Case 9
- Alexander Wyclif Reed
Northland poetry award pamphlet featuring portrait of Alec Reed, younger brother of A.H. Reed and father of A.W. Reed.
The youngest sibling of A.H. Reed, Alexander John Reed was a Methodist minister in the North Island who also wrote poetry and hymns. A promising career was cut short when after driving home in his buggy from a funeral he had conducted, he contracted pneumonia and died at the age of 32.
Alec’s son Alexander Wyclif Reed was four years old at the time.
Northland poetry award pamphlet featuring portrait of Alec Reed, younger brother of A.H. Reed and father of A.W. Reed.
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Portrait of A.W. Reed, 1970s (Francis Victor Studios, Wellington).
Alexander Wyclif Reed (1908-1979) was the only child of Alec Reed and his wife Julia Carter. After the death of his father, he was raised by his mother who encouraged his early interest in reading. Known as Clif, he attended Mount Albert Grammar School. Uncertain of a career, Clif spent the school holidays of 1923-24 in Dunedin with his uncle A.H. Reed at his Sunday School supplies business and decided to join the firm in 1925 after completing his schooling.
Over a period of eight years, Clif mastered the business of making, buying, and selling books, under the watchful eye of his uncle. In 1932, despite the climate of economic gloom, he eagerly accepted the opportunity to move north to start a Wellington branch.
A.H. and A.W. Reed. First New Zealand Christmases. Dunedin: A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1933.
With its striking cover image of a manuka tree in flower, the 1933 first edition of First New Zealand Christmases was the inaugural literary collaboration between A.H. and A.W. Reed. Evidently considered an apt Christmas gift, it was a resounding success, selling several thousand copies. Aimed at young readers, it told the story of the Christian origins of European settlement in New Zealand.
A.W. Reed. Legends of Rotorua and the hot lakes. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1958.
Clif Reed’s interest in folklore began in childhood when he discovered European romances at his uncle Frank’s store in Whangārei. His lifelong interest, however, was in books on Māori and Pacific topics. He had no first-hand knowledge of Māori custom or language and derived his material from secondary sources, seeing his role as populariser and simplifier.
Clif was especially interested in educational publishing and produced many primary school texts with Māori and Pacific themes. His perceptions were in tune with his readers, and he successfully steered the company founded by his uncle towards becoming a distinctly New Zealand publisher. In total, Clif authored more than 200 books, almost all of them published by the family firm.
Photograph of A.W., A.H. and John Reed with young Donald Reed, 1960 (NZ Newspapers Ltd.)
John Reed (1936-2011) was the second son of A.W. and his wife Reta Reed. He worked extensively for the Reed company, and in 1963 was offered the chance to open an Australian branch in Sydney. Aware of the parallel with his own father’s opportunity to start the Wellington branch three decades prior, John was “keen as mustard”.
A.W. Reed. Myths and legends of Polynesia. Wellington: Reed, 1974. Inscribed by A.W. Reed to A.H. Reed.
The Reed Collection includes numerous books containing presentation inscriptions from A.W. to A.H. Reed (and sometime vice versa). The title page inscription on display is a typical example of the friendly and humorous dynamic between the pair.
A.H. Reed was an avid collector of ‘association books’ containing the inscriptions of their authors or owners. In his Autobiography, he observed that association books “have always appealed to me as radiating something of the personality of the writer, or person with whom they have been associated” – which seems an apt description of the displayed inscription.
A.W. Reed. Myths and legends of Polynesia. Wellington: Reed, 1974. Inscribed by A.W. Reed to A.H. Reed.
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