Illustrated Works

Australian Private Press: The Dying Stockman – A Ballad … with Notes by Hugh Anderson and Lino Cuts by Ronald Edwards – No 1 of The Black Bull Chapbooks from The Ram’s Skull Press – Signed Limited No 50 of 75.

This is quite a story. Ron Edwards would eventually be given an OAM for his lifetime of work preserving Australian bush heritage. The Rams Skull Press still exists and is run by Ron’s son out of the Brisbane Valley. Ron himself moved from Ferntree, Victoria to equally beautiful Kuranda behind Cairns before he packed his bags.

This first of firsts printed in hand set Baskerville on Tudor Antique paper by R.G. Edwards at the sign of the Rams Skull Press … Lording Street, Lower Ferntree Fully, Victoria … limitation .. February, 1954.

Comprising music score, illustrated with woodcuts, hand sewn with leather ties, preserved inside original goatskin covers. A few insect nibbles to goatskin, otherwise all in excellent condition.

The verses are The Dying Stockman; Rosin the Beau; The Tarpaulin Jack and The Dying Digger … a bit of dying but they seemed to have had a good life and needed few possessions.

Scarce wondrous Australian bush verses printed on a flat bed everything by hand – dressed in goat skin.

$190.00

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Norfolk Island [Historical Verse] – Merval Connelly – First edition 1951

A first edition published by the quality Pegasus Press, Christchurch in 1951.

This continues a theme at Voyager … historical poetry of quality.

Octavo, 45 pages, illustrated with beautiful woodcut engravings by Gordan McAuslan. Good complete dust jacket. Very good condition.

Set out in two distinct parts …

Part I .. Captain Cook discovers the island; These sailed not for pleasure nor knowledge; First convict settlement; The years between; Second convict settlement; The second penal settlement closes; The coming of the Pitcairners.

Part II … Norfolk pines; In the valleys; Seascape; Cypresses and Banyan trees; Island nocturne; One wonders about the women; The legend of Bloody Bridge; Poem written at Kingston.

When we finished reading this book of poetry we were left with a better understanding of this unique place and its history and beauty.

Norfolk Island in verse – a delightful history.

$40.00

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To Greenland’s Icy Mountains – Eve Garnett – First Edition 1968

A semi fictionalised account of Hans Egede, Explorer and Missionary who in the early 18thC went in search of the descendants of 10thC Christians who went to the West Coast of Greenland.

Egede was in Greenland between 1797-1718. The author makes Egede’s story come alive as if it was yesterday.

Published by Heinemann, London in 1968, a first edition. Octavo, 190 pages, well illustrated with frontispiece portrait, sketches by the author and images from appropriate photographs, maps and charts. Good condition albeit front free end paper excised.

Inspirational Greenland Story

$25.00

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Tales From the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio [Beautifully Illustrated] – Private Printing 1937

Private Printed in, London 1937. A rare edition. Text based on an anonymous translation of 1741 revised by S.W. Orson in 1898. The striking illustrations are printed from linocuts by Edmondo Lucchesi, and we are told the typeface is 16-point Poliphilus.

Demo-folio, quarter red cloth backed decorated red/pink paper covered boards with paper title to front. 89 pages numerous woodcuts. Some ageing near the ends, still a better than good copy of a favourite illustrated book.

Boccaccio’s tales amusing, moral suggestions, and the odd amoral act. The long introductory title to each gives a flavour e.g.

“Masse da Lamorecchio, pretending to be dumb, is appointed gardener at a nunnery, and is favourably received by the inmates”, and

“Pernella puts her gallant into a tub on her husband’s coming home, which tub the husband had sold; she consequently tells him that she had also sold it to a person who was then in it to see if it were sound; upon this the man jumps out and makes the husband and makes the husband clean it for him”.

Boccaccio with the titillating woodcuts of Edmondo Lucchesi

$120.00

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Scents of Flying – Maki Horanai and Hillel Weintraub

Self published hand made by Mountain Dreams Press in 2010. A special beautiful book displaying the highly original artwork of Maki Horanai.

Unpaginated but 28 pages of thick handmade paper so lovely you could eat it. Fourteen images by Horanai, alternating full page and double page. Signed boldly on the front pastedown by the artist and the wordsmith Hillel Weintrub. The image of the title, an element of “Homage” is repeated pasted to the front boards. Boards covered in rich handmade paper.

As you can tell … we love it.

Wish and you could be a “Sky Carpet Traveller”

$70.00

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The Dawn of Time – Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings – Roberts and Mountford.

A first edition of this “sequel” to Dreamtime. Another wonderful book by ethnologist Charles Mountford and artist Ainslie Roberts.

Published in 1969 again by Rugby, Adelaide. Same small quarto format 79 pages with a beautiful image for each of the myths recounted by Mountford received from Elders and Storytellers.

Includes some from the coast such as Kondole the Whale; Pipinyawari the Queen Fish … the Fighting Cloud Women; the Black Kangaroo; and our favourite Brolga the Dancing Girl .. albeit a little sad.

Remember this story when you see a Brolga.

$30.00

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Australian Private Press: The Dying Stockman – A Ballad … with Notes by Hugh Anderson and Lino Cuts by Ronald Edwards – No 1 of The Black Bull Chapbooks from The Ram’s Skull Press – Signed Limited No 50 of 75.

Norfolk Island [Historical Verse] – Merval Connelly – First edition 1951

To Greenland’s Icy Mountains – Eve Garnett – First Edition 1968

Tales From the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio [Beautifully Illustrated] – Private Printing 1937

Scents of Flying – Maki Horanai and Hillel Weintraub

The Dawn of Time – Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings – Roberts and Mountford.

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