Historic gem donated
Valuable book found among those donated to annual Lions book sale
Members working toward the Lions Club Annual Book sale were delighted to find a “historical gem” with a special connection to Hawke’s Bay in the piles of donated books for this year’s sale.
The book that caused the fuss was a first edition Wakefield’s New Zealand Illustrated published in 1889 by A. D. Willis, founder of the Hawke’s Bay Herald.
The book is a chromolithographic book of towns and cities in New Zealand depicted at the time of publication, and includes the city of Napier.
More than 130 years later the book found itself anonymously dropped off at Alan Harvey’s donation shed in great condition for the 2023 Lions Club Annual Book sale last weekend.
Harvey said after he realised what the book was and its place in history, it would be sold for an appropriate price at an auction.
He would take the book along to the sale, which has been running for 37 years and has over 300 trestle tables set up at the Tomoana Showgrounds in Hastings.
“I would need to make sure it’s got some security on it,” he said.
A similar copy of the highly collectable book is on sale at a store in Pah¯ıatua for $3677, and the book can sell for up to $6000.
Alan said it is not unusual for historical books to be donated as people who move into retirement
homes no longer have space for the books and the families don’t want them.
The book sale has had great success in previous years, fetching between $30,000 and $35,000, which goes back to the community.
Alan hoped this year’s sale would be a good fundraiser, with people in previous years lined up at 8am waiting to be let in.
“Every year I think there can’t be any books left in Hastings but the next year there are just as many again, so you wonder where they all come from.”