Exploration

Papers of the Royal Society of Tasmania – December 2012 [Significant Antarctic Content]

Hobart is not only one of the five official gateways to the Antarctic it is a centre for Antarctic Research and Publication.

Large scale softcover, perfect bound 98 pages. Quality production. Nice photographic images etc

The front image is the former Manager’s Villa at Stromness, South Georgia where Shackleton and his companions arrived in May 1916 after their historic journey of survival.

The first third of the publication contains reports on Tasmanian natural history – the balance is entirely Antarctic in nature.

[Dr Xavier] Mertz in Hobart: Impressions of one of Mawson’s men while preparing for Antarctic Adventure.

Dredging up Mawson: implications for the geology of coastal East Antarctica.

Leslie Russell Blake: Mawson’s forgotten geologist.

And, four others including one on South Georgia.

Royal Society Tasmania – a home for Antarctic research publication.

$35.00

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Francois Peron’s Natural History of Maria Island Tasmania. – Brian Plomley and Others

Another Plomley rarity we don’t expect to see again for a long time.

Published as part of the Records of the Queen Victoria Museum in 1990.

Soft cover, 50 pages, with charts etc all in fine condition.

Baudin spent three days circumnavigation Maria Island in February 1802. Francois Peron was zoologist but also made meteorological, geomorphic, botanical observation – a multi faceted scientist was Peron.

Peron knew his stuff when it came to Maria.

$30.00

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The General (Bruny d’Entrecasteaux) – The Visits of the Expedition led by Bruny d’Entrecasteaux to Tasmanian Waters in 1792 and 1793 – Brian Plomley and Piard- Bernier.

Another special book by Brian Plomley with the help of Josiane Pirad- Bernier. Now very scarce.

Large wide octavo, 378 pages, illustrated. Published by the Launceston Museum in 1993. A solid quality production in near fine condition.

Very well researched and written book on the Bruny d’Entrecasteaux and his visits to Tasmania.

Covers the preparations for the voyage and the officers of the Recherche and Esperance, and among other things their scientific work [Natural History, Geological, Botanical and Zoological].

Also includes as appendices the journals of Louis Ventenat and the botanist Louis Dechamps.

Rare collectable D’Entrecasteaux – more than a channel.

$140.00

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The Long Labrador Trail – Dillon Wallace – First Edition 1907

A first edition published by The Outing Publishing Company, New York in 1907.

Octavo, 308 pages plus appendix of weather information daily. Nicely illustrated with 29 photographic images, coloured frontispiece and folding map at rear. The beautiful pictorial covers complete a very book. A very good copy.

In 1903, Dillon Wallace (1863-1939) accompanied Leonidas Hubbard on an exploratory trip through Labrador planning to follow the Naskaupi River to Lake Michikamau where no previous Europeans had been. They followed the wrong river and got into so much difficulty. Hubbard fell ill and died of starvation. Wallace survived and wrote his first book The Lure of the Labrador Wild published in 1905. In that book, he blamed Hubbard for the mistakes he made leading to his own death, which infuriated Hubbard’s wife

Wallace planned a much more adventurous expedition, which would become the subject of this book. Hubbard’s wife on hearing of the expedition planned her own, along the same lines. She also wrote a book “A Woman’s Way Through Unknown Labrador” … neither refer to each other!

Wallace in Labrador a second time with success and unmentioned competition.

$120.00

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The Search for Mallory & Irvine – Peter Firstbrook.

A very good copy of this BBC sponsored climb to find any evidence of the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine in their “so close” attempt to conquer Everest in 1924. Some believe they did.

A first edition of the record of climb undertaken in 1999 and published later that year. Octavo, 224 pages, many photographs both from 1924 and 1999, good maps etc. Very good condition.

Few adventure readers do not know of the Mallory mystery and a pity that his buddy Irvine does not quite get the same billing. Less know about this book and we hope it does not spoil the drama to tell you that they did find Mallory and albeit a bit grotesque there are images of his frozen body and the belongings on him at the time of death – no climber of the day left without Swan Vestas matches.

This is a special book in that it puts certain things to bed once and for all … it’s also a great record of the events at each end of a 75 year timeline. We love it.

Mallory resolved and a super Everest account.

$30.00

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The Dutch Seaborne Empire 1600-1800 – C.R. Boxer

Published by Hutchinson, London 1n 1965, a first edition. The author Charles Boxer was the Professor of Portuguese at Kings College, London at the time – he would likely have been the Dutch Professor also .. if they had had one.

Large octavo, 326 pages, illustrated throughout, very good dust jacket, a lightly embossed stamp on title,. A very good copy of a special work now hard to find.

Not your usual narrative, this book looks at the reasons behind the rise of the Dutch as a major seafaring nation from the mid 1600’s for over a century. Peace was signed after an eighty year war with Spain in 1648 and for the Dutch the seagoing expansion was near to phenomenal in terms of speed and ambition. Useful appendices include a chronology 1568-1795 which provides a framework …

The author Charles Boxer was an incredibly colourful character. Born into a military family (although his mothers family had been early sheep farmers in Tasmania). He enlisted and found himself in Japan in the 1930’s. Then a full blown spy in Hong Kong at the beginning of War II, imprisoned by the Japanese for three years. He married the most beautiful woman in Hong Kong , Ursula Tulloch, but left her for a life with the equally glamorous American writer Emily Hahn. Back in England his depth of knowledge was recognised in receiving the Lisbon sponsored Professorship which he made is own.

The Dutch … their power at sea and what was behind it …

$40.00

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Papers of the Royal Society of Tasmania – December 2012 [Significant Antarctic Content]

Francois Peron’s Natural History of Maria Island Tasmania. – Brian Plomley and Others

The General (Bruny d’Entrecasteaux) – The Visits of the Expedition led by Bruny d’Entrecasteaux to Tasmanian Waters in 1792 and 1793 – Brian Plomley and Piard- Bernier.

The Long Labrador Trail – Dillon Wallace – First Edition 1907

The Search for Mallory & Irvine – Peter Firstbrook.

The Dutch Seaborne Empire 1600-1800 – C.R. Boxer

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