Travel & Voyages

Anson’s Voyage – An Episode in The Spanish War (1729-1744) Admiral Lord Anson & Captain the Hon George Murray R.N. By Lt Col The Hon. Arthur C Murray CMG DSO (Viscount Elibank)

Association copy – Viscount Elibank CMG DSO – with Notes and Ephemera. Published by Seeley of London 1952. 91 pages with Lord Anson frontispiece, numerous interesting black & white plates, and folding chart.

Captain Murray was in charge of the supply ship Pearl during the Anson voyage of the 1740’s. The voyage ended in success with the plundering of the Spanish galleon, the plundering of Spanish settlements in South America and the taking of much gold etc. Unfortunately, most of the fleet was lost and many men died from scurvy and other ailments. Murray was later remembered as having contributed to the difficulties having lost touch with the remains of the fleet after the Straits of Magellan and seemingly wandered for some time around the south east Pacific. Essential supplies were therefore delayed in getting to the rendezvous point at Juan Fernandez Island. Here we have the fanatical Elibank researching charts and records at the Admiralty to prove that his forefather was no maritime slouch … we think he did!

A most interesting presentation copy. The author a descendent of George Murray has personalised his work with various additions: the picture from the dust-wrapper pasted onto the front end paste-down; personalised manuscript and typescript notes and a review of his book on the front free endpaper. Inscription from the author on half-title: “Shortly after the publication of this book in the autumn of 1952, the Admiralty adopted it as a standard work on the subject of Lord Anson’s famous voyage, and ordered 136 copies of it from the Publishers for distribution to the ships of the Royal Navy. Arthur C Murray (E) 15/9/55”. Under the illustrated portrait of Captain George Murray … in Elibank’s hand “Later, 6th Lord Elibank”. And, pasted at the rear an eight page document printed by Clarke of Edinburgh … “Queen Elizabeth of England (1533-1603) Some aspects of her story in so far as they relate to the Spanish Armanda; the execution of Mary Queen of Scots etc” By Elbank and signed as Arthur Murray of Elibank.

Elibank was affectionately known simply as “E” …. nice one

Association the Author Viscount Elibank CMG DSO – with Relevant Notes Ephemera

$120.00

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Unusual Engraving of “Birds from the Levant” – Thomas Shaw -1738

Engraved in copper by Thomas Shaw (1694-1751) and published as part of “Travels or Observations relating to Several Parts of Barbary and the Levant”.

Printed and published at “The Theatre’ Oxford.

Presented matted, ready to frame, 40cm by 30cm. Engraving in excellent condition.

The birds are the Hou-baara, Rhaad, Boo-ank and the Kittanria. We understand one of them is the Arabian Bustard and another a Willow Ptarmigan but we prefer there native names.

Fine bird engraving 280 years old.

$140.00

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The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition – My Personal Experiences in Equatorial Africa as Medical Officer – Thomas Parke – First Edition 1891

Published by Sampson Low etc, London in 1891 a first edition.

Large octavo, 526 pages plus publishers advertisements. Original green cloth with gilt titles to spine and gilt illustration to front cover, from a drawing by Dorothy Stanley (Stanley’s wife0. Frontispiece of the author, 17 other plates, large folding coloured map in end-pocket.

Thomas Heazle Parke (1857-1893) an Irish born surgeon who had joined the Egyptian Army and served at Tel el-Kebir in 1882. Soon became Director of the Hospital at Helwan. In 1885 he was involved in the relief of Gordan at Khartoum. He was appointed to Stanley’s expedition more or less by accident. Stanley met him at Alexandria on his way through … must have come without proper medical assistance .. Parke was his man. He spent three years as part of the Advance Column. Known as “the man who saved Stanley’s life” he saved many more … famously sucked the poison from arrow wound in the chest of Captain Stairs. He was, as a consequence of the expedition, the first Irishman to cross Africa.

His account is a lively read, largely by its clear editing of Parke’s meticulous daily journals. He was a supporter of Stanley (there were two camps), who he thought … “carried us through a series of difficulties which, I believe, no other living man would have been able to battle with so successfully”.

Stanley Expedition – Relief of Emin Pasha – Parke’s account

$380.00

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The Albert N’yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, and Explorations of the Nile Sources – New Single Volume Edition – Sir Samuel W. Baker – 1876

Published by MacMillan, London in 1876 a new single volume edition. Octavo, 499 pages, plus publishers catalogue. With a general map of the Country and Nile Basin, numerous illustrations some full page. Original green cloth covered binding with embossed design in black to front, gilt titles and design to spine. A few knocks but looking pretty good. Internally patches of foxing, some pages a little loose, original chocolate end paper, still a good copy.

Samuel Baker was another one of those remarkable Victorian era individuals. This account represents one of the most important written on the Nile River. Speke and Grant had already proclaimed the Southern shore of Lake Victoria as the source of the White Nile. Baker accompanied by his second wife had commenced his own expedition whilst Speke was still active in the area. They met, and Speke gave Baker a rough map designed from reports by natives showing a possible large lake to the east. Baker explored in that direction and after finding and naming the magnificent Murchison Falls came across the western bank of a new massive lake which he named Lake Albert. He discovered that Lake Victoria emptied into Lake Albert before progressing north as the White Nile. Consequently, other inflows into Lake Albert were in themselves “sources” of the Nile. After a long period in the interior Baxter made his way north and eventually reached Khartoum in May 1865. On return to England this book was published in a two volume form with extra map etc. His writing style is well regarded as being very readable and his adventures reflect quite extraordinary circumstances and a quite extraordinary individual.

Baker’s earlier years are worth understanding. He was brought up in a relatively wealthy family, including private tuition and finishing in Germany. His first job was a civil engineer in Eastern Europe working on rail and bridges. He married young and his bride went to the Seychelles to manage the family plantation. After a couple of years, they went to Ceylon and started what was to be a successful mountain retreat. His wife had seven children and died at 32 from typhoid. By this time Baker had become a renowned hunter and already published books on the subject. On return to the England he organised a hunt in eastern Europe for the Maharajah Duleep Singh. Out of interest he took the Maharajah to the Vidin slave market. There, he fell in love with a girl destined for the harem and bought here freedom. They were to marry (but much later on return form Africa) and she went by the name Florence Baker. She accompanied Baker everywhere and she features throughout these volumes on the source of the Nile. Baker was given the Gold Medal of the RGS for his achievements and similar honours overseas. He was knighted, although Victoria refused to meet him due to the circumstances of his marriage and possibly because of an age discrepancy as Florence may have been rather young when they got together. Baker went on to big things politically becoming the first Englishman to sit in high office in Egypt.

The single volume edition of an important African journey.

$120.00

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The First Crossing of Spitsbergen – Martin Conway – First Edition 1897

And a rather exhausting full title …The First Crossing of Spitsbergen Being an account of an Inland Journey of Exploration and Survey, with Descriptions of Several Mountain Ascents, of Boat Expeditions in Ice Fjord, of a Voyage to North-East-Land, the Seven Islands, Down Hinloopen Strait, Nearly to Wiched Land, and Into most of the Fjords of Spitsbergen, and an almost Complete Circumnavigation of the Main Island.

First edition published by Dent, London in 1897. Quarto, 372 pages, 8 coloured plates, 2 folding maps and 99 black and white illustrations. Original brown bevelled boards with tan spine, gilt lettering and decoration. Spine darkened somewhat as usual from sunlight. Occasional light spotting, plates and maps clean. A good to better copy.

Martin Conway spent the summers of 1896 and 1897 exploring Spitsbergen. During the first year Conway led a party of five overland from Advent Bay to Bell Sound and on to Sassen Bay and Agardh Bay before returning. Altogether there were thirteen mountain ascents, such is the territory. During their endeavours they complied generous geologic and natural history collections.

Sir Martin Conway (1856-1937) was a critic, politician, cartographer, mountaineer and more. He studied Mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. His first significant expedition was to Spitsbergen in 1896 (the subject of this book) and then an expedition to the Bolivian Andes. He was President of the Alpine Club 1902-04 and knighted for his cartographic work on the Karkoram region of the Himalaya. Later in life he was made First Baron Conway of Allington. Quiet a chap!

Spitsbergen means “Pointed Mountains” from the Dutch. Now under the jurisdiction of Norway. The archipelago has been named Svalbard since 1925 with Spitsbergen reserved for the largest island, which is the 36th largest island in the World. Spitsbergen is the only island in the group with permanent habitation although even now there are barely 3,000 people.

Conway across Spitsbergen – first time recorded

SO SORRY SOLD

$390.00

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Byron of the Wager – Peter Shankland

The detailed story of the loss of the Wager in the Strait of Magellan during Lord Anson’s circumnavigation of the 1740’s with a primary aim of sticking it up the Spanish fleet.

Published by Coward, New York a first edition 1975. Octavo, 288 pages with illustrated endpapers, maps and illustrations. A little rubbing to jacket (now Brodart protected as all Voyager books), still a very good copy.

Through the eyes of the Hon John Byron Lieutenant who wrote a primary account of the events, before during and after. Fourth Lord Byron was the famous poets Grandfather and went on to be respective Admiral of the fleet.

One of the greatest wreck stories, part of a the monumental Anson voyage (despite its losses) and an individual who would go on to be a maritime legend.

The wager better than any novel … tension, intrigue, excitement

SO SORRY SOLD

$35.00

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Anson’s Voyage – An Episode in The Spanish War (1729-1744) Admiral Lord Anson & Captain the Hon George Murray R.N. By Lt Col The Hon. Arthur C Murray CMG DSO (Viscount Elibank)

Unusual Engraving of “Birds from the Levant” – Thomas Shaw -1738

The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition – My Personal Experiences in Equatorial Africa as Medical Officer – Thomas Parke – First Edition 1891

The Albert N’yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, and Explorations of the Nile Sources – New Single Volume Edition – Sir Samuel W. Baker – 1876

The First Crossing of Spitsbergen – Martin Conway – First Edition 1897

Byron of the Wager – Peter Shankland

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