Literature was brought to life for many local authors and members of the New Zealand Society of Authors yesterday when they were able to get a close look at some of the 100,000 literary treasures in the McNab New Zealand Collection and Reed Special Collections, at the Dunedin Public Library.
The collections hold many rare examples of writing which help to trace the written word as far back as the medieval period.
Dunedin Public Library rare books librarian Anthony Tedeschi explained some of the background to the literature and the techniques used to print and publish the books.
The collections also held a selection of original New Zealand publications, which evolved constantly to reflect the literary history and culture of New Zealand and the broader Pacific region, he said.
