Prestige Items

The Ballad of Reading Gaol – Oscar Wilde [John Vassos Illustrated Edition First of Type - Special] – Published by Dutton New York 1930

Oscar Wilde was convicted of gross indecency in 1895 and spent two years in Reading jail in England. He was released in May 1897 and went into self exile in Berneval-le-Grand, France where he wrote this work the Ballad of Reading Gaol.

It was first published in 1898 and re-issued many times and still in print today. This edition is something special.

Published by Dutton, New York, 1930, a first of type. Quarto, 124 pages, with 16 striking monochrome plates by John Vassos (1898-1985). Vassos had designed promotional material for the Oscar Wild play “Salome” and had been spotted by Dutton who brought him in to add his special touch to the Ballad.

Black over blue papered boards, scarce dust jacket in black and gold. A very good copy.

Oscar Wilde – Ballad of Reading Gaol – Striking Presentation.

$290.00

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Modern Cottage Architecture [By Various Architects] – Maurice Adams – First Edition 1904.

Published by Batsford, London in 1904, First Edition. Quarto, 29 pages after preliminaries followed by 50 full page plates of external views and floor layouts. Printed on thick heavy paper which makes the plates more manageable and has kept them in fine condition despite handling.

Editor Maurice Adams provides an introductory essay on “Cottage Building and Notes on the Subjects”. He was author of “Artists Homes” [nice idea] and “Old English Homes”

Not the book for a modernist or “Block” follower but a super book for those that salivate over unique English country home. Cottage not to be confused with a tiny house – some of these clearly in the Mansion category.

[Not so] Modern Cottage Architecture – wish we had one

$120.00

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Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure – Dish decorated in Lotus, Lingzhi and Peach – 1822

Qing Dynasty decorated dish recovered by Mike Hatcher from the Tek Sing shipwreck of 1822. Nice condition.

Beautifully decorated with bands of lotus flower around a central spiral and set in alternate designs of lingzhi fungus and fruiting peach. Similar decorations to external rim, potters mark at bottom. Bright and clean. 15cm in diameter 6cm high, weighs 220gm. Retains Nagel auction sticker.

Price $240.00

Bright well decorated treasure from the Tek Sing
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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

$240.00

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The Thinker Bookends by Armor Bronze New York – 1920’s

A solid and delightful pair of bookends by Armor Bronze who had a showroom on Fourth and then Fifth Avenue, New York during the 1920’s.

The company’s origins are not clear with some sources saying 1890’s – for sure they existed in 1910 as the National Metalizing Company changing their name to Armor Bronze circa 1920.

Collectors and Bibliophiles bookends based on “Le Penseur” by Rodin. Some age as expected, still in good to better condition. Stand 20cm high and weighing in at a hefty, book securing 3.0 kg the pair.

Heavy items may require a postage supplement if Overseas …

Period Thinker Bookends – Don’t think too long

$360.00

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French Miniature Furnace Microscope – c1850-60

Scarce miniature Mineral or Furnace Microscope attributed to Bertrand, Paris in the Billings Collection pages 37 and 193. The Billings example no 369 on page 193 is identical even down to the circle made on the outer case from running the closing catch around.

Beautifully made, the original mahogany box has a conical dove tail slide cut into its top into which the instrument sits. The brass base screws to the tune stand. There is a square cut in the front that houses a single mirror on a milled head pivot. The stand is cut away for the fixed circular stage. At the top of the stand there is a screw in cylinder into which the body tube slides. There is an outer casing which slides downward to become a slide holder. The objective and ocular screw in.

This is a collector’s item – it is probably one of the smallest practical microscopes ever made, is extremely well made and in as perfect a condition one could expect for its age. The case is undamaged with a great patina.

Case dimensions approximately 85mm x 45mm x 35mm. Microscope height 75mm base diameter 25mm.

Perfect collectable miniature microscope – over 150 years old.
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$260.00

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The Geology of the Broken Hill District – E.C. Andrews – 1922 – along with the Supplement of 1923.

Memoir No 8 of The Geological Survey of New South Wales – probably the most important and certainly the most comprehensive / voluminous.

Large thick quarto (25cn x 32cm) xx, 432 pages, 124 plates, numerous maps, plans and diagrams.

Light ageing to the original heavy boards, very clean inside a super copy of a now scarce item, rarely together with the Supplementary item, quarto, same dimensions, 28 pages and nine excellent coloured plates of mineral specimens.

The principal work produced by William Gullick, Government Printer, Sydney – the Supplement by Alfred Kent also appointed Government Printer – maybe a specialist in the colour plates.

A heavy item and an Overseas postage supplement may be required – please enquire we can be helpful.

Ernest Clayton Andres (1870-1948) another legend from the “golden era” of Australian geology – disciple of Edgeworth David. Had a tough upbringing but still managed to get to Sydney University to study mathematics. It was there he met Edgeworth David. Taught but continued to study chemistry and geology. Presented his first geological paper in 1898 on the Bathurst region. Did much work on coral reefs [using Agassiz material]. This work and the later Mineral Industry of New South Wales [1928] are considered epics. Highly praised and prized – Lyell Medal London Royal Geological Society. His entry in the official Australian Dictionary of Biography well worth the read.

Important substantial geological work together with its supplement.

$790.00

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The Ballad of Reading Gaol – Oscar Wilde [John Vassos Illustrated Edition First of Type - Special] – Published by Dutton New York 1930

Modern Cottage Architecture [By Various Architects] – Maurice Adams – First Edition 1904.

Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure – Dish decorated in Lotus, Lingzhi and Peach – 1822

The Thinker Bookends by Armor Bronze New York – 1920’s

French Miniature Furnace Microscope – c1850-60

The Geology of the Broken Hill District – E.C. Andrews – 1922 – along with the Supplement of 1923.

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