The General Assembly Library of New Zealand rare book collection was transferred to the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library over several decades, beginning in the 1970s. The collection includes purchases and donations assembled from the foundation of the General Assembly Library in 1858 to the time of transfer. Imprints range from an incunabulum of 1494 to fine print works of the 20th century.
Archival materials relating to the donation and purchase of books in this collection are held at the General Assembly Library, now known as the Parliamentary Library, Wellington.
More about the Turnbull Library's Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection
About the General Assembly Library and its Collection
The General Assembly Library of New Zealand, now known as the Parliamentary Library, was originally established in Auckland in 1858 before moving to Wellington in 1865. By 1886 it was described by the travelling English connoisseur of libraries, C.W. Holgate, as the finest and most important library in New Zealand (An account of the Chief Libraries of New Zealand, 1886, p.18).
By 1871 there were 8,330 volumes. Most of the growth was due to purchase; donations were relatively small although sometimes of great value. The General Assembly Library's book stock grew on average 780 volumes per year between 1871 and 1875, around 1,000 to 1,500 volumes per year for the years between 1875 and 1885, with a rise to over 2,000 volumes per year for the years 1885 to 1887.
In the 1970s, due to the growth of its book stock and lack of space to house this collection, the Parliamentary Library realised that priorities needed to be clearly established if it was to fulfil its mandatory responsibility to provide a service to Parliament; and that providing a service to the public should be secondary and discretionary only. Thus a decision was made to transfer both the materials (and associated services) pertaining wholly or substantially to academic research to the National Library when the new building became available. In 1976/77, as part of this decision, 1,000 volumes of rare books were transferred to the Special Printed Collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library (Report of the General Assembly Library to the Chairman, Library Committee of the House of Representatives, AJHR 1977, G.13, pp. 16–21). Further rare books were transferred over the next two decades.
This collection is now interspersed with other items in the Alexander Turnbull Library Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection.
Access items in this collection
A growing number of items in the collection are listed on the National Library Catalogue. The remainder are uncatalogued. For access to uncatalogued material, contact the Curator Rare Books and Fine Printing.
Contact details, and information about accessing, borrowing, and making copies from this Collection
