New Zealand Books

Used and Rare NZ Books.

We have a huge range of NZ books that is simply too big, and changes to quickly, to get on the computer and offer as an online catalogue.
However our very rare or fragile NZ books that are held for safe keeping in our glass cabinets, are in the computer, and you can now see a these here in our online shop NZ Catalogue (see the gold buttons on the right) this page is updated weekly, with new titles and current stock information.
Many of these titles (but not all) can also be seen in more depth in our abebooks.com, listings.

See Featured Rare New Zealand Titles below

Recent NZ Maori and Pacific Titles instore June 2007

Check out our handy list of New Zealand Authors and Their Pseudonyms

New NZ Non-fiction Books.

For some time now, both our branches have been stocking a range of small local history books — usually independently published, and with limited print runs and small distribution networks...read more about Featured New NZ Titles and see some of our range.

NZ Fiction - Coming Soon

Coming soon, we hope to have a database of titles in the NZ Fiction range.

We have an enormous selection of NZ Fiction and possibly one of the largest selections of NZ Poetry for sale in the country, and we hope to have a database of titles here for you in the very near future.
While it will not be an accurate stock listing (for the reasons mentioned above) we hope that it will be a useful resource for back titles and early works of our nation's writers, and if we do not have a listed item in stock at the time of your request, we can certainly watch for titles for you when they come in in the future.

Instructions

1. Click the link for the type of book you want

2. Find the details of the book(s) you want . (Try Ctrl-F (Find) to search each page)

3. Click here to go to our Query page.
Enter the title and author of the book(s) you want into the "description/details" field of the query.

Or...
Put the five-digit tag number of the book(s) you want into the "description/details" field of the query.
(The five-digit tag number is the number in the left hand column)

Other New and Rare Book Catalogues

TIP: Try Ctrl-F to search each page

Featured New Zealand Titles

16 October 2006
The Lord of the Rings - The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring by Gary Russell $90.00
(HarperCollins, 2002 Hardback)
ISBN 0-00-713563-7
Arty Bees book # 22237

16 October 2006
Early New Zealand Engineers by F. W. Furkert $130.00
(A.W. & A. H. Reed, 1953 Hardback)
Arty Bees book # 11049

Description: A hardcover first edition, the book and dust wrapper are in reasonable condition.
The dust wrapper is heavily browned and stained, although it is complete, with only minor chips and tears / rubbing (mostly only) at the top of the spine, and to some extent the other corners. The book has some light staining on the front board, and heavy browning / foxing on all the page edges. The binding is tight and almost as new, but there is foxing throughout the book, especially to the outer edges of the pages (spread from the page edges)

Although the introductory section of this book traces the engineering progress of the early provinces in some detail, the volume is essentially a "Who's Who" of New Zealand engineering, for it deals with the men themselves rather than with their engineering projects. Even so, at over 300 pages, it records a great deal about the engineering problems of the new country and the manner in which they were overcome.

The author restricted his work to these engineers who were born no later than 1865 so that the volume is concerned with the men who were pioneering the country in its most difficult engineering period.

With over 60 rare photos and illustrations, this book covers many of the notable early engineers and a wide selection of the great engineering achievements by those early New Zealand pioneers.

16 October 2006
I Will Need Words - Colin McCahon's Word and Number Paintings by Mary Barr (ed.) & The National Art Gallery $250.00
(National Art Gallery, NZ, 1984 Paperback)
ISBN 0-9597607-5-X
Arty Bees book # 22366

Description: A first edition of this very scarce gallery exhibition book in very nice condition. Paperback at over 9¾" - 12" tall (A4) the front cover has a very small crease, (by the 's' in save) and a small pen mark which has mostly been erased by the spine.
The previous owner's name has been stamped on the front endpaper, but otherwise all the pages are clean and bright, and the binding is tight and firm. The corners are clean and almost completely unbumped.
A loose leaf catalogue from the Exhibition and the errata sheet are also enclosed.

The Colin McCahon's Word and Number Paintings exhibit was organized for the 1984 Sydney Biennial, and the accompanying book is prefaced by Leon Paroissien, with an essay by Wystan Curnow and includes b&w and full colour plates of McCahon's paintings, with a fold-out of the Elias Triptych. McCahon, one of New Zealand's premiere artists, is hard to find in print, and this is an extremely nice copy of one of his major collections.

16 October 2006
Maori Music with Its Polynesian Background by Johannes C. Andersen $450.00
(Polynesian Society / Thomas Avery &Sons, Ltd. 1934 Hardback)
Arty Bees book # 22501

Description: Red cloth-bound hardback first edition in superb condition with a quite good dust wrapper - the dust wrapper is normally extremely scarce.

The red cloth has a duplicate of the cover / dust wrapper design on a paper label on the front cover and black titles on spine.
The corners and spine ends are very mildly bumped but otherwise the book and it's binding are in very good to mint condition including the mint endpapers - again the same design as the cover / dust wrapper. The internal pages clean and bright with minimal age discolouration, and just a little discolouration on the page edges.
The dust wrapper has an inch square chip out of the top front corner / top of spine, and is a little brittle, but has been carefully covered in a removable plastic cover for protection and has no other serious faults bar a little minor bumping and chipping at the corners.

The copy has been signed by the author, Johannes C. Andersen inside on the front endpaper.

The enormous, standard work on all aspects of early Maori Music in New Zealand by one of our most renown early historians.
Chapters include Captain Cook's observations from his first, second and third voyages, early observations on the music of Tonga, Hawaii, & Niue by other eminent explorers and men of letters including Mariner, Thomson, Choris, Byron, Emerson and Marques and the major work on Polynesian and Maori Instruments & Dance. This book is copiously illustrated with b&w photos, reproductions of historical etchings, and diagrams and notation of instruments and music.

16 October 2006
Sir Apirana Ngata and Maori Culture - including Some Aspects of Maori Culture - an address by Sir Apirana Ngata by Eric Ramsden $45.00
(A.W. & A. H. Reed, 1948 Paperback)
Arty Bees book # 22311

Description: In cream textured card covers, this book in in very good condition other than one 1 inch tear to the top front cover by the spine which has been repaired and some slight oily rust stains from the staple binding coming throught the back cover. There is some light foxing scattered over the cover, front and back, and the red titles on the spine are quite faded, but the binding is tight, corners and spine and square and not bumped or rubbed and the internal pages are clean and bright.
No dust wrapper (as issued) and over 7¾" - 9¾" tall, 111pages with a frontispiece and a previous owners name on pre-title page

This slim biographical volume also includes "Some Aspects of Maori Culture" an address by Sir Apirana Ngata.
The Honourable Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 - 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand politician and lawyer. He has often been described as the foremost Maori politician to have ever served in Parliament, and is also known for his work in promoting and protecting Maori culture and language.
In 1927, Ngata was awarded a knighthood, only the third Maori (after Carroll and Pomare) to receive this honour, and is now honoured on the New Zealand $50 banknote.