Kazanda Copyright Application (1942?)

Epilogue and afterword

At the end of the second world war, the NSW Bookstall experiment with comics was over and publishing activity at the firm ceased. I've seen references to books from the 1950s, but the latest new book I've confirmed is John Moyes' Mighty Midgets (with a cover by Brodie Mack), published 1946.

Around the start of 1946, Paul Dowling gave a dire assessment of the state of the publishing industry, arguing for tarriff protection: "Due to the small population there is a limit to what successful production can be accomplished in Australia. War-time sales were abnormal and should not be taken as a criterion of post-war conditions.11Tarriff Board's Report on Publishing Industry, 1946, p.16 in Mills, Carol, The New South Wales Bookstall Company as a Publisher...  

Australian Comics for Australians [1943?] (1943?)

While some of the comics are generally dated up 1945, there are no dates on the comics and no detail on how those dates have been estimated. I've tried to draw conclusions from the data I have, but the results are inconsistent. It is possible the series had a more compressed timeline.

The two issues with relatively firm dates are Jimmy Rodney on Secret Service in late 194022Ryan, John in Panel by Panel (Stanmore, NSW: Cassell Australia, 1979), Page 161, and Patrick, Kevin Tony Rafty OAM...   and Kazanda the Wild-Girl and the Lost Continent prior to July 1942.33National Archives of Australia copyright registration documents, soda.naa.gov.au/record/771775/1....  

Based on advertising on the back cover of that issue of Kazanda, 16 Bookstall comics were available at that time, and Jimmy Rodney is not included on the list. One of the books included on that list, The Commandos, has a matching shorter list of 12 back issues, suggesting an earlier date. Overall, those advertisements point to an average of about one comic published month.

Obtainable at all Newsagents [NSW Bookstall] (1942)

If those advertisements suggest a publication order, Trapped would have been published between the two issues in early 1942, as it is in one advertisement and not the other. However, the advertisement on the back of Trapped has a more extensive list of 23 back issues (including itself, but not Jimmy Rodney).

The most likely conclusion is that NSW Bookstall kept the comics in print with updated back issue advertisements, like Classics Illustrated—or the earlier Bookstall Series of novels that delivered profits through low-priced high-volume sales, with any popular items reprint.

Based on this limited information, it looks like the comics extended only to 1944. At that time, comics from other Australia publishers flooded onto the market providing NSW Bookstall with an easier source of product for its shelves.

Australian Comics for Australians [1944?] (1944?)

Carol Mills reports "The Company lasted until 1957, latterly under the direction of Rowlandson's son, who did not demonstrate his father's flair for business, although by the time he was old enough to manage the firm its direction had changed under the managers appointed by the executors of Rowlandson's will."44Mills, Carol, 'An Australian "Dime Novel" Publisher' in Bulletin of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand 16 (1992)...  

Colin Rowlandson became a Director sometime before 1934.55Carol Mills reports Colin was a signatory on a contract as director around 1934. He was reported as Director at...   He became Managing Director when Paul Dowling retired in 1956. At the time of his death on 25 November 1957, he was described as Chairman and Managing Director of the company.

During the company's final 15 years, it remained a major bookseller, not a publisher. It is noted for providing subscriptions to overseas periodicals66For example, 'Family Notices' (8 March 1952). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842-1954), p. 40. Retrieved 22 September 2017, from...   and for its Bookstall Library, with a spacious reading lounge for subscribers, in the basement of its store at Market and Castlereagh Streets. This provided low-cost book loans, with extra books available for country members.77See, for example, 'Books That Are "News"' (10 August 1946). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842-1954), p. 8. Retrieved 20...  

Around the time of Rowlandson's death, NSW Bookstall ceased to exist.88In May 1958, the executors of the will (Permanent Trustee Company of New South Wales Limited, Hilda May Rowlandson and...   The company was put into into voluntary liquidation in 1958 and the final accounts were presented by W.J. Basden, Liquidator, on 5 September 1960.99'New South Wales Bookstall Co. Pty. Ltd. (in Liquidation)' (9 September 1960). Government Gazette of the State of New South...