Herman Schmidt exhibition
10 June 2009 - 30 August 2009
The exhibition commemorates the life and work of award-winning Auckland portrait photographer Herman John Schmidt (1872-1959), and forms part of the 2009 Auckland Festival of Photography. It also coincides with the 50th anniversary of Schmidt's death and showcases a selection of bromoils recently donated to the Library by the La Roche family.
Featured in the exhibition are enlargements of some of Herman's surviving 27,000 glass plate negatives and 15 of his bromoil portraits, together with business records, letters, ephemera and original photographs.
View the
virtual exhibition online.
View the contents of the exhibition in the
exhibition list.
View the exhibition list in PDF (48kb).
Shakespeare: an exhibitions of treasures from Auckland City Libraries
11 March 2009 - 31 May 2009
Auckland City Libraries is the only library in New Zealand to own the first four collected editions of Shakespeare's plays, known as the folios.
It is our great honour to be able to provide to the public this exhibition of rare books and other material, by and relating to William Shakespeare including:
- the rare first folio (1623) - a collection of 36 plays - including plays which had never been printed before such as Macbeth, The Tempest and Twelfth Night
- the first folio was bought by Sir George Grey for the Library in 1894 Shakespeare's Globe New Zealand.
- is one of only 228 remaining copies in the world
- all three subsequent folios (1632, 1663, 1685)
- a quarto of Pericles (1619)
- the first collected edition of his poetry Poems (1640)
- other works by contemporaries of Shakespeare
- later editions of Shakespeare’s plays
- photographs and programmes of productions staged in Auckland.
View the
virtual exhibition online.
View the contents of the exhibition in the
exhibition list.
View the exhibition list in PDF (52kb).
Once upon a time
2 December 2008 - 28 February 2009
The exhibition celebrates:
- magnificent illustrations showcasing some of the world’s best illustrators
- classic fairytales that children have pored and pondered over for more than a hundred years
- the development of children’s fantasy literature
- quality family time over Christmas.
Fairytales are precursors of modern children’s fantasy literature. They were developed from oral folk tales and adapted for children in the 19th century when childhood was acknowledged as a separate stage of life.
The exhibition is special because it is a chance for both adults and children to see favourite stories with familiar illustrations as well as some unexpected stories or favourite stories with unusual illustrations.
On display
First editions
- Beatrix Potter’s Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908)
- Lewis Carroll’s Through the looking glass, and what Alice found there (1872)
- E.H. Shepard illustrations for A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)
Other noteworthy illustrations
- Arthur Rackham’s illustrations for Grimm’s fairy tales (1909)
- Czech Voitech Kubasta’s ‘pop-up’ illustrations for Sleeping Beauty (1961)
- Edmund Dulac’s illustrations for Stories from Hans Andersen (1911)
- E.H. Shepard illustrations for Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows (1931)
- Walt Disney’s book of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938)
View the contents of the exhibition in the
exhibition list.
View the exhibition list in PDF (129kb).
Hochstetter exhibition
1 September 2008 - 23 November 2008
This exhibition celebrates Ferdinand von Hochstetter: father of New Zealand geology (1829-1884) and commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Hochstetter and the Austrian Novara expedition in Auckland (1858-2008).
The exhibition is special because about half the items on exhibition have especially returned on loan to New Zealand shores from Vienna after 150 years - personally selected in Vienna by guest curator Dr Sascha Nolden.
View the virtual exhibition online.
Antarctica: A tale to tell
11 June 2008 - 24 August 2008
Exhibition of manuscripts, photographs and ephemera from Special Collections, heritage floor, level two. The title is from Captain Scott's last message to the public: "What a tale we would have to tell … that would stir the heart of every Englishman.“
View the virtual exhibition online.
The Book as Art: contemporary artists and fine press books
10 March 2008 - 31 May 2008
This exhibition contained more than 50 treasures of intricate craftsmanship from the Special Collections of Auckland City Libraries.
Items exhibited as part of The Book as Art take a variety of forms; they use many methods and media, and cover a very broad subject range.
View the contents of the exhibition in the
exhibition list.
View the exhibition list in PDF (52kb).
