Case 9
- Biographical
A.W. Reed. George Augustus Selwyn, pioneer bishop of New Zealand. Wellington: Reed, 1939.
A.W. Reed describes the “daring experiment” behind the production of this book in The house of Reed (1957). Just prior to World War II, cloth-bound biographies of Bishop Selwyn and Rev. Samuel Marsden, with dust jackets illustrated by Russell Clark, were published in New Zealand at 2s. each. This was made fiscally possible by the co-operation of a British publisher, and the production of a combined U.K./N.Z. edition of 10,000 copies. In those days, Reed recalls, it was possible, in a large run, to bind such a book for one penny per copy – a fraction of the corresponding New Zealand price.
Phyllis Wilkins Brusey. Ring down the curtain. Wellington: C. Rex Monigatti, 1973.
Ring down the curtain comprises Phyllis Brusey’s memoirs of a life enriched by the successes of the New Zealand Opera Company while also working as an antiques dealer in Hamilton. The quintessentially 1970s dust cover art is by Earl Hingston (1938-).
Burdon, Randal Mathews. Scholar errant: a biography of Professor A.W. Bickerton. Christchurch: Pegasus Press, 1956.
Scholar errant is a biography of Alexander William Bickerton (1842-1929), a man of unorthodox ideas and unconventional behaviour. He was the foundation professor of chemistry at Canterbury College, an inspiring educator who taught Ernest Rutherford.
Robert Brett’s impressively imaginative jacket design features barbed lettering and explosive cosmos – a hint of the conflict within this biography of a scientist.
Burdon, Randal Mathews. Scholar errant: a biography of Professor A.W. Bickerton. Christchurch: Pegasus Press, 1956.
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Iris Hughes-Sparrow. The signature was joy. Hamilton: Paul's Book Arcade, 1959.
The signature was joy comprises the memoirs of a woman looking back on her childhood characterized by illness yet marked by happiness. The jacket design, as unique as the story within, is by Evelyn Clouston (1907-1975). Her cover work shows her individual style, with script lettering integrated into her pen and ink illustrations, which are delicately detailed, and overlaid with a wash of colour.
Dorothea Joblin. Harvey come quick: the story of the little doctor of Waverley. Auckland: Paul's Book Arcade, 1963.
Harvey come quick is a biographical account of a doctor working in a rural Taranaki community in the early 20th century, as told by his daughter.
The cover design is by Juliet Peter (1915-2010), a Canterbury-born artist known for her work on the School Journal and Primary School Bulletin in the 1950s. Subsequently based in Wellington, she worked as a freelance illustrator for numerous publications.
Dorothea Joblin. Harvey come quick: the story of the little doctor of Waverley. Auckland: Paul's Book Arcade, 1963.
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Muriel Wallace May. Freshly remembered: half a century of school. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1973.
Muriel Wallace May (1897-1982) was a Dunedin-born educationalist who taught at Columba College, OGHS and Southland Girls’ High School. In retirement she wrote several books, including her autobiographical Freshly Remembered.
The jacket design is by Graham Oates, a Christchurch-based graphic designer and author of the 1978 pictorial work Discovering Christchurch.
Muriel Wallace May. Freshly remembered: half a century of school. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1973.
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