Martin was born in Adelaide to Ernest Montgomerie Martin AMIEE. (1878–1956) and his wife Lorna Gledstanes Martin, née Jacob, (1889–1973), both associated with the Unitarian Christian Church of Wakefield Street. Ernest was a son of vigneron Henry Maydwell Martin and nephew of Anna Montgomerie Martin; Lorna lost two brothers in The Great War; a third was awarded the Military Medal for bravery and later hounded for his Communist sympathies. Educator Caroline Jacob (1861–1940) was a great-aunt.
In 1945 she founded the Mary Martin Book Shop on Grenfell Street, Adelaide.[1] In 1947 she asked Max Harris to become a partner in the shop, which by then had moved to Alma Chambers, 13 Commercial Place.[1] Harris agreed; he also made a news-sheet which he called Mary's Own Paper, although it contained his own opinions.[1] The shop expanded, and by 1955 it was located at 75 Rundle Street; by 1957 it was in a large part of the first floor of the Da Costa Building, Gawler Place.[1] In 1962 Mary decided to move to India for good, having previously visited there in 1952, 1957, and 1961.[1] Harris became the sole manager of the bookshop, and Mary sold her interests in the firm to him and Yvonne Harris.[1]
After living in Bombay for a time, Mary moved to Bangalore and established an Indian mail-order book business.[1] Her sister Florence managed the finances from Australia.[1] She also sold local arts and crafts to Community Aid Abroad.[1] She hired T. R. Kesavamurthy as a servant, training him to become the manager of her book business.[1] In 1965 she and Kesavamurthy moved to Kotagiri, where she hoped the climate would be good for her asthma.[1] There, in addition to her work with books, she volunteered with the Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association.[1] She was appointed the association's honorary treasurer, and wrote its Newsletter.[1]
A dispensary at Balwadi, India, was named after her, and a memorial fund to continue her welfare work was established in Adelaide, Australia.[1]
The Mary Martin chain was sold to Macmillans in the late 1970s.[3] As of 1998 there were four Mary Martin bookshops in Australia, and the Kesavamurthy family ran Mary Martin Booksellers from Coimbatore, India.[1] Mary Martin Booksellers continues now with their Head Office in Singapore.
Mary was also a foundation member of the South Australian branch of the Contemporary Art Society of Australia, and in 1939 won the Tormore prize for English Literature.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefghijklmnopqr"Biography - Mary Maydwell Martin - Australian Dictionary of Biography".
^Wilfrid Prest; Kerrie Round; Carol S. Fort (January 2001). Wakefield Companion to South Australian History. Wakefield Press*. p. 338. ISBN978-1-86254-558-8.
^Samela Harris (2012): A life of books – and Mary Martin's AdelaideNow, 2 September 2012. Accessed 5 February 2014.
Further readingedit
Julie Lewis, Mary Martin: A Double Life: Australia-India, 1915-1973, St. Lucia, Queensland : University of Queensland Press, 1979.
External linksedit
April 11, 2024
mary, maydwell, martin, july, 1915, january, 1973, australian, bookseller, founder, mary, martin, bookshop, contents, history, references, further, reading, external, linkshistory, editmartin, born, adelaide, ernest, montgomerie, martin, amiee, 1878, 1956, wif. Mary Maydwell Martin 20 July 1915 25 January 1973 was an Australian bookseller 1 2 founder of the Mary Martin Bookshop 1 Contents 1 History 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksHistory editMartin was born in Adelaide to Ernest Montgomerie Martin AMIEE 1878 1956 and his wife Lorna Gledstanes Martin nee Jacob 1889 1973 both associated with the Unitarian Christian Church of Wakefield Street Ernest was a son of vigneron Henry Maydwell Martin and nephew of Anna Montgomerie Martin Lorna lost two brothers in The Great War a third was awarded the Military Medal for bravery and later hounded for his Communist sympathies Educator Caroline Jacob 1861 1940 was a great aunt In 1945 she founded the Mary Martin Book Shop on Grenfell Street Adelaide 1 In 1947 she asked Max Harris to become a partner in the shop which by then had moved to Alma Chambers 13 Commercial Place 1 Harris agreed he also made a news sheet which he called Mary s Own Paper although it contained his own opinions 1 The shop expanded and by 1955 it was located at 75 Rundle Street by 1957 it was in a large part of the first floor of the Da Costa Building Gawler Place 1 In 1962 Mary decided to move to India for good having previously visited there in 1952 1957 and 1961 1 Harris became the sole manager of the bookshop and Mary sold her interests in the firm to him and Yvonne Harris 1 After living in Bombay for a time Mary moved to Bangalore and established an Indian mail order book business 1 Her sister Florence managed the finances from Australia 1 She also sold local arts and crafts to Community Aid Abroad 1 She hired T R Kesavamurthy as a servant training him to become the manager of her book business 1 In 1965 she and Kesavamurthy moved to Kotagiri where she hoped the climate would be good for her asthma 1 There in addition to her work with books she volunteered with the Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association 1 She was appointed the association s honorary treasurer and wrote its Newsletter 1 A dispensary at Balwadi India was named after her and a memorial fund to continue her welfare work was established in Adelaide Australia 1 The Mary Martin chain was sold to Macmillans in the late 1970s 3 As of 1998 there were four Mary Martin bookshops in Australia and the Kesavamurthy family ran Mary Martin Booksellers from Coimbatore India 1 Mary Martin Booksellers continues now with their Head Office in Singapore Mary was also a foundation member of the South Australian branch of the Contemporary Art Society of Australia and in 1939 won the Tormore prize for English Literature 1 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Biography Mary Maydwell Martin Australian Dictionary of Biography Wilfrid Prest Kerrie Round Carol S Fort January 2001 Wakefield Companion to South Australian History Wakefield Press p 338 ISBN 978 1 86254 558 8 Samela Harris 2012 A life of books and Mary Martin s AdelaideNow 2 September 2012 Accessed 5 February 2014 Further reading editJulie Lewis Mary Martin A Double Life Australia India 1915 1973 St Lucia Queensland University of Queensland Press 1979 External links editPhoto of Mary Martin with Max Harris Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mary Maydwell Martin amp oldid 1196468705, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
