London: Office of the Admiralty, 5 October 1757.
"the Risque of getting those Distempers"
Folio, 6 pages plus integral blank; folded to docket size with manuscript annotation "Admiralty New Instructions relating to Surgeons" A scarce and desirable relic of eighteenth-century naval life: an official printed order from the Admiralty concerning... More
Birmingham: T. Aris, 1743.
Eight Million Pieces of Eight
Bifolium; franked. Original newspaper containing exciting news of Anson's buccaneering windfall: 'that Commodore Anson has taken eight rich Prizes, and after ravaging the Coast, departed about the middle of April for the East Indies; that he has two Ships with him... More
Nantes: chez N. Verger, [1747].
Anson on the Centurion at Cape Finistere
Printed bifolium, octavo. An intriguing and ephemeral French publication, telling of the surrender of a French convoy to Anson. It was published in Nantes and prints a letter sent from Plymouth by the Chevalier de Saint-George (a rather... More
Sydney: David Mason, printer, circa 1866.
Pioneering airship design in nineteenth century Sydney
Single printed sheet measuring 570 x 445 mm. in good condition, mounted. Rare Sydney broadside and a milestone in aviation history. This rare ephemeral large single sheet promotes the 'Atmotic Ship' – an early steam driven airship... More
England: 1851.
"Positively for 2 nights only"
Broadside, halved at central rule to form two sheets measuring 330 x 255 mm. & 330 x 260 mm., illustrated with four dramatic woodcut scenes. Rare and significant broadside advertising a panoramic lecture show on the Australian colonies that toured England in 1850... More
Melbourne: Government printer, 1864.
Western Australia - the last convict colony
Single foolscap sheet. Parliamentary printing of a despatch from the acting Colonial Secretary, Henry Pelham Clinton (the fifth Lord Newcastle) to Governor Sir Charles Darling concerning the removal of convicts from Victoria to Western Australia: 'recommends that all male... More
Sydney: Published for the Proprietors by James Fryer, 1857.
"The wide dark bosom of the angry deep..."
Octavo,16pp., full-page sketch of locality on the final page and three full-page engravings; original sewn titled-wrappers, preserved in a scarlet cloth folding box. A rare pamphlet recording one of Australia's most notable nineteenth... More
Birmingham: E.C. Osborne, printer, undated, yet 1866.
Aftermath of the Jamaican uprising
Two sheets measuring 690 x 1080 mm. each; neatly folded. Two spectacular broadsides denouncing the conduct of former Australian explorer John Edward Eyre, in his role as governor of Jamaica during the civil unrest of 1865. Eyre is... More
Saracen's Head, Newark: Weaver, 25 March, 1870.
"our Colonies would be regarded as the natural outlet for our excessive population…'
Printed broadside, 505 x 380 mm. A most unusual survival: a political broadside from the later career of Sir George Grey, seeking to capitalise on his Colonial experience.Although fresh from... More
New York: Ingersoll's Great American Boat and Oar Bazaar, circa 1867.
Across the Atlantic in just 35 days
Broadside, lithographed on fine paper, 28 x 21 cm. Rare and fragile broadside celebrating an amazing short-handed crossing of the Atlantic. Captain Hudson accompanied only by his friend Fitch and his dog... More
Sydney: circa 1886.
Ephemeral poem celebrating Quong Tart
Single sheet measuring 284 x 112 mm. Rare poem celebrating the generosity of the Chinese born Sydney merchant Quong Tart, who funded free meals for members of destitute asylums during the late 1880s. This ephemeral printing presents a poem by an unknown... More
London: W.S.Johnson & Co. 1864. Folio broadside, 505 x 510 mm.; with a central fold, in fine condition. London theatre bill for The Ticket of Leave Man, "a drama of every-day life, in four acts, by Tom Taylor, Esq.".The melodrama was first performed at the Olympic Theatre on 27 May... More
London: George Eyre & Andrew Strahan, 20 May 1799.
The branding of felons enacted
Printed bifolium, pp. [437]-438, armorial letterhead, last 2pp. blank; fine. This Act makes perpetual the practice of branding the hands of felons convicted of stealing from churches or the clergy. It continues previous law to this... More London: George Eyre & Andrew Strahan, 13 June 1799. Printed bifolium, pp. [465]-466, armorial letterhead, last 2pp. blank; very good. Continues pre-existing law regarding the penitentiary management. More