Prestige Items

Matthew Flinders Private journal 1803-1814 – the Mitchell Library Manuscript

This is the deluxe edition by Genesis Publications in association with Hedley Australia printed in 1986. Originally published with another work here presented alone. Quarter leather bound with gilt Flinders to front, impressed title to spine which has faux raised bands, all page edges richly gilt … a quality expected from Genesis.

Fine condition. A heavy book unsuitable for Overseas purchase.

Folio, 365 pages of facsimile and useful index at the end … Geoffrey Ingleton’s useful introductory note helps one in to the manuscript. This is Flinders in Mauritius incarcerated by the French on his way black to England to complete his charts and publication which was to change the name of the lucky continent to Australia. Flinders hand surprisingly readable which is what makes for a good facsimile manuscript … still needs a little patience and the index helps you around

We say incarcerated, and he did have his freedom removed, but he had an easy time of it .. albeit rather lengthy and annoying.

Flinders in Mauritius beautifully presented.

$190.00

Updating cart…

A Season in Hell – Arthur Rimbaud – special edition – c1930

With and introduction by George Frederick Lees. No date but circa 1930.

Small octavo, 78 pages, dust jacket shelf worn, chipped edges, fading to spine. Title page printed in red and black, limited to 600 copies. Previous ownership details on free end paper, still a pretty good copy of a sought after Rimbaud translation.

Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) a unique poet and writer, often described as the ‘Father” of modern poetry. This was his masterpiece. A long prose poem recording his spiritual revolt and struggle. Originally published in 1873.

If you are not familiar with Rimbaud, then you should get to know him. How could someone experience so much so early in life? Set out in nine parts of varying length differing markedly in tone and ease of understanding. Persevere though as here we have a sure piece of genius. At the time of writing Rimbaud had been through a tempestuous homosexual relationship with poet Paul Verlaine. Ending the relationship Verlaine shot Rimbaud and was imprisoned. Rimbaud went to London and took to opium and gin … returning to France to finish and publish A Season in Hell. He never wrote again after the age of twenty years. He then became a merchant and explorer overseas and sadly died of cancer at the age of 37.

Arthur Rimbaud’s Hell – such an influence

$60.00

Updating cart…

Bliss – Peter Carey – First Edition 1981

A first edition of Peter Carey’s first novel Bliss published by the University of Queensland Press in 1981. Also published that year by Faber in London and Harper in the New York. Our preferred edition the thoughtful Queensland Press.

Slightly larger octavo, 336 pages, with the unusual silvered dust jacket, just a little age to the top edge otherwise a very good copy.

Peter Carey argued by many as Australia’s best modern era writer. Born in Bacchus Marsh in the 1940’s, living at various placed throughout Australia the New York, London etc. Married a number of times such relationships feeding his unusual story lines. Before becoming a literary success he worked for many years in the advertising industry writing pretty good copy.

Unsurprisingly the protagonist of Bliss was an advertising executive Harry Joy. Harry dies from a heart attack but is brought back to life … as a consequence his view of what went on and what was around him changed. Life was Hell actually and it took meeting Honey to fix that. Bliss was received with great acclaim and won the Miles Franklin Award.

Carey went on to win the Miles Franklin award three times and is one of only five authors to have won the Booker Prize twice.

A First Edition of Peter Carey’s First Novel – the scarce Queensland Edition

$80.00

Updating cart…

Lake Victoria to Khartoum with Rifle and Camera – Captain F.A. Dickinson [Introduction by Winston Churchill] – First Edition 1910.

A rare book and one of the rarest books in the Churchill cannon. If you have a first edition of Churchill’s “My African Journey” then you are lucky and you will appreciate that this book by the guide of that event would make the perfect companion.

Published by John Lane (Bodley Head), London, 1910.. in the days when you spoke to John Lane. Thick octavo, 334 pages after preliminaries and before publishers catalogue. Well over a hundred illustrations from photographs [not included in the pagination]. Bound in unusual orange/ red cloth covered boards, gilt titles and embellishment, decorative lines. The covers are quite well faded especially to the spine and the odd mark, this is common for this binding. Otherwise internally very clean indeed, just a couple of light spots on the title.

Churchill in his introduction lavishes praise on Ricketts as a guide and organiser. The party walked/ travelled the whole Uganda and more, some 1,500 miles. Churchill did some of it on bicycle. A lot of bagging went on along the way – all very jolly. Churchill took them to Khartoum and enlivened the conversation with his first hand account of encounters during his various African military skirmishes.

Churchill in Africa – mutual admiration – Ricketts

$390.00

Updating cart…

First Class Polo – Tactics & Match Play – Brigadier-General R. L. Ricketts.

For those that have always wanted to understand polo beyond the general idea of horses, a mallet and a bamboo ball (well plastic now) this is the book. Get ahead become an expert and make the right calls at these posh events.

A fine copy of a super scarce book outlining the secrets of good polo play. Second edition, effectively self-published through Gale & Polden of Aldershot [British Military town] and London et, 1938.

Octavo, 48 pages and IX full pages plates of tactics guaranteed to win the play.

Ricketts played for the Alwar team in India circa 1900 and they won trophy after trophy – see the image of the frontispiece. They won the Indian Polo association Championship for several years and the Delhi Durbar without a single defeat scoring 117 goals against only 15.

Ricketts describes the “merciless hitting of the ordinary easy ball by the Maharajah, and the advantages of the golf drive trajectory which he imparted to it etc”.

Rickett’s motivation for the book is the fact that the Americans had more recently dominated the sport and to win back the advantage a quicker harder form of polo must be played. Bit like Bazball if you get that ..

Ricketts on Polo everything you need to know to beat the Yankees

$90.00

Updating cart…

Sarangi – Indian Stringed Instrument

The sarangi is a short necked bowed stringed instrument with a skin covered resonator. Carved from a single piece of wood. The playing strings typically gut and the numerous sympathetic strings from steel. The instrument is played predominantly in Northern India and also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

The sound it produces is very emotional and can resemble the human voice with special techniques such as gamaks (shakes) and meends (sliding movements).

Its origins could be Persian the derivation of the name suggests that.

The sarangi has a box like shape with three hollow chambers .. the names of which translate to stomach, chest and brain. This good example is around the usual size (slightly bigger) at 67cm. the lower chamber is covered in parchment. There is a bridge made from bone, earlier they would have been ivory. The bridge is strong as it supports the pressure from the numerous metal sympathetic strings.

Nor really suitable for Overseas postage and will require a postage supplement in Australia dependent on buyers location. We are careful to pack well and obtain the most cost effect mailing.

Expand your musical horizons with a Sarangi.

$440.00

Updating cart…

Matthew Flinders Private journal 1803-1814 – the Mitchell Library Manuscript

A Season in Hell – Arthur Rimbaud – special edition – c1930

Bliss – Peter Carey – First Edition 1981

Lake Victoria to Khartoum with Rifle and Camera – Captain F.A. Dickinson [Introduction by Winston Churchill] – First Edition 1910.

First Class Polo – Tactics & Match Play – Brigadier-General R. L. Ricketts.

Sarangi – Indian Stringed Instrument

Product Categories