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LEAHY, Michael
The Central Highlands of New Guinea.
A Preliminary Report on New Guinea Which Pre-Dates Author's Book. 41 pages. Plus photographic plates, fold-out panoramas, and a large fold-out colour map measuring approximately 12 x 20 inches (30 x 51cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Leahy's early primary resource, which pre-dates his highly acclaimed book! A riveting first-hand account of New Guinea exploration by the first Europeans to enter into the highlands, in searching for gold, which led to one of the major discoveries of the twentieth century - over a million primitive people living in the stone age. The last great adventure of New Guinea exploration, together with important first contact photographs. The interior of New Guinea hadlong been thought to be a mass of impenetrable mountain ranges and deep valleys, which maps of that time had labelled "probably uninhabited", but Michael Leahy, and his party, the first whitemen ever to effect entry into the heart of New Guinea, found densely populated long wide valleys, inhabited with flesh eating cannibals, and fertile plateaus. Leahy was subsequently honoured by the Royal Geographical Society in recognition of his discoveries in New Guinea. This is a set of two remarkable reports detailing a foremost discovery expedition to New Guinea, vividly illustrated with photographic plates including fold-out panoramas, and also accompanied by a spectacular colour route map. Includes a report titled "The Wahgi River Valley of Central New Guinea," by K. L. Spinks, which covers colonization history, accessibility of the main plateau, tectonic features, mountain names, and notes elucidating the color map. Leahy's Title is Recognized as "THE CLASSIC" of New Guinea Exploration Literature - "Land That Time Forgot, Adventures and Discoveries in New Guinea", first published in 1937.
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MARSHALL, A. J.
Northern New Guinea.
18 pages, including an in-text sketch map. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a most captivating travel account featuring remote villages and the indigenous people and of New Guinea, describing the devastation and damage caused by an earthquake in the Torricelli Mountains, and revealing European influence. Marshall imparts his observations on the Wapei people, whom he greatly enjoyed spending time with, on their customs, ceremonies, sparse dress, superstition, hunting, agriculture, trade , and their villages which were usually built along a ridge and sometimes by excavating holes in the sandstone. While recounting various routes of exploration, he also shares knowledge gained of the Bogasip people who were yet uninfluenced by the European, and of the people of the Vanimo district in Dutch New Guinea.
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STEERS, J. A.
The Coral Islands and Associated Features of the Great Barrier Reefs.
56 pages. Plus photographic plates, one of which is a fold-out panorama. Also with 2 fold-out maps, one measuring approximately 13 x 17 inches (33 x 43cm), the other measuring 8 x 19 inches (20 x 48cm). Published in two complete issues of the Royal Geographical Society. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. Two complete issues, seldom found in such good and original condition. his is a most captivating substantial geographical account from an expedition into the heart of the amazing reefs stretching for nearly 1200 miles in the warm waters of tropical Queensland coast, from Torres Straits to Lady Elliot Island, to which collectively the legendary name "Great Barrier Reef" is applied; being a very descriptive report of the unique qualities of numerous islands and their dramatic changes as they are affected by the tides, possible movement of sea-level, and the cyclone season. With a scientific approach, the report entails much detail on the Bunker and Capricorn Islands, Sand Cays, the Lower Bench and its features, Cliffing, the Higher Bench and Platform, the formation of the Lower Platform on the Low Wooded type of islands. With a substantial section on the 'Low Wooded Islands', also referred to as the 'Island Reefs'. Two sketch maps serve to delineate the Queensland coast, and numerous islands including Lady Musgrave, Heron, Stone, Cockermouth, Houghton, Night, Sherrard, and Enn.
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CAMPBELL, Stuart
The Country Between the Headwaters of the Fly and Sepik River in New Guinea.
27 pages, plus photographic plates and a large fold-out colour map measuring approximately 7 x 13 inches (18 x 33cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Fascinating notes of an expedition formed to explore rumours regarding valuable mineral deposits said to be present around the vast and unexplored headwaters of the Fly and Sepik rivers in New Guinea. Organized on behalf of British and American mining interests, the party set off in two planes, piloted by Stuart Campbel of the Royal Australian Air Force and K. Garden. A compelling narrative leads the reader through hazardous terrain: the Mittages mountains and the valley of the Om; the Behrmann hills and Hindenburg range; the May and Screw rivers and introduces them to the Kiarikim, the Telifomin, the Fekelmin and the Atbalmin. Interesting descriptions of tribal customs, cannibalism, dress, social mechanisms, weaponry and diet. Further features a secion dedicated to the work of earlier explores such as Sir William Macgregor and D'Albertis.
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BLACKWOOD, Beatrice.
Life on the Upper Watut, New Guinea.
18 pages, including 2 in-text sketch maps. Plus spectacular photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. A fascinating study of the modern Stone Age people known as the Kukukuku, similar both culturally and physically to certain groups on the Papuan side of the boundary, and living in the Morobe district of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea; a remarkable people whose most valuable assett is the bamboo, and whose skill and patience is displayed as they make clubheads and other simple tools by selecting round water-warn stones from the stream and shaping them by rubbing them on a stone. A truly captivating report illustrated with many incredible photographic images of the natives.
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BROUWER, H.A.
Exploration in the Lesser Sunda Islands.
10 pages, plus 2 full-page colour maps and several photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is an illuminating paper by Professor Bouwer who took with him a group of students to study the most interesting islands in the East Indies, the archipelago located at the intersection of two great zones of crustal weakness of the earth. Some of the islands studied included the Wetar, Lirang, Alor, and Lomblen and also the volcanic islands of Adonara, Solor, and the eastern part of Flores. In the eastern part the mountain-building processes are still active, while the portion to the west of Makassar Strait has long been more or less stable, except where it borders upon the Indian Ocean. Among subjects discussed include morphological features of the islands, geological composition and structure, the rate and direction of movement of the earth's crust, geographic distribution of volcanoes and evolution of volcanic activity, Accompanied by 2 full-page colour maps, one of which shows active and extinct volcanoes, also included are amazing photographic images depicting native house at Kaslio and market at Kefamenanoe in Timor.
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BROWNE, Alan
The Volcanic Zone of Tarawera, New Zealand.
8vo. 8 pages, plus a full page map and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Well known mountain climber and painter of distinction, Alan Browne presents a most captivating comparison of New Zealand's Rotorua region, before and after the devastating volcanic eruption of 10 June 1886, a catastrophic event that would permanently alter the area's topography, and claim the lives of many Maoris. Drawing from local accounts of Auckland residents, as far as 140 miles away, Browne describes the tragic event with vivid eyewitness testimony. The region's entire forest was nearly destroyed, as was the area which at that time was uninhabited. Sadly, lives were taken, in the villages of Te Ariki and Moura about one hundred Maori people being buried under rock, ash, and mud. The event abruptly ended the long stretch of hundreds of years without volcanic eruption in the Tarawera mountain ranges. Browne includes interesting photographs and descriptions of the hot lakes in the series of craters that formed as a result of the eruption, Echo Crater and Frying-pan Lake being examples, concluding with a proposal for immediate establishment of a vulcanological observatory, its role particularly geared toward the prediction of future eruptions. An eruption of Waimangu in 1900, and others in 1904 and 1917 are further offered for evidence of continued volatility.
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CHAMPION, Ivan
The Bamu-Purari Patrol, 1936.
8vo. 32 pages over 2 issues, plus large fold-out map and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. A primary source account of the first peaceful expedition into tribal regions of central Papua New Guinea, by a distinguished patrol officer who was native to the island himself, and who would later become a director in District Services and Native Affairs, as well as senior commissioner of the new Land Titles Commission. On this journey, the officer and expedition leader established good relations with indigenous tribes as he learned much about their communal lives. He further settled a new post, and provided a geographical survey which facilitated the first accurate map of the region. From April-December 1936 Ivan Champion led a major Bamu-Purari patrol to establish the remote Lake Kutubu patrol post, accompanied by patrol officer C.T.J. Adamson. Champion returned with a manuscript account of the mission, 123 pages in length, a condensed version of which is presented here in this foremost published account. As stated herein, circumstances caused a notable delay in publication. Champion's amicable experiences and collaboration with the indigenous Motuan and Koitabu inhabitants caused immense criticism of a patrol previously made by Jack G. Hides and his violent actions against native tribes, actions which Champion's expedition illustrated were unnecessary. In diary format, the officer describes arduous travel including river crossings and precipice climbing, as well as procuring fresh food, and pleasant interactions with native people, continuously making comparisons with Hides' erroneous reports. He also includes some striking photographic images of the tribes, their dwellings, canoes, and more, as well as a route map which again compares his tracts to those of Hides. Champion has been called "the last great explorer of Papua" and his book, 'Across New Guinea from the Fly to the Sepik' is now a classic in exploration.
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CHEESMAN, L. Evelyn.
The Mountainous Country at the Boundary, North New Guinea.
8vo. 19 pages, plus a sketch map and several photographic plate illustrations. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Engaging descriptions of eminent entomologist and author Lucy Evelyn Cheesman's journey to Vanimo, then north to Humboldt Bay (Tepati) and the Cyclops Mountains, with further excursions to hill villages in the boundary mountains of Papua New Guinea, from where she intended to collect twenty thousand insects for the South Australian Museum. Vivid anecdotal descriptions of encounters with the Tepati people; the people of Molol and Wanimo; incidents with crocodiles; life of the indigenous people in the villages near Vanimo; Vanimo itself and the efforts of the local mission there run by Father Hittenberger and Brother Michael. Cheesman devotes a lot of text to the 'forest people and hunters' of Krissa, recounting their ritual 'kill-song' connected with the pig hunt and their frightening beliefs in the mysterious 'sangumen' or sorcerer. Notable geographical detail includes descriptions of the Oinake Massif and Mount Oinake with its breath-taking cliffs of vivid colour, contrasts of bright green madreporic shrubs against dramatic purple shadows and stark white limestone.
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CHEESMAN, L. Evelyn.
Two Unexplored Islands off Dutch New Guinea: Waigeu and Japen.
8vo. 8 pages, plus 2 full page sketch maps and photographic plate illustrations. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Significant for its early account of biodiversity in the now protected "Coral Triangle" of the Pacific, Cheesman's succinct and well illustrated primary source reveals highlights of an entire year of entomological research on little-known islands of the Pacific, just north of the Dampier Strait, in Papua New Guinea, on behalf of the Natural History division of the British Museum. The splendid coral reefs of Mayalibit Bay, limestone mountains and formations, a wealth of exotic vegetation, mangrove swamps, fauna and reptilia are but a few features examined. On the volcanic Mount Nok she set up camp, where she interacted with native inhabitants of small villages, remarking on their language, education, and on previous feuds with "Bush Tribes.' On Japen island she first establishes camp on Mt. Baduri, from where she collects samples and observes birds. before relocating to two other locations. In the tropical forests for six months, many samples were acquired, and a remarkable storm was documented.
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PASCOE, J. D.
The Adams Valley and Glaciers, Southern Alps of New Zealand.
8vo. 6 pages, plus map and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Recounting mountaineering expeditions as early as the Baker and Butler survey of 1861, the author's illustrated compendium focuses on two expeditions undertaken in 1934 and 1935 by members of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club, one of whom is the author himself. The unknown watershed of Mount Adams into the Perth and Poerua rivers was the question to unravel on New Zealand's South Island, resulting in fascinating discovery, climbing, and mapping. Herein are described specific glaciers, unnamed cols, glacial tributaries, and climbing adventures. Excerpt from the text: "The Main Divide of the Southern Alps between Canterbury and Westland is a chain of glaciated peaks linked with curious passes. The subranges are equally intricate and the whole forms a fascinating wilderness... The story of the exploration of the Southern Alps is long and eventful, and even in 1938 was not complete."
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Barigh, M. (Pioneer of Perth, Western Australia)
ALS Concerning Drought, Poverty, and Land Value.
Manuscript Signed Letter, dated 21 January 1897, discussing matters pertaining to the settlement era of Perth, Western Australia. 8vo. Two double-leafs, 5 pages. Very good condition. Fascinating content such as a poverty, drought, general health issues in Perth from the conditions, problems of the homeless, and in contrast the increase in land values, and prospects for youngsters, The writer also talks of the Music Society and of singing the Messiah at Christmas. Written by M. Barigh of Havelock Street, her home located on a hill above the central town, who may have been a relative of Richard Henry Barigh, an immigrant to Australia, possibly originally as a convict. Excerpts from the letter: "Lately we have had a water famine and all day long the water is cut off but we fill a tank and so it does not cause us much inconvenience... We do not like W.A. half so much as N.Z. it is too hot and dry and this town is not healthy." "The place must have grown half since we came and building is going on all the time and the values of property increasing - our land cost about four pounds a foot and a lady has just bought this piece adjoining ours and given over eleven pounds for it and thinks she has got it cheap." "There are scores of people here with nothing who a little while since in Melbourne were living in luxury." End Excerpts. Perth had only been established since 1829. In 1850, Western Australia was opened to convicts at the request of farming and business people looking for cheap labour. Queen Victoria announced the city status of Perth in 1856.
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CROMMELIN - LONGITUDE AT SEA
An Adaptation of Major Grant's Graphical Method of Predicting Occultations to the Elements Now Given in the Nautical Almanac
8vo. 6 pages, plus 2 large folding diagrams. A rare separate offprint printed for the Royal Geographical Society. Publisher's blue titled wrappers, string-tied and bearing the society's crest. Some light foxing, otherwise in very good and original condition. The author, a respected astronomer and well-known authority on comets, renders praise to the primary research and calculations of Major S.C.N. Grant in 1896, which forms the basis for his dissertation. With meticulous and detailed instruction Crommelin presents a simplified method to predict and decipher the instantaneous and momentary occultation of stars which greatly simplifies the detremination of Longitude at Sea. He further introduces the application to the Solar Eclipse phenomenon. Exceedingly rare dissertation by an important nineteenth century astronomer. Six years prior to Crommelin's study, Grant published a six page report and illustration, titled "Diagram for Determining the Parallaxes in Declination and Right Ascension of a Heavenly Body, and its Application to the Prediction of Occultations." Crommelin was famed for his computations of cometary orbits. He took part in expeditions to observe total solar eclipses in 1896, 1900, 1905, 1912, and 1927. In 1919 he participated in the solar eclipse expedition to Brazil which aimed to determine the amount of the deflection of light caused by the gravitational field of the Sun. The results from these observations were crucial in providing confirmation of the General Theory of Relativity, which Albert Einstein had proposed in 1916.
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Thor Heyerdahl.
The Voyage of the Raft Kon-Tiki.
21 pages, including a full-page sketch map. Plus black and white plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a most amazing and compelling account of a fearless, treacherous, and seemingly unreasonably optimistic Pacific Ocean voyage of 101 days on a most precarious raft. Guided by the early Spanish records, supplemented by native Ecuadorian advice, the expedition members with Herman Watzinger as their architect, built a 40-foot replica of the old balsa raft, intended for the crossing of the magnificent Pacific Ocean, using balsa logs from the Ecuadorian jungle lashed together side by side with hemp rode, absolutely no metal fixings nor a single nail, and complete with a small thatched bamboo hut and two mangroves sails! The seaworthiness of the seemingly clumsy raft, which held Heyerdahl and five companions for a 4,300-mile voyage to the Polynesian islands, surpassed the boldest expectations. Upon their inconcievable return, Heyerdahl proudly reports that the buoyant logs rode the crest of breaking seas like rock. The use of rope instead of nails or pegs permitted independent movement between the separate pieces of wood and bamboo, and gave the craft an amazing toughness and resiliency at sea and on the reef. Whether the South Pacific water-span was ever bridged by preshistoric craft is a question by no means new to anthropology. The Polynesian race, its origin and its migrations have been the subject of more attention among scientists than any other living branch of the human family. Heyerdahl’s theory was that the original Polynesians had come by sea from South America, on rafts such as the one he and his companions built. The first voyage ended in failure after 47 days. The second voyage of 4300 miles and 101 days facing dangerous storms and all the elements of the sea, did in fact establish the feasability of his claim. They set out from Callao in Peru and ended with the wreck of the Kon-Tiki on a coral reef off Raroia in the Tuamoto Archipelago, part of French Polynesia. From the actual building of the raft to their crash landing on the island, the Kon-Tiki expedition has been hailed as one of the great scientific as well as maritime feats of all time! Kon-Tiki was the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition. It was named after the Inca sun god, Viracocha, for whom "Kon-Tiki" was said to be an old name. Kon-Tiki is also the name of the popular book that Heyerdahl wrote about his adventures. The book was a best-seller, and a documentary motion picture of the expedition won an Academy Award in 1951.
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JUTSON, J.T.
Erosion and the Resulting Land Forms in Sub-Arid Western Australia, Including the Origin and Growth of the Dry Lakes.
Item is in ORIGINAL Condition, With Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads!!! Notes & Condition: The author's scientific survey features Lake Raeside, Ora Banda, Niagara, Cue, Kanowna, and more, as he examines vegetation, land forms, cliffs, dry lakes and their origins, stream-lake systems, stone fields and desert features. One of the principal objects of Mr. Jutson's paper is to suggest that the lakes as they now exist are not simply portions of old river-valleys, though he agrees that such may have been the beginning of their history. In his opinion the lake-basins are still in process of formation, and owe their origin largely, though not wholly, to the action of the wind, etc. Thought-Provoking Geological Survey of Western Australia Lake-Basins and their Origin! 20 pages, including a full-page sketch map, a few in-text sketch illustrations. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. Small chip to front cover, otherwise this is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition.
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CAMERON, H.C.
The Failure of the Philosophers to Sail with Cook in the Resolution
Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued! Notes & Condition: Solely addressing the clamour surrounding Captain Cook's ship 'Resolution' as she was fitted for the South Seas voyage, this account features previously undisclosed and unpublished text from a passionate extempore letter written by Joseph Banks to the Earl of Sandwich May 30th 1772. Banks protests the design of the ship and urges the provision of a larger vessel. Followed by more diplomatic comments of the Navy Board, drawing from the Royal archives of the Windsor Castle, this brief report enlightens the scope of bitter feuding and controversies surrounding the voyage, potential shortcomings with the ship itself, and personal mandates which could have forever altered Captain Cook's paramount voyage. Excerpts from the text: [Joseph Banks]: "...I must be allowed to say that the ship will thus be if not absolutely incapable at least exceedingly unfit for the intended Voyage... the Shop where we are all to work if not sufficiently large will deprive the workmen of a possibility following their respective employments and prevent me from reaping the Fruit earned by voluntarily exposing myself to danger and incurring a material Expence." [The Navy Board]: "...Mr. Banks seems throughout to consider the Ships as fitted out wholly for his use; the whole undertaking to depend on him and his people..." End Excerpts. 8vo. 6 pages. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, very good and original condition.
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AUSTEN, Leo
The Tedi River District of Papua - 11
Title: The Tedi River District of Papua. Author: Leo Austen Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1923. Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition: As early as six years prior to Charles Karius and Ivan Champion launching their famous 1926 expedition to cross New Guinea from the Fly to the Sepik, Australian army officer Leo Austen who would soon after become an anthropologist, led several pioneering patrols into the area. In 1922 he was placed in charge of an expedition to explore the country surrounding the Alice River [now known as the Ok Tedi River]. His party included one other officer, a Malay interpreter, twelve armed Papuan natives, and thirty-five Papuan carriers. As he notes the river's navigability and other important geographical features, he also observes various people groups settled along the banks and slightly inland. The Yonggom people and their customs are described at length. Piercing and tattooing, specific superstitions, confessions of cannibalism, fire making practices, cooking on hot stones, plaited fibre and sago leaf skirts for loin cloths, raised dwellings made of dirt and sago leafs with woven rattan doorways and constructed on posts or stilts, principal food staples, the use of long bamboo sticks for preserving water, and European influenced tobacco smoking, are some of the topics discussed in an unbiased manner. Both informative and engaging, Austen's firsthand account of a survey of the Ok Tedi District, formerly known as Alice River, describes a natural paradise, as it was in its virgin, undamaged state, three decades before Kennecott discovered the fabulous copper and gold deposit at Mount Fubilan near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi. He also visited several villages at the foot of the Star Mountains. 8vo. 15 pages, plus a full page sketch map for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Leo Austen (1894-1956) was born Leopold Novak Augstein in Brisbane. He was working as a clerk when World War I began and immediately enlisted. He landed with the first troops at Gallipoli and served in France where he was wounded. He returned to Australia in 1918 as a lieutenant and, with his brothers, changed his Austrian surname to Austen to avoid the anti-German sentiment after the war. On 3 April 1919 he joined Hubert Murray’s Papuan Service as a temporary Patrol Officer based at Daru in the lonely Western Division. He went on to lead many great patrols, there and elsewhere. In 1926 a Chair of Anthropology had been set up at the University of Sydney, partly to train Cadet Patrol Officers of the then separate New Guinea Department of District Services. Hubert Murray allowed some of his officers, including Leo, to attend the lectures. Leo eventually obtained qualifications as an anthropologist and began a parallel career producing many learned monographs and a book on Papua. The 1930s saw a massive upheaval of traditional societies in Papua due to increased European influence. Leo sought to restore and maintain the traditional cohesion of those societies, and was particularly successful in encouraging the revival of the paramount luluais in his favourite haunts in the Trobriand Islands. Leo became part of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) during World War II and attended the major ANGAU conference in February 1944. Towards the end of the war he was the presiding magistrate at the trial of a number of local people accused of collaborating with the Japanese. Later he Leo obtained a position with Aboriginal Welfare in Casino New South Wales, and continued to advocate for aboriginal rights, in various ways, until his final days.
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MARKHAM, C. R.
Progress of Discovery on the Coasts of New Guinea - With Bibliographical Appendix by E.C. Rye.
71 pages, contained in an issue of the Royal Geographical Society. These are original text pages printed in 1886. Paper is in Excellent Condition. This is the Original of Markham's Bibliography, as issued in the blue wrappers. The first printing of Markham's summation of New Guinea discovery expeditions leading up to those of Wilfred Powell, with remarks on potential opportunity in yet little-known interior territories. Includes the foremost 51 page bibliographical appendix on the subject, compiled by Rye. In 1511 the Portuguese Antonio de Abreu had made a voyage from the Aru Islands to the Moluccas, and had possibly sighted the coast of New Guinea. But it was Don Jorge de Meneses, a Portuguese commander sent from Malacco to take charge at the Moluccas in 1526, who was the actual discoverer. Meneses little dreamt of the significance of his discovery, that he had reached one of the largest islands in the world-covering 306,000 square miles, 1500 miles long and 500 wide, and as large as France and Britain put together. Remaining parts of the island would not be explored until the 17th century. There is very little bibliographical material published on the early history and discovery of New Guinea. Rye's is the first bibliography on the subject mentioned in Besterman. He cites approximately 800 publications on the subject. The arrangement of the material is alphabetical by author. Markham adds a concise and useful history of the exploration of the island. Scarce in any edition. Besterman 4224.
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LUKE, Sir Harry
Easter Island
Author: Sir Harry Luke Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1954. Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition: Recounting his visit to Easter Island in April and May 1952, the widely travelled author presents a lively account of the lesser-known history of slavery and slave-driven industries which nearly devastated the famous volcanic island, including the especially ruinous guano industry raid of 1862. [In 1862, Peruvian slavers made a ruthless raid on Rapa Nui and took about a thousand islanders - including the king - to work the guano deposits on Peru's Chincha Islands. The hardships and oppressions endured by the Chinese laborers who were employed in digging guano have been descrbed as a system of the worst kind of slavery.] In contrast, he also discusses the political and economic situation at the time of his visit, including the merino sheep industry, artisans retaining one ancient tradition, and British-led efforts to support the social well-being of the inhabitants which had been terminated for political reasons by the Chilean government in 1953. Following a firsthand description of the moai monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people, and remarks on the Bird-man cult, Luke concludes by revealing that the Commonwealth was considering establishing an air route from Australia to Chile, including the construction of an air strip on Easter Island. [The most remote airport in the world, Mataveri International Airport, began its service in 1967.] Excerpts from the text: "Easter Island was a no-man's land from the time that Spain was compelled to relinquish her South American possession until 1888... for more than two generations at the mercy of the 'blackbirders,' those scourges of the Pacific who roamed from island to island, seizing by force defenceless natives to work out their plantations, mines and the like. Easter Island was one of the many islands all but ruined by these depredations." "The breach of continuity to which I have referred was brought about by the development of the guano industry on the rocky islands off the Peruvian coast, which began at the end of the 1850s. From 1859, and especially in the organized raid of December 1862, most of Easter Island's able-bodied men and its leaders, including King Kaimakoi, his son and many of the learned elders (maori), were crimped by Peruvian blackbirding expeditions and transported to those sun-scorched, glary, waterless pieces of rock whose only covering consists of deposits of stinking guano." "The fifteen who lived to see their island again introduced the smallpox to a community that had no immunity... most of those who had escaped the clutches of 'blackbirders' lost their lives in the consequent epidemic." "Adorned with clumps of eucalyptus, Persian lilac, cypress and bamboo, it is a place that leaves a lasting impression and many questions with all visitors past and present. The isolation of Easter Island, its numerous and bizarre works of art, combined with the rarety of its visitors some 50 years ago contributed to a great deal of speculation and attempted explanations of the unknown phenomena." "... I am the 'ex-Governor of the British Colonies in the Pacific' referred to in Chapter 3 of Thor Heyerdahl's fascinating book as having been present on 27 April 1947 at the launching of his most famous of rafts... I was therefore anxious... to see how far the works of Easter Island culture support his theory..." End excerpts. 8vo. 10 pages including an in-text sketch map, plus photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Sir Harry Charles Luke KCMG GCStJ (born Harry Charles Lukach) (1884-1969) was an official in the British Colonial Office. He served in Barbados, Cyprus, Transcaucasia, Sierra Leone, Palestine, Malta, the British Western Pacific Territories and Fiji. He wrote books on several of these countries. The Chincha Islands, or Islas Chincha, are a group of three small islands 21 km (13 mi) off the southwest coast of Peru, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco. They were of interest for their extensive guano deposits, but the supplies were mostly exhausted by 1874. Peru began the export of guano (droppings of seabirds, bats, and seals) in 1840, using slave labour. Spain, not having recognized Peru's independence (until 1879), and desiring the guano profits, occupied the islands in April 1864, setting off the Chincha Islands War (1864-1866).
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LAW, Phillip
The Australian Antarctic Expedition to Mac-Robertson Land, 1954. - 12
Author: Phillip Law Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1954. Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition: With a chart tracking the course of the specially designed Australian ice-breaker ship called Kista Dan, and four remarkable photographic views, Phillip Law describes his difficult but successful mission - having establishing a completely functional station for future scientific work in the region of Mac. Robertson Land, Antarctica. Resolute in his endeavour, Law and his modest team of twenty-four, battled fierce windstorms and deadly moving ice in 1953-1954, to erect "Mawson Station" which he named after Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson. Established in 1954 in Holme Bay, Mac Robertson Land, Mawson is Australia's oldest Antarctic station and the oldest continuously inhabited Antarctic station south of the Antarctic Circle. On 13 February 1954 the party led by Law raised the Australian flag on the rocky shore of Horseshoe Harbour. In the first year a 10 Australians spent winter in cramped but adequate accommodation under the leadership of Robert Dovers. By the end of the year, they had erected the living quarters, a works hut, a carpenter's shop, an engine shed, two store houses. 8vo. 12 pages including sketch maps, plus photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Excerpt from the text: "The Kista Dan, under the command of Captain H. C. Petersen, arrived at Melbourne on 11 December 1953... the ship loaded stores and supplies for both Heard Island and Antarctica..." "Three 'weasels' were taken... two living caravans to be towed behind the weasels which were fitted with insulated cabins. Five huts were landed... to provide sleeping, messing and cooking quarters, and one specially designed... to serve as radio, meteorological, survey and medical accommodation, and an engine house and two storehouses..." "Proceeding to the French Station at Port aux Français, Iles de Kerguelen, the Kista Dan took on 50 tons of gas-oil, 36 tons of water, petrol for weasels and aircraft, and diesel fuel for the Antarctic station..." "Early on Saturday, February 6, the wind rose and prevented any action... 60 knots and snowing... storm continued all day, causing great ice movements to port and astern of the ship... Kista Dan was immovably wedged." "The time until our departure, February 23, was employed on a variety of tasks. Three huts were completed... seals were killed and skinned for winter dog-food; gravity and magnetic observations, also an astronomical determination of position, were made at Mawson; geological and botanical specimens were collected; and philatelic mail, comprising 23,000 letters, were stamped." "Several emperor penguin skeletons were found at Mawson but no live emperor... There were no penguin rookeries at Mawson... but there was an Adélie penguin rookery on the island where Dover camped... where the Kista Dan first began to break into the fast-ice... a long line of thousands of Adélie penguins stretched... many of the chicks were dying from starvation..." "Mawson provided an ideal site for station..." End Excerpt. Today, Mawson Station houses approximately 20 personnel over winter and up to 60 in summer. It is the only Antarctic station to use wind generators for over 70% of its power needs, saving over 600,000 litres of diesel fuel per year. Some of the small pre-fabricated huts used in the first years remain on the station, but these are overshadowed by large steel-framed modular buildings dating from a major rebuilding program which started in the late 1970s. As intended by Law, it now serves as a base for scientific research programs, including an underground cosmic ray detector, various long-term meteorological, aeronomy and geomagnetic studies, as well as ongoing conservation biology studies, in particular of nearby Auster rookery, a breeding ground for emperor penguins and Adélie penguins. Phillip Garth Law AC, CBE, FAA (1912-2010) was an Australian scientist and explorer who served as director of Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) from 1949 to 1966. He spent the first of many summers in Antarctica in 1947-48 as a senior research officer on ANARE, soon becoming director. He established bases in Mawson, Davis and Casey, and led expeditions that explored more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) of coastline and some 1,000,000 square kilometres (390,000 sq mi) of territory. From 1966 to 1980 he chaired the Australian National Committee on Antarctic Research. He published many works on his exploration. Law's wife Nel became the first Australian woman in Antarctica when she visited Mawson in 1961. Mac. Robertson Land is the portion of Antarctica lying southward of the coast between William Scoresby Bay and Cape Darnley. In the east, Mac. Robertson Land includes the Prince Charles Mountains. It was named by the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) (1929-1931), under Sir Douglas Mawson, after Sir Macpherson Robertson of Melbourne, a patron of the expedition. Sir Macpherson Robertson had financed the joint British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931, which was led by the famous explorer Douglas Mawson. Mac. Robertson Land was named in his honour, and in 1932 Robertson received his knighthood for his philanthropic works, specific mention being given for his support of this expedition.
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BEAGLEHOLE, J. C.
On the Character of Captain James Cook.
8vo. 13 pages, plus two black and white plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, containing other accounts as well, seldom found in such good and original condition. An earnestly disquisitive analysis of early biographies, scant surviving correspondence, and most importantly, Captain Cook's own decision making and planning processes relating to his voyages, results in a most captivating character sketch of the great navigator, Captain James Cook. The author remarks on how very little is known of his famous subject other than his name, which is known worldwide. Further describing what he terms "the irony of the Pacific story" this account is well researched and compelling.
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Dr. F. von Hochstetter; Dr. A. Petermann
The Geology of New Zealand: In Explanation of the Geographical and Topographical Atlas of New Zealand - Rare NZ Imprint.
An English translation by Dr. C. F. Fisher, from the Scientific Publications of the Novara Expedition, comprising important and fascinating observations and survey work by German-Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter at the onset of British settlement in the region. 8vo. 113 pages, plus table of contents, title page. Red cloth boards titled in gilt to front. Volume measures approximately 14 x 21 cm. Faint blemish to boards, otherwise very good condition, clean and bright. An early work presenting discoveries made in New Zealand, specifically in Auckland and Nelson, during the Austrian Imperial Novara Expedition. It includes two important lectures delivered by esteemed geologist and expedition leader Ferdinand von Hochstetter. A principal member of the expedition, Hochstetter was involved in its planning from the onset. His surveys were used in the making of the first geological map of New Zealand, created the bases for future geological research. The Novara Expedition (1857-1859) was the first large-scale scientific, around-the-world mission of the Austrian Imperial navy. In 1859, during the expedition, Hochstetter was funded by the government of New Zealand to make a rapid geological survey of the islands. Over 150 years later, his work is regarded as an authoritative primary source still today. the volume's content centers largely on Hochstetter's survey of Auckland, beginning with his lecture on the region's geology. Subjects further include its extinct volcanos, Lake Rotomahana and its hot springs [Te Tarata thermal springs], and three inlets on North Island - Whaingaroa [now known as Raglan], Aotea, and Kawhia. Approximately one quarter of the text is devoted to his geological work in the Province of Nelson.
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COX, W. Gibbons
The Artesian Water-Supply of Australia from a Geographical Standpoint.
8vo. 17 pages including in-text illustrations, plus a folding colour map measuring approximately 38 x 26 cm. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, containing other accounts as well, seldom found in such good and original condition. Irrigation and drainage engineer Gibbons W. Cox examines for the first time the Artesian basin of Australia, for the purpose of offsetting periods of drought by way of a "fuller utilization of the artesian water conserved in the crust of the Earth." Noting that Australia's rivers are few, and suggesting that it will become increasingly costly to hold their flood-time waters in canals and reservoirs, he calls attention to the immediate need for "remedy to the existing defects in administration of this valuable asset." To substantiate the concept, he examines similar regions, including Madras, Persia, the Sahara Desert regions of Algeria, and especially the United States of America, providing impressive statistics of success, where in some regions whole communities survive only by the "transformations produced by artesian waters upon sandy wastes" even with the most primitive systems in place. Following this, he illustrates the current usages of outflow waters tapped into with bore holes, and the loss of invaluable water. Alarming and factual statistics are presented, the loss of 31,340,000 sheep from 1890-1899, and 975,645 cattle in the year 1900 alone, to bring awareness to the critical water problem. Costs and effectiveness of river irrigation versus better management of artesian waters support his urgent recommendation. Together with photographic and sketch illustrations, and a colour map showing the expanse of the underground basin and partially reclaimed regions within Queensland alone, Cox makes a most compelling argument, concluding that, "... the only alternative lies in a greater increase in artesian supplies, and their adoption for systematic irrigation (for at least fodder and stock), and thus induce a larger pastoral and agricultural population to settle on the land... It is easily conceivable that sufficient water might be tapped by a great increase or artesian borings in Australia, which would provide permanent rivers and creeks in the interior from which systematic irrigation could be carried out... there would be greater evaporation, increased moisture, and a far more equable climate..." A discussion then ponders the sustainability of the water source, a most important topic which remains a question still today 110 years later! [A recent study, 2013, has assessed the sustainability of the artesian reservoir, through a comprehensive examination of the Basin's water flows, hydrology and geology.]
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GROVER, J. C.
Some Geographical Aspects of the British Solomon Islands in the Western Pacific.
20 pages with several in-text sketch maps and diagrams, plus a fold-out sketch map and a few photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. The author provides a detailed geological profile of the Solomons, from the Santa Cruz Group, Rennell, Bellona, the Shortlands, the Central islands, Western San Cristoval, and including also outlying coral islands. Featuring also Gaudalcanal and the Savo Volcano. Scientific observations were gained during his six years of prolific work. He remarks that Choiseul and the New Georgia Group were still 'largely unexplored', and expected to remain as such for another two years. John Grover was born in Sydney, Australia in 1920. He served in the Middle East and New Guinea during World War II with the Royal Australian Engineers of the AIF. He then followed a distinguished career in the earth sciences and mining industry in the South West Pacific, Australia and Africa. He received a Royal Society and Nuffield Grant in 1967 and managed the major U.N. Development Project in Ethiopia in 1975-77. His two books "The Struggle For Power" and "The Struggle For Cargo" are widely regarded as classics in the anti-uranium/nuclear and anti-mining movements. An Ambitious Undertaking for a Thorough Scientific Survey of the Solomon Islands.
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Bonham's Magazine - Sam Willis
Sir Francis Drake - Sailor of the Century
72 pages containing a 5 page article on Sir Francis Drake. Merchant, pirate and hero of the Armada, Sir Francis Drake was no mere man of his time. As Sam Willis argues, Drake defined the era It is one of the great storeys of British history and, sadly, one that sensible historians routinely disparage: that, as his nation faced existential peril at the hands of its mortal enemy, Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596) chose first to finish the game he was playing. The tale is well known, but bears retelling.
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ALCOCK, A.
A Naturalist in Indian Seas, or, Four Years with the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship "Investigator"
large 8vo [23.5 x 16 cm]; xxiv, 328 pp, photogravure frontis of the ship, 98 illustrations on 58 plates, folding map, bibliog, tables, index. later green morocco-backed boards, gilt spine title lettering, gilt decorations on raised bands, very lightly foxed on few leaves, mostly marginal, near fine sound copy in handsome binding. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Wood p. 184. Most of the book is a quality narrative of the voyage in the Indian Ocean, including Laccadive Sea, Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Also included is a history of the ship "Investigator" and its use in gathering information on natural history over more than a decade, with the final section being on the marine biology of the Indian seas. The illustrations are of fish and other marine creatures, An important study and interesting narrative.
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ANDERSEN, Johannes C., illustrated by Richard Wallwork
Myths & Legends of the Polynesians
8vo [22.5 x 16 cm]; 512 pp, 16 color plates from paintings including the frontis, 32 half-tone plates, other illus, folding map, glossary, index. original decorated blue cloth, gilt lettering on front cover and spine, lightly stained on cover, inscribed on endpaper, interior is fine and clean, in good cover. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. "Charming myths, ranging from New Zealand to Central Polynesia to Hawaii, have been retold by a Danish scholar." (A. Grove Day, in 'Pacific Islands Literature, one hundred basic books') The author edited the Journal of the Polynesian Society for 22 years, received the Royal Society Medal for Ethnology, and was a renowned scholar in the area. The romantic illustrations from Wallwork's paintings are supplemented by many photos of artifacts, textiles, tattoos, canoes, scenery, people, etc.
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ANDERSEN-ROSENDAL, Jorgen
The Happy Lagoons; Adventures of a South Sea Wanderer
8vo [21.5 x 14 cm]; [xii], 272 pp, illustrations from photos. original cloth backed boards, dj (bit rubbed), else very good overall. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. The author's travels to Tonga, Makogai, Samoa, etc.
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ANDERSON, Charles Roberts
Journal of a Cruise to the Pacific Ocean, 1842-1844, in the Frigate United States with notes on Herman Melville
8vo [22 x 14.5 cm]; x, 143 pp, frontis, plates from paintings of Journal of William H. Meyers, painted during the cruise, tables, notes, index. original cloth with gilt title lettering on spine, dj (lightly chipped at spine end, not price clipped), fine in vg dj. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Hill 463. The anonymous author was probably a petty officer with access to the ship's records so that the diary combines the accuracy and authenticity of an official log book with the informal discursiveness of a personal record (dj). It includes the earliest known account of official uniforms in the American navy. The journal contains the fullest published account of the capture of Monterey four years before the Mexican War. Herman Melville was one of the members of the crew and the work includes the first published account of his life during this period of his South Seas adventures, out of which experiences he wrote White Jacket, or the World in a Man-of War.
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ANDREWS, J. R. H.
The Southern Ark; Zoological Discovery in New Zealand 1769 - 1900
folio [30 x 22 cm]; xii, 237 pp, numerous illustrations and plates, mostly in color from early sources, detailed bibliog, index. original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and front cover, pictorial endpapers, dj (not price clipped), fine and clean copy, unused and unmarked. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. A description of the discovery of the unique fauna such as the Kiwi, Moa, Takahe and the Tuatara beginning with the voyages of Captain Cook to the end of the Victorian era. Attractive illustrations include those of Parkinson, Forster, Lear, Gould, Wolf, Martyn, Keulemans and Donovan cover all aspects of animal, bird, marine and insect life.
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ANDREWS, J. R. H.
The Southern Ark; Zoological Discovery in New Zealand 1769 - 1900
folio [30 x 22 cm]; xii, 237 pp, numerous illustrations and plates, mostly in color, detailed bibliog, index. original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and front cover, pictorial endpapers, dj, fine and clean copy, unused. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. A description of the discovery of the unique fauna such as the Kiwi, Moa, Takahe and the Tuatara beginning with the voyages of Captain Cook to the end of the Victorian era. Attractive illustrations include those of Parkinson, Forster, Lear, Gould, Wolf, Martyn, Keulemans and Donovan cover all aspects of animal, bird, marine and insect life.
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AUDAS, James Wales
The Australian Bushland
8vo [22.5 x 15 cm]; 711, [i, errata] pp, frontis (portrait), 8 color plates from paintings (one of Cassowary, others of flowers), many other plates and illustrations from photos, maps, glossary, index. original green cloth, spine and cover title lettering, dj (chipped at spine ends, not price clipped), interior is clean and fine, overall very good. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. The botanist author, describes the flora, trees, grasses, etc in each region of Australia as well as botanical excursions in Victoria, appendices on wildflowers, grasses, Australian aborigines, birds, mammals of Australia, termites, erosion, Australian exploration, etc. Very well-illustrated.
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BARRETT, Charles
Koowarra; A Naturalist's Adventures in Australia
8vo [22 x 15 cm]; xii, 315 pp, frontis and plates from the author's photos, index. original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, very good clean copy in dj (chipped at edges, price clipped). A picture of this book is available upon request by email. One of Australia's most popular naturalists describes his travels throughout the continent, describing nature, animals, plants, aboriginals, etc, with many illustrations and anecdotes.
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BARRETT, Charles
Isle of Mountains; Roaming Through Tasmania
8vo [22 x 15 cm]; xiii, 263 pp, colored frontispiece plate, numerous plates from photos, map, index`. original brown cloth, title lettering on spine and cover, pictorial endpaper, spine edges rubbed, interior quite clean and fine in good cover. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. It has been claimed that nowhere else in the world does so much wild beauty exist in such a small area, as Tasmania, and the author's travels and descriptions through this land filled with mountains, rivers, lakes and fine coastal scenery tends to prove it. With descriptions of settlements, people, nature.
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BASTIN, John; and Bea Brommer
Nineteenth Century Prints and Illustrated Books of Indonesia
4to [29.5 x 21 cm]; [xiv], 386 pp, 107 colored illustrations on plates, 371 monochrome illustrations on plates, bibliography, index. original brown cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and cover, slight stain at lower spine else near fine in very good dj (short tear, light stain at edge). A picture of this book is available upon request by email. A profusely illustrated work based on the collection of the Tropen museum in Amsterdam but with consultations of collections in Netherlands and United Kingdom. It discusses each of the hundreds of prints and books, that were published in Netherlands, United Kingdom and Indonesia in the nineteenth century, with collations, details of publication, artists, engravers, biographical information, etc, with a section on early lithographic printing in Indonesia.
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BECCARI, Odoardo
Wanderings in the Great Forests of Borneo; Travels and Researches of a Naturalist in Sarawak
8vo [23 x 15 cm]; xxiv, 424 pp, frontis, 61 illustrations including many full-page, mostly from photos, 3 folding maps, some drawings, index. original pictorial cloth, gilt spine title lettering and gilt picture on front cover, top edge gilted, endpaper bookplate, no tears of maps, near fine and clean. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. An important book by one of the great botanical explorers and naturalists of the nineteenth century, the Italian botanist, spent time at Kew, where he met Charles Darwin, William Joseph Hooker and James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak. The latter lead him to spending 3 years from 1865 to 1868 undertaking research in Sarawak, Brunei and other islands off present-day Malaysia and New Guinea, where he discovered many new species of palms, and many other plants such as a phosphorescent fungus that was bright enough to read a newspaper placed by it. Beccari was in Sarawak during 1865-67 where he collected over 800 bird skins including 40 not previously discovered of unrecorded species. He describes nature, the people, Dyaks and their customs in some detail, prior to the major impacts of the twentieth century, and describes his return to Sarawak some 20 years later, where he formed a botanical garden. He discovered the titan arum, the plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, in Sumatra in 1878. This edition also contains the valuable and detailed appendix on the forests of Borneo, which are currently being logged to extinction. The preface is by naturalist F. H. H. Guillemard who also wrote a book of his travels in the area. The later reprint does not include the maps of the original.
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BENNETT, George
Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australia: being Observations Principally on the Animal and Vegetable Productions of New South Wales, New Zealand and some of the Austral Islands
8vo [23 x 15.5 cm]; xii, 456 pp, 8 fine lithographed plates, 7 being hand-colored, other tinted, other engraved illustrations from drwgs, the plates drawn by J. Wolf, W. Fitch, George Angas (4 are botanical, others animals, birds). original blind-stamped cloth, gilt spine title lettering, cloth faded and rear internal hinge repaired, old inscription on title margin dated 1861, interior clean and near fine, excellent plates. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Ripley 26. Ferguson 6929. Wood 231: 'An interesting account of the author's observations on the flora and fauna of Australasia, in which birds figure large, at least half of the 23 chapters containing references to them'. The book contains an extensive chapter on the platypus, which the author here calls a water mole, together with a hand colored plate of same. Fitch, who painted the botanical subjects, was one of the most respected botanical artists of his time. Other subjects are by artists G.F. Angas, Thomas Baines and Joseph Wolf, each a highly respected and important natural history artist. An important contribution including marine biology, ornithology, bird migration, plants including those with agricultural application, botanic garden, medicinal remedies, etc.
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BENNETT, George
Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australia: being Observations Principally on the Animal and Vegetable Productions of New South Wales, New Zealand and some of the Austral Islands
8vo [23 x 15.5 cm]; xii, 456 pp, 8 fine lithographed plates, 7 being hand-colored, other tinted, other illustrations from drwgs, the plates drawn by J. Wolf, W. Fitch, George Angas (4 are botanical, others animals, birds). later sim. leather, gilt title lettering on red leather label, new endpapers, lightly foxed on few leaves, else clean, very good+ copy, well-bound. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Ripley 26. Ferguson 6929. Wood 231: 'An interesting account of the author's observations on the flora and fauna of Australasia, in which birds figure large, at least half of the 23 chapters containing references to them'. The book contains an extensive chapter on the platypus, which the auithor here calls a water mole, together with a hand colored plate of same. Fitch, who painted the botanical subjects, was one of the most respected botanical artists of his time. Other subjects are by artists G.F. Angas, Thomas Baines and Joseph Wolf, each a highly respected and ijmportant natural history artist. An important contribution including marine biology, ornithology, bird migration, plants including those with agricultural application, botanic garden, medicinal remedies, etc. The last chapter describes overland routes from Sydney to Southampton. Included is a loose clipping from a periodical on the New Guinea Ant Eater with illustration.
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BEST, Thomas, edited by Sir William Foster
The Voyage of Thomas Best to the East Indies 1612-14
8vo [22.5 x 15 cm]; lvi, 316 pp, tinted map frontis, 3 other maps, facsimile of signature of Best, bibliog, index. original blind-stamped cloth, with gilt vignette on both covers, gilt lettering on spine, short tear at head of spine, else a fine clean copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Foster gives an extensive and detailed introduction which gives a good historical perspective of this voyage to India, Sumatra, Java, Malay, etc. This is the original edition of this work, there also being a reprint.
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BINKS, C. J.
Explorers of Western Tasmania
4to [29.55 x 21 cm]; xvi, 263 pp, color frontis, numerous plates, illus, many in color, maps, bibliog, index. original pictorial wraps, very good copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. A very detailed history of exploration in this island, extensively illustrated.
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BIRKETT, Dea
Serpent in Paradise
8vo [24 x 16 cm]; xix, 296, [iv] pp, 2 maps, appendix. original boards (hardcover) with gilt spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), clean and fine copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. A narrative of travels in Pitcairn Island, among the descendants of the crew of the Bounty that mutinied from Captain William Bligh, with a description of the peculiar conditions and society that developed.
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BODDAM-WHETHAM, J. W.
Pearls of the Pacific
8vo [23 x 15 cm]; xiv, 362 pp, 7 plates including frontis, vignette on title page of little dodo, title page printed in red and black in border. original red cloth with decorations in black, gilt spine title lettering and decorations, spine faded but lettering clear, light foxing on few leaves mainly at beginning and end, corners rubbed, very good copy. A picture of this book is available upon req Taylor 144. Three of the illustrations are of Hawaii (Hawaiians dancing the hula in authentic costume, Kealakeakua Bay, Rainbow Falls), with other illustrations including Pago Pago, Tutuila, Apia, Upolu, Apolimja, Fiji. The author travelled extensively in Hawaii and other Pacific islands and provides an interesting description of the peoples and nature on the islands visited.
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BOEHM, Sir Edgar Collins
The Persian Gulf and South Sea Isles
8vo [22 x 14.5 cm]; xv, 180 pp, 15 plates from photos including frontis, index. original cloth, gilt title lettering on front cover and spine, cover lightly soiled, interior is clean, else a fine copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. The first half of the book describes the author's journey in 1901 to Baghdad, Basra, Bahirin, Muscat, Sherpore, etc around the Persian Gulf where he visits some areas off the beaten track. The second half of the book describes his stay on several Pacific islands including Tonga, Haapai, Fiji, etc and is remarkable for its explicit illustrations of cannibals, including one entitled 'Cannibals dragging prisoners to the ovens', two others showing cannibals slaughtering their victims. The author didn't seem too concerned about becoming a victim. There have been only two copies at auction in the last 25 years, the last at Sotheby's in 1997 selling at US$782, although it wasn't in as good a condition as this copy.
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BULKELEY, John; John Cummins
A Voyage to the South-Seas in His Majesty's Ship the Wager in the Years 1740-1.
8vo [21 x 14.5 cm]; xxxi, [i], 212 pp, frontis, 2 double-page plates, double page map, 2 facsimiles of title pages from original edition, table. original cloth, rubbed at edges, signature on endpaper, very good. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Hill p 38; Sabin 9108, Borba de Moreaes p 133. The Voyage describes the loss of the Wager, a transport in Anson's squadron which was wrecked in the Golfo de Penas on the Chilean coast. Following the wreck, a mutinous split occurred, resulting in this voyage of one of the factions to Rio de Janeiro in the long boat. An account of the sufferings of the officers left behind was later published by John Byron. There were later editions published in 1752 and 1757. The introduction by Arthur D. Howden Smith provides an historical perspective. The first edition was 1743 with several printings in the eighteenth century. This is the third edition, and not reprinted since 1757.
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BURDETT, F. D., edited and annotated by Percy J. King
The Odyssey of an Orchid Hunter
8vo [22 x 14.5 cm]; 317 pp, frontis (port), plus 15 plates from photos, index, map of Philippine Islands on endpapers. original cloth, slightly rubbed at corner, small dent at cover edge, lightly foxed on few leaves, mainly marginal, but a very good, solid and tight copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Burdett was one of the first prospectors of the Kimberley goldrush, a pearl hunter, explorer and orchid collector who explored coral reefs and jungles for some forty years. In this work, the author travelled in the jungles of the Philippines and describes the jungle, the peoples, nature, his adventures and the finding of some orchids among other things, including ancient artifacts. He was also the author of The Odyssey of a Pearl Hunter.
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CALDWELL, Elsie Noble
Satin Skirts of Commerce
8vo [24 x 16 cm]; 204 pp, frontis (map), plates from photos. original cloth, dj (wear, tears), else very good, clean copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Travels from Capetown to Mozambique, Zanzibar, Mombassa, Seychelles, Goa, Bombay, Agra, Rangoon, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Toga, Samoa and Hawaii, the author describes the peoples, customs, nature, agriculture, trade, with about a hundred photos.
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CAYLEY-WEBSTER, H.
Through New Guinea and the Cannibal Countries
8vo [21 x 16 cm]; xvii, 384 pp, photogravure frontis (port), 100 illustrations from photos, mostly full-page, a map is sometimes bound in but is here not found nor is it listed in the illustrations. original cloth, worn, especially at edges and spine, spine frayed and joint tear, internally light soiling, a few leaves loosening, good copy of scarce title, signed by author on tissue guard of frontispiece. A picture of this book is available upon reque A classic and important study covering all aspects of native society. Various islands in the area are included in the study including New Britain, New Guinea, Ysabel Island, Kei Islands, New Hanover, Solomon Islands, Admiralty Islands, St. Gabriel, Hardy Island.
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CHEEVER, Henry T.
Life in the Sandwich Islands; or The Heart of the Pacific, as it was and is
12mo [19 x 13.5 cm]; 355, [iii, ads] pp, extra lithographed title page with vignette, frontis, plates, map, other engravings in text. original blind-stamped cloth with gilt picture on front cover, gilt spine title lettering, spine ends chipped, corner wear, very lightly foxed on few leaves, else very good solid copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. The illustrations include Kealakekua Bay, Kaahamunau, old Hawaiian idols, Lahaina at Maui, Wailuku, double canoe, coral island and the plate of surf-playing, an early plate of surfing. Smith C45: 'A good picture of the islands at that time'. Hill p. 51: 'This interesting work relates mainly to Cheever's wide travels among the Hawaiian Islands and to his observations of them. Much interesting data is included on the history and native culture of the islands. Chapters are given on the first Hawaiian college and on Hawaiian literature. Cheever predicted eventual American rule of the islands.' Hunnewell 30.
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CLIFTON, Mrs. Talbot [Violet]
Pilgrims to the Isles of Penance; Orchid Gathering in the East
8vo [22.5 x 15 cm]; 320 pp, frontis, 54 illustrations from photos on plates, foldout map of Philippine Islands, South China Sea to Siam, Sumatra showing route in red, with the errata sheet (often lacking), index, title page printed in red and black. original cloth with gilt spine title lettering, lightly foxed at outer edge, signature of R. G. Pennington on endpaper, a very good copy. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Robinson 233. The author and her husband Talbot, a restless and dissatisfied explorer, went plant hunting in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and although the main purpose of the expedition, the author describes their travels to Rangoon, Siam, Singapore, Batavia and all parts in between as well with good descriptions of the peoples, their customs, conditions, etc, with plant hunting forming a small part of the book.
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COCKBURN, J. A.
Australasia
8vo [22 x 15 cm]; xx, 364 pp, 2 color folding maps (one of Australia, other of New Zealand), folding table of population, commerce, geography for each Pacific island. original pictorialdecorated cloth, spine bit faded, very good clean copy, partly unopened. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. With much on Australia, with different chapters by experts in their fields, including different regions, aboriginals, fisheries (by Aflalo), Tasmania, the lost Tasmanian race, but also chapters on New Zealand, the Maoris, women of Autralasia, New Guinea and islands of the western Pacific.
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