| Brief Description |
A dark-stained oak two-sided bookcase has two shelves on each side. The bookcase has four legs attached to a single stem and each leg has ceramic castors. A reading stand can be folded away against the side of the bookcase. It has been purpose-built to hold a collection of encyclopaediae.
Each shelf holds volumes of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica"; shelf spaces are numbered 1-35 with a small white bakelite tag. There are 35 leather-bound volumes of the encyclopaedia, so it is a complete set.
The encyclopaedia set is a tenth edition, published in 1902. All volumes are bound in navy blue moulded leather with black heavy leather on the spine and corners. Title and details, including an ornamental design, are applied to the spine in gold leaf.
The bookcase and Encyclopaediae belonged to Fred Symes, the father of the donor. Symes was a banker in Whanganui and a prominent mason.
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