Africa

The Shipwreck and captivity of Dr Archibald Thompson Surgeon on Ship Sympathy 1777 – First Edition 1809 – Extremely Rare

Published by Thomas Tegg of Cheapside, London in 1809. A very rare account. Running only to 28 pages, nevertheless with solid content and a magnificent albeit gruesome fold out frontispiece.

Bound in good fashion to preserve the item in quarter calf over marbled paper covered boards.

The extensive title continues and explains … including His pure and ardent Affection for a Young Lady, His only Companion, in a solitary Island; Their Unfortunate Separation; His state of Slavery in Algiers; The dreadful punishment of Impalement, indicted upon an unfortunate Negro, who ran from his Master, and the Doctor’s Happy Release and Return after an Absence of More than Seven Years.

Archibald Thompson, an Edinburgh based surgeon decided to join the Navy and he was given a position on Board the Sympathy, under Captain Sidney Russell. Their first voyage together was to Africa then planned for Barbados and on to South Carolina. The Sympathy was a ship of 300 tons and 30 men, and they were to procure a cargo of slaves.

The content concerning the slaves and their treatment is pretty thorough. Thompson is sympathetic with their plight but goes along with his “duties”. Instructive for those interested in this shabby element of history. After the shipwreck Thompson finds himself bonded to Angelina and they pledge their trust and more. After numerous twists and turns, and seven years, they find themselves together and returned to England.

Early Elaborate Shipwreck and Captivity – Near Impossible to Find

$490.00

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Rider Haggard – His Life and Works – Morton Cohen

A first edition published by Hutchinson, London in 1960. A special and first, perhaps only, in depth biography on the great Rider Haggard – author of 45 adventure books from “She” to “King Solomon’s Mines”.

Octavo, 327 pages, a scrape and nick to an otherwise good dust jacket, gift inscription on free end paper, slight splosh on the top, really a good copy of this hard to find book. Illustrated nicely from early photographs.

Unsurprisingly a friend of Kipling, as well as an obvious penchant for writing in the true adventure style Rider Haggard was a reformer in many ways. Early on he spent quite some time in Africa which seeded his genre. Then back in England he took up farming and introduced many new practices to the activity. He became famous though his works and his work and as a result was called into Public life.

A well written and extensively researched biography lacking of “the fill” seen in many others.

Rider Haggard from whom stems Indiana Jones and all of those types … we can only dream.

$30.00

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Green Hills of Africa – Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway’s Green Hills was first published in 1936. This is a 1962 edition of the desirable Jonathan Cape format.

Octavo, 284 pages with the super decorative illustrations by Edward Shenton. Green cloth covered boards with “game’ gilt design to front. Top edge stained green as required of this edition. A few dust jacket light chips and age otherwise a very copy of a hard to find item.

A piece of non-fiction regarding Hemingway’s safari to Africa in December 1933 with his wife Pauline. First criticised by reviewers and then lauded as the best African safari book ever written … Hemingway never forgave them as he thought they had killed the book.

Set in Tanzania and up the Great Rift Valley. Hemingway describes the lure of the hunt, the landscape and beauty of the wilderness like never before. Intermingled with conversations and views on writers and his writing. It is in this book that he set Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain as the greatest piece of American literature … but not without qualification.

Carries a special appreciation for “J P” i.e. Jackson Philip who was Philip Hope Percival who was his guide. Percival was the inspiration behind the character Robert Wilson in his later short story “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”

Green Hills of Africa – true Hemingway

$70.00

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Jardine Parrot – By Fawcett for Greene – 1884

Original wood cut hand finished engraving of the Jardine’s Parrot from “Parrots in Captivity”, published in London 1884.

This striking parrot was found and taken back to Scotland by the son of the famous naturalist, illustrator Sir William Jardine. The father categorised it hence it became named after his son … or after him as well really.

Greene’s delightful work comprising wood-engraved plates printed by Benjamin Fawcett after drawings by A.F. Lydon. The prints are hand finished with delicate highlighting in gum arabic to accentuate the bright colouring.

Benjamin Fawcett was one of the great colour printers of the 19th century. He pioneered a system of wood block engraving from multiple blocks that resulted in vivid finely coloured works. Fawcett had an association of some 50 years with Francis Orpen Morris to produce many beautiful works on birds. The engravings are the finest illustrations of parrots from the period.

Price unframed $120.00

$120.00

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Tribal Tattoos – Andy Sloss

An interesting little soft cover, only ever in this form. Published by Carlton, London in 2007.

Perfect bound 72 pages, illustrated throughout (naturally). Some introductory and concluding pages and in between .. Pacific; South America; North America; some Europe and Africa.

The variations, contrasts and similarities make this an interesting study even if you are not an advocate of the dye and needle.

Tattoos – a nice sounding and looking word, and steeped in cultural heritage worldwide

$20.00

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Chance or Design? – A Pioneer Looks Back [Papua New Guinea] – George Seymour Fort

George Fort (1851-1951) was prodding ninety when he wrote this reminiscence and it’s an interesting one particularly his time in New Guinea as an aid to Sir Peter Scratchley who carried out the annexation. Some history of events in that period that we have not seen elsewhere,

Published by Robert Hale, London in 1942. Octavo, 180 pages, good images from early New Guinea photographs. Original blue cloth covered boards, a very good copy.

As well as Australasia and New Guinea, Fort spent time in South Africa and Rhodesia. Chapters on Prospecting Experiences in Manicaland.

Fort kept the Fort in New Guinea and had some interesting things to say about it…

$40.00

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The Shipwreck and captivity of Dr Archibald Thompson Surgeon on Ship Sympathy 1777 – First Edition 1809 – Extremely Rare

Rider Haggard – His Life and Works – Morton Cohen

Green Hills of Africa – Ernest Hemingway

Jardine Parrot – By Fawcett for Greene – 1884

Tribal Tattoos – Andy Sloss

Chance or Design? – A Pioneer Looks Back [Papua New Guinea] – George Seymour Fort

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