By Deed of Gift

The collection, of around 1,250 printed and manuscript books and 1,000 autograph letters, was named the Alfred and Isabel Reed Collection, in his honour and in memory of his beloved late wife. Reed also established a trust to fund the purchase of new material, gave over properties and shares to the Library shortly after his initial gift, and remained highly active in the building of the Collection until the early 1970s.

Reed began collecting rare books and manuscripts around 1907, when he purchased a 1599 Beza New Testament. His early interests included English Bibles, autograph letters and ‘association’ books, but they later expanded into medieval manuscripts, early printing and the works of Dickens and Johnson.

Having donated his initial collection of Bibles to religious institutions in 1925, Reed next proposed the idea of eventually donating his book collection to the Library. The City Librarian William Barker McEwan suggested that he display books in the Library, which Reed did anonymously, notably his album of autograph letters, the pages of which were turned weekly. Reed made a number of one-off book donations to the Library from the 1920s, and many of his books were lodged there on loan. By 1948, Reed was 72 and decided the time was right to donate the collection as he had for many years intended.

Perhaps surprisingly, Bibles formed a relatively small proportion of Reed’s original gift. However, by the time he wrote his Autobiography in 1967 Reed described his Bible collection as “in all probability the most comprehensive collection of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.”

Reed’s collecting was largely driven by his philanthropic nature, and he desired to build a collection to be handled and studied, not just admired from a distance. He continued to add to the collection, with the most fruitful period of acquisition – especially in terms of ‘high-point’ books and manuscripts - occurring during the 1950s and early 1960s. The Library has continued to build the collection since Reed’s death in 1975 through purchases and donations.

The next Reed Gallery exhibition showcases a range of items which were part of Reed’s original gift of 1948, including medieval manuscripts, biblical works, ‘association’ books, Dickensiana and other “books of unusual interest” as Reed described them. The exhibition prominently features examples of two of Reed’s notable hobbies which derived from his collecting: his hand-illuminated autograph letter albums, and extra-illustrated or ‘grangerised’ books.

Reed Gallery Exhibition: By Deed of Gift
Friday 16th March – Sunday 8th July
Reed Gallery, 3rd Floor, Dunedin City Library