London: L. Reeve & Co, c.1860.
Australian Christmas Bells
Hand coloured lithograph, 285 x 240mm, mounted and framed. Artist's proof with notes to the colourist. An artist's proof, beautifully hand-coloured with detailed notes for the colourist and addressed to the publishers of The Floral Magazine, Reeve and Company in Covent... More
Bendigo: circa 1890. Quarto; stapled as issued, four leaves (including wrappers). Illustrated price-list from Bendigo boot and shoe manufacturers. More
circa 1830.
Aborigines of New Holland
Handcoloured wood engraving, 100 x 75mm; Very good. Charming French hand-coloured woodcut depicting a man and woman of "New Holland". It was most likely printed as part of a series of costume plates, and may be the same as a similarly-sized woodcut of the... More
London: 23 September, 1831.
Macquarie, Brisbane & Darling on schools for Aborigines
Foolscap folio, 19 pp.; Later half roan, spine lettered in gilt. An excellent copy of a rare report, printing a decade of major dispatches from New South Wales Governors on the subjects of the Aborigines of New South... More
Sydney: Law Book Company, 1906.
Significant association copy
Octavo, original purple cloth (a bit flecked), interleaved with lined blanks. This copy is inscribed by the author to Australian pastoralist Henry White, whose racehorses were acclaimed on the Australian turf, with winners in the 1896 Australian Jockey Club Derby and 1900 Doncaster. More
Sydney: James Reading, n.d. but, 1841. Duodecimo, 24 pp.; original plain blue paper wrappers. Very scarce Sydney printing of the Reverend Adams' lecture on the Sabbath. Adams, a seaman's chaplain, delivered this sermon in the Scot's Church, Sydney on 25 July 1841. It was the second in a series of... More
Dublin: Chamberlaine and Rice, P. Wogan and others, 1790.
Rare poetic epitaph for Captain Cook
Two volumes, with both half-titles; contemporary mottled calf, flat spines gilt and with double red and green morocco labels. A fine and attractively bound set of voyages collected and edited for the enlightenment of younger... More
Melbourne: J. H. Moulines and Co. for the Committee of the 'Admella', November 1859.
Iconic Australian shipping disaster
Octavo, frontispiece and folding map; in original blind blocked plum cloth with dramatic gilt vignette to front board bearing the slogan 'Hope to the Last.'. Only edition: the harrowing tale of the... More
Adelaide: W.C.Cox, Government printer, 1859.
The tragic wreck of the Admella
Foolscap folio, 36, [iv] pp., last blank, large folding map; wrappers thumbed. Uncommon: official report of the Commission tasked to investigate the appalling loss of the steamship Admella off the coast of South Australia in 1859. The tragedy marks... More
Lisbon: Vicente Jorge de Castro, 1841.
Portuguese public servant's imaginary voyage to the interior
Three volumes bound in one, small octavo; some wear to the edges of the boards and a library reference at head of spine, an attractive copy in contemporary quarter calf. A rare Portuguese imaginary voyage to... More
Lisbon: Vicente Jorge de Castro; Sociedade Propagadora dos Conhecimentos Uteis, 1841.
The pernicious contagion of immorality
Three volumes bound in one, small octavo; in contemporary marbled sheep preserved in folding cloth case. A rare Portuguese imaginary voyage to Australia, not recorded by most of the commentators on the genre. In... More
Adelaide: Andrew Murray, 1849.
With map of the "Settled portions" and details of mines
Octavo, folding frontispiece map with outline colouring, xl, 220 pp., (including directory and advertisements), with a folding table of goods and prices bound in; in plain brown cloth (if not original certainly of the period). A... More
Adelaide: Robert Thomas and Co., December, 1839.
The second South Australian almanac
Octavo, 150, xii pp., original printed limp linen wrappers; folding Sangorski quarter brown morocco case. Ferguson notes this is the second South Australian almanac.The work includes the important and very early botanical series of lectures by George Stevenson... More
France: circa 1870.
Three-dimensional alphabet game
Game comprising 24 timber blocks, each papered with illustrations on each face, with six chromolithographic paper guiding sheets each measuring 177 x 262 mm., original box with papered lid. French alphabet blocks, comprising a game for children wherein the blocks are rearranged on their... More
Antwerp: Christopher Plantin, 1558.
One of the great Renaissance travel books: the Southern Cross, Ethiopia & Prester John
Small octavo, printed in italic and roman letter, xxx, [2], 341 leaves numbered on rectos only, with a woodcut of the stars of the Southern Cross and six woodcut plans of Ethiopian... More
Stockholm: Hugo Gebers förlag, 1915.
Eucalypts and minerals, gold and sheep
Octavo, with 48 plates and two colour maps, original green cloth with attractive gilt blocked kangaroo motif. An excellent copy of this generously illustrated survey of Australia's agriculture and natural resources by the long-serving secretary of the Swedish Society... More
Philadelphia: (Dobelbower, Key and Simpson), 1796. Engraved portrait, 155 x 100 mm. Oval engraved portrait of Cook in profile.Originally issued in The World Displayed, or A Curious Collection of Voyages and Travels Selected and Compiled from the Writers of all Nations by Smart, Goldsmith & Johnson. More
Adelaide: no publisher, circa 1858.
'England in miniature - England without it's poverty'
Duodecimo pamphlet, as issued without wrappers, 12 pp. (last blank), blue tinted paper stock. Scarce pamphlet printed to promote the colony. Anonymously compiled 'by an old Colonist', the booklet comprises various parts gleaned from several sources. First... More
London: John Stockdale, 1790.
An essential book for First Fleet collectors
Quarto, folding map; black half roan, with the bookplate of Henry White. An essential First Fleet book, widely considered the best guide to the establishment of a penal colony in New South Wales: 'an extremely interesting work and an... More
London: John Stockdale, 1787.
First Fleet sails for New South Wales
Octavo, with two folding handcoloured maps; bound in contemporary marbled boards (rebacked retaining original crimson label) from the Westport House library with Browne family armorial bookplate. Published on the eve of the departure of the First Fleet for New... More
London: John Stockdale, 1787.
First Fleet sails for New South Wales
Octavo, with two folding maps, finely hand coloured in outline, modern half calf, marbled boards. First edition. Published on the eve of the departure of the First Fleet for New South Wales, this sometimes neglected publication was the most... More
Paris: Delaunay, c. 1810.
Peoples of the world, and their characters shown on their faces
Duodecimo, 25 engraved plates (all hand coloured); mottled pink wrappers. First edition of this fascinating French physiognomical study of the peoples of the world, which compares the facial structures and features of various European races... More
London: Printed for the Author by John and Paul Knapton, 1748.
One of the Royal Paper copies
Thick quarto, with strong impressions of all 42 folding engraved plates and maps, with the single leaf of directions to the bookbinder for placing the engravings; later half calf over original marbled boards... More
Paris: Chamerot et Renouard, 1893.
The Paris Observatory statue of the scientist Arago
Quarto, 64 pp.; a very good unopened copy in the original grey titling wrappers. Publication commemorating the inauguration of the statue erected to honour the eminent French physicist and astronomer François Jean Dominique Arago (1786-1853).The bronze statue... More
Paris: Langlume, 1840. Single sheet measuring 305 x 222 mm., wove paper, lithograph. Confronting image of a Port Jackson Aborigine, lithographed after a sketch by Jacques Arago, official artist of the expedition commanded by Louis de Freycinet.This portrait is stylistically similar to the work of Arago's predecessor Nicolas Petit, who... More