Africa

Jardine Parrot – By Fawcett for Greene – 1884

Original wood cut hand finished engraving of the Jardine’s Parrot from “Parrots in Captivity”, published in London 1884.

This striking parrot was found and taken back to Scotland by the son of the famous naturalist, illustrator Sir William Jardine. The father categorised it hence it became named after his son … or after him as well really.

Greene’s delightful work comprising wood-engraved plates printed by Benjamin Fawcett after drawings by A.F. Lydon. The prints are hand finished with delicate highlighting in gum arabic to accentuate the bright colouring.

Benjamin Fawcett was one of the great colour printers of the 19th century. He pioneered a system of wood block engraving from multiple blocks that resulted in vivid finely coloured works. Fawcett had an association of some 50 years with Francis Orpen Morris to produce many beautiful works on birds. The engravings are the finest illustrations of parrots from the period.

Price unframed $120.00

$120.00

Updating cart…

Tribal Tattoos – Andy Sloss

An interesting little soft cover, only ever in this form. Published by Carlton, London in 2007.

Perfect bound 72 pages, illustrated throughout (naturally). Some introductory and concluding pages and in between .. Pacific; South America; North America; some Europe and Africa.

The variations, contrasts and similarities make this an interesting study even if you are not an advocate of the dye and needle.

Tattoos – a nice sounding and looking word, and steeped in cultural heritage worldwide

$20.00

Updating cart…

Richer than All His Tribe – Nicholas Monsarrat – First Edition 1968

A fine copy of the first edition published by Cassell, London in 1968. Octavo, 369 pages, map of The Island of Pharamaul. A really fresh copy.

Despite fame from “the Cruel Sea” it is widely accepted that amongst his large body of work The Tribe That Lost its Head (published 1956) and this later development of the themes therein Richer Than All His Tribe were his best works.

Monsarrat had spent some time in South Africa as a diplomat and he draws on his experience to write about the obscure colonial island of Pharamual set in the South Atlantic some 500 miles from the South West Coast of Africa. It all starts with Independence Day …

Monsarrat back at Pharamaul.

$30.00

Updating cart…

True at First Light – Ernest Hemingway (Introduced by Patrick Hemingway) – First Edition

Regarded by the London Times as “the most important book to appear in 1999″

A posthumously published work. Released in 1999 to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of Hemingway’s birth.

Relates to the 1953-54 safari to East Africa with his fourth wife. Part fiction part fact. Much controversy regarding its release. One school believing that Patrick’s indulgence in editing this unfinished work partly commercially driven. Hemingway lovers on the other hand happy to get some more words from the great man.

Published by Heinemann, 319 pages. A fine copy in near new condition.

Hemingway in Africa with some reality and some fantasy.

$35.00

Updating cart…

The Lake Regions of Africa – John Giddie – 1883

Published by Nelson, Edinburgh in 1883 described as a record of modern discovery. So a book that build on the first hand account of all of the great African explorers to date.

Octavo, 275 pages, with 32 illustrations, some light foxing, mark to rear cover otherwise a pretty good copy, with the delightful black and gilt illustrated front board and spine.

The contents separated into three principal sections covering exploration of the Nile, Congo and Zambesi rivers. Nicely done.

Nice book provides timeframe and perspective to 19thC African exploration.

$75.00

Updating cart…

WWI Maritime and Travel Original Annotated Photograph Album – Over 180 Images

A most interesting collection spanning the years of WWI and shortly afterwards. Taken and compiled by a marine officer, over 180 original photographs, taken with some expertise, nicely presented in its original Morocco bound photograph album. The photographer has presented each photograph framing it within white borders and added very neatly in white a useful description.

The condition of the photographs is good overall, a few are faded or marked in some way from the passage of time, others are crisp and clean. A few have been removed or fallen out and few are loose inside …we have not studied where they could go … the album is robust and showing minor age wear, the whole package is very presentable and more or less complete. We wish we knew the photographer … he was clearly officer material on the Orontes and had a wife and child … we have included his image as the “thumbnail” … does anyone know who he was …?

The album can be split into two distinct periods. The first, before January 1919 being mainly onboard the HMT Orontes a vessel that plied the England – Australia route for the Orient line. With the outbreak of WWI, it became a troop carrier. The photographer appears to have also served on SS Derbyshire in a similar capacity. During this phase he took images of a number of famous vessels used in the war effort and numerous images of views, landmarks, architecture, and the people at various ports of call.

The second element post January 1919 is devoted to a circumnavigation on SS Cufic which head across the Atlantic to Nova Scotia, down to the Panama Canal and across the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia, Durban, Cape Town, and Home.

Photographs of vessels include … RMS Mauretania; Kaiseren Auguste Victoria [surrendered in 1919 and used to bring American troops home]; HMS Renown [in New York Harbour with the Prince of Wales on board]; HMS Carpathia [of Titanic rescue fame and later torpedoed and sunk]; RMS Pannonia; SS Explorer; SS Demosthenes [used to carry Australian troops]; HMS Sydney [in Colombo Harbour just after the sinking of the German Cruiser Emden]; SS Derbyshire [Colombo – Rangoon Line]; HMT Osterley; SS Cufic and HMT Orontes.

Examples of the touring images include …

The Flatiron (previously Fuller) skyscraper – New York
Washington Arch – New York
Statue of Liberty – New York
Top of Woolworth Tower – New York
5th Avenue – New York
A Glimpse of Wall Street – New York
Brooklyn Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge – New York
Boston views
The Citadel Quebec
Main Street Gibraltar
A “Blimp” convoying
A Glimpse of the US army
Panama Canal scenes
On route to Calcutta
Homeward bound in the Bay of Biscay
Cinnamon Gardens Colombo
Cape St Vincent – Portugal [Incorrectly described Spanish]
Hindu Temple South India
Colombo Harbour
Ox waggon Rangoon Burma
On the Temple steps – India
Native of South India
Children of North India
Hindu dockworker
The Pagoda Calcutta
Burmese Shrine to the God Dagan
The Schegadon Pagodas Rangoon
The lake Rangoon
A Burmese girl off to the well
Anzac Day 1918 some fancy costumes
Sierra Leone West Africa
Leaving Table Bay HMS Britannia escorting
South African troops on board – the first bugle call – “Cookhouse!”
Scene in Native Quarter Durban
Australian sheep Hamilton Victoria
Sydney Zoo
Wellington New Zealand
Tahiti South Sea Islands
Main Street Papeete
Tahitian Friends
Papeete from Crows Nest
A Harbour view Tahiti
A big dam Panama Canal
Electric Mule Panama Canal
Leaving Liverpool Jan 18, 1919 – “Bon Voyage” [a self portrait]
The first port Louisbourg – Cape Breton Island [Nova Scotia]
Snow scene St John Nova Scotia
Lock gates and numerous others – Panama Canal
“Star of Holland” mid -Pacific [a US Tall Ship]
New Zealand including memorial to Robert Scott
Melbourne – picking up the Pilot
Quarantine procedures in Melbourne
A number in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane … and the way home via South Africa

Superb, interesting unique photographic record. Now over 100 years old.

$590.00

Updating cart…

Jardine Parrot – By Fawcett for Greene – 1884

Tribal Tattoos – Andy Sloss

Richer than All His Tribe – Nicholas Monsarrat – First Edition 1968

True at First Light – Ernest Hemingway (Introduced by Patrick Hemingway) – First Edition

The Lake Regions of Africa – John Giddie – 1883

WWI Maritime and Travel Original Annotated Photograph Album – Over 180 Images

Product Categories