Non-fiction

A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb [South America and Mexico] – 1895

John Gladwyn Jebb led as an adventurous life as could be possible. This book was compiled by his widow and carries the introduction of adventure writer H Rider Haggard.

Jebb’s adventures began as a military man in India. Soon he was conducting privately funded explorations into Central and Southern America. Involved in numerous business dealings… helped to start White Line … was in involved in armaments. He moved to the US and the Wild West … bear hunting, gold mining and a few conflicts with local bandits and native Americans. Off to Mexico to make his fortune gold mining (made it and lost it) and much of the later part of the books is about his times in Mexico.

Published by Blackwood, Edinburgh in 1895 octavo, 271 pages, frontispiece of the great man, illustrated by John Wallace. Pictorial boards nice but a little rubbed. Overall, still a particularly good copy of a rather hard to find book.

Inspiration for Rider Haggard – John Jebb Adventurer

$50.00

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Under the Southern Cross [Or Travels in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa and Other Pacific Islands] – Maturin Ballou – 1888

Matrurin Ballou was a respected travel writer of his day, and he put the effort and miles into his work.

Published by Ticknor and Company, Boston in 1888 we think a second printing. Also, published in London at the same time.

Octavo, 405 pages, original decorated binding. Chipped top to spine and frayed at bottom, otherwise a nice original copy, very clean inside.

One where we think the depth of observation carries the book. Much interest in gold discoveries wherever he went and a tendency to see Pacific Islanders as rather savage as was fashionable at the time. So usual references to eating human flesh here and there. Nice chapter on Samoa. Amusingly he was surprised to see women riding astride in Hawaii.

Please to see he went to Australia and Tasmania if you get the joke – suppose it was before federation … but still. And, he rightly thought Tasmania was beautiful and its women likewise.

Ballou well and truly under the Southern Cross

$90.00

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Reminiscences of Thirty Years’ Residence in New South Wales and Victoria – R Therry – First Edition 1863

Few know that this is quite a controversial book. Irish born Roger Therry [1800-1874] had arrived in New South Wales in 1829. For the next thirty odd years he served various Governor’s with distinction and praise. He rose to be a Judge of the Supreme Court and had served at both Sydney and Port Phillip. He retired back to England in 1859 and wrote this long and readable account.

This is a true first edition [a re-run included a small map] very thick octavo, 514 pages after preliminaries. Bound in original heavily embossed full deep red cloth covered boards. Original spine relayed, new end papers by Perry. A little age but really a nice copy of this scarce work.

Re the controversy. Therry had 100 copies made up and sent 300 to New South Wales. Unfortunately, some did not like his references and it soon became a talking point for the wrong reason. The book no doubt contains some factual errors [there are a lot of facts] but it was the pseudo slander that got under the skin of some. Therry re-purchased the remaining Australian stock!

“Judgely” writing may not sound entertaining, but this book is easily read and full of facts and stories that make it more interesting the more you get into it. We may all know about Hargraves and the discovery of gold in 1851, but did you know it was really Strezelecki in 1839 and with Clarke in between. The didn’t announce the earlier discoveries lest it would cause a stampede and riot among the convict class.

Therry writes in a compassionate way – his account of the discovery of a massacre of an aboriginal group suggests many new settlers were horrified and the culprits were brought to justice.

John McCarthur had a hand in the editing which is why his family are treated well and add to the supposed factual errors

Therry looking back over the important goings on over thirty years in Australia.

$180.00

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Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania – 1885 [Including Johnston’s Coloured Geological Map of Tasmania]

Printed at the “Mercury” in 1886 a first published. An important journal containing a number of geological papers including Ore at Mt Bischoff by Baron Von Grodeck and some on coal measures. At the end we have Johnston’s Geological Table showing the proposed classification of stratified rock in Tasmania and his rather superb large, folding coloured sketch map of the General Geological Features of Tasmania.

Other papers that may be of interest include … an Eclipse on March 30^th 1885 by Biggs; Mosses by Bastow; Tasmanian Earth Tremors also by Biggs; Fossil Plants by the aforementioned Johnstone.

Original soft wrappers, clxi pages followed by 407 pages including a good index. A very solid edition to support the substantial content.

Scarce 1885 Journal with map often missing.

$120.00

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John La Farge – Artist and Writer – Cecilia Waern – First edition 1896

A first edition of this scarce book published by Seeley, London in 1896.

Large octavo, 104 pages with 8 colour and 28 black and white plates. Bound in heavy green cloth covered boards, quarter leather with gilt lines. Some rubbing to the spine and foxing in the extreme ends – very clean from frontispiece onwards, except some foxing around the tissue slips that remain. [generally, whoever came up with the tissue slip idea needs talking to.]

Carries the bookplate of A.A.R. Boyce CBE FRAS FRGS Australian artist among many things. he was prolific with the wood and lino cut and likely self produced the bookplate.

La Farge lived in New York, Greenwich Village. He was a prolific artist, in many forms, from an early age. He did illustrations for editions of Tennyson and Browning. His work in stained glass is memorable – Trinity Church Boston being a fine example. He patented a new technique of layering glass colour which was stolen by Tiffany resulting in a lawsuit [it is America].

He was also a traveller with an eye to his art. he spent time in Japan and wrote much on their style of art. But, it was his journey through the Pacific and in particular his observations and artwork connected to Samoa that we most admire.

A worthy copy of a book that commands some dollars in the rare book world.

John La Farge – an American artist of many talents.

$120.00

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Physics – Original Oxford Doctorate Thesis – Unified Field Theory – F.H.J. Cornish 1954

For the mathematically inclined and admirers of Einstein and those that followed his footsteps – this is gold – read on.

This is an original first typed and manuscript thesis by Cornish, then an Oxford – went on to the University of British Columbia. Categorically original – you can feel the type face from the other side of the paper – an originality that always makes us shiver – a connection with the author.

Full title “The Mathematical Form and Physical Content of Unified Field Theories derived from a Variational Principle’

The work starts from a historical perspective and Einstein in 1915 and moves on to Schrodinger .. the unresolved issues and aspects of static spherically symmetric solutions to Einstein’s theory. Then the new work. A loose sheet inserted, when at British Columbia, summarises, presumably for a presentation by Cornish …

“This is a new extension of Einstein’s General Relativity Theory designed to unify the fields of gravitation and electromagnetism. The field equations of the new theory have been solved approximately for a static spherically symmetric field. The solution may be interpreted as a charged mass particle with an electro-magnetic contribution to the mass. The solution valid near the centre of symmetry contains a form factor or radius parameter which is related to the magnitude of the charge of the particle. Using the Einstein-Infeld-Hoffman method the interaction of an “n” charged particle system is found to be in accord with the Newtonian-Lorentz force terms. A finite rest mass for the photon is predicted”

Quarto, nicely bound is stout boards, half morrocco, two parts after preliminaries including preface, abstract and index, Part I – 56 pages; part II 87 pages, reference list to die for.

Seems a bit trivial, and we are gushing, but we cannot help admire the penmanship re the mass of mathematical formulae – the only correction we can see is one of placement.

Cornish – In the footsteps of Einstein – Original Work 1954 – so how heavy are your photon’s?

$280.00

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A Strange Career – The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb [South America and Mexico] – 1895

Under the Southern Cross [Or Travels in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa and Other Pacific Islands] – Maturin Ballou – 1888

Reminiscences of Thirty Years’ Residence in New South Wales and Victoria – R Therry – First Edition 1863

Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania – 1885 [Including Johnston’s Coloured Geological Map of Tasmania]

John La Farge – Artist and Writer – Cecilia Waern – First edition 1896

Physics – Original Oxford Doctorate Thesis – Unified Field Theory – F.H.J. Cornish 1954

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