Asia

Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Recovered by Mike Hatcher] – Shipwreck in the Gaspar Straits 1822

Qing Dynasty decorated footed dish recovered by Mike Hatcher from the Tek Sing shipwreck. A very good clean example.

Niceley decorated and with peony and magnolia flowers and double lines at rim, simple decoration under rim. Strong colouring and no damage which is rare. 10.5 cm in diameter 2.5 cm high. Retains the auction reference sticker from the famous Nagel auction in Germany underneath.

A fine example of a Tek Sing shipwreck bowl

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The Tek Sing Shipwreck – Background

The Tek Sing (Chinese for “Bright Star”’) was a large Chinese Junk which sank in 1822 in the South China Sea at the Belvidere Shoals. She was 50 meters long, 10 metres wide and weighed a thousand tons. Manned by a crew of 200. The great loss of life has led to the Tek Sing being referred to as the “Titanic of the East”.

Sailing from the port of Amoy (now Xiamen), the Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, with a cargo of porcelain goods and 1,600 Chinese immigrants. After a month of sailing, Captain Lo Tauko took a shortcut through the Gaspar Straits and ran aground on a reef and sank in 100 feet of water.

The next morning and English East Indiaman captained by James Pearl sailing from Indonesia to Borneo passed through the Gaspar Straits. He found debris from the sunken Chinese vessel and survivors. They managed to rescue 190 people.

In 1999, marine salvor Mike Hatcher discovered the wreck. His crew raised what has been described as the largest cache of Chinese porcelain ever recovered. It was auctioned by Nagel in Stuttgart, Germany the following year

$140.00

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Shipwreck and Discovery of the Pelew Islands – First Edition 1788

An Account of the Pelew Islands situated in the Western Part of the Pacific Ocean, composed from the Journals and Communications of Captain Henry Wilson, and some of his Officers who, in August 1783, were there Shipwrecked in the Antelope … George Keate – 1788

Published by G Nicol, Booksellers to His Majesty the King, Pall Mall, LonDon in 1788. Quarto, xxvii, 378 pages. Bound in half leather over marbled papered boards, spine in compartments with gilt titles, author, date [1788] and fouled anchors to compartments. Binding a little rubbed to edges but still strong and impressive, internally a little age and occasional foxing and the odd stain, overall a good to better copy complete and worthy in any collection.

Frontispiece and sixteen magnificent engravings 8 of which are folding. Frontispiece of Wilson and an important folding map of the islands and their relationship with The Philippines, also a three-fold plan or view of the islands.

Composed from the journals and communications of Captain Wilson and his Officers who in 1783 were shipwrecked in the Antelope a packet belonging to the Honourable East India Company. They hit a reef near one of the Palau (Pelew) Island, a previously unexplored group. The entire crew managed to get ashore safely, where they were well treated by the natives and eventually managed to build a small vessel from the wreck in which they reached Macao. They took Prince Lee Boo, one of King Adda Thulle’s sons, with them to England, where he made a very good impression. Unhappily despite of precautions he died of smallpox. Keate was the author of numerous books of poetry, history, and letter, and counted Captain Wilson as well as Voltaire amongst his friends.

First Edition 1788 – An important Account with an interesting, readable narrative and impressive plates and maps.

$790.00

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A Voyage to New Guinea, and the Moluccas from Balambangan: including and Account of Magindono, Sooloo and other Islands … performed in the Tartar Galley, during the years 1774,1775 and 1776 – Thomas Forrest -First Edition 1779

A rare first edition published by Robson, Donaldson et al London 1779. Quarto, 388 pages, and with 32 copper engraved maps and plates, many double page or folding. Offsetting to plates, as usual. A good copy in original full calf re-backed and re-cornered to style.

Scottish born Thomas Forrest (1729-1802) was a brilliant sailor and navigator. He was a midshipman by sixteen and soon spent most of his time in the “Indian waters”. He was commissioned by the British East India Company in 1762. By 1770 he was engaged in forming a new settlement, Balambangban, Borneo … an idea fostered by Alexander Dalrymple.

He was soon involved in plans to explore the islands to the east in the direction of New Guinea. He sailed on 9^th December 1774 in the Tartar a garay boat from Sulu of about ten tons. His crew comprised two English officers and eighteen Malays. He was accompanied part of the voyage by two even smaller boats. The expedition, the subject of this book pushed as far as Geelvink Bay, New Guinea having explored and charted the Sulu Archipelago, Mindanao, Mandiolo, Batchian and Waiego, returning to Achin in the March of 1776.

This volume with its sumptuous array of plates was produced to a very high standard. A well written account published quite speedily after the events reflects the support and standing offered the author Forrest.

Forrest went on to publish further works relating to navigation in the east such as “A Treatise on the Monsoons in East India”.

Forrest exploring and charting the eastern islands of the East Indies and Northern Coastline of New Guinea.

$1,280.00

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The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido for the Suppression of Piracy with Extracts from the Journal of James Brooke, Esq of Sarawak – Captain Henry Keppel – Two Volumes -1847

A third edition set of this Borneo classic published by Chapman and Hall, London in 1847 the year after the first. Preferred for the additional details particularly the new chapter on recent intelligence by Walter Kelly.

It is the second half of the title that explains the importance of these volumes. Brooke had suggested the first part as the principal title maybe to underplay his hand.

James Brooke (1803-1868) was an extraordinary individual born into a colonial family and generally describe as soldier and adventurer. He was given the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo, by the Sultan of Brunei, as a reward for quelling an uprising and driving pirates from the region. He ruled with an iron fist from 1842-1868. There is much more to his story than can be written here … he knew Alfred Russell Wallace and influenced his decision to conduct extensive natural history researches in the region culminating in the evolutionary evidence giving rise to the naming of the “Wallace Line”.

James Brooke is behind the character in Joseph Conrad’s “Lord Jim” and the “White Rajah” of Nicholas Monsarrat. Charles Kingsley dedicated “Westward Ho” to the man and Errol Flynn planned to star as Brooke in a film written by himself although it was never made.

The author of this work, Captain Henry Keppel had sailed the Dido to Borneo in 1843. His crew became heavily involved in resisting attacks by Lanoon pirates.

Two royal octavo, volumes, 429 and 315 pages after preliminaries. Bound in morocco with separate title and volume labels gilt on black leather, raised bands etc. Nicely illustrated with 11 tinted lithographic plates, 6 folding maps and a chart. A little pale foxing otherwise very good copies of this interesting account. Carries the bookplate of Walter Jeffrey, early writer of maritime novels and historical accounts.

The Dido in and Around Borneo and the Journals of Adventure and first Sultan of Sarawak – James Brooke

$590.00

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Voices for Kurdistan – Fire, Snow & Honey – Gina Lennox.

Published by Halstead Press, Sydney in 2001. Thick squat quarto, 677 pages, some illustrations and good endpaper maps. The odd pencil annotation from an educated reader – we have left them as we believe it adds to the book. Very good condition.

The Kurds come from a proud ancient culture and have been exploited and persecuted over and over again. This work, edited by Gin Lennox contains over 600 contributions from Kurds of all ages and backgrounds. It is a unique and inherently comprehensive work that will educate any that wish to understand more about the Kurdish people their land and culture.

Gina Lennox interest and love for the people and region stems from 1980 motorbike trip she made from London to India. Her life more or less devoted to the people of the Middle east since then

Kurdistan laid bare through Gina Lennox

$35.00

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The Search for Mallory & Irvine – Peter Firstbrook.

A very good copy of this BBC sponsored climb to find any evidence of the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine in their “so close” attempt to conquer Everest in 1924. Some believe they did.

A first edition of the record of climb undertaken in 1999 and published later that year. Octavo, 224 pages, many photographs both from 1924 and 1999, good maps etc. Very good condition.

Few adventure readers do not know of the Mallory mystery and a pity that his buddy Irvine does not quite get the same billing. Less know about this book and we hope it does not spoil the drama to tell you that they did find Mallory and albeit a bit grotesque there are images of his frozen body and the belongings on him at the time of death – no climber of the day left without Swan Vestas matches.

This is a special book in that it puts certain things to bed once and for all … it’s also a great record of the events at each end of a 75 year timeline. We love it.

Mallory resolved and a super Everest account.

$30.00

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Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Recovered by Mike Hatcher] – Shipwreck in the Gaspar Straits 1822

Shipwreck and Discovery of the Pelew Islands – First Edition 1788

A Voyage to New Guinea, and the Moluccas from Balambangan: including and Account of Magindono, Sooloo and other Islands … performed in the Tartar Galley, during the years 1774,1775 and 1776 – Thomas Forrest -First Edition 1779

The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido for the Suppression of Piracy with Extracts from the Journal of James Brooke, Esq of Sarawak – Captain Henry Keppel – Two Volumes -1847

Voices for Kurdistan – Fire, Snow & Honey – Gina Lennox.

The Search for Mallory & Irvine – Peter Firstbrook.

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