This groundbreaking accoui4F New Zealand’s most famous
publishing house, A. H. & A. Reed, traces its evolution from
a Dunedin mail-order suppli ofSunday school supplies into
a dynamic business that v uaIIy created and dominated
the nation’s fk publishing.
This is in particular the story offeries of remarkable relationships:
between A. H. Reed — one of th[:est-known New Zealanders of his
time; his nephew A. W. (Clif) Fi!d; the innovative group of young
ex-servicemen who, in the yearollowing the Second World ‘X’ar,
expanded the firm; and the host rnemorable writers, photographers,
artists and musicians whose bo4 and gramophone recordings they
published. The name of R:lls became synonymous with
New Zealand S Australian books.
It also reveals — franidy and fo ibe first time — how dramatically
changing economic and sociaI mates combined with the firm’s
developing internal crises to mak saltnd extinction in 1983 almost
inevitable. For many outsiders thç ppeared an all-but-inexplicable fate
for the most remarkably succe W firm in our publishing history
The story of A. H. & A. W. Reed integral chapter in the narrative of
New Zealand’s growth as a natiolC 3and is essential reading for anyone
interested in our evolving Iii •ry social and cultural history.