archive & Folio
From ₦10,000,000
Comprehensive historical estate preservation.
For prominent historical figures, extensive family papers, and multi-generational archives.
- ✦Senior archival director & personal biographer
- ✦White-glove on-site visit to catalogue fragile albums and papers
- ✦Restoration & scanning of up to 500 physical photographs & documents
- ✦Cassette tape, reel, and video preservation into the secure vault
- ✦Hardbound, foil-stamped heirloom memorial volume delivered to the family
- ✦Multi-generational family tree mapping and historical provenance
- ✦Permanent white-glove successor transfer and concierge support
The Process
Six stages, one dedicated editor.
Follow your commission’s progress, review drafts, and listen to recordings directly within your family dashboard.
- I
Initial Dialogue & Scope
You write to us. We reply personally within one working day and arrange an unhurried conversation. A written proposal follows with a fixed fee and timeline.
Stage 1 of 6 - II
Oral History & Recorded Interviews
Your dedicated biographer records audio conversations with family, colleagues, and lifelong friends, preserving their spoken voices in the archive vault forever.
Stage 2 of 6 - III
Physical Gathering & Digitization
Photograph albums, films, letters, and papers are catalogued, scanned at museum resolution, delicately retouched, and captioned with your family.
Stage 3 of 6 - IV
Biographical Research & Composition
The life story is researched and written with narrative grace. The chronological timeline is constructed and a bespoke typographical layout is set for this one life.
Stage 4 of 6 - V
Private Family Review
You read the private folio draft in your family dashboard. Request alterations, adjust passages, and refine captions across iterative review rounds until complete.
Stage 5 of 6 - VI
Publication & Permanent Stewardship
The memorial is published quietly or behind a family passcode, the archival heirloom book is delivered where commissioned, and stewardship begins.
Stage 6 of 6
Private Archival Enquiry
Tell us a little. We will reply personally.
There is no obligation. A conversation first, then an itemised written proposal, then a considered decision.
Questions
Before you write.
How commissions work, who holds rights to the material, and our editorial timelines.
To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.
In Perpetuity