North America

The Struggle For Sea Power- A Naval History of American Independence – Sam Willis

A substantial piece of work by Wills on this important naval period for all involved.

Published by Atlantic Books, London in 2015. Thick Royal octavo, 573 pages, heavily illustrated including important charts. Fine condition – hard to find in Australia.

The American Revolution was a naval war of immense scope and variety – engagements took place on five ocean – involving the Americans, British, French, Spanish, Dutch and the Russians …

All about the War of Independence at sea.

$50.00

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A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb [South America and Mexico] – 1895

John Gladwyn Jebb led as an adventurous life as could be possible. This book was compiled by his widow and carries the introduction of none other than possibly the greatest adventure writer H Rider Haggard.

English born Jebb’s adventures began as a military man in India. Soon he was conducting privately funded explorations into Central and Southern America. Involved in numerous business dealings… helped to start White Line … was in involved in armaments. He moved to the US and the Wild West … bear hunting, gold mining and a few conflicts with local bandits and Indians. Off to Mexico to make his fortune gold mining (made it and lost it) and much of the later part of the books is about his times in Mexico padded a bit with history of the region.

Published by Blackwood, Edinburgh in 1895 octavo, 271 pages, frontispiece of the great man, illustrated by John Wallce. Pictorial boards nice but a little rubbed especially at the tips. Overall, still a particularly good copy of a rather hard to find book.

Inspiration for Rider Haggard – John Jebb Adventurer

$50.00

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Map Collectors’ Circle – The American Colonies – Bickham – by D Schrire

This is No 27 of the Map Collectors Circle published in 1966. Its proper title is Bickham’s Birds Eye County Views and the British Monarchy, including the North American Supplement, in full reproduction.

It is Bickham’s beautifully executed work … “A Short Description of the American Colonies belonging to the Crown of Great Britain Engraved by George Bickham Snr, London published according to an Act of Parliament 19 Dec 1747” that dominates and makes this issue – hence our corrupted Voyager title.

Usual Original light peach coloured card covers, 42 pages, numerous illustrations and the aforesaid reproduction.

A reminder of the past for those that care or cope.

American Interest – Bickham in 1747

$25.00

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Spring on an Antarctic Island (Bylot Island) – Katherine Scherman

First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London in 1956. The author and a group of naturalists and scientists visit remote Bylot Island, north of Baffin Island well within the Arctic Circle.

Octavo, 329 pages, end paper maps, illustrated from photographs taken on the expedition. A small chip top of dust jacket, otherwise a fine copy.

The party flew by light aircraft to Pond Inlet a remote Hudson Bay Company outpost on the northern shores of Baffin Island. Some explorations in the locale and then off further north to Bylot with Eskimo guide Idlouk. They set up camp near the Aktineg glacier. Bylot sparsely populated with a few friendly Eskimo group is a cold mountainous place with its own unique flora and fauna. Image the Arctic Willow which last eight years but never gets higher than five inches.

Bylot a unique environment – an authentic account.

$35.00

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The Amazing Mr Doolittle [Biography of American Air Ace and Daredevil] – Quentin Reynolds – 1954

A very good copy of the second impression of the first UK edition published in June 1954 one month after the first.

Published by Cassell, London. Octavo, 313 pages, frontispiece of our Hero.

Biography of the great American Air Ace. The front cover boldly list his achievements .. some would be less bold nowadays .. that’s history.

His early flights is our bag though, and this ace started early in the 1920’s .. winner of the Schneider Trophy and a true daredevil .. where are they now? He was the first to fly on instruments alone, cross America etc.

Doolittle, Not talking to the Animals, flying the Aeroplanes.

$40.00

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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 Struggle For Sea Power- A Naval History of American Independence – Sam Willis

A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb [South America and Mexico] – 1895

Map Collectors’ Circle – The American Colonies – Bickham – by D Schrire

Spring on an Antarctic Island (Bylot Island) – Katherine Scherman

The Amazing Mr Doolittle [Biography of American Air Ace and Daredevil] – Quentin Reynolds – 1954

The Passenger Pigeon – by Joseph Quinn.

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