AUTHORS' WEEK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22402, 24 April 1936, Page 18

AUTHORS' WEEK

NEW ZEALAND BOOKS FINE EXHIBITION OPENING ON MONDAY Most of those who visit the exhibition of New Zealand books which is to be opened in tho Art Gallery on Monday afternoon in connection with New Zealand Authors' Week will be surprised at the bulk and variety of literary production that it reveals. Until this year, so far as is known, no effort has been made to assemble New Zealand books in exhibitions for tho purpose of giving the public an ocular demonstration of our native literature. The New Zealand output is more and more submerged in the flood that comes from the presses of tho English-speaking world, but for a small copulation living at the Antipodes it has been, and is, a source of legitimate pride, which the present eflort should help to increase. The collection that has been brought together in Auckland does not pretend to include all the works that have been published by New Zealand authors, but it fairly represents the whole, both in order of time and range of subjects. At first tho organisers thought that they might havo to draw rather freely on tho southern cities, in order to make a comprehensive display of the earlier books. However, it was soon found that the resources of the Auckland Public Library and local private collectors were quite equal to the occasion. Indeed, if the exhibition does nothing else, it will serve to show Aucklanders some of the treasures which the Publio Library, in its cramped quarters, is unable to display. Early New Zealand Except one case of specially rare and valuable volumes, every book in the exhibition may be opened and examined by tho visitor. Among the rarities are tho first known specimen of New Zealand printing, a Maori catechism, produced by tho Rev. W. Yate on a hand press at Kerikeri in 1830. As a matter of interest, though it is perhaps not strictly relevant, there is shown a page from the manuscript journal of Sir Joseph Banks on Captain Cook's first voyage to tho South Pacific in 1769. The journal is in the possession of the Auckland Public Library. In the same case is the collected edition of Cook's Voyages in eight leatherboil nd_ volumes, published between 1773 andl7B4, with other works on Southern Pacific exploration by Parkinson and Burney. A unique exhibit is a catalogue issued in 1787 and containing actual specimens of native cloths collected by Cook during his three voyages in the Southern Hemisphere. Among many early works written in New Zealand are first editions of Mailing's "Old New Zealand" and Sir John Logan Campbell's "Poenamo," both containing photographs of their authors and apparently specially prepared for presentation to Sir George Grey. Visitors will find much to interest them in a number of volumes containing pictures of New Zealand in bygone days. Among these are "New Zealanders Illustrated," by G. F. Angas, 1847; drawing by Augustus Earle, of H.M.S. Beagle, in which Darwin visited New Zealand in the 'thirties, and pictures of the New Zealand Company's settlements by S. C. Brees, 1847. Authors' Success in Britain The collection passes right through the Victorian period to the present day, and covers not only works of imaginative literature, but also specimens of the many relating to the Maori race and to natural science and history in New Zealand. There are many slim volumes of poetry and early novels. Works still in print are grouped according to their publishers, whether in the Dominion or overseas. The English collection includes most of the work of Katherino Mansfield, and a case contains all the books of Hector Bolitho —surprisingly numerous and a monument to this author's industry. The children's books of Edith Howes form another group. Very recent "thrillers" of New Zealand origin should not be overlooked. Some authors unknown to most of their fellow-countrymen are represented. There is a verse translation of tho "Iliad" by Sir William Marris, better known as a high official of the Indian Civil Service, with two volumes of Royal biography by E. Thornton Cook, and a work on slang by Eric Partridge. Bookplates and Portraits Boo.ks written and printed in New Zealand cover an immense range—local history, fiction, verse, biography, natural science, the useful arts, and much more. There are textbooks for students from the infant school to the university. A small section is devoted to examples of fine printing, mostly from the minor presses of the Dominion. One of the two exhibition rooms has its walls decorated with a fine collection of book-plates, arranged by Miss Hilda Wiseman, and with portraits of New Zealand authors, past and present. The exhibition is to be opened at 2.30 p.m. on Monday by the Hon. H. G. R. Mason, Attorney-General. The Mayor, Mr. Ernest Davis, will preside, and short addresses will be given by Miss Rosemary Rees, Mr. R. A. Singer and Mr. J. Barr. A series of lectures and recitals of New Zealand music has been arranged for the afternoons and evenings of next week. Two New Zealand one-act plays will be performed in tho W.E.A. Hall, and three others will be broadcast.