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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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The Belgium Essays – Charlotte and Emily Bronte – Edited and translated by Sue Lonoff.

A first edition of this rather scarce and unknown book published as “A Critical Edition” by the Yale University Press in 1996 [they have done some great stuff].

Large octavo, 468 pages, very good condition in a full clean dust jacket.

In 1842 Charlotte and Emily B went to Brussels to study and write under the tutelage of Constantin Heger. They returned for the same again the next year. The result of this was twenty-eight essays penned in French. This book is the first to contain them all, nine of them have never been published elsewhere. They are presented in their original form with manuscript corrections and notes and with a facing English translation by Lonoff.

Special Bronte work from Charlotte and Emily expanding our knowledge of their prestigious talent.

$50.00

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A Summer in The Twenties – Peter Dickinson – First US Edition

First US edition published by Pantheon, New York in 1981. Octavo, 254 pages, hint of edge age but really a very nice copy in a delightful dust jacket designed by Fred Marcellino.

Set in the 1920’s (hopefully obviously) Toma well to do athletic type sees his life change and he ends up as a stand in train driver during the General Strike in England. Torn between loves and class divides his path gets rather twisted. A novel of suspense and adventure it is.

The author had an editorial role at The Punch for seventeen years before taking up his own pen – he never looks back and won several important awards.

Train drivers in the thick of it during the 1920’s

$25.00

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Clochemerle Les Bains – Gabriel Chevallier – First UK Edition 1964

A super copy of this fun book translated by Xan Fielding and published by Secker & Warburg, Lonon in 1964. Thick octavo, 448 pages, lively dust jacket designed by A Games.

Not sure what age you have to be to remember the riotous naughty comedy series about the characters and goings on in this idyllic French village. Well written but with a wit beyond and a good dousing of hanky-panky, maybe not entirely in fitting with now norms (oh dreary me). Regardless, anyone with warm blood is likely to enjoy until the end and pine a little for French wine and real cheese.

Clochemerle where lives were lived to the full and nobody got injured – well permanently injured

$35.00

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The Traitors – The Double Life of Fuchs, Pontecorvo and Nunn May – Alan Moorehead – First edition 1952

First edition published by Hamish Hamilton, London in 1952 …. Hot for the beginning of the spy era. Octavo, 222 pages, illustrations from relevant photographs. A very good copy apart from a some loss of the dust jacket in one area top left – balance complete and clean and protected.

Moorehead’s desirable book on the trifecta of traitors; how they were caught and the disappearance of Pontecorvo. The bomb confused them it all happened very quickly …

Interesting readable true spy goings on.

$30.00

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Treks and Palavers [Travels in Nigeria]-Richard Oakley – 1938

Before we go further “Palaver” is meant in the truest sense – an improvised meeting which was often held with groups to iron out some difficulty – Oakley was good with a palaver … Voyager likes this book – there is something special about it …

A first edition published by Seeley etc, London [they published a number of high quality serious travel accounts. Thick octavo, 300 pages, good sketch map and numerous full page illustrations from original photographs. No jacket, original red cloth covered binding, top edge stained red as required – very good condition.

A full and interesting account from Captain Oakley who was for a period a Magistrate in the Nigerian Administrative Service. He draws on other key references as well as his own extensive travels and experiences. We like it even more the deeper he gets into Nigeria up towards the Chad border. Surprisingly few good accounts on this African major and their now disappearing underlying culture(s)

Richard Oakley and one of the better accounts on Nigeria.

$60.00

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

The Belgium Essays – Charlotte and Emily Bronte – Edited and translated by Sue Lonoff.

A Summer in The Twenties – Peter Dickinson – First US Edition

Clochemerle Les Bains – Gabriel Chevallier – First UK Edition 1964

The Traitors – The Double Life of Fuchs, Pontecorvo and Nunn May – Alan Moorehead – First edition 1952

Treks and Palavers [Travels in Nigeria]-Richard Oakley – 1938

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