Bibliography of Works

 

Published by

 

Upton and Company,

 

Auckland

 

With a Brief History of the Company

 

1864 – 1916

 

 

Compiled by Tony Millett

 

  

 Takapuna, Auckland

 

2013

 

 

 

A brief history of Upton and Company

 

 

William Brown Upton, eldest son of Henry Upton and Rebecca Tasker, was born in Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire in 1840 [1].  He emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 18, arriving in Auckland on 21 December 1858 on the ship Evening Star [2].  By 1864 he had established a bookselling business in Auckland, in which enterprise he was later joined by his younger brother John Henry Upton (1845-1929) when he arrived in Auckland on 4 December 1866 on the ship Chile [3].

 

The firm went under a number of names –  Upton, Upton Brothers, W. B. & J. H. Upton, and Upton & Co., and was located at several addresses.  On 17 February 1865 “Upton & Co., wholesale and retail booksellers, stationers, music sellers, and fancy repository” begged to announce that they had opened “three doors below the Brunswick Hall, Queen-street, Auckland” [4].  On 1 September 1870 it was announced that “Uptons, booksellers & stationers have removed to premises in Canada Buildings, between Messrs. Cosgrave and Co.’s and Mr. Short’s” [5];  the Canada Buildings  were (at least in 1873) at 108-110 Queen Street, north of Durham Street [6].  Queen Street was frequently renumbered, and various Auckland directories gave locations as 122 Queen Street [7], 106 Queen Street [8] and 102 Queen Street [9].  Most Upton & Co. newspaper advertisements did not include street-numbers, but between 14 May 1885 and 27 November 1894 [10] those that did gave the address as 102 Queen Street (although, confusingly, between 4 and 23 July 1885 the street-number was given as 162 – probably a misprint for 102).  From 9 January 1896 until 17 June 1916 those few Upton & Co. newspaper advertisements that gave the street address gave 158-160 Queen Street [11], which was between Vulcan Lane and Durham Street East [12].

 

William Brown Upton died on 12 September 1870 at the age of 29, and the Daily Southern Cross carried the following obituary:

 

Quite a gloom was cast over the whole community yesterday by the death of Mr. W. B. Upton, senior partner of the firm of Upton Brothers.  Mr. Upton was generally respected and esteemed, no less for his sterling qualities as a citizen than for excellence of his character as a business man.  Devoted to his business as he was, he had displayed great enterprise and rare skill in providing for the wants of the reading portion of the community, and the brother who survives him will, we feel sure, often miss the judiciousness, discernment, and rare business capacity which had been chiefly instrumental in achieving that success, from the full enjoyment of which Mr. Upton is cut off.  The firm had only recently removed into more commodious premises, and it is believed that the worry and excitement attendant upon the work of arranging the new premises caused the illness from which Mr. Upton died.  Though by no means of a robust constitution, he always displayed remarkable industry, his devotion to business rendering him perhaps less careful with regard to his health than was prudent.  He leaves a wife and young family to mourn his untimely death, and his memory will be reverenced by a very large circle of friends who had learned to respect him.[13]

 

John Henry Upton, in addition to his many other duties as company director, city councillor, synodsman and chair of innumerable committees and organisations (including being Mayor of Auckland from 18 December 1889–16 December 1891), continued to manage the bookshop (from 1 March 1871 in partnership [14] with his brother-in-law William Gorrie, 1840-1911) until about 1909, when management passed to his sons Parker Tasker Upton (1877-1955) and Selwyn Upton (1878-1922).  The “ailing” [15] firm was sold to Whitcombe & Tombs in June 1916.  Auckland newspapers carried the following reports of the sale:

 

Big Book-Selling Business Changes Hands.  Purchased by Whitcombe and Tombs.

 

One of the oldest businesses of Auckland city changed hands yesterday, when the bookselling and stationery establishment of Messrs Upton and Co., of Queen Street, was taken over by the equally well known southern house of publishers and booksellers, Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs.

 

It is the intention of the new proprietors almost immediately to commence the erection of fine new premises at the corner of Queen and Durham Streets, to which the present business will be transferred as soon as they are completed.  Meantime the business will be continued as usual, excepting that the purchasers take over immediate control.  The management of the business will be under the personal supervision of Mr. B. E. H. Whitcombe, the general manager of the company, who is at present in London, but is expected to return about October.

 

The passing of Messrs Upton and Company’s business will be of considerable sentimental interest to old residents, for, established more than fifty years ago by Mr W. B. Upton, who was joined in 1866 by his brother, Mr J. H. Upton, and who died in 1870, its name is now familiar to three generations of Aucklanders.  The repute of the old firm is not confined to Auckland, but extends throughout the Dominion, for the wholesale department of the firm has been an important branch of its activities.  The retail trade of the firm was very extensive, and one of its specialties which has brought its name into considerable prominence has been the sale of educational works and the encouragement of the demand for high-class literature.  Mr J. H. Upton retired from the firm about seven years ago.  Since then it has been conducted by his sons, Messrs P. T. and S. Upton.  Mr J. H. Upton has been closely identified with many of the leading commercial activities of the province.  He is the acting-chairman of directors of the Bank of New Zealand, and as a director of other leading mercantile companies has occupied the position of chairman of the Auckland Gas Company, the South British Insurance Company, the Northern Steamship Company, the Northern Roller Mills, and is on the directorate of several other concerns.  Amongst Anglican churchmen Mr Upton’s is a prominent name;  for, as a member of the Diocesan Trust Board and other lay organisations of the Church, he has rendered long and useful service.[16]

 

Auckland Business Sold.  Messrs. Upton and Company.

 

The bookselling and stationery business of Messrs. Upton and Co., of Queen Street, has been disposed of to Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs, publishers and booksellers, who have branches at present at Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.  The building operations which have been decided upon by the purchasers will involve an expenditure of £18,250.

 

The business of Messrs. Upton and Company was established more than 50 years ago.  The founder of the firm was Mr. W. B. Upton, who died in 1870.  Four years before his death he was joined by his brother, Mr. J. H. Upton, who carried on the business until he retired about seven years ago, leaving the management of the firm’s affairs to be conducted by his sons.

 

Mr. J. H. Upton became associated with many leading commercial enterprises.  He is acting-chairman of the directors of the Bank of New Zealand during the absence from the Dominion of the chairman, Mr. Harold Beauchamp.  He is chairman of directors of the Auckland Gas Company, and has occupied a similar position on the directorate of the South British Insurance Company, the Northern Roller Mills and the Northern Steamship Company, of which and other concerns he is at present a director.[17]

 

In addition, the following advertisement appeared in Auckland newspapers:

 

Messrs. Upton and Co. desire to intimate that they have sold their business to Messrs, Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd., as from the 15^th instant, and ask for Messrs, Whitcombe and Tombs, Limited, a continuation of the patronage so generously bestowed on them during the past fifty years of their establishment in Auckland. [18]

 

Whitcombe & Tombs, which advertised itself as “successors to Upton & Co.” [19], closed the old premises on 7 June 1917 and re-opened in its new building on the corner of Queen Street and Durham Street East on 11 June 1917. [20]

 

During its life of about 52 years the firm of Upton & Co. Booksellers & Stationers played an important role in the Auckland of its time.  As well as selling books, magazines, music, stationery and fancy goods, the shop sold tickets to theatre productions, local shows, concerts, lectures, balls and events, was an art union agency, and a location where tender and other documents could be inspected by the public and messages left for collection. Its Queen Street window was a focal point for the display of all manner of artefacts, art works and items of community interest.  The company was actively involved in the affairs of Auckland, and a frequent contributor to a very wide variety of fund-raising activities.

 

Upton & Co. was also an important New Zealand publisher, as the following bibliography attests.

 

 

 

Notes

 

 

Works are arranged chronologically by publication date.

 

Titles cited in A. G. Bagnall’s New Zealand National Bibliography to the year 1960 are so noted.

 

Most items are listed in the New Zealand National Union Catalogue database.  Where this is not so, or where details differ significantly, the source is given in a footnote.

 

Some works (for example record numbers 34, 40 and 58) were probably not published by Upton & Company, but have been included in this bibliography because the New Zealand National Union Catalogue or OCLC WorldCat or Upton & Co. newspaper advertisements list them as such.  The distinction between published by, printed by, distributed by or sold by Upton & Company does not appear always to have been made by cataloguers, bibliographers or the Company itself.

 

An author index, and list of sources checked, is included at the end of the bibliography.

 

 

 

Tony Millett

tony.millett@xtra.co.nz

 

November 2013

Bibliography

 

 

1.      Southern monthly magazine.  Auckland, Upton & Co., April 1865–February 1866.[21]

Earlier issues published Auckland, Creighton & Scales.  Ceased publication February 1866.

 

2.      Maunsell, Robert, 1810-1894.  Grammar of the New Zealand language.  Auckland, W. B. Upton & Co.  3^rd edition, 1867.  168 p.;  4^th edition, 1894.  162 p.  [Bagnall 3463, M1395, M1397]

 

3.      Mason, Peter, Rev.  Outline of the geography of New Zealand.  Auckland, W.B. & J.H. Upton, 1870.  24 p.  [Bagnall 3450]

 

4.      Dudley, Benjamin Thornton, 1838-1901 [22].  The martyrs of Santa Cruz: a sermon, preached in Auckland, 5th November, 1871, 22nd Sunday after Trinity; with appendix.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1871.  19 p.  [Bagnall 1671]

Written by a former member of the Melanesian Mission staff, in commemoration of the deaths of three missionaries, one of whom was Bishop John Coleridge Patteson.

 

5.      Maunsell, Robert, 1810-1894.  Man and the monkey: a lecture delivered in the Choral Society Hall.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1871.  16 p.  [Bagnall 3466]

An attack on Charles Darwin.

 

6.      Patteson, John Coleridge, 1827-1871.  The abiding comforter: a sermon preached in St. Mary’s Church, Auckland, on the evening of Sunday, 3rd March, 1861 (being the day of his consecration).  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1871.  8 p.  [Bagnall 4490]

 

7.      Church gazette: for the Diocese of Auckland.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1 July 1872–?

Added title page title:  Church gazette: for the Diocese of Auckland and Melanesia.

 

8.      Church of the Province of New Zealand. Diocese of Waiapu. Native Church Board.  Nga mahi a te hui o te Hahi Maori o te Takiwa o Heretaunga i te Pihopatanga o Waiapu: I huihui ki Pakowhai.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1872–1912.

Reports of meetings on Māori Church matters, 1870–1914.

 

9.      Labels for New Zealand ferns and fern allies: comprising a printed label for each species and variety known to occur in the Colony – with duplicates to admit of their arrangement according to the “Hand Book of the New Zealand Flora,” or to “Synopsis Filicum,” at the option of the collector.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1872.  28 p.  [Bagnall 3043]

Variant title:  New Zealand ferns and fern allies.

 

10.  Mason, Peter, Rev.  Outlines of the geography of New Zealand.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1872.  35 p.

Variant title:  Geography of New Zealand.

 

11.  New Zealand Presbyterian Magazine.  Auckland, Upton & Co.  August–December

1872.[23]

 

12.  Williams, William Leonard, 1829-1916.  First lessons in the Maori language of New Zealand: with a short vocabulary.  Auckland, Upton & Co.  2^nd edition, 1872.  96 p.;  3^rd edition, 1882.  97 p.;  4^th edition, 1894.  92 p.;  5^th edition, 1896.  92 p.;  5^th (i.e. 6^th) edition, 1904.  157 p.;  6^th (i.e. 7^th) edition, 1910.  163 p.  [Bagnall W1328-W1333]

 

13.  Dudley, Benjamin Thornton, 1838-1901.  “Who is sufficient for these things?”: a sermon preached in S. Paul’s Cathedral Church, Auckland, N.Z., on S. Barnabas’ Day, June 11, 1873, on the occasion of the ordination of George Sarawia, the first native clergyman of Melanesia, to the priesthood, and of Frederick Thomas Baker, son of the Rev. C. Baker, of the Church Missionary Society, to the Diaconate, by the Bishop of Auckland.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1873.  20 p.  [Bagnall 1672]

 

14.  Hill, James, Rev.  Spiritualism: a lecture, delivered at the Young Men’s Christian Association, Auckland.  Auckland, Upton and Co., 1873.  20 p.  [Bagnall 2598]

 

15.  Selwyn, John Richardson, 1844-1898.  The lessons of the Holy Sepulchre: a sermon preached in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Auckland, on the eighth anniversary of its dedication, Wednesday, August 27, 1873.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1873.  14 p.  [Bagnall s5119a]

 

16.  Carleton, Hugh Francis, 1810-1890.  The life of Henry Williams, Archdeacon of Waimate.  Volume 1.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1874.  245 p.  [Bagnall 980]

Volume 2 published Auckland, Wilsons & Horton, 1877.  364 p.

 

17.  George, Frances Shayle, 1827/1829-1890.  Education of girls: read before the Auckland Teachers’ Association, June 20th, 1874.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1874.  12 p.  [Bagnall 2098]

 

18.  Mason, Peter, Rev.  Geography of New Zealand and Oceania.  Auckland, Upton & Co.  3^rd edition, 1874.  49 p.;  1877.  48 p.;  Revised & enlarged edition, 1885.  58 p.  [Bagnall 3445-3448]

 

19.  Mason, Peter, Rev.  Outline of the geography of Oceania.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1874.  15 p.  [Bagnall 3451]

 

20.  Upton & Company, Auckland.  Catalogue of books in circulation at Upton’s Select Library.  Auckland, William Acton, Printer, High Street, ca. 1874.  43 p.  [Bagnall 5694]

Variant title:  Upton’s select library.

 

21.  Wilson, John Alexander, 1829-1909.  The immortality of the universe: considered in relation to the persistence of its motive powers.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1875.  68 p.  [Bagnall 6141]

 

22.  Beta, Alf A.  The Anglo-Israelite: a satire addressed to the new identities.  Auckland, Upton & co, 1878.  12 p.

Poetry.

 

23.  Dobbie, Herbert Boucher, 1852-1940.  New Zealand ferns: 148 varieties illustrated.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1880.  104 p.  [Bagnall D415]

 

24.  Bourke, E. M.  A little history of New Zealand: progressive from discovery to 1880: for children.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1881. 76 p.;  4^th edition 1884?  112 p;  5^th edition, 1885?  112 p.  [Bagnall 1740, 1742-1743]

 

25.  Shortland, Edward, 1812-1893.  Maori religion and mythology: illustrated by translations of traditions, karakia, &c. to which are added notes on Maori tenure of land.  Auckland, Upton and Co., 1882.  112 p.  [Bagnall 5160]

 

26.  Shortland, Edward, 1812-1893.  How to learn Maori: a short treatise on the structure and idiom of the language.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1883.  55 p.  [Bagnall 5159]

 

27.  Fairburn, Edwin, 1827-1911.  The ships of Tarshish: a sequel to Sue’s “Wandering Jew”, by Mohoao.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1867 (i.e. 1884).  32, 104 p.  [Bagnall 1858]

 

28.  Kidd, Robert Boyd.  A review of Mr. Herbert Spencer’s essay entitled Religious retrospect & prospect.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1884.  8 p.  [Bagnall 2988]

Reprinted from the Auckland Church Gazette of March 1884.

 

29.  Upton & Company, Auckland.  Upton & Co’s new map of the city and suburbs of Auckland.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1884.[24]  1 map (scale 10 chains to an inch).

Variant titles:  New map of the city and suburbs of Auckland;  Street map of the city and suburbs of Auckland compiled from the latest information.  Re-issued at later dates with different titles in different sizes and scales.[25]

 

30.  Congreve, George Thomas, 1822-1898.  Consumption of the lungs, or, Decline and its successful treatment: showing that formidable disease to be curable in all its stages, with observations on coughs, asthma, chronic bronchitis, &c.    Auckland, Upton & Co., 1885? [26]

 

31.  Rees, William Lee, 1836-1912.  Co-operation of land, labour, and capital.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1885.  34 p.  [Bagnall 4809]

 

32.  Burrows, Robert, 1812-1897.  Extracts from a diary kept by the Rev. R. Burrows during Heke’s war in the North in 1845.  Auckland, Upton and Co., 1886.  58 p.  [Bagnall 803]

33.  Speight, William James, 1843-1919.  True parliamentary representation: what is it?, how to obtain it?: being a short enquiry into the electoral system of New Zealand, and some suggestions for its improvement.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1887.  31 p.  [Bagnall 5279]

 

34.  Fairburn, Edwin, 1827-1911.  The ships of the future: being an epilogue to The ships of Tarshish, by “Mohoao”.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1889.  27, 5 p.;  1906.  27 p.[27]  [Bagnall 1859]

 

35.  Murray, George William.  The children’s book of the farm for Auckland.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1889.  48 p.  [Bagnall 3687]

Variant title:  Book of the farm for Auckland.

 

36.  Mahon, Owen.  Manual of drill and calisthenics.  2^nd edition.  Auckland, Upton and Co., 1891.[28]

 

37.  Craig, Eric, 1829?-1923.  New Zealand ferns: 172 varieties illustrated.  2^nd edition.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1892?  100 p.  [Bagnall D416]

 

38.  Gray, Andrew, 1847-1925.  Aids to experimental science: for teachers and students.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1892.[29]

 

39.  Williams, William, 1800-1878.  A dictionary of the New Zealand language.  4^th edition, with numerous additions and corrections, an introduction, and a new English-Maori vocabulary by W. L. Williams.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1892.  325 p.  [Bagnall W1317]

 

40.  Adams, Robert Noble.  The counterfeit seal: a tale of Otago’s first settlers.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1896.  298 p.[30]  [Bagnall A71]

 

41.  Reed, George McCullagh, 1832-1898.  The angel Isafrel: a story of prohibition in New Zealand.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1896.  100 p.  [Bagnall R307]

Fiction.

 

42.  Campbell, John Logan, 1817-1912.  Poenamo: sketches of the early days of New Zealand: romance and reality of antipodean life in the infancy of a new colony.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1898.  359 p.  [Bagnall C98]

 

43.  McKinney, Robert, 1826?-1905.  Some religious recollections of the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, K.C.B.: a lecture delivered in St. Columba’s Church, Mahurangi, on October 23rd., 1898.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1898.  16 p.  [Bagnall M426]

 

44.  Smallfield, Percy Scott, 1858-1952.  Notes on Thackeray’s Esmond.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1899.  35 p.  [Bagnall S938]

Notes on William Makepeace Thackeray’s History of Henry Esmond.

 

45.  Vaile, Samuel, 1828-1913.  Social problems.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1899.  94 p.  [Bagnall V58]

 

46.  Church of the Province of New Zealand.  He himene mo te karakia ki te Atua.  6^th edition.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1900.  154 p.  [Bagnall sC854a]

 

47.  Muir, James.  How to take the baths and drinking waters at Rotorua and Te Aroha.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1900.  40 p.  [Bagnall M2119]

Includes Splendid advice as to how to take Turkish baths properly (private baths at home), and, What hydropathy is by W.B. Hunter; and letter from R. J. Seddon on Turkish baths.

 

48.  Upton & Company, Auckland.  Views of Auckland, New Zealand.  Auckland, Upton & Co., ca. 1900.  18 p.

Another version with additional text under the captions published ca. 1902.  18 p.

 

49.  Smallfield, Percy Scott, 1858-1952.  Notes on Romola.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1901.  99 p.  [Bagnall S932]

Notes on George Eliot’s novel Romola.

 

50.  Leaves written, printed, read.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1903.  21 p.  [Bagnall L315]

Sermons.

 

51.  Innes, Joseph Langlands (ed.).  The Zealandia song book.  New edition.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1907.  3 v. (29, 33, 47 p.).  [Bagnall I122-I123, I125]

 

52.  Williams, Thomas Coldham, 1825-1912.  The no religion and the religions of humanity.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1908.  13 p.  [Bagnall W1301]

Running title:  Religion of humanity.

 

53.  Church of the Province of New Zealand. Diocese of Auckland.  The order of service for the consecration of the Ven. Owen Thomas Lloyd Crossley, Bishop Elect of the Diocese of Auckland, N.Z., in the Cathedral Church of S. Mary the Virgin on the Feast of S. Mark, evangelist and martyr, April 25, at 10.30 a.m. by the Most Rev. the Bishop of Christchurch and the Right Revs. the Bishop of Nelson, the Bishop of Waiapu and Bishop Williams.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1911.  12 p.

Caption title:  The form of consecrating a bishop.

 

54.  Richards, Isaac, 1859-1936.  The Church in danger: or, The General Synod and the Constitution.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1912.  63 p.  [Bagnall R580]

 

55.  Upton & Company, Auckland.  The Auckland guide and city street map: including many interesting tours and side trips: Rotorua, Waitomo, the goldfields, Te Aroha, West Coast, Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, Whangarei, Bay of Islands, etc., etc.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1913.  48 p.  [Bagnall A956]

Caption title:  Auckland guide.  Includes Street map of the city and suburbs of Auckland (1 folded map, 46 x 48 cm, scale 1:15,850).

 

56.  Upton & Company, Auckland.  Souvenir of Auckland.  Auckland, Upton & Co., ca. 1913.  38 p.  [Bagnall U146]

 

57.  Upton & Company, Auckland.  Street map of the city and suburbs of Auckland: compiled from the latest information.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1914?  1 map (43 x 46 cm, scale 1:15,840).  Re-issued in different sizes and scales.

 

58.  Upton & Company, Auckland.  Souvenir of Auckland.  Auckland, Upton & Co., 1925.  38 p.

Cover statement:  Visit of the American fleet, August 1925.  An unchanged reprint of the 1913 edition, but with new covers.

 

   

Author Index

 

 

Adams, Robert Noble     40

 

Beta, Alf A.     22

Bourke, E. M.     24

Burrows, Robert     32

 

Campbell, John Logan     42

Carleton, Hugh Francis     16

Church of the Province of New Zealand     46

Church of the Province of New Zealand. Diocese of Auckland     7,  53

Church of the Province of New Zealand. Diocese of Waiapu. Native Church Board     8

Congreve, George Thomas     30

Craig, Eric     37

 

Dobbie, Herbert Boucher     23

Dudley, Benjamin Thornton     4,  13

Dunlop, E. M.  see  Bourke, E. M.

 

Fairburn, Edwin     27,  34

 

George, Frances Shayle     17

Gray, Andrew     38

 

Hill, James     14

Hunter, W. B.     47

 

Innes, Joseph Langlands     51

 

Kidd, Robert Boyd     28

 

Mahon, Owen     36

Mason, Peter     3,  10,  18–19

Maunsell, Robert     2,  5

McKinney, Robert     43

Mohoao    see  Fairburn, Edwin

Muir, James     47

Murray, George William     35

 

Patteson, John Coleridge     6

Presbyterian Church of New Zealand     11

 

Reed, George McCullagh     41

Rees, William Lee     31

Richards, Isaac     54

 

Seddon, Richard John     47

Selwyn, John Richardson     15

Shortland, Edward     25–26

Smallfield, Percy Scott     44,  49

Speight, William James     33

 

Upton & Company     20,  29,  48,  55–58

 

Vaile, Samuel     45

 

Williams, Thomas Coldham     52

Williams, William     39

Williams, William Leonard     12,  39

Wilson, John Alexander     21