Maritime

Important Voyage Account – The Voyage of the Duff to the South Sea Islands – Captain James Wilson – First edition 1799.

Full title … A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean Performed in the Years 1796, 1797, 1798, in the Ship Duff, Commanded by Captain James Wilson. Compiled from Journals of the Officers and the Missionaries; and Illustrated with Maps, Charts and Views drawn by Mr William Wilson, and engraved by the most eminent Artists. With a Preliminary Discourse on the Geography and History of the South Sea Islands; and an Appendix, including details never before published, of the Natural and Civil State of Otaheite.

Printed by Gosnell for Publisher T. Chapman, Fleet Street, London 1799. Large quarto with wide margins. 420 pages after preliminaries and before substantial and distinguished subscribers list. With seven folded engraved maps and six beautifully engraved plates. Rebound at some time in half crimson morocco over matching red cloth covered boards, headband, top edge freshly gilt. A very good solid and internally clean copy.

An early voyage to the Pacific, undertaken for the purpose of establishing a mission in Tahiti. A settlement of was formed with twenty five members. Though the King befriended them, they met with continual difficulties due to continuous civil wars and were finally forced to flee to Australia. Though some returning some time much later in 1815. The work contains many valuable details regarding Tahiti, the Fiji Islands, Tonga, the Marquesas, etc. The discovery of a new group of islands, named the Duff Group among the Santa Cruz Islands. The narrative is full and readable with considerable valuable observation – not at all in the often dry “missionary” style. Stands, in our view, as a key read in the early Pacific Voyages genre.

The large folding “Chart of the Duff’s Track in the Pacific Ocean” was the first map to use the name Australia than New Holland.

Other important maps comprise – Feejee Islands; Marquesas Islands; Duff’s Group; Gambier Islands; Island of Otaheite and Island of Tongataboo.

Views comprise … Harbour of Rio Janeiro; Missionary Settlement at Matavai; View of Tallo Harbour; Great Morai of Oberca; Morai and Ark of the Eatooa at Attahooroo and Fiatookas of Futtasaihe.

One of classic late 18thC voyage accounts of significant exploration interest – a very good copy.

$980.00

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Polynesian Navigation – A Symposium on Andrew Sharp’s Thoery of Accidental Voyages – Edited by Jack Golson

Andrew Sharpe certainly stirred up the debate as to hoe the Pacific Islands may have been settled.

A symposium in the 1960’s brought together some pretty good minds on the subject.

Published by the Polynesian Society, Wellington, New Zealand in 1963. Being Memoir No 34, a Supplement to the Journal of the Society. Softcover, octavo, 153 pages plus bibliography. Three useful maps, two of which are folding. A little age, still a very good copy.

Cartographic expert, Thomas M Perry’s copy with his discrete stamp top of front cover.

The body of the work review the “Accidental Voyage Theory”’ – Parsonson; Primitive Navigation – Captain Hayen and Captain Hilder; Sailing Characteristics of Oceanic Canoes – Bechton; The Geographical Knowledge of the Polynesians and the Nature of Inter-Island Contact – Dening; Geographical Knowledge of Tahitian etc etc

The Pacific Solved – Maybe

$35.00

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The Mutineer – A Romance of Pitcairn Island – Louis Becke and Walter Jeffrey – First Colonial (Australian) Edition 1898.

Likely technically the first edition is the London issue of that year. The first and this issue the first Colonial issue by Angus & Robertson both extremely scarce.

Octavo, 298 pages plus Publishers catalogue. Original dark green cloth covered binding, gilt title to spine. The odd mark to the boards, missing front free end paper and occasional light ageing. Otherwise really not bad and, try to find another one.

George Lewis Becke (1855-1913) was born at Port Macquarie and must be regarded as the best Australian author of the period in the genre adventure … South Seas … historical based fiction. He has been compared with Robert Louis Stevenson, Melville, Kipling, Conrad etc exalted company indeed.

Becke had the pedigree – from an early age he escaped to the South Pacific … ferried vessels to Bully Hayes, was tried (and acquitted) as a pirate at Brisbane at the age of 19 etc etc.

Prolific writer once he settled down. This Bounty Mutiny based story one of the later works and a collaboration. Didn’t get into print in the USA as a relationship between different races didn’t fit the then standards.

With a novel we at Voyager always like a good short helpful first sentence. We have the first paragraph here just to get you into the mood.

“It was night at Tahiti, in the Society Islands. The trade-wind had died away, and a bright flood of shimmering moonlight poured down upon the slumbering waters of a little harbour a few miles distant from Matavia Bay, and the white curve of beach that fringed the darkened line of palms shone and glistened like a belt of ivory under the effulgence of its rays. For nearly half a mile the broad sweep of dazzling sand showed no interruption nor break upon its surface save at one spot; there it ran out into a long narrow point, on which, under a small cluster of graceful cocos, growing almost at the water’s edge, a canoe was drawn up”.

Louis Becke’s scarce and somewhat controversial South Seas story.

$120.00

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Lure of the Southern Seas – The Voyages of Dumont D’Urville 1826-1840

Large perfect bound soft cover (30cm x 24cm) a good size for showing off the many illustrations from artwork created at the time and photographs of displays from the voyage collection held in France.

Published by the Historic Housed Trust of NSW in association of a exhibition held at the Sydney Museum in 2003.

Well researched and produced making an important contribution to works on the two voyages undertaken by Dumont D’Urvillle in the first half of the 19th Century.

Following and introductory chapter “Southern Discomfort” and excellent map, we gain an understanding of the man and what drove him. His voyage towards the Polar Ice; the Anthropology and “Harvest of Curiosities” and the more defined Natural History Catalogue. Some notes on the artists without whom the wonder could not have been so well revealed. Data back up in the form of routes and statistics of the Voyage are followed by the great man’s correspondence and of all things “his will” … references, bibliography.

Dumont D’Urville well presented historical account, some new information and special images.

$35.00

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A History of Antarctica – Stephen Martin

First Edition published by the State Library of N.S.W. in 1996. A substantial and well produced book. Small quarto, 272 pages nicely illustrated throughout.

Comprehensive so sort of a modern day Mills if you know the work. We particularly like the early period before the Heroic Era. Not because the latter is boring quite the opposite … juts that it is covered well in a number of place. the early stuff not so much.

Post Heroic is also well covered right up to and around the Treaty. It could all be up for grabs soon … that will be interesting. Lots of doublespeak we guess.

Antarctica – nice full, readable, smashing illustrations.

$35.00

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A World of My Own – Robin Knox-Johnston – First edition 1969.

A fine copy of the first edition 1969 of a then young Robin Knox-Johnston’s single-handed non-stop voyage around the world.

Published by Cassell, London. Octavo, 240 pages, end paper charts and illustrated very nicely.

Humble thorough account although he does point out his vessel Suhaili at 32 feet was smaller than Alec Rose’s Lively Lady at 36 feet and the relative monster Gipsy Moth II of Francis Chichester at 53 feet. Great technical information and tips for overcoming a number of practical difficulties.

We like the extensive lists of stores and instruments at the rear and especially his extensive onboard library which included … Boswell, Bronte(Wuthering Heights), Carlyle, Cherry-Garrard (Worst Journey), Darwin (Voyage of Beagle), Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment), Laurence Sterne (Tristram and Sentimental), Thackery, Gilbert White (Selbourne) and from modern time interesting to see David Lewis (Daughter of the Wind) and [Voyager Hero] Hiscock (Wanderer III) …. Must have shopped at Voyager!

Knox-Johnston made his name on Suhaili deservedly so!

$30.00

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Important Voyage Account – The Voyage of the Duff to the South Sea Islands – Captain James Wilson – First edition 1799.

Polynesian Navigation – A Symposium on Andrew Sharp’s Thoery of Accidental Voyages – Edited by Jack Golson

The Mutineer – A Romance of Pitcairn Island – Louis Becke and Walter Jeffrey – First Colonial (Australian) Edition 1898.

Lure of the Southern Seas – The Voyages of Dumont D’Urville 1826-1840

A History of Antarctica – Stephen Martin

A World of My Own – Robin Knox-Johnston – First edition 1969.

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