The Australasian Book Society

Containers:

Box 140-141 (MS 4887)

Component identifier:

Subseries b

Content Summary:

The Australasian Book Society was formed in February 1952 at a meeting in Melbourne convened by George Seelaf, Victorian secretary of the Butchers' Union. Hardy, Seelaf and others had been engaged in printing Power without glory and Seelaf "suggested forming a book club to publish left and democratic novels to be distributed through the accidental but quite historic relations between writers and readers which the defence campaign (for Power without glory) had brought together. Something like this has been carried out under four managers - Bill Wannan, Ian Turner, Les Greenfield and Jack Beasley" (F. Hardy to The Bulletin 24 August 1963:33). In January 1960 the A.B.S headquarters moved to Sydney.

The papers contain a typescript copy of the minutes of meetings 1 February and 8 May 1952, notices of further meetings in 1952, minutes of a meeting of the NSW committee of the Society in April 1957 and minutes of meetings of the Board of management of A.B.S. in 1961; an incomplete set of circulars of the Society from 1961 until 1972; correspondence between Hardy and Greenfield in 1959 concerning finance, drafts of Hardy's article 'After ten years, A.B.S. roots deep amongst the people', drafts, typescripts and the amended version of his letter to The Bulletin requested by Peter Coleman; publications of the A.B.S. including news bulletins, c.1953, speakers' notes, Discussion group bulletin no. 1 (n.d.) Readers and writers, journal of the A.B.S. v. 1 no. 1, May 1953, December 1959, November 1963 and May 1964.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers of the writer Frank Hardy were purchased by the Library in seven consignments between 1975 and 1988.

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