Catalogues

Our new catalogue

Our new catalogue

For a few decades either side of 1800, the natural history of the new world was a novel source of excitement throughout Europe. Some examples of the outstanding works produced at the time appear in our new catalogue, including: Edward Donovan's justly famous illustrated work on Australian entomology with the celebrated companion volumes on the insects of China and India;...

A unique assemblage of natural history

A unique assemblage of natural history

A highlight from this catalogue is an album assembled in the 1790s containing a deliberate selection of the groundbreaking earliest scientific and artistic work on the natural history of New South Wales from its first European settlement, which connects six figures each of individual importance to that remarkable story: George Shaw, James Edward Smith, F.P. Nodder, James Sowerby, Thomas Wilson...

Captain James Cook 250 years on

Captain James Cook 250 years on

As it is the 250th anniversary of the voyage of His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour into Australian and New Zealand waters we celebrate with this catalogue the achievements of Captain James Cook and his crew.

Much has been discussed about the impact of the English exploring expeditions in the early colonial period. We acknowledge that whatever may have been the eventual...

The Arias Memorial and Torres

The Arias Memorial and Torres

Our catalogue includes:
The Arias Memorial, the single most important printed work on the enigmatic figure of Torres. Of signal importance for the history of Torres Strait and for the 1605-1607 voyage of Quirós and Torres, as originally described in the early seventeenth century.  Its rediscovery and publication in 1773 have ensured its survival since a first publication in the 1630s. Extremely rare...
Two unrecorded 18th Century works

Two unrecorded 18th Century works

Including two unrecorded works by 18th Century women artists:

A previously unrecorded album of 45 watercolours by Sarah Stone of Leverian Museum fame. Besides a couple of single images this beautiful album is the only surviving example of Sarah Stone's work after her marriage. It is therefore one of the most significant finds to come to light in modern...
Early Sydney

Early Sydney

A selection  featuring a fine colonial view by George Halsted; two interesting sketches relating to Sydney's early defences; botanical engravings from James Smith's Specimen of the  Botany of New Holland, and a rare and remarkably large photographic panorama of the Sydney Royal Agricultural Show in 1897. 

Australia

Australia

The land Australia: imagined, invented, recounted, mapped, colonised, explored, settled, and celebrated in our final major catalogue for the year. We invite you to discover over 200 years of rare printed, manuscript, cartographic and visual materials relating to the Southern Continent. From Herrera's account of Schouten & Le Maire's voyage in search of Terra Australis to Pelsaert's 1647 Batavia account with its astonishing...
Curiosity & Discovery

Curiosity & Discovery

A catalogue which takes as its theme the spirit of Enlightenment in terms of exploration and voyages. The great explosion of late eighteenth century voyages is represented by important works by many of the key figures, naturally enough focussing on Cook and La Pérouse, but with forays into all manner of works which reveal the scale of the ambition which...

An Australian private collection

An Australian private collection

Offered from a private Australian collection is this choice catalogue which includes a beautifully-bound copy of Lycett's Views in Australia; a handsome set of Cook's three voyage accounts with uniform contemporary provenance; a fine copy of Parkinson, uncut in the original boards; and First Fleet works by Collins, Hunter and Phillip. 

Pacific discovery and exploration

Pacific discovery and exploration

Our catalogue foregrounds Solvyns' great colour plate study of Indian manners and costume, Arago's intimate study of a priest of Guam, together with an 18th Century table globe and a fine watercolour of the iconic Black Swan. Also included are Shaw's catalogue of Tapa: a highly unusual example with extra specimens, Samwell's Narrative of the Death of Cook as well...

The New World, East Indies & Asia: Voyages of Exploration, 1558-1889

The New World, East Indies & Asia: Voyages of Exploration, 1558-1889

From William Beckford's copy of Alvares in French to Linschoten's Discours of Voyages, one of the great early illustrated travel books,from Moraleda Y Montrero's remarkable illustrated manuscript journal of Pacific coastal exploration, to rare Lima printings (the second and third printed at the first press in South America), this catalogue spans over three hundred years of exploration. It also includes Choris' most...

European Discovery 1538-1843

European Discovery 1538-1843

Fine books, paintings and manuscripts relating to "European Discovery". Highlights include: an exceptional copy of Parkinson's Journal of a Voyage to the South Seaswith the very rare "Gomeldon" pages and original hand-colouring; copies of Governor Phillip's Extracts of Letters (1791) and Copies and Extracts (1792); the extremely rare "Officer" account, the first book to tell the story of the First Fleet; a beautiful view in...