Recently two sets of booklets, all neatly filed in their own green leatherette-covered folder, have been donated to the studio library.
The Web was a “Magazine registered art Post Office Headquarters, Wellington, in the 1980s and was issued once a quarter by the New Zealand Spinning, Weaving and Wool-crafts Society Inc. Founded by Eric Powdrell, its patron was Lady Beattie and it was run from Greymouth on the West Coast of Te Waipounamu/ the South Island. The two volumes that are now in the library run from 1982 to 1986 and the folders include an index of all articles appearing in The Web until the end of 1983 as well as correspondence and a few reports from the meetings of the editorial staff.
One of the latter is a typewritten series of quotes about why people liked The Web. The reasons range from enjoying the articles to loving the colour photography. A reader from Balclutha who sent a copy to England said that “it is proving a jot to all concerned” and a Canadian reader enjoyed “occasionally seeing names of people I met during my visit to N.Z. in 1980”. Two envelopes that are included with this ephemera betray a witty humour; they are addressed to “The Chief Spider” at the Web!
The range of articles in these booklets is wide. From Māori textile crafts to master spinners, Shetland Islanders who made their home in New Zealand to established artists such as Anne Field, extracts about fabric-making in 18th Century Africa from Mungo Park’s “Life and Travels in Africa in 1795-96” to New Zealand Balaclavas in the Himalayas… The magazines give a fascinating glimpse into the crafts of the 1980s in Aotearoa New Zealand, as you can see in the photographs below.
As always, the library is open to the public to use for research or simply to browse. The studio will be receiving more books shortly and readers can make an appointment to visit to use the resource by email.
(With sincere thanks to the donor, Wendy at Red Books in Greymouth Māwhera.)
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