Prestige Items

High Latitudes – A History of Swedish Polar Travels and Research – Gosta Liljequist

Published in 1993 a monumental book by Polar Participant Professor Gosta Liljequist who was metrologist in the Norwegian-British-Swedish expedition to the Antarctic in 1949-52 and also leader of the 1957-58 expedition to Svalbard … so he is in here.

Weighting nearly 3 kgs so pricey to mail Overseas, cannot be found elsewhere in Australia. Largo quarto, 606 pages, with many illustrations from expedition photographs, maps, charts etc a worthy production. Very good copy in a very good dust jacket.

Hard to summarise but we start with the Pioneers 1758-1863 including Anton Martin, the first scientist to go truly North. Involvement with the French Le Recherche Expedition; then Otto Torell and Spitzbergen and his later expeditions to the Aeolus Group north of Svalbard. Quennerstedt’s zoological studies in the west Ice in 1863.

Then we have the Nordenskiold Epoch between 1863-1883 and here for sure too much to write about at both ends of the World. If you haven’t got the book on the Vega this covers it with many other ventures.

We move through some interesting low budget expeditions that did much for the dollar spent and on to Andree and the ill-fated balloon attempt … the searching for him and his companions was a lengthy event and a good Noir movie was made out of it.

We are only a third through and too many highlights to record here. Interesting side stories – the Arctic flight of the German Graf Zeppelin in 1931 – then the attempt from Stockholm to New York.

The Many Swedish Polar Achievements all in one place. Never again.

$280.00

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A Living Voice of the Living Bush – William Ricketts – Wonderfully Annotated and Signed.

First and only edition published by the Victorian Forestry Commission in 1965 celebrating the incredible art of William Ricketts. Larger format soft cover, 24 pages with sixteen colour illustrations. A bit marked and aged on the cover, clean inside, forgive any deficiencies for his manuscript additions.

The annotation on the first blank page reads as follows … “From my Mountain of Remembrance where we remember with love everything that was created … [followed by his creation symbol underscored with his signature] … The Prayer of the Mountain – The Prayer of the Forest – My prayer – all are one Prayer … “

Added in different hand the name of the receiver.

William Ricketts (1898-1993) misunderstood and maybe he misunderstood … regardless he made beautiful objects. If it offends, well then that’s a bit sad. He was a religious man and felt the earth and whether he misrepresented and misplaced .. well that gives a job for the academic critics. Just enjoy them. They were badly damaged in a massive storm a couple of years ago … we hope they have been resurrected.

In the 1950’s he spent quite some time with the Pitjantjatjara and Arrente people in Central Australia … they inspired his work among the trees in the Dandenong Mountains.

William Ricketts – A rare annotation we believe.

$60.00

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Radio-Activity. An Elementary Treatise, from the Standpoint of the Disintegration Theory – Frederick Soddy M.A. – First Edition 1904

An important work in the history of science. Explaining all of the then known facts by the theory of radio-activity and the explosive disintegration of elementary atoms.

Voyager scientific hero Frederick Soddy (1877-1956) was to win the Nobel Prize in 1921… “for his contributions to our knowledge of the chemistry of radioactive substances, and his investigations into the origin and nature of isotopes”.

Published by “the Electrician” Printing and Publishing Co, London in 1904.

Octavo, brown cloth covered boards with gilt lettering on front and spine. Xi, 214 pages; 40 illustrations, diagrams and charts; publishers catalogue. Some age but a worthy copy of an important and scarce work.

Soddy in conjunction with Rutherford developed the disintegration theory of radioactivity from experiments conducted between 1901-1903.

Following this work Soddy lectured in physical chemistry and radioactivity at Glasgow University. By 1913 his theory of disintegration had been further developed and the concept of isotopes developed … i.e. that certain elements exist in two forms which have different atomic weights. He became Professor of Chemistry at Aberdeen in 1914 and after WWI went to Oxford where he stayed until retirement in 1937.

Important work Soddy on Radio-Activity – early days.

$180.00

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One Ceremony One Song. An Economy of Religious Knowledge Among Yolnu of North-East Arnhem Land. A PhD Thesis – Australia National University – 1978 – Ian Keen

An original copy of the monumental Thesis written by Ian Keen to obtain his PhD from ANU in 1978. Keen to go on to be a respected anthropologist holding positions at Queensland University and ANU and spending time at Oxford, visiting Professor at Osaka etc.

Perfect bound in blue cloth covered boards, gilt titles to front and spine. Typed on one side 412 pages with 19 pages of plates from the authors photographs; 72 Figures in text; 45 tables of information and 4 maps. This copy gifted to “Jimmy” clearly an associated academic with a few marginal notes etc. Over 3 kgs in weight so if Overseas a postage supplement will be necessary.

The English born author was late to the academic world having first worked as an art restorer before doing an undergraduate degree at the University of London under Mary Douglas in his mid thirties. He did well and soon won a scholarship to work on Aboriginal religion through song symbolism in Arnhem Land, Northern Australia. This thesis demonstrates the depth of his research and provides a meticulous record of his findings.

He commenced his work on the island of Milingimbi in 1974 and worked there for fourteen months before completing a further 10 months on the mainland at Nanggalala. Its is not surprising that “’writing up” took him some time.

His “Abstract” explains his examination of the relationship between the organisation, ownership and content of religious practice and knowledge, marriage and power relations in Yolnu society. He argues that older men require the authority gained through their control of secret ceremonies and religious knowledge, in order to sustain a polygamous regime. Making possible a system of marriage through which some men gain many wives. Keen’s description of the various ceremonies is highly detailed … we doubt if any broadly published material covers such content with similar vigour.

A special reference relating to the Yolnu of Northern Australia.

$280.00

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Classical Medical Print [Pochoir] – Hippocrates – Kuhn Regneir – 1932

A striking hand beautifully coloured risqué “Pochoir” produced in 1932 by Joseph Kuhn-Regneir (1873-1940). Hippocrates of course had died some time earlier!

Medical Consultation at its most informal.

Beautifully framed …

Price $160.00 – Or a set of four for $490.00

$290.00

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The Seats and Causes of Diseases Investigated by Anatomy – Giovanni Battista Morgagni – 3 Fine Volumes

Reproduces the 1769 edition for the “Classics of Medicine” – these volumes published 1983.

Three large volumes thick royal octavo 868, 770 and 604 pages after preliminaries and before indexes. Bound in jet black leather, marbled endpapers, gilt page edges, gilt design to covers, silk page markers. They make quite a statement. Circa 5kgs in weight so postage will vary dependent on customer location – please enquire. Nice presentation and a very good set.

Morgagni (1682-1771) regarded as the “Father of the Anatomical Concept”.

The origins and causes of diseases anatomically investigated, contains reports on an extensive series of postmortems performed by himself, his teacher, Valsalva, and other members of his circle. By comparing the clinical symptoms with the postmortem findings Morgagni laid the foundation of pathological anatomy. It is hard to find an area of the human body without something named after him.

Morgagni – Medical Classic – 3 Volumes

$160.00

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High Latitudes – A History of Swedish Polar Travels and Research – Gosta Liljequist

A Living Voice of the Living Bush – William Ricketts – Wonderfully Annotated and Signed.

Radio-Activity. An Elementary Treatise, from the Standpoint of the Disintegration Theory – Frederick Soddy M.A. – First Edition 1904

One Ceremony One Song. An Economy of Religious Knowledge Among Yolnu of North-East Arnhem Land. A PhD Thesis – Australia National University – 1978 – Ian Keen

Classical Medical Print [Pochoir] – Hippocrates – Kuhn Regneir – 1932

The Seats and Causes of Diseases Investigated by Anatomy – Giovanni Battista Morgagni – 3 Fine Volumes

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