James Mackelvie lived in Auckland for just five years from 1865 to 1870. During this time he made his fortune and on his return to Europe and London he began collecting books and art for Auckland. Books arrived from the 1870’s but the bulk of his curated collection arrived after his untimely death in 1885.
Rare Books Librarian Jane Wild will describe the Mackelvie Collection at Auckland Libraries. You will get to see some of the rare titles purchased by James Mackelvie including Owen Jones’ Grammar of Ornament (1856), the first edition of Buller’s Birds (1873) and other exceptional titles and favourites James Mackelvie selected as a legacy for Auckland. His earliest book ‘Architectura nova curiosa’ was published in 1664. The Victorian gentleman’s library continues to delight and inform new research in 2024.
