Queensland

My Tropic Isle (Dunk Island) – E.J. Banfield – 1913

Published London in 1913 by Fisher Unwin a third impression.

Thick octavo, 315 pages, illustrated. A little foxing and flecking to rear cover otherwise a quite satisfactory copy priced accordingly. With the preferred pictorial cover – more often found plain bound.

Much of the contents of “My Tropic Isle” were first published in the “North Queensland Register” Banfield acknowledged the help of Charles Hedley of the Australian Museum Sydney, Douglas Ogilby of Brisbane and Jukes-Browne of Torquay (the nephew of Joseph Beete Jukes).

Scarce in pictorial binding – Banfield’s House amongst the palms.

$50.00

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Confessions of a Beachcomber – E.J. Banfield – 1910

Published London 1910 Second Impression of the first edition of this Queensland classic – title continues.. “Scenes and Incidents in the Career of An Unprofessional Beachcomber in Tropical Queensland”.

Published by Fisher Unwin, London. Thick octavo, 336 pages, illustrated with map and 51 plates. Some wear to the striking pictorial red themed cover, bumps etc. Internally some foxing especially near ends – still a handy copy of this desired edition and priced accordingly.

Banfield an early confession of a Dunk Island one of the world’s most tranquil places.

$80.00

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Rare Image of Australia’s Rarest Bird – Rawnsley’s Satin Bower Bird [Ptilonorhynchus Rawnsleyi] – Silvester Diggles – c1870

Rare original hand-coloured image lithographed on stone by Queensland naturalist Silvester Diggles. Highlighted with gum Arabic. Published as part of his magnificent work “The Ornithology of Australia” between 1866 and 1870 in twenty-one parts by Pugh of Brisbane, in a very limited edition. By the time part sixteen was published there were only ninety-two subscribers. The original plates were executed by Diggles and his niece, Rowena Birkett.

The bird specimen from which this lithograph was derived was found by H.C. Rawnsley in the scrub behind his house in Witton [Indooroopilly] on the Brisbane River in Julu 1867. Diggles dedicated and named the bird after him. The narrative that accompanies the plate goes on and is of historical interest. Diggles states that the strong resemblance in the bird’s colouring to the Satin Bower bird and the Regent Bower bird may lead to the suspicion of it being a hybrid. However, he refers to the explorer A.C. Gregory, who inspected the bird and confirmed that he had seen the very same species in Northern Queensland … the narrative goes into detail regarding Gregory’s testimony. However, we now know that the bird was a hybrid after all – the only other examples of a similar occurrence are quite recent … in the last twenty year. We believe though only three such occurrences have been identified to date.

The work measures 38cm by 27cm, good strong hand colouring clean and undamaged. A very scarce item.

About Silvester Diggles

Silvester Diggles (1817-1880) artist and musician born in Liverpool, England. He came to Australia in 1853 settling in Brisbane where he taught music and drawing. Diggles was a founder of the Brisbane Choral Society in 1859 and the Philharmonic Society in 1861 known as “the father of music in Brisbane”. Diggles was also a founder of the Queensland Philosophical Society and helped establish the Museum. His greatest work was The Ornithology of Australia. It nearly sent him broke. His health deteriorated worry about finances being a factor. He died at Kangaroo Point in 1880.

Price $590.00 unframed
An opportunity to own a Silvester Diggles lithograph of an exceedingly rare bird indeed.

$590.00

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Men of the Jungle – Ion Idriess

Published by Angus and Robertson, Sydney, a 1949. Octavo, 259 pages end paper maps, illustrated from period photographs. A bit of age with a dust jacket, quite a respectable copy

One reviewer stated ‘This must be one of the most delightful books on Australia that has ever been written” … high praise indeed … and worthy.

Idriess and his mates, for three years, in the back of Cooktown and the Daintree River … the characters … special and more interesting than fiction.

Idriess Far North among his mates

$50.00

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The Wild White Man of Badu – Ion Idriess

Second printing of the first edition published by Angus and Robertson, Sydney in 1951.

Tall octavo, 232 pages, well illustrated with images from photographs, maps of the islands, end paper maps etc. A very good copy in an even better dust jacket.

The incredible true story of a convict escaping from Norfolk Island and becoming the Chief of Badu. See map on rear end papers for some clues.

Strange and exciting Farthest North.

$60.00

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Under the Southern Cross – Horace Leaf [Intro by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Spiritualism Down under etc] – First Edition 1923

Scarce book and impossible to find with its dust jacket (albeit chipped). A super copy.

Horace Leaf (1886-1971) was a serious spiritualist, clairvoyant with and interest in psychometry and healing. He was a friend and associate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – who writes the introduction. The pair worked together to find the missing Agatha Christie and made contact with Lenin when he was on the other side.

Conan Doyle had done his own tour of the Antipodes and had wanted Leaf with him – Leaf couldn’t make it. Afterwards, Conan Doyle persisted with Leaf to make a trip down under … Leaf didn’t think he had the financial wherewithal … Conan Doyle responded by saying he had left five hundred pounds in Australia for Leaf.

The book is a very interesting read. Published by Cecil Palmer, London in 1923. Thick octavo, 263 pages, illustrated from photographs taken on tour. All in excellent condition – accept that there are three strange pin style holes right through the rear board and the last group of pages – strange and almost unnoticeable – could be some strange experiment has taken place?

Leaf arrives in Western Australia and makes himself busy and then off to the Gold Fields; on to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane before a boat to New Zealand, north and south islands. Returning to Sydney he makes a trip to Tasmania [the only addition to the Conan Doyle route].

This all sounds like a regular travel trip but not so. Along the way we have interesting psychic goings on with some startling occurrences particularly the Melbourne readings. Interesting positive references to aboriginal character. Near the end we have a journey up Mt Wellington Hobart to a tea house to have the leaves read by a psychic – who passes the test – this must have been at the Springs Hotel which burned down in the 1967 bush fires.

Leaf wrote Conan Doyle’s obituary published in “Ghost Stories” in October 1930. Unfortunately, Leaf may indirectly have exacerbated Conan Doyle’s health leading to his move to the “other side”.

Psychic tour of Australia by Conan Doyle Associate.

$120.00

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My Tropic Isle (Dunk Island) – E.J. Banfield – 1913

Confessions of a Beachcomber – E.J. Banfield – 1910

Rare Image of Australia’s Rarest Bird – Rawnsley’s Satin Bower Bird [Ptilonorhynchus Rawnsleyi] – Silvester Diggles – c1870

Men of the Jungle – Ion Idriess

The Wild White Man of Badu – Ion Idriess

Under the Southern Cross – Horace Leaf [Intro by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Spiritualism Down under etc] – First Edition 1923

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