Non-fiction

The Iceland Journals of Henry Holland 1810 – Edited Andrew Wawn

The British had visited Iceland for many years, but little was written about it before this expedition.

Led by Sir George Mackenzie accompanied by a party of young Edinburgh scientists. Among them was Henry Hall, who later became a physician to Queen Victoria in London. Hall was 22 at the time of the expedition.

The object of the exercise was to explore and investigate several volcanic regions to contribute to the important and controversial mineralogical debate that was then taking place in Europe. There are three fundamental journeys … to Gullbringusfsala; the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Rangarvallasyla.

On return Mackenzie published the first good account on Iceland for over forty years … “Travels in the Island of Iceland etc”. Henry Hall had kept a detailed diary which, never published was retained in family hands until gifted by them to a Reykjavik institution.

The author of this work, Andrew Wawn, carried out the sort of research expected of a Hakluyt contributor concluded that Mackenzie’s published work relied heavily on Hall’s manuscript without acknowledgement. Furthermore, Hall’s more detailed and in the moment account contained much missed by his illustrious leader … so here we have it.

Published by Hakluyt in 1987. Octavo, 342 pages after preliminaries. The extent of Wawn’s work in bringing this account to life is clear from the 70-page introduction. Then we have 200 pages of the text of the journals illustrated by numerous sketches made by Hall. Followed by several useful appendices. A very good copy.

Hall’s missing journals on Iceland 1810.

$50.00

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King Island and the Sealing Trade 1802 – Helen Micco

An important work regrading Tasmania’s King Island and the sealing trade at the very beginning of the 19th century.

Put together by Helen Micco and published by Roebuck as part of their historical series. A first printing of 1971. Small quarto, 51 pages after preliminaries, 7 full page plates not included in the pagination. A particularly good copy. Carries the nicely style bookplate ex libris Gisborne Park, carefully affixed only at the top so as not to actually intrude on the endpaper map.

Based around extracts from Francois Peron’s account of the Baudin voyage in Le Geographe and Le Naturaliste from 1800-1804 during which they visited King Island.

After a description of the original documentation an outline of the voyage we have a translation of Peron’s work … “King Island: The Hunter Islands: The northwest part of Van Diemen’s Land. From 18th November to 27th December” 1802. And .. “History of the Sea Elephant or Trunked Seal: English fisheries in Southern Lands … the advantages that the English derive from the Seals of the Southern Lands.

There follows a tribute to Peron and a series of Appendices including to and from Baudin and Governor King. Finishing with a useful note by Isobel Bennett of the Department of Zoology, Sydney University regarding the Australian wildlife mention in the voyage with reference to the illustration by Lesueur of which Voyager often has examples.

King Island a magnificent place and an important part of its history.

$40.00

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Utopias and Imaginary Voyages to Australasia – John Dunmore

Who else could be more qualified to write and present on this subject at the National Library of Australia than John Dunmore?

Octavo, card cover of 23 delicious pages, the text of Dunmore’s lecture of 2nd September 1987, published by the N.L.A. the following year. A fine copy.

From Joseph Hall’s “Mundas Alter et Idem’ the first utopian account to be set in the Antipodes, with mentions of La Perouse and “Fragmens” … Aldous Huxley is a bit of a drift … then back to Utopian reality and the Adventures of Alexander Venderchurch and many more esoteric accounts before back to the likes of Gulliver and that endearing Swiss Family.

A special lecture by Dunmore on down under Utopia – wish I had been there.

$30.00

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A Solomons Sojourn: J.E. Philp’s Log of the Makira 1912-1913

A limited edition of 500 available copies published in 1978 by the Tasmanian Historical Research Association and one of their best efforts.

Octavo, 208 pages nicely illustrated from period photographs and with useful maps of the region. A very good copy.

John Ernest Philp was a Tasmanian shipping clerk. Likely seeking greater adventure he served for two year on the Makira as engineer, mate and then captain of the vessel in and around the Solomons. His log reproduced here is an important contribution to the somewhat scant detail available regrading activities during the pre WWI colonial era. His crew drawn from native stock were special to him and his warmth comes through in his writing. Tragedies such as murder and cannibalism arise and are recorded with precision.

Nicely edited by Richard Herr and Anne Rood and a helping hand by Dan Sprod, of course, to get it through the Press

Detailed account of a trading ketch in the Solomons when it was pretty lively.

$40.00

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A Narrative of a Voyage to New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land by Amaso Delano

Published by the Cat & Fiddle Press, Hobart, Tasmania in 1973. One of 500 copies and a fine example of a special work.

Octavo, with dust jacket, unpaginated but complete.

A facsimile extract from a Narrative of Voyages and Travels in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres Comprising Three Voyages Round the World Together with a Voyage of Survey and Discovery in the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Lands.

Set out in two parts.

Part One: Remarks upon a voyage to the South Sea by way of the Cape of Good Hope – King Island – Straits between New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land – Settlements on New Holland and van Diemen’s Land … and,

Part Two: Transactions at New Holland, Van Diemen’s Land, and Bass’s Strait – Letter to Philip Gedney (sic) King, Governor General of New South Wales – remarkable Accident of the Pilgrim’s boat being sunk – Departure from Bass’s Strait – Description of the Snares – Bounty Islands – Passage across the south Pacific Ocean – Rendezvous with the ship Perseverance.

Amas Delano – a rare account brought to life by the Cat & Fiddle.

$50.00

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The Voyage of the “Scotia” – Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration in the Antarctic Seas By R.N. Rudmose Brown, J.H.H. Pirie and R.C. Mossman

A facsimile of the rare first published by Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh in 1906. This edition by MacClelland and Stewart, Toronto 1978.

The original small quarto this octavo, 375 pages with numerous illustrations and a chart of the track of the Scotia; a map of Laurie Island South Orkneys and a large folding chart at the rear … Bathymetrical Survey of the South Atlantic Ocean and the Weddell Sea. A fine copy. The piper on the front is naturalist Burn Murdoch … the first person to play the bagpipes on the Antarctic … and also in the Arctic … quiet an achievement.

With an additional forward by Sir George Deacon which adds greatly to our understanding of the expedition leader William Spiers Bruce and his colleagues who were joint authors of this account

William Spiers Bruce (1867-1921) was born in Edinburgh and was Scotland’s greatest polar scientist and oceanographer. His greatest accomplishment is recorded in this account, leading the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902-1904) to the South Orkney Islands and the Weddell Sea, where they conducted the first oceanographic explorations and discovered the northern part of the Caird Coast. They established the first permanent weather station in the Antarctic. Bruce would not write the popular account of the expedition so it fell to his three lieutenants to write this much admired work.

Bruce had previously been on the Dundee Whaling Expedition (1892) having given up medical studies to participate. In between he participated in Arctic Voyages to Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land. He wanted to joined Scott’s Discovery Expedition but it is said that he fell out with Markham and therefore organised his own Scottish expedition. He was a good friend of Mawson and provided gear towards Mawson’s later expedition.

The Scottish expedition, and early one with significant achievements often overlooked.

$120.00

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The Iceland Journals of Henry Holland 1810 – Edited Andrew Wawn

King Island and the Sealing Trade 1802 – Helen Micco

Utopias and Imaginary Voyages to Australasia – John Dunmore

A Solomons Sojourn: J.E. Philp’s Log of the Makira 1912-1913

A Narrative of a Voyage to New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land by Amaso Delano

The Voyage of the “Scotia” – Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration in the Antarctic Seas By R.N. Rudmose Brown, J.H.H. Pirie and R.C. Mossman

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