Natural History

BACON, Sir Francis, Viscount of St. Albans.
Histoire Naturelle...
Paris, Antoine de Sommaville…, 1631.

Octavo, woodcut device on title and woodcut initials throughout, with some contemporary ms. annotations; slight...

First French edition of Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum (first published in English in 1626), and thus of Bacon's...

Gibson, 614.

Australian: $4250 (Approx. US $3831, Euro €2948) Quote ref.

CHARSLEY, Fanny Anne.
The Wild Flowers around Melbourne.
London, Day & Son, 1867.

Folio, uncoloured lithograph title-page and 13 handcoloured lithograph plates; original blue cloth, upper cover titled...

A scarce and attractive book. This is an example of the first issue, with the title-page uncoloured. Charsley arrived...

Ferguson, 8106a; Nissen, BBI 347.

Australian: $4000 (Approx. US $3606, Euro €2775) Quote ref.

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[COOK: SECOND VOYAGE] FORSTER, Johann Reinhold and Georg.
Beschreibungen der Gattungen von Planzen auf einer Reise nach den Inseln der Süd-See...
Stuttgart, Christoph Mantler, 1779.

Small quarto, with 18 etched plates, the plates each tipped to the fore-edge of the appropriate facing page; in fine...

First German edition of the Characteres Generum Plantarum (see catalogue number 79), detailing the Forsters'...

Beddie, 1386; Hunt, 649; Nissen, B645; O'Reilly-Reitman, 2471; Stafleu & Cowan, 1826.

Australian: $7400 (Approx. US $6671, Euro €5133) Quote ref.

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[ELDER EXPEDITION] LINDSAY, David.
Journal of the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition, 1891.
Adelaide, House of Assembly, 1893.

Folio, with two large colour folding maps; a very good copy, uncut in recent cloth.

One of only 750 copies published: this rare printing is not recorded by Ferguson.

Sir Thomas Elder, who had...

Australian: $2850 (Approx. US $2569, Euro €1977) Quote ref.

[GREAT BARRIER REEF] HEDLEY, Charles et al.
Collection of Papers and Offprints.
Australia and United States, 1907- 1924.

Collection of 11 papers and offprints, octavo, and two folding maps; all in very good condition.

A collection of eleven scientific papers, mostly by Charles Hedley of the Australian Museum, relating to The Great...

Australian: $550 (Approx. US $496, Euro €382) Quote ref.

HALE, Thomas.
A Compleat Body of Husbandry.
Osborne & Shipton, London, 1756.

Folio, coloured frontispiece and engravings throughout; an excellent uncut copy in recent half calf.

The first edition of a classic treatise on husbandry. The title-page states that the work encompasses 'Rules for...

Australian: $2850 (Approx. US $2569, Euro €1977) Quote ref.

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JAMES, H.A.
Hand-book of Australian Horticulture.
Sydney, Turner and Henderson, 1892.

Quarto, 12 chromolithographic plates, wood-engraved illustrations throughout; a good copy in original dark green cloth.

An ambitious colonial production 'intended for climates different from our own'. This work includes chapters on Bush...

Ferguson, 10875.

Australian: $975 (Approx. US $879, Euro €676) Quote ref.

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LATHAM, John.
A General History of Birds.
London, Bohn, circa, 1845.

11 volumes (the eleventh the Index) bound in ten, quarto, with 193 handcoloured etched plates, some with 1838...

A fine set of this great colour-plate bird book, with many species of Australian and Pacific interest. Illustrated here...

Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 114; Forbes, 'Hawaiian National Bibliography', 531; Henry G. Bohn, Catalogue of Books, Volume I, 1847, p. 6; Nissen, IVB, 532; Nissen, SVB, 290; Whittell, pp. 409-12; Wood, p. 427; Zimmer, II, p. 377. See also Christine E. Jackson: 'Bird etchings: the illustrators and their books 1655-1855' (Chapter 8: John Latham, 1740-1837), Cornell University Press, 1985.

Australian: $55,000 (Approx. US $49,583, Euro €38,154) Quote ref.

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MATHEWS, Gregory M.
The Birds of Australia...
London, H.F. & G. Witherby, 1925.

Two volumes, large quarto; a fine set, uncut in the original printed wrappers.

This two-part supplement to the Birds of Australia was issued separately and intended as a monograph in its own...

Australian: $1450 (Approx. US $1307, Euro €1006) Quote ref.

MEREDITH, Louisa Anne.
Our Island Home, A Tasmanian Sketch Book.
Hobart, J. Walch, London, Ward, 1879.

Folio, full-page lithographic plates; a few leaves lightly spotted and marked, the title-page strengthened but a good...

First edition and characteristic of her best illustrated work, this was Meredith's first major literary and artistic...

Ferguson, 12513.

Australian: $1850 (Approx. US $1668, Euro €1283) Quote ref.