Catalogues & Lists

Papillons

Papillons

A rare and astonishingly beautiful French Art Noveau design album based on the butterflies of the world, featuring species from China, India and Asia. Eugene Alain Séguy (1889-1985) was a leading French designer of the Art Noveau and Art Deco periods who produced eleven stunning design portfolios with a range of styles and inspirations

Manuscripts

Manuscripts

A selection of manuscripts chiefly from an important private collection relating to Australia's foundation as an English Colony and its transition from penal colony to emerging nation. Many document the history of transportation and the passage of convicts from prisoners to land holders and  prominent citizens. Several outline the growth of commerce and establishment of a standard currency banking system.  

Francesco Novelli

Francesco Novelli

A beautiful suite of watercolours, including a superb series of scenes of a contemporary Venetian commedia dell’arte troupe, by the Venetian painter and engraver Francesco Novelli (1767-1836). Featuring images from both the stage and street-performance, including acrobatics and conjuring, each of the 46 deftly drawn images is of considerable quality. 

Augustus Earle

Augustus Earle

Pre-dating the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) Augustus Earle's magnificent Sketches Illustrative of the Native Inhabitants and Islands of New Zealand is one of the great early Pacific books and very rare. With its vivid series of exquisitely hand-coloured lithographic views and portraits, it is  by an artist at the height of his powers. 

The Baudin Catalogue

The Baudin Catalogue

We are delighted to bring to your attention an exceptional catalogue of highly important works of art by Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) and Charles-Alexandre Lesueur (1778-1846). They were offered for sale at auction by Deutscher and Hackett in association with Hordern House: 28 November, 2018 in Melbourne.

The richness of these outstanding works is fully described and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, researched and compiled by Hordern House. This remarkable collection was until quite recently unknown and unrecorded.

Of significant cultural importance, these portraits and views by the two main artists on Nicolas Baudin's monumental voyage of exploration in Australia over the years 1801 and 1802 will rewrite the history of early Australian voyage art.

Spring 2018

Spring 2018

Our second major catalogue of the year marks the 200th anniversary of Louis de Freycinet’s arrival in Western Australia. See item 21 for the wonderful Hydrographical Atlas from this voyage. This was Louis’ second visit, his first was as the cartographer-surveyor for the Baudin expedition, a fine account of which is included (see item 2), as well as the only published portrait of him (see item 18).

Before European landfall, Macrobius posits the existence of a Great South Land with his brilliant mapping of the world (see item 30). Other highlights include a rare Russian edition of the chart by Tupaia, the Tahitian priest and remarkable member of Cook’s Endeavour voyage; a presentation copy of Remy’s important Hawaiian history; a beautiful copy of Josephus’ great history of the Jews from the Library at Chatsworth; as well as foundation works on Colonial Australia and a fine painting of Port Phillip in the gold rush—a small masterpiece.

Flora Australasica

Flora Australasica

First edition; one of the most attractive of all Australian botanical books and the first with illustrations taken from live specimens rather than dried plants or field sketches -- the species depicted having been grown from seeds in London nurseries.

Lycett

Lycett

This month we have featured a landmark in the development of Australian illustrated books: the album of early Colonial views by Joseph Lycett, Governor Macquarie’s convict-artist. 

Melbourne 2018

Melbourne 2018

The highlight of our July exhibit at the at the Melbourne Rare Book Fair 6-8th July will be Mr Cust's "Sandridge Railway Jetty and Pier" . A small masterpiece: "Mr." Cust, an elusive artist whose first name is so far unknown, demonstrates with meticulous strokes an ability to conjure a sensation of intimacy and tranquility on the smallest scale. His work is reminiscent in this respect of some of the paintings of S.T. Gill; like Gill he combines a strong understanding of light and colour with a high degree of natural, artistic talent. This sensitively rendered painting is on academy board, to which Cust has painstakingly applied layer after layer of oil paint. For more detail click here. 

Our Book Fair catalogue includes an important and atmospheric drawing prepared for the account of the Dumont D'Urville expedition showing the Astrolabe and Zelee in pack ice; a rare early proof version of a famous engraving from the Freycinet voyage showing Dirk Hartog Island off Western Australia (with manuscript corrections by Louis de Freycinet); A Concise History, a very rare and sympathetic early account of the Australian Aborigines with four frontispiece portraits after Le Petit; an account of the monotremes by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire with a beautifully observed fold-out engraving of wombats; an illuminated presentation address from the German Association of Bendigo to Bismarck; and a surprising Caldwell Brothers wine label featuring a kangaroo.