John Quilter, 2015                (Image source: stuff.co.nz)

John Quilter was a great bookman and a thoroughly good bloke. He died on the 19th of February, and his passing is a sad loss to many in the New Zealand book world and those interested in print culture and book history. His bookshops in Wellington were a quiet oasis for many locals and bookish folk passing through the city: his earlier Plimmer Steps premises – the earlier one on the left and then the more spacious rooms on the right – his famed Lambton Quay bookshop, and then the last on Ghuznee Street. After closing his physical shop in 2015, he traded online and enjoyed his excursions north to the Featherston book fairs.

Browsing the shelves in his bookshops was always a delight: you could discover that title you had always been looking for, spot tomes that would spark descents down rabbit-holes, or just casually flick through books and pamphlets. All the while, and even if you did not buy anything, John was extremely accommodating. I might add, the books and pamphlets for sale were always reasonably priced; not bank-breaking. Then there was the book-talk, which was often wide ranging, always interesting, even a little gossipy. John could regale on Irish authors, New Zealand’s Count Potocki de Montalk (always drawing a chuckle), Iris Murdoch, the scarcity of Robin Hyde titles, private press publications, the trade in general, and whether people were still reading and collecting. He supplied some great and long-lasting memories to many.

In March 2012, to celebrate World Book Day and the official launch of the University of Otago Centre for the Book, we were privileged to lure John down from Wellington. To a bumper crowd in the Dunningham Suite at the Dunedin Public Library he talked about his life with books, histories of the trade as he knew it, and his numerous bookselling adventures. His talk, illustrated with evocative black and white photographs of old bookshops, was very illuminating, demonstrating his deep knowledge that will be sadly missed. Wellington’s flags should be at half-mast.

(Thanks to Donald Kerr for this memorial.)

For some additional biographical background, see this Wellington Post story: https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350194568/wellington-loses-stalwart-second-hand-book-trade