Articles in the 2002 issue, which had a focus on early (pre-1801) printed books, included:
A tribute to J. R. (Reg) Tye (1915-2001), former Committee member and President of The Friends. A specialist in 19th century periodical literature, Dr Tye was a former staff member of the English Department at Victoria University of Wellington.
Reading Machiavelli; Writing Cromwell. An analysis of the significance of draft verses by 17th century English poet Edmund Waller about Oliver Cromwell. The manuscript is in a Turnbull copy of Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ published in 1580.
Eleanor Davies, 1590-1652: Professional Woman of Letters. Material in the Turnbull and Huntington (California) Libraries provides insights into the works of an eccentric English prophetic writer who commented on the events of her times.
Some Seventeenth-Century French Prints. The Turnbull Library holds a volume of magnificent French engravings from 1685 that commemorate the achievements of Louis XIV.
The Construction of National Storehouses of Knowledge in Post-War New Zealand. How a new direction in writing history contributed to the development of universities, and library and archives resources.
A Mysterious Pamphlet. New Zealand’s first Attorney General William Swainson is shown to be the author of a an anonymously published spoof set in 1870s Auckland.
The Life and Opinions of Jack Lovelock. A previously unnoticed chapter in a 1935 book and other evidence shed light on Lovelock’s personal philosophy of sport, indicating the great runner was not the neurotic figure some writers have suggested.