North America

The Life and Surprising Adventures of Captain Talbot – First Edition n.d. but 1803 [Shortcomings but Exceedingly Rare – and Fine Binding].

Title continues – “Containing a Curious Account of the Various Changes and Gradations of this Extraordinary Character; from the Time of His First Going to Sea as a Cabin Boy; Until His Taking of Command of the Washington War Ship; – Also, His Various Engagements during the American Wars and Singular Escapes in His Different Stages of Life – The Whole Forming a Complete Series of Singular Incidents and entertaining Adventures”.

Printed by Barnard and Saltzer, Fleet Street for Tegg and Castleman.

Octavo, 147 pages, missing tow leaves ¾ and 21/22 provided separately as a modern copy but no bound. Reference authority Sabin 94236.

The whole rather aged but likewise very genuine for this work. Someone has gone to the bother of preserving it in an extra fine binding, half calf over marbled boards, decorated spine, separate red leather title.

Captain Silas Talbot [1751-1813] was the stuff of adventure books. He was 12 when he became the cabin boy mentioned in the title. Went on to fight in the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Rhode Island in the Revolutionary War and at the Battle of Puerto Plata harbour in the French War. He captured the 8 gun galley Pigot from the English and turned it against them – for which he received the silver sword. Hist adventures as presented here tad more various and exciting than just war!

Captain Talbot and the American Wars so scarce accept its deficiencies.

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$140.00

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A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb [South America and Mexico] – 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 adventure writer H Rider Haggard.

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 native Americans. 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.

Published by Blackwood, Edinburgh in 1895 octavo, 271 pages, frontispiece of the great man, illustrated by John Wallace. Pictorial boards nice but a little rubbed. Overall, still a particularly good copy of a rather hard to find book.

Inspiration for Rider Haggard – John Jebb Adventurer

$50.00

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John La Farge – Artist and Writer – Cecilia Waern – First edition 1896

A first edition of this scarce book published by Seeley, London in 1896.

Large octavo, 104 pages with 8 colour and 28 black and white plates. Bound in heavy green cloth covered boards, quarter leather with gilt lines. Some rubbing to the spine and foxing in the extreme ends – very clean from frontispiece onwards, except some foxing around the tissue slips that remain. [generally, whoever came up with the tissue slip idea needs talking to.]

Carries the bookplate of A.A.R. Boyce CBE FRAS FRGS Australian artist among many things. he was prolific with the wood and lino cut and likely self produced the bookplate.

La Farge lived in New York, Greenwich Village. He was a prolific artist, in many forms, from an early age. He did illustrations for editions of Tennyson and Browning. His work in stained glass is memorable – Trinity Church Boston being a fine example. He patented a new technique of layering glass colour which was stolen by Tiffany resulting in a lawsuit [it is America].

He was also a traveller with an eye to his art. he spent time in Japan and wrote much on their style of art. But, it was his journey through the Pacific and in particular his observations and artwork connected to Samoa that we most admire.

A worthy copy of a book that commands some dollars in the rare book world.

John La Farge – an American artist of many talents.

$120.00

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Parrot and Olivier in America – Peter Carey – First Edition

First printing of the first edition published in Australia by Hamish Hamilton, precedes UK and USA firsts.

Large octavo, 452 pages. Bound in specked cream paper covered boards with elaborate coloured parrot image to front [repeated in miniature top of spine], and a “celerifere” to the rear board ["celefifere" repeated in the text] .Decorative end papers – parrot feathers to front, part French Flag to rear. Dust jacket complete – note the marks are artwork not defects. A very nice production which makes for a good book. Very good condition.

Olivier is born into a post revolution aristocratic French family; Parrot the son of an English printer. They adventure to America – Parrot as a spy and protector. As you would expect with Carey a complex, thought-provoking novel with all of the emotions and an “improbable work of art”?

Peter Carey another brilliant and unusual novel from the Australian writer from Bacchus Marsh. And then there is the “celerifere”!

$50.00

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Sightings – The Gray Whales’ Mysterious Journey – Peterson and Hogan

A National Geographic Publication, 2002, first edition and quite hard to find for one of theirs – possibly because of its then price.

Octavo, 286 pages, nice photographic illustrations. A very good if not better copy.

The Gray Whale travels 10,000 along the western coastline of North America… breeding in the warm waters off Mexico and feeding in the chill of the Arctic.

Probably no better book on the subject and one that more should take an interest in.

Gray whales put the effort in – makes walking to work seem a breeze!

$35.00

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Houdini on Magic – Edited Gibson and Young – First 1953

Published in 1953 a first edition by Dover, USA. Octavo, 280 pages, images from period photographs of the great man and many technical drawings of the tricks behind his escapology.

Previous ownership stamp on free end paper, a little age offset by the rare dust jacket.

Houdini, born Erik Weisz in Budapest, brought to the USA as a child by his parent. He became likely the world’s greatest ever escapologist, with a raw technique unassisted by modern contrivance. The principal author was his amanuensis [assistant who documented his activities] in the last ten years of Houdini’s life. Who better placed to produce this informative work describing, inter alia, the famous handcuff escape; locked jail escape; underwater escape … among his magic tricks we learn about the disappearing girl; how to walk through a brick wall and cut a woman in half.

Throughout all of this we learn about the man himself … just as mysterious!

Houdini on Magic – Who Else

$60.00

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The Life and Surprising Adventures of Captain Talbot – First Edition n.d. but 1803 [Shortcomings but Exceedingly Rare – and Fine Binding].

A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb [South America and Mexico] – 1895

John La Farge – Artist and Writer – Cecilia Waern – First edition 1896

Parrot and Olivier in America – Peter Carey – First Edition

Sightings – The Gray Whales’ Mysterious Journey – Peterson and Hogan

Houdini on Magic – Edited Gibson and Young – First 1953

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