Prestige Items

Antarctic Penguins (The Scott Terra Nova Expedition) – Dr Murray Levick RN – First Edition 1914

A first edition, published by William Heinemann, London in 1914. Small quarto, 139 pages with mainly photographic illustrations. Original pictorial green cloth binding with a good clean embossed image to front. As usual a little foxed internally because of the paper choice. Still a very good copy.

Scarce and an often overlooked primary source in the cannon of Heroic Era Antarctic volumes. We are not sure why as it is brilliant and the writer a veritable hero.

George Murray Levick (1876-1956) was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He studied medicine at St Barts and joined the Royal Navy in 1902. He was allowed time off to accompany Robert Falcon Scott as surgeon and zoologist on the Terra Nova Expedition. As part of the Northern party he spent the summer at Cape Adaire observing and photographing the Adelie penguin rookery. This book represents the only proper study on that mass of birds, the largest colony in the world. The book is brilliant, the observations acute. Incidentally he made notes about sexual habits that given the vies of the days he thought too indecent for publication … he wrote them in Greek as a precaution, so that only “educated gentlemen” could read them . This only came to light after his death.

Levick went on to participate in Gallipoli and in 1932 founded the Public schools Exploring Society. In 1940 he returned to the Navy at 64 and joined Mountbatten’s Commando operation training in fitness, diet and survival techniques … he wrote the manual!

Best Penguin Book by Far – Terra Nova – 1914 First

$190.00

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The General (Bruny d’Entrecasteaux) – The Visits of the Expedition led by Bruny d’Entrecasteaux to Tasmanian Waters in 1792 and 1793 – Plomley and Piard- Bernier.

Another special book by Brian Plomley with the help of Josiane Pirad- Bernier. Now very scarce.

Large wide octavo, 378 pages, illustrated. Published by the Launceston Museum in 1993. A solid quality production in near fine condition.

Very well researched and written book on the Bruny d’Entrecasteaux and his visits to Tasmania.

Covers the preparations for the voyage and the officers of the Recherche and Esperance, and among other things their scientific work [Natural History, Geological, Botanical and Zoological].

Also includes as appendices the journals of Louis Ventenat and the botanist Louis Dechamps.

Rare collectable D’Entrecasteaux – more than a channel.

$180.00

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The Invention of Terra Nullius – Historical and Legal Fictions on the Foundation of Australia. – Michael Connor

Hobart author Michael Connor has a varied career including teaching in North Africa and management at the famous Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Then he decided to broaden his education in Colonial History at James Cook University and then a PhD in Colonial History at the University of Tasmania.

Published by Macleay Press Sydney in 2005. Octavo, 361 pages, a super fine copy. Very hard to find must have had a very small print run.

This book explores the concept of Terra Nullius “Land belonging to no-one” a principal applied not only in Australia but in many parts of the World subject to colonisation. This is not intended, we believe, to be a provoking works … its sets out the facts and issues comprehensively and there are clues to its direction from the first paragraph.

A special book about an important and now in our faces subject. Worth reading with an open and inquisitive mind.

The defining principal [or was it] now struggling to get support albeit rather late

$60.00

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G.T.W.B. Boyes – Diaries and Letters (Vol 1 1820-1832) – edited by Peter Chapman

A very solid and sought after book. Published by the Melbourne University Press in 1985. Stand alone volume we cannot find anywhere Chapman producing a Vol 2.

A substantial work. Thick octavo, 687 pages, endpaper maps, illustrations from period artwork. Another super fine copy.

George Boyes was a veteran of the Peninsula War – he became auditor of Van Diemens Land in 1826 – the depth of his letters is remarkable and we see those early years through his words with immense clarity – his talents as an artist were superb with much of his work reproduced here

Boyes left a superb legacy

$90.00

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To Have and Have Not – Ernest Hemmingway – 1955 Desirable Cape Edition

A special Jonathan Cape edition with the striking wrap-around dust jacket designed by Hans Tindal.

Crown octavo, published London in 1955 one year after the first in this form. 246 pages. Jacket edge chips but a pretty good copy for this desirable edition, very clean inside.

Hemingway at his most adventurous in the Florida Keys and Cuba. Three long short stories to do with the life of gun and man runner Harry Morgan … tough stuff.

Tough Hemingway in amazing jacket

$80.00

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The South Pole – An account of the Norwegian Expedition in the “Fram” – 1910-1912 Roald Amundsen – First US Edition 1913

First American edition published by Lee Keedick in collaboration with Murray London in 1913. Scarce and sought after. Two volumes in very good condition.

The first to the pole. Account of Amundsen’s legendary dash to the Pole. He beat Scott’s Expedition by a month reaching the Pole on 14th December 1911. The use of dog sleds, better clothing, nutrition and a single minded purpose are factors that put Amundsen ahead of Scott.

Norwegian Captain Roald Amundsen had initially intended make an expedition to the Arctic, but changed his plans at the last moment and announced he would try for the South Pole instead. His explanation to the public was that if he could beat the English and Japanese expeditions to the Pole then he could secure success and funds for his extensive Arctic expedition, and also snatch the prize for his own country.

Amundsen sailed southward in the Fram to the Bay of Whales that would afford his expedition both the shortest route to the Pole and a route that would not overlap with either the Japanese or the English expeditions. From start to finish, Amundsen’s expedition ran like clockwork. He carefully planned every moment of the trip, using his experience in the Arctic and his extensive knowledge of dog-teams to help him through. His team was entirely Norwegian, accustomed to a harsh and cold climate, and were excellent ski-runners. In addition, Amundsen travelled light; he brought five men and fifty dogs on his expedition so that the latter could eventually serve as food for the former. Part of what doomed Scott’s party was the fact that he favoured men and ponies over dogs, bringing twelve men, eight ponies, and only twenty-six dogs.

Amundsen’s party remained in excellent health and always had enough to eat from their plentiful provisions at their well-stocked supply depots. They also supplemented their food stores with a great seal hunt just before the winter, after which 120,000 lb. of fresh seal meat were added to their stores, which helped protect them against scurvy.

Unlike Scott’s party, Amundsen’s party were also fortunate enough to have favourable weather conditions on their side, so that they were able to reach the Pole using their supply depots and dog sleds in just 99 days, a distance of 1860 miles, covering an astonishing average of 19 miles a day over frozen and difficult ground. Their journey was truly an extraordinary accomplishment, and Amundsen’s account of it is no less riveting

Amundsen First to the Pole

SO SORRY SOLD IN A DASH

$890.00

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Antarctic Penguins (The Scott Terra Nova Expedition) – Dr Murray Levick RN – First Edition 1914

The General (Bruny d’Entrecasteaux) – The Visits of the Expedition led by Bruny d’Entrecasteaux to Tasmanian Waters in 1792 and 1793 – Plomley and Piard- Bernier.

The Invention of Terra Nullius – Historical and Legal Fictions on the Foundation of Australia. – Michael Connor

G.T.W.B. Boyes – Diaries and Letters (Vol 1 1820-1832) – edited by Peter Chapman

To Have and Have Not – Ernest Hemmingway – 1955 Desirable Cape Edition

The South Pole – An account of the Norwegian Expedition in the “Fram” – 1910-1912 Roald Amundsen – First US Edition 1913

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