Manuscript archive, richly illustrated, relating to a major Pacific collection of ethnographic art, including important items from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania
A small archive of manuscripts comprising: (1) a detailed illustrated South Seas catalogue on six large wove paper bifolia, 292 x 384 mm., in pencil, folded in half; (2) a similarly-sized illustrated but less-annotated South American catalogue on eight large wove paper bifolia, 301 x 404 mm., in pencil, folded in half; (3) a simple catalogue handlist on seven large sheets of wove paper, 360 x 230 mm., completed in ink with some pencil corrections, the sheets folded in half on the vertical axis; (4) a numbered catalogue of South Seas artefacts on two bifolia 312 x 400 mm., central fold; (5) some working papers, including one sheet numbered in pencil, 304 x 210 mm.; a 5-pp. handlist in pencil on two bifolia, 285 x 197 mm.; and a 2-pp. list in pencil, 315 x 205 mm., almost entirely struck through. An exceptional and valuable archive of manuscripts relating to one of the most historically significant Pacific, American and Australian ethnographic collections, including countless fine illustrations which are destined to provide a baseline for research into this treasure trove of southern hemisphere art. The manuscripts are the work of Maximilien-René "Max" Radiguet (1816-1899), the private secretary of Admiral Dupetit-Thouars during the famous voyage of the Reine Blanche in 1842, and now considered one of the pioneers among French artists of the South Seas (Fayaud). A keen observer and ethnographer, his pictures have long been recognised as among the most significant visual records of the Pacific, especially regarding the Marquesas and Tahiti. He was also, as becomes clear from this archive, a passionate enthusiast and probably collector too, an interest that he shared with many of the officers with whom he associated, and which in his case could have been inspired by Dupetit-Thouars himself, who is known to have collected widely, with items now known in Boulogne-sur-mer and the Quai Branly in Paris (Carreau). Dating from around 1850, the archive includes two fully-annotated handlists, clearly the earliest attempt to bring a semblance of order to a very large ethnographic collection, and two fuller illustrated catalogues which rely on Radiguet's artistic skill to show the curated version of the collection in remarkable detail. What these papers show, it can now be proved, is the precious outlines of the beginnings of a major mid-nineteenth century voyage collection that became known as the Musée Ginoux in Nice. Perhaps 150 of the items in the Ginoux collection as described here are now in the Musée des Explorations du Monde in Cannes: not only will these newly discovered manuscripts therefore provide an insight into this major repository of early Pacific history and art, but they may also provide a key to unlock the history of hundreds more artefacts of the greatest significance, including a core group from early Australia. No fewer than 18 significant Australian items each receive an unusually full description, with several, despite the relatively early date, deriving from Victoria. The fullest description relates to two boomerangs -- Radiguet was clearly very interested in such an "arme extraordinaire de la Nouvelle Hollande" (nos. 118 & 119) - but he was also intrigued by what was evidently a woomera (he calls it a "raquette") and the spear which it propelled (nos. 108 & 109). Among the various shields, axes and necklaces there is also the very surprising inclusion of a bark canoe from Tasmania. Ginoux and his collection Radiguet seems to have become the de facto curator of this collection associated with a major figure in French Polynesia, his friend Edmond de Ginoux de la Coche (1811-1870) and, through him, the voyage artist Adèle de Dombasle (1819-1901). Although Frédéric de la Grandville, who wrote the essential work on Ginoux (Edmond de Ginoux, ethnologue en Polynésie française dans les années 1840, 2001), did not discover how the two met, Radiguet's connection with Ginoux may have dated from their meeting in either the Marquesas or Tahiti, or from when they were moving in similar government and South Seas circles in Paris later in the 1840s. Ginoux's subsequently created museum is thought to have ultimately included some 500 items, notably two with a known provenance which are specifically mentioned in Radiguet's manuscripts: a necklace presented to Ginoux's travelling companion Dombasle by a High Priestess in Nuku Hiva and a decorated coconut shell which had been the personal gift of Queen Pomaré in Tahiti. Indeed, while it would be beyond the scale of this note to completely identify the ways in which the various early lists relate precisely to a manuscript catalogue prepared by Ginoux in the 1860s (see Grandville), there is constant mention of similar items throughout: the skull of a Marquesan man taken in combat; an 'Akaoutua,' a club decorated with the beard of an old man; a curious and extremely rare Marquesan taboo object in the form of a T; and so on. However, it is the connection between Radiguet's larger illustrated catalogues and Ginoux's later papers which is definitive. Sometime around 1866 Ginoux wrote a manuscript catalogue of his collection which got as far as item no. 337 before it stopped abruptly, presumably because of the massive stroke he suffered in that year (Grandville, p. 29). The illustrated manuscripts by Radiguet match this catalogue exactly. The Australian items, for example, are numbered in the precise order in both (see Grandville, pp. 119, 124-127, 239-240, 315-316). Indeed, it is interesting to note that the tone of Radiguet's manuscript is slightly more thoughtful than Ginoux's later commentary. At one point, for example, Radiguet ridicules the supposed "stupidity" of the Australian Aborigines, when they are capable of making such fascinating weapons as the boomerang and the woomera; in Ginoux's later catalogue, this is far more equivocal ("malgré leur stupidité native"). Importantly, this also means that any of the identified items numbered beyond 33
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Quinti Horatii Flacci Poemata, scholiis et argumentis ab Henr. Stephano illustrata [and] Iunii Iuvenalis et Auli Persii Flacci Satyrae: iam recens recognitae, simul ac adnotatiunculis, quae brevis Commentarii vice esse possint, illustravit
Small octavo, dark brown calf, very cracked and worn but solid in its binding; front endpaper replaced at some time; original printed paper label chipped. Markedly scarce publication of Henri Estienne's edition of Horace's poetical works, with the addition of the Satires of Juvenal and Persius, printed by Melchisedec Bradwood for John Norton. The same printer and publisher had combined to produce an edition of the same combination of texts in 1602, which seems to have purported to be a Paris publication of 1549 (see STC 13787a.5 & 13788), the false imprint somewhat absurd since Henri Estienne's edition did not appear in print until 1575 when his brother Robert published it. The original owner of the book, Samuel (or Samuell) Watts was evidently a student given the amount of scribbling on the rear endpapers and the ink parsing notes and scansions in the first 70 pages of the Odes. Only two copies are recorded in STC, at University Library Cambridge and the Free Library of Philadelphia; OCLC adds a copy at the Bavarian State Library. . Provenance: Samuell Watts (with his inscription "his booke" on title-page and extensive notes and scribbling on rear endpapers including multiple signatures). A Voyage Round the World. Containing an Account of Captain Dampier’s Expedition into the South-Seas in the ship St. George, in the years 1703 and 1704. Together with the author’s voyage from Amapalla on the west-coast of Mexico, to East India
Octavo, with five folding maps and ten engraved plates; old half calf, spine panelled between raised bands, double labels, marbled sides and endpapers. First edition of Funnell's voyage narrative, an essential component of the Dampier voyage canon, later incorporated into Dampier's collected voyages. At the time of publication, however, it incensed Dampier so much that he published his single-sheet refutation, A Vindication. Funnell joined Dampier's third privateering expedition as mate of the St. George which sailed for the Canary Islands, Brazil and the South Seas in April 1703. It was during this voyage that Alexander Selkirk, the prototype of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, was marooned on Juan Fernandez. The St. George was joined by the Cinque Ports and both ships started looting on the South American coast in January 1704. Funnell's account is highly critical of Dampier, and charges him with being routinely drunk, using foul and abusive language, oppressing his crew, and cowardice. The antagonism between the two men was exacerbated when they took the Spanish galleon Asuncion as a prize. With limited time available, Dampier ordered the food stores moved to the St. George and forbade Funnell to search the Asuncion for hidden gold. Ultimately both the St. George and Cinque Ports were declared unseaworthy and abandoned in late 1704. The expedition split, with Funnell and other disgruntled sailors taking a small Spanish prize to Amboina in the Dutch East Indies, where the ship was impounded by the Dutch. Funnell, together with the remaining crew, was embarked on the next Dutch fleet for Europe. Dampier returned to Peru and thence the Indies where he was also temporarily imprisoned by the Dutch. As a result, Funnell completed the circumnavigation (albeit by relay), and returned to England well before his captain. Dampier's own publisher Knapton rushed Funnell's narrative quickly into print. Burney criticises the mercenary motives of Knapton in publishing what was essentially 'A fourth volume. which contains not a word of Dampier's writing; but much that he disapproved'. Whilst Dampier's temper has long been questioned, surely Burney's summation of this publication is apt: it 'could not have fallen into worse hands than those of Funnell. Besides being extremely ignorant, he was void of regard or respect for veracity'. . Provenance: From the library of the late Dr. Robert Edwards AO. Travels in the Morea
Three volumes, octavo, with a large folding map, 17 engraved maps and plans, and 12 lithographed plates of inscriptions; a fine set in mid-nineteenth-century polished crimson calf, spines ornately panelled in gilt between raised bands, double labels, marbled endpapers and edges. First edition. Leake was one of the first Western scholars to systematically explore and document the Peloponnese after the end of Ottoman rule in Greece. His meticulous recording of his travels encompasses topographical features, archaeological sites, historical monuments, and local customs, and forms a valuable resource for understanding the history and geography of the Peloponnese, even today. His work laid the foundation for much subsequent research. 'A fascinating work, full of interesting detail, as are all Leake's works. Particular attention is paid to Mycenae and Tiryns, and the plates include plans of both, as well as the beehive tomb at Mycenae.' (Blackmer). . Provenance: Stewart Dawson, by gift to Henry Hallam Parr (inscribed "from his friend Stewart Dawson. On his leaving Eton. Easter 1863"); later signature of G.A.G. Young. Two short tears to folds of the large map, otherwise excellent. Gezigten uit Neêrlands iut Indië, naar de natuur geteekend enbeschreven
Small folio, engraved title and 50 lithographed plates by P. Lauters, accompanying letterpress; a fine and complete copy in handsome contemporary green half morocco. An exquisitely-produced view book of the ports and peoples of the Dutch East Indies. Van de Velde's remarkably handsome book, produced at the famous lithographic workshop of Frans Buffa & Sons in Amsterdam, is a benchmark in the development of such works. The superb plates, with captions in Dutch and French, share much in common with other early mid-century works of voyages, especially those produced on the continent - one is reminded of the views associated with the near-contemporary account of the second Dumont d'Urville circumnavigation, by artists including Sainson, for example. They were lithographed by the master Paulus Lauters (1806-1876), who had earlier worked with Goubau in Brussels and been appointed to the Royal School for Engraving in that city in 1836. His earlier work on Bénoit's Voyage à Surinam used more traditional engraved plates, but lithography was considered to be his true métier. The book is the magnum opus of Charles William Meredith Van de Velde (1818-1898), who took the original sketches while still a very young junior officer in the Dutch Navy, having travelled to the East Indies to take up a position at the topographical office at Jakarta. He remained in the region for over a decade before returning to Europe for his health, and later made a tour of the Holy Lands, publishing his Narrative of a Journey through Syria and Palestine (1854) and a renowned 'Map of the Holy Land' in London. For such a young artist, the views in the present book are remarkably accomplished. Some of the earliest date from his time on the Triton - a Dutch corvette which had earlier claimed part of New Guinea - and show the great set-pieces of his voyage to the region, including passage of the Sunda Strait, views in Java and the roadstead of Batavia, the sky bristling with the masts of a whole host of European and local ships. The plates relating to this major port are some of the most detailed and interesting of any published in this era, when Dutch power and influence was waning but still paramount. Many of the more interesting of the plates relate to Van de Velde's journeys overland, not least because he was adept at figuring the local customs and landscape. Most significant is his record of a journey he took with the Resident at Bantam, including his description of their ascent of the crater of Pulu-Sari, the accompanying text recording that they travelled to the very mouth of the lava flow, cheerfully oblivious to the urgent warnings of their Javanese guides (plate 16). Although almost half of the book is devoted to places in Java, Van de Velde travelled widely, notably making two important early views in Timor, a major series on the Moluccas and Celebes, as well as Borneo, Bintang and Padang. Copies are genuinely scarce, with the only firmly recorded copy in Australia being that originally owned by David Scott Mitchell himself. Undated on the title-page, the work is said to have been completed by 1845 (or perhaps 1846), and is known to have been issued in 12 instalments, each with either four or five plates and the accompanying text: a reviewer in 1844 noted that about half had then been published. . A major manuscript discussion of the possibilities for a future French penal colony in the Pacific, echoing the perceived success of the Botany Bay experiment
35 pp. autograph manuscript in ink, loose sheets of wove paper measuring 227 x 180 mm, numbered at top left, together with an additional 22 pp. in the same hand, being a working draft of the major manuscript; both corrected throughout in ink and pencil; modern quarter calf bookform box. A major unpublished Pacific manuscript, perhaps the most detailed analysis and most passionate argument for establishing a French penal colony in the Pacific of any of the early French voyager-writers, especially significant as it was written by the private secretary of the great circumnavigator Dupetit-Thouars, one of the mainstays of French ambitions in the entire region. A half century and more after the first stages of the Botany Bay experiment, the British vision still tantalisingly in front of the French, Radiguet presents one of the most thoughtful analyses of the prospects for what he calls "a free Botany Bay". Maximilien-René "Max" Radiguet (1816-1899) had sailed to the region with Dupetit-Thouars on the Reine Blanche, and had been present not only at the annexation of the Marquesas, but also at the more politically charged claiming of Tahiti in 1842. Following his return to France he became a recognised expert on the Pacific, notably with his book Les Derniers Sauvages (1860), but also with the long series of essays that appeared in the contemporary journals, and from his work in helping to curate a major collection of Polynesian and Pacific Rim artefacts that ranged from California to New South Wales (see following catalogue item). The archive includes Radiguet's manuscript, amounting to some 15,000 words, and a collection of drafts and notes amounting to almost as many words again: these draft notes are often quite different in structure and emphasis, proving that Radiguet laboured over this work, correcting and amplifying his argument, adjusting his emphasis and expanding his project. The essay proper is a major study of its kind, divided into two parts, beginning with a detailed history of the French in the Pacific and of the different colonial projects he had witnessed, then concluding with an extraordinary appeal for the administration to return to what he considered the only sensible location for any such colonial project, one which would capitalise on their now firm footing in Tahiti and the Society Islands. Radiguet cites in detail two great examples for the likely success of such a project: firstly, the hope that the French can seize the opportunity to transform the islands into a "free Botany Bay" ('de transformer l'archipel Tahitien en un Botany-Bay libre,' p. 24) and secondly, given that his plan involves resettling both French convicts and Tahitian volunteers, the remarkable example of Pitcairn Island and the Bounty mutineers, and the sort of 'colonie Anglo-Tahitienne' that they had created (p. 31). Far from being a vague appeal, he presents a considered thesis based on his own eyewitness reportage, with an emphasis - especially notable for its time - on the need to stop the ongoing destruction of the islander people whom he had come to respect. "Our civilisation does not transform savage societies," he writes at one point, "it annihilates them." ("Notre civilisation ne métamorphose pas les sociétés sauvages, elle les anéantit.") Unlike many of his compatriots Radiguet consistently tries to delve into the other side of the argument: the beliefs and the reactions of the Pacific islanders. Not many writers in the 1850s could open their piece with a long story of a 'grand orateur' from Tahiti, Maré, explaining aspects of their penal code and their belief that any community could be corrupted by its impure sediment, just as any pure liquid will have its lees. Fewer still would know anything of the internal politics of the region, let alone the specifics of banishment in their laws: Radiguet believes that the ideal situation would be to graft the new colony he proposes into the Tahitian polity by specifically using the island of Meheti'a, situated midway between Tahiti and the Tuamotos, as a base. This would help Pomaré support the project because it was the traditional place of banishment for the Tahitians ('le lieu de déportation des Tahitiens,' p. 34). The internal evidence of Radiguet's essay suggests that it was written around 1850, a critical juncture just after the ill-fated Alcmené had been sent out to New Caledonia but before news of the wreck of the ship had been heard in France. It also therefore predates the French Guiana plan of 1852 (now famous as the setting of Papillon). It was written, that is, at the very moment when the French government was finally putting into concrete action a plan they had been vaguely considering for decades. Especially considering the fact that Radiguet worked with the Ministry in Paris for the second half of the 1840s, the manuscript can now be recognised as a major addition to the debate that was being canvassed in the writings of key figures such as Duperrey, Rocquemaurel and Dumont d'Urville. The manuscript is therefore a major contribution in the wide-ranging French debate of mid-century regarding prisons, transportation and penal colonies. French interest in establishng a penal colony The appeal of establishing a penal colony in the southern hemisphere was keenly studied by the French, in part because of their ongoing incredulity at the apparent successes of the English. The officers on the Baudin voyage, chiefly François Péron, reported on this aspect of New South Wales around the turn of the century, as did both Louis de Freycinet and Jacques Arago a few years later. By the time of the circumnavigation of Louis Isidore Duperrey (1822â"1825) one of the explicit orders was to find an acceptable location in Australia for founding just such a colony (John Dunmore, From Venus to Antarctica, p. 31). Even more, Duperrey's successor Dumont d'Urville, during his own first major voyage (1826â"1829), took the question of transportation very serio Manuscript financial agreement signed by Ann Christian, the mother of Fletcher Christian, and her cousin John Christian (later Christian-Curwen), being an obligation bond in the sum of £800
Manuscript in ink, folio, written on one side of a leaf, verso blank, conjugate leaf with docket-title on verso; originally folded; blind and wax seals; signed and dated by two witnesses, An important and rare original document offering a significant insight into the early life of Fletcher Christian, who would lead the famous mutiny on the Bounty and with his fellow mutineers would settle on remote Pitcairn Island, where some of their descendants still live today. Fletcher's father, a barrister, had died in 1768 when Fletcher was four years old. His mother, Ann, was profligate with money, and this document bears testimony to the huge loans she took on, leading to debts in excess of £6500 -- at least a hundred times that today -- by 1779, just three years after this document was drawn up. The family home listed on this document, at Moorland Close, Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth in Cumbria, was lost and Ann, together with her three children, fled to the Isle of Man where English creditors had no standing. From the evidence of this document, Ann's creditors included members of her own family. Her cousin John Christian, the lender on this document, later changed his name to John Christian-Curwen by adding his mother's maiden name, perhaps to avoid the ignominy associated with the surname of Christian following news of the Bounty mutiny. At the time of this document, Fletcher Christian was twelve years old, and was attending Cockermouth Free School, where one of his school mates was William Wordsworth. The family debts and consequent impoverished lifestyle doubtless played a crucial part in Fletcher's decision to go to sea, and to his ultimate encounter with the fate which has made his name famous throughout history. . Provenance: From the library of the late Dr. Robert Edwards AO. Clean tears to all folds but otherwise in good condition. A Chart of New South Wales, or the East Coast of New Holland discover’d and explored by Lieutenant J. Cook, Commander of His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour, in the year MDCCLXX
Engraved map, 345 x 774 mm, expertly mounted and framed. This finely engraved chart of the east coast of Australia is the earliest published charting of the coast of New South Wales. This area was first charted by James Cook on the Endeavour and was one of the most memorable passages of Cook's first voyage to Australia and the Pacific. This expedition was an initiative by the Royal Navy and the Royal Society to the South Pacific Ocean aboard HMS Endeavour, from 1768 to 1771. Detailed are the tracks and anchorages of the Endeavour as the expedition sailed north along the eastern seaboard in 1770. The chart depicts the route from Port Hicks in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, and includes Botany Bay, Port Jackson, Port Stephens, Hervey Bay as the expediton travels to the Endeavour Straits and Cape York. North Queensland was a difficult passage for the Endeavour, as the ship ran aground on a shoal near the Hope Isles and required numerous repairs at Endeavour River, present day Cooktown. The expedition's naturalists, Joseph Banks, Herman Spöring and Daniel Solander, using the delay as an opportunity to collect exotic Australian flora. Although neither Banks nor Solander published their botanical findings, the two naturalists returned to England with a vast wealth of new discoveries. Delineated is the exact spot of the reef where the ship went aground, as well as "Endeavour River, where we beached the ship". The ongoing route to Cape York, including the passage through Providential Channel, is marked. The expedition re-entered known waters near New Guinea in late August, 1770. During the last part of the voyage, the expedition visited Batavia, Java and at the Cape of Good Hope and Africa, returning to England in July, 1771. The Endeavour arrived on the east coast in April, 1770 after six months in New Zealand where the first cartographic survey was completed. It sailed northwards along the east coast in search of a harbour in which to take on supplies. In late April it anchored at a place Cook later called Botany Bay. During the first landing two men, armed with spears and stones, tried to stop the British coming ashore. After a stand-off lasting ten or fifteen minutes the British fired muskets loaded with small shot, wounding one of the men in the leg. The Endeavour stayed a week at the bay, during which no direct contact was made with the Gweagal people, although both groups observed each other from a distance. (British Library). This first chart of New South Wales was prepared for James Hawkesworth's, Account. from the original manuscript map done by James Cook held in the British Library. The name, New South Wales came from Cook's journal, it is recorded that as the land looked like the south coast of Wales he named it New Wales then, changed the name in his journal to New South Wales. This engraved map is by William Whitchurch, (1748-1794) a London engraver and printer who worked on several charts from the voyages of James Cook. . With full margins and in very good condition. The Orient Liner “Austral” sunk in Sydney Harbour’ [pencil title to verso]
Albumen silver print, 150 x 200mm, pencil description to reverse of the image. Remarkable photo showing the S.S. Austral after it foundered in Sydney Harbour while coaling off Kirribilli in November 1882. The striking scene shows the vessel sunk past the gunwales and listing heavily to starboard, the masts and funnels depicted starkly against the fog and calm sea. Around the wreck various smaller boats are in attendance; the perspective of the image looks south-east past Fort Denison towards Clark Island and Double Bay. The wreck provoked astonishment and curiosity among Sydney-siders, becoming a popular tourist attraction for the ferries of the harbour for some three months. A piece in the Sydney Morning Herald pondered the strangeness of a ship wrecking in such sheltered conditions, commenting that the 'Austral has not even the excuse of the sudden gust, she sank as by some evil influence, how far assisted by man's neglect remains to be shown.' The Austral was ultimately refloated, returned to Scotland for refitting, made two transatlantic journeys (Liverpool to New York) and resumed service on the Orient Line Australia route in 1884. Although the present image appears to be unrecorded, it is similar to a photograph held by the National Library taken by Sydney photographer John Paine. Kent-born Paine, who won awards at the Sydney and Calcutta International Exhibitions, was a well established commercial and private photographer at the time working out of a studio in Waterloo. . A minor tear to lower margin, but very good.- $436
- $436
A Visit to the Indian Archipelago, in H.M. Ship Maeander. With Portions of the Private Journal of Sir James Brooke.
Two volumes, octavo, with eight fine tinted lithograph plates (printed by Day & Son); folding chart in a rear pocket; in an excellent modern half calf binding. A fine set of this splendid book, with eight superb plates lithographed by Hawkins after Oswald Brierley. Henry Keppel had first served in the Malacca Straits in the early 1840s during the campaign against the Borneo pirates. During that time he formed a close friendship with Sir James Brooke, who had been appointed rajah of Sarawak in perpetuity by the sultan of Brunei. In 1847 Keppel returned to the region as captain of the frigate Maeander which was to convey Brooke to Labuan, an island off Borneo. 'At Brooke's suggestion, Labuan was ceded to Great Britain in 1846 by the Sultan of Brunei; it was made a crown colony, and Brooke was named governor. Keppel's book treats of the voyage to Labuan, incidents there, piracy in the South China Sea, and gives a description of Manila' (Hill). On the homeward journey the Maeander called in at Port Essington, Cape York, Sydney, Hobart and Norfolk Island. Keppel's accounts of these ports-of-call are both entertaining and readable. He reports at length on the work of Captain Owen Stanley of the Rattlesnake - who died in Sydney whilst Keppel was on an inland tour with Governor FitzRoy. By coincidence the fine plates which illustrate Keppel's account are by the distinguished marine artist Oswald Brierley, who joined the Maeander after having served as artist on board the Rattlesnake. In an uncharacteristic slip by Ferguson he did not record Keppel's book despite its considerable Australian importance, while Abbey's description of an earlier 1852 edition was in error. . A very good set; folding end pocket chart repaired.
Signed letter of thanks to Admiral François Etienne de Rosily-Mesros, Director-general of the Dépôt de la Marine
Folio, 320 x 205 mm, manuscript in ink on first page of a bifolium, the other 3 pp blank; (accompanied by an earlier note by Rosily). Formal letter from the Napoleonic minister Fontanes, thanking Admiral Rosily, head of the Dépôt de la Marine, for having presented him with "l'Atlas du Voyage du Capitaine Baudin aux terres australes". This refers to the hydrographical atlas of the 1800-1804 Baudin voyage to Australia, with its accompanying text, the work of Louis and Henri de Freycinet, publication of which was formally completed in 1815. Since this letter is dated 26 December 1814 it must be acknowledging an early pre-publication presentation. The rarest part of the official account of the Baudin voyage, the hydrographical section of the voyage with its glorious Atlas was the first full atlas of the Australian coastline. Not only was it the distinguished rival of Flinders' more famous (because English) Atlas but it also substantially preceded the English work's appearance. The text volume that accompanied it was not merely a compendium of technical data but above all a pilot to the Australian coast, together with a considerable narrative component. Henri de Freycinet specifically referred to this aspect in an address he made to the Société de Rochefort when he spoke of it as "le routier ou guide de la navigation aux terres australes". Jean-Pierre Louis de Fontanes (1757-1821) was the first "Grand-maître" of the "Université impériale", Napoleon's high-minded creation of 1808 which would eventually become the ministry of education. François Etienne de Rosily-Mesros (1748-1832), who had sailed on both of Kerguelen's "Terra Australis" expeditions in search of a southern land, was in command of the Dépôt de la Marine from 1808 to 1827. In this role among many responsibilities he was in charge of cartographical publications: hence the presentation of the Baudin Atlas to a member of the Napoleonic elite. The letter is accompanied by a 3-line autograph note by Rosily from early in his career, dated Brest 1778, apparently noting someone suitable to work the ship's mainsheet ("l'ecoute de grande voille"), signed by Rosily and counter-signed as "vu" by "fraboulet" (the Breton naval careerist Joseph Marie Fraboulet de Kerléadec, 1737-1786, lieutenant de vaisseau). .- $1,915
- $1,915
Australian Lepidoptera and their Transformations. Drawn from the life by Harriet and Helena Scott; with descriptions, general and systematic, by A.W. Scott
Five folio parts, 21 hand-coloured lithographed plates, all with the colophon "Allan & Wigley, Printers, Sydney", descriptive letterpress, original wrappers; preserved in a custom built folding cloth case. A beautiful Australian natural history production, scarce complete, by two pioneering Australian women artists. Harriet and Helena Scott were the foremost natural science painters in New South Wales from 1850 until 1900; Rose Docker of the Australian Museum cites them as "true artists and naturalists of note". Through prodigious talent, the two sisters became highly skilled artists, natural history illustrators and specimen collectors, all largely otherwise a male domain in 19th-century Australia. This set comprises the second edition but first Sydney printing of the nine-plate first part, of which only 100 copies had been prepared in London in 1864, (with the 1899 reprint of the title-page only), and the first printing of the remaining parts. --- With the guidance of their Hunter Valley neighbour, S.T. Gill, the sisters also became accomplished lithographers. All bar 6 of the lithographic stones were prepared by Harriet or Helena, (signed "from Nature and on stone"), Gill completing one, and Edmund Thomas the balance. Both the sisters were educated by their father, Alexander William Scott, first in Sydney and later on their father's estate, Ash Island. A visiting Ludwig Leichhardt had observed in 1842 ".it is a remarkably fine place, not only to enjoy the beauty of nature, a broad shining river, a luxuriant vegetation, a tasteful comfortable cottage with a plantation of orange trees, but to collect a great number of plants which I had never seen before.Climbing Polypodium, the Aerostichum growing on the trees, a great number of creepers, the nettle Tree, the Caper, the native Olive and many others". Alexander Scott published the first volume of Australian Lepidoptera in London in 1864. It contained nine plates after original drawings by his daughters, and was issued in an edition of 100 copies only (of which 25 were sold in Australia). Some years after his death in 1883, Harriet and Helena at some personal cost instigated the completion of their father's cherished project, and the remaining parts were published by the Australian Museum in Sydney between 1890-1893. Given the scarcity of the first part, the Museum reissued it with a reprint of the 1864 title page (this section was published in 1899 and bears that date on the title page). The second volume contains plates numbered 10 to 21; Harriet and Helena prepared the lithographs which were then printed in Sydney. The plates for Australian Lepidoptera were then sent to be hand coloured in England, using original artworks by the sisters as a guide. --- Collation of the parts: Vol. I. Title-page [London, 1864, but 1899. Apart from the four prelims the text and hand-coloured plates are the same as those of the 1864 edition], 30 pp., index [i-iv], plates 1-9 in series (with descriptive letterpress). Vol. II. Part I. Sydney, F. W. White, April 30, 1890, Illustrated title-wrappers, 11 pp., plates 10-12 (with descriptive letterpress); Vol. II. Part II. Sydney, F. W. White, February 28, 1891, Illustrated title-wrappers, pp.11-18, plates 13-15 in series, (with descriptive letterpress). Vol. II. Part III. Sydney, F. W. White, November 30, 1891, Illustrated title-wrappers, pp.19-26, plates 16-18 in series, (with descriptive letterpress). Vol. II. Part IV. Sydney, F. W. White, May 31, 1893, Title-wrappers, pp.27-36, plates 19-21 in series, (with descriptive letterpress). .- $4,367
- $4,367
The Tower Menagerie: Comprising the Natural History of the Animals Contained in that Establishment; with Anecdotes of their Characters and History.illustrated.
Octavo, with 107 wood-engravings; finely bound in contemporary red morocco gilt decorated, edges fully gilt, early inked manuscript note on endpaper. First edition. The menagerie in the Tower of London had been established in the mid-thirteenth century at which time it housed a white bear which bathed and fished in the River Thames. The fortunes of the zoo waxed and waned until 1822 when the new director, Alfred Cops, arrived to find no more than 'one grizzly bear, an elephant and one or two birds'. Within six years of his appointment, he had revitalised the collection and this description of some sixty species was completed each of which was drawn from life by William Harvey, friend and favourite pupil of Thomas Bewick, the fine English engraver (as borne out in the inked manuscript note of a previous owner). The collection boasted kangaroos, "yellow" crested cockatoos and emus, all of which are depicted and described in some detail. It is remarkable to think that by this date the exotic fauna of Australia - so recently discovered - was available locally: "The Emeus, like the Kanguroos, have become to a certain extant naturalised in the Royal Park at Windsor, where they breed without difficulty and with no extraordinary precautions. The pair in the Tower were obtained from this establishment, where they were bred". . A fine copy in a most attractive contemporary binding.- $1,512
- $1,512
The Adventurer
HAWKESWORTH, John, Editor 140 original numbers bound into two volumes, small folio; library bookplates with release stamps, small stamps on title-pages; in contemporary tree calf, spines gilt in compartments between raised bands with ornate double labels; Cook's editor's influential literary periodical: the first edition, in an elegant contemporary binding. It was because of the prolific literary skills and the versatile pen exhibited in works like The Adventurer that Hawkesworth was appointed to compile the official account of the voyages, based on the journals kept by Captain James Cook and others, selling the copyright to Strahan and Cadell for the then immense sum of £6000. This is a rare complete set, in excellent condition, of this creation which was intended as a successor to Johnson's Rambler, for which he had been a major contributor; although here Hawkesworth was not only the editor and major contributor, but also the creator. He was assisted in his effort by Joseph Warton and Richard Bathurst, as well as by Dr Johnson himself, who contributed twenty-nine essays, most of which are signed "T.". Other contributors included Bonnell Thornton, Warton, Hester Mulso, George Coleman, and possibly Elizabeth Carter. It is also particularly interesting as a source of what little biographical information on Hawkesworth exists for, as John L. Abbott has shown, many of the pieces (particularly numbers 12 through 14 on "Opsinous") are strictly autobiographical in substance (John L. Abbott, 'John Hawkesworth,' Eighteenth-Century Studies, Spring 1970, p. 340). In its day, The Adventurer had a considerable success and was for example distinctly more popular than The Rambler, largely because Hawkesworth gave his audience the mixture of topics it wanted: 'an astute editor, Hawkesworth saw the folly of forcing too much criticism on a public among whom the tinsel of a burletta had more admirers than the gold of Shakespeare.' (Graham). The Adventurer is also still seen as a particularly useful text for its critical articles by Johnson as well as by Warton, who contributed twenty-four essays, ten of which 'contain notable criticism'. He reviewed Pope, 'wrote three papers on the Odyssey, two on the Tempest, one on Jewish poetry, one on Paradise Lost, one on the fragments of Menander, and two on King Lear. He thus helped to give The Adventurer a critical volume in excess of either The Spectator or The Rambler.' (Graham). This beautiful set comprises the first printings of the complete run of the 140 numbers of The Adventurer, published twice a week from 7 November 1752 until 9 March 1754. Bound up from the original numbers, it includes the corrected state of numbers 58, 84, and 137. . Most of the imprints at the end of each number trimmed away or cropped (as often: the imprints appear very low on the page), but with decent margins throughout, signature clipped from upper corners of flyleaves; extremities rubbed, joints partly cracked but sound, generally in excellent, crisp condition.- $1,624
- $1,624
Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 and of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858
HIND, Henry Youle Two volumes, octavo, with three coloured maps (two folding), four coloured plans, a coloured chart, 20 "chromoxylograph" plates, and numerous woodcuts; complete with half-titles; in a fine contemporary binding by Bickers and Sons, London, of full pale calf, sides bordered in gilt, spines gilt in compartments between raised bands with double labels, marbled endpapers and edges. First edition of the outstanding narrative by Professor Hind of his investigations of the country between Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains, during a government-funded exploration seeking a land corridor to the British Columbia goldfields and looking at the possibility of a railroad to reach the Pacific coast. "During this exploration, Mr. Hind lived almost constantly among the Crees and Chippeways, whose habits and peculiarities he was most eager to study, and prompt to record. Everything in their life had not only the charm of novelty to him, but as a man of science, he was anxious to observe all the facts which may prove stepping-stones in tracing their origin and their history" (Field). The striking suite of twenty chromoxylographic plates are based partly on sketches by John Fleming, assistant surveyor and draughtsman, and partly on the notably early photographs taken by Humphrey Lloyd Hime, photographer to the expedition. . Provenance: C. James Cotes (with florid inscription by Henry Foljambe dated 1865 presenting the books to him on leaving Eton); David Steedman (bookseller in Newcastle upon Tyne, with his distinctive collational and descriptive notes in pencil on flyleaf).- $1,860
- $1,860
Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia, performed Under the Authority of Her Majesty’s Government, during the years 1844, 5, and 6. Together with a notice of the Province of South Australia, in 1847
STURT, Charles Two volumes, octavo, with folding map and fifteen plates including six chromolithographs (some after S.T. Gill and John Gould); bound without publisher's advertisements; a very handsome set in contemporary red half morocco and marbled boards and edges. The famous original account of Sturt's last expedition, to Coopers Creek and the Simpson Desert. Sturt's journey into the harsh interior of the continent was one for which he had petitioned over many years. One of its most important results was the final, reluctant abandonment of the old hopes for the discovery of an inland sea. Sturt and his party of fifteen suffered dreadfully. They were trapped at Preservation Creek in the Grey Range for nearly six oppressive months after summer heat dried up all water in the surrounding country. The party suffered greatly from scurvy, losing its second-in-command; Sturt himself survived on the return journey by using Aboriginal food sources. He received the rarely awarded gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society. The four fine chromolithographic plates are after natural history studies by John Gould and Henry Constantine Richter. . Provenance: Florid gift inscription in each volume dated 1869; Lionel Gilbert (historian, d.2015, with bookplate and stamp).- $3,721
- $3,721
Journael, ofte dach-register vande Voyagie, . Naer de Oost-Indien, in den Iaren 1601 1602 ende 1603. Vervattende de vermaerde zee-slagh, met zijn 5 schepen gedaen voor Bantam.
HARMENSZ, Wolfert Oblong folio, 28 pp.; in simple modern wrappers. First edition of one of the first Dutch voyages across the Indian Ocean, published as one of the separate pieces that were also combined to make up Commelin's voyage collection Begin ende Voortgangh. This is one of remarkably few printed references to the Duyfken, the tiny ship of huge importance to Australian history. Harmensz was in joint command of the third major voyage by the Dutch to the East-Indies, the so-called Moluccan Fleet of 1601-1603 which set out to establish a new Dutch presence in the East Indies. The five ships reached Bantam, Java, at the end of 1601 where they were confronted by a substantial Portuguese fleet of thirty ships under the command of Andrea Fortade de Mendoça. Harmensz's conquest of the Portuguese fleet marked a turning point in the history of the region, bringing to a close the domination of the Portuguese and Spanish in the Spice Trade to Europe. Of special interest to us today is that one of the five ships of Harmensz's fleet was the Duyfken, then under the command of Willem Cornelisz Schouten. This was her first voyage; returning to Europe in 1603, she was quickly turned round and came back to the East Indies in the fleet of van der Hagen with Willem Janszoon as skipper. She was sent separately to the southeast, and early in 1606, sailing alone, she coasted Cape York Peninsula, making the first authenticated sighting of Australia by Europeans, as well as the first authenticated landing of Europeans on Australian soil. In 1607, she may have made a second voyage east to Australia. The famous replica of the ship, launched in 1999, is now permanently in the collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum. .- $5,074
- $5,074
The Connoisseur by Mr Town, Critic, and Censor-General
[CONNOISSEUR] [COLMAN, George and Bonnell THORNTON] 140 original numbers bound into two volumes, small folio, with woodcut decorations; corner of first title-page renewed with two letters supplied in ink, most of the imprints at the end of each number trimmed away or cropped (as normal: the imprints appear very low on the page), but with decent margins throughout, small rectangle cut from upper corner of flyleaves (presumably to remove signature); library bookplates with release stamps, small stamps on title-pages; generally in excellent, crisp condition in contemporary tree calf, spines gilt in compartments between raised bands with ornate double labels; First edition, bound from the original numbers of this scarce periodical, in very good original condition. The Connoisseur in its first edition is rare on the market in any kind of condition or binding: only three copies have appeared at auction in the last twenty-five years. This attractive set in original bindings contains the first printings of the complete run of the 140 numbers of the periodical, issued weekly on Thursdays from 31 January 1754 until 30 September 1756. The periodical was conducted and largely written by the dramatists and noted wits George Colman and Bonnell Thornton in the guise of "Mr. Town, Critic and Censor-General". Each number contained a single essay intended to entertain by examining the vices and follies of London society. William Cowper, who contributed five papers, was probably the most celebrated contributor, and other numbers were supplied by John Earl of Cork & Orrery, Thomas Warton, John Duncombe, Robert Lloyd, and Orator Henley. Johnson found the Connoisseur 'wanting in matter', and Graham explains that if the journal 'was often poor in style and lacking in substance', these faults 'may fairly be attributed to the inexperience of its authors (Colman was twenty-two and Thornton thirty) and their youthful predilection to satire.'. . Extremities rubbed, joints partly cracked but sound.- $1,624
- $1,624
The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido for the suppression of piracy: with extracts from the Journal of James Brooke, Esq. of Sarawak.
KEPPEL, Captain Henry Two volumes, octavo, with 11 fine tinted lithographs (printed by Day & Haghe), a folding table and six folding maps; original blue-green cloth. First edition: one of the best accounts of Borneo, partly in the form of a memoir of James Brooke who had been appointed rajah of Sarawak by the Sultan of Brunei. The Royal Navy officer Henry Keppel, later Admiral of the Fleet, was in the Malacca Straits in the early 1840s, acting against the Borneo pirates who had the area under their control; he gives a geographical overview of Borneo, and a good description of the Dyaks, the aboriginal Bornean tribes. As commanding officer of the corvette HMS Dido on the East Indies and China Station he was deployed in operations during the Opium War and was sent to the Straits in the 1843-44 campaign to suppress piracy. Keppel Harbour, a stretch of water at the southern tip of Singapore, was named for him after he cleared the straits of pirates. There were several editions of his book, which was popular. This is an excellent example of an early issue of the first edition, with the publisher's advertisements at the end of volume II dated December 1845. . Provenance: Bain (Bookseller, Haymarket, London; with printed ticket); early owner's signature on title-pages (? J.H. Gordon). Very slight fading to covers but an excellent copy.- $1,488
- $1,488
Rural Residences, consisting of a series of designs for cottages, decorated cottages, small villas, and other ornamental buildings.
PAPWORTH, John Buonarotti Imperial octavo, frontispiece and 26 aquatint plates, all handcoloured; nineteenth century purple half calf. In this beautifully illustrated book George Papworth (1775-1847) intended to demonstrate that even a modest cottage could be raised to a high aesthetic plane with the application of the principles of proportion and form. James Broadbent in The Australian Colonial House has traced the influence of Papworth's designs on grander Colonial works: for a palatial house Macarthur was to have built at Pyrmont, as well as some of the features of the prestigious Newington at Silverwater. This is a good copy of the first edition of Papworth's exquisite book on picturesque cottage design. Papworth, leading architect, landscaper and interior designer of his day, popularised the rustic cottages ornés through this work and in Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions &c. . Joints slightly rubbed but in generally fine condition.- $3,687
- $3,687
Flindersland and Sturtland; or, The Inside and Outside of Australia
JESSOP, William R.H. Two volumes, octavo; in a fine contemporary binding of salmon-pink calf, spines ornately gilt in compartments between rasied bands, double labels, marbled endpapers and edges, by Zaehnsdorf with his stamp. Jessop gives an account of an adventurous tourist's travels in Australia in the late 1850s and early 1860s ('A detailed description of the South Eastern part of Australia, including station properties, social conditions, travel, aborigines, etc.' according to Ferguson). Importantly Jessup records (vol. 2, pp. 233-50) meeting two men at Wilpena 'on their way back to Adelaide, with the results of a private exploration. The leader, or scout, was named Giles, who was engaged by Mole, a man of more energy than money, to assist him in opening up some new part . [They] finally left the known country at Angipena, and entered upon the unknown in the direction of north-west . They were absent about a month from Angipena, and altogether, going and coming, passed over 1,200 miles'. Wantrup notes that this expedition 'does not appear to be elsewhere recorded and dates at least ten years before Giles's career became a matter of public record. From the context it is clear that the expedition took place in the first half of 1859'. Among other good detail on Giles's contacts with First Nations people, Jessup quotes Giles's claim that he was the first person in the Colony to have vaccinated an Aboriginal person. This most attractive copy was bound by Joseph Zaehnsdorf, who had started his famous business in 1844. Starting out as a school-leaving present to Joshua Fielden, a future industrialist, it was ultimately presented to the Australian High Commissioner in London. . Provenance: Joshua Fielden (presented to him on leaving Eton in 1865); by descent to Patricia Nemon-Stuart; by presentation to Sir Alick Downer, Australian High Commissioner in London (presentation slip dated 1969).- $1,252
- $1,252
Viaje y translaccion del famoso Barrington a Botani-Bay en la Nueva-Holanda, puesto en español con algunas correcciones y notas.
[BARRINGTON] SANTIAGO DE ALVARADO Y DE LA PEÑA, D. 16mo (115 x 75mm), engraved frontispiece, 192 pp.; a fine fresh copy in contemporary Spanish marbled calf, gilt spine, red morocco label. Very rare Spanish imprint detailing the life and adventures of the gentleman pickpocket George Barrington. Ferguson records many versions of Barrington in one form or another, perhaps the most exotic being the Russian translation published in Moscow in 1803 (known from the single copy in the Mitchell Library), but this bizarre Spanish version eluded him; nor did any copy appear in time to be added to the Ferguson Addenda. More recently Garvey has identified four copies: Mitchell Library, National Library of Australia, and two in the Spanish national library. This is essentially an abridgement of the Voyage to New South Wales, but is more than just a translation as extra editorial matter includes a section of fifteen pages concerning the geography of Australia, with a description of "Bahia-Botanica" and the rest of New South Wales, preceded by a short explanatory note from the translator; along with a short history of the exploration of the Pacific, this establishes the setting for the Barrington narrative for Spanish readers unfamiliar with the history of the region. The charming engraved frontispiece ("Barrington salva la vida á un joven salvage") has come a long way from the original on which it is based. . Some slight wear to extremities of binding but a neat and most attractive copy.- $4,634
- $4,634
Original Carte de visite photograph of Arthur Orton
[TICHBORNE CLAIMANT] MAULL & CO., Photographers Photograph, 89 x 59 mm. (image), on printed card, with ms. ink inscription on the bottom margin: "Arthur Orton - alias T. Castro - alias Sir Roger C. Tichborne - 1871. Sentenced to 14 years penal servitude - 1874" A rare image of the claimant. Arthur Orton came to Australia in 1851, moving from Hobart to Gippsland and then to Wagga Wagga, where he married Mary Ann Bryant. It was at Wagga, with the help of a local solicitor, that he responded to a world-wide advertisement seeking Roger Tichborne, the heir to an English baronetcy. Pursuing his claim, he returned to England in 1866. What followed earned him the title of the "Tichborne claimant" - and fourteen years in prison. .- $586
- $586
Manuscript archive, richly illustrated, relating to a major Pacific collection of ethnographic art, including important items from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania: https://rarebookinsider.com/rare-books/manuscript-archive-richly-illustrated-relating-to-a-major-pacific-collection-of-ethnographic-art-including-important-items-from-new-south-wales-victoria-and-tasmania/