Biography/ autobiography

Tracy Edwards – Living Every Second – First Edition Autobiography 2001

A fine first edition of Tracy Edwards autobiography published by Hodder in 2001. Royal octavo hardback, 430 pages, perfect jacket, illustrated with images from coloured photographs.

What an incredible person, hard to summarise. Tough childhood leaving home at 16 to work in Athens in and around boats. Serious sailing … meets King Hussein who actively encourages her and in time sponsors her efforts. Buys and refits the ocean going “Maiden” and brings together an all female team to seriously challenge the Whitbread Round-the-World yacht Race in 1989, finishing second in class and winning two of the six stages. Becomes Yachtsman of the Year, MBE etc. Later tries for the Jules Verne but is de-masted off Chile. A really readable account of the very likable Tracy Edwards.

After this book was published her life continued its very ups and very downs … another book could be written.

Tracy Edwards nothing stops her …

$30.00

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The Martyrs of Science, or the Lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe and Kepler – Sir David Brewster – Special Binding – 1856

Published by John Murray, London in 1856. Small octavo 216 pages after preliminaries. Bound extravagantly in full purple Morocco, with rich gilt decoration to both boards and spine, the upper board with the arms of Milton Abbat School … a fine prize. A little rubbed externally, bright throughout.

Sir David Brewster (1781-1868) was a Scottish scientist, inventor, academic. He was Principal at St Andrews and then Edinburgh University. Newtonian devotee and master in optics (hence his interest in the subjects of this book) he discovered Brewster’s Angle and pioneered mineralogical observations with the microscope. Inventor of the stereoscopic camera and kaleidoscope. He has a crater on the Moon named after him … the ultimate accolade.

Galileo, Tycho Brahe and Kepler need less introduction.

Nobody has been closer to the stars

$140.00

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R.L.S. [Robert Louis Stevenson] in the South Seas – An Intimate Photographic Record

A first edition of this special book for lovers of Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island. Published by Mainstream Press in 1986. Small quarto, 192 pages profusely illustrated.

In 1888 R.L.S. set of with his family into the Pacific to write about the South Seas and its Islands. He took photographic equipment and a magic lantern with him intending to produce his own illustrations. Many though lost this is the first publication of a those that remain. R.L.S. was a prolific letter writers and these along with some short essays provide an excellent narrative in which to display these photographic gems.

R.L.S. in the Pacific Lost and Found Images.

$40.00

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A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb – 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 in a Victorian way by John Wallce. Pictorial boards nice but rubbed especially at the tips. Overall, still a particularly good copy of a book rather hard to find so.

Inspiration for Rider Haggard – John Jebb Adventurer

$50.00

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George Bass 1771-1803: His Discoveries, Romantic Life and Tragic Disappearance – Keith Bowden – First Edition 1952

A very good first edition of this well researched and written book on Bass.

Published by the Oxford University Press Melbourne in 1952. Octavo, 171 pages with illustrations and a fine dust jacket.

The author Keith Macrae Bowden was the author of the official Australian Dictionary of Biography re Bass and therefore holds a certain authority on the subject explorer.

After various introduction we have a family history and the first naval activity on HMS Shark and HMS Reliance. Off to Australia and the exploratory adventures on the Tom Thumb before a trip to South Africa. Time in Port Jackson and the discovery of coal before the “Discovery of the Bass Strait” and the final whale boat voyage. Plans for a fortune and his Pacific voyages and on to South America and his disputable fate.

Nice appendices on the Tom Thumb; Source of Information and a succinct listing of the subjects achievements.

George Bass a fairly full life

$50.00

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Disturbing Element [An Autobiography] – Xavier Herbert – First Edition 1963

A very nice first edition copy of Australian writer Xavier Herbert’s autobiography.

Born in 1901 Xavier Herbert had a rather strange upbringing. He trained as a Pharmacist having worked in a chemist’s shop at the age of 14. He went to Melbourne to study medicine. Writing was a passion but he was in his thirties before his great work “Capricornia” was published to great acclaim. He was much admired by HG Wells.

Xavier Herbert was the “Disturbing Element’. Published by F.W. Cheshire, Melbourne etc in 1963. Octavo, 271 pages, a very good if not better copy.

Xavier Herbert published few works and his final novel “Poor Fellow My Country” was published in 1975 and won him the Miles Franklin award. It is also the longest novel ever published by an Australian writer at 1,466 pages and an estimated 852 thousand words

Interesting autobiography of the elusive talented Xavier Herbert.

$30.00

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Tracy Edwards – Living Every Second – First Edition Autobiography 2001

The Martyrs of Science, or the Lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe and Kepler – Sir David Brewster – Special Binding – 1856

R.L.S. [Robert Louis Stevenson] in the South Seas – An Intimate Photographic Record

A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb – 1895

George Bass 1771-1803: His Discoveries, Romantic Life and Tragic Disappearance – Keith Bowden – First Edition 1952

Disturbing Element [An Autobiography] – Xavier Herbert – First Edition 1963

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