Page and Blackmore building

About

A historic image of the Widow's Life Fund Office. Nelson has many booksellers today including Page and Blackmore. They are a good example of mergers of bookshops being the result a merger of ABC bookshop and Pages bookshop started in 1910.

Image right: Widow's Fund Life Office, The Nelson Provincial Museum Tyree Studio Collection 180381/3

 

 

 

 

 

History

Many  mergers of bookshops have taken place over the years in Nelson ever since the first citizens of Nelson could buy books in 1842. The Trafalgar Street shop of H.D. Jackson is pictured right, he was listed in the 1860 edition of the Southern Provinces Almanack as a bookseller.  His business continued into the 1900s carried on by various family members.  He sold his Trafalgar shop to Jesse Hounsell who also selling books in Nelson from 1865.  Hounsell's business had many changes of owners after his death in 1907. For more information, see the PROW web page: http://www.theprow.org.nz/literary-nelson-books-and-newspapers/  for an interesting overview of the history of bookselling in Nelson.

Location

Page and Blackmore is located in Trafalgar Street between Hardy and Bridge Streets.

For more information

For more information on heritage walks and heritage sites please contact Arts and Heritage Team Leader.