Whitcombe and Tombs

Whitcombe and Tombs was a book publisher, stationery manufacturer, and retail bookseller in New Zealand. It began in 1882 in Cashel Street, Christchurch, as a partnership between a teacher of French who had become a bookseller, George Hawkes Whitcombe, and printer George Tombs.

In 1883 the company was among the first registered under the Companies Act 1882. It had market dominance for several decades. Thousands of schoolchildren were taught with the aid of Whitcombe's Progressive Primers.

The Whitcombe and Tombs fire in Princes Street, Dunedin, was a major event (producing numerous bargains at the subsequent Fire Sale).

Disrespectful New Zealanders occasionally used a Spoonerism of the company name.

In the 1980s the company was merged with Dunedin-based firm Coulls Somerville Wilkie to become Whitcoulls, and has since been sold several times. It now operates as a retail chain only.

External links

• Potted biography of the founder's son Bertie Whitcombe (http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=3W9)
• Harry Tombs, OBE (http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=4T22)

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