Esoteric

Ventriloquism For Beginners – A Complete Set of Lessons in the Art of Voice Magic – Douglas Houlden

Published by Kaye & Ward, London revised in 1967. Large octavo, 63 pages with numerous sketches and photographs. A nice copy.

A super guide … a bit like playing the didge … practice makes perfect and here we have the techniques carefully explained. Advanced ventriloquism includes … the muffled voice, the distant voice, drinking (whilst talking) etc. After learning how to do the basic letters and covering up the B’s with G’s we have the most challenging “Labial Sounds”.

All without moving your lips …

$30.00

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Oracles of Nostradamus – Edited by Charles Ward

Published by The Modern Library in 1940. The original now scarce work was published in the 1890′s. Octavo, 366 pages including index. Apart from some creasing top of dust jacket a very good copy.

Interesting – when you consider this edition published in 1940 – see front cover for reference to Hitler – have you had enough Nostradamus?

Prediction, prediction, prediction ..

$40.00

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A Bibliography of the Writings of Jonathan Swift – Herman Teerink.

A second revised and corrected edition of Dr Teerink’s fundamental reference on Swift.

Published by the University od Pennsylvania Press in 1963. Published in Britain by the Oxford University. First published in 1937, Teerink had continued to compile new discoveries and corrections since that date. He died in 1961 so it was down to Editor Arthur Scouten to produce this update from Teerink’s notes.

Large, thick octavo, 453 pages with frontispiece of Captain Lemuel Gulliver. A very good copy.

The preface by Thomas Yoseloff, Director of the Press reflects on the decision to publish the revision and the difficultly in understanding Terrink’s handwriting. Probably in the history of bibliography there has not been more challenge than in this work on Swift, mainly because of the nature of the publishing trade in the first half of the 18thC and the many potential attributions not under the authors real name or published anonymously.

A monumental work. One might say … what interest a Swift bibliography unless the completely immersed. Well, really it give one a thorough education of the publication of the book in the era … the challenges .. unsold runs of earlier copies and how they can be used in bolstering re-issues of complete works etc. the printing houses and the quality of editorial and review before press.

The structure of book is helpful … Table of Symbols and abbreviations. Table of Location of Teerink Numbers and then the body … Collected Works; Smaller Collections; A Tale of the Tub; Gulliver’s Travels; Separate Works; Doubtful (well some would challenge other and put some of these in the mix); Biography and Criticism, 1709-1895. And a useful index.

Jonathan Swift – more than Gulliver and “the Tub” a lifetime work by Teerink.

$60.00

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The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

A self-published pamphlet by Georgina King of work previously published in the “Sunday Times”. Printed by William Brooks, Sydney and issued in 1924.

Octavo, 23 pages, soft wrappers as issued, three illustrations in the text regarding aboriginals. Some age from use still a very good copy.

The articles are as per the title … The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – Two Stone Ages in Australia; The Discovery of Gold and How it was Found in Payable Quantities; Magnetism – terrestrial and Universal; Diamond and Their Origin.

A most usual body of work. Georgina King (1845-1932) was an amateur geologist and anthropologist. As a woman she was excluded from the “professional” category e.g. she was not allowed to read her own paper at the Royal society of NSW. Her ideas were rather whacky though and make for interesting reading … they did not stop her becoming a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society. The daughter of Rev George King she was advised by him and naturalist Bennett not to marry if she wanted to get on in her chosen filed. She corresponded with Robert Logan Jack regarding geology and Huxley on natural sciences. In her eccentricity she blamed other for stealing her ideas, including Edgeworth David on her radical concepts of the earth’s formation and Einstein on the theory of relativity. She believed diamonds were fossilised marine organisms … quoting from the paper contained here …

“Diamonds existed as marine organisms. They are composed of pure carbon, containing only a little hydrogen, and the most minute particles are often found in what were small cavities, perhaps their breathing apparatus; some were like feathers. The cleavages of the diamond were the gills of those marine organisms …”

Her article of the aborigines is a lot more grounded. She was a friend of Daisy bates and provided financial support to Bates for her work among aboriginal people.

Georgina King isolated Australian Scientist with some wild ideas and some interesting ones.

$50.00

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Ghost Towns of Australia – George Farwell

Published by Rigby, Adelaide in 1965. Octavo, 247 pages with plates and map end papers. Minor ageing with relevant article glued in at end. A Very good copy.

Australia has its fair share of towns no longer up to their former glory … indeed many completely gone. That is the nature of pioneering existence whether mineral or agricultural or some other purpose.

Interesting images of once glorious places

$30.00

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A Reply to the Objections of Robert Nelson Esq and an Anonymous Author – Dr Samuel Clarke – 1714

Full title continues … “against Dr Clarke’s Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity. Being a Commentary upon Forty Select Texts of Scripture. To which is added, An Answer to the Remarks of the Author of, Some Considerations concerning the Trinity, and the Ways of Managing the Controversy”.

Original panelled calf binding, raised bands to spine with six compartments, red leather title label. Binding aged and hinges cracked but holding well on strong cords. Despite deficiencies a delightful antiquarian patina. Octavo, 311 pages after preliminaries plus book advertisements and “index of the texts explained in this book”. First page is title so likely missing front end paper. Internally some ageing and staining to pages but overall very good condition for its age.

Printed for James Knapton, at the Crown in St Paul’s Church Yard 1714.

A more important historical work than immediately apparent. Samuel Clarke (1675 – 1729) was the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkley. Born in Norwich he went to Caius College, Cambridge where his tutor was John Ellis a personal friend of Isaac Newton. Clarke adopted the new physical system of Newton and in 1697 published a book on the superiority of the Newtonian system. Taking holy orders Clarke moved rapidly up the hierarchy and by 1709 he was Rector of St James, Westminster and Chaplain in Ordinary to Queen Anne. At this time, he became in personal contact with Isaac Newton. Just before this period he presented the Boyle Lectures where he presented examples of a physico-theological system. That is that God is self-existent, infinite, omnipresent, having existed from eternity …

In 1712 Clarke published his treatise “The Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity” it was controversial and he was cautioned not to publish … he ignored this advice. There were complaints from the Lower House of Convocation and the Blasphemy Act was threatened and those that published against him included Robert Nelson (1656 – 1715) mentioned strongly in the title to this work and Francis Gastrell who was the “Anonymous Author” also referred to in a robust defence.

Clarke a controversial intellectual with personal influence from Isaac Newton, Boyle Lecturer and Chaplain to Queen Anne – 1714

$170.00

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Ventriloquism For Beginners – A Complete Set of Lessons in the Art of Voice Magic – Douglas Houlden

Oracles of Nostradamus – Edited by Charles Ward

A Bibliography of the Writings of Jonathan Swift – Herman Teerink.

The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

Ghost Towns of Australia – George Farwell

A Reply to the Objections of Robert Nelson Esq and an Anonymous Author – Dr Samuel Clarke – 1714

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