Reference book
Warships at a Glance
Warships at a Glance is a reference book by John Frederick Thomas Jane. Sale of these books was prohibited on 17 November 1915 under the War Regulations Act 1914.
Description
About the work
Warships at a Glance is a reference book by John Frederick Thomas Jane. Sale of these books was prohibited on 17 November 1915 under the War Regulations Act 1914.
The surviving record is interesting because it shows how even ordinary-looking books can acquire a charged political afterlife. As a reference book, it can be read not only for subject matter but for the way form, tone, and circulation make a text feel dangerous, intimate, or politically usable to anxious officials.
It also matters as part of a wider censorship history in New Zealand. The present page is a dossier starter built from source-tracked ban records; the surviving note currently says: Sale of these books was prohibited on 17 November 1915 under the War Regulations Act 1914. More publication history, translations, and close reading can be added later.
Overview
Why it was banned
Warships at a Glance entered censorship debates as a reference book associated with controversy, publication history, and state scrutiny. In the current dossier, the main state objections cluster around political sensitivity.
The earliest event currently captured here is 1915 in New Zealand, where Minister of Defence classified, prohibited, or restricted. Sale of these books was prohibited on 17 November 1915 under the War Regulations Act 1914. Sale of these books was prohibited on 17 November 1915 under the War Regulations Act 1914.
This entry is still incomplete: more jurisdictions, court orders, and translated justifications should be added over time.
This page is intentionally incomplete. The ban history is a starter dataset, not a final census of every jurisdiction or decree.
Counter and critical readings
Context, rebuttals, and criticism
- 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature Nicholas J. Karolides, Margaret Bald, and Dawn B. Sova
A compact reference on how censorship systems moved across states, churches, and courts.
- Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. Anne Lyon Haight
Useful for comparing older obscenity, heresy, and political bans with modern free-speech disputes.
Ban history
Known government actions
| Date | Jurisdiction | Action | Reason | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | New Zealand | classified, prohibited, or restricted | Sale of these books was prohibited on 17 November 1915 under the War Regulations Act 1914. | Sale of these books was prohibited on 17 November 1915 under the War Regulations Act 1914. |
Sources
Harvested references for this page
- Wikipedia: List of books banned in New Zealand reference partial
- Wikipedia REST summary API database partial
- 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature book partial
- Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. book partial