Script & Print 38:4 (2014) 212–228 © 2014 BSANZ [ISSN 1834-9013]

Bookseller, Circulating Library Owner, Printer, Publisher, Agent, Raconteur, Freemason, Volunteer Soldier and Cricket

Enthusiast—John Varty’s Auckland Career, 1858–1868

Elizabeth Nichol

In his 1864 Auckland song, “Down at Fat McCready’s,” the songster Charles Thatcher included the lines, “The ladies cannot cross, / to get a book at Varty’s.”1 This study explores the nature of Varty’s and records the story of John Varty in 1860s Auckland. Resident in Auckland for only a decade, Varty made significant contributions to the literary and social life of the city as bookseller, circulating library owner, printer, publisher, agent, raconteur, freemason, volunteer soldier and cricket enthusiast. In all of these areas his achievements are noteworthy and have been touched on in a number of passing references.2 Varty’s story deserves a more focussed telling, and this article will examine the man’s Auckland life and work, concentrating on his activities as bookseller, circulating library owner, printer and publisher.

The twenty-six year old John Varty travelled to Auckland on the ship Evening Star, arriving on 21 December 1858. Hailing from London,3 his background is uncertain and it may only be fanciful to hope that he was connected to either the publisher and bookseller Thomas Varty of The Strand, London, or the printer Edward Varty, of Camomile St. Even on his journey out he demonstrated his love of language and literature, being involved in the production of a manuscript newssheet designed to give the passengers both entertainment and instruction. On arrival in Auckland Varty compiled and edited a single volume as a reminiscence of the voyage, and the resulting book was printed in 1859 by W. C. Wilson, at the New Zealander Office (the office of one of Auckland’s daily newspapers). Henry Brett, in his White Wings Vol. 24 praised the volume for its vivid picture of conditions faced by the early immigrants, noting that its humour was “rather elephantine according to the ideas of today” but also the “remarkable enthusiasm that was characteristic of the eager pioneers of those days”—a characteristic which certainly seems to have been true of John Varty.

Varty initially found work in Auckland with General Agents Bain, Grahame & Co. An advertisement appeared under his name for a new service for New Zealanders visiting England, namely the establishment of a “General Association for the Australian Colonies” at the premises of the Jerusalem Coffee, Cornhill,

1 Charles Thatcher, Auckland Songster (Auckland: J.Harris, 1864).2 See footnotes 4, 13, 16, 19, 33 and 34 for particular references.3 Varty’s antecedents are unknown. The 1851 UK Census does not mention an 18–19 year old John Varty living in London and no further information of his background has been able to be confirmed.4 Henry Brett, White Wings Vol. 2 (Auckland: Brett, 1928), 137–41.

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London where members could exchange information, obtain supplies, including newspapers, periodicals, reports of markets, and have the use of a poste restante. He further found employment as a sub-editor on the Southern Cross newspaper published by the firm of Creighton and Scales.

By 1860 Varty was ready to strike out on his own. Although arriving in Auckland with the relatively small amount of £150.00 to start his business, he obtained further backing from his father, and the local businessmen Mr Stannus Jones and Mr Morrin. A large notice in the Southern Cross on 19 October 1860 announced the opening on the following day of the new establishment of John Varty, Wholesale and Retail Manufacturing Stationer and Bookseller, Canada Buildings, Queen Street. The stock was to comprise of:

Commercial, Legal, General and Fancy Stationery; The best standard works and the newest publications in every department of literature; popular novelties in vocal and instrumental music, received by the last overland mail; fancy goods in great variety, together with a very superior collection of pianofortes.5

The advertisement also states that he is able to obtain any book or item advertised in English and other overseas papers, having established “a constant and rapid communication between this City and the Metropolis of the World.” In November 1860 he was licensed to sell postage stamps, and received two cases of Phillippe Larbalestier’s eau-de-cologne “peculiarly adapted for warm climates.” Fancy goods were always an integral part of the bookshop no doubt to increase the revenue opportunities and it must be remembered that other booksellers such as Chapman and Wayte were already established in the city with a population of barely ten thousand people.

An advertisement placed in the Southern Cross on 31 May, 1861 gives a well-defined picture of the range of stationery items held and services offered. Expected materials such as account books, address cards, blotting paper, ink, mourning stationery, sealing wax, sketch books and tissue paper are listed in the 105 items, with bank cheques, chessmen, cutlery and surveying instruments also available. Of particular interest are the services offered, some of which will be discussed later. These include: arms found, painted and engraved; copper plate printing; card plates engraved; letterpress printing; lithographic printing plans.

Varty made heavy use of newspaper advertising. Long and repeated advertisements bringing new stock to the attention of the readers appeared regularly, especially in the Daily Southern Cross. These create a colourful picture of the reading and entertainment material available to the Auckland populace, with music featuring prominently in Varty’s offerings. For example, on 16 May 1862 Varty’s advertisement featured the music from Julius Benedict’s opera The

5 Southern Cross, “Advertisements,” October 19, 1860, 2.

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Lily of Killarney, a work now no longer in the mainstream repertoire but popular at the time. Not only did Varty list the individual pieces available for purchase but he gave a short introduction in which he recounted the success of the work at its Covent Garden production only a few months earlier. He also listed the music just received on the ship the “Cashmere,” organised into types such as comic duets, waltzes, quadrilles, galops and pianoforte pieces, all the basis of dances and home entertainment. What is interesting is that the repertoire is almost entirely light, popular works and arrangements with little inclusion of what is now considered standard piano and voice repertoire.

Similarly, his importation and promotion of books for sale was characterised as being up-to-date. In June 1862 his advertisement of “the newest and most popular books of the day” included Distant Homes, or the Graham family in New Zealand, Hering’s Homeopathic Domestic Medicine, Carlisle’s Manual of Freemasonry and Hoyle’s Games.6 A selection of books from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge were included along with volumes of a number of periodicals including The Cornhill Magazine, St James Magazine, British Workman, All the year round, and Sunday at home. Advertised but yet to arrive were Eliot’s Mill on the Floss and Silas Marner, Thackeray’s Lovel the Widower, The Life of Sergeant Marjouram of the Royal Artillery for many years serving in New Zealand, Graham’s Diseases of Infancy and Childhood and, Murray’s Ship-Building.

Based on a later advertisement7 for “Varty’s Catalogue of the latest novelties in Literature” it is possible to extrapolate some information about the nature of the book stock he imported which showed an apparent weighting towards literary, followed by instructional then religious works.

Throughout 1862–1864 the frequent advertisements in the papers point to a successful business maintaining a high profile among the local population. He supplied stationery to local organisations and government agencies as evidenced in the accounts of the Auckland Horticultural Society for 18628 and statements of expenses reported to Parliament.9 Varty also addressed the market for contemporary material from New Zealand. He stocked and advertised the series of photographic prints by Beere, describing them as scenes of the “conflicts and struggles which have occurred during the present Maori rebellion,” and sold nautical charts to the entrance of the Waikato. Along with other booksellers he acted as a ticket agent for a variety of concerts and performances. A less common practice was his “Cupid’s Post Office,” whereby he arranged for the delivery of valentine cards throughout Auckland, Parnell, Remuera, Newton and

6 Daily Southern Cross. “Advertisements,” June 2, 1862, 3.7 Daily Southern Cross, July 21, 1864, 5.8 Auckland Horticultural Society, Rules and Schedule, 1862.9 Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1862 E12, 1865 E10.

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Freeman’s Bay.10 It is not clear whether this service applied to all valentine cards or just those purchased from his own shop.

Alongside his bookselling business Varty operated a circulating library. On 2 June 1862 he announced the opening of his Library “to supply a want which has long been felt in Auckland and its neighbourhood—that of an opportunity to become acquainted with the best works in HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY, the SCIENCES, TRAVEL, DISCOVERY, ADVENTURE and HIGH CLASS FICTION.” For a subscription of one guinea per annum (or seven shillings per quarter) subscribers could borrow one volume at a time from a collection which included many of the titles also offered for sale. The initial collection included such varied titles as Dickens’s Great Expectations, Trollope’s Framley Parsonage, Darwin’s Voyage of the Naturalist, Masson’s Life of Milton and Soapey Sponge’s Sporting Tour. By January 1863 the library had 700 volumes increasing to 1500 by June 1864, although a number of these were multiple copies of the same title. For example, three copies were held of each of Mrs Gaskell’s Sylvia’s Lovers, and Speke’s Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile.11 Regular updates to the stock were advertised (180 volumes being added in July 1864). By October 1864 the financial strain of running the library with its “capability for meeting the wants of all classes of the community, and the liberality which characterizes its management” was beginning to show. Mention was made of the significant outlay involved and exhorting greater public support.12 Quite what some of his liberal management of the collection entailed is not clear. However, a recall of items in February 1864 in order that “an entirely new classification may be made to facilitate the convenience of subscribers” and the lending of the whole sets of a novel printed in several parts are two operational details that are known.13 Varty was not alone in operating a circulating library in Auckland. As Northey has noted, the earliest circulating library in Auckland was Williamson’s in 1847 and Chapman and Wayte both operated libraries during the same period as Varty.14

As stated earlier, Varty’s business was not only as a retailer and circulating library but also a printer. As early as May 1861 he was advertising both letterpress and lithographic printing but it is his lithographic printing of which there is the most evidence. In November that year he installed a lithographic press to produce work in “black, tints, gold, silver, bronze or colours.” It appears he did not carry out the actual printing himself but employed “experienced workmen in each of

10 New Zealand Herald, “Advertisements,” February 13, 1864.11 New Zealand Herald, “Advertisements,” June 25, 1864, 3.12 New Zealand Herald, October 10, 1864, 5.13 New Zealand Herald, “Varty’s Circulating Library,” March 4, 1864, 5.14 Glenda Northey, “Accessible to All?: Libraries in the Auckland Provincial Area 1842–1919,” (MA diss., University of Auckland, 1998).

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the departments of this business.”15 By this it must be presumed that he meant artists as well as lithography press operators. One such workman was a William Wylie, a Scottish lithographer from Edinburgh who had arrived in Auckland in 1861. Wylie undertook work for Varty as well as being proprietor of the Ferry Hotel in Panmure.16 This may indicate that Varty employed his printing staff on an as-needed basis, or that the rates of pay were such that printers had to look for additional work. Wylie was a skilled lithographer who went on to work in both Wellington and Nelson and developed his own technique for printing music.17

According to Main, Varty produced some plans, bottle labels and the first Bank of Auckland notes.18 Testimony from a court case provides evidence that Varty was involved in some design work himself, in this case a lithograph of the Auckland Family Hotel.19 Again, financial strains were apparent. On 16 March 1863 (at this stage describing himself as “Bookseller, Stationer, Music Seller, Lithographic and Letter-press printer”) Varty wrote that “he will esteem it a favour if those of his patrons who are indebted to him will discharge their accounts as promptly as convenient.”20 A mere two months later he announced he had made “extensive additions to his lithographic plant and machinery” and advertised his capability to produce “mercantile lithography” of a type no other printer in Auckland could match. He also advertised a specialist form of lithography described as new to New Zealand, namely legal lithography, which could be used for briefs, reports and minutes of evidence.

Two examples of Varty’s printing intended for a wide audience were clearly attributed. Firstly there was a series of illustrations published as part of The Southern Monthly Magazine, and secondly through a number of maps and plans.

The Southern Monthly Magazine was the first illustrated magazine published in New Zealand and was produced from March 1863 until February 1866. Its stated aim was:

To supply a monthly publication which shall embrace all subjects interesting to the general reader; which may please the taste of those who read for amusement, and stimulate the appetite of those who desire information.

Few issues contained illustrations and of those four are by Varty, and one the work of George Pullman, an Auckland contemporary.

15 Daily Southern Cross, “Lithography,” May 6, 1863, 1.16 Personal correspondence between the author and a Wylie family member.17 Nelson Examiner, “News of the Day,” December 18, 1873, 3.18 G. M. Main, The Newspaper Press of Auckland, (Auckland: New Zealand Herald, 1891), 3.19 New Zealand Herald, July 9, 1867. District Court, 4. Although the case was being heard in 1867, it referred to actions from 1864.20 Daily Southern Cross, “Advertisements,” March 16, 1863, 2.

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The first illustration appears in the September 1863 issue (volume 1, number 7) and is titled “Koheroa / The Scene of the Engagement of the Seventeenth of July.” Johnston has concluded that this lithograph was printed “with a single buff-yellow tint, with the white highlights scraped out.”21 This was followed in the next issue by another Varty print, this time of Meremere. Johnston notes the third Varty print, The Bluff Stockade (December 1863, vol. 1, no. 10), was done in three stages: the black drawing, yellow-buff tint, then white highlights (Figure 1)22 and the final Varty illustration was included in the February 1864 issue and showed Ngaruawahia. Although this image does not bear the Varty imprint, the style is consistent with the earlier attributed prints.

Figure 1.The Bluff Stockade, from The Southern Monthly Magazine, December, 1863.131 x 215 mm. Reproduced by permission. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library.

The maps and plans printed by Varty were also widely circulated. The drawing of maps was often undertaken in the field, then transcribed for printing; on some occasions hand colouring was added. John Varty was one of several printers to print copies of the maps and is recorded as being the lithographer for some 11 maps, excluding cadastral plans that he printed for real estate auctions. His maps included copies of Heaphy sketches, areas in dispute in the land conflicts, as well as detailed hydrographic charts of the Waikato river in particular.

21 R. J. Johnston, “Colour Printing in the Uttermost Part of the Sea” (PhD diss., Victoria University of Wellington, 2002), 375. Accessed: http://hdl.handle.net/10063/758.22 Ibid., 375.

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A copy of a sketch by Ropoama Te One, showing the portions of the disputed land at Waitara, dates from 1861 and is the earliest surviving map produced by Varty. The following year he published a Heaphy map of the Coromandel. It was enthusiastically advertised as:

A map of the Coromandel, its harbour, and the adjacent country. Compiled by Mr. Charles Heaphy, Surveyor from the latest Government surveys; shewing the various Land Grants, Purchased Blocks, Townships, Roads, &c., with the Gold-field Boundary and the Various Diggings, indicating Quartz Reefs and shewing safe anchorage for either large or small vessels, will be published on Thursday next, the 9th of October, by John Varty, Lithographer, Canada Buildings, Queen-Street, Auckland. Beautifully executed in Lithography; size, thirty inches by twenty-two and a-half. Price: Plain, 7s 6d. Coloured, 10s 6d.23

Hand colouring of some copies of the maps seems to have been standard practice, as other maps also exist in both plain and coloured versions.24

Varty produced a further ten maps illustrating:

• the Waikato river from Whangamarino to Rangiriri showing soundings (plain and coloured);

• Waikato River anchorage (surveyed by John Boulton);

• Waitara;

• Map of the seat of war (plain and coloured);

• Tauranga district from the Kaimai ranges to the coast;

• Tribal boundaries in Auckland, Waikato and Coromandel areas;

• Waikato and Waihou districts;

• Waikato district from Pirongia to the Pukerua range showing proposed military defence districts;

• Sketch of the Maori fortifications at Rangiriri;

• Plan of Pekapeka block.

A number of these maps were included in reports published in the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives.

Over the same period Varty produced at least 12 cadastral plans for auctioneers. The first of these plans was also printed in 1861 and illustrated “116 choice building lots on the Ponsonby Road.” Again, some copies of these maps were coloured and some not. The place names of the various sub-divisions are a mixture

23 Daily Southern Cross, October 9, 1862, 3.24 R. J. Johnston, “Colour Printing,” see 159–60.

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Figure 2. Plan of 61 Valuable Allotments on the Waitemata, Western Suburbs of the City of Auckland. 810 x 560 mm. Reproduced by permission. Sir George Grey Special Collections,

Auckland Libraries, NZ Map 4495-44.

of the well-known (Ponsonby, Onehunga, Riverhead, Raglan, Newtown) and those that were relatively short-lived (Dedwood, Cotele, Northfleet) (Figure 2).

In 1861 Varty was very active establishing himself and his business within the Auckland community. Always a generous supporter of charitable activities, it is not surprising that one of his publications should have been part of the fundraising efforts for St Mary’s Church, Parnell. The small, 32-page letterpress book was the Handbook to The Ferns of New Zealand chiefly compiled from Dr. Hooker’s “Flora Novae Zealandiae.” It was prepared by Mrs Jones, wife of the Commissioner General, Mr Stanley Jones and was sold at the “Flower show & sale of ladies work to be held at Brookside, Hobson’s Park, Parnell, 24 January, 1861” for two shillings and sixpence.25

25 Southern Cross, January 18, 1861, 2.

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Figure 3. Varty’s Literary Circular. 310 x 220 mm. Reproduced by permission.Auckland War Memorial Museum Library, New Zealand Collection Serials.

Varty’s other publications were more unusual in character for the time and place. They were, in chronological order, a literary magazine entitled Varty’s Literary Circular, five pieces of locally composed music (the Southern Beauties Schottische, the Fairy Bells Polka Mazurka, the Waikato Waltz, the Light Brigade and the Harum Scarum Galop), and a periodical called Entertainment.26

Varty’s Literary Circular was launched in late 1860 as a vehicle both to discuss recent literary events and to advertise recent additions to his book stock. It is worth reproducing the full explanation Varty gave “of the general design and object” both for the information included but also to gauge something of the character of the man through his use of language.

26 Copies of the Handbook to the Ferns of New Zealand are held in a number of New Zealand libraries including the Alexander Turnbull, Auckland Libraries, Auckland War Memorial Museum Library, all of which also hold a selection of his maps. The Auckland War Memorial Museum Library holds the only known copies of issues of the Literary Circular and The Sir George Grey Special Collections of the Auckland Libraries holds some of the cartoons from Entertainment, with no known surviving copies of the complete issues. Of the music, the Waikato Waltz is held by Auckland Libraries and the Musical Heritage New Zealand Trust, the Harum Scarum Galop is in a private collection, a second edition of the Fairy Bells Polka Mazurka is in the collection of Ewelme, cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, and there are no known locations of the remaining two.

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The unexampled fertility of the Press in the present day is of itself calculated to cause bewilderment, and to veil in obscurity many a production deserving a better fate ; while the few brief intervals of leisure which men of business can rescue from the busy avocations of life, in many cases scarcely suffice to enable them to become acquainted with the general character of, and still less to make a judicious selection from, the variety of works offered to their choice—the countless advertisements again, while to a certain extent they enlighten, do also by their heterogeneous confusion often add to the complexity.

The regular publication of the LITERARY CIRCULAR at intervals of three months, is intended to repair in some measure these defects by placing before its readers ANNOUNCEMENTS OF WORKS IN THE PRESS—A CLASSIFIED LIST OF BOOKS which have been ordered by the Proprietor to form a portion of his General Stock—A LIST OF BOOKS AT PRESENT ON SALE, both of which Lists have been arranged Alphabetically under distinct subject headings to facilitate reference.

NOTICES OF NEW AND POPULAR MUSICAL PUBLICATIONS will be inserted as will any Musical on dits or information relating to the Science which may possess the charm of either novelty or utility, and the publisher has placed himself in communication with London Houses of high standing and respectability, who will not fail to supply him with the latest and most interesting records procurable. These together with a vivid and animated resume of the latest literary gossip, and indeed every information relating to Books, Music &c., which may be considered valuable or merely interesting will it is hoped render it useful, entertaining, and reliable repertory of LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

With much satisfaction Mr Varty would also refer to arrangements which he has now completed, enabling him to undertake the preservation and Scientific Classification of Birds, Fishes, and Reptiles—as also, of Botanical, Mineralogical and Geological Specimens—the correct copying, enlargement, or reduction of Maps, Pencil Drawings, Photographs, Water Colour and Oil Paintings, and the proper Mounting and Framing of Engravings, and other Artistical works.

From the fore-going it will be seen that the publisher seeks to afford the Public every possible information on all points connected with the several branches of his business, and that his constant endeavours are being devoted to secure for his patrons those many advantages which were enjoyed by them in the old country, and thereby to lessen in some degree the distance from it which in reality intervenes.

Unfortunately, despite his grand intentions, only three issues seem to have been produced: the initial issue in January 1861, a second in May 1861 and a third in March 1862. Of these only the third survives complete.

The issue is made up of 32 pages, printed in octavo with the four gatherings sewn together. Pages 1–5 contain Literary Intelligence—news of authors and events in the literary world. In the May 1861 issue there was a small item noting

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that Dickens’s new work Great Expectations was being published as a serial in All the Year Round. Varty commented that “the story is not likely to be one of Dickens’s worst, but we question whether a larger amount of popularity does not gather round the monthly instalments in green covers, with the excellent illustrations of Phiz.” By the March 1862 number his view had changed somewhat: “This story is beyond question as powerfully written, and as skilfully constructed as any of Mr. Charles Dickens’s previous productions in fiction, and it contains besides as many of those wonderful bits of word painting as many of those meteoric flashes of humour and unmistakable sketches of grotesque character as the most ardent believer in the old glories of Pickwick and Chuzzlewit could wish for.”

The May 1862 issue also contained a new feature, namely, a listing of New Zealand publications. As well as the book on ferns Varty himself published (discussed above), it listed a number of almanacs, essays, periodicals and Maori language books. This listing was followed by another of new works and new editions on sale, running to some eleven pages. The books “now on sale” are divided into the following categories: biography, history, voyages and travel, illustrated works, fiction, poetry, religious, medicine and surgery, botany and natural history, science and art, for boys and youths, juvenile works, miscellaneous, works of reference, educational, Bohn’s Library, cheap books for bush reading, then books from the ship “Avalanche” and those about to arrive on the “Chapman.”

Pages 16–20 comprise a catalogue of New Music. It is sub-divided into types such as quadrilles, polkas, waltzes, gallop, schottische, miscellaneous pianoforte music and vocal music before much smaller sections devoted to particular instruments. The list confirms the impression given by the newspaper advertisements discussed earlier that the imported repertoire was light, relatively simple, short works popular and fashionable at the time. Songs from Verdi’s opera Un Ballo in Maschera would only have been recently published as the work was premiered in London in June 1861.

Two features catch the eye: firstly the sheer quantity of the music available (over 700 works are listed); and secondly, one of the works included in the Schottische section. The Southern Cross Schottische was the work of a New Zealand composer, Charles Bonnington, resident in Christchurch at this date. Printed in Melbourne and advertised in Sydney, the appearance of the work in Varty’s list provides confirmation that some works were distributed to other New Zealand centres for sale.

The remaining pages of Varty’s Literary Circular are made up of advertisements, including ones for Varty’s own business. In promoting the periodical Varty claimed it to be “the cheapest and best advertising medium in the colony,” with 1800 free copies circulated by post throughout New Zealand.

Reception of Varty’s Literary Circular was positive. After the publication of the first issue the Southern Cross noted “We don’t know a better guide than this

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publication for anyone ordering a parcel of new books from England.”27 After the second, the newspaper was even more generous: “some of the short criticisms which it contains, giving a far better idea of the Work spoken of, than many larger and more laboured articles.” The writer goes on to comment on the general state of book supply to the colony: “We have been flooded with railway reprints and cheap editions of trashy tales to the exclusion of real literature. It is to be hoped that we shall soon find a great change for the better in this respect. Few men read trash when anything better is to be had, and the publication of the Circular of which we have been speaking will do much to assisting the public in selecting really good standard works.”28

Varty’s next publishing effort, in 1862, proved a significant landmark in New Zealand printing history. Varty published two pieces of music which, according to current research, represent the first examples of local music printing in conventional music notation. Earlier publication of music by composers resident in New Zealand was sent either to Australia or England for printing.

The context of these publications has been discussed elsewhere29 but in short, the British regimental bands stationed in Auckland provided much of the musical entertainment for the city during the early to late 1860s. Various bandmasters wrote works which were performed at band concerts and a small number were published.

Louis Werner, Bandmaster of the 14th Regiment, 2nd Battalion was the composer of the first works Varty published. The Southern Beauties Schottische, and The Fairy Bells Polka Mazurka were published on 26 April 1862 and dedicated to the Ladies of Auckland. The Daily Southern Cross commented “The manner in which these pieces of music have been published by Mr Varty reflects great credit upon that gentlemen’s taste, and gives proof of the resources of his lithographic establishment” and a second edition followed less than a month later on 22 May.30 Unfortunately there is no indication of the size of the print run, although it is unlikely to be large.

In March 1864, Varty published the Waikato Waltz (Figure 4), composed by the Bandmaster of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment, Eduard Bergmann. Again, a few months later (in July), a second edition was advertised, an indication perhaps that the initial print run was relatively small. On this occasion a non-musical feature of the publication was highlighted, namely, a “lithographic view of Ngaruawahia, on the Waikato.”

27 Southern Cross, “General Wynyard,” February 1, 1861, 3.28 Daily Southern Cross, “Literary,” June 4, 1862, 4.29 Elizabeth Nichol, “Music of the Regimental Bandmasters during the 1850s and 1860s and its Publication,” Crescendo, 84 (December 2009): 14–20.30 Daily Southern Cross, May 6, 1862, 3.

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Although not the same as the illustration included in the February 1864 issue of the Southern Monthly Magazine there is a marked similarly in both subject and technique. A contemporary notice commented “So far, however, as the printing or lithography is concerned we may say that the Waikato Waltz would be creditable to a London publisher.”31

Figure 4. E. Bergmann, The Waikato Waltz (Auckland: Varty, 1864). 365 x 260 mm.Reproduced by permission. Musical Heritage Foundation (NZ).

At the time of the second edition Varty (styling this part of his business as “Varty’s Musical Repository”) also advertised a fourth work. On this occasion the composer was W. Neuzerling, Bandmaster of the 68th Regiment, and the illustration on the front was a lithograph of “the good ship ‘Light Brigade’.”32 The New Zealand Herald reported:

the music is pretty and spirited, and the lithographing excellent and clear, and we have no doubt that the ‘Light Brigade Polka’ will prove a favourite with the votaries of music and dancing in Auckland. The execution of the whole piece reflects credit on the composer and the artist, and speaks favourably for the intellectual ability of

31 Daily Southern Cross, March 19, 1864, 4.32 New Zealand Herald, “Advertisements,” July 6, 1864, 6.

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our city. That it will become a popular selection we have no doubt, and Mr. Varty deserves encouragement in bringing out new music in Auckland.33

Varty’s music publishing output included a fifth piece. The Harum Scarum Galop was a popular piece by the Irish Bandmaster James Cassidy, and published in a number of editions in Britain and Australia. Varty printed his own edition and listed the work as being for sale (without identifying the edition). Seemingly not advertised as a local production and with the date of publication uncertain, the cover is simpler than the Waikato Waltz. There is no illustration but some bands of colour on the word “Galop” in the title, evidence that Varty was undertaking some colour printing in Auckland. It is interesting that Varty in this instance chose to re-publish a popular existing work rather than persisting with publishing original local compositions.

For whatever combinations of reasons, these appear to be the only music he was to publish with his attention soon drawn elsewhere. On 17 August that same year (1864) notice was given of Varty’s intent to publish a new weekly publication titled Entertainment. He sought “through the medium of entertainment to convey instruction” and its intended contents covered a very broad spectrum of writing, both fiction and non-fiction, and illustration. A variety of contributors were engaged, and the desire for a “oneness of design” indicated. Original contributions were sought and “the Publisher trusts by a judicious combination of light and amusing productions with more solid literature to prove that Wisdom and Mirth are not necessarily unmarriageable personages.”34 The New Zealand Herald wished Varty success with his venture, especially given previous unsuccessful attempts at similar ventures by other publishers. “Under the tact and wide popularity of Mr. Varty as publisher, and with the staff which we understand he has called to his aid, there is little doubt of the success of the weekly miscellany now announced under the suggestive title of ‘Entertainment.’”35

Unfortunately, the optimism of the writer was not matched by the harsh economic realities. By October Varty was placing a notice in the New Zealand Herald calling for advertisers. Despite a “guaranteed circulation of three thousand copies” throughout New Zealand Entertainment did not long survive. The only remaining fragments of the publication are a number of the cartoons which featured on the front covers, and which were clipped and pasted into a scrapbook. The book collector Henry Shaw came into the possession of the book and in 1921 wrote the following inscription:

In 1864 John Varty, Bookseller, Queen St, started the publication of a weekly journal to provide light and amusing reading for the Auckland public, entitled

33 New Zealand Herald, July 5, 1864, 4.34 New Zealand Herald, “Advertisements,” August 17, 1864, 2.35 New Zealand Herald, “A new periodical,” August 17, 1864, 3.

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‘Entertainment,’ price six pence per copy. On the front page of each issue appeared a cartoon of general interest and the literary get-up was good enough to deserve success but alas like all such ventures in those early days, it had but a very short life and the writer cannot find anyone now living, who even remembers the publication.

The light cartoons here preserved were cut from the issued number as they appeared and placed in a scrapbook, and so far as is known, they are all that survives of the publication.36

Eight cartoons remain, with subjects including the transfer of the capital from Auckland to Wellington and relations with Maori. (Figure 5)

Figure 5. Cartoon from Varty’s Entertainment (Auckland. Varty, 1864). 137 x 160 mm.Reproduced by permission. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 741.1 V32.

Despite this setback, by 1864 Varty seemed well entrenched in the business and society of Auckland. He was a popular raconteur at a number of charitable

36 Henry Shaw. Inscription. Cartoons from Varty’s Entertainment. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 741.1 V32.

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events with a penchant for “inimitable” readings mostly, but not exclusively, from Dickens. His involvement with local organisations included being on the committee of the Mechanic’s Institute and acting as Honorary Secretary for the Auckland Rifle Volunteers Band and “Rutland” company (as well as being an active member of the company). He had a particular enthusiasm for cricket (if not talent: he batted at number eleven and neither bowled nor took wickets) and was instrumental in establishing the United Cricket Club as well as arranging for the first Auckland versus Wellington match.37 Very active within freemasonry he has been described as being one of the “builders of the Lodge” (Ara Lodge No.348) reaching the rank of Worshipful Master.38

On 19 January 1865 Varty was arrested as a debtor at the suit of Creighton and Scales, owners of the Daily Southern Cross. The on-going case was, unusually, reported in great detail in the New Zealand Herald and went on for some months. Varty wrote an impassioned letter from prison, not only about the appalling conditions, but also at the impossibility of doing anything to repay his debts while incarcerated.39 He was released on bail after a court ruling on 9 February and after considerable examination of his books and explanations of his financial position, discharged from his insolvency on 30 March. The judge made a particular point of noting that Varty was not guilty of any fraud or attempted fraud.

But the damage had been done. While imprisoned, and in order to pay off his debts, Varty’s assets had been sold. His printing presses, both lithographic and copper-plate, were bought by W. C. Wilson of the New Zealand Herald Office. The lithographic press sold for £224 5s 4d against a new cost price of £410.40 On 2 February 1865 an auction was held of all his books, stationery and fancy goods, shop fittings and the lease on the building. While the amount raised was sufficient to pay off a number of his debts, it left him without his livelihood.

As a result of the auction, detailed documentation remains which would warrant further study outside the limitations of this paper. Preparatory to the auction the complete catalogue of the items to be auctioned was published in the New Zealand Herald.41 Comprising two and half pages of the newspaper it lists many of the books by title, and in some instances the numbers of copies. Thus we learn that Varty stocked sixty-one copies of the Maori Phrase-book for New Comers, nine copies of the History of France, and seven copies of Mozart’s Twelfth Mass. The inventory gives an unparalleled snapshot of the contents of a colonial

37 John Allnatt, Auckland Cricket 1841–1901, the Victorian Era (Auckland: J.Allnatt, 2008), 17–18.38 G. A. Gribben, History of the Ara Lodge (Auckland: 1909), 17.39 New Zealand Herald, “Imprisonment for debt,” February 8, 1865, 5.40 New Zealand Herald, “Insolvency Court,” March 30, 1865, 5.41 New Zealand Herald, “A catalogue of books, stationery, fancy articles, pianos, vases etc., to be sold by auction on Thursday, February 2, 1865 at Mr J. Varty’s, Queen-Street,” January 28, 1865, 3–5.

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bookshop in 1860s Auckland and closer study would no doubt reveal much about the reading and entertainment tastes of the community.

Varty’s indefatigable nature meant that he was soon actively seeking employment. In May 1865 he wrote to the Hon. F. A. Weld to see if any suitable work was available, “being … deprived of my position in this town by the unprincipled conduct of mercenary men.”42 Weld checked with the Secretary to Cabinet, W. Gisborne, about Varty’s suitability and on being re-assured that there had been no aspect of fraud in his insolvency replied to Varty stating that should a suitable vacancy occur he would recommend Varty’s being appointed. Thus, later in 1865, Varty was appointed as a Clerk to the Government Agent in Auckland. He continued in this position until October 1868 when he resigned. The Otago Daily Times in its section of news from Auckland noted unsympathetically “His salary was £200, which he did not deem sufficient for the work performed. Some folks do not know when they are well off.”43

Almost ten years exactly after he arrived in Auckland, John Varty set sail for Melbourne on the Hero for a new life in Australia. He was farewelled in style by the Freemasons, with a glowing tribute printed in full in the newspaper. The Auckland Cricket Club also recorded its regret at his departure. The financial bad luck (and/or naivety) which had beset him in Auckland followed him to Australia, and he died aged fifty on 22 August, 1882 in Adelaide leaving his wife and family “in extreme want.”44

John Varty may not have lived long in Auckland but his colourful period of residence tells a story of a young man, filled with enthusiasm, ideas and a love of books and printing who made a real contribution to the life of the city. His business acumen may have been somewhat lacking but by all accounts he was well-intentioned, well-disposed and well-regarded. His achievements deserve greater recognition: his music publishing alone warrants him a place in New Zealand’s book history. Through examining his various enterprises we learn much of bookselling, printing and publishing activities in the growing Auckland metropolis and the manifold undertakings early practitioners had to turn their hands to in order to survive.

University of Auckland

42 Archives New Zealand. Internal Affairs, ACGO 8333 IA1/264 General Inwards Correspondence, 1865/1164. Letter 3 May, 1865.43 Otago Daily Times, “Auckland,” October 28, 1868, 3.44 New Zealand Herald, September 19, 1882, 4. Varty’s death certificate records only his death from “Cerebral haemorrhage paralysis” his age (50), his address (Norwood) and his profession (accountant). His widow, Hannah, seems to have continued to live in Adelaide with their daughter, Sarah.

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