Case 11
- Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust
H.C. Fancourt. The advance of the missionaries. Dunedin: A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1939.
The Alfred and Isabel Reed Trust was founded in 1938 when A.H. Reed was 62 years of age, with himself and Isabel as the original trustees. The name of Alfred’s sister Marian was later added to the Trust when she willed a legacy of £1,000. By the terms of the Trust Deed, its funds were to be used for charitable, religious, educational, and literary benefactions.
The first grant made by the Reed Trust was applied to assist the publication of Hilda Fancourt’s Advance of the missionaries. Reed considered this a work of merit which could not be published without financial assistance. A prefatory note in this book records with sadness the death of Isabel Reed shortly before publication.
The Isabel Reed Bible story book. Edited by A.H. Reed. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed for the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, 1943.
In 1943, the importation of books was becoming increasingly difficult, and Clif Reed saw the potential for a comprehensive book of Bible stories for children. A collaboration between Alfred, Clif and Marian, it was the first major publication by the Reed Trust. Alfred edited the work and prefaced it with a brief biography of Isabel Reed.
The Isabel Reed Bible story book. Edited by A.H. Reed. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed for the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, 1943.
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“It takes so little to make us glad”. Printed card in A.H. Reed’s calligraphic hand, issued by the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, ca. 1940.
“Life’s little courtesies can make all the difference between a smooth and a rough day’s journey”. Reed thus muses in The friendly road (1964), recalling the time years earlier when he had distributed thousands of copies of this little maxim, of whose origin he was unaware.
“It takes so little to make us glad”. Printed card in A.H. Reed’s calligraphic hand, issued by the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, ca. 1940.
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A.H. Reed. The story of a kauri park. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed for the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, 1959.
In 1957, the scenic reserve adjoining the old Reed homestead at Parahaki was named the A.H. Reed Memorial Kauri Park. In a gesture of thanks, Reed researched the origins and history of the park, resulting in this small book, funded by the Reed Trust.
A.H. Reed. The story of a kauri park. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed for the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, 1959.
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The New Zealand radio hymn-book. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed for the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, 1962.
Sunday evening radio broadcasts of hymns were a significant part of New Zealand life in the early 1960s. Each denomination had their own hymn book, and deciphering the words of unfamiliar hymns by listening to radio was unrealistic. In what he saw as a calling from God, Reed proposed the idea of an inter-denominational New Zealand radio hymn book, containing the most frequently used hymns of each church, ordered alphabetically for quick discovery. This was the opportunity for the Trust to serve thousands of radio listeners.
The New Zealand radio hymn-book. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed for the Alfred and Isabel and Marian Reed Trust, 1962.
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