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New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 790, 10 September 1954, Page 30

Sir.-Mr. Brasch’s list of omissions and weaknesses in the first New Zealand book exhibition in London comes

as no surprise to those of us connected with the show-we could add to his list, if necessary. It turned out-as we dis-covered-a tricky business, when the organisers were (during the critical period of selection and collection) remotely separated in Wellington, New York and London, to keep track of the discrete activities of several departments, plus over a score of publishers and correspondents. When to this was added the apparently inevitable shipping delays, which produced the roughlylisted volumes in London a week before the opening, leaving a catalogue to be assembled in the weekend private time of an official whose normal duties lay far removed from books and publishing, it is not surprising that the show could provide plenty of scope for what the Americans call the Monday morning quarter-backs. Nevertheless, I can assure your correspondent that the general reaction’ was pleasure at what, was achieved rather than regrets at weak-nesses-particularly as many of the gaps mentioned were noticed and filled before the exhibition opened, but after the catalogue went to press. Ideally we required a full-time (and therefore paid) organiser in Wellington, a skilled (and therefore paid) cataloguer, and a full-time (and therefore, etc., etc.), organiser in London. With these, the exhibition would have been fuller and better. Had we waited till they ap(continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) peared, there would have been no exhibition. We shall know better next time. With the proposals of the final paragraph of the letter I am in hearty acree-

ment.

I. A.

GORDON

(Wellington).