The swoonsome art of New Zealand books

I am a fangirl for Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu.  And I love when Central Library Peterborough plays host to one of their exhibitions. What could be more fab than library + art?

New Zealand Illustrated: Pictorial Books from the Victorian Age is the next one off the blocks. It takes place from 29 October to 2 December. I was lucky enough to get a behind-the-scenes peek as curator Peter Vangioni let me put the gloves on and have a look at some of the library taonga. Here are some photos.

I’ve never been so close to the famed A History of the Birds of New Zealand (1873) by Walter Buller. The colour, the texture, the detail – all exquisite. The feathers glowed iridescent.

Emily Harris’ New Zealand Flowers was a beauty too. I loved her plain descriptions. Further exploration revealed a lovely set of images Emily Cumming Harris on DigitalNZ.

Kiwi as.

Read some Art Gallery blog posts on the upcoming exhibition:

• Horsing around
• What’s in a title page?
• Buller’s Birds