Weeks, Limited, Horace J., Paper Merchants, Printers, Publishers, Engravers, Art Autographers, and Manufacturing Stationers, Crown Printing Office, 153 Manchester Street, Christchurch. Telepone 217. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. Mr. Weeks' flourishing business dates from 1886, when it was commenced in premises in Gloucester Street, and employed only three hands. Within the short period of two years business had progressed so rapidly that larger premises were secured at the corner of High and Manchester Streets. This building in its turn had to be enlarged later on in order to meet the growing requirements of the trade, and it was here that Mr. Weeks added the wholesale stationery department and imported papers and printing trade requisites. The business continued to expand in all departments until the staff of employees numbered about seventy. In 1897 the magnificent structure now occupied was erected specially for Mr. Weeks' fully developed business. It is designed and fitted up with every modern convenience for the trade, and acknowledged to be the finest building in the Colony solely devoted to the general printing trade. The features of the business are striking and unique, and its excellent manufactures in cardboard and leather-board boxes for all trades, tea-packets, cartoons for manufacturing chemists, cordial-makers, and confectioners are special lines sent to all parts of the Colony, and for which Mr. Weeks holds machinery with sole rights. The general lines of the work turned out are:—General printing, newspaper and book publishing, lithography, engraving, photo-engraving, book-binding, account-book making, cardboard, leatherboard, and box manufacturing; also, paperbags, tea-packets, and stationery of all descriptions. The photo-engraving department is second to none in the Colony, while the artistic show-cards turned out have commanded orders from the four leading cities of New Zealand. The handsome premises now occupied are built of brick, and are five stories in height; they were designed by Messrs. Collins and Harman, the wellknown architects, and built by Messrs. D. Scott and Son, in 1898. The ground floor in Manchester Street consists of a large double-fronted shop with plate-glass windows; the offices are on either side of the entrance into the wholesale and retail sale-room. Behind these is the machine-room, which has six printing machines, some of them being of the very latest kind. The entire plant is driven by one of Tangye's best gas-engines, and electric light is run by a Stockport gas-engine. The first floor is used for job-printing and lithographic work, each branch being thoroughly complete. The box-making department is on the second floor, the machinery including Stevenson's patent metal edging box-making machines, whose patent rights Mr. Weeks holds. It may be stated that Stevenson's page 340 patent boxes have the largest sale of anything of the kind in the world. On the third floor is the paper-bag manufacturing department, which contains a most wonderful machine capable of making complete 150 paper-bags per minute. The bags made on this machine are suitable for confectioners, grocers, drapers, seedsmen, Ironmongers, etc., etc. On this floor also is a very extensive bookbinding and paper-ruling department, with some of the most modern machinery. There is a separate room on this floor for the lithographic artists' department. On the fourth floor is the photo-engraving department which, also, has all the most modern appliances available for the production of high-class work. On the fifth floor are the photographic studios fitted up with electric light, so that process-blocks can be made at any time. One studio is specially arranged for the three-colour photography, the most complete in the colony. Below the ground floor there is a commodious cellar used for the storage of bales and rases of paper. The whole of the floors of the establishment are connected by a lift driven by the engine. There is a separate employees' entrance, which is completely partitioned off from the various floors, and there are complete fire-escapes with communication from every floor to the ground. Mr. Weeks gained a first-class certificate for printing and engraving at the Canterbury Industrial Exhibition held in the year 1896, and he is the printer and publisher of the Cyclopedia of New Zealand, the largest and most complete commercial, historical, social, and descriptive work ever produced in the Colony. It comprises six separate volumes of from 1000 to 1500 illustrated pages each, besides many interim parts in book form circulated amongst subscribers throughout the whole of New Zealand. Mr. Weeks gained his early experience in the printing trade in Auckland, where he was a fellow-worker for some time with Mr. Henry Brett, proprietor of the Auckland “Star,” on the staff of the “New Zealand” Herald.” In the early days of the Thames goldfields, when things were booming, Mr. Weeks was tempted to go there, and in 1875 he went into business in conjunction with another gentleman. Later, Mr. Weeks was induced to settle in Canterbury. Since this article was originally published, Mr. Weeks has converted his business into a Limited Company, but he still controls it as Managing Director. The business continues to expand, especially in the bookbinding and process-engraving branches, and the staff has increased to over 100 hands. The Company has established for itself a reputation for fine art designing and printing, particularly in the process, half-tone and three-colour work, and the most beautiful Coronation cards issued in June, 1902, came from its establishment. E. Cramp and Co.'s business page 341 has been taken over, and ticket-writing for all trades is carried on, under a capable manager, at Mr. Cramp's former premises, 160 Tuam Street, Christchurch.