FAMOUS LIBRARY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 90, 20 November 1939, Page 2

FAMOUS LIBRARY

VALUED AT ABOUT £500,000 The Alexander Turnbull Library, which is administered by the Depart ment of Internal Alfairs, is the only public State library in New Zealand. "Appropriate!}*, this world-famed national library—it is really international—stands handsomely opposite the beautiful grounds of Parliament, near the Wellington War Memorial," remarks New Zealand Centennial News. "The facade has the pleasant ruddy complexion of good plain honest brick, free from stucco 'make-up' and thus reflects the sturdy unpretentiousness of its generous founder. Labour of Love. "If there was ever a labour of love it was that zealous, tireless, intelligent collection of books, manuscripts and pictures by Alexander HorsiDurgh Turnbull. He was truly wedded to this work, for he had no oth•er wedding; he died a bachelor at the age of fifty in 1918. By that time he had assembled abou*: sixty thousand volumes, which were bequeathed to the State with all his other treasures of print, manuscript and pictures. Sincc then, by other liberal gitt.s and purchases in New Zealand and overseas, the total of books has been brought above eighty thousand.

Knowledge For Use. "Altogether the present value of the library could be stated as about £500,000, but, of course, it is impossible to measure the best of the treasures in terms of money, because they arc irreplaceable. Indeed, some are unique, and others are extremely rare first editions. For example, there is a complete set of tiie sixteen-page paper "Mercurius Publicus" edited b3 r the famous poet John Milton. The only other set known to be in existence is in the Bodleian Library. "The writer of this article likes to think of Alexander Turnbull as a man ever faithful to one great purpose—the making of a library which he would leave to the nation. He found immeasurable happiness in this ideal. It must be always remembered that he was an ardent booklover—a love shown in his personal cataloguing of between thirty-five thousand and forty thousand of his volumes. The exact reproduction of one of his cards reveals the care ••which he took to have an easily legible script —no quickly-written •scrawl. He always!stood up at that task, -which ran frequently to twelve "hours a day. •(Continued at foot of next column)