&
V O YA G E S
T R AV E L
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m a g g s b r o s lt d
VOYAGES & TRAVEL
maggs bros. ltd 50 Berkeley Square, London w1j 5ba
Tel: 020 7493 7160 fax: 020 7499 2007 email: [email protected]
Catalogue 1444
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Front cover illustration: item 107
Maggs Bros. Ltd.
CONTENTS
AFRICA
africa
5
near and middle east
27
europe, russia and turkey
40
india, central asia and far east
55
australia and the pacific
83
south america 106
central america and the west indies
117
north america
127
arctic and antarctica
150
1
[ABYSSINIAN CAMPAIGN] COOKE (Lieut.-Colonel A[nthony] C[harles]) Routes in Abyssinia. Presented to the House of Commons, in pursuance of
their Address dated November 26, 1867.
First edition. Large folding lithographed map, coloured in outline at the rear,
further folding outline map. 8vo. Ink stamp of the Law Society to the last page
only, some light browning, a little marginal brittleness with a few leaves with
splits, title page chipped at the fore-margin, but overall very good in modern
calf-backed marbled boards. [iv], 252pp. Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery
Office by Harrison and Sons, 1867.
£1500
“The object of this compilation is to collect together the information on the routes
in Abyssinia which is scattered through the works of different travellers...” [From
the Preface by Colonel Henry James, Director of the War Office Topographical and
Statistical Department.]
Includes extracts from the works of Salt, Bruce and of a more contemporary nature, Dr.
Beke and Münzinger, extracted from the Abyssinian Blue Books. The excellent folding
map was compiled by E.G. Ravenstein, Geographer at the Topographical Depôt, from
the same range of sources and was produced on the Depôt’s lithographic press under
Cooke’s superintendence. Cooke had access to the library and map-room of the Royal
Geographical Society in the preparation of this work, and “In return the Topographical
Department supplied the RGS with copies of the textual information it compiled and
views it reproduced by both lithography and photography.” [Ryan Picturing Empire.
p.84] Before entering the War Office Cooke had distinguished himself at the Siege of
Sebastopol, directing the right attack, he was later to Command the RE in Bermuda and
at Aldershot.
Quite an uncommon item, OCLC lists eight copies with this pagination, but without
mentioning the maps. Two further copies are mentioned, of the same date, with maps,
but of only 109pp. NSTC further muddies the waters by recording a “Second Edition
with Maps”, but without offering a pagination.
Item 2
2
[ABYSSINIAN CAMPAIGN] [NAPIER (Field-Marshal Robert Cornelis, Earl)
& THEODORE (Emperor of Abyssinia)] Superb Large Transfer Ware Loving
Cup. Glazed off-white pottery loving-cup, 117mm high, scrolled handles, pedestal
base, on opposite sides are transfer portraits of Napier and Theodore in sea-
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green, a frieze of a trophy of arms and an armorial with crossed spears is run
inside the lip, around the foot of the pedestal and along the handles. Small chips
from the base of the pedestal, glaze minutely crazed, but otherwise very good
indeed. No maker’s mark, n.d. but [c.1868] £1500*
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The drawings are competent, if not professional, the style dramatic and reminiscent
of popular prints. Beginning with Bugeaud studying the disposition of the Adb el
Kader’s camp a variety of images from the Marshal’s campaign are shown; the Chasseurs
d’Afrique taking a standard; the rout of the camp; the famous “exploit” of Colonel Morris
- who in hot pursuit of fugitives from the camp found himself isolated with five hundred
Chasseurs confronting six thousand Arab cavalry. The second group of six illustrations
concentrate on the naval bombardments of Tangiers and Mogadir. The Prince de
Joinville is shown planning his attack; the Suffren opening fire; and the Prince leading
the taking of the Forts at Mogadir.
[ABYSSINIAN CAMPAIGN] PRIDHAM (John). The Abyssinian Expedition,
Grand Divertimento. Descriptive of the Battle and Entry into Magdala, for
the Piano-Forte.
4to. Sheet music with tinted lithographic cover with some hand-colour. Very
good. 13pp. S.J. Brewer & Co. nd [1868]. £500
AMOT 652, 424, “Col. lith. of infantry assaulting heights.” The cover lithography is by
Stannard & Son, the red-coats of the British troops have been hand-coloured over the
tinted ground. Attractive item from the period of high enthusiasm for mementoes of
the campaign.
4
[ABYSSINIAN CAMPAIGN] WAR OFFICE. [Views in Abyssinia.] Sole edition. Map & 12 lithographs. Oblong 4to. Half red buckram, spine gilt.
12pp. London, War Office, nd [but 1867]. £1950
Juel-Jenson copy with his bookplate. An extremely uncommon work, it was produced
under the aegis of Colonel Sir Henry James as Director of the Topographical and
Statistical Department of the War Office, the restrikes of the “borrowed” plates being
carried out at the War Office Topographical Depôt. A great innovator, James was
also director of the Ordnance Survey from 1857 until 1870, and promoted the use of
photozincography in mapping.
Produced with very much the same intent as the illustrative material in Geographical
Handbooks of later periods, a visual guide to the terrain to be encountered on campaign.
The illustrations are drawn from a variety of published sources: four are taken from Salt’s
illustrations for Valentia’s Voyages and Travels to India ...; two from Lefebvre’s Voyage en
Abyssinie; one from Bernatz’s Scenes in Ethiopia; and five photographically reproduced
from Salt’s own Voyage to Abyssinia.
[ALGERIA] Album of Pencil Drawings of the French Conquest of Algeria
in 1844. Light card wrappered landscape 8vo. album, 152 by 228mm, containing twelve
mounted roundels, 115mm diameter, with pencil sketches of scenes from the
campaign culminating in the battle of Isly, and the bombardment of Tangier and
Mogadir, each captioned in ink in a neat copper-plate hand. Some light foxing
and browning, some of the leaves marginally stained, but overall very good,
the album itself is probably of later construction, the sketches themselves near
contemporary. Unsigned, undated, French, [c.1845.] £850*
An extremely scarce and highly desirable commemorative item relating to the Abyssinian
Expedition, dating is far from exact but must come from the period between the
opening of the campaign and before Napier was ennobled as Lord Napier of Magdala,
17th July, 1868. This cup was purchased in the Blewitt Collection Sale of 2001, having
been exhibited previously in the 1987 “Long to Reign over us” exhibition at Newport
Museum.
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ALLEN (Capt. William). Retained copy of Orders to Lieut. Webb, dated June
29th 1842, written aboard “HM Steamer Wilberforce, Clarence, Fernando
Po”. Autograph manuscript. Folio. 4pp. Clarence, Fernando Po, 1842. £1450
Allen took part in Lander and Oldfield’s expedition to the Niger in 1832, but is best known
for his involvement with the expedition sent in 1841 to the Niger under Capt. Trotter,
when he commanded the Wilberforce. This document relates to the period immediately
following this latter disastrous expedition, which was designed to disrupt the slave trade.
Although a number of treaties were signed with tribal leaders, the expedition was struck
by an epidemic of fever that claimed the lives of many of its crew. Indeed, the prospect
of further illness still looms large: “if therefore the slightest symptoms of sickness should
breakout among your European party you are on no account to attempt it...”
The orders, in the form of a letter, respond to Webb’s request to be given temporary
command of the Wilberforce, and proceed to ‘Model Farm’. The orders prohibit him from
proceeding further up river than Rabbah or undertaking any additional exploration.
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ANDERSSON (Charles J.) A Journey to Lake ‘Ngami, and an Itinerary of
the Principal routes leading to it from the West Coast; with the Latitudes of
some of the Chief Stations.
Particularly rare. This edition precedes the first edition noted by both Theal and
Mendelssohn as being published in 1806. No copies on COPAC, only four on OCLC.
Comprised of thirty-nine letters, this account of the Cape before the rule of the Batavian
Republic is more properly a vehicle for the author’s view on slavery - to which he was
opposed - and includes a general history of it from ancient times. The dramatic folding
frontispiece and plates are all after sketches by the author. Hosken, p81; Mendelssohn I,
p609; Theal, p116.
First edition. 12mo. Modern morocco-backed buckram boards, gilt. 44pp. [Cape
Town], Pike & Riches, 1854. £3500
Andesson’s first separately published work, this little pamphlet is extremely uncommon
outside South Africa, it was not recorded in Mendelssohn’s bibliography. The text gives
an account of Andersson’s second journey which he began in early 1853, reaching the
lake some months later. Descriptions of the game and the native races encountered are
given. Copac records just 2 copies in the U.K. (BL. & Nat Hist Mus.), OCLC gives only
the BL. While the SAB adds 7 copies.
slavery
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9
9
BAIKIE (Dr.W.B.) Narrative of an Exploring Voyage up the Rivers Kwora
and Binue, commonly known as the Niger and Tsadda in 1854. First edition. Frontispiece, folding map & folding plan. 8vo. Half calf, gilt,
slightly rubbed. xvi, 456pp. London, John Murray, 1856. £800
With Sir Roderick Murchison’s autograph transcription of Baikie’s Times obituary.
[ANON.] Gleanings in Africa; Exhibiting a Faithful and Correct View of
the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope, and
Surrounding Country. With a full and comprehensive account of the system
of Agriculture adopted by the Colonists; Soil, Climate, Natural Productions
&c. &c. &c. Interspersed with observations and reflections on the State of
Slavery in the Southern Extremity of the African Continent.
Murchison secured Baikie the post of surgeon and naturalist on the Niger Expedition
of 1854. Baikie was forced to assume command of the expedition at Fernando Po when
the captain died and led the Pleiad 250 miles up the Niger, further than any previous
explorer.
First edition. Folding frontispiece & 9 plates. 8vo. Later quarter calf, shelf worn,
minor foxing, with black cloth slipcase. xxii, 320pp. London, James Cundee,
1805. £1250
10 BANDINEL (James). Some Account of the Trade in Slaves from Africa as
Connected with Europe and America...
author’s presentation copy
First edition. 8vo. A very good copy in original blindstamped cloth, gilt. xvi,
323pp. London, Longman, Brown & co., 1842. £1850
Presented to Lord Howard of Walden in the year of publication.
Bandinel’s work is an overview of the slave trade from its early existence to the
introduction of slavery into Europe. The second part is devoted to its abolition in the
British empire, while the final section focuses on ongoing abolitionist endeavour. Sabin,
3147.
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author’s presentation copy
11 BLYDEN (Dr. Edward Wilmot). From West Africa to Palestine. First edition. Frontipiece vignette. 8vo. Original blue cloth, gilt, extremities
slightly rubbed, small section of front free endpaper clipped. viii, 201pp.
Freetown, 1873. £1750
Scarce. The presentation inscription reads: “To W.F. Regan Esq. with the Author’s
regards. In remembrance of the voyage from Liverpool to New York on board the S.S.
Baltic. July 1882.”
Blyden (1832-1912) completed this work not long after a two year stint in Freetown where
he edited the journal Negro and led two expeditions to Fouta Djallon in addition to this
trip to the Holy Land. He later served as the Liberian ambassador to Britain and France,
and is considered the founding father of Pan-Africanism. He converted to Islam and
saw that religion was much more relevant to the downtrodden poor of West Africa.
a rare copy in boards
12 BRUCE (James, of Kinnaird). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile in
the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773. First edition. 5 vols. 3 folding maps and 58 folding plates. 4to. Original boards
with paper labels (one in facsimile), the backs with paper loss at head and foot,
and minor repair. [xii], lxxiii, 535; [iv], viii, 718; [iv], viii, 759; [iv], viii, 695; [iv],
iv, 230pp. Edinburgh, 1790. £4500
Following Harrow, unfinished law studies, and a brief marriage Bruce travelled to Spain
where, for a short time, he studied Arabic. On his return to England he came to the
notice of Lord Halifax who offered him the consulate at Algiers, a post which required a
great deal of courage and diplomacy. Since he was also instructed to survey the ancient
monuments not delineated by Shaw, Bruce set out for Italy to gain some experience in
the art of surveying ruins, before travelling to Algiers in 1763.
His tour in Algiers was troubled by the erratic behaviour of the ruler, whose actions
finally prompted the resignation of Bruce in 1765. The archaeological tour which he
subsequently made along the Barbary Coast, prompted his tour in 1768 of Egypt which
began the journey narrated in these volumes. In that year he travelled up the Nile as far as
Aswan, visiting the ruins at Luxor and Karnak before sailing down the Red Sea, arriving
in Abyssinia in the following year. It was from here that he made his various expeditions
to what he considered to be the source of the Blue Nile (it was in fact merely one of its
great tributaries). Whilst in Abyssinia he claims to have been made a district governor
(a fact later disputed by Henry Salt) and due to the unstable political climate his life was
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often as a result in danger. However, by 1773 he was eager to retrun to England where he
felt he would be amply rewarded for his African exploits.
Society seems to have found Bruce’s stories too vivid, and his manner awkward, indeed
Fanny Burney writes: “Mr. Bruce’s grand air, gigantic height, and forbidding brow awed
everybody into silence”. Despite the personal recognition of the King, Bruce did not
gain the title which he felt should have been his, and sorely disappointed, he retired to
his newly enriched (through the discovery of coal) Scottish estate, where following the
death of his second wife, he dictated this narrative. Ibrahim-Hilmy, 91.
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13 BURCKHARDT (John Lewis). Travels in Nubia. First edition. Engraved portrait & 3 maps (2 of these folding). 4to. Contemporary
calf, worn at the edges and rebacked. xcii, 543pp. London, 1819. £2750
Published posthumously by the “Association for promoting the Discovery of the Interior
Parts of Africa”, this volume contains Burckhardt’s description of his two journeys in
Nubia, and is preceded by an account of his eventful life. Frustrated by disturbances in
the desert in his quest to explore the source of the Niger, Burckhardt explored the Nile
as far as Mahassa, he then travelled by way of Berber and Shendy, and in the footsteps of
Bruce to Suakin in Abyssinia. Hilmy, I p.105.
burton’s copy the rejected appendices
14 BURTON (Richard F.) [Supplementary Papers to the Mwata Cazembe,
Trieste, July 17th, 1873.] ie. Lacks the title.
Only edition. 8vo. Original brown wrapper with Burton’s card laid down on
front wrapper, this detached, with a modern morocco drop-back box, gilt. [iii]xliii. London, Privately printed, 1873. £25000
Burton’s copy, heavily annotated throughout in his small, legible hand.
Burton courted controversy throughout his long career, this being a fine example.
Preceded by a foreword in which he examines the achievements and failings of
Livingstone, Stanley, Speke and many others connected with East African exploration, and
specifically the headwaters of the Nile, this pamphlet contains two intended appendices
to the 1873 Lands of Cazembe. These two pieces were rejected by the Royal Geographic
Society due to the controversial nature of the views it expresses on Livingstone, and
the extravagant hostility of his attack on Cooley. Typically combative, Burton had a
few copies printed privately “for the use of my friends.” His first appendix examined
the failures of Livingstone’s attempts to bring “cotton, commerce and Christianity” to
Eastern Africa. His second was a masterly and brutal rejoinder to Cooley’s armchair
geography:
“this is a brave statement coming from a man who threw three huge lakes into one, and
who again his little volume “Inner Africa Laid Open”, which geographers have agreed to
designate “Inner Africa Fast Shut”.”
One wonders if this pamphlet ever achieved even the modest circulation promised by
the author, we can find no record of it in auction, NSTC, or Worldcat. Penzer cites a
copy at the Central Library Kensington, whereabouts now unknown, Casada gives a
fuller description in his entry to the Lands of Cazembe. Clearly these were matters that
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Burton wanted in print and here we have probably the proof text that he wished to be
dispersed to a wider readership possibly in a similar vein to the “The Nile Basin”, for
although his “Word to the Reader” appears in print signed July 17, 1873, on December 10
of that year, he added the following autograph postscript: “I reprint these pages as they
bear upon various highly interesting points in ... the geography of East and West Africa,
and I object to seeing them confined in pamphlet shape. Richard F. Burton.”
As far as rarity goes this work must trump even the famously scarce A Complete System
of Bayonet Exercise. Penzer, p224; cf. Casada, No. 85.
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with appendix iv
15 BURTON (Richard F.) First Footsteps in East Africa; or an Exploration of
Harar.
First edition, first issue. 2 maps & 4 coloured lithographs, with 7 illustrations in
the text. 8vo. Original purple cloth, gilt, with half title, recased, old cloth laid
down, this rather faded and worn, with new endpapers. xli, 648pp. London,
1856. £7500
“Exceedingly rare and practically unobtainable” (Penzer).
The Preface (p.xxvii) in listing the contents of the Appendix gives the fourth as: “A brief
description of certain peculiar customs, noticed in Nubia, by Brown and Werne under
the name of [in] fibulation.” However, unlike the copy described here, in most known
copies the fourth Appendix itself is ommitted and in its place a cancel is found: “It has
been found necessary to omit this Appendix”.
The publisher apparently did not understand the nature of the “peculiar customs” until
the print run had begun and was unable to accept that accounts of female cirumcision
were a suitable topic for his readers. As Penzer puts it: “Since Burton’s time the great
importance of detailed attention on the part of travellers to all kinds of deformations
and mutilations among natives has been fully realized” (p62).
Barely a year after returning from his pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah Burton
set out once again in disguise, this time as an Arab merchant, with the intention of
travelling to the closed city of Harar. Despite achieving his primary objective, the
expedition’s success was overshadowed by the death of Lieut. Stroyan and the loss of
stores and personal possessions during an attack by Somalis whilst their were encamped
on the Beach at Berberah. Penzer, p60/61.
“the scarcest and most valuable of the large atlas folios
of south africa scenery” (mendelssohn).
16 DANIELL (Samuel). African Scenery and Animals. First edition. Two engraved titles & 30 plates. Folio. Very good in contemporary
half calf, gilt, rebacked. London, Daniell, 1804. £45000
A beautiful publication. The thirty plates depict African natural history as well as native
inhabitants and settlers on the move. The images display a genuine sensitivity of the
artist to his subject matter and the quality of the aquatints is amazing. This is not just
an important work on Africa, but one of the most significant illustrated books of the
nineteenth century.
Daniell travelled to the Cape of Good Hope during the first British occupation of the
colony. He was appointed secretary and draughtsman to Mr Truter and Dr Somerville
and was despatched by the Lieutenant Governor to Bechuanaland. The expedition
travelled as far as Latku, the farthest point reached by Europeans at that time, and
they were received warmly. All of the sketches for the work were completed during
this expedition and were later produced as aquatints with the assistance of his brother
William.
17 DRUMMOND (The Hon. W.H.) The Large Game and Natural History of
South and South-East Africa. First edition. Map, chromolithographed title, frontispiece & 12 plates. 8vo. Very
good in original green illustrated cloth, gilt. xxi, 428pp. Edinburgh, 1875.
£750
Scarce. Despite the work’s title, Drummond’s narrative focuses on his hunting adventures
from 1868 to 1872. He travelled mainly in Tongaland, Zululand and Swaziland and
describes hunting rhinoceros, elephant, lion and leopard. Czech, p52; Mendelssohn I,
pp487-8.
16
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18 [EAST AFRICA] Notes For Officers appointed to East Africa and Uganda. 12mo. Original green cloth, gilt, covers a little stained. 78pp. London, 1914. £350
Rare. No copies on OCLC, not in BL.
This slim volume provides a wealth of information necessary to officers despatched to
fight in German East Africa. It includes a lengthy chapter on preventing malaria, which
was an enormous problem for Europeans in East Africa at that time of year, as well as
notes on travelling through the region. An edition of this was printed in 1912 (of only
72pp), no doubt updated here due to the outbreak of war.
19 ELTON (J.F.) and COTTERILL (H.B.) ed. Travels and Researches among the
Lakes and Mountains of Eastern & Central Africa. First edition. Portrait, 5 plates, 3 folding maps (one coloured), illustrations in
text. 8vo. A very good copy in original pictorial cloth, a.e.g. xxii, 417, 32ads.pp.
London, 1879. £750
Elton was British Vice Consul at Zanzibar 1873-75, and Consul at Mozambique from
1875 until his death. He was renowned for his tireless pursuit of Arab and Portuguese
slave hunters in their most obscure haunts, and his information was the subject of many
a government Blue Book.
20 FALCONBRIDGE (Surgeon Alexander). An Account of the Slave Trade on
the Coast of Africa. First edition. 8vo. A very good copy in modern morocco. iv, 5-55, [1]ads.pp.
London, J. Phillips, 1788. £750
The account is divided into the following sections: Proceedings during the Voyage; The
Manner in which the Slaves are procured; Treatment of the Slaves; Sale of the Slaves;
Treatment of the Sailors; and, A short Description of such Parts of the Coast of Guinea,
as are before referred to.
Falconbridge served as surgeon on four slave ships between 1780 and 1787, eventually
sickening of the practice after a voyage under Captain Mactaggart. He returned to
Bristol, where the slavery-abolitionist Clarkson was gathering evidence, and later
testified before a House of Commons committee. Falconbridge made two further trips
to Africa to help found a colony of free settlers in Sierra Leone.
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21 GIRARD (Capitaine Alexandre). Souvenirs d’un voyage en Abyssinie (18681869). First edition. 8vo. Contemprary quarter calf, spine gilt and a little sunned,
extremities slightly rubbed. 312pp. Cairo, Typographie Francaise DelbosDemouret, 1873. £1250
Rare. Only five copies on OCLC. Girard took advantage of the opportunity created
by the British after their campaign against King Theodore at Magdala to explore the
Abyssinian interior. For two years he travelled mostly in Tigre. Fumagalli, 316.
“you have had a long walk captain grant”
22 GRANT (Capt. James Augustus). A Walk Across Africa or Domestic Scenes
from my Nile Journal.
First edition. Large folding map in rear pocket & portrait frontispiece. 8vo.
Original olive green pictorial cloth, gilt. xviii, 453, [1]ads.pp. Edinburgh, 1864. £3500
In 1846 Grant obtained a commission in the 8th native Bengal infantry and it was during
his time in India that he met John Hanning Speke, with whom he’d hunted tigers in 1852.
In 1859, Speke invited him to join his expedition to confirm that Lake Victoria was the
source of the Nile, a fact he was unable to conclusively establish on his expedition with
Burton the year prior.
Grant travelled with Speke from Zanzibar to Cairo. The two were often separated and,
in those instances, Grant had command of his section of the column. He collected some
seven hundred species of plants along the way, eighty of which were unknown to the
scientific establishment. This work is intended as a companion volume to Speke’s and,
in addition to the botanical discoveries, includes much information on the tribes they
encountered. Grant received the Royal Geographical Society’s gold medal on his return
in 1864.
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23 [GODLONTON (R.)] A Narrative of the Irruption of the Kafir Hordes into
the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope, 1834-35. First edition. Frontispiece map. 8vo. Later quarter morocco with buckram
boards. (x), 280pp. Graham’s Town, Meurant and Godlonton, 1836. £1250
Godlonton’s classic account of the Kafir War of 1834-5, which as well as comprising
articles reprinted from the Graham’s Town Journal, reports and despatches, contains
a good deal of information directly from Sir Harry Smith, and his officers, to which
Godlonton was privy.
There are varying accounts of how hostilities between the settlers in Albany and the
Kafirs commenced. The murder of Purcell, a trader, is often posited as the starting
point, as is “the lenient methods pursued by the authorites with regard to the thieving
propsensities of natives, gradually [resulting] in more daring outrages on their part”
(Mendelssohn). Godlonton provides a full account of all the known crimes committed,
and considers the Kafir defense, before narrating the skirmishes as they occurred.
Peace was finally reached with Kreli on May 19th and later with the Gaika tribe on
September 17th. Godlonton provides a useful appendix listing the general orders issued
and casualites of the war. Mendelssohn I, pp611-12; Theal, p117.
the author’s copy
24 GROSVENOR (Lord R.) Extracts from the Journal of Lord R. Grosvenor.
Being an account of his visit to the Barbery Regencies in the spring of 1830.
First edition. Lithograph title & two lithograph plates. 8vo. Nineteenth century
cloth, spine repaired, with ms. notes & newspaper cuttings tipped in. [iv],
5-100pp. Chester, G. Harding, n.d. [but ca. 1831]. £1250
The section title on page 5 “Travels in Barbary” is vigorously crossed out by the author
who added that “The title below is a barbarism of the printers”. The tipped in manuscript
notes are devoted to Tripoli, Tunis and Islam.
25 HARRIS (William Cornwallis). Portraits of the Game and Wild Animals of
Southern Africa, delineated from life in their native haunts, during a hunting
expedition from the Cape Colony as far as the Tropic of Capricorn, in 1836
and 1837 with sketches of the field sports. Drawn on stone by Frank Howard.
First edition. Lithograph title with hand-coloured vignette & 30 hand-coloured
lithograph plates, with 30 additional tail-piece vignettes. Large folio. Half red
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morocco, gilt, occasional minor foxing. iv, 175pp. London, Published for the
proprietor by W. Pickering, and to be had of P. & D. Colnaghi; W. Wood; and T.
Cadell, 1840. £11000
Rare. A very attractive copy of “almost the most highly prized of the books relating
to South African animals...” (Mendelssohn). The tinted lithographs are heightened by
hand and depict elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, lion, leopard and others. The images are
accompanied by Harris’s detailed description of the game and their habitat.
Originally published in five parts, this copy has been bound, as is common, without the
original wrappers or the subscribers list. Abbey (Travel), 335; Tooley, 247; Mendelssohn I,
pp688-9; Czech, pp71-2.
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26 HARRIS (Sir William Cornwallis). The Wild Sports of Southern Africa;
being the narrative of an expedition from the Cape of Good Hope... to the
Tropic of Capricorn.
Third and best edition. Folding map, lithographed half title & 25 hand coloured
lithographed plates. 8vo. Good original cloth, gilt, with some restoration to the
lower spine. a.e.g. xxiv, 387pp. London, 1841. £1400
Harris claimed to have been “taxed.... with shooting madness ... a most delightful mania...”
cf. Mendelssohn, p688/9; Czech, p71
27 ISENBERG (E.W.) & KRAPF (J.L.) Journals of the Rev. Messrs. Isenberg and
Krapf... Detailing their Proceedings in the Kingdom of Shoa, and Journeys
in other parts of Abyssinia, in the Years 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842. To which
is Prefixed, a Geographical memoir of Abyssinia and South-Eastern Africa,
by James M’Queen, Esq. Grounded on the Missionaries’ Journals, and the
Expedition of the Pacha of Egypt up the Nile.
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21
scarce coloured issue
29 LUCAS (Capt. Thomas J.) Pen and Pencil Reminiscences of the Campaign
in South Africa. First edition. Hand-coloured lithograph title & 20 further hand-coloured
lithograph plates. Small folio. Particularly fine original pictorial cloth, gilt,
slightly foxed as usual, a.e.g. [vi], 35pp. London, Day & Son, 1861. £2650
The scarce coloured issue.
In the brief text accompanying the images, Lucas presents faily typical attitudes towards
the Kaffirs, yet the real value of the work is in the plates, which are fine and often
humorous. Mendelssohn I, p932.
First edition. 2 large folding maps (one repaired with some small loss at fold).
8vo. Original blind-stamped cloth, rebacked, old spine laid down. xxviii, 530, [4]
ads.pp. London, 1843. £3250
Rare. Just two copies (including this one) have appeared at auction in the last 30 years.
Although Krapf and his colleagues considered missionary work to be their primary
task, their time spent as explorers paved the way for the more well-known expeditions
of Burton, Speke and Livingstone.
special coloured issue
28 JAMES (F.L.) The Unknown Horn of Africa. An Exploration from Berbera
to the Leopard River.
author’s presentation copy
First edition. Coloured frontispiece, large folding map in rear pocket & 22
plates (9 coloured), with numerous illustrations in the text. 8vo. Original green
pictorial cloth, faintly rubbed, occasional spotting. xiv, 344pp. London, George
Philip & Son, 1888. £2500
30 LYON (Captain George Francis). A Narrative of Travels in North Africa. James narrates his expedition to Somaliland in 1885. The party set out from Berbera and
travelled south to the “Webbe Shebeyli” close to Bari. The various scientific information
relating to the expedition is included in the large appendix which includes details of the
plants, birds, lepidoptera and mammals seen.
Inscribed by the author on the title. “W. Powles with the author’s best regards”
First edition. Frontispiece folding map & 17 coloured plates. 4to. Contemporary
diced calf. xii, 383pp. London, John Murray, 1821. £1400
maggs bros ltd
22
Following Marryat’s withdrawal from Joseph Ritchie’s expedition, Lyon volunteered
to accompany him and spent four months studying Arabic language and culture in
preparation. The journey itself was to further British interests in central and northern
Africa, however due to serious miscalculations in provisions and misjudgements in
terms of saleable merchandise, the expedition faltered at Muzurk, where Ritchie died.
Lyon continued on to Tegerry before making his way back to London. His “quick
perception, literary gift and skill as a draughtsman, rendered the account of this abortive
expedition ... one of the most entertaining books of African travel” (DNB, cf. Joseph
Ritchie). Abbey Travel, 404.
large paper copy
31 NORDEN (Frederick Lewis) & TEMPLEMAN (Peter). Travels in Egypt and
Nubia. Enlarged with observations from ancient and modern authors, that
have written on the antiquities of Egypt.
africa
23
ancient and modern cities before moving on to Cario by camel, where he surveyed the
interior of the pyramid of Cheops, producing extremely accurate measurements.
After some delay, due to Nordern’s ill health and insurrections on the Upper Nile, the
expedition (numbering 16 people) finally set off up the Nile. En route Nordern made
detailed maps, plans and drawings of contemporary life, the flora and fauna, as well as
the ancient monuments, taking care to record the hieroglyphic texts in detail. Reaching
Aswan in December, the expedition were finally forced to turn back before the second
cataract in early January 1738 due to ill health, turbulent water and the hostility of the
Nubian people.
On returning to Denmark Nordern was ordered to prepare his drawings and maps for
publication, and translated his notes into French. Promoted to the rank of Captain with
a job in the royal dockyard at Copenhagen he subsequently served in the British navy
with a number of other Danes, and was elected to the Royal Society.
Suffering from consumption he set off for the south of France in 1742, but died in Paris,
and his drawings and notes were handed over to the Danish Navy and all but one of the
plates for his great work were engraved by Tuscher in the years up to his own death.
The final work Voyage d’Egypte et de Nubia was finally published by the Royal Danish
Academy between 1750 and 1755, with a total of 159 plates by the Royal Danish Academy.
An English edition, published by the Royal Society, followed in 1757, with subsequent
editions in German, French, Danish, and English editions.
Norden’s great work preceded Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt by sixty years, and his
maps and drawings, the fine precise quality of which was something of a departure for
travel literature of this period. Indeed a contemporary commented that “the beautiful
simplicity of the designs, and the exactness with which they were drawn on the spot, are,
I believe, superior to any thing of the kind that has ever been published.”
First English edition. Large paper copy. 2 volumes in one. Half titles, allegorical
frontispiece, portrait frontispiece, 159 maps & plates on 161 sheets, engraved
head and tail pieces. Folio. Early 19th century calf gilt, Northern Light Board
gilt stamp to backstrip, upper board loose, some offsetting from plates, very
occasional spotting. London, Lockyer Davis and Charles Reymers, 1757. £11000
A magnificent and impressively large folio with a distinguished provenance, formerly
belonging to The Lighthouse Trust.
As official representative of the expedition’s sponsor, King Christian of Denmark,
Nordern set out for Egypt in 1737. Reaching Alexandria in June, Nordern drew both the
32 RENSHAW (R[ichard]). Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. And Up the Red
Sea; With Travels in Egypt, Through the Deserts, &c. in the Course of the
Last War.
First Edition. Engraved Frontispiece. 8vo. 90, [vi]pp. Rebound in paper backed
boards, slightly rubbed, minor marking. Manchester, J. Watts, 1804. £1500
Stationed on the Cape from 1796 to 1801, Renshaw is highly critical of what he sees as
the Dutch mismanagement of the colony in the years since his departure. He writes
with displeasure at the decision to introduce slavery into Cape life. A development that
would have been entirely unneccesary “had the same spirit of Batavian industry which
raised a wealthy and populous republic out of the sea, impressed the minds of those
who first formed the settlement”. The work includes considered descriptions of both the
Hottentots and Kaffirs. Mendelssohn Vol. 2., pp.209.
24
maggs bros ltd
africa
25
a specially coloured copy
33 ROBERTS (David). Egypt and Nubia from drawings made on the spot.
First edition, tinted issue, here with later hand colouring (c.1880) which loosely
follows that of the original coloured issue. 3 vols. 3 tinted lithograph titles & 60
large tinted lithographic plates, with 61 half page plates in the text & one map.
Contemporary red half morocco, gilt, marbled boards, rebacked, a.e.g. London,
Moon, 1846 & 1849. (Illustration on p. 24)
£45000
One of the greatest lithograph works of the nineteenth century, which gives an
unparalled pictorial depiction of the modern as well as the ancient architecture of
Egypt. It was published in conjunction to the “Holy Land”. This example of the ordinary
sepia issue has been handsomely bound and hand tinted at a later date Abbey Travel, 272;
cf, Blackmer, 1432. (See illustration on opposite page)
with original photographs
34 TREMAUX (Pierre). Parallèles des Edifices anciens et Modernes du
Continent Africain dessinés et Relevés de 1847 à 1854 dans l’Algérie, les
Régences de Tunis et de Tripoli, l’Egypte, la Nubie, les Déserts, l’Ile de Méroé,
le Sennar, le Fa-Zoglo et dans les Contrées Inconnues de la Nigritie. Atlas...
First edition. Large double-page map, two original photographs, tinted
lithograph title, two chromo-lithographs, two photo-lithographs & 43 other
lithographs (majority tinted in one or more tints, one coloured), 33 engraved
plans (2 of these coloured). Folio. Contemporary half morocco, extremities
slightly rubbed, lower corner of upper board bumped. [2](title, contents), [14]
(letterpress, printed on recto only) ll. Paris, Hachette et Cie., [1864 - 1868]. £28000
With Napoleon’s occupation of Egypt (1798/9) came a burgeoning interest in all things
Oriental with particular focus being placed on the land of the Pharoahs, and North
Africa. Trémaux (1818-95), an architect by training, came to North Africa as part of the
team of Europeans despatched by Ali-Pasha to investigate the economic potential of
the region. Recognising the importance of recording everything that he saw, Trémaux
sketched not only the ancient sites along the Nile and in the Sudan and Nubia, but
also contemporary buildings on every scale, from native huts to great edifices, thereby
providing the material for this his second work.
Amongst the buildings which he sketched were the pyramids at Méroé (see lithograph
title), whilst he provided plans of the Amun temple at Jebel Barkal, noting separately that
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two pylons and a row of ram sphinxes were still visible: “The sanctuary could be entered
to find a lovely granite altar covered with sculptures and a hieroglyphic inscription of
Taharqo with his cartouche, all dedicated to the supreme god Amun.” It is interesting to
note that many of the buildings which Trémaux recorded are now covered by the waters
of the High Aswan Dam, particularly so in the South where Lake Nubia, part of Lake
Nasser hides many architectural treasures.
near & middle east
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NEAR & MIDDLE EAST
36 ATKINSON (Dr. James). Sketches in Afghanistan. First edition. Lithograph title & 25 further sepia lithograph plates, with
lithograph dedication to Marquis Wellesley, governor-general of India. Folio.
Publisher’s green quarter morocco, titled in gilt on upper board, moiré fineribbed cloth boards, some light wear. 2pp. London, 1842. £3500
This work includes some of the most famous images of the first Afghan War, and it is
probably the best known of the several folio lithograph works that were published soon
after the campaign. Atkinson was a medical officer on the original expedition, but being
on leave he escaped the fate which befell most of his comrades in the army of occupation
at Kabul. Abbey (Travel), 508.
Item 34
from stanley’s library
35 TROUP (J. Rose). With Stanley’s Rear Column. Second edition. Portrait frontispiece, folding map, & 12 plates. 8vo. Original
green decorative cloth, spine gilt, Stanley’s facsimile bookplate to front free
endpaper, added at the time of the 2002 sale. xii, 361, [2], 40ads.pp. London,
1890. £400
The Emin Pasha relief expedition enjoyed no shortage of controversy. Added to the
fact that Emin Pasha declined the proffered relief, the Rear Column was beset with
difficulties. Troup served as the transport officer with the Rear Column. After the deaths
of Bartelot and Jameson Troup returned to England and faced criticism for doing so in
Stanley’s account. This is his own defense (published after an agreed delay with Stanley)
and so makes this a fascinating association copy.
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the first mention of dubai
37 BALBI (Gasparo). Viaggio dell’Indie Orientali... Nelquale si contiene
quanto egli in detto viaggio ha veduto per lo spatio di 9 Anni consumati in
esso dal 1579-1588. Con la religione de i datii, pesi, &misure di tutte le Citta
di tal viaggio, & del goucrno del Re del Pegu & delle guerre fatte da lui con
altri Re d’Annua & di Sion.
First edition. 8vo. Modern vellum. [xxxii], [346]pp. Venice, Camillo
Borgominieri, 1590. £6250
An interesting narrative which contains much of use to the contemporary merchant
with rates of exchange, duties etc. especially relating to gems. Balbi, a Venetian jeweller,
gives one of the best early accounts of the East Indies, especially Burma. In addition, he
records an interesting account of the Japanese embassy, returning from its tour of the
Catholic capitals of Europe, which he encountered at Hormuz.
Balbi, followed a very similar route to his fellow Venetian Cesare Federici who travelled
in the East in the previous decade. Beginning his travels in Aleppo he visited Egypt,
then Basra via the Euphrates, thence to Ormus, Diu, Goa, Cochin, and then to Burma,
Martaban, and Malacca returning via the same route. While in Hormuz Balbi gives a
detailed account of the pearling grounds, and mentions many islands and settlements
on the Arabian coast, several of which find their way into literature for the first time
including Dubai.
38 BUCKINGHAM (J.S.) Travels among the Arab Tribes. Inhabiting the
Countries East of Syria and Palestine.
First edition. 4to. Contemporary calf, spine gilt. xvi, 679pp. London, 1825. £2850
The Lighthouse Trust copy. This is the second of Buckhingam’s publications documenting
his travels in the Middle East between 1813 and 1818. It recounts his journey from
Nazareth to Aleppo and Damascus, and it also contains a map of Palestine and Syria.
The appendix is an earnest refutation of the charges of plagiarism brought against his his
1821 volume recording the first part of his travels.
Buckingham settled in India in 1818 and immediately commenced publication of his
Calcutta Journal which openly criticized the East India Company. His opinions were
ill received and led to his expulsion from India. After which time he settled down and
became a prolific writer and lecturer. His works are characterised by an ongoing interest
in the social conditions of the countries he visited. Blackmer, 232.
near & middle east
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39 BURCKHARDT (John Lewis). Travels in Nubia. First edition. Engraved portrait and 3 maps (2 of these folding). 4to.
Contemporary calf, worn at the edges and rebacked. xcii, 543pp. London, 1819. £2750
Published posthumously by the “Association for promoting the Discovery of the Interior
Parts of Africa”, this volume contains Burckhardt’s description of his two journeys in
Nubia, and is preceded by an account of his eventful life. Frustrated by disturbances in
the desert in his quest to explore the source of the Niger, Burckhardt explored the Nile
as far as Mahassa, he then travelled by way of Berber and Shendy, and in the footsteps of
Bruce to Suakin in Abyssinia. Hilmy, I p.105.
guide book to mecca
40 BURTON (Richard F.) The Guide Book. A Pictorial Pilgrimage to Mecca and
Medinah...
First edition. Portait frontispiece. 8vo. Original green printed wrappers, very
slightly rubbed, with a modern morocco
drop-back box, gilt. 58pp. London, printed
for the author, 1865. £15000
A fine copy of this “exceedingly rare” (Penzer)
work. A key piece of Burton ephemera, The Guide
Book was published to accompany an exhibition
of the illustrations used in ...Pilgrimage to Mecca
and El-Medina (1855-56) arranged by the Royal
Polytechnic Institution.
Only four copies are listed on OCLC. Casada, 39;
Penzer, p76.
41BURTON (Richard F.) & TYRWHITT
DRAKE (C.F.) Unexplored Syria Visits to
the Libanus, the Tulul el Safa, the AntiLibanus, the Northern Libanus, and the
‘Alah.
First edition, first issue. 2 vols. Folding map,
27 plates (those of inscriptions folding). 8vo. Original cloth, with double black
30
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lines to boards, enclosing lettering in black on upper. xx, 360; vii, 400pp.
London, 1872. £3000
Although the bulk of this work is written by Burton himself, the opening chapter in
volume one is by his wife Isabel, whilst two chapters and various appendices in volume
two are by Tyrwhitt Drake. Burton’s passion for Syria is clear from the outset, when
he makes a plea in his Preface particularly to subscribers to the Palestine Exploration
Fund to transfer their interest to Syria: “an old country, in more than one aspect geographical and technological, for instance - virtually new. A Land of the Past, it has
a Future as promising as that of Mexico or of the Argentine Republic. The first railway
that spans it will restore to rich and vigorous life the poor old lethargic region...” Penzer,
p85; Casada, 68.
42 BURTON (Richard F.) trans. The Arabian Nights. [With] Supplemental
Nights.
First editions. 16 vols. Large 8vo. Very good original publisher’s cloth gilt /
silver gilt, some minor chipping to headcaps. Benares, Privately printed for the
Kamashastra Society, 1885 - 1888. £5000
A fine copy of the unexpurgated edition of what is probably the most famous of all of
Burton’s works, the translation of which was completed over a twenty-five year period.
The Arabian Nights is one of the world’s most famous pieces of literature purporting to
recount the thousand and one tales Scheheradze told her master in order to save her life.
“Some of these stories, the folk-lore of the East dating back as far as the 8th century AD,
were written down in ancient manuscripts; some had simply been handed down orally
from century to century” (Lovell). Amongst the tales are the stories of Aladdin, Sinbad
the Sailor and Ali Baba.
Burton’s was not the first translation of the Arabian Nights to appear in English Edward Lane published a translation in 1840. Yet, those available were greatly sanitised
and a translation themselves of Antoine Galland’s French edition. Burton’s translation
restored the sexual content to the work and included an 240 page essay by him which
openly discussed the issues.
The Obscene Publications Act of 1857 caused Burton’s publisher’s great concern and as
a result drew up a contract which ensured that he became solely liable for any criminal
charges made as a result of publication. The work became a bestseller, netting Burton
£10,000 which enabled him and Isabel to live out their remaining years in comfort.
Penzer, p114-6; Casada, 74; Lovell (A Rage to Live), 1998.
near & middle east
31
43 [CORANCEZ (Louis Alexandre).] Histoire des Wahabis, depuis leur Origine
Jusqu’a la fin de 1809. First edition. 8vo. Contemporary quarter calf, with morocco label, gilt, slightly
rubbed. viii, 222; [2]pp. Paris, Crapelet, 1810. £3750
The anonymous author, Corancez, first wrote about the Wahabis in 1804 (published in
the Paris Moniteur of October 31st) while he was French consul in Aleppo. This was
the first European study of the origins and history of Wahabism. It was plagiarised by
Jean Baptiste Rousseau in his Description du Pachalik... of 1809. In the preface of this
expanded version of his original article Corancez puts the record straight.
In the preface to the recent translation of the work, the late Professor R.M. Burrell
comments that “Corancez was a man with considerable powers of observation and
reflection. He was prepared to ask profound and difficult questions about the Middle
Eastern society in which he lived”.
The author notes with prescience “Ces Arabes paroissent destinés à jouer un grand rôle
dans l’histoire.” The first two chapters give details of the conversion of Mohammed ibn
Saoud, but most of the work is taken up with material concerning the years 1798 to
1809, beginning with the first Ottoman campaign against the stronghold of Dereyah
and ending with their operations against Muscat and Ras al-Kaima. The author adds
a further two chapters firstly his reflections on the emergence of an “idée du caractère
national” and secondly notes on Wahaby customs.
As Burrell comments “the final merits - and challenges - of this book are... [that]
Conancez was prepared to reflect upon a range of issues which remain relevant and
controversial, for many people in the Middle East today. These include the nature
of Islam and its apparent resistance to self-doubt and the challenge of change, the
complex attitude adopted by Muslims to Christians and Jews, the status of the Prophet
Mohammed within Islam, the reasons for the enduring nature of despotic rule in the
Middle East, the significance of the different status afforded men and women...”
44 FINATI (Giovanni), BANKES (William John). Narrative of the Life and
Adventures of Giovanni Finati, Native of Ferrara; Who, under the assumed
name of Mahomet made the Campaign against the Wahabees for the
recovery of Mecca and Medina; and since acted as interpreter to European
travellers in some of the parts least visited of Asia and Africa.
First edition. 2 vols. Folding map. 12mo. Modern half calf, red morocco labels
gilt to spines. xxiii, 296; viii, 430, [2]ads.pp. London, John Murray, 1830. £
4500
A scarce title: Finati was one of the few who left us an eye-witness account of Mehmet
Ali’s campaign against the Wahabis for control of the Holy Cities. The author was a
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32
deserter from Napoleon’s conscript army in Italy, who made his way to Egypt and “for
want of anything better to do” joined Mehmet’s Albanian guards. He devotes most of the
first volume and some of the second to these events. The editor has carefully compared
the account against the history of the campaign by Mengin, and finds the author most
accurate. He also compares the description of Medina and Mecca to that of Ali Bey and
also finds the Italian’s account reliable. The second volume continues with the author’s
later exploits with William Bankes among others. It describes trips throughout the
Middle East, including a visit to Petra and meetings with Belzoni and Salt, and much
else. It is written in a colourful and lively way throughout, though the author rather
too often for credence finds himself arround a corner when some atrocity or other is
committed. Macro, 954; not in Atabey, Blackmer or Hamilton.
mecca
45 GALLAND (Julien Claude). Receuil des Rits et Cérémonies du Pèlerinage de
la Meque, auquel ont a joint divers écrits relatifs à la religion, aux sciences &
aux moeurs des Turcs.
First edition. 12mo. Later half calf, upper joint cracked. viii, 215pp. Amsterdam,
1754. £4250
“This very interesting work contains five separate essays” (Navari). The first of which
contains the account of the pilgrimage to Mecca. The remaining texts include an Islamic
catechism, a disertation concerning science in the Ottoman world, a long relation on the
Island of Chios, and finally an account of the wedding of “la Sultane Esma”. Blackmer,
643.
46 [LA ROQUE (Jean de).] A Voyage to Arabia Felix, through the Eastern
Ocean, and the Streights of the Red-Sea, first made by the French in the
years 1708, 1709, 1710. Together with a particular account of a Journey from
Mocha to Muab, or Mowahib, the Court of the King of Yaman, their Second
Expedition, in the years 1711, 1712, 1713. Also a Narrative concerning the tree
and fruit of Coffee. Collected from the Observations of those who made the
last Voyage; and an historical Treatise of the Original and Progress of Coffee,
both in Asia and Europe.
First English edition. Folding map & 3 engraved folding plates. 12mo.
Contemporary calf, rebacked. xii, 312pp. London, Strahan and Williamson,
1726 £2500
This copy has the date on the title altered by hand to 1730.
near & middle east
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This work contains probably the first full description of coffee in English. “The account
of the ‘Voyage’ and the ‘Second Expedition’ in this volume are anonymous; and they
were edited by Jean de La Roque (1661-1743). He was born at Marseilles, studied
oriental languages, made some voyages to the Levant himself and served apparently,
as correspondent to his father’s newspaper... the captain who tells the story of the first
voyage in a series of five letters, proves to be ‘Captain Monsieur de Marveille’ .... But he
does not go on the second voyage. The account of that trip was put together by La Roque
from information furnished by M. Grelaudiere, who journeyed from Mokha to Muab to
cure the King of Yemen, and two ship surgeons, Noiers and Barbier” (Hunt). cf. Hunt,
489; Hünersdorff, ‘Coffee: A Bibliography’, p1284.
47 LE BAS (M.Ph.) Asie Mineure depuis les Temps les plus anciens jusqu’a
la Battalille d’Ancyre, en 1402. [With] TEXIER (Charles). Asie Mineure
Description Géographique, Historique et Archéologique des Provinces et
des Villes de la Chersonnése d’Asie.
2 vols. 6 folding maps & 64 plates. 8vo. Contemporary quarter cloth, French
marbled boards spines gilt. [iv], 530; [iv], 758pp. Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1878 &
1882. £500
A very attractive set of volumes bringing together the work of two of the most important
writers on Asia Minor. In order to make a more balanced pair the first 32 plates of Texier
are bound in at the end of the Le Bas volume.
Trained as an archaeologist, Texier superintended excavations at Ostia before departing
for the Levant. He made three journeys to the region between 1834 and 1836, returning
to France in 1837 to start work on Description of Asia Minor. This book, “probably the
greatest work of exploration made by a single traveller” (Blackmer), was not so much an
account of his journey but rather the summation of the information he had collected en
route. Le Bas meanwhile started his archaeological travels some ten years later, travelling
throughout Greece and Asia Minor from January 1843 to December 1844, and collecting
more than 4000 inscriptions along the way. Blackmer, 1646; Atabey, 1212.
original manuscript: the egyptian pilgrimage to mecca
48 MAILLET (Benoit de) d1738 MS. De La Caravanne D’Egypte, Pour la Meque. Folio. Written in a fine hand and sewn on a silk thread. 20pp. In a green buckram
drop-back box. Paris, before 1735. £25000*
“Maillet was French consul in Egypt from 1692. In his retirement he decided to publish
his memoirs, material which he had collected during his long sojourn in Egypt. The
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34
manuscript was edited by Mascrier and takes
the form of letters; it is not an account of
travels but a general synthesis of all that was
known about Egypt up to that time. Maillet
had developed a passionate interest in
Arabic, and in Egyptian antiquities, as well
as in the contemporary life of the country...”
(Leonora Navari in the Blackmer catalogue).
near & middle east
35
and with many inaccuracies corrected. (This map on its own has made several thousand
pounds at auction.) Interestingly, Jomard had seen and made use of Sadlier’s account
published in Bombay earlier in 1823. Ibrahim-Hilmy II, p30.
50 OLIPHANT (Laurence). The Land of Gilead with Excursions in the Lebanon.
In this text Maillet lays some emphasis on
the Hadj as a trade fair for the Muslim world.
First edition. Folding map at rear & one other map, photographic frontispiece
& 3 plates, with further illustrations in the text. 8vo. Fine pictorial cloth, gilt.
[xxxviii], 538, 4ads.pp. Edinburgh & London, 1880. £625
The above is one of the many cahiers that
were developed by the Abbe Mascrier, (to
whose meddlesome hands Maillet later left
his literary estate) into the Description de
L’Egypte. See Blackmer 1061.
Oliphant, one time diplomat, politician, traveller, and mystic, relates his journey to the
East in 1879 which was undertaken in order to investigate the possibility of “colonising”
Palestine with Jewish people, in the hope of obtaining a concession from the Turkish
government. Unfortunately, the approach to the Turkish government failed, and the
scheme broke down.
muscat - from the library of phillip gosse
with the atlas coloured/containing an account of the
wahabis
49 MENGIN (Felix). Histoire de l’Egypte sous le Gouvernement de MohammedAly, ou recit des Evenemens Politiques et Militaires qui ont eu lieu depuis le
Depart des Francais jusqu’en 1823.
First edition. Atlas & 2 vols 8vo. Fine contemporary quarter calf, gilt, atlas
rebound to match [li], 464; 644pp. Paris, A. Bertrand, 1823. £10500
A good copy of this notable book with many of the plates in the Atlas volume specially
coloured at the time of issue. The book has a long appendix containing a history of the
Wahabis, with an account of the sack of Derrieh, and the atlas contains the celebrated
portrait of Ibn-Saud who was executed by the Turks for sedition. The atlas, here the de
luxe issue with contemporary hand-colouring, is more commonly found uncoloured, in
either state it is rare.
The map newly engraved for this work by Jomard, who also gives a valuable and lengthy
commentary on it in an appendix, is of particular note, being a synthesis of Arab and
western knowlege with many place names added for the first time, Riadh for instance,
51 OVINGTON (J.) A Voyage to Suratt in the Year, 1689. Giving a large Account
of that City, and its Inhabitants, and of the English Factory there. Likewise
a Description of Madeira, St. Jago... St.
Helena, Johanna, Bombay, the City of
Muscatt, and its Inhabitants in Arabia
Felix, Mocha, and other Maritine towns
upon the Red-Sea, the Cape of good
Hope, and the Island of Ascention...
First edition. 2 folding engraved plates & a
folding table. 8vo. Contemporary calf, gilt,
rebacked, armorial stamp on boards, a few
minor stains, one plate with tear repaired.
[xvi], 606pp. London, 1696. £6250
From the library of the noted collector Philip
Gosse, with his label to the front pastedown.
Ovington (1653-1731) sailed for India as
chaplain on an East India Company ship. His
work presented new, first-hand observations
of Surat and western India, and also includes
a detailed account of the city of Muscat: “This
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36
part of Arabia, because of its pleasantness and fertility ... has obtain’d the name Hyaman,
which signifies Happy.” Appended are four treatises from other sources: an account of
the succession crisis in Golconda, a description of Arkan and Pegu, a list of Indian coins,
and a treatise on silkworms. Mendelssohn II, 131; Wing, 0701.
a rare work on oman
52 ROSS (E.C.) Annals of ‘Oman from early imes to the year 1728. In Journals
of the Asiatic Socity of Bengal 1874.
2 plates (one folding). 8vo. Original pink printed wrappers. 99-196pp. Calcutta,
Printed by G.H.Rouse, Baptist Mission Press, 1874. £950
This was the first appearance of Ross’s “Annals of Oman”. The work was printed separately
later that year. Ross was the long-time Political Agent at Muscat and a noted Arabic
scholar. He writes in his short introduction as follows: “The Arabic work from which
the following account of the the History of Oman is translated, is entitled “Keshf-ulGhummeh”, or “Dispeller of grief ”... Copies of the “Keshf-ul- Ghummeh” are extremely
rare in Oman; and out of that country I doubt if it is known, I have only heard of two
copies existing... The work now translated may fairly be considered, as far as it goes, the
most authentic and coherent account of the history of Oman that has emanated from
native sources...”
sadleir’s famous journey announced & the first mention of
riyadh in print
53 SADLEIR (Capt. G. Forster). BOMBAY LITERARY SOCIETY. Account of a
Journey from Katif on the Persian Gulf to Yamboo on the Red Sea... Extract from vol. III of the Transactions of the Bombay Literary Society. Engraved
map, this printed in London. 449-494pp. Bombay, 1823. £7500
This is the first printed account of the first reported trans-Arabian journey. Sadleir (his
name is given as Sadlier on the title) gives us the first or second mention of Riyadh
in print. (It is to be found on the Mengin map of Arabia which also appeared in
1823, this map with that issued above are the first two of central Arabia based on first
hand knowlege.) “I, however, met some persons at Munfooah and Riad, who avowed
themselves to be of the wahabi faith; but their number was inconsiderable, and they
were the remains of the inhabitants of Deriah, and not Bedouins”.
With Ottoman control re-established over central Arabia at the fall of Deriah in 1818, an
near & middle east
37
event which marked the end of the first Saudi State which had been established in 1726,
Sadleir was sent to congratulate Ibrahim Pacha, and to get his cooperation for action
against the pirates in the Persian Gulf: a continual plague to British interests.
the first european to cross arabia
54 SADLEIR (Capt. G. Forster). Diary of a Journey across Arabia From El
Khatif in the Persian Gulf, to Yambo in the Red Sea, During the Year 1819. First edition. Folding lithograph map. 8vo. Original printed wrappers, very
slightly soiled, small loss at head of cloth spine, in a quarter green morocco
dropback box. vii, 158pp. Bombay, The Eductation Society’s Press, Byculla,
1866. £35000
A very rare account published here for the
first time in full and also for the first time in
book form. A condensed version was printed
some years before in the Transactions of the
Bombay Literary Society, but much colourful
detail was excluded.
Sadleir, whose name is incorrectly spelt
“Sadlier” on the title, was sent to congratulate
Ibrahim Pacha on his successes against the
Wahabis and to establish how far he might
be inclined to cooperate in the suppression
of Wahabi pirates in the Gulf. Not being able
to make the intended rendezvous on the
Gulf, Sadleir was forced to cross the Arabian
Peninsula from Qatif to Medina and was the
first the European to successfully complete
such a journey. He visited Riyadh then much
smaller, and (as it seemed to Sadleir), less
significant than the neighbouring town of
Deriah.
“Travelling... expeditiously and alone,
through a country in which the exact position of a single town has never been
ascertained, and unprovided with the necessary instruments, it has not been in Captain
Sadlier’s [sic] power to give the geographical precision to his route which he would have
wished; ...the principal part of [his]... journey lay through the provinces of Hajar, or
Bahrein and Najd, which have always been the residence of the Bedouin tribes. Their
peculiar mode of life, and the deserts which they inhabit, must ever prevent any material
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change taking place in their manners, customs and government...” (Introduction).
In short, Sadleir is one of the many unsung heroes of British exploration and his desert
journey ought to be considered one of the great feats of nineteenth century travel. In
many ways he was the precursor of Burton, Doughty, Philby, Lawrence, and Thesiger
but in contrast to them was a man who considered his undertaking no more than a
rather inconvenient duty.
Copies of this book are notoriously rare. This example belonged to the diplomat and
historian Col. Miles who wrote “The Tribes of the Persian Gulf ”. Altogther only eight
copies are listed in OCLC, none of them in the United States. We know of three others
in private hands.
shipwreck on the coast of oman
55 SAUNDERS (Daniel). A Journal of the Travels and Sufferings of Daniel
Saunders, jun. A Mariner on board the Ship Commerce, of Boston, Samuel
Johnson, Commander, which was cast away near Cape Morebet, on the Coat
of Arabia, July 10, 1792.
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56 [SELIM I (Sultan).] Das ist ein anschlag eins zugs wider die Türcken vnd alle
die wider den Christenlichen glauben seind. Title with woodcut coat of arms. Small 4to. Bound in old flexible vellum, overall
a very good copy. 4ff. [Nürenberg, Jobst Gutknecht, 1518]. £3800
The expansion of the Ottoman empire during the reign of Sultan Selim I. (1465-1520) was
closely watched throughout Europe. The present work calls for the formation of an army
to be sent against the Turks (and all others opposed to Christianity). In the first half of
the 16th century over 900 pamphlets relating to the Turks were issued, documenting the
widespread fear of a Turkish domination. The present call to arms was issued in various
cities throughout central Europe including Augsburg, Breslau, and Basel. Two other
Nuremberg imprints are known to have been printed in the same year (Georg Stuchs
& Friedrich Peypus). Göllner: Turcica I, 107. VD16, D-160. Köhler 664. Weller 1088. Only
two copies in OCLC.
First edition. 12mo. Original publisher’s calf, a very good copy of this book
usually found in poor condition. 128, 15pp. Salem, Thomas C. Cushing, 1794. £2250
“Daniel Saunders was born in Salem, Mass. in March 1772, and as a teenager took up the
occupation of mariner. In May 1791 Saunders sailed for the Cape of Good Hope as second
mate on the Grand Salem and proceeded to Mauritius, where he quit the ship and took a
position as able seaman on the Boston ship Commerce, under the command of Captain
John Leach. In Madras... Samuel Johnson took command of the ship, and proceeded to
sail her to Bombay. A combination of bad weather and poor navigation resulted in the
Commerce being grounded on a reef off the coast of Dhofar near [Mirbat] on July 10th
1792. Twenty-seven of the crew, nineteen blacks and seventeen Europeans, succeeded in
getting ashore, and commenced a very arduous journey” (Marshall European Travellers
in Oman and South East Arabia). Shipwrecked some five hundred miles from Muscat
the party divided. Sauders was robbed at his first meeting with the natives, but finally
they found a friendly welcome and were taken, exhausted, to Muscat only eight of the
seventeen suvived and the cook Juba Hil, “a black man from Boston” was “detained
among the Arabs probably as a slave” (Macro).
This work, a typical example of the shipwreck narrative genre, briefly descibes the wreck
and then the subsequent boat voyage (pp1-17) and, in more detail, the adventures of the
crew on the coast of Oman which ended with their rescue at Muscat (pp18-128). At the
end of the work is a short description of Arabia and its inhabitants, which includes a
charming desciption of the “Bedoween” which must rank as one of the earliest to have
been put before the American public. Macro, 2014.
Item 55
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EUROPE, RUSSIA & TURKEY
lithographic views of the urals
57 ADAM (Victor). [Views of Russia.] 12 (uncoloured) lithographs, each numbered in the top right-hand corner, with
printed border and title. Image size: 245 by 365mm (appox.), paper size: 320 by
420mm (approx.) Oblong folio. Paris, Engelmann & Cie., [c. 1850]. £7500
Whilst the figures are identified as being drawn by Victor Adam, the plates were
lithographed by several well-known fellow artists: Isidore-Laurent Deroy, Louis
Bichebois, Louis Villeneuve, Jean-Louis Tirpenne, Nicolas-Marie Chapuy, Leon Sabatier
and Edward Hostein. The son of a “respected” engraver Adam was born in Paris in 1801.
He went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1814-18) before exhibiting sucessfully
at the Paris salons between 1819 and 1838 at which point he withdrew from the public
gaze, re-emerging in 1846 with an exhibition of lithography to which art he devoted
himself until his death in 1866 at Viroflay.
The finely detailed plates show views in the Urals and Siberia, including what is now
the Republic of Tartarstan: Vue de la Ville de Kazan du Côté du Sud; Vue de la Ville de
Kazan du Côté du Nord; Vue de Slatoouste. (Oural.); Vue de Miask. Avec une partie
de la chaine des Montagnes Jlmenès. (Oural.); Vue des Lavages d’Or d’Anninsky &
du Mont Aouchkoul. (Oural.); Vue du Taganaï, près de Slatoouste. (Oural.); Vue de
Slatoouste prise du Sommet le plus élevé de l’Oural; Vue de Catherinebourg. (Oural.);
Vue des Forges de M. Yakowleff à Werkhisetok près de Catherinebourg. (Oural.); Vue
de Kouchwa & de la Montagne Blagodat. (Oural); Vue de Werkhotourie. (Sibérie.); Vue
de Bogoslowsk. (Oural).
58 [ANON.] An Authentic and accurate Journal of the Late Siege of Gibraltar;
being a circumstantial Account of every material transaction relative to that
memorable event, from the day on which the communication between that
Garrison and Spain was shut up, to the arrival of the Thetis Frigate with the
preliminary Articles of Peace.
8vo. Contemporary half calf, marbled boards, Macclesfield library plates to front
pastedown & facing leaf, discreet Macclesfield blindstamp to title & 2 following
leaves, some very light foxing to first few leaves. [iv], 173pp. London, [1783]. £1000
europe, russia & turkey
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Beginning with the Spanish declaration of war on Great Britain in June 1779 through
to Feb 20th 1783, the journal covers in great detail the blockade and siege of Gibraltar,
which saw General Augustus Eliott and his British troops under attack for over three
years. Spain joined forces with France and the combined attack, involving 100,000 men
and 48 ships, on September 13, 1782 is covered in great detail.
59 BRIGHT (Dr. Richard). Travels through Vienna and lower Hungary; with
some remarks on the state of Vienna during the congress in the year 1814.
First edition. Frontispiece & 9 engraved
plates. 8vo. Contemporary half calf, spine gilt.
[3], vi-xviii, [3], 4-642, cii, [2]pp. Edinburgh,
Archibald Constable and Company, 1818. £1250
The Lighthouse Trust copy. This work includes a
vocabulary of the Gypsy, Gitano and Cygani.
Bright achieved lasting fame for his pioneering
work in nephrology and his identification of the
eponymous Bright’s Disease.
60
CLARK
(William
George). Peloponnesus: Notes of Study and Travel.
First (only) edition. 5 maps & plans. 8vo.
Original blue cloth, joints strengthened. xiv,
[ii], 344, 8ads.pp. London, 1858. £1250
“Clark travelled in Greece from March to May of
1856 in company with W.H. Thompson, Master of
Trinity College. He has produced an interesting
work, intermingling his ideas concerning the cultural and religious history of the ancient
Greeks with archaeological observation and comments on modern Greek life” (Navari).
From the collection of A.C. Lascarides, with his bookplate. Blackmer, 361.
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europe, russia & turkey
61 CORNWALL (Col. [William Henry]). The City of Funchal, Madeira, from a
drawing made from “The Angustias,” the residence of Her Late Majesty the
Queen Dowager, in the Winter of 1847-48.
63 COTTON (Maria F.) Costumes of the
22 Cantons of Switzerland, copied from
R.H. Zukli by Maria F. Cotton. Particularly fine hand-coloured lithograph panorama, in three sections, joined.
1495 by 315mm. Oblong small folio. Original cloth boards, sunned, titled in gilt
on upper. London, Dickinson, c. 1850. £3800
Twenty-seven
watercolours
with
autograph manuscript captions. 4to.
Original diced russia, worn, presentation
inscription to front free endpaper. (4, 4
[blank], 54)pp. np, 1831. £2500*
A fine lithograph view of Funchal.
Following the death of William IV in 1837, the Queen Dowager, Adelaide, lived her final
years as an invalid, seeking more temperate climes. In 1838-39 she spent the winter in
Malta, and in 1847-48 she wintered in Madeira, where the artist acted as her Equerry.
She died in December 1849 in Stanmore, now a northern suburb of London.
62 CORONELLI (Vincenzo). Epitome Cosmografica, o Compendiosa
Introduttione All’Astronomia, Geografia, & Idrografia, Per I’Uso,
Delucidiatione, e Fabrica delle Sfere, Globi, Panisferi, Astrolabi e Tavole
Geografiche.
First edition. Engraved title & 37 engraved plates (mostly double-page but
also including 5 circular plates), one with volvelles and pointers, Small 4to.
Contemporary boards. [xxviii], 420, [16]
pp. Cologne [but Venice], 1693. £7500
A very nice clean copy of the Epitome.
Coronelli was born in Venice in 1650. The
son of a tailor, he was apprenticed to a woodengraver in Ravenna. Aged thirteen he
determined on a religious life and in 1665 he
became a Franciscan novitiate in Venice at the
convent of S. Maria Goriosa dei Frari. From
this unlikely start, using the convent as his
headquarters, Coronelli became the greatest
geographer, and geographical publisher of his
age. In 1684, in order to finance his cartographic
projects through subscription, he started the
Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti, the
world’s first geographical society.
43
The presentation inscription reads: “Joseph
Hordern Oct 22nd 1831 from Maria.”
The work includes a brief three and a half page
introduction on the history of the Helvetic
Confederacy and the terms under which it was
formed. The watercolours are accompanied by
captions describing the chief produce, capital city and religion of each canton.
Each of the watercolours depict a figure (usually a woman) in what might be termed
the ‘national’ costume of each canton and these are portrayed in settings reflecting the
captions.
64 [GREECE] WATERCOLOUR PORTRAIT. “Madon [ie Manto Mavrogenous]
daughter of the Hospodar Nicholas Mavrogyeni, a distinguished Grecian
Heroine from Micone a small island of the Archipelago.”
Watercolour 205 by 205mm. nd, c. 1825. £575*
Possibly derived from Freidel.
65 [GREECE] “W.A.” WATERCOLOUR PORTRAIT. “Portrait of Theodore
Colocotroni [Kolokoltronis] Commander in chief of the Troops in the
Morea. This is a distinguished Greecian warrior who has assisted materially
in the struggle between the Greeks and the Turks.”
Watercolour measuring approx. 190 by 230mm. np, c. 1825. £750*
A fine portrait of Kolokotronis (1770-1843), one of the prominent military leaders in the
Greek War of Independence.
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Born in Ramavouni in Messenia, he served in the Russo-Turkish War in 1805. He
distinguished himself five years later as a part of a corps of Greek infantry in English
service on Zakynthos where he attained the brevet rank of brigadier. He returned to
the Greek main land just prior to the outbreak of war in 1821. The Greek general is
renowned for his part in the defeat of the Ottomans at Dervenakia in 1822.Three years
later he was placed in charge of the Greek forces at Peloponnese.
Inscribed in a contemporary hand on the reverse, this naive watercolour is possibly
derived from Friedel’s portrait.
europe, russia & turkey
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67 HEATH (William). Rigden’s Panoramic View of Dover. First edition. One long folding hand-coloured etched plate measuring 195 by
1550mm. Oblong 4to. Patterned cloth, gilt lettering to upper board. Dover,
Thomas Rigden, 1836. £1200
A beautiful and extremely detailed view of the white cliffs of Dover. Heath was primarily
known for his caricatures and illustrations but turned to landscapes in his later years.
Little is known about his life but he was certainly a talented artist. Examples of his work
are now held at the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Abbey Life,
533.
68 HUGHES (Rev. Thomas Smart). Travels in Sicily, Greece, and Albania. First edition. 2 vols. 12 engraved aquatints, 3 maps & plans (1 double-page & 1
folding). 4to. Contemporary half calf, spine gilt. xii, 532; viii, 393pp. London, J.
Mawman, 1820. £2950
The Lighthouse Trust copy.
After a distinguished career at Cambridge,
Hughes accepted the position of travelling
tutor to Robert Townley Parker. This is an
account of his time abroad in that capacity
and Hughes combines historical accounts
of the regions with his travelogue. The
plates are after drawings by C.R. Cockerell.
66 HADRAVA (Norbert). Ragguagli di varii scavi e scoverte di antichita fatte
nell’ isolda di Capri...
Second edition. Engraved vignette, folding map & 8 plates. Small 4to. Quarter
cloth over old boards, spine gilt. 97, [3]pp. Dresda, 1794. £1250
Scarce. In addition to his consular duties at the Austrian embassy at Naples, Hadrava
was a part-time composer and, as this work attests, active in archaeology. Indeed, his
reputation in Capri has suffered somewhat as he is closely associated with the removal
of antiquities from the island. The book includes a beautiful folding map of Capri.
69 KARAVIAS GRIVAS (Nikolaos). Istoria tis Nisou Ithakis apo ton
arkhaitaton khronon mekhri tou
1849. First edition. Original yellow-paper
printed upper cover. 25, [1], 169,[1]
pp. Athens, Karambe & Vafa, 1849.
[Bound with] [VALETTAS (Spyridon
Ioannou)]. O geron Limperis e dialogoi
en peripatoi ypothesin echontes ethe
kai pragmata ellehnika. Graphentes
apo tou Kuriou Sibi. First edition.
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Original printed wrappers. [4], 104pp. Athens, A. Angelides, 1836. 2 vols in 1.
8vo. Nineteenth-century calf-backed boards. 1836 - 1849. £650
The first work is a history of Ithaca from the earliest times up to 1849, and, apart
from dwelling on the Homeric glories of the island, gives an account of the physical
nature of the island and its flora, and ends with an account of local notables, including
many members of the Karavias family. At the end is a list of subscribers who together
subscribed for 272 copies, although there is a note stating that others had been left off
the list because their names had not arrived in time. One imagines that the size of the
edition must have been 300-350 copies.
Nikolaos Karavias Grivas, who was a native of Ithaca and a doctor and surgeon,
published in 1841-1842 in Constantinople a Lexicon of men famous in the arts and in
politics. Both of his books have been reprinted in modern times (1977 and 2003).
Spyridon Valettas (or Balettas 1786?-1843) was the first Minister for Education of the
kingdom of Greece, and came from the island of Ios. He also published in 1818 in Paris a
translation of a short work by Rousseau on the foundations of inequality in society, and
in London in 1827 a work Hepta Plegei tes Hellados, a reprint of which was published in
1972. O geron Limperis is an account of Greek history and culture, placed in the mouth of
an elderly man called Limperis. OCLC lists copies at Harvard, Göttingen and Cincinnati.
From the Bibliotheca Lindesiana with bookplate.
70 MURE (William). Journal of a Tour in Greece and the Ionian Islands: with
remarks on its recent history, present state, and classical antiquities of those
countries. First edition. 2 vols. Frontispiece & 14 plates. Contemporary calf, gilt. xxii, 292;
London, William Blackwood & Sons, 1842. £1500
The Lighthouse Trust copy.
Mure was a renowned classical scholar and this is an account of a tour he made in 1838.
Arriving in Corfu, Mure travelled to Ithaca, Acarnania, Delphi, Boetia and Attica. In
the aftermath of the Greek War of independence, Mure was eager to explore the areas
formerly occupied by the Turks.
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71 PATON (Andrew Archibald). Highlands and Islands of the Adriatic,
including Dalmatia, Croatia and the Southern Provinces of the Austrian
Empire.
First edition. 2 vols. Frontispieces, 8 lithographic plates (1 folding) & a folding
map. 8vo. Contemporary green half calf, red morocco labels to spine, excellent
copy. xxiv, 314; viii, [ii], 308pp. London, Chapman & Hall, 1849. £1750
Written by a diplomat formerly in the employ of Sir Robert Gordon, Ambassador to
Vienna, this insightful study provides a richly textured analysis of the region. While
putatively concerned with the peoples and the land they inhabit Paton also includes
much on the political tensions of the era. With descriptions of Ragusa, Croatia and
Montenegro, including a depiction of the Palace of Diocletian.
72 [PETALIOUS ISLANDS Megalonisos etc.] Report on the Petalious Islands. Manuscript in ink with some pencil annotations. Folio. 8; 6pp. np, c. 1832. £2500*
An interesting report on some of the lesser known Greek islands. Notes include, “water
is very scarce on the principal island and brakish, scarcely fit for use tho’ the few Greeks
residing there had not any other.” Evidently the islands were being considered as a
possible site for a business venture, and the report seems to have been prepared for a
Maltese investor possibly with a view to explanding the olive oil production. There may
also be some hidden consideration whether the region was suitable for a naval base. In
any event these mss. give a very detailed account of all production and physical feature
of the various islands in this small group.
73 PORTER (Major Whitworth). A History of the Knights of Malta or the order
of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
First edition. Two vols. Frontispieces, 2 plates & a folding coloured map. 8vo.
Contemporary calf with red & green morocco labels to spines, gilt. xvi, 518; viii,
522pp. London, Longman, Brown et al, 1858. £300
A handsome set.
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74 ROCKWELL (Charles). Sketches of Foreign Travel and Life at Sea; including
a cruise on board a Man-of-War, as Also a Visit to Spain, Portugal, the
South of France, Italy, Sicily, Malta, the Ionian Islands, Continental
Greece, Liberia, and Brazil; and a Treatise on the Navy of the United
States.
First edition. 2 vols. Frontispiece. 8vo. Original black blindstamped cloth, gilt.
xviii, 404; viii, 437pp. Boston, 1842. £1250
A fine copy of this tour through the Mediterranean, which included time on Minorca,
the Lipari islands, Sicily, Corfu and Malta.
Rockwell was originally posted to Marseille as a missionary of the American Seamen’s
Friend Society in 1834. Shortly thereafter, he accepted the post of naval chaplain aboard
the USS Potomac. Blackmer,1440; Sabin, 72420.
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discoveries in print. In addition its many finely executed engraved maps are in many
cases extremely important being the earliest published cartographic depictions of newly
discovered lands, often preceeding those published by the explorer in his own work.
first photographs of troy
76 SCHLIEMANN (Dr. Henrich), ZAPHEIROPOULOS (Panagos T.) Atlas
Trojanischer Alterthümer. Photographische Abbildungen zu dem Berichte
über die Ausgrabungen in Troja. One of 500 copies. 217 mounted bromide photographs. Folio. 19th century
half-calf, rebacked, with metal clasps, stamped title. [ii], 57pp. Leipzig, In
Commission bei F.A. Brockhaus, 1874. £16500
75 [ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY]. Journal Vols. 1-50 + Index [with] Proceedings vols 1-22 [with] Proceedings new series,
vols. 1-14. Numerous maps, charts and illustrations. 87 vols in 79. 8vo. Smart
contemporary half calf, a little rubbed with red morocco labels, one or two
rebacked to match. London, John Murray, 1832 - 1892. £30000
Including the rare first series of the Proceedings, this set provides a complete history of
one of the most important periods of British exploration.
Thanks to the voyages of Cook, Vancouver and Flinders and exhibits such as that of
the Leverian Museum, the public interest in exploration of the New World was already
engaged. By 1820, the world’s coastlines had largely been mapped and attention naturally
turned to the vast unchartered interiors of the continents.
In sponsoring some of the great expeditions to Africa, Australia, the Antarctic and
Central Asia, The Royal Geographical Society became a major promoter of nineteenth
century exploration and symbolised the expansion of the British Empire. Indeed, the
role call of contributers reads like a who’s who of nineteenth century exploration, from
James Clarke Ross, to David Livingstone, Richard Burton, Charles Sturt, and Burke and
Wills.
Through the regular publication of its Proceedings and Journal (instead of an annual
volume of Transactions), the RGS was able to communicate knowledge of these
discoveries to the public in a cheap, accessible manner. In this way reports filed by
explorers were quickly disseminated, debated and publicised. These reports almost
always pre-dated official accounts and usually marked the first appearance of new
This album contains the first results from Schliemann’s excavations at Hissarlik the site
of ancient Troy. Few archaeological discoveries have so captured the imagination of the
public. Despite accounts of Troy appearing in the classics of Ancient Greek and Roman
literature, the actual site of Troy had remained undiscovered.
When the Schliemannn discovered the great treasure in June 1873 work on the site was
abruptly terminated. He was so keen that the world should see his discoveries that there
was no time for the long process of making woodcuts, maps and plans to illustrate his
account, the fastest most accurate way of so doing being the production of this portfolio.
Given that it was available in January 1874, and that its production required the editing
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of 136,000 images it was a staggering achievement, nor is it suprising that the print
quality is variable. In any event by March 14th 1874 the entire issue has been sold out or
disposed of by Schliemann.
“The plates forming the portfolio can be divided for a clearer appreciation into six unequal
groups: an interesting series of sketches of the Troad, twenty-two in all, supplemented by
seven plans of the excavations and another seven actual photographs of the trenches at
Hissalik... The objects found fall naturally into three classes: photographs of sketches of
objects (eighty-one plates), actual photographs of objects (eighty-two plates) and finally
nineteen plates of the great treasure, all but two actual photographs. The plans were all
drawn by Adolphe Laurent, a surveyor and civil engineer borrowed by Schliemann at
great cost from a French contractor building the railway line from Piraeus to Lamia”
(Lascarides The Search For Troy, Lilly Library, 1977).
77 SMITH (Agnes). Glimpses of Greek Life and Scenery. First edition. Frontispiece, 3 plates & a coloured map. 8vo. Original brown
pictorial cloth, gilt, some minor dampstaining to plates, inner hinges cracked. x,
352, 16ads.pp. London, Hurst & Blackett, 1884. £500
A very good copy.
author’s presentation copy
78
TENNANT (Robert). Sardinia
and its Resources. First edition. 12 plates & a map. Small 4to.
Original pictorial blue cloth, gilt, a slightly
rubbed. 311pp. London & Rome, 1885. £
650
Tennant’s accounts sprung from a business
trip to Sardinia, requiring him to spend a few
months on the island and travel extensively
throughout. This is one of the few English
language publicatons concerning the island at
the time.
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79 TIGHE (Lady Louisa M.) Sketches from Nature in England. Album containing 119 original watercolours from life, each mounted directly
into the album & titled beneath, with dates. Oblong small folio (280 by 390mm).
Contemporary half morocco, extremities slightly rubbed. England & Wales,
1825 - May 20th, 1886. £5000
A truly charming album by one of the seven daughters (and seven sons) of the fourth
Duke of Richmond, Lady Louisa Tighe (née Lennox), a person of some distinction.
Legend has it that at the age of 10 she buckled the sword of the Duke of Wellington as
he left her mother the Duchess of Richmond’s ball on the eve of the battle of Waterloo.
Although she chose not to marry a duke (as did 3 of her sisters) or a Marquess (as
did another) she remained well-connected in society with her marriage to William
Frederick Fownes Tighe, an Irish gentleman. This album provides a fascinating insight
into the life and travels of a woman in her position, with links to many of the great
houses of England. There are several fine detailed watercolour views of the interior of
her family home Goodwood in Sussex, as well as several views of the house and park.
In addition there are several fine views of Endsleigh the cottage orné of her cousin the
Duke of Devonshire.
The album is not arranged merely in chronological order, but subjects are grouped
together, thereby showing the growing skill and accomplishment of the artist. Another
album with Lady Louisa’s Scottish watercolours was similarly laid out, with views of
her travels in Scotland, including the houses of her Uncle the Duke of Gordon and her
cousin the Duchess of Devonshire. A full list of the drawings is available upon request.
80 TRANT (Thomas Abercromby). Narrative of a Journey through Greece in
1830. With Remarks upon the Actual State of the Naval and Military Power
of the Ottoman Empire.
First edition. Frontispiece, 5 engraved plates & 3 woodcut illustrations. 8vo.
Contemporary half calf. x, [ii], 435pp. London, Henry Colburn & Richard
Bentley, 1830. £1500
“First and apparently only edition. Trant’s journey was begun in October, 1829. He
travelled extensively through Greece and made his way to Constantinople. There is
also a lively and very interesting description of Greek social life. The plates illustrate
Karitena, Mega Spilion, Mistra, Bassae and Argos. He spent some time in Ava, the
capital of Burma, and produced an account of it in 1827.” Blackmer, 1671
52
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81 TYNDALE (John Warre). The Island of Sardinia including pictures of the
Manners and Customs of the Sardinians, and Notes on the Antiquities and
Modern Objects of Interest in the Island: to which is added some account of
the House of Savoy.
First Edition. 3 vols. Frontispiece in each volume, illustrations in the text
throughout, title illustrated with the arms of the four giudicati, half-title to
volume I, foldout map. Publisher’s original patterned green cloth boards but
recased, with title in gilt to spine, spines faded, untrimmed. 8vo. xvi, 345; vi, 356;
vii, 342pp. London, Richard Bentley. 1849. £750
A very good copy.
82 VON WULFSCHMIDT (Jakob Pontus Von). Bondestolpe. [Inventions for
farmers.] Folio. With numerous hand coloured woodcut illustrations throughout the
text. Twentieth century quarter vellum, red morocco label to spine, some pages
discreetly repaired. 20pp. Sundqvist, E.P. Gävle, 1783. £3500
Between 1771 and 1783 Von Wulfschmidt produced eight different editions of this work,
although only three of which used moveable type as here. The book describes various
kinds of tools and gear for farming, cattle-raising, hunting and fishing, and contain
explanatory illustrations.
europe, russia & turkey
53
author’s presentation copy
83 WORDSWORTH (Rev. Christopher). Athens and Attica: Journal of a
Residence There.
Second edition. Frontispiece, 2 folding maps & 2 plates. 8vo. Contemporary half
calf, spine gilt, rebacked. xx, 297pp. London, John Murray, 1837. £500
The inscription reads: “The Marquis of Abercorn Governor of Harrow School with the
Author’s respects.”
An interesting and detailed description of the Attic plain, and the first work of travel by
Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885), nephew of the poet, who earned a reputation for
his classical studies and translations and his deciphering of graffiti and inscriptions. He
is credited with discovering the oracle of Zenus at Dodona.
occupied channel islands
84 [WORLD WAR TWO] A Nazi Execution Poster. Poster printed in red & black. Measuring 410 by 550mm. Some minor worming
& a small tear. Jersey, 23 March, 1941. £1500
Material relating to the occupation of the Channel Islands is very scarce. This poster
records the execution of Francois Scornet, who led an escape from Brittany in January,
1941. Errors in navigation led them to Guernsey rather than the Isle of Wight. They were
promptly captured by the Germans and transferred to Jersey, where they were shot on
March 17th at St Owen’s Manor.
Between June 30 and July 4, 1940 the Channel Islands became the only part of Great
Britain to be occupied by Germany in the Second World War. The islands were
considered extremely valuable by Hitler for propaganda purposes and he eventually
despatched 27,000 troops to maintain them. In fact, on June 17,1940 the islands were
demilitarised and not defended, Churchill rightly believed that they would provide a
useful drain on German resources.
maggs bros ltd
54
beautiful presentation copy
india, central asia & far east
55
INDIA, CENTRAL ASIA & FAR EAST
85 ZICHY (Eugene de). Voyages au Caucase. First edition. Profusely illustrated with plates (many folding) and illustrations
to the text. 4to. A fine copy in contemporary half calf, spine gilt, presentation
inscription to half title. [viii], l, [2], 613pp. Budapest, 1897. £4000
Zichy made three trips to investigate the origins of Hungarian culture in the Caucasus.
This work documents the first two expeditions and provides a wealth of illustration
from native costumes and jewellery to architecture. A parallel text in Hungarian and
French, the first section is an ethnography of the Caucasians, the second a catalogue of
artefacts.
86 ATKINSON (Thomas Witlam). Oriental and Western Siberia: A Narrative of
Seven Years Explorations and Adventures in Siberia, Mongolia, the Kirghis
Steppes, Chinese Tartary and Part of Central Asia.
First edition. Large folding map & 20 lithographed plates some with several
tints. With 32 wood-engravings in the text. Tall 8vo. A very bright, fine copy
in original pictorial cloth, gilt. xi, 611, [8]ads.(undated)pp. London, Hurst &
Blackett, 1858. £750
Yakushi, A111.
presented by the subject’s widow to his mother
87 [BALUCHISTAN] A Soldier Civilian. A Brief Sketch of the Life and Work
of the late Lieut.-Colonel Gilbert Gaisford, Indian Staff Corps; Political
Agent in Baluchistan.
First edition. Frontispiece. 8vo. A fine copy in original burnt orange cloth, gilt,
bookplate to front pastedown. 89pp. London, Printed for the Army & Navy Cooperative Society Ltd., 1900. £250
Inscribed “For dear ‘Mum’ with much love from L.F.G. [Laura F. Gaisford widow of
Lieut.-Colonel Gaisford] 23.5.1900.”
A further inscription by a friend of Laura’s, Wilfred Grenfell, states “I had only left her
half an hour in London, when the terrible news of his murder was received. The men (2)
were hanged & sewed up in pigskins to ‘prevent’ them entering paradise as the Moslems
think.”
Gaisford arrived in India in April, 1868 and spent most of the next 30 years in the QuettaPishin district. He was renowned for his political work and was 48 when he was killed.
88 BELCHER (Captain Sir Edward). Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S.
Samarang, During the Years 1843-46; employed surveying the islands of the
Eastern Archipelago...with notes on the natural history of the islands by
Arthur Adams.
Item 86
maggs bros ltd
56
india, central asia & far east
57
First edition. 2 vols. 3 folding charts (damaged folds, some old repairs) in back
pocket, 9 tinted lithograph plates, 23 further plates. 8vo. Rebound in half-calf,
occasional light foxing but generally a good copy. xxix, 358; [vi], 574, [2]pp.
London, Reeve, 1848. £1800
highly detailed account of his subsequent captivity provides a fascinating insight into
the dangers of serving in the region as well as a description of the ethnography of his
captors.
Account of a surveying voyage chiefly to Singapore, Borneo, the Philippines, Korea and
Japan. The second half of vol. II deals entirely with the Natural History of the countries
visited. Abbey II, 528; Cordier, 2947.
91 BERNARD (W.D.) & HALL (W.H.) Narrative of the Voyages and Services of
The Nemesis, From 1840 to 1843; and of the combined Naval and Military
Operations in China: Comprising a complete account of The Colony of Hong
Kong, and Remarks on the Character and Habits of the Chinese.
a beautiful copy
89 [BENARES] Clark’s Handy Pocket Guide to the Principal Sights of Benares. First edition. Folding map & two plates. 8vo. Fine in the original printed pink
wrappers. vi, 40, [2]pp. Benares, Printed at the Medical Hall Press, 1882.
£1500
Very rare. OCLC locates just two copies.
Being both a site of pilgrimmage for Hindus and Buddhists and of learning, Benares was
an obvious centre for publishing. Early publishers like the Medical Hall Press printed
books in several languages to satisfy the demands of the Benares Sanskrit College and
others.
Here, however, is an excellent example of one of their more commercial publications.
Benares was a popular site for tourists and this charming guide provides a neat digest
of the major sights of Benares, its manufacturing base, geography and history. The
lithograph map includes the area between the Buddhist ruins to the Maharajah of
Benares Palace, while the plates depict the Kashi Vishwanath (or Golden) Temple and
the Manikarnika Ghat.
90 [BENNETT (Lieut. Richard).] Narrative of the Captivity of an Officer who
Fell into the Hands of the Burmahs During the Late War.
First edition. 8vo. Modern Chinese-style backless over-sewn binding with
slipcase. ii, 145pp. Madras, the Asylum Press, 1827. £1250
Very rare, only three copies located on OCLC.
Bennett’s account begins in November 1825 when he was taken ill in Prome and, with
his regiment’s surgeon, Dr Sandford, was required to travel 300 miles down the river to
Rangoon. A lack of servants necessitated hiring some of the natives to row them and, “[a]
s might be expected, a plot was laid to betray us into the hands of the enemy.” Bennet’s
First edition. 2 vols. 6 engraved plates, 3 folding maps. 8vo. Original cloth,
(slightly faded). Light staining affecting plates, but overall a very good copy.
[xvi], 449; [x], 522pp. London, H. Colburn, 1844 £1200
The present work chiefly deals with the events leading up to the First Opium war and
its consequences. The Nemesis was the first iron steamer to ship around the Cape of
Good Hope and it is in no small way due to its technical innovations and improved
manouverability that the victory over the Chinese troops was as easy and decisive. The
treaty of Nanking (1842) was a devastating blow to Chinese sovereignty resulting in the
cessation of the island of Hong Kong to the British Empire. C.f. Lust 558-559.
a beautiful copy
92 BOCK (Carl). The HeadHunters of Borneo. Second edition. Folding map & 30
lithograph (28 coloured) plates. 4to.
A fine copy in original green pictorial
cloth, ownership inscription to front
free endpaper, some discreet library
blindstamps. xvi, 334pp. London,
Sampson, Low, 1882. £950
Bock decided on a career in natural history
in 1875 and, within three years, was on his
first expedition on behalf of the London
Zoological Society. He collected specimens
at Paio, Ayer Angat, near Muara Labu, and
at Lolo and Ayer Mancur. On his return to
Batavia he was commissioned to produce
a report on native tribes of South-eastern
58
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india, central asia & far east
59
Borneo, especially on the Dyak. The work includes a vocabulary of the Long Wai (Dyak)
dialect. cf Tiele, 146.
93 BODDE (Derk). Annual Customs and Festivals in Peking as recorded in the
Yen-ching Sui-shih-chi by Tun Li-ch’en.
First edition. 6 plates (3 in colour), decorated end-papers & numerous
illustrations in the text. 8vo. Original half cloth, ex-library copy from a Chinese
collection, still a very good copy. [xxii], 147pp. Peiping, Henri Vetch, 1936. £200
“This little book is a translation from the Chinese of the Yen-ching Sui-shih-chi by Tun
Li-ch’en, a title which literally means ‘Record of a Year’s Time at Yen Ching’ Yen Ching
being an ancient name for Peking. It is a record, day by day, and month by month,
beginning with the Chinese New Years Day and taking us throughout the year, of
what used to take place in Peking: its festivals, temple pilgrimages, fairs, customs, and
the clothing, food, and the animals of the season” (introduction). The plates include
an interesting reproduction of a painting showing the preparations for the New Year
Celebrations in a Manchu household.
the first american at the court of china
94 BRAAM HOUCKGEEST (André Everard van), MOREAU DE SAINTMERY (M. L. E., transl.) Voyage de L’Ambassade de la Compagnie des Indes
Orientales Hollandaises, Vers L’Empereur de la Chine, dans les années 1794
& 1795: Ou se trouve la description de plusieurs parties de la Chine inconnues
aux Européens, & que cette Ambassade a donné l’ occasion de traverser...
First edition. 2 vols. Two large folding maps (repaired tears) & 12 engraved
plates. French text. Folio. Early 19th century half-red morocco, (some foxing
& browning), but overall a very good copy. [lxxx], 437; xii, 520pp. Philadelphia,
1797- 1798. £7500
Braam (1739-1801) came to America as Dutch Consul to North and South Carolina and
inspired by the War of Independence became an American citizen in 1784. Plagued
by financial difficulties he accepted the post of supercargo to the Dutch East India
Company in Canton in 1790.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the accession to the throne, the VOC sent
a delegation to Peking in order to congratulate the Qianlong-emperor. The embassy
was in fact led by Isaac Titsingh with Braam taking the second place. The Dutch were
careful to avoid the mistakes made by the Macartney embassy and did their utmost to
conform to Chinese customs. However, since the official letter contained no demands,
the embassy achieved very little.
Of the three accounts published (Guignes’ and Titsingh’s being the others), Van Braam’s
is the most comprehensive and interesting. He gives a vivid account of the hardships
endured by the embassy, who had not left themselves enough time for the arduous
overland journey and seemed ill-prepared for the Siberian cold that grips Peking in
winter. Both Van Braam and Titsingh were disappointed by the reception they got from
the emperor. Titsingh in fact was deeply offended when he was given to eat some bones
which the Emperor had already nibbled at. While the Chinese regarded this as a mark of
special favour, it was obvious proof to Titsingh of their lack of civilisation.
Van Braam Houckgeest returned to Philadelphia in 1796 where he met the French
emigrant Moreau de Saint-Mery, who translated, edited and printed the work.The
Philadelphia issue of this book is dedicated to George Washington and is extremely
rare. 500 copies of the first volume were lost to a pirate on their way to England (c.f.
Walravens: China illustrata, item 82). Lust and Cordier only record the pirated French
8vo-edition of 1898-99 which was subsequently translated into English and German but
which in fact only contains material from the first volume. Landwehr 547; c.f. Lust 504;
Cordier 2350.
maggs bros ltd
60
a fine contemporary local binding
95 [BRAHE (Count Per).] Nine accounts of travels to the Far East, the East and
the West Indies. Small 4to. Contemporary panelled calf with gilt inlays, spine elaborately gilt with
four raised bands, a.e.g., initials in gilt on boards. 304, 60, 162, [viii], 94, 42pp.
Visingsborg Castle, Sweden, Johan Kankel for Count Per Brahe the younger,
1674 - 1675. £22000
This private compendium of seventeenth century Swedish voyages brings together
nine accounts in five separate works, all published at Count Brahe’s private press. Brahe
served in the military and was the governer general of Finland between 1637-54. He later
became chancellor of Sweden and, following the death of Charles X in 1660, a regent. He
was related to the astronomer Tycho Brahe.
Alexander Haijock, the mayor of Jonkoping, acquired the volume in the 1670s and
commissioned the binding from a local craftsman. It was subsequently purchased for
the Ericsberg Castle (on the west coast), whose collection was only recently dispersed.
The accounts are as follows:
1. VARIOUS AUTHORS Een fort Beskrffning uppa Trenne reesor och... peregrinationer,
sampt konungarijket Japan... 1674. Almqvist, 19; Bibl. alt-Japan-katalog 173/4; Cordier, BJ
380 & BS 1943/4.
2. SCHOUTEN. Sanfdrdig beskrijjfning om konungarijket Siam. First Swedish edition.
Almqvist, 27; Cordier, BI 719-20.
3. MARTINI (Martini). Historia om thet tartariske krijget uthi konungarijket Sina,
sampt theras seder. First Swedish edition. Almqvist, 21; Cordier, BS 626.
4. HEMMERSAM (Michael). West-Indiansk rese-beskriffning. First Swedish edition.
Alqvist, 20; Borba de Moraes, p397; Sabin, 31290.
5. KORT BERATTELSE om Wast Indien eller America, som elliest kallas Nya Werlden.
Almqvist, 28; Sabin, 38244.
india, central asia & far east
61
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62
india, central asia & far east
63
96 CAMERON (John). Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India; being a
Descriptive Account of Singapore, Penang, Province Wellesley, and Malacca;
their Peoples, Products, Commerce, and Government.
98 COLQUHOUN (Archibald Ross). Across Chryse, Being the Narrative of a
Journey of Exploration through the South China Border Lands from Canton
to Mandalay.
First edition. Coloured lithograph frontispiece & 6 further tinted lithograph
plates. 8vo. Original green pictorial cloth, gilt, neat mark to upper board, slightly
shaken. x, 408pp. London, 1865. £1450
First edition. 2 vols. 3 maps (2 large folding), plates & numerous illustrations.
8vo. Original decorated cloth, stamps removed from title, but generally very
nice. [xxiii], 420; [xvi], 408, [32]ads.pp. London, Sampson Low, 1883. £550
With the book plate of Owen Rutter. The author covers every aspect of life in the
Malayan Archipelago, from the social structure of the native population and the climate
to the architecture of the European occupiers and the government imposed by them.
Some thirty pages are devoted to jungle tigers and the means taken to “exterminate”
them. The colour frontispiece shows a fine view of Singapore.
Famous account by Colquhoun (1848-1914), explorer (Gold Medallist Royal Geographical
Society) and ‘Times’ correspondent in the Far East, of his travels from Canton to Bhamo
in 1881-82 to trace the best route for connecting Burmah and China by railway. A richly
illustrated work with 300 illustrations from original photographs and sketches, 30
facsimiles of native drawings and three colour lithograph maps showing the author’s
route and the proposed extension of the British-Burma railway route. Cordier, 343.
his own copy with annotations
97 CAREY (Fred W.) Memento Book. Items collected over the course of twenty years in the service of the Chinese
Customs Service. 224 items. Small folio. Half-calf (boards worn, spine missing,
minor browning to pages), latter half of book blank. Overally a good copy. n.p,
n.d, [ca. 1920s.] £1750
In 1904 F. W. Carey was promoted to Commissioner of Customs at Santuao (Fukien
province), before in 1909 being appointed the Delegate for China to the International
Opium Commission at Shanghai, as well as nominated Secretary to the International
Opium Commision. These distinguished positions proved the pinnacle in the life of this
talented and popular diplomat. The current album, his ‘memento book’, is a fascinating
insight into his colourful life and career amidst high society in the late 19th, and early
20th Centuries. The book consists of Chinese and Western business cards, letters and
invitations to dinners, balls, weddings and other functions from many distinguished
members of society, such as Lord and Lady Curzon, Sir Robert and Lady Bredon, Dr.
Walther Rössler, Dr. Augustine Henry and countless others. Also present are articles
from journals and newspapers, (often relating to Carey), posters advertising his
numerous lectures, correspondence and menus from dinners he attended. They are
supplemented by annotations in Carey’s own hand. Of particular interest is the guest list
and table layout for the Royal Geographical Society Anniversary Dinner of May 26th,
1911, over which Lord Curzon of Kedleston presided, traditional Chinese name cards
from such notable persons as Teung Shan, the Viceroy and Tartan General of the Fukien
province, and a short story Carey penned under the pseudonym of ‘Dacy Frere’.
99 CRAWFURD (John). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General
of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochin China; Exhibiting a View of the
Actual State of those Kingdoms.
Second edition. 2 vols. Large engraved folding map, 2 plans, 15 tinted lithograph
plates (5 folding), two engraved plates showing samples of writing, one large
folding table of vocabularies, as well as several woodcut illustrations in the text.
8vo. Contemporary calf, spine faded, mabled edges, generally a very good, clean
copy. [viii], 475; v, 459pp. London, Henry Colburn, 1830. £3200
John Crawfurd (1783-1868) entered the Medical Service of the East India Co. in
1803. After serving in India he transferred to Penang in 1808, and three years later
accompanied the British expedition to Java where he was appointed Resident at Djakarta
and held several other senior posts in the British administration. The present work is
an account of the successful embassy undertaken in the years 1821 and 1822 on behalf
of the East India Company in the hope of stimulating trade. The second volume gives
a detailed description of the history, geography, religion and culture of both countries
together with a chapter on Singapore. The plates show costumes and scenic views with a
particularly attractive large panoramic view of Singapore. Satow 111; Cordier, Indosinica
454.
100 CUBERO Y SEBASTIAN (Pedro). Peregrinacion que ha hecho de la Mayor
Parte del Mundo... con las cosas mas singulares que le han sucedido, y visto,
entre tan Barbaras Naciones, su Religion, Ritos, Ceremonias, y otras cosas
64
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memorables, y curiosas que ha podido inquirir; con el viage por tierra, desde
Espana, hasta las Indias Orientales.
Second Spanish edition. 8vo. Stained old vellum. [xvi], 288pp. Zaragoza, Pasqual
Bueno, 1688. £2400
Salva (No. 3764) mentions but did not possess the first edition of this very entertaining
work, which describes the missionary’s peregrinations from Spain to India and other
parts of Asia. In the course of his wanderings, for the most part overland, he came
accross many curious people, whose country no less than their mode of life, religion,
ceremonies and customs, are described with much charm and a wealth of incident. His
itinerary included: Paris, Rome, Constantinople, the Caspian Sea, Persia, Afghanistan,
Moscow, India, Malaya, the Philippines, and New Spain; whence he returned to Spain,
to place his account of all he had witnessed in the hands of his King Charles II. He
appends a statistical account of the Chinese Empire, and there are in addition, several
sonnets adddressed to the author.
Pedro Cubero y Sebastian was born at Fresno, Zaragoza, circa 1640; and having studied
theology and jurisprudence at Salamanca, was elected “doctoral” prebend of Tarazona.
He was authorized by the Congregation of Propoganda Fide to use the title of Apostolic
Preacher, and to preach the gospel in Asia &c. At the age of twenty five he became the
preacher of the Imperial army in Hungary against the Turks; and soon after set out on
his world tour, which lasted nine years. Streit, V 543; Sabin 17821; Palau, 65757.
101 [DE FILLIPI (Dr Fillipo).] WOOD (Henry). Explorations in the Eastern
Kara-Koram and the Upper Yarkand Valley. Narrative Report of the Survey
of India Detachment with the De Filippi Scientific Expedition. 1914.
Small folio. Photographic frontispiece, 10 photographic panoramas, 6
photographic illustrations on 2 plates & 2 folding maps. Original cloth backed
printed boards, library stamp to front pastedown, some discreet ms. library
numbers to some early leaves. iv, 42pp. Dehra Dun, Office of the Trigonometrical
Survey, 1922. £1500
A very good copy of the official narrative report of De Fillipi’s expedition. Auction
records record only a single copy of this work appearing over the past 30 years.
Dr Fillipo De Filippi trained as a surgeon at the University of Bologna and had a keen
interest in mountaineering. He led expeditions through Turkestan (1903), Uganda
(1906), and Karakoram (1909), which included an unsuccessful attempt on K2, before
assuming leadership of this scientific expedition. Sponsored by the Italian and Indian
governments and the Royal Geographical Society, it proved to be the largest ever
mounted in the region. Beginning in Srinagar, they proceeded through the Sringar
india, central asia & far east
65
valley and spent the winter in Skardu in Baltistan. The party carried out a detailed study
of the valleys and glaciers of Kashmir, the report of which later filled 16 volumes. The
publication of this narrative report was delayed by outbreak of the First World War, in
which De Filippi served in the Italian army medical service. Howgego 4, F11.
102 EARL (George Windsor). The Native Races of the Indian Archipelago.
Papuans. First edition. 2 folding plates, 3 coloured plates of native costume & 2 other
plates (one folding). 8vo. Original cloth, back faded. xvii, 239pp. London, 1853. £950
The work is divided into twelve chapters. Apart from the first which serves as a general
introduction, each chapter is devoted to a racial or island group. There is also a discussion
on Melville Island and the Aborigines of North Australia. This book was intended as the
first in a series of anthropological studies and is advertised as such, the second volume
was to be The brown tribes of the Indian Archipelago. Ferguson, 9339.
103FARIA Y SOUSA (Manuel). Asia Portuguesa Second edition of vol I, first editions of
vols II & III. 3 vols. 19 folding plans, with
numerous woodcuts throughout the text.
Small folio. Contemporary speckled calf,
spines gilt, some marginal staining and
occasional worming. [xxxiv], 396, 42; viii,
970; viii, 564, 4pp. Lisbon, 1703, 1674,
1675. £15000
Most uncommon. Faria y Sousa’s work is a vital
source for the history of Portuguese conquests
and administration in Asia. The scope of this
monumental work stretches from the Middle
East to India and as far as China and Japan.
It details the various military campaigns as
well as providing information on geography
and native populations. The volumes are
illustrated throughout with a remarkable
series of woodblock portraits of the explorers
discussed.
66
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The author was both a historian and poet. His controversial work Epitome de las historias
Portuguezas placed him on the wrong side of the inquisition. As a result, he was briefly
incarcerated and suffered the permanent loss of his official salary. His life’s work then
became a comprehensive history of Portuguese activity across the globe. After his death,
the three completed parts were published, Africa Portuguesa, Europa Portuguesa and
Asia Portuguesa. Cordier (Bibliotheca Japonica), 378; Cordier (Bibliotheca Sinica) II,
301; Cox I, 279; Laures, 490; Takahashi, 115; Streit V, 476.
104FORBES (James). Oriental Memoirs: Selected and Abridged from a Series of
familiar Letters written during seventeen years residence in India: including
observations on parts of Africa and South America, a narrative of occurences
in four India Voyages.
First edition. 4 vols. Portrait frontispiece to vol. I, 28 hand-coloured, 8 lithograph
& 57 other plates. 4to. Contemporary tree calf, some minor foxing, bookplates
to front pastedowns. xxiii, 481; xv, 542; xii, 487; xi, 425, [vi]pp. London, 1813 1815.
£7000
A very good copy of one of the greatest
works on India.
Forbes travelled to Bombay in 1765 as a
writer for the East India Company, before
becoming private secretary to Colonel
Keating. In 1775 he accompanied
British forces sent to assist Raghunath
Rao in the Maratha civil wars, and went
on to become collector and resident at
Dubhoy in 1780. However following the
treaty of 1782, which ceded this district
to the Mahrattas, Forbes returned to
England in 1784.
During his time in India, Forbes’ skill as
a draughtsman and his keen eye enabled
him to produce some 150 folio volumes
(52,000 pages) of sketches and notes on
the natural history, ethnography and
religion of India, from which this work
is compiled. Indeed, Forbes describes it
as “the principal recreation of my life”
(Preface). Abbey, 436.
india, central asia & far east
67
with additional plate volume
105 HAMILTON (Gen. Douglas). Records of Sport in Southern India chiefly on
the Annamullay, Nielgherry and Pulney Mountains. Also including notes on
Singapore, Java, and Labuan from Journals written between 1844 and 1870. First edition. Atlas portfolio containing 14 tinted lithograph views. Frontispiece
& 22 plates, with numerous illustrations in the text. Oblong folio & large 8vo.
The plate volume in modern cloth, the text, a good copy in highly decorative
pictorial cloth, gilt, the back a little soiled. xlviii, 284pp. London, 1892. £4800
There is a chapter in this work concerned with Singapore, Java and Labuan, visited in
1846, but for the most part it records the exploits of this famous and intrepid hunter
in the remote hills of Southern India, specifically the Shervaroys, in 1861, Pulneys and
Annamullays. The author was an accomplished draughtsman and the text is enlivened
by many illustrations taken directly from his field books.
Czech, who was unaware of the extra illustrations contained in the plate volume,
describes the book as being “An excellent work on sport in southern India...[which]
provides amixture of hunting in the jungle and mountains of the region....shooting ibex
in the hill country, tiger, bison and antelope.”
The extra plates offered with the above were made after Hamilton’s drawings by the
Topographical Dept. of the Army. They depict scenes described in the work above but
were printed some 27 years prior to the Records. In fact, they were commissioned by
the Madras Army, who directed Hamilton in 1862 to make drawings of hill plateaux in
Southern India “which were likely to suit as Sanitaria, or quarters for European troops”.
It was this commission which gave Hamilton a marvellous opportunity to explore and
hunt in these regions some of which had not been visited or described before. The plates
are titled as follows:
1. Panoramic View of the Plateau of the Green Hills; 2. Panoramic View of the
yercand from the summit of the Sheravoyen; 3. View from the high ground west of the
settlement of Kudaikarnal; 4. Boundary Ridge dividing the Pulnis from Travancore; 5.
View of the Pombary Valley; 6. View of the Perryoor on the Lower Pulnis; 7. View of
the Perumal Mullay on the Lower Pulnis; 8. Malayaly Village and Cultivation; 9. View
of the Perreakolum Pass; 10. Distant view of the Kudaikarnal looking West; 11. Lake at
Yercand; 12.View of the Valley of the Perrumbookarnal; 13. Perumal Mullay from the
encampment; 14. Entrance to the Valley of Manavanor. Czech, p96.
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chinese in the persian gulf
106 HIRTH (Friedrich), ROCKHILL (William Woodville), transl. Chau Ju-kua:
His work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the twelfth and thirteenth
Centuries, entitled Chu-fan-chi.
First edition. Large folding lithograph map. 4to. Original wrappers (light
browning, minor wear to spine), stamped, overall a very good copy. [x], 288pp.
St. Petersburg, Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1911. £1750
First English translation of the “Description of Barbarous People” (Chufan zhi), written
by Zhao Rugua (ca. 1170-1231), an inspector of foreign trade in Fukien in the first half
of the 13th century. It records Chinese trade and exploration in Southeast Asia, India,
Persia and Arabia where myrrh, pearls and frankincense were purchased.
This translation caused a great stir at the time, as it challenged the widely held view
that the Chinese did not know countries beyond their own spheres of influence. The
introduction traces the development of Chinese maritime intercourse with southeast
Asia until the 12th century. Extremely rare.
india, central asia & far east
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faded), still a very good copy. Sapporo, Hokkaidocho, dated: Taisho 14, [i.e.
1925]. £450
An extremely rare Government publication showing industrial and agricultural
development of Hokkaido. Includes images of government offices and institutions,
tourist spots, factories, as well as logging, farming, and mining. The album was produced
to encourage immigration to the island. Only one copy in OCLC.
108 KERSHAW (Capt. J., 13th Light Infantry), DANIELL (William). Views in the
Burman Empire. First edition. Ten fine hand-coloured aquatints. Oblong folio. Original buff
printed wrappers, some repairs to corners, rebacked, with modern cloth box,
title to spine. London, Smith, Elder & Co., [1831]. £17500
107 HOKKAIDO-CHO. Hokkaido Shashincho [A photo album of Hokkaido]. First edition. 50 collotype plates with text on facing tissue-guards. Japanese text.
Large oblong 8vo. Original brocade with printed label on top board (slightly
One of the rarest aquatint view books.
The plates, all of which are signed beneath the title “Drawn on the spot by Capt:
Kershaw, 13th Light Infantry”, are titled: Rangoon from the Anchorage; View from Brgr.
McCregh’s Pagoda Rangoon; Dagon Pagoda, near Rangoon, taken from the Lines of
His Majesty’s 13th & 38th Regts.; Dagon Padoga, near Rangoon; Prome from the South
Heights; North face of the great Pagoda, Prome; Prome, from the heights occupied by
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His majesty’s 13th Light Infantry; Melloon from the British Position; Pagahm - Mew;
View from the West face of the Great Pagoda, Prome.
Though he was not the originator of these plates, they are in an unmistakeable Daniell
style in form and colouring, indeed this is probably the rasest of all the colour plate
books in which he was involved.
The separately printed text volume is not found here. Abbey (Travel), 406.
109 KINNEIR (John Macdonald). Journey through Asia Minor, Armenia, and
Koordistan, in the years 1813 and 1814; with remarks on the marches of
Alexander, and retreat of the ten thousand.
india, central asia & far east
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This is a transcription of the logs of some twelve voyages, made mainly on East
Indiamen to either Bengal or to the China Seas, with the exception of one yacht voyage
to the Orkneys and a trading voyage to St. Petersburg. It would appear that Landon has
himself made the transcription as some commentary seems to have been included from
a later but personal perspective.
In 1788, Landon first went to sea at the age of eleven as a “guinea pig” on board the
Nottingham an East Indiaman bound for Madras and later China. He gives a vivid
account of the life of his miserable lot, fortunately he had two dogs for companions
“they were the only being on board that knew me or cared for me & the delight they
expressed at seeing me with their caresses, often made me cry till my heart ached” ... “[I
was] not allowed to sit at table, my linnen washed in urine used to offend the nose of Mr.
Bower one of our passengers”.
First edition. 8vo. Contemporary calf, rebacked, old spine laid down. xii, 603pp.
London, John Murray, 1818. £1000
By 1802, Landon, now the veteran of several voyages, was given command the City of
London.
Narrative of a journey through Turkey, Armenia and Persia with the object of “visiting all
the countries through which a European army might attempt the invasion of India”. The
author had served in the Madras infantry and was later attached to Sir John Malcom’s
mission to Persia.
111 MACGOWAN (A[lexander] T[horburn]). Tea Planting in the Outer
Himalayah. Without the map, which was published separately. Wilson (Bibliography of Persia), 119.
110 LANDON (Samuel). Honourable East India Company Journal. Manuscript journal of c.280pp. covering sea-service with the East India
Company from 1788 until 1813. Subsequently written from the surviving original
notes and incorporating 6 good watercolours. £8500*
First edition. Lithographic frontispiece
and title page. 8vo. Cloth-backed pictorial
boards, extremities rubbed. 73pp. London,
Smith, Elder & Co., 1861. £1250
A very good copy of this scarce item. Macgowan
served as Assistant Surgeon in the 52nd Light
Infantry and produced this account shortly after
the Indian mutiny, at which time a scheme to
colonize India was being discussed in the House
of Commons. He states in the preface “At this
present moment, when the resources of India
are being carefully opened up and explored,
in order that a system of future credits may
secure the prosperity and advancement of
this vast empire, the following description of
a tea plantation in the Himalayahs may not be
deemed inopportune.”
The author was registered as both a licentiate of
the Royal College of Physicians and a member
of the Royal College of Surgeons.
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112 MANNING (Thomas, 1772-1840). Narrative of the Journey of Thomas
Manning to Lhasa (1811-1812). Copy ms. prepared by Manning’s daughter on paper watermarked 1834. Closely
written on 99 pp. with one or two blanks. Bath, c. 1835. £25000*
It is strange that, in a period when anyone who made an interesting journey generally
capitalised by publishing an account of his or her adventures, Thomas Manning’s
remarkable adventure remained shrouded in mystery until many years after his death.
This ms. was lent by the Manning family for Clements Markham to use for the second
part of Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet and of the Journey of Thomas
Manning to Lhasa (1876). According to Markham, (whose editorial marks are evident
throughout), it is a copy prepared by Manning’s daughter. Of uncertain date, although
the paper (extracted at some time from a binding) is watermarked 1834, it most probably
would have been transcribed either in Manning’s last days or soon after his death. As far
as we can trace it is the only Manning ms. relating to his journey as the original from
which it was copied is lost. That it was never intended for publication is evident in the
inclusion of much matter which would have seemed both trivial and intrusively personal
to the early nineteenth century reader, yet it is just these details of minor irritations
and such like that add greatly to the immediacy of the narrative. Though Markham has
followed the text fairly closely this ms. is all we have as a direct literary link to one of
the greatest unsupported travel adventures, an extraordinary journey, undertaken by a
brilliant linguist and eccentric: a true forerunner to Burton and Doughty.
A student of China, Manning’s adventure in Tibet was the result of his frustrated attempt
to penetrate China to further his linguistic studies. Having failed to get permission for
a journey from the coast he detmined to reach the interior from the west. So with a
Chinese servant named Sid “he departed Calcutta in September 1811, following a route
through Siliguri, up the Tista River, the Chumi Valley and through Gyanste... While
still some distance from Lhasa, he made the aquaintance of a Chinese general, whose
friendship he won with a gift of two bottles of cherry brandy. In return the general wrote
to the Chinese ambassador in Lhasa, requesting permission for Manning to enter the
capital. Manning duly arrived in Lhasa in December 1811; the first Englishman ever to
enter the city” (Howgego). He left in April and was back in Calcutta by June.
Writing of his interview with the nine year old seventh Dalai Lama, he states, “by this
interview with the Lama I could have wept through strangeness of sensation I was
absorbed in reflections when I got home I wrote this memorandum ... this day I saw
the Grand Lama! beautiful youth, face poetically affecting, could have wept, very happy
to have seen him and his blessed smile ... I strove to draw the Lama with the pencil, I
produced a beautiful face but it did not satisfy me. I drew another which I could not
make handsome yet there was in some respects a likeness in it which the other wanted.
From the two together and instructions from me a skilful painter might make a good
picture of him.”
india, central asia & far east
73
113 [MEDHURST (Walter Henry).] Ancient China: the Shoo-king, or, The
Historical Classic: Being the most Ancient Authentic Record of the Annals
of the Chinese Empire. Illustrated by later Commentators.
First edition. 4 double-page plates on Chinese paper & 12 maps (doublepage on Chinese paper), & several diagrams and illustrations in the text.
8vo. Contemporary half-calf, slightly rubbed, a very good copy. [xvi], 413pp.
Shanghai, Mission Press, 1846. £3500
Medhurst (1796-1857) was a famous Englishman in China and one of the early translators
of the Bible into Chinese. After spending some twenty-five years in Malacca Medhurst
went to Shanghai where he founded the London Missionary Society Press. This is the
first English translation of the Confucian classic, the Shu-jing (Book of History). “For
the benefit of students in Chinese, the text is interspersed with the translation, so as
to afford a pretty correct clue to the meaning of each particular character.” (preface, p.
IX). Medhurst also supplies extracts from the Historical Classic covering the period of
the Shu-jing as well as two appendices on Chinese Constellations and Astronomy, in
particular the Chinese Zodiac. Rare. Cordier II, 1378; Lust 739.
114 MILNE (John), BURTON (W.K.) The Great Earthquake in Japan, 1891. First edition. One lithograph map & 29 collotype plates by K. Ogawa. Oblong
folio. Original decorated cloth, slight staining to cover, minor marginal
waterstaining, but overall still a very good copy. [viii], 10pp. Yokohama, Lane
Crawford, n.d. [but 1891]. £600
The best photographic record to have been produced of the devastating earthquake in
Gifu Prefecture. “It may be worth mentioning that this very paper is a product of the
Earthquake District, being manufactured only in Echizen.” (Preface).
prince of wales island described 1789
115 [PENANG] HOWISON (Dr. James). Autograph ms. entitled An Account of
Prince of Wales Island by James Howison one of the Surgeons to that New
Settlement from a Letter dated 10th November 1789. An important 7pp. 4to letter, extensively docketed on the 8th originally blank
sheet by the recipient Henry Dundas, later Lord Melville, with a covering letter
74
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dated June 1st 1790, from Howison presenting the account to Dundas. 1p. 4to
with integral address leaf, thrice franked. 1789-90. £5000*
trade in opium and Tin, their Company having offered death as a punishment to the
individual detected in the purchase and sale of these great staples....
Howison published a Malay Grammar in 1801, and is noticed too, in a contemporary
account as an amateur naturalist.
“...this Island Government is endebted to its present Governor Mr. Light-- he being a
Gentleman of great observation, had long beheld it as a place of the uttmost importance
for an English settlement, and at length proceeded a grant of it from the King of Queda,
to whom he had formerly rendered essential service.”
Beginning with a description of the situation and climate of Penang, Howison continues
“Its healthfullness if equalled, is to be surpassed by no European Settlements in the
east. Out of a garrison of three hundred troops (Natives of Hindostan) not one has for
these last fourteen months, a most irregular circumstance to be experienced by a new
Settlement in an uncleared country. I am of the opinion that this great salubrity may be
the effect of a constant ventilation, supplied by almost continuous but gentle breezes...
“... In the decoration of the lawns, nature is here pecularly lavish. A assemblage of
flowering Treese & Shrubs in perpetual flower, and endless in the variety of their species
form the first shade, these are overlooked by forest trees on an immense height which
spread their wide extended branches thickly covered with foliage and afford protection
to the under blossoms of lest robust parents. Here strangers feel with rapture the effect
of the breezes so strongly tainted with the fragrence of the groves...
“The original animal productions of this island are very limited. Of quadrupeds the
wild Hog, Deer & squirrel nearly comprehend the whole. The absence of the tiger &
leopard whose numbers & ferocity almost render the opposite shores uninhabitable
amply compensate for this seeming deficiency. The flying fox & squirrel are natives of
this Island, the former a non descript and a great natural curiosity...
“The possession of this Island when viewed in a political & commercial light is highly
interesting our situation which renders us accessible to all our settlements during every
season of the year, and where the voyage from either is generally performed in sixteen
days & seldom exceed a month, must, in the event of a war in India with a naval power
be of immense advantage... Timbers fit for masts and yards of ships of the first rate may
be had in any quantity... the smoothness of the water admits of careening...
“The valuable trade in gold dust tin, pepper beetle nut and canes which is carried on in
the straits of Malacca, and for which we give in return opium and piece goods... was...
attended with the utmost danger... Now the case is widely altered a fear of retaliation
has produced an apparent honesty in their dealings but which their reeling passion for
plunder will never allow of being sincere...
“Our centrical situation with regard to the trading coasts would render us an easy
matter to be amply revenged for any act of barbarity or injustice they might be induced
to commit upon the ships of our nation -- and in time of war, as an Island, neither relief
to us nor our trade could be well entirely shut up -- We have nothing to apprehend from
a Hyders army while we have all the advantages of the mainland our channel protects us
from the inconveniences and dangers of elephants & assembled armies...
“Our only rivals the Dutch at malacca must soon yield to our superiority from a free
116 [PENANG] TATE (Paul, Civil Engineer). ALS to the Honble. William
Fullerton Elphinstone, a director of the East India Company, explaining his
failure to construct a repairing dock at Prince of Wales Island in 1810. 4pp. folio, on paper with 1808 watermark. np, nd. but c. 1810. £625*
Tate had been sent to design and construct repairing docks on Prince of Wales Island.
The work required a steam driven pump, this was sent from England but without anyone
who knew how to put it togther and keep it going. No money was available from the
local administration for the works which Tate was forced to abandon after being sent
back to Europe to find suitable specialist manpower. In setting out the facts in a plain
way the evidently frustrated engineer seeks to forestall any criticism with regard to his
conduct during his employent by the East India Company.
117 PERCIVAL (Robert). An Account of the Island of Ceylon containing Its
History, Geography, Natural history, with the Manners and Customs of its
various Inhabitants; to which is added, the Journal of an Embassy to the
Court of Candy.
First edition. 2 folding engraved maps. 4to. Particularly fine contemporary
marbled calf, spine gilt, with black morocco label, marbled edges, matching fine
marbled end papers. xii, 420pp. London, 1803. £2200
A particularly lovely copy, beautifully bound and in perfect condition. Although there is
no bookplate or any other sign of provenance, it comes from the library of the Dukes of
Abercorn; a number of volumes with this provenance (sometimes disguised) have been
turning up at Christie’s over the last few years.
76
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118 [PORTUGUESE IN INDIA] Relacao Marcial do plausivel, e affortunado
successo, que nas partes da India tiverao as armas...
time as Governor of Java. This letter, in support of the Baptist Missionary to Padang’s
plan for establishing a school for natives and translating the scriptures into Malay,
provides another example of this concern.
First edition. 8vo. Twentieth-century half morocco, gilt. 8pp. Lisboa, Na Officina
de Francisco Borges de Sousa, 1759. £500
Dated just a year after the foundation of Singapore, Raffles states, “In supporting this
plan at the meeting I did not do so from a conviction that it was the best & only one that
could be adopted, but merely because it was the only one proposed that appeared to lead
to any immediate or practical use... I hope it is not necessary for me to remind you that
in whatever way you think best you shall have my full and unreserved support.”
Rare. A brief report on the battle which took place on 9th May, 1758, between the
Portuguese and the forces of Khem Savant III Bhonsle, who succeeded his father in 1755,
with his mother acting as Regent until he came of age in 1763. However, following the
battle here described he was granted the hereditary title of Raja of Savantwadi (founded
1627) and installed as such on 11th May 1758.
119 RAFFLES (Sir Thomas Stamford). ALS. to Rev. C. Evans referring to the
establishment of a native school. Manuscript in ink. 4pp. with an integral blank, small paper loss repaired without
touching text, docketed by the recipient 1820 on paper watermarked “W Thomas
1816”, [probably Bencoolen, 1820.] £7500*
Raffles then considers his own future, suggesting that he wouldn’t remain in Singapore
for more than another five years and hoped that Evans would be well established by
that time. Lastly, Raffles offers him some keen advice, “I wish you would... endeavour to
make your Establishment the resort of the most respectable natives... There is nothing to
prevent you going into the villages enquiring into the state & condition & employment
of the people and I fear unless you go to them, you will not find them very anxious to
come to you.”
120 ROSS (David). The Land of the Five Rivers and Sindh. Sketches Historical
and Descriptive. First edition. Folding map. 8vo. Fine and highly decorated original cloth in
gilt. viii, [iv] ads, 322, [2 blank] 32 ads.[dated June 83]pp. London, Chapman &
Hall, 1883. £575
“[A] short historical and descriptive account of the country and places of interest
between Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Peshwar, and Delhi” (preface).
121 SHAW (Robert). Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand, and Kashghar (Formerly
Chinese Tartary) and a Return Journey over the Karakoram Pass.
First edition. 2 folding maps & 14 plates & illustrations in the text. 8vo. Modern
half calf, bookplate to front free endpaper. xiv, 486,1, 16[ads dated Nov. 1871]pp.
London, 1871. £850
With the foundation of Singapore, Raffles became the most important Briton ever to be
associated with South East Asia. Singapore was the meeting point of all trade routes in
the region and soon became the most important port between Calcutta and Hong Kong.
Moreover, the colonization prevented an entire monopoly of Dutch interests in the East,
a goal they actively pursued. Raffles letters from the East are rarely available and those
written from Singapore are especially so, most being in institutions.
Raffles was fluent in Malay and his concern for native populations was evident from his
Shaw was the first Briton to visit Yarkand, and travelled on his return via the Karakoram
Pass. Yakushi, S194.
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122 SHIZUOKA-KEN TEA ASSOCIATION. Shizuokaken Tea Industry - A
Pictorial. First edition. One colour lithograph print and numerous collotype plates (2
folding). English text with Japanese abstract. Oblong 8vo. Original decorated
brocade, a very good copy. Unpaginated. Tokyo, Showa 2, 1928. £250
“The tea industry of Shizuoka Prefecture has been developing year after year that her
production today is unrivalled by any other district within the whole country.” (Preface).
A beautifully illustrated booklet detailing the various stages of tea-production in, and
tea-export from Shizuoka prefecture. Uncommon.
123 SILK (C.A.) & VANDERVEER (J.J.) Spanish-American War, 1898: The USS
“Baltimore”, at the Battle of Manila Bay, (Phillipine Islands) May 1st, 1898.
First (only) edition. Folding map & 13 collotype plates. 4to. Original polished
black sheep, blind-stamped and gilt, inner hinges cracked, map tipped in,
printed in red & blue. 40pp. Hong Kong, Kelly & Walsh, 1898. £950
Presentation inscription reads, “To Mr E.W. Woodworth with compliments from M. F.
Bathke, Chief Master at Arms, U.S.S. Baltimore.”
The battle occured only days after the official declaration of war and resulted not only
in the collapse of the Spanish naval presence but without any American casualties. The
decisiveness of the victory greatly enhanced the reputation of the United States as a
military power. Rare. Only 7 copies in OCLC.
124 SIRR (Henry Charles). China and the Chinese their Religion, Character,
Customs, and Manufacturers: the Evils arising from the Opium Trade: with
a Glance at our religious, moral, political and commercial Intercourse with
the Country.
india, central asia & far east
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125 WORKMAN (F.B. & W.H.) Ice-Bound Heights of the Mustagh. An Account
of Two Seasons of Pioneer Exploration and High Climbing in the Baltistan
Himalaya.
First edition. Two large folding maps, numerous plates & illustrations throughout
the text. Large 8vo. Original pictorical cloth, gilt. xv, 444pp. London, 1908. £675
An excellent copy of this account of the Workmans’ pioneering expeditions in the
Himalayas. Yakushi, W123; Neate, 927.
paper peints
126 ZUBER ENGELMANN (Père & fils) lithographers. Collection d’esquisses
des principaux articles de décoration exécutés en papeir peint dans la
manufacture de Jean Zuber & Compagnie à Rixheim près Mulhausen, dept.
du haut-Rhin. Prix 3 francs.
Printed title page & 73 lithographed images on 41 sheets (one loose), incl. 15
with fine contemporary hand-colouring, 4 of these heightened with gum arabic.
Small folio (495 by 365mm). Contemporary French boards, with red morocco
label (this richly gilt) to upper board, edges somewhat rubbed. Mulhausen,
[c.1850]. £17500
A magnificent album, with some fine examples of designs for decorative wallpapers
produced by Zuber & Cie., including sections of several of the magnificent panoramic
papers for which they are still famous. The firm of Zuber et Cie. was founded by Jean
Zuber in Alsace in 1797, and continues to this day to print wallpaper and fabrics using
the original nineteenth century woodblocks (of which they have in excess of 100,000).
First edition. 2 vols. 2 colour lithograph frontispieces. 8vo. Contemporary
polished calf, school prize binding, gilt on spine, minor staining, but overall a
very good copy. [xvi], 447; [viii], 443pp. London, W.S. Orr & Co., 1849. £750
The majority of the plates included in the album show papers which were first produced
in the early part of the nineteenth century, including: Vues du Brésil (1830), Décor Chinois
(1832) and Les Vues de l’Amerique du Nord (1834), the latter being produced following
Jean Zuber’s own journey to North America. It is however the image of a section of El
Dorado which enables us to date the album to the middle of the century, since it was not
produced until 1848.
Henry Charles Sirr (1807-1872) was a British lawyer, diplomat and writer. Trained as
a barrister he eventually went into government service, working as Deputy Queen’s
Advocate in Ceylon. From 1843 he served as British Vice-Consul in Hong Kong. The
present provides important insights into the nature of the opium trade, with a particular
focus on smuggling operations in the Pearl River region.
In addition to the examples of papier peint there are numerous plates showing designs
for decorative papers for a variety of schemes, including faux pannelling (in a variety
of styles), ceilings, ceiling roses, chimney breasts &c.&c. Some of these are designed
to reproduce plaster, some woodwork, and some again fabric, but all are of the highest
quality, with a particularly fine attention to detail.
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The plates are titled as follows:
bottom)
Devant de Cheminées (4 images - 2 “framed”)
Les courses des chevaux Paysage en camayeux 32 lés 18” (uncoloured)
Devant de Cheminées Echelle de 3 Pieds (4 images)
Les courses des chevaux Paysage en camayeux 32 lés 18” (uncoloured)
[Devant de Cheminées] (4 images - 2 “framed”)
Les courses des chevaux Paysage en camayeux 32 lés 18” (uncoloured)
[Devant de Cheminées] (4 “framed” images)
Les Jardins Espagnols 25 lés de 20 pouces (fine hand-coloured lithograph, with ms. title
beneath)
[Devant de Cheminées] (5 images - 2 “framed”)
Sujets en hauteur (6 images)
Sujets de fleurs et de chasse (7 images)
[Sujets de fleurs et de chasse (6 images)
Paysage colorié L’Helvétie, sur 20 lés de 26 pouces (particularly fine hand-coloured
lithograph, heightened with gum arabic, enclosed within an elaborate gold frame)
Paysage colorié L’Italie sur 20 lés de 26 pouces (particularly fine hand-coloured
lithograph, heightened with gum arabic, within an elaborate frame, with classical
columns to either side, and an elaborate freize to top and bottom)
Conquète du Mexique (hand-coloured lithograph)
Paysage à Chasse (Première moitie) en colorié 32 lés de 18 pouces (fine hand-coloured
lithograph)
Paysage à Chasse (Deuxième moitie) en colorié 32 lés de 18 pouces (uncoloured
lithograph)
Jardins français Paysage colorié de 25 lés de 20 pouces (1re partie No. 1 à 12) (fine handcoloured lithograph, heightened with gum arabic)
Jardins français Paysage colorié de 25 lés de 20 pouces (2de partie No. 13 à 25) (uncoloured
lithograph)
Vues de l’Amérique du Nord (1r au 10e lé) (uncoloured)
Vues de l’Amérique du Nord (10me au 21me lé) (coloured)
Vues de l’Amérique du Nord (22me au 32me lé) (uncoloured)
Vues du Brésil (fine hand-coloured lithograph)
Vues du Brésil (uncoloured lithograph)
Vues du Brésil (uncoloured lithograph)
Paysage colorié L’Italie sur 20 lés de 26 pouces (uncoloured lithograph, within an
elaborate frame, with classical columns to either side, and an elaborate freize to top and
[Jardins] (fine lithograph view with elaborate decorative border)
Paysage en camayeux. Les Vues d’Ecosse sur 32 lés de 18 pouces (uncoloured lithograph
with elaborate neo-gothic style borders at head and foot)
El Dorado Décor colorié en 24 lés No. 4201 à 4224 (elaborate finely hand-coloured
image, divided into three sections by richly decorative border, this also hand-coloured)
Décor chinois. No. 2911-2914 (5 lés de 20”) (particularly fine detailed and delicately
hand-coloured lithograph)
Décor de l’Alhambra det Paysage Isola Bella (No. 3551) Echelle d’un Mètre (particularly
fine detailed and delicately hand-coloured lithograph, the image divided into three by a
fine highly eloborate frame in the moorish style, this too hand-coloured)
Décor à fleura (particularly fine detailed and delicately hand-coloured lithograph, the
image divided into two panels surrounded by a floral border, with a final plain border
arround the whole)
Décor Florentin particularly fine detailed and delicately hand-coloured lithograph,
the image divided into three panels with an extremely elaborate border, this too handcoloured)
Décor Louis XV (particularly fine detailed hand-coloured lithograph, the image divided
into two panels, with a richly detailed & coloured border, the lower section of which is
painted to ressemble panelling)
Décor à rideau No. 2864 1/20 [with] Décor etrusque No. 2866 1/20 (uncoloured
lithographs)
No. 2052. Rosace pour plafond, à ornemens coloriés sur fond irisé. No. 2430. Le milieu
seul sur fond irisé, et avec une guirlande de fleurs. (single image, uncoloured lithograph)
No. 2203. Rosace pour plafond executée surfonds irisés, les ornemens en grisaille ou
teinte d’or, le Tors Légèrement colorié. No. 2203½. La même rosace executée en rond
sur un diamêtre de 7 pieds avec un autre milieu sur fond Irisé (single image, uncoloured
lithograph)
No. 2201. Rosace pour polafond en octagone exécuté sur fonds irisés en colorié. No.
82
maggs bros ltd
2202. Le milieu seul avec amour, sur fond ciel irisé (single image, uncoloured lithograph).
No. 1806. Plafond à voute en grisaille. No. 1883 le milieu seul (single image, uncoloured
lithograph).
2341 Rosace en gris ou en colorié (single image, uncoloured lithograph)
Revolution Italienne (loose, fine hand-coloured lithograph heightened with gum arabic,
with manuscript title to upper margin)
australia & the pacific
83
AUSTRALIA & THE PACIFIC
127 [ABORIGINAL LANGUAGE] TEICHELMANN & SCHURMANN (C.G. &
C.W.) Outlines of a grammar, vocabulary and phraseology of the Aboriginal
language of South Australia, spoken by the natives in and for some distance
around Adelaide.
First edition. 8vo. A clean copy in modern stiff wrappers. (x), 24, 76pp. Adelaide,
published by the authors at the native location, 1840. £1750
A very good copy of this early Adelaide imprint and important Kaurna grammar
and vocabulary. The authors were Lutheran missionaries and pastors. They arrived in
Adelaide on 12 October 1838 and immediately set about establishing a school. This was
their first publication. The extensive vocabulary includes a section on “the names of
places and rivers.” Ferguson, 3102.
the high priest of the british enlightenment on a “noble”
savage
128 BANKS (Joseph). ALS to Lord Monboddo. 4pp with address blank. 4to. London, Soho Square, 29 December, 1782.
£2500*
An unpublished letter by Banks regarding Peter the Wild Boy, the celebrated feral child
brought to England from Hanover by King George I in 1726.
Peter the Wild Boy (c.1712-85) was discovered in a forest near Hamelin. He walked on all
fours, ate grass and leaves and could not communicate. Once in England, despite being
tutored at length, he did not learn to speak or pick up civilized manners. In the midst of
the Enlightenment, Peter was seen as a rare example of man in his native state and thus
attracted great interest from the public and the academy.
Item 127
The concept of the noble savage was given great currency by Louis-Antoine de
Bougainville’s 1771 account of Tahiti, which depicted an idyllic, innocent society free
from the corruption of civilization. Banks himself was familiar with the charms of
Tahiti, having famously observed the transit of Venus there on Cook’s first voyage. Such
was the interest that a number of subsequent British scientific voyages to the Pacific
returned with members of the native tribes they’d encountered. Peter the Wild Boy was
a fascinating European counterpoint to this and of interest to the burgeoning field of
anthropology. Unlike the “bring backs” from the South Seas, who perished abroad or
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85
shortly after their return,
Peter lived until 1785 when
he was about 70.
Not in Chambers (ed), The Scientific Correspondence of Sir Joseph Banks, (2007); not listed
in Dawson, W.R (ed) The Banks Letters: A Calendar... (1958).
James
Burnett
(Lord
Monboddo, 1714-99) saw
Peter in 1782 and used
him as an example in his
Origin and Progress of
Language, which sought to
demonstrate that man was
born mute and that language
is the product of habit and
learning. He was the first
to postulate the singleorigin hypothesis (that all
humans originated from a
single area) and very much
a part of the developments
in scholarship that led to
Darwin’s formulation of the
theory of evolution.
129 BOUGAINVILLE (Louis de). A Voyage Round the World. Performed by His
Most Christian Majesty, in the Years 1766, 1767, 1768, and 1769... Translated
from the French by John Reinhold Forster.
Understandably, he was
eager to harness Banks’s
expertise and, in a letter dated 9 July 1782, asks if he might assist in finding out more
about Peter. Banks replied on July 29 agreeing to help, though was unequivocal that he
thought Peter an idiot “who was by his parents placed in the woods... in order that they
might be relieved from the thankless expense of providing for a driveller.” This opinion
later became the prevailing scientific view.
In this letter Banks elucidates some of his earlier opinions - “No extract from newspapers
however carefully written will induce me to believe that a human being can exist at
all upon leaves & moss while the anatomical structure of his stomack & digestive
organs teach me to consider it as impossible & that among all the nations I have seen
heard of or read of no instance in which I put the least confidence except in the case
of Nebuchadnezzar & that you know was a miracle which like all others commands a
sacrifice of reason to faith.”
He further informs Bennett that he has “commissioned Baron Reden a very sensible
& learned man of Hanover... to enquire both from living & written evidence all in his
power concerning Peter.” Banks was no doubt deluged by requests such as this and
some probably quite outlandish theories on discoveries from the New World. Here he
provides a lovely, telling line which captures the spirit of the age: “I require that the
evidence in goodness should bear proportion to the magnitude of the wonder”.
First English edition. Folding plate & 5 folding charts. 4to. Contemporary calf,
new label, joints split but firm, contemporary marbled endpapers. xxvii, 476pp.
London, 1772. £4000
This, the first English edition of the first official French circumnavigation, was prepared
for the press by both the Forsters. Georg, apparently, made the translation while his
father contributed a preface and added copious footnotes. It is clear that Alexander
Dalrymple had a hand in the production of the charts in this work.
Bougainville’s first objective on his voyage around the world was to organise the
handover of the Falkland Islands from France to Spain. Having completed this task he
sailed for Patagonia, where, like Wallis, he measured the height of the fabled Patagonian
Giants and found them to average less than six feet.
It is however his travels in the Pacific for which Bougainville is perhaps best known,
including the New Hebrides, Samoa, the Solomons and Tahiti. The latter captured the
Comte’s imagination and, as well as a long description of the island and its people, he
includes a vocabulary of some 300 words at the end of the text. Like many Europeans of
the period he compared the Tahitians to Greek gods, and their island to Elysium, as did
Joseph Banks in the following year when he arrived with Cook. Spence, 158; Cox I, 55;
Hill, 165; JCB II, 1816; Kroepelien, 113; Sabin, 6869; Howgego, B142.
130 CALLANDER (John). Terra Australis Cognita; or, Voyages to the Terra
Australis, or Southern Hemisphere, during the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and
Eighteenth Centuries...
First edition. 3 vols. 3 engraved folding maps. 8vo. Contemporary speckled calf,
rebacked. Edinburgh, 1766 - 1768. £5250
A work of the greatest importance and value in the early history of Australia.
Callander based his work on that of the Frenchman De Brosses, and advises the
foundation of a colony on the island of New Britain, as a suitable spot for the further
exploration and settlement of the vast continent of New Holland, New Zealand, and
Tasmania.
maggs bros ltd
86
presented to his “old mate” godfrey massie, expedition
member
131 CARNEGIE (The Hon. David). Spinifex and Sand. A narrative of Five Years’
Pioneering and Exploration in Western Australia.
First edition. 4 folding maps
(2 in rear pocket). 8vo.
Original pictorial cloth, gilt
lettering to spine, soiled &
rather worn, internal foxing
quite serious in places. xvi,
454pp. London, 1898. £4250
australia & the pacific
87
know that Cleveley taught watercolour painting at this period and one might suppose
this to be either one of his exemplas or more probably a work carried out by a skilled
student. The work is certainly executed on eighteenth century paper, which has been
laid down in recent years.
Their father was a distinguished naval painter, James Clevely was a carpenter on the
third voyage, and his brother a noted naval artist of the period. Though deemed unlikely
by Joppien and Smith it seems a reasonable to assume, notwithstanding problematical
names and ethnographic detail, that James had some influence on the content of these
images.
A full discussion of the Cleveleys can be found in Joppien and Smith’s The Art of Captain
Cook’s Voyages Vol. III, pp216 to 221.
A wonderful association copy
of this exploration classic
inscribed by the author:
“Godfrey E. Massie from his
old mate David W. Carnegie
Good Luck! 1899”. Massie
was one of Carnegie’s three
European companions on the
main expedition described in
this work, one of whom died in
a hunting accident during the
trip.
The youngest son of the Earl of Southesk, Carnegie (1871-1900) left Ceylon, where he
had been a tea planter, in 1892 to join the gold rush in Western Australia. With money
raised at home in England by his fellow prospector Lord Percy Douglas, Carnegie set
out in 1894 on his first expedition in which he covered some 850 miles. Despite having
had to abort another expedition due to ill health, Carnegie set off in 1896 on his most
important journey during which he explored the deserts of the interior covering some
3000 miles, carrying out work which earned him the Royal Geographical Society’s Gill
Memorial medal (Wantrup). Ferguson, 7960; Wantrup, 196a.
132 [CLEVELEY (James / or John.) after.] View of Matavai Bay, February 1788. Watercolour measuring approx. 330 by 465mm. c1788. £12000*
This watercolour is on a smaller scale than the print from which it is connected. Apart
from scale the are some subtle differences from the print which may denote priority. We
the voyages of captain james cook
133 COOK (Capt. James), HAWKESWORTH & KING (John) & (James). An
Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of his Present Majesty for
Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere..; A Voyage towards the
South Pole, and Round the World..; A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean...
First editions throughout. 8 vols. text & 2 atlases (folio & quarto). A total of 202
charts and plates. 4to. Recently bound in full 18th century Russia from the Metta
88
maggs bros ltd
Catharina by Aquarius. [xii], xxxvi, 676; xvi, 410; [vi], 411- 799; xl, 378; xcvi, 421;
[xii], 549; [xii], 558pp. London, 1773, 1777 & 1784. £35000
australia & the pacific
89
accidents) were recorded on this voyage - a dramatic reduction from the one third who
died on his first voyage.
Cook’s third voyage began in July 1776 and concentrated on the North Pacific, resulting
in the discovery of Hawaii, which Cook considered to be his greatest feat. In addition the
theory of a Northern passage conecting the Pacific to the Atlantic was also disproved.
With him travelled George Vancouver who later charted the North West Coast of
America and also the artist John Webber who provided Europe with many images of
the Pacific. Cook however was killed on 14th February, 1779 in a shoreline skirmish
(illustrated in the plate included in this set) and Captain King took over command of
the expedition, which returned to England in 1780. Holmes, 5/24/47; Hill, p139/61; Sabin,
30934/16245/16250.
134 COOK (Capt. James). The Method taken for preserving the Health of His
Majesty’s Ship the Resolution during her late Voyage round the World. [With] Of the Tides in the South Seas. Transactions of the Philosophical
Society, vol. LXVI, part 2, XXII & XXVI.
A fine set of first editions of Cook’s three voyages. The plates for the second and third
voyages are bound in a 4to and folio atlas to match. The russia was reclaimed from the
wreck of the Metta Catharina located in Plymouth Sound in October 1973. The ship was
wrecked in 1786 and a large quantity of the leather was found in its cargo.
Cook (1728-1779) was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and despatched by the
Admiralty at the insistance of the Royal Society to observe the 1769 transit of Venus
across the face of the sun and to seek out the much-discussed southern continent.
Accompanying Cook were Joseph Banks (from the Royal Society), the Swedish naturalist
Dr. Daniel Carl Solander and the artist Sydney Parkinson. Sailing via Madeira and Tierra
del Fuego Tahiti was reached in April 1769 where the transit was successfully recorded
in June of that year. From Tahiti Cook sailed to the South Pacific in search of the new
continent, first striking the Society Islands, before reaching New Zealand, whose coast
he surveyed. From thence Cook proceeded to New Holland surveying the whole East
Coast, before returning home via Batavia, proving once and for all the New Guinea was
not a part of Australia, a fact first shown by Torres in 1607. He finally reached England in
1771, anchoring off the Downs on 12th June, having lost one third of his crew.
In July of the following year Cook, now promoted to the rank of Commander, set out
once more for the southern Pacific in the Resolution with the Adventure. This voyage
was particularly important since Cook made the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle
and finally determined once and for all that the Southern Continent did not exist.
In addition Cook secured the medal of the Royal Society by successfully eradicating
scurvy through diet and better hygiene. Only three shipboard deaths (all resulting from
Small 4to. Later half speckled calf, red morocco label to spine, gilt, marbled
boards. [iv], [1], 402-406, 447-449, [1]pp. London, Lockyer Davis, 1777.
£2000
Finding a preventitive cure for scurvy marked a significant turning point in the
history of maritime exploration. Indeed, the explosion of scientific voyages in the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth century was largely enabled by the advances made by
Cook, and his contemporaries, in the treatment of this condition. Cook’s second voyage
in particular attracted considerable interest as no member of his crew died of scurvy,
something which was unheard of at the time.
This paper, first published in Pringle’s Discourse upon some late improvements of the
means of preserving the health of mariners, (1776), was read before the Royal Society
on March 7, 1776. It documented Cook’s use of malt wort in conjunction with ‘sour
krout’, broth made with fresh vegetables (when available), and the extract of oranges
and lemons. Aware that some items were either not always available or expensive to
procure or store, Cook advocated a combination of all three in the fight against scurvy.
Writing to Pringle from Plymouth Sound Cook said: “I entirely agree with you that the
dearness of the rob of lemon and oranges will hinder them from being furnished in
large quanitites. But I do not think this so necessary; for though they may assist other
things, I have not great opinion of them alone. Nor have I a higher opinion of vinegar.”
It is interesting to note that neither lemon juice nor malt were used on Cook’s third and
final voyage.
In recognition of his services to mariners Cook (or rather in his absence his wife) was
presented with the Royal Society’s Copley medal. Scurvy however continued to be a
maggs bros ltd
90
major problem in the British Navy, particularly during the American Revolutionary
War. It was not erradicated until the Napoleonic Wars, when Gilbert Lane, chairman of
the Navy’s ‘Sick and Hurt Board’, applied the theories of James Lind who had as early
as 1747 proved that scurvy could be prevented by the use of citrus fruits such as lemons
and limes (hence the phrase ‘limey’ for a British sailor). Lloyd and Coulter (Medicine
and the Navy) III.
with the bookplate of fleurieu
135 COOKE (Edward). A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, perform’d in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711. Containing a Journal of
all memorable transactions during said voyage... the taking of the towns
of Puna and Guayaquil, and several prizes one of which a rich Acapulco
ship. A Description of the American Coasts, from Tierra del Fuego in
the South, to California in the North, (from the Coasting Pilot, a Spanish
manuscript)... With a new map and Description of the mighty river of
the Amazons. Wherein an Account is given of Mr. Alexander Selkirk, his
manner of living and taming some wild beasts during his four years and
four months he liv’d upon the uninhabited
island of Juan Fernandez.
The true first edition as distinct from the
reset version with a second volume from the
same publishers. 2 large folding maps, folding
panorama & 17 engraved plates (numbered 1-16
with 1 extra view). Fine contemporary French
mottled calf, spine gilt in compartments, with
red morocco labels, repair to title-page. xxiv,
456, 12pp. London, 1712. £3750
was completely reset.
A rush to issue an account of this voyage developed
between the publishers of this version and that of
Woodes Rogers. This single volume edition came
out before the two volume expanded version which
A very attractive copy, with an interesting association, having the bookplate of M. le
Chevalier de Fleurieu on the front pastedown. Fleurieu sailed on the second French
circumnavigation and the first commercial voyage to the North West coast.
australia & the pacific
91
136 COXE (William). Account of the Russian Discoveries Between Asia and
America. To Which are added the Conquest of Siberia, and the History of
the Transactions and Commerce between Russia and China. A Comparative
View of the Russian Discoveries with those made by Captain Cook and
Clerke; and a Sketch of What remains to be ascertained by Future Navigators.
First edition. Armorial bookplate of Wm. Constable Esq. on front pastedown
endpaper. 4 charts and maps (2 folding, two extending) and one large folding
plate. 4to. Contemporary full calf, with splitting to the leather at otherwise
sound joints. Interior clean and crisp. xxii, 344, xiii[index], 2ads.pp. T. Cadell.
London, 1780. £1100
Samuel Enderby was one of the most important figures in the history of Pacific whaling.
Following the Boston Tea Party, when the cargoes of tea carried in Enderby’s ships
were lost, his company moved into the Southern Fishery for sperm whales. Along with
Alexander Champion and John St Barbe he fought for “an unlimited right of fishing in
all seas”, which they had attained by 1801, when all but the China Seas were open to the
whalers. It was in one of his whaling ships (the Tula) that Biscoe discovered “Enderby
Land” in the Antarctic. Sabin, 17309; Hill, p71; Streeter VI, 3481; cf.Lada-Mocarski, 29.
rennell’s copy
137 DALRYMPLE (Alexander). An Historical Collection of the Several Voyages
and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean. Vol. I. Being chiefly a Literal
Translation from the Spanish Writers.
[Volume II. Containing the Dutch
Voyages.]
First edition (second issue of Vol. I as usual).
2 vols. in 1. 4 folding maps & 12 plates (mostly
folding). 4to. Contemporary calf, rebacked.
xxx, [2], 24, 24, 204, [4]; [iv], 124, 20, [58]pp.
London, 1770 & 1771. £9500
With the neat ownership signature of the noted
geographer James Rennell (1742-1830) to the
upper margin of the title page, and his book plate
on the front pastedown.
The Historical Collection is a work of far reaching
importance; its author was the leading English
92
maggs bros ltd
australia & the pacific
hydrographer of his day, a man of great dedication and prolific output. Passionately
involved in the argument over the possible existence of a southern continent, Dalrymple
partially translates here some twelve accounts which support his belief in its existence.
the 1729 dampier with wafer,
Dalrymple had wanted command of the official South Seas Expedition sent in 1768. He
was much aggrieved not to have been given the appointment, feeling that his preeminence
as a hydrographical scholar should have outweighed his relative inexperience of nautical
command. Understandably the Admiralty thought otherwise, and Lieut. James Cook
was given his chance. A much embittered man, Dalrymple immersed himself in the
research which finally led to the publication of this book, which was issued before the
return of Cook’s expedition. Hill, p.389; Sabin, 18338; Hocken, p7.
139 DAMPIER (William) & others.
A Collection of Voyages. In Four
Volumes. Containing I. Captain
138 DAMPIER (William), SEWELL (William) & WAFER (Lionel). Nieuwe
Reystogt Rondom de Werreld... First Dutch edition. 3 vols in 2. Frontispiece, illustrations and maps throughout.
4to. Clean & bright in contemporary vellum. (vi), 395; (xii), 284, 88, (viii.
appendix)pp. Gravenhage, Abraham de Hondt, 1698. £3500
A very good copy of this scarce work, which includes four maps by Hermann Moll.
After years of adventure along the coasts of Spanish America Dampier joined Capt.
Swan in the Cygnet in 1685. Swan was also eager to try his hand in the western Pacific,
and after taking several small Spanish prizes among the East Indian Islands, they made
for the vaguely known coast of New Holland, which was sighted on 4th January, 1688,
near the Lacepede Islands. The vessel sailed along the coast to the entrance of King
Sound, where she was repaired. Here Dampier made a full survey of the country and
noted its inhabitants as the most miserable people in the world. After several adventures
Dampier reached England and wrote the first of these volumes. The book was an
immediate success (by 1729 six editions had been printed) and the publisher, Knapton,
urged Dampier to write a second volume.
In 1698 Dampier was put in command of the Roebuck in order to make an expedition
to New Holland, New Guinea, and the Moluccas. On 2nd August, 1699 he arrived on
the coast of Western Australia, sailing northward along the coast he arrived at an inlet
which he named Sharks Bay. By this time his crew were in such bad condition and the
country appeared so hostile that Dampier was forced to set sail for Timor and replenish
his supplies. The voyage continued from there to New Guinea, New Ireland and New
Britain returning finally via the Cape of Good Hope in 1701. His subsequent work was
again a success and again Knapton persuaded him to write a continuation, and these
appeared in 1703 and 1709 respectively. Sabin, 18385.
93
funnell & hack
William Dampier’s Voyages Round
the World: Describing Particularly,
the Coasts and Islands in the East
and West Indies. The South-Sea
Coasts of Chili, Peru and Mexico...
The Cape of Good Hope, New
Holland, etc. II. The Voyages
of Lionel Wafer;.. and Davis’s
expedition to the Golden Mines...
III. A Voyage Round the World... by
W. Funnell, Mate to Mr. Dampier.
IV. Captain Cowley’s Voyage round
the Globe. V. Capt. Sharp’s Journey
over the Isthmus of Darien... VI.
Capt. Wood’s Voyage... VII. Mr.
Roberts’s Adventures.
First edition thus. 4 vols. 62 engraved maps & plates, many folding. 8vo.
Contemporary half calf, marbled boards, morocco labels to spines, these gilt,
library stamp to margin of titles, 18th-century ownership inscription also
partially erased from titles. London, 1729. £6500
A collection of voyages that includes all Dampier’s expeditions, together with the
buccaneer narratives of Wafer and the four accounts contained in Hack’s collection ie.
Captains Sharp, Wood, Roberts and Cowley. Hill, p75; Sabin, 18373.
maggs bros ltd
94
with the rare map
australia & the pacific
95
author’s presentation copy
140 FORSTER (John Reinold). Observations made during a Voyage round the
World, on Physical Georgraphy, Natural History, and Ethic Philosophy...
141 HALE (Right Rev. Bishop). The Aborigines of Australia Being an Account of
the Institution for their Education at Poonindie, in South Australia.
First edition. Folding map, large folding table. 4to. Contemporary calf, rebacked,
and corners repaired. [iv], iv, iv, 9-16, 10-650, [1](list of subscribers)pp. London,
1778. £6000
First edition. Frontispiece. Small 8vo. Original pictorial cloth, gilt, extremities a
little rubbed. 102, 6ads.pp. S.P.C.K.[1889]. £500
Presentation inscription reads: “To Doctor George Harley With Bishop Hale’s
compliments Janry 1890.”
A very good copy of this scarce work. Founded in 1850 by the author, the school proved
immediately popular with its program of instruction in religion and agriculture. Hale
was a noted advocate for the rights of Aborigines and later served as the bishop of Perth
and Brisbane. Ferguson, 10159.
special paper copy
142 HUNTER (Capt. John). An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port
Jackson and Norfolk Island, with the Discoveries which have been made
in New South Wales and in the Southern Ocean, since the Publication of
Phillip’s Voyage; Including the Journals
of Governors Phillip and King, and of
Lieut. Ball; and the Voyages From the first
Sailing of the Sirius in 1787, to the Return
of that Ship’s Company to England in 1792.
Originally intended to be included with the official narrative of Cook’s second voyage,
Forster provides a particular good account of the countries visited along with a fine
comparative table of the languages of the South Seas.
This copy has the map which is often lacking: “A Chart representing the isles of the SouthSea, according to the notions of the inhabitants of 0-Taheitee and the Neighbouring
Isles, chiefly collected from the accounts of Tupaya”. Drawn by Europeans, but based
on indigenous knowledge, its importance stems from the suggestion that the Tahitian’s
geographical knowledge was much greater than previously assumed. Du Rietz, 456;
Sabin, 25140.
First edition. Stipple engraved portrait
frontispiece, engraved title, 2 large folding
maps, 2 charts & 11 further engraved
illustrations & views. 4to. Contemporary
red morocco, text clean & bright, plates a
little foxed. [xvi], 582pp. London, Stockdale,
1793. £15000
A rare copy of the special issue. The original
prospectus for this work, which Ferguson
evidently saw, states “A few copies of the above
Work may be had printed on a super fine, Wove
Royal, price 2l 2s. in Boards.”
An integral member of the First Fleet, Hunter
was second in command on the Sirius under
96
maggs bros ltd
Arthur Phillip. He served diligently in the early days of the colony, though the Sirius
was wrecked under his command off the coast of Norfolk Island. This necessitated his
return to England, during which time he collaborated in the production of this journal.
Having been exonerated, he returned to New South Wales and succeeded Phillip as
Governor in 1794. At his behest, exploration of the east coast was conducted “and the
early discoveries of Flinders and Bass owe much to him. His journal is a very valuable
work on the early history of the English settlement in Australia” (Hill).
The plates are of some importance, the “View of the Settlement on Sydney Cove, Port
Jackson, 20th August, 1788” is the first published view of Sydney and Philip Gidley King’s
plate of an Aboriginal family is engraved by the English poet and artist William Blake.
Ferguson, 152; Wantrup, 13; Hill, 857.
143 KERGUELEN-TREMAREC (Yves-Joseph). Relation de Deux Voyage Dans
les mers Australes & des Indes, aits en 1771, 1772, 1773 & 1774...ou Extrait du
Journal de sa Navigation pour la découverte des Terres Australes, & pour la
vérification d’une nouvelle route proposée pour abréger d’environs de huit
cents lieues la traversée d’Europe à la Chine.
First edition. Large folding plate with charts & coastal profiles. 8vo. French
quarter calf, decorative paper boards, lettered in gilt on spine, with half title.
viii, 244, [3]pp. Paris, Knapen & Fils, 1782. £15500
“Ce volume est devenu très-rare, le gouvernement en ayant fait saisir le plus grand
nombre d’exemplaires” (Brunet). It seems that the authorities objected to the author’s
Epitre Dédicatoire à la Patrie in which he reaffirmed his love for his country, and in
particular for Britanny, the land of his birth. On 28th May, 1783, all copies that could be
seized were destroyed.
Kerguelen-Tremarec approached M. le Ministre de la Marine at Versailles in September,
1770, with a proposal to explore the oceans between Australia, the Cape of Good Hope
and Cape Horn with a view to discovering the southern continent. His plans were well
received and he set out from the Isle de France in the following year with the highest
of hopes, returning with news of having discovered “France Australe”, stating that it
would provide a commanding position over both America and Asia. In fact he had
discovered and charted the Kerguelen Islands which consisted of 300 or so islets as well
as Kerguelen or Desolation Island itself, which Cook visited four years later.
Due to the sheer bravado of his accounts he was given a second command, with a
complement of some 700 crew and marines, with orders to make a circumnavigation of
the globe. This voyage was intended as a ripost to Cook’s explorations, however having
made it as far as the Kerguelen Islands in 1774, he turned back for France where he was
summarily court martialed and imprisoned for what amounted to gross negligence.
australia & the pacific
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Both voyages did prove to the French, as Cook had demonstrated previously, that there
was no great southern continent. However, Kerguelen-Tremarec’s expeditions proved to
be the last occasion in which an officer of the French Navy was promoted to a position
of such responsibility without having previously proved his worth. “Brains before
breeding” became the way forward.
The book also contains chapters on the American War of Independence and Madagascar
as well as others concerning natical matters. Du Rietz, 641; Sabin, 37618; Spence, 650;
Brunet III, 654; Brosse (Les Tours du Monde), p77.
“an extremely rare work” the preferred english edition
144 LA PEROUSE (Jean François de Galaup). A Voyage round the World, performed In the Years 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788, by the Boussule and
Astrolabe...
Third English edition (the first unabridged). 2 vols. 4to. & folio atlas. Portrait
frontispiece to vol. I, engraved title & 69 engraved maps, charts & plates to atlas.
Contemporary English tree calf, joints repaired, the atlas in rather faded nonmatching early nineteenth century roan. [viii], lvi, 539; viii, 531, [14]index, [1]
erratapp. London, Johnson, 1798- 1799. £11000
“This edition is usually
in English and is now an
p174). Whilst Stockdale
octavo editions in 1798,
only quarto version in
unabridged translation of
of the voyage.
considered to be the best one
extremely rare work” (Hill,
and Johnson both published
the one found here is the
English, and it is the first
the official French account
La Pérouse’s expedition
1785 in the Boussole
orders
to
continue
begun by Cook in the
West Coast. Having
two ships reached Easter
following year, before
where the expedition
departed from France in
and the Astrolabe with
the work of exploration
Pacific and on the North
rounded Cape Horn the
Island in April of the
sailing on to Hawaii,
members became the first
98
maggs bros ltd
Europeans to land on Maui. They then preceded to Alaska, surveying the coastline as
instructed, before moving West to Asia, where La Pérouse charted the coast North of
Macao as far as Kamchatka, and succesfully navigated the Sea of Japan.
Copies of the expedition’s logs were sent home from Macao, Kamchatka (in the care of
M. de Lesseps on the overland route), and Botany Bay (in early 1788). Thereafter nothing
was known of the expedition’s fate until Dillon discovered the wreck of the two ships on
the reef at Vanikoro in the Santa Cruz islands in 1827. cf. Hill, p174.
australia & the pacific
99
the Gentleman’s Magazine later that year was in Harrison’s favour.
Harrison only received the prize owing to him under the terms of the Longitude Act of
1714 after appeals to the King (George III) and the Prime Minister (Lord North) which
resulted in a further Act of Parliament awarding him a final settlement. He died three
years later.
presentation copy
a member of the committee which investigated the
workings of harrison’s masterpiece: h4
145 LUDLAM (Rev. William). Astronomical Observations made in St. John’s
College, Cambridge, in the Years 1767 and 1768: with an Account of Several
Astronomical Instruments.
First edition. 8 fine folding engraved plates. 4to. Particularly fine contemporary
speckled calf, spine richly gilt in compartments, with red morocco label, & fine
contemporary marbled endpapers, with Matthew Boulton’s library label to front
pastedown. [viii], 35, [1]blank, 37-148pp. Cambridge, J. Archdeacon, 1769. £1750
146MACDONALD (John Graham). Journal of J.G. Macdonald, on an expedition
from Port Denison to the Gulf of Carpentaria and back. First edition, ordinary issue. Portrait & large folding map (this repaired with a
very small amount of in-filling by the restorer). 12mo. Original cloth-backed
glazed paper boards titled on the upper cover. [ii], iv, 5-60pp. Brisbane, George
Slater, T. Pugh, 1865. £3250
From the library of the great industrialist Matthew Boulton; one of the most inovative
entrepreneurs of the age.
The detailed folding plates with their astronomical and mechanical drawings
demonstrate Ludlam’s considerable skill in the practical areas of these sciences. As such
he was an obvious choice for the committee of experts set up in 1765 by the Board
of Longitude in order to examine John Harrison’s fourth chronometer: H4. This was
Harrison’s masterpiece, the size of a large pocket watch, with a diameter of 5.2 inches
and weighing a only 3 pounds.
The first trial for H4 was made in 1761 when it lost a mere 5.1 seconds on a voyage of
81 days to Jamaica. However, the Board of Longitude refused to award the full prize to
Harrison as they argued that he had not informed them that in making the calculations
he had applied a ‘rate’. This was the previously unknown practise of using the known
daily performance of a timekeeper before a voyage when making the final calculations.
In 1764 a second trial was made on a voyage to Barbados when the watch lost 39.2 seconds
on the forty-seven day outward journey - equivalent to 9.8 geographical miles. This
was in theory one third of the maximum allowed for the Board’s full prize of £20,000.
However, the Board refused to accept the figures and insisted that H4 be dismantled
before a committee, and so in August 1765 Ludlam and his fellow members met at
Harrison’s house to see the timepiece. The report which he subsequently published in
Inscribed on the fly-leaf “Alfred G. Manning with the Author’s Compts.”
According to Wantrup this title is “most desireable... copies are rare... one of the more
important privately funded pastoral expeditions... In August 1864 Macdonald set out
to examine the country between Port Denison on the east coast and the Albert River
on the Gulf of Carpentaria. He discovered much useful land, on which the settlements
of Burketown and Normanton were later established... His successsful journey was
undertaken at his own expense.” Talking of the private expeditions in the second half of
the nineteenth century Wantrup makes the valid point that without expeditions such as
the above the opening of the Australian inland “would have taken many more years to
accomplish”. Wantrup, pp245/6 & 184a; Ferguson,11936.
maggs bros ltd
100
australia & the pacific
101
147 MARINER (William). An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, with
an Original Grammar and Vocabulary of their Language, Vols I & II. Second edition “with additions”. 2 volumes. Portrait frontispiece and folding
engraved map. 8vo. Original boards, repaired with new printed paper labels. lvi,
444; [iv], 344, [156]pp. London, Murray, 1818. £675
This edition has a map and an enlarged introduction not present in the first. The
unpaginated appendix is a comprehensive grammar and dictionary.
Mariner sailed from Gravesend for South America and the Pacfic on board the Port
au Prince in February, 1805. After various adventures involving Spanish colonial
administrators and the whale populations the crew mutinied in the Tonga Islands.
Unfortunately for them, they were subsequently captured and killed by the natives,
whilst Mariner had the luck to be adopted by the King as his son and remained there
for some four years. “The best report on Tongan life and culture before the arrival of
Christianity” (Hill). Hill, 1076.
hand coloured issue
148 MELVILLE (Harden Sidney). Sketches in Australia and the Adjacent Islands,
selected from a number taken during the surveying voyage of H.M.S. “Fly”
and “Bramble,” under the command of Capt. F.P. Blackwood, R.N. during
the Years 1842-46.
First edition. 25 hand coloured lithographs. Oblong 8vo. Original wrappers,
very slightly soiled, lacking lithograph title & text leaves to plates 1, 2 & 25.
London, [1849]. £10000
A deluxe copy of the only separate commemorative publication of an Australian
surveying expedition. “Melville’s book in either form is rare, in the hand-coloured form
it is very rare indeed” (Wantrup). It is distinguished from the standard edition which
was produced with tinted lithographs.
A Royal Academy artist, Melville was persuaded to accept the position of draughtsman
on board HMS Fly in 1841 having seen “[s]plendid visions of the South Pacific acquired
from reading Captain Cook’s Voyages as a boy...” (Kerr). One of the best equipped
expeditions to visit Australia, both the naturalist MacGillivray and geologist Beete
Jukes served on board. Although the expedition circumnavigated Australia twice, it’s
primarily remembered for its hydrographical and geological work on the Great Barrier
Reef.
The expedition sailed north to Papua and charted the hitherto unexplored, and
subsequently named, Fly River. Depictions of New Guinea, Timor and Java are included
as well as of Tasmania, the coasts of New South Wales and Queensland, Port Essington,
Swan River and Port Phillip. Accompanying each plate is a page of text locating the
scene and providing information on the local inhabitants and natural history.
One of the most important of illustrated works on Australia, auction records state
that there have been just six copies since 1977 and only the Davidson copy post-1985.
Ferguson, 5109; Wantrup, 242a; Kerr (Dictionary of Australian Artists).
149 MORRELL (Abbey Jane). A Narrative of a Voyage to the Ethiopic and South
Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Chinese sea, North and South Pacific Ocean.
First edition. Portrait frontispiece. Original cloth, spine sunned, upper joint
repaired, original paper label to spine, ownership inscription to upper margin
of title. [2]ads., xii, 13-230, 10ads.pp. New York, J and J Harper, 1833. £850
“Abbey Jane Morrell’s narrative holds an important place among the very few accounts
of a circumnavigation by a woman author” (Howgego).
Dismayed by his constant absence, the author determined to accompany her husband,
the navigator Benjamin Morrell, on the schooner Antarctic on a proposed two year
voyage. Departing on 2nd September, 1829, the voyage took in Newfoundland, Cape
Verde Islands, Tristan da Cuhna, New Zealand, Manila, Fiji and the Cape of Good Hope.
Benjamin Morrell’s own account preceded this one, yet far from being a mere abridgement
maggs bros ltd
102
australia & the pacific
103
of her husband’s, Jane Morrell’s account provides a more reflective narrative, which also
addresses the treatment of American sailors. Howgego II, M58; Hill, 1185.
cruise. The first edition is quite uncommon, much more so than the second edition of
1718. Sabin, 72753; Borba, p744; Hill, p258.
150 NARBOROUGH (Sir John), [ROBINSON (Tancred) ed.] An Account of
Several Late Voyages and Discoveries: I. Sir John Narbrough’s Voyage to the
South-Sea... II. Captain J. Tasman’s Discoveries on the Coast of the South
Terra Incognita. III. Captain J. Wood’s Attempt to discover a North-East
Passage to China. IV. F. Marten’s Observations made in Greenland, and
other Northern Countries... To which are Added, a Large Introduction and
Supplement, containint Short Abstracts of other Voyages into those Pars,
and Brief Description of them...
152SAMWELL (David). The Negro Boy, To Mr Skinner and On Visiting the
Grave of Sterne in Roach’s Beauties of the Poets , No. XII.
Second edition. 3 large folding maps & 19 plates. 8vo. Contemporary panelled
speckled calf, rebacked, old spine (with red morocco label) laid down. [ii], xxix,
[vii], 191, [1]blank, 223pp. London, 1711. £4500
First published in 1694 and dedicated to Samuel Pepys, Narborough’s work is chiefly
important for its translation of the Tasman voyage and for providing tantalizing
information of the vast potential to be exploited in the South Seas. Also included is an
English translation of Martius’s relation of Spitzbergen and the northern fisheries, which
includes chapters on the natural history of these Arctic regions along with instructions
on how to catch whales etc. Sabin, 72187.
selkirk’s rescuer
151 ROGERS (Captain Woodes). A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to
the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and homewards by the Cape
of Good Hope. Begun in 1708, and finish’d in 1711. Containing a Journal
of all the Remarkable Transactions; particularly, of the Taking of Puna
and Guiaquil, of the Acapulco Ship, and other Prizes; An Account of
Alexander Selkirk’s living alone four Years and four Months in an Island...
And an Introduction relating to the South-Sea Trade.
First edition. 5 engraved folding maps laid down. 8vo. Late eighteenth-century
half calf, joints repaired. xxii, 428, 56, [14](index)pp. London, A. Bell & B. Lintot,
1712. £4500
“Febr. 2. [1709]... Immediately our Pinnace return’s from the shore, and brought an
abundance of Craw-fish, with a Man cloth’d in Goat Skins, who look’d wilder than the
first Owners of them...” A minor event in this important and very profitable privateering
Bound as vol. 3 with Nos. IX-XI. 4 frontispieces & 4 title vignettes. 8vo.
Contemporary full calf, spine gilt, slightly rubbed with some minor browning.
60; 60; 60; 60pp. London, Printed by and for Roach, 1794. £500
Rare. David Samwell served as surgeon’s mate on Cook’s Third Voyage. He is well
known for his pamphlet A narrative of the death of Captain James Cook... and
observations respecting the introduction of the venereal disease into the Sandwich
Islands (1786), and for having completed the first written record of the Maori
language. An accomplished poet in both Welsh and English, Samwell claimed
that composing poetry helped alleviate the tedium of life at sea.
This small selection includes what is likely his best known work, “The Negro Boy”
(pp45-7), which recounts a sailor’s regret having purchased an African slave for the cost
of a pocket watch. Records do not indicate whether Samwell was involved in any way
with the abolitionist movement, but the sentiments expressed in this piece are clearly
sympathetic.
153 TENCH (Capt. Watkin, R.M.) A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay;
With an Account of New South Wales, Its Productions, Inhabitants, &c. To
which is subjoined, A List of the Civil and Military Establishments at Port
Jackson.
Dublin edition. 8vo. A very good copy in later half calf, spine gilt in compartments
[viii] 146pp. Dublin, Chamberlaine et al., 1789. £2500
The uncommon Dublin edition.
Watkin Tench (1758?-1833) entered the Marines in 1776, and fought in the American
War of Independence rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. Following his promotion to
Captain, Tench volunteered to serve in the proposed Colony of New South Wales and
travelled on board the transport Charlotte arriving at Botany Bay in 1788.
An acute and perceptive observer, he took careful note of the new experiences provided
by the Australian continent and his fellows’ reactions to it. When not writing these down,
Tench lead several expeditions into the interior, discovering amongst other things the
Nepean River, which he traced to the Hawkesbury. He failed however to conquer the
104
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australia & the pacific
105
Blue Mountains, the expedition having to turn back at the Razorback.
been founded by other powers” (Hill).
Tench’s book was an immediate success with the public, and ran to three editions in
England during 1789 and many others in Dublin (being this copy), France, Germany and
the Netherlands. A contemporary review testifies to this success: “A regular, connected,
and seemingly well authenticated narrative of the expedition, and of the adventures of
the emmigrant. Our author’s modest preface, and unassuming manner throughout the
whole of this little work, entitle him to our attention and regard” (Critical Review, May
1789). Ferguson, 51.
He set out in April 1791 with two ships, the Discovery and the Chatham, commanded
by William Broughton. They rounded the Cape of Good Hope and discovered King
George’s Sound on the south west coast of Australia in September of that year. Having
sighted Tasmania in October, they proceeded to New Zealand, Tahiti (where they spent
four weeks), Hawaii and then onto the north west coast of America. San Francisco Bay
was sighted in April 1792.
154 VANCOUVER (George). A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean,
and Round the World; in which the Coast of North-West America has been
carefully examined and accurately surveyed...
First edition. 3 vols. & atlas. 10 folding charts in atlas, 18 plates in text & 6 in atlas.
4to text, folio atlas. Period style half calf over marbled boards, spine gilt with
red morocco lables. xxix, [viiil], 432; [v], 504; [v], 505, [3](errata)pp. London,
Robinson & Edwards, 1798. £45000
Vancouver spent the following three seasons carrying out his instructions. He surveyed
the Spanish settlements from La Paz in Baja, California, to San Francisco. His impression
of the Spanish settlements was of weakness and waste upon the part of the government
of Spain. He wrote: “Why such an extent of territory should have been thus subjugated
and after all the expense and labour that has been bestowed upon its colonization
turned to no account whatever, is a mystery not easily to be explained.” Onboard the
Discovery was the English artist, John Sykes, and the engraved illustrations made from
his drawings were the first published views of California.
The achievements of this voyage rank among any of the great explorers of the late
eighteenth century. Vancouver completed the formalites with Spain at Nootka,
“investigated the Strait of Juan de Fuca; discovered the Strait of Georgia; circumnavigated
Vancouver Island; and disproved the existence of any passage between the Pacific
and Hudson Bay” (Hill). Furthermore, his map of the Hawaiian islands was the first
published to depict the entire group.
Sabin, 98443; Wantrup, 63a; Hill, 1753; Tweney, 78; Forbes I, 298; Howes, V23; Ferguson,
281; O’Reilly-Reitman, 635; Fitzpatrick Early Mapping of Hawai’i, 39-43pp.
Having gained the necessary experience serving on Cook’s second and third voyages,
and in the Caribbean under Commodore Sir Alan Gardner, Vancouver was appointed
to command a vessel that would “reclaim Britain’s rights, resulting from the Nootka
Convention at Nootka Sound, to thoroughly examine the coast south of 60 degrees in
order to find a possible passage to the Atlantic; and to learn what establishments had
maggs bros ltd
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SOUTH AMERICA
155 BATES (Henry Walter). The Naturalist on the River Amazons, A record of
adventures, Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life, and
Aspects of Nature under the equator, During Eleven Years of Travel.
First edition. 2 vols. Folding map & 9 plates, with illustrations in the text. Small
8vo. Contemporary half calf, rebacked, marbled boards, a little browned, one
plate repaired. ix, 351; vi, 423pp. London, John Murray, 1863. £1750
Darwin encouraged Bates to write this famous work. The author formed an enormous
collection of insects during this period and was one of the great naturalists of his age.
Borba, p91.
156 ELWES (Robert). A sketcher’s tour round the world. With illustrations from
original drawings, by the author.
First edition. 21 tinted lithographs. Large 8vo. Very fine contemporary half calf ,
gilt. xii, 411, [1]pp. London, Hurst & Blackett, 1854. £950
A beautiful publication. The tinted lithographs are particularly fine.
Travelling for pleasure, Elwes’ tour took more than two years to complete. “He relates
with simplicity all that he saw and noted, writes about the slaves and the travic,
and describes places with great accuracy. His work is full of picturesque details and
interesting information about the places he visited” (Borba de Moraes). Sabin 22371;
Abbey, Travel, 9; Borba Des Moraes I, p287.
a beautiful copy
157 FUNNELL (William). A Voyage around the World. Containing an account of
Captain Dampier’s expedition into the South-Seas in the Ship St. George. In
the Years 1703 and 1704... together with the Author’s Voyage from Amapalla
on the West-Coast of Mexico to East-India... the Cape of Good Hope, &c.
First edition. 4 folding engraved maps & charts, 10 engraved plates. 8vo.
Eighteenth century sprinkled calf, joints repaired. 300, [17]pp. London, 1707. £4750
“It was Funnell, not Dampier, who really circumnavigated the globe on this voyage, as
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107
Dampier proceded only as far as the South Seas. The purpose of the expedition was to
harass the Spaniards and take plunder from vessels and towns in South America. Its
failure was due to the differences that arose between them. Funnell arrived in England
before Dampier and seized the opportunity to compose a relation of his voyage: a task
for which he was poorly qualified. His narrative contained much that was disapproved
of by Dampier, who immediately after published a Vindication of his voyage, pointing
out the misrepresentations of Funnell” (Hill). Hill, pp117-118; Sabin, 26213.
measuring longitude at the equator
158 GODIN (Louis). ALS to Cardinal Fleury? Manuscript in ink. 2pp. with integral blanks. 4to. Cartegena, 22 November,
1735. £2500*
The French astonomer Godin (1704-60) sought to resolve the dispute over whether the
Earth was flattened at the Poles, as believed by Newton and Voltaire, or stretched, a theory
posited by the astronomer Giovanni Cassini. His plan was to measure the exact length
of one degree of longitude at the equator with a complementary expedition despatched
to Lapland to take measurements near the North Pole. These would produce a more
accurate measurement of the Earth’s circumference, which had obvious ramifications
for navigation.
The proposal was submitted to Academy member Cardinal Fleury and, in May 1735, the
expedition departed Rochfort under the leadership of Charles Marie de la Condamine.
He and Godin were joined by Pierre Bougher and Jorge Juan y Santacilia and Antonio
de Ulloa. Condamine (see item 161) and the two Spaniards would all publish accounts of
the expedition. Godin did not and so this is a rare example of his point of view.
Reporting on the sixteen day journey from Petit Goave (Haiti), Godin maintains a sense
of humour and he provides valuable insight into the day to day experience and travails
of the expedition. “If someone wanted to do a quick study of the sickness one develops
at sea, he should have come with us from Petit Goave to Cartagena in a boat too little
for the many people and the big load in it, with a powerful wind... a frightful sea and
continuous rain, and not even a bed and worst of all, smelly water.”
Expeditions such as this one were almost always beset with shortages in equipment and
ballooning expenses and this was no different. Here Godin tries to balance the request
for additional supplies while trying not to overly concern his patron. Of real interest are
his comments detailing contemporary methods of measuring longitude.
“Our expenses grow at twice the rate of our distance... We already asked you for [my
own] Les Connaissances des Temps, a copy of the memoirs of M De La Condamine, some
thermometers and some simple barometers with curved piping. You would make us
108
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happy if you could add half a dozen hydrometers. We could receive all that by next May.
I ask you once again to pass on my request to the gentlemen the astronomers to observe
the moon as often as they possibly can. We will observe it here on our trip as well. By
studying the parallax when the change of the moon as it declines is small in the tropic,
it can still be useful for the longitudes as when it is close to the equator. It is only meant
to give you, Monsieur, a glimpse of our situation...” Godin then closes by asking him to
pass on his regards to his colleagues at the Academy.
The expedition made its way down to Quito and began measurements. Interference
from the local population necessitated them obtaining permission from the viceroy
to work unimpeded. However, the return of the Lapland expedition in 1737, proving
Newton was correct, led to the withdrawal of government funding. The party decided to
continue their measurements and Godin stayed with them until 1741 when he went to
Lima and remained there for another nine years before returning to Europe.
159 HOSKYN (Lieut John RN). Manuscript Journal, Royal Naval Surveying
1865-68. On board HMS “Surprise”, Captain Stokes, surveying Cephalonia,
Ithaca and Zante in the Ionian Islands, 1865, then on board HMS “Nassau”
surveying the Straits of Magellan and Patagonia, 1866-68.
Thirty-seven watercolours, 6 pencil illustrations, 2 coloured maps and 3 loosely
inserted photographs. Folio. Original paper covered boards, fore-edges worn,
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109
though not affecting text, with a blue quarter morocco drop-back box, gilt.
157pp. At sea, 1865 - 1868. £20000*
HMS “Nassau” was a steam survey gunboat, launched at Pembroke in February
1866. In September, under Captain RC Mayne she carried the Irish naturalist Robert
Cunningham (1841-1918) on an extensive survey of the Straits of Magellan and the West
Coast of Patagonia, recording and surveying many of the sites visited by HMS “Beagle”
only a few decades earlier. During one of these surveys along the Messier Channel, Sub.
Lt. Hoskyn discovered and charted the anchorage which by Captain Mayne’s permission
bears his name (see entries for April 21st and 8th May 1868).
John Thomas Hoskyn was born in Southampton in 1844, the son of a Clerk to the
Ordnance Survey. There were two brothers who also entered the Navy. He served as
2nd Master on board HMS “Hydra” in the Mediterranean in 1865, before returning to
England to join the newly commissioned HMS “Nassau”, where he was promoted to
Navigating Sub Lieutenant. In December 1868 he left the survey ship on his promotion
to Navigating Lieutenant and joined HMS “Aboukir” at Jamaica, part of her complement
of Surveying Officers. He served there until he sadly died at the age of 30 in 1875.
yankee revolutionary in chile
160 JOHNSTON (Samuel B.) Letters written during a Residence of Three
Years in Chili, containing an Account of the most remarkable events in
the revolutionary struggles of that province with an interesting account of
the loss of a Chilian ship, and brig of war, by mutiny, and the consequent
imprisonment and sufferings of several citizens of the United States, for six
months, in the dungeons of Callao.
First edition. 8vo. Original plain boards, untrimmed, somewhat shaken, spine
partially perished, scattered foxing, else a very good copy in original state, with
half morocco box, spine gilt. Contemporary ownership inscription of John
Leymour to title, Thomas W. Streeter’s copy, with his pencil notes of provenance
on front pastedown. [9], 10-205pp. Erie, Pensylvania, R.I. Curtis, 1816.
£7950
An extremely rare account by a Yankee revolutionary in South America, this copy owned
by both Thomas W. Streeter and Frank S. Streeter, with the former’s pencil notes on
the front pastedown. After briefly describing the voyage from New York to Valparaiso,
the author details his involvement with the Chilean Revolution against Spain during
the years 1812-14. While in Chile he established the first newspaper there, La Aurora.
Henry Wagner relates in his memoirs of how he almost bought a copy of this rarity at a
Chilean auction (“...there was one [book], however, which almost made my heart stop
beating...”), but was outbid by a prominent local publisher who happened to be a good
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friend as well.
“...Johnston had taken part in the revolution
against Spain, and in all had a most exciting time.
Johnston arrived at Chile in a voyage around the
Horn in the fall of 1811 and in due course travelled
from Valparaiso to the capital at Santiago where
J.R. Poinsett was Consul-General and the
Carreras in charge of the government. There
is much authentic material about the Chilean
revolution” (Streeter). Streeter Sale, 4136 (this
copy); Sabin, 36385; Wagner (Bullion to Books),
pp.230-31. Not listed by Shaw & Shoemaker; Not
in Hill.
161
LA CONDAMINE (Charles
Marie de). Journal du Voyage fait par
Ordre du Roi a l’Equateur, Servant d’Introduction Historique à la Mésure
des Trois Premiers Degrés du Méridien.
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france and brazil compared
162 LERY (Jean). Histoire Memorable de la Ville de Sancerre. Contenant les
Entreprises, Siege, Approches, Bateries, Assaux & autres efforts de asiegeans:
le resistances, faits magnamimes, la famine extreme & delivrance notables
des asiegez, Le nombre des coups de Canons par journées distinguées. Le
catalogue des morts & blessez a la guerre, sont a la fin du livre.
First edition. Small 8vo. Contemporary calf, with gilt lozenge, restored, with
one or two small blemishes internally with the loss off one or two letters. [viii],
254pp. Np, but [La Rochelle?], 1574. £12000
Published before both his own, and Thevet’s, accounts of the French expedition to Brazil
in 1555, this rare work describes the infamous siege of Sancerre where Léry was an eyewitness. At once harrowing and matter-of-fact, this is a brilliant account of the siege,
(the last where trebuchets were used), peppered with references to Léry’s experiences in
the New World, in which he compares conditions in the Brazilian jungle to the less than
noble savagery of Europe. It is thus one of the few works to draw from the experiences
of the expedition and one of the rare few sixteenth century texts where the difference in
Old and New World cultures is examined in counterpoint; the sonnet on the verso of the
title being an example:
Qui vouda voir une histoire tragique,
Ne lise point tant les livres divers
Grecs & Latins, semez par l’univers,
First edition. Large folding and one other map, folding panorama, plan of
the city of Quito & 3 other plates. 4to. Fine contemporary speckled calf, red
morocco label to spine, extremities slightly rubbed, with particularly attractive
marbled endpapers. [ii], xxxvi, 280, xv, [i]blankpp. Paris, l’Imprimerie Royale,
1751. £1250
Monstrans l’horreur d’ Amerique &
d’Afrique.
Without the supplement, issued in the following year. The Academie de France
desptached two scientific expeditions in 1735, one to the Arctic and one to the Equator, in
order to take measurements which would enable a more exact calculation of the earth’s
circumference. La Condamine travelled to South America with fellow scientists Bouger
and Godin, using Quito as their base, since it sits on the Equator. With the information
gathered in Equador and in the Arctic, the savants were able to establish that the earth
was flatter at the Poles. Borba I, p447; Rodrigues, 702; Sabin 38490.
Canons, assaux, coups a tors, a travers.
Qu’il jette loeil sur Sancerre l’antique,
Il y verra des ennemis pervers,
Et tous efforts de la guerriere pique.
Combat terrible, & plus cruelle faim,
Ou de l’enfant la chair seruit de pain.
O ciel ! o terre! o grand Dieu! quel
ouvrage!
Qu’en moins d’un an un seul lieu face
voir
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Plus de pitiez, que ce que peut avoir
Tout l’univers de hideux en partage.
This grisly reference to the occurence of infant cannabalism in Sancerre is later described
and juxtaposed with the author’s experiences in the New World at some length, with a
particularly gruesome account of a Brazilian barbecue. There are a number of other
references, some slight some more lengthy; for instance Lery acknowleges his debt to the
Indians when designing a hammock. Borba describes the work as “full of reminiscences
of Brazil”.
“Unlike so many other travellers he had no belief in European superiority and [he]
establishes many parallels between Europe and the Americas, between Christians and
pagans generally to the advantage of the latter” (Speake).
This work is most uncommon and no copy is recorded to have been sold at auction since
1975. Alden (European Americana), 574/33; Borba I, p46/7 (“This work is very rare”); cf.
Speake ( Literature of Travel and Exploration ) p709.
large paper copy
163 MAXIMILIAN (Prince Wied-Neuwied). Reiser nach Brasilien in den Jahren
1815 bis 1817. Large paper copy of the text volumes. 2 vols. plus atlas. Atlas: 3 maps (one
folding) & 22 engraved plates, 5 of these hand-coloured; text: 19 vignettes.4to &
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oblong folio. Contemporary half vellum, the atlas bound to match, a little foxed
here and there, but in general a fine copy. Frankfurt, 1820-1821. £8750
“Prince Maximilian of Neuwied, taking advantage of peace reigning in Europe, took
the oportunity of exploring a part of Brazil, such an interesting country, which was
still almost unknown to Europe. Encouraged by the reception which had been given to
Mawe by the Regent D. Joao and not wanting to explore the same territory... he preferred
to follow the Atlantic coast from Rio de Janeiro upwards. In this city he met two of his
countrymen, Preissreis and Sellou - the latter an excellent botanist - with whom he
undertook the journey which started from Rio de Janeiro to Bahia, with an excursion to
Minas. The book is most interesting in that it shows us what the interior of Brazil was
like at the time of Independence. The author not only describes us the flora (thanks to
his companion Sellou) but also the condition and customs of the Indians, whose tribes
he knew best, especially that of the Botocudos. In fact at the end of volume II there is to
be found a vocabulary of the various tribes.” Rodriguez B.B., 1576; Borba, p544; Maggs
Brazilian Books (1930), 285; Bosch, 321.
164 PAGAN (Count Blaise Francois de), HAMILTON (Wm.) trans. An Historical
and Geographical Description of the Great Country & River of the Amazones
in America. Drawn out of divers Authors, and reduced into a better forme;
with a Mapp of the River, and of its Provinces, being that place which Sr.
Walter Rawleigh intended to conquer and plant, when he made his Voyage
to Guiana.
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south america
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First English edition. Folding map. 12mo. Attractive unrestored contemporary
mottled calf, slightly worn at extremities. [xxx], 153, [1], [6]pp. London, John
Starkey, 1661. £7250
In the dedication of the original French edition Pagan calls on Cardinal Mazarin to
“take posession of the Amazon and establish several colonies. He proves that it would
not be a difficult enterprise and large armies and many pieces of artillery would not
be necessary. The map drawn by Pagan is of great importance as a proof of the French
ambitions in the Amazon regions...” (Borba). However, in the English edition here, the
translator William Hamilton urges the Kind of England to take the same action in his
“Epistle Dedicatory”. It is accompanied by the same map as found in the first edition.
“This translation is rare...” (Borba). Borba II, p646.
165 RESENDE (André). Deliciae Lusitano-Hispanica: in quibus continentur
De magnitudine Hispanici Imperii Re. Novo Orbis reionum a Lustinais
subactarum brevis descriptio... First edition. Small 8vo. Contemporary vellum. 48, 346, [6]pp. Cologne,
Greuvenbruch, 1613. £1500
A scarce book, of which there is only a single copy recorded in the US (JCB), it has a
short section on the New World in which Drake’s exploits are mentioned. The remainder
of the volume concerns classical inscriptions found on the Iberian peninsula. Borba,
p.750; Maggs BA, 4126 (this copy); Not in Alden.
coloured plates of rio
166 STEINMANN (J.) Souvenirs de Rio de Janeiro dessinés d’après nature...
12 particularly fine highly finished hand-coloured lithograph plates with
original tissue guards, laid onto buff sheets. Oblong 4to. Modern straight grain
green morocco, titled in gilt on upper board, with original buff printed wrapper
(comprising title within elaborate lithograph border incorporating Brazilian
scenes & vegetation) bound in. Paris, chez Rittner et Goupil, but [Basel, 1835]. £22000
This is a lovely copy of an exquisite and rare book; the plates are so finely coloured
and heightened that they might easily be taken for original gouaches, the workmanship
being the equal of the very best Swiss view books of this period. This copy is entirely
unaffected by oxidization which frequently occurs with this work.
Steinmann was Swiss by birth and emigrated to Brazil in 1825. He set up a studio in
Rio and contributed illustrations to a number of works printed there between 1827 and
1830 when he was under contract to lecture at the Military Archive. He seems to have
returned to Switzerland in about 1832 where he published a series of large loose views
of South America and the above album. According to Borba the book was issued with a
variety of dates from 1834 to 1839.
The views shown are as follows: “Bota Fogo”; “Vista Tomada de Sta. Thereza”; “St. Joao
de Carachy, a Praya Grande”; “Moro de Castello & da Praya d’Ajuda”; “Novo Friburgo
(Colnia Suissa, ao Morro Queimodo)”; Igreja de St. Sebatiao”; “Largo de Paço”; “Ilha
das Cobras”; “Plantaçao de Café”; “Caminho dos Orgaos”; “Vista de N.S. da Gloria et
da Barra do Rio de Janeiro”; “Vista do sacco d’Alferès & de St. Cristovao”. Each plate is
ascribed to a particular artist, with 9 being by Steinmann himself, two by Kretschman
and one by Victor Barrat. They were all engraved by Frederico Salathe. Borba de Moraes,
p. 839; cf. Sabin, 88693.
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streeter’s copy of the plantin thevet
167 THEVET (Fr. André). Les Singularitez de la France Antarctique, Autrement
nommée Amerique, & de plusiers Terres & Isles decouvertes de notre temps. Second edition. 41 small woodcuts in the text. Small 8vo. Early, wrinkled and
stained vellum, the last 15 leaves lightly stained in the margin. [xvi], 163, [2]ll.
Antwerp, Plantin, 1558. £22000
This elegant printing was preceeded by one of the two issues of the Paris edition. The
woodcuts are reversed copies from the first edition. They revealed Brazilian Indians in
their natural habitat, animals, etc for the first time, and were much copied, influencing,
among others, Lery, Benzoni and De Bry, one famously shows an indian smoking a
cigar.
Like Lery, Thevet was one of those who chose to accompany Villegagnon in his attempt
to found a colony on an island in the bay of Rio de Janeiro. Interdenominational
rivalries bubbled to the surface as the enterprise met difficulties. Thevet returned to
France in 1556, and wrote this work, it is one of the key texts of the period, and along
with Staden also printed in 1557 gives one of the earliest full accounts of Brazil to appear
in Europe. Thevet chose to place his account in the context of other discoveries in the
New World and there are chapters on Peru, Florida and eleven on Canada where he is
thought to have visited.
168 WEBSTER (W.H.B.) Narrative of a Voyage to the Southern Atlantic Ocean,
In the Years 1828, 29, 30, Performed in H.M. Sloop Chanticleer, under the
Command of the late Captain Henry Foster, F.R.S. &c...
First edition. 2 vols. 2 maps (1 folding) & 5 plates. 8vo. Fine nineteenth-century
half green morocco, marbled boards, spines gilt in compartments. xii, 400; viii,
298pp. London, Richard Bentley, 1834. £1250
Kimbolton Castle copy, with shelf mark label neatly affixed to front pastedown of both
volumes. “Dr. Webster was the surgeon on board this British expedition to southern
waters to take pendulum observations and to chart Staten Island and the South
Shetlands....The commander, Captain Foster, and been astronomer to Sir William
Edward Parry on his third voyage and was himself a distinguished Arctic explorer. In
1831 Foster was unfortunately drowned in a canoe accident in Panama towards the end
of this voyage. Among the officers were Lt. H.G. Austin and Sir Richard Collinson,
both of whom were later involved in the search for Sir John Franklin. The Chanticleer
visited Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Patagonia, Staten Island, the South Shetland Islands,
the Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena, and several Brazilian and Spanish South American
ports” (Hill). Hill, p612.
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CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE WEST INDES
169 ALBERMARLE (Earl of). Gazeta Extraordinaria de Londres, publicada por
Auctoridade.
Folding map of Havana. Small 4to. Later marbled wrappers, rebacked, with
paper label to upper. 64pp. Lisbon & Whitehall, Miguel Rodrigues, 1762. £
850
Scarce. Albermarle’s report of Admiral Pocock’s capture of Havana in July 1762. Despite
his inexperience, Albermarle was put in charge of military operations, and decided to
attack the fortress of El Moro, which dominates the mouth of the harbour, instead of
the city itself. After four days a mine was “sprung under a seaward bastion of El Morro,
the breach was stormed and the fortress taken. Havana itself was now bombarded and,
after the arrival of American reinforcements, was completely surrounded. The city
surrendered on 13 August” (DNB).
army victualling in the british west indies
170[BARBADOS IMPRINT] Existing Regulations Connected with
Commisariat Department in the Windward & Leeward Islands & Colonies
in the West Indies, Condensed & Collected up to Present Date.
First edition. 4to. Contemporary wrappers, some insect damage to lower outer
edge (not touching text), 3-page ms.
index preceding title, with attractive red
morocco-backed slipcase, spine titled
in gilt. [vi], (blank), [iii](ms. index),
[ii], 55pp. Bridge-Town, Barbados, W.
Walker, 1823. £2500
Exceptionally scarce. A combination of
factors including the climate and economic
decline has meant that nineteenth century
Barbadian imprints are even more scarce
than those printed in the eighteenth
century. This comprehensive guide to army
rationing includes details of the allocations
to women, children, the sick and “Colonial
Negroes”. It is interesting to note that
the widows and orphans of officers only
received rations for up to 90 days following
maggs bros ltd
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their husbands’ deaths - thereafter they were no longer the responsibility of the Crown.
However, the widow did receive her husband’s full ration for this period (less rum and
fresh beef) whereas a wife received the equivalent of only one half of the full ration
(again less the alcohol and fresh beef).
presentation copy
171 BROCKLEHURST (Thomas U.) Mexico To-Day: A Country with a Great
Future, and a Glance at the Prehistoric Remains and Antiquities of the
Montezumas.
Second edition. Coloured map, 17 chromo-lithographs & 37 other plates. 8vo.
Original publisher’s decorative red cloth, gilt, expertly rebacked, old spine laid
down, new endpapers. xv, [i], 260pp. London, John Murray, 1883. £125
With the following presentation inscription on the front free end paper: “For W.H.S.
Aspinwall, with the authors best wishes. Henbury Park. Nov 12th 1884”. The author
is perhaps best known for introducing the North American grey squirrel into Great
Britain, when he released a pair in grounds of his home Henbury Park in 1884.
family presentation copy
172 BUDAN ([Louis Armand]). La Guadeloupe Pittoresque. First edition. 12 lithograph plates, including decorative half title & large folding
panorama (this with a closed tear expertly repaired). Folio (555 by 400mm).
Fine original publisher’s blindstamped cloth, titled in gilt on upper board. [iv],
44pp. Paris, Noblet & Baudry, 1863. £5500
An uncommon work and probably one of the last of the few plate books devoted to the
West Indies.
With a fine presentation inscription from the author’s eldest son and heir Even Budan
to the upper margin of the title page: “A Monsieur A. Arnaud / Souvenir affectueux /
[En. Budan] Beneath there is further presentation inscription from Monsieur Arnaud:
“Mon cher Commandant / Recevez ce faible souvenir, c’est l’oeuvre d’un vos amis de
collège, de ce pauvre Budan qui était aussi mon ami. Songez a lui meme en parcourrant,
et aussi au modests edecin que a été votre hote. A qui l’honore d’être; votre... [A Arnaud]
Born on Guadeloupe in 1827 Budan was well known as both a painter and as one of the
first photographers in the Antilles, exhibiting at the Paris salons in 1863 and 1867. In
November 1862 he launched a subscription for La Guadeloupe Pittoresque which was to
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be published in 12 livraisons (4 francs per part or 48 francs complete). The subscribers
could, if they wished, have the album bound with their initials stamped in gilt on the
upper board. The finished items arrived in Guadeloupe in December 1863 and were put
on sale at the beginning of 1864 at the price of 50 francs for a bound copy. He died in
Saint-Pierre on Martinique in 1874.
the liberator of haiti
173 COUSIN ([Charles Yves] d’Avalon). Histoire de Toussaint-Louverture,
chef des Noirs insurgés de Saint-Dominigue; Précédée d’un Coup d’Oeuil
politique sur cette Colonie, Et survie d’anecdotes et faits particuliers
concernant de Chef des Noirs, et les Agens directoriaux envoyés dans cette
partie du Nouveau-Monde, pendant le cours de la révolution.
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made to the external pressures which lead to Green’s conviction extremely doubtful
testimony. It was a trial which “rip’d up an old sore, and made the people of Scotland
apprehend that it was a new Scene of Darien Tragedy by which they lost 200,000l near
1500 and several valuable ships besides the loss they sustain’d in honour and reputation.”
175 JOHNSON [(J.)] An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Island of Antigua. First edition thus. Seven fine hand-coloured aquatints, a lithograph vignette,
one engraved folding hand-coloured map & two lithograph maps on each side
of a single sheet. Large oblong folio. Original boards with fine gilt label on upper
cover, rebacked with new leather corners. [28]pp text. London, “Printed for the
Author”, 1832. £37500
First edition. Fine engraved portrait frontispiece. Original blue decorative
wrappers, some light wear to spine, large margins, edges uncut, with modern
drop-back box. xii, 211pp. Paris, 1802. £1850
The rare first edition of Cousin’s biography of Pierre-Dominique Toussaint Louverture
(1746-1803), liberator of Haiti, who became an icon for the newly independent countries
of Africa in the latter half of the twentieth century. Born a slave, he was able to acquire
a good education and was made superintendent on the plantation. When the slaves
revolted against the owners of the plantations in 1791, they were trained and organised by
Toussaint-Louverture into a strong army and fought off the invading French authorities.
When Napoleon came to power in 1799, he sympathised with the plantation owners and
planned to re-instate slavery in the French colonies, but nine months after Toussaint’s
death, Haiti declared independence, forcing Napoleon to surrender his possessions in
the New World. In 1796, Toussaint was named commander-in-chief of the armies of St.
Domingo, and renounced the authority of France and called himself “Buonaparte of St.
Domingo”, but was taken prisoner under a charge of treachery and died in prison at Joux
(near Besançon), where he died in April 1803.
174 [GREEN (Capt. Thomas).] A Vindication of the False Aspersions laid against
the Judges of Admiralty in Scotland by Green’s Associates in England. Second edition. Folio. Contained in a cloth slip case. 2pp. Edinburgh, 1705. £675
First printed in London. The author argues that the the unfortunate Green was convicted
and hanged on the evidence of his own crew, all Englishmen, with the exception of
Antonio Fernando a moore. Other English objections are countered, but reference is
Johnson had originally conceived a magnificent colour plate book covering the entire
British West Indies which was to be published in parts. His plan was “to convey a
faithful outline of the existing state of slavery on the plantations in the British islands;
- the costume of the negroes;- process of sugar making &c: combining at the same time
a selection of such scenes calculated to form pictures, and describe the character of the
scenery in the several colonies”.
By 1827 the firm of Smith Elder had published the first two of three parts which
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eventually comprised eleven plates and a map. However the high cost of production
and the difficulty in attracting subscribers crippled the project and it was abandoned.
Johnson, who had most probably funded the project from the start, retained at least six
of the plates, and published them as above, adding one further view of Old North Sound
that had not been issued before. This second attempt at publication could hardly be
judged a success as Johnson succeeded in finding orders for only sixty-five copies, and a
printed note pasted in suggests that the capital expense of production precluded copies
being available for non-subscribers.
The plates, which are among the most beautiful of the West Indies, are titled as follows:
1. Saint John’s Antigua from Otto’s; 2. Saint John’s Harbour Antigua from Southward
and Eastward; 3. View Near Saint John’s Antigua from Gambles; 4. View of Saint John’s
Harbour, Antigua from Friar’s Hill; 5. View in Old North Sound Antigua from Mount
Joy; 6. View in Old North Sound Antigua From Freemans; 7. English Harbour Antigua.
cf. Abbey (Travel), 678; Tooley, 285.
revolt in new spain
176 [MEXICO] [ANON.] Memorial de lo Sucedido en la Ciudad de Mexico. Wrappers. 25ll. [Mexico, 1624] £4500
This very rare tract consists of 25 leaves (though Sabin states 28) and was apparently
printed in Mexico in 1624. It outlines the quarrel between Don Diego Carillo de Mendoza
y Pimentel, Marquis of Gelves, seventeenth Viceroy of Mexico, an uncompromising
and impulsive ruler subject to severe fits of temper, and Archbishop Juan Perez de la
Serna. Pimentel’s hotheadedness lead him to a disastrous intervention in the complex
hydrodynamics of Mexico city which lead to inundation and ultimately to the revolt of
his subjects. The rebels were given a temporal lead by Pedro de Vergara Gaviria, a senior
judge of the Supreme Court of Mexico, and a moral lead by the Archbishop. Matters
became so destabalised that in January, 1624, the Viceroy was obliged to seek sanctuary
in the Convent of San Francisco, from where later in the year he returned to Spain.
This pamphlet is written in support of the Archbishop. Pimentel responded to it in two
pamphlets published in Spain in 1625. Sabin 69212 & 69233.
Medina, Vol. II., No. 772; Sabin, 47628.
177 [MEXICO] [ITURBIDE (Augustin de).] Decree declaring Augustin de
Iturbide a traitor. Small folio. 2pp. Mexico, April 30, 1824. £1750
Having reached the rank of general, Augustin de Iturbide’s military and political
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coalition brought the Mexican War of Independence to a close with a dramatic march
into the capital on September 27, 1821. This act led to him being named President of the
Regency and Constitutional Emporer. However, Iturbide soon proved unpopular and
remained in power for little less than a year. His economic policies left the country in
ruins and, having been overthrown, he was sent into exile in 1823, which he spent in
both Italy and then England.
With the printed signatures of Melchor Muzquiz and Fernando Navarro, this document
states clearly that Iturbide is regarded as an enemy of the state (“declarado enemigo
publico del Estado”) and that anyone caught assisting him (or any other foreign invader)
to return to Mexico will be regarded similarly.
With Iturbide in exile, the situation in Mexico continued to deteriorate and rumours
that Spain was to launch another invasion reached Iturbide’s supporters. He was led to
believe he would be received as the national saviour on returning to Mexico. Doubtless,
he sought to emulate Napoleon’s return from Elba.
This document was printed not long before Iturbide returned to Mexico on July 14. He
was arrested and executed by firing squad just five days later. In the years following, his
reputation was rehabilitated and as of 1839 his ashes are kept Chapel of San Felipe de
Jesús in the Mexico City Cathedral.
the fishes of the carribean / a cuban imprint
178 PARRA (Antonio). Descripcion de diferentes piezas de Historia Natural las
mas del Ramo Maritimo...
First edition. 75 plates (2 folding, one hand coloured) Small 4to. A clean & bright
copy in later morocco, elaborately gilt, all edges gilt. 195, 5(index)pp. Habana, En
la Imprenta de la Capitania General, 1787. £22000
The first significant publication on Cuban zoology. It is also the first illustrated work
printed in Cuba, the plates accounting for nearly half the island’s production of printed
images in the eighteenth century, and moreover it is probably the most ambitious
illustrated work printed in the Americas up to this date.
A Portuguese naturalist, Parra was sent to Cuba by the Spanish government to collect
natural history specimens on behalf of the Botanical Garden of Madrid. Parra stayed on
the island for thirty years and his Cuban-born son, Manuel Antonio, etched the plates
for the illustrations.
Most of the work is devoted to fish and crustacea. Sixty different species of fish and
twenty-three crustaceans are discussed and illustrated, though there are also numerous
images of turtles, eels and maritime plants. The plates are all extremely well produced
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author’s presentation copy
179 RANKING (John). Historical Researches on the Conquest of Peru, Mexico,
Bogota, Natchez, and Talomeco, In the Thirteenth Century by the Mongols,
accompanied with elephants; and the local agreement of History and
Tradition, with the remains of Elephants and Mastodontes, found in the
New World... [With] Supplement to the Conquest of Peru and Mexico...
First edition. 2 folding maps & 4 plates. 8vo. Modern buckram-backed boards,
with printed paper label to spine. [iv], 479, [1]ads., 51pp. London, 1827. £
450
With a presentation inscription to the upper margin of the title from the author to the
noted physician and author Sir Alexander Chrichton. Sabin, 67891.
the dangers of “black power” addressed
180 SHARP (Granville). “The System of colonial law” compared with the
eternal laws of God; and with the indispensible principles of the English
Constitution. Only edition. 8vo. A fine copy in contemporary wrappers, with paper label.
20pp. London, Richard Edwards, 1807. £950
Rare. Published on the eve of the vote on the motion of 2 February 1807 made in
the House of Commons for the abolition of the slave trade, this work responds to a
petition presented to the House of Commons by West Indian planters and merchants
that outlined “numerous solemn assertions of very alarming circumstances to be
apprehended by the passing of the intended bill”.
Sharp believed that if he could undermine one particular premise of the petition, the
entire edifice would collapse. He focused on the eighth paragraph where the petition
states “that the operation of the Bill, if it shall pass into a Law, will be to violate the
system of colonial law relative to property, &c”.
and detailed. Curiously, the final three images depict a thirty-two year old man with an
enlarged hernia.
Of additional interest is that Parra was the first to diagnose the potentially fatal disease
ciguatera, a toxic organism that passes up the food chain. Parra, and twenty-one others
suffered from this after eating a Cubera in March 1786. The resulting publication is not
only a landmark document but also particularly beautiful. A scarce work. The last copy
appeared at auction in 1985. Medina (Havana) 90; Palau 213308; Nissen (Zoologie) 3094.
Before he even examines the claim of the West Indian planters and merchants that the
bill violates colonial law, Sharp asks the wise question - does colonial law violate English
law or natural law? He concludes that “all must argee ... that ‘the system of Colonial
“Law”’ which tolerates slavery and oppression, is absolutely contrary to the laws of God,
national [corrected in manuscript to read “natural”] and revealed, and, of course, is
contrary to the English Constitution”.
Sharp continues that promoters of the bill believed that after the slave trade ended,
slavery itself would wither and eventually die since the most effective means of its
sustenance would be cut-off and hoped that “some prudent regulations would of course
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be soon adopted to supercede the other”. Sharp points out that he himself does not hold
this belief and that the recent petition by the West Indian merchants and planters has
necessitated the declaration that “the whole system of colonial law is totally illegal, and
inconsistent with every just principle of English law”. Here Sharp is not only addressing
the planters but also his fellow members of the Committee for the Abolition of the
Slave Trade who disagreed with him in the early days regarding the approach that they
ought to take. Sharp believed that slavery itself ought to be the focus of their attack
from the very beginning but his more moderate colleagues, fearing that in aiming for
too much they might lose all, opposed him. It was at this early date that Sharp declared:
“with respect to myself, individually, when acting with them, professing that my own
opposition is aimed not merely against the slave trade, but also the toleration of slavery
itself ” (cited in Anstey, Roger. The Atlantic Slave Trade and British Abolition 1760-1810.
London, 1975. p. 256).
One of the key objections by the West Indian planters and merchants is that the
abolition of the slave trade will encourage a slave revolt similar to the one that occurred
on the island of Haiti the “BLACK POWER” whose very existance was a bad example
to the neighboring islands. According to the planters and merchants, Haiti affords
“a memorable and dreadful lesson, recorded in characters of blood, of the issue of
doctrines intimately, constantly, and inseparably connected with ‘the abolition of the
Slave-Trade’.” Sharp argues that “gentle and merciful measures are certainly the best
means of preventing insurrection, and bloodshed” and that the only “BLACK POWER”
to fear in the world is the devil and that “even the petitioners themselves seem entangled
in the toils of this Kidnapper”.
The final section of the work is an “Extract of a letter ... on the Extreme Wickedness, and
total Illegality of Tolerating Slavery in any Part of the British Dominions” (pp. 13-20).
According to ABPC no copies have appeared at auction in the last thirty years.
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NORTH AMERICA
181 An Account of the number of inhabitants in the colony of Connecticut, 1774:
together with and account of the number of inhabitants, taken January 1,
1756.
First edition. Oblong folio. Nineteenth-century quarter morocco, title within
decorative typographic border, extremities slightly rubbed. 9ll (rectos only).
Published by order of the General Assembly Hartford, Ebenezer Watson, 1774. £3250
Scarce. The Rosebery copy.
This breakdown of the Connecticut population is organised by age, gender and race
(including figures for Native and African Americans). Published just a year prior to the
outbreak of the American War of Independence, demographic studies such as these
were in all likelihood used in the establishment of local militias. Indeed, it was in this
year that the Seventeenth through Twenty-second Connecticut militias were raised,
which included the reorganisation of the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 11th militias. Evans 13206;
Sabin 1563.
one president eulogises another
182 ADAMS (John Quincy). An Eulogy on the Life and Character of James
Monroe, Fifth President of the United States. Sole edition. 8vo. A very good uncut copy in original printed wrappers, lacks
rear wrapper. 100pp. Boston, John H Eastburn, 1831. £650
Incribed “George Alexander Otis. Presented to him at Quincy, by John Quincy Adams,
propia manu [with his own hand] May 29th, 1839.” The incription is not in Adams’s
hand, though one wonders if this was a gift to George Alexander Otis, the prominent
army surgeon born in Boston in 1830, who later became curator of the Army medical
museum in Washington.
Adams served as Monroe’s Secretary of State and succeeded him as the sixth President.
He was the son of the second President, John Adams. The town of Quincy, Massachusetts,
Adams’s birthplace, was named after his mother’s paternal grandfather Col. John Quincy.
As Secretary of State Adams achieved renown for contributing the Monroe Doctrine,
which asserted American neutrality and warned of further colonization of the Americas
by European powers. He was also a leading opponent of slavery.
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183 [AMERICAN CIVIL WAR] [ANON.] Opium Eating. An autobiographical
sketch. By an habituate.
First edition. 8vo. A fine copy in original green cloth, gilt, contemporary
advertisement laid down to front free endpaper. xii, 13-150pp. Philadelphia,
Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, 1876. £850
A fascinating prisoner of war account in the Confederate States and possibly the first full
length memoir of an American opium addict.
Although the author entered the Union army as a drummer, he was required to fight in
every battle his regiment engaged in. He was captured on the first day of the battle of
Chickamauga in September 1863 and was initially held at Richmond. Later transferred to
Danville, he was then interred at Andersonville (“grim Leviathan of Death!”), the most
notorious prisoner of war camp in the American civil war. The narrative is unstinting
in its description of the cruel treatment administered, the effects of starvation, scurvy
and smallpox, and some unexpected kindness. In 1865, he was exchanged as a prisoner
and allowed to return home. The treatment he received for a stomach complaint led
to an addiction to opium and this account includes a full description of the physical
and mental states relating to his addiction. The work also includes a discussion of De
Quincey and Coleridge’s experiences.
author’s presentation copy to charles sumner
184 [AMERICAN CIVIL WAR] O’RIELLY (Henry). First Organization
of Colored Troops in the State of New York, to aid in suppressing the
Slaveholder’s Rebellion. Statements concerning the origin, difficulties
and success of the movement, including official documents, military
testimonials, proceedings of the “Union League Club,” etc.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange printed wrappers. 24pp. New York, Baker &
Godwin, 1864. £500
The inscription on the bottom of the printed wrapper reads “Hon. Chas Sumner with
respects of Henry O’Rielly”
On June 9, 1863, the Committee of the New York Association for Colored Volunteers
obtained an interview with President Lincoln and presented a memorial which read in
part: “Extensive observation and inquiry among the colored people of the Free States
have convinced your memorialists of the patriotism and devotion of this portion of our
fellow-citizens, and of their willingness to bear their full share of the burdens, dangers,
and privations of the war against the rebellion.”
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This pamphlet is a compilation of letters and documents leading to the creation of the
first coloured regiments. Published in 1864, it is a clear endorsement of the policy and
the breadth of contributors shows how widespread and, in certain quarters controversial,
the idea was.
Born in Massachusetts, Charles Sumner was a lawyer and politician. An adamant
abolitionist, he is perhaps best known for suffering a beating at the hands of Preston
Brooks on the floor of the senate. After an absence of several years he returned to help
lead the Civil War. In the lead up to the 1860 presidential election, he delivered a famous
speech, “On the Barbarism of Slavery”. He was the leader of the Radical Republicans
during the civil war and led antislavery forces in his home state. He worked closely with
Abraham Lincoln, having been appointed chairman of the US Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations. His actions in this capacity prevented the involvement of France and
England in the civil war. Along with his counterpart in the House of Representatives,
Thaddeus Stephens, Sumner was considered one of the foremost exponents of black
rights in America. Sabin, 57594n
author’s presentation copy
185 [AMERICAN CIVIL WAR] PATTERSON (General Robert). Narrative of the
Campaign in the Valley of Shenandoah in 1861.
Fifth thousand. Frontispiece map. Large 8vo. Original brown cloth, slightly
sunned, small chip missing from headcap. 128pp. Philadelphia, John Campbell,
1865. £175
Presentation inscription reads “Professor Charles Davies with respectful compliments
of Genl Patterson.”
Patterson’s distinguished career included service in the war of 1812 and the Mexican
War after which he retired having attained the rank of Major-General. At the beginning
of the Civil War he joined the military once again and held command of the military
department of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and District of Columbia. He was
instructed to retake Harpers Ferry from a relatively small Confederate army. Patterson
hesitated to comply and was subsequently defeated at the battle of Hoke’s Run. This in
turn led to a confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run.
This work presents a strident defence of the author’s actions throughout.
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[AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE] [ANON.] British Artillerymen
with Two Cannons. Watercolour on laid paper. Measuring approximately 90 by 210mm. Docketed
verso in a contemporary hand reading “Cap Lyon Oct 2, 1776.” £275*
A charming watercolour showing a British officer, a gunner, and two three-pounders of
“Grasshoppers” as they were known. The “Grasshopper” was a popular artillery piece
during the Revolutionary War as it was light and easy to move over the often poor roads.
aaron burr in the west
186 ARMSTRONG (William). Two long ALS addressed to Lord Melville [then
Secretary of State]. 16 pp. including one integral address leaf. New York 27th March 1804 & 17th
April 1804. £4500*
In the first letter (which is evidently the second he had sent Melville), Armstrong gives
a detailed account of Vera Cruz which he saw as a possible strategic target for British
arms. He then gives a resume of political events in the United States... I ventured to
state an opinion that the Union of the States was not likely to be of long continuance...
proceedings in congress have been more like a show in a beer garden... from this is
however to be excepted the minority of federal members who though small in number
are gentlemen... Should Mr Burr not be successful in the present election, I am now
more convinced than I was when I last wrote that he will repair to the Western side
of the mountains... and here carry into effect the idea I suggested which if properly
attended to may prove most beneficial to GB.”
The second letter gives over several pages an illuminating account of the discord
existing between the Gov. Claiborne and the French and Spanish subjects in Louisiana.
Armstrong strongly advocates the annexation of the Floridas to gain a foothold on
the mainland and undermine Spanish influence in the Caribbean, especially in Cuba.
“Possession of the Floridas would also give the instant command of the Gulf of Florida
and I have every reason to believe would be the means of the inhabitants of Cuba moving
themselves under the protection of Great Britain. Another very great advantage would
I am convinced result from it, that British subjects who have come out to this country
finding themselves disappointed or deceived in the advantages they expected to receive
in it would immediately flock [there] like so many repentant children.” Armstrong gives
a most disparaging account of Claiborne and Jefferson, “neither he nor Claiborne have
spirit to act with any decision...” and continues with his interpretation of the New York
state election:
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“Should he be unsuccessful in the present contest I am now more convinced than I was
in Decr. last that he will pursue the Dons... at that time I mentioned to your Lordship.
Situated as Great Britain is, I consider his success of great consequence to her being
properly convinced he sees the propriety of forming the closest [ties] with G.B. and
at [the] same time circumscribing the overgrown power of France, by which, without
exertion in the executive, this country will soon be governed. My friend Gen Wn. has
already been of great service to Mr. Burr and he will still more have it in his power to
be so, as he some days ago set off for the western parts of the State where he has the
first influence and is indeed looked up [to] as is a Highland Chief by his clan. Should
Mr. Burr become Governor of this State or President he will I have no doubt in either
or both situations properly appointed his services, and study to return them in the way
most conducive to Gen Wn.’s present views.... Provided that government supports him
with that liberty they have done others of much less deserving.”
We have managed to find little detail on William Armstrong; however, a British Officer
of that name later served with Bolivar.
187 BULLOCK-WEBSTER (Harry). A small group of drawings made in British
Columbia where the artist was a Hudson’s Bay Official. Nine watercolour & pen and ink sketches, on 8 album sheets (or parts thereof).
Fort McLeod and elsewhere, 1876-79. £3500*
Born in 1855, the artist of these sketches was taken on as a Hudson’s Bay Company
cadet in 1874 and by 1878 found himself in charge of the trading post at Fort Connelly,
on Bear Lake in Northern B-C. After leaving school another career he had considered
was that of an artist, and he put these, it has to be said rather slender, skills to good use
sending in sketches to the Graphic magazine for a series of illustrations depicting life
in the Rockies (several of these prints, both coloured and uncoloured, cut from the
magazine, are present in addition to the drawings.) Although not an especially talented
draughtsman, his work does have an immediacy and charm that brings to life the lonely
existence the HBC’s frontiersmen. Even more fortunate is the fact that the artist has
left a brief account of his life in a scarce work published when an old man, From the
Hudson’s bay Company to New Zealand published in Ludlow in 1938, a copy of which is
included with these drawings.
a. [Two scenes] “How we tried to see the old year out” amd “New years Morning
Trying to feel “happy” [Fort McLeod], pen ink and washes, signed and dated 1879. 200
by 325mm.
b. [Three scenes] “We make a pudding for Xmas”, “and eat it all” & “ the effect the next
morning N.B. Puddings are henceforth forbidden at Fort McLeod”. Pen, ink & washes,
signed and dated 1879. 200 by 325mm.
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c. [Allegory of the New Year depicting two frontiersmen confronted by an elk and a fox]
captioned “Drawn on New Year’s Morning 1879 to my cousins with best wishes for the
New Year Harry B-W.” Pen, ink & washes. 200 by 325mm.
d. My dogs & Cariole a Christmas card from the “Wild North Land” pen ink & washes,
nd. 190 by 320mm.
e. [Voyageurs canoeing] Pen & ink. Signed. 180 by 320mm.
f. [Self-portrait dressed in fringed buckskin with admiring squaw in the foreground
with Fort Connelly or McCleod? in the background.] Sepia watercolour heightened
with white. Signed and dated 1876. 265 by 160mm.
g. “A Grizzly.” Sepia watercolour. 230 by 150mm.
h. [An unidentified fort the same as in f. from a slightly different angle]. Pen ink & wash.
185 by 90 mm.
i. “A Bunny” of the Far North. Pen & ink c90 by 100mm.
The University of British Columbia have ninety-two of his sketches in their collection.
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presentation copy from the author
188 CHANDLESS (William). A Visit to Salt Lake; being a Journey across the
Plains and a Residence in the Mormon Settlements at Utah.
First edition. Folding map. 8vo. Original blind-stamped orange pebble-grain
cloth, slightly dust soiled. xii, 346, 16ads.pp. London, 1857. £675
With a presentation inscription to the upper margin of the title page: “Kevin(?) Gream
/ From the Author”.
“Highly commended by the Critic, Leader and National Review” according to Sabin, this
books still makes good reading today, taking the form of both the narrative of a journey
West across the Plains and a description of the Mormon settlements. Sabin, 11889.
author’s presentation copy
189 EVANS (William). Agricultural Improvement by the education of those who
are engaged in it as a profession addressed very respectfully to the farmers
of Canada.
First edition. 12mo. Original blindstamped plum cloth, sunned, original paper
label, lacking front free endpaper. 105pp. Montreal, 1837. £450
The presentation inscription reads “To the Editor of the Minerva. Very respectfully
from the author.”
Evans (1786-1857) was born in Co Galway, Ireland, and arrived in Lower Canada in
1819. Having some experience in fattening livestock in Ireland, he settled on a 150 acre
farm at Comte-Saint-Paul and became one of the most dynamic farmers in Montreal.
His appointment as secretary of the Agricultural Society of the District of Montreal
around 1830 led to some renown and his work with agricultural societies continued
right through his life. Evans served as secretary on the Agricultural Society of Lower
Canada in 1847 and then on the Board of Agriculture of Lower Canada in 1852.
Evans was fiercely opinionated and his concerns for progress in the field of agriculture
spurred his work as a journalist. He contributed to both the Montreal Courier, the
Montreal Gazette and quite possibly Le Minerve to whose editor this work was presented.
In addition to journalism he produced a series of books, the first Treatise on the Theory
and Practice of Agriculture was published in 1835.
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the first published account of the lewis & clarke
expedition
190 GASS (Patrick). A Journal of the Voyages and Travels of a Corps of Discovery, under the Command of Captain Lewis and Captain Clarke of the Army of
the United States, from the Mouth of the River Missouri through the Interior
Parts of North America to the Pacific Ocean, during the Years 1804, 1805, &
1806. Containing an authentic relation of the most interesting transactions
during the expedition: A description of the country: And an account of its
inhabitants, soil, climate, curiosities and vegetable and animal productions.
Second (first English) edition. 8vo. Attractive contemporary polished calf, spine
lettered in gilt, joints repaired, a very clean copy, with fine endpapers. iv, 381, [2]
ads.pp. London, J. Budd, 1808. £6750
This second edition is scarcer than the Pittsburgh first edition and is not listed in the
NSTC. At this period one would expect a London production to be superior, and this
is certainly the case here. The English publisher’s two-page introduction is dated April
1808.
As is well known, Gass’s was the first account of the Lewis and Clarke expedition to be
published, appearing just six months after the ‘Corps of Volunteers of North Western
Discovery’ returned to St. Louis. Gass was one of twelve men to enlist at Fort Kaskaskaia
in Illinois Territory, where he was serving in the US army, when Lewis and Clarke sailed
down the Ohio River looking for volunteers. A carpenter by trade he was one of the
seven men (including Lewis and Clarke themselves) to keep a journal of the overland
expedition from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean.
With the bookplate of Sir Thomas Munro on the front pastedown.
sailing instructions for the st. lawrence
191 [GOULD (Nath.)] Instructions for making Gaspè, and Mitis and Rimouski,
in the River St. Lawrence. First edition. 8vo. Printed wrappers, these slightly dust soiled, sewn as issued.
[ii], 3-16pp. London, Gould, Dowie, & Co., 1832. £475
With the following inscription to the upper margin of the front wrapper “To the
Statistical Society of France / from the writer Nath’ Gould.”
Although written primarily in order to provide printed instructions for “masters of
vessels bound to Mitis and Rimouski” the author waxes lyrical about travelling through
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Lower Canada: “We pass along delighted through a beautiful rural country... The
inhabitants are always not only civil, but polite and hospitable...” Not in Sabin.
192 HAKLUYT (Richard). The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and
Discoveries of the English Nation made by Sea or overland... Divided into
three severall Volumes ... The First... toward the North and Northeast by
Sea... The second... to the South ans South-east. The third... to all parts of the
Newfound world of America, or the West Indies.
First editions. 3 vols in 2. Small folio. Nineteenth-century straight grained blue
morocco, a.e.g., silk endpapers, gilt. [xxiv], 620, [xvi], 312, 204; [xvi], 868.[six
leaves supplied from another copy ]. London, Ralph Newberie and Robert
Barker, 1598 - 1600. £21000
“The
most
complete
collection of voyages and
discoveries of the nautical
achievements
of
the
Elizabethans” (Hill).
Hakluyt’s work ranks with
Ramusio as one of the
seminal publications in the
history of exploration. The
first lecturer on modern
geography at Christ Church,
Oxford, Hakluyt was later
appointed chaplain to the
Paris embassy and then
rector of Wetheringsett. A
correspondent of Drake,
Mercator,
Raleigh
and
Frobisher, he initally oversaw
the translation of European
accounts
into
English,
though by 1589 had sufficient
material to publish the first
edition of his work. Hakluyt
was an active proponent of
empire building through
maritime exploration and
spent the following decade
both documenting and
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proposing voyages to the New World. He clearly understood the value of exploration
as much of the text concentrates on the expansion of trade. As such, Hakluyt may be
viewed as a significant figure in the foundation of the British Empire.
The first volume is devided simply into voyages to the south and south east, north
and north east, and voyages to the west. The second is more properly devoted to the
Mediterranean and the Cape of Good Hope. His support of American colonisation is
reflected in the content of the third volume to which it is almost entirely devoted.
Of African interest is “The Voyage of Thomas Stephens about the Cape of Buona
Esperanza unto Goa” and “The memorable Voyage of Mr James Lancaster about the
Cape of Buona Esperanza, along the Easterne coast of Africa.”
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lincoln mourning piece
194 [LINCOLN (Abraham).] WE MOURN! OUR CHIEF HAS FALLEN! Letterpress broadside with a single rule border measuring 480 by 620mm.
Old tears expertly repaired with two minor instances of ink filled in and paper
restored, a pencil ms. inscription reading “Feb 15th 1865 Death of Abraham
Lincoln President of US”. Loag, Fourth and Chestnut, [Philadelphia, 1865]. £2250
This copy includes the 1720 facsimile of the Cadiz leaves, which were originally
suppressed at Queen Elizabeth’s behest, following the disgrace of the Earl of Essex. The
title page of volume one is in its first state, retaining the refences to Cadiz. As usual it
is lacking the world map. (The map is sufficently uncommon to doubt whether it was
issued with all copies of the work). Bell, H10; Borba de Moraes, pp391-92; Church, 322;
Hill (2nd ed), 743, 745; JCB III, I:372-74; Mendelssohn I, pp668-9; Palau, 112039; Penrose
(Travel and Discovery in the Renaissance), p318; Printing & The Mind of Man, 105; Quinn,
The Hakluyt Handbook, pp490-497; STC, 12626; Sabin 29596, 29597.
193JOHNSTONE (Walter). A Series of Letters, Descriptive of Prince Edward
Island, in the Gulph of St. Laurence, addressed to the Rev. John wightman,
Minister of Kirmahoe, Dumfries-shire. [Bound with] Travels in Prince
Edward Island, Gulf of St. Lawrence, north America, in the Years 1820-21...
First editions. Folding map. 12mo. Contemporary half calf, marbled boards, slightly
worn at edges. iii, [4]-72; xi, [12]-132pp. Dumfries, J. Swan, 1822 & Edinburgh, David
Brown, 1823. £1500
“The Author of these Letters went out for the express purpose of surveying Prince
Edward Island, and collecting information on the subject of Emigration. During two
Summers, and one Winter, he was assiduously engaged in the prosecution of this object;
and the small Volume now presented to the Public, will be found to contain a full and
particular Account of the Climate, Soil, Natural Productions, and Mode of Husbandry
adopted in the Island; together with Sketches of Scenery, Manners of the Inhabitants,
&c. &c.; the whole being intended for the guidance of future Emigrants, particularly as
to what Implements and Necessaries it may be proper to provide themselves with before
crossing the Atlantic”. Sabin, 36400, 36401.
A rare survival. We can only locate two copies, one at the Library of Congress, the other
at the Library Company of Philadelphia.
In the wake of Lincoln’s assassination, a great deal of memorabilia was produced to
mourn his passing - from silk ribbons to badges and medals. Broadsides such as this
were displayed in train stations along the route of his funeral train that retraced his
path through seven states from Washington to Illinois. This is less elaborate than those
printed with Lincoln’s portrait or images of the US flag, yet the simplicity of its stark
message on a white background is arguably more powerful.
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195 MARESTIER (Jean-Baptiste). Mémoire sur les bateaux à vapeur des EtatsUnis D’Amerique. First edition. 2 vols. 4to & folio. 17 engraved plates (1 double-page). Contemporary
half calf, rebacked, extremities rubbed & quarter green roan, a little rubbed. [iv],
290, [1errata]pp. Paris, Imprime Royale, 1824. £3750
Uncommon especially with the atlas volume. Prepared by the officers of the French
Ministry of the Marine, this thorough dissertation on contemporary American
steamboats was part of a wider effort to track advances in the field. The combination
of technical drawings, history, location and detailed analysis of the boats makes this
undeniably the best work in the field. Sabin, 44523; Polak, 6384; Howes, M282.
the first full accounts of bering’s expedition
196 MULLER (Gerhard Friedrich). Sammlung Russischer Geschichte. [Containing]: Nachrichten von Seereisen und zur See gemachten
Entdeckungen, die von Russland aus längs den Küsten des Eismeeres
and aus dem östlichen Weltmeere gegen Japon und Amerika
geschehen...
Part 3 of this collection, itself containing 6 parts. With the very rare map,
coloured in outline, with one or two little tears, but no loss. Large folio & small
8vo. Contemporary half calf. [ii], 612, 43pp. St. Petersburg, Kayserl. Akademie
der Wissenschaften, 1758 - 1760. £7500
This is the second state of the Muller’s map, with the date altered from 1754 to 1758 and
with a slightly altered title. It was this issue which the author refers to in the text of the
Sammlung, although the two seem not actually to have been issued together.
The first three parts of the text (some 300 pages) begin with an extensive summary of
voyages in the North Pacific including the first Bering expedition during which the
strait was named. Further on there is the first extensive printed account of the second
Bering expedition: “the chief result... [of which] was to establish the existence of a vast
Alaskan peninsula” (Wagner). It concludes with a resumé of recent discoveries and a
discussion on cartographic matters of roughly 50 pages.
Wagner gives a good precis of the second Bering expedition: “It was not until June 1741
that the expedition of two vessels set sail from Kamchatka, Bering was in command of
the St. Peter and was accompanied by Steller; Peter Chirikof accompanied by Delisle
commanded the St. Paul. Shortly after the vessels became separated and in July Chirikof
discovered the American coast in Latitude, according to him, of about 56° 15”. While
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at anchor in a none too safe position he sent a boat ashore to look for a better one, but
the party never returned. After waiting some time he sent a few men in his only other
boat after the first party, and they never returned. He was now in a difficult position,
without boats and with fifteen men missing. He therefore, concluded to return. He sailed
northward and saw Mount St. Elias. Finding that the coast was turning westward he
had to take the same direction. He finally passed around east of the Alaskan Peninsula,
rounded the islands to the south, and reached home in October. The day he put into
port Deslisle died of scurvy. Bering pursued much the same course from near Mount
St. Elias, which he discovered, but went far enough west to name a few islands and then
followed the same course as his companion but died on December 8, on Bering’s island
where he was wrecked in November. In the following summer Steller with the remnant
of the party reached home” (Wagner).
Muller’s text of this portion of the above is known in a French translation and a well
known English version done by Jefferys (L-M 17). Lada-Mocarski notes of Jeffrey’s
translation “that at times some parts - occasionally important ones - of Muller’s text
were either omitted from the translation or incorrectly rendered. For anyone speaking
German it is therefore desirable to study Muller’s original work.”
There is also a very important account (some 20 pages) of an expedition under Captain
Spangenberg who set out in 1739 from Kamtschatka with two ships to explore the
Japanese coast. The ships were separated in a storm and both filed reports describing
their encounters with Japanese in Honshu and the Ainu in Hokkaido. In both cases they
were given supplies and treated in a friendly manner. The Russians were aware of the
fact that Japan was a closed country and were careful not to offend or attract suspicion.
Text not in Sabin or Streeter; Howes, M875 (b); Lada-Mocarski, 15; For map see: Wagner
I, p157 & II, p 591; Streeter, 3457.
the first narrative of a magician in america
197 OEHLER (Andrew). The Life, Adventures, and Unparalleled Sufferings of
Andrew Oehler Containing An Account of his Travels through France, Italy,
the East and West Indies, and parts of the United States; his imprisonment
in France, Germany and Spain: and the latitude, soil, climate, productions,
manners and customs of the different countries.
First edition. 12mo. Modern half calf, marble boards, spine gilt with the usual
foxing and spotting. 226pp. Printed for the author, [Trenton, N.J.], 1811. £
1850
Scarce. Oehler was the first known magician to visit America. Born in Frankfurt,
Germany, Oehler travelled through the greater part of Europe before embarking for the
Americas. Arriving in Baltimore in 1800, his account relates all manner of misadventures
across both Mexico and the United States in the first decade of the nineteenth century.
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In fact, this is an early example of a form that would come to dominate American letters,
the picaresque tale of a likeable ne’er-do-well.
Much of Oehler’s time in America was spent in the Deep South including episodes
in Nashville, Charleston, Columbia, Mississippi, Augusta and Natchez. Indeed,
a contemporary advert in a Natchez paper serves to corroborate this portion of the
story. Oehler has numerous run-ins with the law and is never far from destitition. He
is imprisoned in Mexico as a result of having learned ‘Legerdemain’ in a bid to pay off
his debts before returning to the United States where he eventually settles in New Jersey.
Howes, O25; Sabin, 56732.
a journey through texas
198 PAGES (Pierre Marie François). Voyages Autour du Monde et Vers les Deux
Poles par Terre et par Mer, Pendant les Années 1767, 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771,
1773, 1774 & 1775.
First edition. 2 vols. Seven large folding engraved maps (including one
showing Texas & Mexico), one large folding & 2 other folding plates. 8vo. Fine
contemporary French mottled calf, red morocco labels to spines, these richly
gilt, marbled edges, marbled endpapers, neat library stamp to lower outer
margin of half titles. [iv], [5]-432; [iv], [5]-272pp. Paris, Chez Moutard, 1782. £3250
Born in Toulouse in 1748 the author of this extraordinary work joined the French Navy
in 1766 and was posted to St. Domingo. Obtaining leave to travel he sailed to New
Orleans and thence up the Mississippi, continuing up the Red River to Nachitoches
by canoe. From there he travelled overland through Texas to San Antonio before going
on to Mexico City and Acapulco where he took a passage to Guam and then Manilla.
Unable to visit China, he voyaged westward through the Straits of Malacca to Muscat
and up through the Persian Gulf, finally reaching Marseilles in December, 1771.
An “inveterate traveller” (Clark), Pagès was selected to join the unsuccessful second
voyage of Kerguelen in search of the “Great South Land” in 1773. Since Kerguelen was
dismissed from the service and imprisoned, and his account suppressed, the good
account of the voyage which Pagès gives is particularly important. It is in some respects
fuller than Kerguelen’s own, but never once mentions his captain’s name, evidently
owing to the trouble that had occurred. To complete his travels Pagès sailed in a Dutch
whaler to the north of Spitzbergen. After service in the American war he made a second
voyage round the world and eventually retired to his estate in St. Domingo where he was
killed in the slave uprising of 1793.
The author’s journey through Texas occupies about sixty pages of this work, and is
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illustrated by Plate 2, which is entitled Carte d’une Partie de l’Amérique Séptentrionale,
qui contient partie de la Nle. Espagne, et de la Louisiane (approx. 315 by 415mm). The
map shows New Orleans and the Red River as far North as Nachitoches in the upper
right quadrant, with “Province de los Texas” to the West, and Mexico, as far South as
Acapulco on the Pacific coast, beyond. In addition the tribal lands of Native Americans
are marked, including those of the Apaches and Tegas. cf. Hill 1285; Sabin, 58168; Clark
I, 285.
199 [PASSIONFRUIT] [PARLASCA (Simone).] Copie de la Fleur de La Passion
de Nostre Seigneur. Letterpress broadside (325 by 410mm) the double column text enclosed within
printed border, incorporating engraved botantical image (215 by 130m). The
paper has been skillfully repaired, and the border restored with facsimile inserts,
damage to the text has not been replaced and a small amount of text is lost, the
engraving remains almost entirely untouched bar a small repair in the caption.
A Cavaillon ce 10 du mois de Juillet, Thomassi Theiologal, 1610. £3500
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This intriguing, and apparently unique, broadside is derived partly from a pamphlet
written by Parlasca and published under the title Il Flore della granadigla... (Bologna
1609) in which the passionfruit was first properly described; the engraved illustration
follows closely the woodcut used in that work. Another work by Giacomo Bosio La
Trionfante e Gloriosa Croce (Rome, 1610) has a different woodcut and repeats Parlasca’s
notion connecting the flower to the Passion. The passionflower was not actually so
named in print until 1651.
The specimen (or drawing) which Bosio examined seems to have been brought to him
by an Augustinian, Emmanuel de Villages, presumably a missionary returned from the
New World. The flower was first noticed in Europe in the works of Cieza de Leon and
then later by Monardes.
northwest coast in the eighteenth century
200PERON (Pierre François). Mémoires du Capt. Péron, sur ses Voyages aux
côtes d’Afrique, en Arabe, a l’ile d’Amsterdam, aux iles d’Anjouan et de
Mayotte, aux côtes nord-ouest de l’Amerique, aux iles Sandwich, et la Chine. First edition. 2 vols. 4 folding engraved maps & 2 folding lithograph plates.
Contemporary quarter morocco, a little worn. [iv], v, 328; [iv], 359pp. Paris,
1824. £2750
M. Brissot-Thivars, a friend of Péron’s, edited the journals, in his own words “giving
reality the charms of a novel”. His efforts produced one of the most entertaining
accounts of the merchant seaman in the later years of the eighteenth century. Péron had
many extraordinary adventures, and visited in the course of his quest for both whales
and seals many then obscure destinations. For instance, he was left in charge of five
seamen on remote Amsterdam Island for forty months, midway between Australia
and South Africa, in order to collect sealskin for the China trade. During his stay the
Macartney mission on its way to China paid a visit and Péron showed them over the
island. However, Péron’s companions mutinied and the author spent a considerable time
marooned on the desolate spot in fear of his life.
In 1795 he visited New South Wales (where the ship picked up the absconding Thomas
Muir) and various south Pacific islands before reaching the northwest coast of America
in May 1796, where he was again employed in the fur trade. One month later his ship
entered Nootka Sound, where Péron met the infamous Macuina, whose duplicitousness
and cruelty are described in some detail. Sailing northward the ship made several stops
before reaching Alaskan waters at Bucareli Bay which is shown in one of the maps.
Péron gives many descriptions of his dealings with the natives he encountered and
records how friendly those to the north were as compared with the natives of Nootka.
Péron was also aboard the Boston registered ship Otter which was the first American
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vessel to enter San Francisco Bay. In December 1796 the same ship arrived in Hawaii
which is described over some forty pages from pp135 to 175.
Forbes (Hawaiian Nat. Bib.), 585; Hill, p230; Lada-Mocarski, 89; Sabin, 61001; Streeter,
3513; Ferguson, 980.
signed by the extraordinary nicolas perrot
201 PERROT (Nicolas). Voyageur Contract signed by the two voyageurs and
Nicolas Perrot (know to various Indian tribes as “Ironlegs”).
Manuscript in ink. 2pp. Folio. July
1688 and later August 1689. £7750*
A remarkable survival from the far west
of French colonial America.
“Sr. Nicolas Perrot, Seigneur of the
“Riviere du Loup”, on one part and
Raphael Beauvais & Nicolas Gode of
this island, on the other part” signed
by all three, and others outlining a two
year expedition for fur trading with the
conditions of their employment; their
provisions and recompense. With a
second paragraph in a different notarial
hand dating from 1689 concluding the
agreement signed again by Beauvais,
but not by his partner.
One of the most extraordinary
characters in the opening up of the
west during the French colonial period,
Perrot arrived in New France with the
Jesuits in 1660 and formed a fur trading
company in what is now Wisconsin
seven years later. He’d taken advantage of the opportunity to learn the native languages
and was engaged as a translator for the French commissary Daumont de Saint-Lusson,
whose remit encompassed the territories of the Ottawas, Amikwas, Illinois, and other
Indian natives to be discovered in the direction of Lake Superior. In this role, Perrot
continued to trade furs and received a land grant near Quebec.
“As French commandant in the region of (present) Wisconsin Perrot undertook
expeditions to the upper Mississippi. Cold weather and frost, which broke his canoes,
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prevented his return to Sioux country so Perrot and his companions built a wintering
post at the foot of a mountain, behind which was a great prairie abounding in wild
beasts. The site was near the present town of Trempealeau located about twenty miles
north of La Crosse along the Mississippi River” (Howgego).
His reputation rests largely on his involvement in Indian affairs. In 1684, he brokered
a peace treaty between several Indian nations and the Governor’s army. A year later
he was made Commandant-in-Chief of Bais Des Puants and had some success in
establishing peace between the warring Fox, Sioux and Chippewa tribes. In 1687, Perrot
acted as an interpreter for the treat between the Governor and Otreouti, the Onondaga
chief, who promised the neutrality of the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Oneidas. He was
also responsible for French claims on the unmapped wildneress west of the Great Lakes.
At the time of this document, Perrot was engaged in building Fort Saint-Pierre at the
mouth of the Wisconsin River. He was one the most important figures of this period. His
activities as an explorer, diplomat and trader were vital in promoting peace throughout
New France.
Perrot is also of particular interest as he is one of the very few early pioneers to have left
a written record of his exploits. It was not published until 1864 Memoires sur les moeurs,
coustumes et relligion des sauvages de L’Amérique Septentrionale.
202PIKE (Zebulon Montgomery). Exploratory Travels Through the Western
Territories of North America: comprising a voyage from St. Louis, on the
Mississippi, to the source of that river, and a journey through the interior of
Louisiana, and the north-eastern provinces of New Spain. Performed in the
years 1805, 1806, 1807, by order of the government of the United States.
First edition. 2 maps (1 folding). 4to. Late nineteenth century calf, gilt, morocco
labels to spine. xx, 436pp. London, printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme,
and Brown, 1811. £5000
One of the most important inland travel narratives, giving an account of the South-west,
including the author’s description of his earlier journey to explore the headwaters of
the Mississippi. The two maps are among the first of the area executed by a government
expedition. Sabin, 62837; Howes, P373.
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presentation copy
203 PRICE (James P.) Seven Years of Prairie Life. First edition. 8vo. Fine original pictorial cloth, headcap repaired, missing back
free endpaper. xii, 88pp. Hereford, Jakeman & Carver, 1891. £450
With the following presentation inscription on the front free endpaper: “To M.L. Hill
/ With the best wishes of the / Author / Christmas 1900 / Earlswood / nr Chepstow /
Mon.”
A somewhat cautionary narrative, in which Price gives details of his immigration to
Kansas and the six winters and seven summers that he and his wife, and their growing
family spent there, farming on the prairies. Having experienced “the destructive
cyclone... the terrible hailstorm... the bitter northern blasts... the long-continued
drought... the flashing of lightning...” they decided to return to “old England.”
At the time that his “little volume of... personal experiences of life on the American
prairie” was published James P[hilip] Price was, according to the 1891 Welsh census,
living with his wife and three children (all born in Kansas) in Hereford, where his
occupation was listed as a farmer. Ten years later, in 1901, shortly after he presented
this copy as a Christmas gift, he and his family (now with 4 more children) are found at
Starvenacre in Shire Newton (of which Earlswood is a part) where he is now identified
as a grocer and farmer. Kelly’s Directory of Monmouthshire for the same year, also lists
him as a shopkeeper at Starvenacre.
the first account of the ozarks
204SCHOOLCRAFT (Henry R[owe].) Journal of a tour into the interior of
Missouri and Arkansaw from Potosi, or Mine à Burton, in Missouri Territory,
in a South-West Direction, toward the Rocky Mountains; performed in the
years 1818 and 1819.
First edition. Large folding map. 8vo. Twentieth century green half morocco,
spine gilt. 102pp. London, Phillips, 1821. £650
Departing Potosi on 6 November 1818, the author and Levi Pettibone travelled nearly
900 miles meeting many new settlers en route to what is now Springfield, Missouri. It
was during this expedition that Schoolcraft travelled into the Ozark Mountains which
overlap northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. Schoolcraft is renown for his work
in both ethnology and geography. In 1832, he discovered the source of the Mississippi
River. Howes, S-185; Sabin, 77858.
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205 SEEMANN (Berthold). Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald during
the Years 1845-51. Under the Command of Captain Henry Kellett... Being a
Circumnavigation of the Globe, and three cruises to the Arctic Regions in
Search of Sir John Franklin.
First edition. 2 vols. in 1. Two tinted lithograph frontispieces & a folding track
chart. 8vo. Original blue cloth, front hinge of vol 1 worn. xvi, 322; [viii], 302, (2),
16ads.pp. London, 1853. £2000
A good copy of this important voyage, during which Kellett’s planned survey of the
Pacific coast of Central America was cut short in order to assist the search for Franklin
and his crew. The Herald made two summer excursions beyond the Bering Straits in
1849 and 1850, and the ship visited the Sandwich Islands on two occasions. Most of the
first volume describes the west coast of Latin America. Sabin, 78867; Lada-Mocarski,
141; Hill p.271.
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207 SEYMOUR (Capt. Michael). Twelve Views of Canada. Watercolours and pen & ink drawings. Laid down on cream card, captioned in
ink, some occasional foxing. Quebec & Montreal, August – September, 1846. £10000*
Third son of the Rear Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, he entered the navy in 1813 and
made his way through the ranks serving in Algiers, South America and the Pacific. He
spent three years (1845-8) as flag captain on the Vindictive in North America and the West
Indies station. Seymour saw action in the Crimea under Napier and was commander in
chief of the East Indies Station, which included China during the Second Opium war.
Having attained the rank of Admiral in 1864, Seymour retired six years later.
published a month after the fire
206SEWELL (Alfred L.) “The Great Calamity!” Scenes, incidents and lessons of
the Great Chicago Fire of the 8th and 9th of October, 1871...
First edition. Folding frontispiece map. Fine in original green cloth, gilt. 100pp.
Chicago, Alfred L. Sewell, November, 1871. £150
A beautiful copy of this uncommon work. Published in the month following the fire, it
begins with a brief, though detailed, history of the city, documenting its expansion and
prosperity from its establishment until the eve of the fire. Sewell then provides a near
block by block account of the fire from De Koven Street, where a kerosene lamp was
knocked over in a barn, to the moment when it was extinguished 36 hours later. There is
a heartrending description of the effect of the fire on the population.
The map extends from just north Lincoln Park south to 67th St. Almost certainly one of
the first maps of Chicago to be printed after the fire, the area affected is marked in green.
Sewell was notable for his fundraising efforts during the Civil War. He created the Army
of the American Eagle, which involved children selling images of Old Abe, the Eighth
Wisconsin’s Infantry’s eagle. The Army raised $16,308, an enormous sum at the time.
Seymour is renowned for the many images he produced while abroad, and these include
some lovely examples of his work. He executed these drawings and watercolours at the
latter stage of this time, when Montreal was the capital of the Province of Canada.
The images are as follows:
1. “Quebec from the Road leading to below the Montmorency Falls Sep 8 1846”
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2. “Natural Steps on the Montmorency River Sep 8 Canada”
3. “Falls of Montmorency near Quebec Tuesday Sep 8 1846”
4. “Kingston. Canada from the Dock Yard side of the Bridge Monday Sep 14 1846”
5. “Brockville on the St Lawrence Canada Tuesday Sep 15 1846”
6. “Quebec from Mount Lilac Beauport G Ryland’s Esq Sep 11 1846”
7. “From the higher part of Quebec looking down the St Lawrence Sep 18 1846”
8. “Montreal from the Mountain Thursday Sep 17 1846”
9. “Montreal from St Helen’s Island on the St Lawrence Sep 16 1846”
10. “The Mill at Loretto near Quebec Sep 10 1846”
11. “Douglas Town. Gaspe Bay from HMS Vindictive Anchorage Aug 25 1846”
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209[TEXAS] Ordinances and Decrees of the Consultation, Provisional
Government of Texas and the Convention, which assembled at Washington
March 1 1836.
First (only) edition. 8vo. Modern half morocco, spine gilt. 156pp. Houston,
National Banner Office, 1838. £4000
The provisional government of Texas was led originally by Henry Smith and lasted from
November 15, 1835 until March 1, 1836. The following day, during the siege of Alamo,
Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Texas won formal independence on April
21 with the victory over Mexican forces at the Battle of San Jacinto and remained an
independent nation until 1845 when it officially joined the United States. This landmark
document establishes the structure of provisional government, the creation of a militia
and navy. Sabin, 94959; Streeter, Texas, 246.
12. “Cape Haldimand. Bay of Gaspe entrance to Gaspe Harbour. Aug 25 1846”
208[STEWART (Sir William Drummond).] WEBB (J. Watson) editor. Altowan;
Or incidents of Life and Adventure in the Rocky Mountains. By An Amateur
Traveler. First edition. 2 vols. 8vo. Particularly fine original red pictorial cloth, gilt. [ii],
[ii], iii-xxix, 255; [ii], 3-240pp. New York, Harper & Bros., 1846. £2250
Although based on Sir William Drummond Stewart’s sporting trips during the 1830s it
seems most likely that these two volumes were written by Webb himself. Field gives a
most amusing description of the book: “An English officer... fell... into the hands of that
eminent tuft-hunter James Watson Webb. The Englishman, an ardent sportsman spent
five years, from 1832 to 1837 in the wilds between the Mississippi and the Pacific. The
journal of his adventures, among and residence with the Indians, was, together with his
verbal narrations, edited by his American friend...”
Sir William invited the young artist Alfred Miller to accompany him on his 1837
expedition when he led about forty-five trappers and hunters out West to the annual
rendezvous of trappers at Horse Creek in the Wind River Mountains near the presentday Idaho-Wyoming border. Miller produced vast numbers of drawings of the frontier
landscape as well as intimate scenes of native American life, which he later worked up
on the East Coast. Field, 1632; Howes, S-991; Sabin, 91392, Wagner Camp, 125.
Item 208
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ARCTIC & ANTARCTICA
210
BARROW (Sir John). A Chronological History of of
Voyages into the Arctic Regions;
Undertaken Chiefly for the
Purpose of Discovering a NorthEast, North-West or Polar Passage
Between the Atlantic and Pacific...
First edition. Folding, linen-backed
frontispiece map & 3 illustrations to
text. 8vo. Nineteenth century calf,
gilt, black morocco label to spine.
[iv], 380, 48[appendix]pp. London,
John Murray, 1818. [With] BARROW
(Sir John). Voyages of Discovery
and Research within the Arctic
Regions from the year 1818 to the
present time... First edition. Portrait
frontispiece & two maps (1 folding
linen-backed). Contemporary calf,
gilt, black morocco label to spine.
xiv, 530pp. London, John Murray,
1846. £2000
distinctive binding.
The Lighthouse Trust copy with its
The first volume covers the history of Antarctic exploration from Frobisher through
to Mackenzie on the eve of Buchan and Ross’s departure. The second volume picks up
where the former leaves off and produces accounts of Ross and Buchan, Parry’s four
voyages and Franklin’s two. Together they provide an overview of the search for the
North-West Passage from the early era of Scandinavian navigation up to the time of
publication.
Along with Banks and Scorseby, Barrow was instrumental in promoting renewed efforts
to discover the North West Passage. His efforts were subsequently acknowleged with
the naming of the Barrow Straight in the Canadian Arctic, as well as Point Barrow and
the town of Barrow, Alaska. He retired in 1845 to concentrate on writing his Voyages of
Discovery. Cox II, 492; Lada-Mocarski, 76; Lande, 940; Sabin, 3660 & 3669.
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151
211 [BRITISH ARCTIC EXPLORATION, 1875-76] [NARES (Captain George S.)]
A Copeland Dinner Plate. Measuring 9 inches diametre. A brown rope border with an exhibition crest in
the centre, gilt. [London, 1875]. £2500*
A fine example of the expedition’s crockery.
Nares was recalled from H.M.S. Challenger on arrival at Hong Kong in 1874 to lead the
British Government’s Arctic expedition, the aim of which was to reach the Pole by way
of Smith Sound. The expedition was equipped with two ships Alert and Discovery and,
though unsuccessful, on May 12, 1876, a sledging party led by Albert Hastings Markham
reached a latitude of 83° 20’26”N, which was a record at that time.
212 [BRITISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, 1910-13] A stainless steel dinner
knife. Measuring 255mm with plain shaped handle stamped with B.A.E. Terra Nova
logo. Sheffield, W&H (manufacturers), c.1910. £1200*
A knife from the ward room of the Terra Nova.
213 CRANTZ (David). The History of Greenland: containing a Description of
the Country and its Inhabitants: and particularly, A Relation of the Mission,
carried on for above these Thirty Years by the Unitas Fratrum, at New
Herrnhuth and Lichtenfels, in that Country.
First English edition. 2 vols. 2 folding maps & 7 folding plates (most with 2
images). 8vo. Fine contemporary polished calf, joints repaired. [iv], lx (2 leaves
misbound after title), 405; [ii], 498pp. London, 1767. £975
Crantz provided much information on Greenland’s flora and fauna, but gave particular
emphasis to the Inuit in his account of Greenland. The plates show “Greenlanders” going
about their daily lives: with illustrations of “Kaiak”, “Umiak” (women’s boat), harpoons,
and a tent, amongst other items. It is interesting to note that Crantz was the first writer
to record kayak rolling, of which he gives ten examples, a vital survival skill for the Inuit
hunter.
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an extraordinary antarctic letter
214 EVANS (Edward R. G. R.) The letter of condolence written to the widow
of Petty Officer Edgar Evans expressing his sympathies and referring to the
character of the deceased: one of the Antarctic immortals. Written in ink on both sides of a
sheet of expedition notepaper, with
the embossed penguin motif. Dated
“Terra Nova” RYS At Sea Feb 5 13.
Together with the original envelope
addressed in Evans distinctive hand
with three New Zealand one penny
stamps over printed “Victoria Land”
with bold strikes of the expedition
frank with further frankings from
Lyttleton, Wellington, Auckland,
Portsmouth, Bristol and Swansea.
1913. £7500*
British Naval Officer and Antarctic
Explorer (and later Admiral) Evans
served as second-in-command on
Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova
expedition. While we must infer from
the phrasing of his opening remarks
that Petty-Officer Evans’s widow already
knew of the her husband’s death, nevertheless this touching ALS is the official letter of
condolence from the leader of the expedition.
“He lost his life for the honour of his country, and the British Navy will be proud of
having possessed such a brave man. His “grit” will for ever be an example to the lower
deck, his ability was remarkable and I wish to convey to you from the whole expedition
our sorrow.”
Edgar Evans “a huge bull-necked beefy figure” had served under Scott before he began
polar exploration. He was chosen for the Discovery expedition, and then again for Terra
Nova , Scott overlooking his occasional drunken lapses. He was found to be such an
invaluable member of the crew that he was chosen for the Polar party.
It is difficult to read this remarkable letter without seeing it as premonitory of so many
similar letters that would be written during events which would soon engulf Europe,
and where the grit of the men “below decks”, and the “other ranks” was so severely
examined.
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153
215 HURLEY (Frank). The Endurance in the Weddell Sea, midsummer sunset. Original carbon tone print measuring 385 by 482mm. Framed & glazed.
February, 1915. £8500*
A beautiful shot with the Endurance in the background. Hurley served as official
photographer for both Shackleton and Mawson. The purpose of Shackleton’s 1914
expedition was to mount the first crossing of Antarctica via the South Pole. Far from
making a successful crossing, the expedition failed to even reach the main land. The
Endurance became trapped in the ice and was subsequently crushed by the pressure.
presentation copy of the instructions & manual for the
nares expedition
216 JONES (T. Rupert) ed. Manual of the Natural History, Geology and Physics
of Greenland and the Neighbouring Regions; prepared for the use of the
Arctic Expedition of 1875, under the direction of the Arctic Committee of
the Royal Society.
First edition. 3 large folding charts, with further illustrations in the text. 8vo.
Original printed cloth, slightly dust soiled. vi, 86; xii, 783, [1]pp. London, Eyre &
Spottiswoode, 1875. £1500
With printed presentation slip: “Presented by the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty” (under whose auspices this work was published).
In a letter received in 1874 the Royal Society were requested by the Admiralty to provide
any information which “might appear to them desirable in regard to carrying out the
scientific conduct of the voyage” which was to set out for Greenland and the Arctic in
the Spring of 1875. The results are to be found here, with eighty-six pages of Instructions
and a Manual of some 783 pages, which includes pieces by Sir John Ross, Sir Clements
Markham, John Rae, and Sir Edward Belcher.
The expedition was led by Captain (later) Sir George Nares, who was recalled from
H.M.S. Challenger on arrival at Hong Kong in 1874. His instructions were to lead the
British Government’s Arctic expedition in the Alert and the Discovery to the North Pole
by way of Smith Sound, a task which was found to be impossible.
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217 MACCLURE (Commdr. Robert). The
North West Passage. Capt. M’Clure’s
Despatches from Her Majesty’s
Discovery Ship, “Investigator”, off
Point Warren and Cape Bathurst.
First edition, thus. Folding engraved
map. 8vo. Sewn as issued, a little paper
restoration to the margins of the title
4 succeeding leaves. 48pp. London,
John Betts, 1853. £3750
A number of pamphlets were issued in
1853 relating to the North West Passage
(see item 742 catalogue 1102). This one
includes MacLure’s despatch dated April
5th 1853. It was published before news of
the successful outcome of the expedition
had become known. T.P.L. records only a
copy of a fourth edition of this pamphlet
which has been expanded by the addition
of 10pp. Not in T.P.L. but cf. 3372.
a beautiful copy
218 M’CORMICK (Dept. Inspector General R.) Voyages of Discovery in the
Arctic and Antarctic Seas, and round the world: being personal narratives of
attempts to reach the North and South Poles; and of an open boat-expedition
up the Wellington Channel in search of Sir John Franklin and Her majesty’s
Ships “Erebus” and “Terror” in Her Majesty’s Boat “Forlorn Hope” under the
command of the author. To which are added an Autobiography, Appendix...
First edition. 2 vols. 3 maps (1 folding), numerous lithograph & woodcut plates,
with illustrations in the text. Tall 8vo. Exceptionally fine original pictorial cloth
gilt. xx, 432, xii, 412, 16pp. London, 1884. £5750
The author had “the good fortune to be engaged in three of the most memorable
expeditions of the present century: with Parry, in his attempt to reach the North Pole, in
the year 1827; with Ross, in his Antarctic voyage during the years 1839-43; and having had
command of a boat expedition in search of Franklin in 1852-53...” The Ross expedition
arctic & antarctica
155
occupys most of the first volume, with only the final 50 or so pages, concerned with the
Parry 1827 voyage. Volume two includes material on the 1852 expedition to search for
Franklin where McCormick made a distinguished boat journey, (the narrative of this
adventure was actually published separately at the time).
Rosove mentions that this work was published in an edition of 750 copies, in the
autumn of the author’s life; he gives a total of 7 variants, the last three of which contain
“Memorandums and Opinions of the Press” (16pp). This copy is the variant “f ”.
McCormick was eighty-four when he published these memoirs; they are handsomely
bound volumes and very well illustrated, but five years after publication less than 375
copies had sold. We know from the variations in the bindings recorded by Rosove,
that the binding work was done in batches, and one may reasonably assume that many
remaining copies were never bound. Had there been a “remainder” of perfect copies,
one would expect to see a high proportion of fine copies, whereas the reverse is true.
Rosove, 221.
219 NANSEN (Fridtjof). The First Crossing of Greenland. First edition. 2 vols. Portrait frontispieces, 5 coloured folding maps & 10
plates. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth, silver gilt, a remarkably fine copy with no
restoration xxii, 510; x, 509, 24ads.pp. London, Longmans & Co., 1890 £1200
Having sailed through the waters surrounding Greenland in 1882, Nansen returned six
years later where, accompanied by five others, he made the first crossing of Greenland
from east to west. His detailed account includes lengthy discussions on equipment
and preparations, a history of previous attempts to cross the island, and ethnographic
information on the eskimo, as well as the scientific results.
A lovely copy of a work that is usually found bruised and shaken.
220PONTING (H.G.) The Terra Nova at the Ice-Foot. (Illustration Overleaf)
Green tone carbon print, slightly faded. 740 by 600mm. Original Fine Arts
Society oak frame. Ponting’s blindstamp in lower right corner. c.1913. £5500*
“For several days after our arrival scarcely a ripple disturbed the surface of the sea. The
Terra Nova was wonderfully picturesque as she lay berthed alongside the ice; she was of
a type nowadays seldom met with on the seas, and her square-rigged masts and rugged
hull, mirrored in the water, lent great effect to my pictures” (Ponting The Great White
South).
156
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arctic & antarctica
157
german antarctic expedition in wrappers
221 RITSCHER (Capt. Alfred). Die Deutsche Antarktische Expedition. 19381939 mit dem Flugzeugstutzpunkt der Deutschen Lufthansa A.G.M.S.
“Schwabenland”...
First edition. 2 vols. Numerous maps, plates and photographic illustrations (20
being in 3D). 8vo. Original cloth backed boards, original dust jackets, a little
worn, original 3D glasses included. xv, 304; iv, (56), (4)pp. Leipzig, Koehler &
Amelang, 1942. £2450
Very scarce. Dedicated to
Hermann Goring “and printed
at the height of Nazi success,
the edition may well have
been bombed into oblivion”
(Taurus).
The
German
Antarctic
Expedition departed Hamburg
in December 1937 on the
Schwabenland and sailed as
far south as 69°10’, which
they reached on January 19,
1938. From this point two
hydroplanes were launched
to annex swathes of Antarctic
land by dropping aluminium
darts
(emblazoned
with
swastikas) over Queen Maud
Land, an area already claimed
by Norway. More than fifteen
flights were made over 600,000
square kilometres (about 20%
of the Antarctic continent) and over 11,000 photographs were taken. The Germans
promptly renamed the area Neuschwabenland, though the annexation was never
recognised by any other country.
Despite the appalling prospect of a Nazi stronghold in Antarctica, the enormous amount
of material collected on the expedition remains valuable to this day. The first volume is
an account of the expedition, where the second is devoted to plates and maps. Taurus,
127.
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222 ROQUETTE (M. de la). Notice Biographique sur L’Amiral Sir John Franklin,
correspondant de la Société Géographie, etc...
Lithographic portrait on India paper after Negelen, 2 folding maps, and 12pp
facsimile letters. 4to. Later library cloth [Guille Library Guersey with their
ownership & withdrawal stamps on the title]. 67pp. [Paris, 1856.] £1200
A very scarce offprint from the Bulletin de la Société de Géographie.
The maps are as follows: Arrowsmith (John) “The Arctic Shores of America and part
of Asia... London, 1855; Roquette “Chart of the Arctic Regions from beering’s Straits to
Spitzbergen...” Paris, 1856. The letters include one written to Murchison at Great Bear
Lake in November 1825.
223 ROSSE (Irving C.) Cruise of the Revenue-Steamer Corwin in Alaska and the
N. W. Arctic Ocean in 1881. Medical and Anthropological Notes on Alaska.
First edition. 3 heliotypes, 5 chromo & 4 tinted lithographs, with further
illustrations in the text. Small folio. Original cloth, title stamped in gilt on upper
board, extremities lightly worn. 120pp. Washington, Goverment Printing Office,
1883. £650
In addition to Rosse’s Medical and Anthropological Notes which provide an interesting
insight into the native people of Alaska, as viewed in the late nineteenth century, there
are two further pieces which make up this work: Botanical Notes on Alaska by John
Muir and Birds of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean by E.W. Nelson. The latter being
particularly well illustrated with four coloured ornithological lithographs, the fifth
being an anthroplogical study of body painting. Anker 360; Dinse 667.
224 SHACKLETON (Sir Ernest). Outstanding ALS written in the Antarctic
on S.S. Discovery to a Mr. Douglas. Together with two small contact print
photographs “Shackleton on arrival at Lyttelton” and “Terra Nova in Pack
Ice” 4pp on on the expedition notepaper. Dated S.S. “Discovery”, August 3rd, 1902. £7500*
A superb letter to a recipient who appears to have been an early mentor of the youthful
Shackleton, clearly a nautical man “and I have felt always that in you I have a friend who
understands really, what a sailor’s life is”.
Shackleton gives a digest of events after leaving New Zealand:
arctic & antarctica
159
“It was not long before we were in the pack ice, and our stout ship was crashing through
mighty flows and even then every now and again reeling back from the shock...we were
fortunate enough to penetrate farther east and discover new land... On our way [to
winter quarters] we entered an inlet in the Barrier and sent the balloon up: I went up
700 feet but no sign of land could be seen.... On the 19th I was given a small party to
make a sledge reconnaisance of the South west in order to see what chances there were
for getting to the South by sledge journeys...so we are now making preparations for
the Southern trip... Our paper [The South Polar Times] is a success so far, and we have
frequent concerts and plays... the unfortunate accident deprived us of a man, he being
lost in a blizzard out sledging, by falling over a cliff into the sea... I hope that the coming
summer will enable us to make good geographical work and that I may be lucky enough
to be chosen for one of the long trips by sledge...my diary will be able to give you a full
and accurate account of our doings and I will have it sent to you when I send it home...”
225 TOMLINSON (Charles). Summer in the Antarctic Regions. First edition. Folding map numerous illustrations in the text. 12mo. Fine original
blue cloth, gilt. London, S.P.C.K., 1848. £500
This little book intended as a pot boiler is in fact a thoroughly good digest of
Antarctic discovery up to the date of publication with, in the introduction, a thorough
meteorological analysis of the Antarctic regions. There are chapters on Cook and the
early navigators, Wedell Biscoe and co., Wilkes, Dummont Durville, and finally Ross.
Spence 1207.
226 WILKES (Cmdr. Charles). Narrative of the United States Exploring
Expedition. During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842.
First trade edition. 5 vols. plus atlas. 9 double-page maps, 64 engraved plates & 5
large folding maps in the atlas, with numerous illustrations in the text. Tall 8vo.
Original pictorial cloth, gilt, a good copy unfaded with the gilt still bright, one
or two minor repairs. lx, 434; xvi, 476; xvi, 438; xvi, 539; xvi, 558pp. Philadelphia,
Lea & Blanchard, 1845. £6750
With this voyage the United States entered a field of endeavour long dominated by
Britain, France and to a lesser extent Russia. This is the narrative for the expedition,
a lavishly produced work, but it was supported by several specialist scientific volumes
produced by the savants who accompanied the expedition.
The Antarctic content of the work is of special significance “In January and February
1840, sighted the Antarctic continent and followed its coastline for a distance of more
than fifteen hundred miles... he was the first to definitely announce the existence of the
160
maggs bros ltd
arctic & antarctica
161
Antarctic continent” (Lydenberg & Haskell).
- probably the most tragically interesting photographs in the world.
One thousand copies of this, the first generally available edition were produced. Wilkes
commented that “in some respects as a library and reading book it is to be preferred to
the 4to edition”. One hundred and fifty copies of which had been produced at the same
time. Haskell, 2b.
They were taken with a quarter-plate film camera; and in the case of the groups, the
shutter was released by a long thread, so that all might appear in the picture... The
films were nearly two years old at the time they were exposed at the South Pole. For
eight months those two rolls of film lay on the snow- beside the dead bodies of three
of the five explorers whose images were hidden therein... later they were developed by
Debenham in the Hut at cape Evans. It seems almost incredible that they should have
yielded excellent negatives.”
Notwithstanding the above the negative of this image was damaged at an early date,
possibly when it was developed. It is re-produced in the Great White South opposite
page 279 and though re-touched the disguised damage can still be made out.
227WILSON (Dr. E.A.) The Camp at the South Pole with the Polar Party with
their sledging flags. Vintage print of this rare image. Image size: 380 by 300mm. At the South Pole,
January 18th, 1912. £6500*
Wilson can be seen holding the string. “We built a cairn, put up our slighted Union Jack
and photographed ourselves - mighty cold work all of it.” As Ponting comments: “In
the photographs they took that day, it is magnificently eloquent of the manner in which
the explorers took the frustrating of their hopes..”
The same author comments “Beside the note-books were the little camera and two rolls
of film. In these films were... photographs... which show the explorers at the South Pole
Item 218
Item 224
Item 211
Maggs Bros. Ltd.