Maritime

Relic from the Otago – Skuttled in the Derwent, Tasmania – Past Captain being the Distinguished Author Joseph Conrad.

A solid piece of wood with some remnant attached claimed to be from the vessel “Otago” which was sunk in the Derwent before bits were reclaimed – in particular scrap metal which went to Japan much to the chagrin of the locals.

18cm by 13cm by 3cm.

The inscription reads “Otago 367 ton Barque – 1869 Built Glasgow – 1900 Used as a coal hulk, Hobart – 1931 Stranded, Otago Bay Derwent River, Tasmania. – She was the only command of the Author Joseph Conrad”.

See also our scarce publication by Crowther relating to the Otago hatch in the Hobart Maritime Museum … perhaps the best Museum in Australia! .

Conrad’s Otago – A remnant – and an unusual artifact with a literary connection.

$60.00

Updating cart…

The Convict King (Jorgen Jorgenson) – James Francis Hogan – Rare Walch of Hobart issue 1891.

Rather scarce and no wonder given the paper wrappers. The long title worth detailing

The Convict King being The Romantic Life and Adventures of Jorgen Jorgenson who was for a time Monarch of Iceland, helped to Discover Bass Strait, was at the Founding of Hobart etc etc. and Closed His Extraordinary Career in the Hobart Hospital in 1845.

Published by J Walch & Sons, Tasmania. No date but 1891. Authority Ferguson 104889.

Interestingly for a book published by the famous Hobart printing firm – this book was actually printed by Kelly of London and Kingston on Thames, England.

Octavo, 235 pages, with advertisements for other contemporary Walch publications in the ends and on the back cover. Splitting a bit down the spine edge, now repaired and secured with acid free archival Japan paper.

Published as part of Walch’s Series of Books on Old Van Diemen’s Land – No 3. A very good copy despite any deficiencies given its rarity and obvious vulnerability.

The story of Jorgen Jorgenson is a full and strange one – at first hid life appears surely a fiction … but no this man was out for adventure and mixed with many who were making their own mark on the World and its History.

The Convict King a scarce edition for sure.

$180.00

Updating cart…

Tasmania – Capital Port – A History of the Marine Board of Hobart 1858-1997

A fine copy of a very sold book. Titel seems a bit dull and could have been chosen better. A super history of the docks on the Derwent and Lighthouses in outer reaches – Bruny etc. Some very nice period images illustrate the hard work done by the authors.

Published in the year 2000 by the Port Authority appropriately addressed at 1 Franklin Wharf. Large octavo format, 461 pages, as new in a like dust jacket. Quality production. A heavy book that would attract an overseas postage supplement.

An essential component to any Maritime collection – the Port and what a beauty.

$45.00

Updating cart…

Polynesian Navigation – A Symposium on Andrew Sharp’s Thoery of Accidental Voyages – Edited by Jack Golson

Andrew Sharpe certainly stirred up the debate as to hoe the Pacific Islands may have been settled.

A symposium in the 1960’s brought together some pretty good minds on the subject.

Published by the Polynesian Society, Wellington, New Zealand in 1963. Being Memoir No 34, a Supplement to the Journal of the Society. Softcover, octavo, 153 pages plus bibliography. Three useful maps, two of which are folding. A little age, still a very good copy.

Cartographic expert, Thomas M Perry’s copy with his discrete stamp top of front cover.

The body of the work review the “Accidental Voyage Theory”’ – Parsonson; Primitive Navigation – Captain Hayen and Captain Hilder; Sailing Characteristics of Oceanic Canoes – Bechton; The Geographical Knowledge of the Polynesians and the Nature of Inter-Island Contact – Dening; Geographical Knowledge of Tahitian etc etc

The Pacific Solved – Maybe

$35.00

Updating cart…

Lure of the Southern Seas – The Voyages of Dumont D’Urville 1826-1840

Large perfect bound soft cover (30cm x 24cm) a good size for showing off the many illustrations from artwork created at the time and photographs of displays from the voyage collection held in France.

Published by the Historic Housed Trust of NSW in association of a exhibition held at the Sydney Museum in 2003.

Well researched and produced making an important contribution to works on the two voyages undertaken by Dumont D’Urvillle in the first half of the 19th Century.

Following and introductory chapter “Southern Discomfort” and excellent map, we gain an understanding of the man and what drove him. His voyage towards the Polar Ice; the Anthropology and “Harvest of Curiosities” and the more defined Natural History Catalogue. Some notes on the artists without whom the wonder could not have been so well revealed. Data back up in the form of routes and statistics of the Voyage are followed by the great man’s correspondence and of all things “his will” … references, bibliography.

Dumont D’Urville well presented historical account, some new information and special images.

$35.00

Updating cart…

A World of My Own – Robin Knox-Johnston – First edition 1969.

A fine copy of the first edition 1969 of a then young Robin Knox-Johnston’s single-handed non-stop voyage around the world.

Published by Cassell, London. Octavo, 240 pages, end paper charts and illustrated very nicely.

Humble thorough account although he does point out his vessel Suhaili at 32 feet was smaller than Alec Rose’s Lively Lady at 36 feet and the relative monster Gipsy Moth II of Francis Chichester at 53 feet. Great technical information and tips for overcoming a number of practical difficulties.

We like the extensive lists of stores and instruments at the rear and especially his extensive onboard library which included … Boswell, Bronte(Wuthering Heights), Carlyle, Cherry-Garrard (Worst Journey), Darwin (Voyage of Beagle), Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment), Laurence Sterne (Tristram and Sentimental), Thackery, Gilbert White (Selbourne) and from modern time interesting to see David Lewis (Daughter of the Wind) and [Voyager Hero] Hiscock (Wanderer III) …. Must have shopped at Voyager!

Knox-Johnston made his name on Suhaili deservedly so!

$30.00

Updating cart…

Relic from the Otago – Skuttled in the Derwent, Tasmania – Past Captain being the Distinguished Author Joseph Conrad.

The Convict King (Jorgen Jorgenson) – James Francis Hogan – Rare Walch of Hobart issue 1891.

Tasmania – Capital Port – A History of the Marine Board of Hobart 1858-1997

Polynesian Navigation – A Symposium on Andrew Sharp’s Thoery of Accidental Voyages – Edited by Jack Golson

Lure of the Southern Seas – The Voyages of Dumont D’Urville 1826-1840

A World of My Own – Robin Knox-Johnston – First edition 1969.

Product Categories