Curiosities

Les Volcans et les Tremblements de Terre – Arnold Boscowitz – First Edition 1866

First edition published by Paul Ducrocq, Paris in 1866.

Royal octavo (266mm x 175mm), 602 pages with 16 striking lithographs by Eugene Ciceri, toned with fiery highlights, and a further 40 wood engravings in the text. Publishers original red morocco backed pebble grain cloth covered boards with bevelled design. Spin gilt in compartments, raised bands, all page edges richly gilt, textured end papers. Some obvious marks to boards and closed crack on spine some patchy internal foxing, overall a good copy of a desirable book. Heavy book (1.6kg), may require an overseas postage supplement.

Volcanologist / seismologist Boscovitz produced what is an important 19th Century survey of volcanoes and earthquakes. The impressive vies include … Vesuvius, Orizaba, Mount Etna, Cotopaxi, Kilauea Fire Lake, Stromboli, Popocatepetl, El Jorullo, geysers in Iceland, Hot Springs in New Zealand etc.

Mid 19thC Volcano and Earthquake Classic with Striking Images.

$240.00

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Map of the World “Mappmondo” – Antonio Zatta – 1790

An unusual copper engraved map of the world in two hemispheres by Antonio Zatta published in Venice in 1790.

Map dimensions … 26cm by 18cm to the plate mark, 28.5cm by 22.5cm to the edge. Fold marks as issued, page edges slightly askew.

For the date, post Cook, the depiction of Australia is very strange. Fictitious lines connect Western Australia with the south coast of Tasmania and, from there north east and out to the Solomon Islands and back around to New Guinea. The Gulf of Carpentaria is connect to New Guinea. Australia is named N Olanda. Other curiosities include a strangely drawn Japan and an unnamed Company’s Land peeps out from the extreme north east, for those that are familiar with this curiosity.

The map appears at first rather basic but on closer inspection one can see topographical features, major mountain ranges are depicted and a number of the worlds major river systems. Uncoloured as it should be. Showing some age but a good honest map of some scarcity and peculiarity.

Little is known about Antonio Zatta (1757-1797). Even his year of birth and death, usually quoted as above are challenged in some sources which suggest 1722-1804 … maybe the shorter period reflects his map making activity. We can see that this map is by him as his signature appears in the engraving bottom right … we cannot help feel the plate is based on another map, of smaller scale, usually attributed to Giovanni Rizzi Zannoni, also active in Venice during the period.

Price $290.00 unframed

Distinctive and Scarce 18th Century World Map with Curiosity

$290.00

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Antarctica’s First Lady – Edith M “Jackie” Ronne.

A special book effectively self-published with the help of the Clifton Steamboat Museum, Beaumont Texas in 2004. Why none of the major travel publishers did not we will never know, for all sorts of reasons an important account

Octavo, soft cover, 406 pages heavily illustrated from period photographs. Perfect bound, very good condition.

Finn Ronne was the organiser and leader of the last great privately funded Antarctic venture … the “Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition 1947-1948”. Jackie went along and was, as a result, the First American Woman to Set Foot on the Antarctic Continent and Winter-Over’. Perhaps a careful turn of phrase as Jennie Darlington went with them … it’s a long story.

Not much in the book about the falling out between the woman. Regardless Jackie played an important part being the main administrator/ recorder of goings on. And there were many of them. Some important work was carried out and a large part of the Antarctic Continent was named after Jackie as a result.

WE have an original photograph of Jackie and Jennie all furred up ready for the cold weather … its in out collection just search Jennie.

Edith Ronne (Preferred Jackie) and Antarctic Pioneer

$50.00

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Mercator’s World – First Six Editions – 1996

The very first group from Vol 1 No 1 to Vol1 No 6 published in 1996 published bimonthly by Astor Publishing by Edward Astor at Astor Publishing. Very good condition.

With an Editorial and Advisory Board to die for including, Robert Clancy, David Woodward and Peter Van Der Kroot.

Each edition approximately 100 pages, heavily illustrated mostly in colour. Content extremely well researched and presented.

By example, the first edition includes … Mythical Seas; Carto controversy; the mapmaker as artist; the Line that Divided the World; the Captain Cook Legacy; the Brilliant Irascible Ferdinand Hassler … and in the second … Cartographic Thievery; Carto philately (love it); Charting Shipwrecks Down Under [New South wales]; the Island of California. Obviously much more.

Mercator’s World – the important first group of six.

$90.00

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Two by Two – Twenty- two Pairs of Maps from the Newberry Library Illustrating 500 Years of Western Cartographic History.

Published in 1993 as an interpretive guide to a major exhibition at the Newberry, which hold one of the world’s great cartographic collection.

Glossy softcover, 48 pages, with very good illustrations, one map per page. An unusual presentation of extremely rare sometimes unique maps an charts.

Beautifully done … intriguing content

$20.00

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Geological Survey Cape York, Horn Island, Possession Island Queensland etc – C.F.V Jackson 1902 – Excellent Maps

Queensland Department of Mines Geological Survey Report No 180.

Report on a Visit to the West Coast of the Cape York Peninsula and Some Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria also, Reports on the Horn Island and Possession Island Gold Fields, and the Recent Prospecting of the Cretaceous Coast of the Cook District.

By C.F.V. Jackson, Assistant Government Geologist.

Octavo, staple bound. 23 pages with images from photographs and four maps, a broader map of the regions and three folding coloured maps of the South Wellesly Islands (Bentick, Fowler and Sweers); the Horn Island Goldfield and Horn Island. Slight browning to map edges, still a very good copy of a scarce item. Good maps.

As often the geologist travels significant ground taking in Cox Creek, Wilkinson range, Mitchell River, Wellesly Islands, Horn Island, Possession Island etc with good detail on the topography of the land and various anthropological finds along the way. He discovered aboriginal middens of enormous proportions estimated to have taken several hundred years to form. He mentions bauxite at Weipa … to become one of the world’s largest deposits of that mineral.

Clements Frederick Vivian Jackson (1873-1955) was a very talented engineer, initially in the Civil file and then Mining. He designed an built bridges over the Bremer River near Ipswich and received the London Institute of Civil Engineers Prize for his bridge over the Burdekin an Charters Towers. He moved into the geology / mining filed and after conducting the work subject to this reports was involved in the geological survey of Western Australia. Returning to Queensland he rose to the highest position, that of State Mining Engineer

Scarce report on important locations with excellent maps.

$90.00

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Les Volcans et les Tremblements de Terre – Arnold Boscowitz – First Edition 1866

Map of the World “Mappmondo” – Antonio Zatta – 1790

Antarctica’s First Lady – Edith M “Jackie” Ronne.

Mercator’s World – First Six Editions – 1996

Two by Two – Twenty- two Pairs of Maps from the Newberry Library Illustrating 500 Years of Western Cartographic History.

Geological Survey Cape York, Horn Island, Possession Island Queensland etc – C.F.V Jackson 1902 – Excellent Maps

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