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Science including Natural Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy, Medical Sciences etc

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The Passenger Pigeon – by Joseph Quinn.

No date comb bound copied item published circa 1990, see below. This was its original form – self published by the author.

Subtitled “A Boys Story” but not a story for Boys, in fact a compilation of the writings of the author, many of them, published in Bird World … and all about the demise of the Passenger Pigeon.

We learn that the last pigeon a female was given the name of Martha, after George Washington’s wife … the second last Passenger Pigeon, her brother, named George … naturally. We like this unusual work not just for its obvious rarity but the love of the writer for his subject. The Boys story is a reference to him finding his childhood scribbles about the subject matter.

96 pages in all, some images from the magazine that have not copied too well. Cream card covers.

A total of 20 separate articles, all of some length, published variously between 1982 and 1987.

Inserted on posh faux vellum paper is a poem written by the author in honour of the sadly retired bird; rather well penned and definitely moving.

Joseph Quinn – his life’s work on the Passenger Pigeon all in one place.

$40.00

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The Living Sea – John Crompton

A first edition of this interesting easy to read book about the natural history of the oceans. Quite broad in content … starts with prehistory and then moves into Whales (nice content), Manatee, Sharks, Rays back to Caelacanth .. all the good stuff.

Published by Collins, London in 1957. Octavo, 256 pages, some sketch like illustrations. And the dust jacket … we had to have it just for

Good period all rounder dressed to impress.

$25.00

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Tasmania’s Struggle for Power – A.J. Gillies

An unusual little soft cover which for some reason commands higher prices than we would expect on the usual websites. We have not followed that route.

Published by Michael and Christine Lillas in Burnie in 1984. Octavo, 169 pages plus unpaginated appendix, some illustration, rather old-fashioned typesetting consistent with it effectively self-published style.

The title may be slightly tongue in cheek as we are talking about electrical power here not political, our preference, rather have the lights than the (insert rhyming slang).

The first good power in Tasmania arrived 1888 when the proprietor, Hogarth, installed a water driven turbine. The idea had come to him following a trip to Scotland. He only got enough electricity for the lights not the machines, but this was still a first on a number of fronts.

The bulk of the book is about the establishment of the first serious power generation at the great lakes and the building of dams and infrastructure to create the head of water. And the subsequent development of the zinc smelting industry which could not have arisen without the former.

The real power behind Tasmania

$30.00

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The Voyage of the “Scotia” – Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration in the Antarctic Seas By R.N. Rudmose Brown, J.H.H. Pirie and R.C. Mossman

A facsimile of the rare first published by Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh in 1906. This edition by ANU, Canberra in 1978.

The original small quarto this octavo, 375 pages with numerous illustrations and a chart of the track of the Scotia; a map of Laurie Island South Orkneys and a large folding chart at the rear … Bathymetrical Survey of the South Atlantic Ocean and the Weddell Sea. A fine copy. The piper on the front is naturalist Burn Murdoch … the first person to play the bagpipes on the Antarctic … and also in the Arctic … quiet an achievement.

With an additional forward by Sir George Deacon which adds greatly to our understanding of the expedition leader William Spiers Bruce and his colleagues who were joint authors of this account

William Spiers Bruce (1867-1921) was born in Edinburgh and was Scotland’s greatest polar scientist and oceanographer. His greatest accomplishment is recorded in this account, leading the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902-1904) to the South Orkney Islands and the Weddell Sea, where they conducted the first oceanographic explorations and discovered the northern part of the Caird Coast. They established the first permanent weather station in the Antarctic. Bruce would not write the popular account of the expedition so it fell to his three lieutenants to write this much admired work.

Bruce had previously been on the Dundee Whaling Expedition (1892) having given up medical studies to participate. In between he participated in Arctic Voyages to Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land. He wanted to joined Scott’s Discovery Expedition but it is said that he fell out with Markham and therefore organised his own Scottish expedition. He was a good friend of Mawson and provided gear towards Mawson’s later expedition.

The Scottish expedition, an early one with significant achievements, often overlooked.

$140.00

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Darwinism and its Discontents – Michael Ruse.

Published by Cambridge University Press in 2006.

Hardback octavo, 316 pages, illustrated, a fine copy.

Seemingly, there are still many who are upset with Darwin’s theory of Evolution. Michael Ruse is an expert on Darwinism and consequently these irritation objections. Here he “’brings Darwinism up to date” a bold claim … but on reading we find it a really useful prism through which to revisit Darwin’s work .. well done Ruse.

Darwin updated and objections laid to rest.

$20.00

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William Dampier in New Holland – Alex S. George

The subtitle to this book now not socially acceptable but excuse it for its emphasis.

A very nice book and the subject, William Dampier, could not be more interesting … confidante of Jonathan Swift and stimulator of Gulliver and his Travels.

Here we have Dampier in and around the coast of Australia.

Published by Bloomings Books in 1999. Tall octavo, 171 pages, rich dark end papers and beautifully illustrated with images of the wonderful drawings from Dampier’s journals juxtaposed with modern colour photographs of similar subjects. Super fine condition.

A super production and a must for any Dampierite.

$40.00

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