The Dunedin City Library is providing such an opportunity, by presenting a new exhibition in the Reed Gallery, titled "Left vs Right: The Battle of the Book Clubs (1936-1951)".
The exhibition opened last night as part of celebrations marking International Workers’ Day.
Dunedin Public Libraries heritage collections librarian Donald Kerr said the exhibition recalled the publishing phenomenon that was the Left Book Club and the Right Book Club, in Britain, in the 1930s.
"The Left Book Club was established in 1936 by the publisher Victor Gollancz, and its membership peaked at 57,000 in 1939.
"Its aims centred around resistance to fascism, the prevention of war, and the promotion of socialism as a cure for poverty."
He said the Left Book Club was the first book club in the United Kingdom, and, over the club’s 12-year publishing history, it published 257 books and pamphlets — many of which were commissioned works by well-known writers such as George Orwell, Stephen Spender and John Strachey.
The Right Book Club was formed in June 1937 by Christina Foyle, daughter of the founder of Foyle’s Bookshop in London.
"It aimed to oppose socialism, communism and left-wing propaganda, and, as a rival to the Left Book Club, it published some 134 titles."
Mr Kerr said the two clubs spread internationally, including to New Zealand, where the first Left Book Club was established in Christchurch, in 1937.
"In 1939, the Left Book Club Association in New Zealand was officially formed, reaching a peak of about 1100 members, and eventually 26 groups were established around the country, including in Dunedin."
Dunedin Public Libraries was fortunate to hold the largest collection of Left and Right Book Clubs publications in Australasia, and this was the first time it had been placed on display, he said.
Only a handful of books were missing from the collection, and it was hoped the exhibition might prompt Dunedin residents to contact the library if they had copies in storage which could fill the gaps.
