Maritime

The Works of Jonathan Swift [Including Gulliver's Travels] – Published 1760

The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St Patricks, Dublin, Accurately Revised in Twelve Volumes, Adorned with Copper Plates; with Some account of the Author’s Life, and Notes Historical and Explanatory, by John Hawkesworth

Twelve octavo volumes in contemporary full leather bindings published London, 1760. Printed by C. Bathurst et al. Complete and in good authentic condition. Various plates including, in particular the plates and maps relating to Gulliver’s Travels.

Each volume bound in full leather. Raised bands to spines with six compartments those free with gilt decoration. Leather title and volume numbers applied in gilt direct. Red lettered title pages. Some rubbing, and tender hinges, occasional marks, generally clean.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) barely requires introduction. An Anglo-Irish satirist, political pamphleteer for the Whigs and then the Tories, poet and cleric who became the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. Whilst Gulliver’s Travels is foremost in most minds he also wrote and published here – A Modest Proposal; A Journal to Stella; Drapier’s Letters; The Battle of the Books; A Tale of a Tub etc. the foremost satirist in the English language.

The presentation of Gulliver’s Travels is very good. Pages are clean and the plates and in particular the maps are well executed. The relevance to Australia may not be understood by all with Lilliput set south of Sumatra and in the vicinity of Christmas Island; and Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) featuring in the south east … Houyhnhnms Land and the Yahoos, as everybody knows, was discovered in 1711 and sits off the coast of South Australia.

Swift based his understanding of the geography from the accounts of the voyages of William Dampier [As did Defoe re Robinson Crusoe] and the early Dutch voyagers. Dampier visited Christmas Island in 1688. Some early maps showed erroneously two islands instead of one … this may account for Swift’s ‘two island” depiction.

The “biographer” John Hawkesworth requires mention, a man of distinction not the least in that he wrote up the official account of James Cook’s First Voyage in the Endeavour.

Swift’s Works all Twelve Volumes in contemporary 18th C bindings – including Gulliver’s Travels – 1760

SO SORRY ON HOLD – IMAGES TO COME

$680.00

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The Pearl – John Steinbeck – First UK Edition 1948

Published by Heinemann, London in 1948. A special short story from the Nobel prize winning author.

Octavo, 98 pages, dust jacket with some age an chips, otherwise a bright copy of a scarce Steinbeck work.

Based on an old Mexican folk story … the Great Pearl. How it was found and lost. A simple story about folks … Kino the fisherman, his wife Coyitio and baby Juana. Enchanting.

The Pearl – a Steinbeck First from a story long told in Mexico by the Ocean.

SO SORRY SOLD

$60.00

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Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Reeds, Peony and Bamboo] – Wrecked in 1822 Gaspar Straits

Qing Dynasty decorated bowl recovered by Mike Hatcher from the Tek Sing shipwreck. A special example.

Unusual more extensive decoration with a central spray of reeds emanating from rockwork, peony flowers to the left and a very nice bamboo image to the right. Three small floral designs under rim and two character marks to centre. Blue circle around foot and likely under rim. Larger example bowl for Tek Sing, 15 cm in diameter 3.0 cm high, with a good foot. Retains the Nagel auction and catalogue stickers underneath for provenance.

A Tek Sing special – Nice strong and uncommon decoration.
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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 Nagle in Stuttgart, Germany the following year

$220.00

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Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Peony and Magnolia] – 1822

Qing Dynasty decorated bowl recovered by Mike Hatcher from the Tek Sing shipwreck. A lovely example.

Beautifully and quite fully decorated with peony flowers and magnolias and, maybe what is a rock-wall at centre. Three Lingzhi fungus sprays under rim, blue glaze circles under rim and around foot. Strong colouring. A small nicely curved bowl 10.5 cm in diameter 2.5 cm high. Retains the Nagel auction and catalogue stickers underneath for provenance.

Super 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 Nagle in Stuttgart, Germany the following year

$150.00

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Titans of the Barrier Reef [Further Adventures of a Shark Fisherman] – Norman Caldwell – First Edition 1938

A nice first edition of the follow up book to Fangs of the Sea by shark hunter extraordinaire Norman Caldwell

Published by Angus and Robertson, Sydney in 1938. Thick octavo, 248 pages, illustrated throughout with images from original photographs of the “’catch” and the odd snake etc, end paper maps. Missing the dust jacket but rare as is in emerald original green cloth covered binding, very slightly cocked, very clean inside a very good copy.

Still hunting along the east coast of Australia, mainly in Queensland on the Barrier Reef from the Whitsundays up to Caldwell. An unusual in the moment narrative like its predecessor, sometime drifting into a story telling style in the manner of Idriess. Fascinating “sharky” encounters and the odd 500plus pound Grouper, as in “Fangs”. Photographic images are classic … Caldwell had a rather strange passion of photographing his wife with the caught beauties, posing in a sometimes unusual fashion.

Caldwell the Shark Hunter more than just Fangs

$140.00

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Fangs of the Sea – Norman Caldwell – First Edition 1936

An extremely rare first edition of Shark Hunter Norman Caldwell’s classic book.

Written in conjunction with Norman Ellison. Published by Angus and Robertson, Sydney in 1936.

Thick octavo, 282 pages, illustrated throughout with images from original photographs, diagrams of shark catching techniques, end paper maps. Missing the original dust jacket but rare as is in original green cloth covered binding, very slightly cocked, very clean inside a pretty good copy. Best obviously available currently.

Caldwell could see money in catching sharks – his hunting ground was in Queensland between Repulse Bay and Gloucester Island taking in the Whitsundays.

Obviously if you don’t have the appetite for shark hunting this is not the book for you. Caldwell also went after and caught “big Fish” other than sharks and Rays and massive Grouper Fish were within his aim.

The book has taken on almost legendary status and sought after by those with a bit of Hemingway and Lee Marvin in them.

Caldwell’s Fangs one for the game fisherman

$270.00

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The Works of Jonathan Swift [Including Gulliver's Travels] – Published 1760

The Pearl – John Steinbeck – First UK Edition 1948

Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Reeds, Peony and Bamboo] – Wrecked in 1822 Gaspar Straits

Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Peony and Magnolia] – 1822

Titans of the Barrier Reef [Further Adventures of a Shark Fisherman] – Norman Caldwell – First Edition 1938

Fangs of the Sea – Norman Caldwell – First Edition 1936

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