New Zealand

An Account of the Discoveries Made in the South Pacific Ocean – Alexander Dalrymple

A quality production, Number 3 in the Australian Maritime Series published by Hordern House, Sydney.

A Limited edition of 950 copies hand bound in midnight blue Scottish calf with marbled papered boards. Designed by Margo Snape.

Octavo, 103 pages plus portrait frontispiece, six folding plates and folding map at rear. All in very good condition.

First published in 1767 one of the rarest accounts. First time reissued faithfully reproduced.

The original account used as a reference on the Endeavour and mentioned by Banks and Cook.

Dalrymple lead Cook to Australia

$120.00

Updating cart…

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

Updating cart…

Raymond Howgego’s Monumental reference on the Exploration of Australia and Beyond.

Four Massive volumes which we regard complete, as they contain all the factual works [Howgego also produced a book on fictional travel]. Published progressively by Hordern House.

Land and sea exploration from the earliest days to circa 1940. Over four thousand pages in all with surely every event and fact worthy of mention. In pristine condition, weighing over 11 kgs so postage will be circa $80.00 at cost.

Raymond Howgego was teacher of physics before he gave that up to become a full-time traveller and travel writer. Possibly put down more words than any other living person. Seemingly can handle almost all European languages and Arabic and probably a few others. He still has an interest in amateur radio and fixing electronic items … we withhold his call sign, but you can find it if you try.

As new comprehensive definitive history of Exploration.

$580.00

Updating cart…

Autobiography of Australia’s Great Aviator – Sir Gordon Taylor – First Edition

A particularly good copy of the first edition of this desirable autobiography published by Cassell in 1963.

Subtitled – “A famous aviator’s personal story of pioneering aviation: 1916 to 1951”.

Octavo, 366 pages, illustrated from period photographs.

Gordan Taylor (1896-1966) was one of those adventurous Aussies, one of the few that flew in WWI – he won the Military Cross [the Air Force was part of the Army in those days]. So, his story starts in 1916 at the age of twenty. On return to Australia, he pursued his passion for flying with vigour – teaming up with Charles Kingsford-Smith there are many adventures. One of which saw him out of the aircraft [Southern Cross] over the Tasman Sea shifting oil from one engine to the other, in a thermos flask, in order to make terra firma.

Lots more.

Gordon Taylor – one of the great pioneering aviation heroes

$90.00

Updating cart…

The Journals and Life of Captain James Cook complete in Five Volumes with Addendum and Portfolio of Charts and Views – J [John] C Beaglehole [and Skelton] – The Hakluyt Edition

A full set of the prized Hakluyt set put together by the unrelenting John Beaglehole recognised surely as the world authority on James Cook.

Five thick royal octavo books and portfolio of charts and maps published progressively.. The Voyage volumes were technically published by the Cambridge University Press for the Hakluyt Society; the Life of Cook was published directly by the Hakluyt Society having been printed by A C Black. As a bonus, a small one, we have the addendum to Volume II “Cook and the Russians”, again a Beaglehole work, of only nine pages, in Hakluyt blue wrapper published in 1973.

Volume I – The Voyage of the Endeavor 1768-1771 – 1968 Edition – 696 pages.
Volume II – The Voyage of the Resolution and Adventure 1772-1775 – 1969 edition – 1,028 pages
Volume III in Two Parts – the Voyage of the Resolution and Discovery 1967 edition – Part One 718 pages and Part Two 719-1,647 pages … plus addendum on the Russians.
Volume IV – The Life of Captain James Cook – published in 1974 – 760 pages

A heavy set which would require a sizeable overseas postage supplement. Said that we do our best to minimise postage.

Each volume illustrated with reproduction of images, charts etc on thick wove paper, many folding.

All of the above edited etc. by John. Beaglehole. The portfolio of Charts and Views was edited by cartographic supremo R.A. Skelton, with content reproduced from the original manuscripts – all present in the original portfolio with Cook emblem to front.

All bound in original Hakluyt style, blue cloth covered boards each with their original dust jacket – showing a little age but now protected in removable Brodart.

Internally a little age, and a hint of eau de library. Otherwise, a worthy complete set … getting hard to find all in original dust jackets.

Original owner A [Tony] W Sweeney who headed up the Australian Military Malaria Research Unit … his letter of acknowledgement of receipt but awaiting one volume included. Maybe a interesting context.

Beaglehole the definitive reference on James Cook and his Voyages – Complete over 4,000 pages – should be enough!

$890.00

Updating cart…

Erect-Crested Penguin – Lance Richdale – 1950

This is an offprint from the “The Emu” the then official organ of the Royal Australasian Ornithologist’s Union.

The point of this item is that since 1940 the population of this species of Penguin has been in decline and is now categorised as endangered. They nest on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands. Previously on the Auckland, Campbell etc Islands and the Otago Peninsula but no longer. At the time of writing the report Richdale was probably observing the last Otago nesters …

Typical offprint faded card covers, 18 pages with quite a few images from photographs of the beautifully crested penguins. Maybe there are some clues in here as to what will soon lead to further reductions in breeding.

Lance Richdale was a big individual in the bird world – he was a Fulbright Fellow at Cornell and a Nuffield Fellow in his field – later in life he spent time at the Zoological Society in London. Author of the Sexual Behavior of Penguins.

Erect-Crested doing it tough in the far reaches of the Southern Ocean.

$20.00

Updating cart…

An Account of the Discoveries Made in the South Pacific Ocean – Alexander Dalrymple

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

Raymond Howgego’s Monumental reference on the Exploration of Australia and Beyond.

Autobiography of Australia’s Great Aviator – Sir Gordon Taylor – First Edition

The Journals and Life of Captain James Cook complete in Five Volumes with Addendum and Portfolio of Charts and Views – J [John] C Beaglehole [and Skelton] – The Hakluyt Edition

Erect-Crested Penguin – Lance Richdale – 1950

Product Categories