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Story: Shops

Ferguson and Osborn bookstore, Lambton Quay

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Ferguson and Osborn bookstore, Lambton Quay

The window display of this Wellington bookstore in the 1950s advertises Children’s Book Week, with animal, travel, adventure and school books on display. New Zealanders have traditionally read a lot of books, and selling books could earn a shopkeeper a comfortable living if they tapped into the public’s tastes.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Ferguson and Osborn Collection

Reference: PAColl-0501-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Shops – General stores, bookshops, tobacconists and jewellers, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21229/ferguson-and-osborn-bookstore-lambton-quay (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 6 April 2010, updated 19 February 2026.