On Saturday I went to see Warren, owner of the Paper Cave, to collect some books. The Paper Cave is well named, as it is warehouse fill of books, magazines, and comics, ranging from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Actually, it even has holdings dating back further, but the main holdings of the collection fall in these decades. Of particular value to anyone with an interest in military history is the vast amounts of paperback editions of biographies, popular histories, and academic histories that Warren has. Now, this post is going to be a shameless plug of the Paper Cave - but since in Christchurch most of our decent second hand book stores have closed down, making getting your hands on books even more difficult -I figured a shameless plug would be worth while. Naturally, I am adding the standard disclaimer that I have no financial or other interest in Warren's business - just that I am a chronic bibliophile....
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| Lots of NZ Heritage - A great start for any NZ related project. |
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| One of the issues covering WW2. |
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| The Crete issue. |
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| The covers feature work by a variety of NZ War artists. |
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| My own purchases: Lord Russell of Liverpool's books dealing with Japanese and German war crimes in WW2. |
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| A history of Imperial Japanese air power from 1937 to 1945, and Caesar's 'Conquest of Gaul'. |
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| Colour plate from a wartime magazine. |
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| Princess Elizabeth. |
Warren also frames colour plates, and advertisements, from various magazines. These look fantastic, and can range from Airfix ads through to Varga girls. Warren is a gold mine of information on publications in New Zealand, and is extremely helpful in helping you track down issues of out of print work, be it paperback editions of Japanese memoirs, or just copies of the humble war comic.
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| Banana boxes of humble war comics. |
Warren is contactable on 03 942 1127. He's a thoroughly nice guy, and if you are hunting for something in particular - he is well worth a call.
I never knew you were in NZ, I do now. sounds cool, I wish I could go there
ReplyDeleteYep, I live in Christchurch. It's an interesting city.
DeleteYou are right about the "Gold mine".
ReplyDeleteWhat a treasure trove!
ReplyDeleteIs that the old 'Battle' magazine in those boxes? If so, I have a gap in my collection that I want to fill: the missing articles on Tony Bath's Hyboria postal campaign (1978 if I recall correctly). If instead they are the Fleetway 'Battle' war comics, we...ell... I preferred the WAR library, but BATTLE were OK. Ish...
ReplyDeleteWhere is this Paper Cave?
Cheers,
Ion
Sorry Ion, they are war comics. i will ask Warren if he does have any Battle wargaming magazines for you. The location is actually very close to you - it's on Saxon St.
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