Travel & Voyages

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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Bulldozer – Michael Terry – Rare – signed by Terry and with an interesting note by recipient.

Explorer adventurer Michael Terry was excluded from the War effort in WWII because of previous health issues and maybe he was getting on. This did not stop him assisting the war effort of the N.S.W. Department of Main Roads. After all, at the time he was likely Australia’s most notable modern inland adventurer. On one of his famous 1920’s expedition he drove a Model T Ford from Queensland to Broome in WA. His further explorations by camel and tractor gave rise to several highly collectable travel accounts.

Published by the State Government in 1945. Perfect bound, decorative card covers, 260 pages, illustrated from period photographs. Super scarce … no other obvious copies available. Signed boldly by Terry near front. A little age as you would expect, still a very good copy.

The premise of the book may sound a bit dull. Fear not the NSW infrastructure people had quite different role because of the War and assisting communication throughout Australia was one of them and it did not stop there … with involvement in Noumea, New Caledonia in the Pacific etc. Terry has a style, reflected in his earlier writing ‘Across Unknown Australia” etc that takes you to the moment of his adventures and observations, many references to individuals and their exploits. We also have the bombing of Darwin and the making of the Brisbane Line difficulties with a Diving Bell etc.

At front is a very interesting note likely by the recipient “Beau” …. “Michael Terry was my friend. He served as a Marine in Russia in the war subsequent to WWI [Terry was an armoured car driver – he was captured and narrowly escaped execution by the Bolsheviks] … he travelled inland Australia and wrote about it. He was a F.R.G.S … He would now be at least 100 … 24th October 77 …” and other reminiscences. The writer quite wrong about Terry’s age, he would have been 78 at the time this note was written … time has a way of clouding the memory.

Michael Terry a scarce and unusual account …

$80.00

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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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Cannibal Jack – The True Autobiography of a White Man in the South Seas [Fiji] – by William Diapea.

Title goes on … printed from a manuscript in the possession of Rev James Hadfield

A first edition published by Faber & Gwyer, London in 1928. Very scarce book. Octavo, 242 pages, frontispiece of the ledger holding the manuscript, end paper maps, facsimile of a page from the manuscript.

A forward by Henry Stacpoole who wrote much about the region and an Introduction by James Hadfield and further a Publisher’s Note providing additional information about the subject cannibal received during the setting of the book.

Cannibal Jack Spent some time in the Solomons and also in Fiji where most of this account is set. There is recorded in other literary quarters arguments for and against whether William Diapea actually partook in cannibal rituals. He certainly lived an exciting life quite diverse from the normal western life of the late 19th Century. But was he a cannibal .. we will leave you to decide.

Cannibal Jack a legend in his own lunchtime …

SO SORRY SOLD

$70.00

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

Bulldozer – Michael Terry – Rare – signed by Terry and with an interesting note by recipient.

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

Cannibal Jack – The True Autobiography of a White Man in the South Seas [Fiji] – by William Diapea.

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