Maritime

Passage from Paradise – Helen Smallwood [Self Published Adventure}

Self published by the adventurer author and her husband from there home in Wales in 1988.

Larger form softcover (only form) in very good condition. 155 pages, nicely illustrated throughout with charts, images from the voyage, some in colour.

The vessel in question was formerly a Norwegian Rescue Ship that mainly worked the North Sea in the 1930’s. Forty years later she was found in a miserable condition in the Seychelles by Helen Smallwood and her husband. They, along with another family, spent the next two years plus restoring the vessel. Then a magnificent voyage was undertaken through the islands of the Western Indian Ocean down west of Madagascar, round the Cape and on to St Helena … to the West Indies and eventually Florida before an Atlantic crossing to finish at Plymouth.

The vessel then became a training ship for young sailors in Scotland … similar to the role of the Windward Bound in Hobart. If you are feeling generous donate to the Windward Bound … they do some wonderful work with young people .. some doing it a bit tough.

A special book about a special boat rebuilding project the sailing adventure that followed ... a Voyager favourite

$25.00

Updating cart...

Captain William Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty

The very special Hordern House publication to support the sale of the Parks collection. 133 catalogued items all with a special illustration. Many rare and some unique items.

Hard bound with dust jacket in very good condition and of a standard as would be expected from Hordern House. A must for any Bountaneer!

Special Mutiny on the Bounty item

$60.00

Updating cart...

Narrative of the Wreck of HMS Porpoise – Robert Purdie [A Flinders Item]

Octavo, xiv, 134 pages, published by Hordern House in 2014. A very good copy.

Robert Purdie was a young surgeon who was wrecked on HMS Porpoise on a reef off the Queensland coast (to become known as “Wreck Reef’’). This was the vessel originally taking Matthew Flinders back the England having completed his coastal survey of Australia, confirming the entirety of the land mass. Purdie’s account had been published anonymously in The Naval Chronicle in 1807/07. He had been a junior officer on the Investigator and was among those that stayed on the reef whilst Flinders and other rowed back to Sydney to successfully mount a rescue.

The narrative is lively, informative and readable … here well presented with an excellent introduction and notes by Matthew Fishburn

Flinders and Wreck Reef by Surgeon’s Mate Purdie.

$40.00

Updating cart…

The Great South Land – Searching for the Antipodes from Classical Scholars to Quiros & Dampier.

Published by Hordern House in 2011 another scholarly catalogue of key works presented in a depth and standard unlikely to be surpassed.

Hardback quarto, in dust jacket, unpaginated but circa 180 pages with 127 rare items. A fine copy.

After a useful introduction we start with “Ideas of a southern continent” … Classical Geographers with works by Strabo, Mela, Macrobious, Ptolemaeus … the Renaissance and later. Leading to Marco-Polo, Mandeville and the “travellers and story tellers”. Dutch exploration and the VOC … Duyfken, Tasman, Pelsaert. Before the Spanish and Portuguese … Varthema, Quiros, Mendana. The “English Adventurers make Landfall” .. Drake, Woodes Rogers, William Dampier. Hakluyt wraps it all up. All up 104 voyagers, travellers or distinguished authors.

The period up to Dampier explained by reference to key works

$40.00

Updating cart…

Special Maritime Book: On the Wind of a Dream (The Saga of the Solace) – Commander Victor Clark – First Edition 1960

A first edition of this sought after and outstanding voyage account.

Commander Victor Clark found himself released from the Admiralty in London and decided to satisfy his adventurous spirit with a round the world voyage, which was to take six years.

The Solace was purchased, and his adventure began sailing south and west to take the route through the Panama Canal. Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotu, Society and Cook Islands. Then to Palmerston Island … a whole story must be written about this strange place … a form of English being the language of the day and many of the people descend from their Birmingham England forefather. Unfortunately, Solace was wrecked here which meant Clark had to undertake a full year stop over, but because of which we learn something special about Palmerston Island .

Published by Hutchinson in 1960 a first edition. Octavo, 308 pages, illustrations from photographs taken on the voyage, end paper maps a bit more informative than most. With the rare, un-clipped dust jacket albeit taped at some time along the top and bottom of spine.

This book commands significant prices around the world … apart from being hard to come by we feel the observations and writing, the events and adventures, the detail on the unusual Palmerston Island and its society make it special and therefore desired by those in the know.

Victor Clark RN in the Solace and what an adventure

$180.00

Updating cart…

Newnes’ Slide Rule Manual

A 1960’s revised edition of the “go to” book on the slide rule produced and published by George Newnes, London.

Octavo, 112 pages of slide rule lovers delight. Covers the … Principle of the Slide Rule; Principle of Logarithms; Using the Slide Rule; Examples; Circular Slide Rules etc. Very good condition albeit a little creasing to the otherwise good dust jacket.

The Preface starts … “The slide rule is considered by many a mysterious instrument requiring years of study before it can be used with facility”.

Within twenty years sophisticated electronic calculators and personal computers made the slide made the slide rule obsolete and an “antique” of the past. Pity … to use the slide rule properly a knowledge of mathematics was required …

A very interesting “modern” curiosity … get your slide rule today.

Slide rules and the mathematics that flows from them.

$25.00

Updating cart…

Passage from Paradise – Helen Smallwood [Self Published Adventure}

Captain William Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty

Narrative of the Wreck of HMS Porpoise – Robert Purdie [A Flinders Item]

The Great South Land – Searching for the Antipodes from Classical Scholars to Quiros & Dampier.

Special Maritime Book: On the Wind of a Dream (The Saga of the Solace) – Commander Victor Clark – First Edition 1960

Newnes’ Slide Rule Manual

Product Categories