The centrepiece of the material we have for sale at the forthcoming Melbourne Rare Book Fair is a selection of unique items relating to Australian inland exploration. One exceptional item is an unrecorded manuscript journal of the first seven weeks of John McDouall Stuart’s second exploring expedition, with a lengthy addendum in the hand of the explorer himself. An extensive archive relating to the pastoral properties of Alfred Barker (1812-1880) in the north of South Australia includes a series of letters giving details of the controversial purchase of Stuart’s pastoral runs on the eve of his departure from Australia. Rare portraits include vintage photographs of Stuart, Burke, Wills, and Allan Davidson, and a lithograph of Edward John Eyre.
Children’s literature is well-represented by a superb collection of books by A.A. Milne and his illustrator Ernest H. Shepard, including deluxe and limited editions, some of them signed. Once again, we have a fine selection of private press material, including titles from the Doves, Eragny, Golden Cockerel, Vale and Cuala presses. One highlight is the complete run of twelve issues of A Broadside, New Series, 1937, a hand-coloured collection of ‘New Irish and English Songs’ edited by William Butler Yeats.
Artwork and photography include a suite of five colonial watercolours by S.T. Gill, and two large-format vintage photographs by Frank Hurley from Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914, with provenance from a member of his later BANZARE.
London, The Folio Society, 2009 (first thus). The superb miniatures by Giovanni di Paolo (circa 1403-1482) were commissioned for a manuscript edition of Dante's 'Divine Comedy' presented to Alfonso V, king of Aragon, Naples and Sicily around 1444 and now held by the British Library (Yates Thompson MS 36). This..... More
London, The Folio Society, 2007 (first thus). Dalí was commissioned by the Italian government to illustrate the entire 'Divine Comedy' to commemorate the seven hundredth anniversary of Dante's birth. This edition follows the blank verse translation of Henry Francis Cary, with extensive notes at the rear. More
London, Faber & Faber Ltd., 1935. A delightful children's book in verse by Bernard Darwin, better known for his writings on golf (and for being a grandson of the more famous Charles); the charming colour lithographs are by his wife Elinor. More
Kalgoorlie, 'D. Falconer, Photo Artist', [between August 1894 and 1896]. The most readily-accessible, extensive (and accurate) information on Davidson is to be found in the lengthy introduction by Valmai Hankel to the new edition of 'Journal of Explorations in Central Australia ... 1898-1900'. The journal was first published as South..... More
London, Hodder and Stoughton, [1924, first thus]. More
London, Martin Secker, 1922 [deluxe edition]/ [1917]. Number 109 of 150 copies of this deluxe large-paper issue on blue paper signed by the author. Loosely inserted is an autograph postcard initialled by Norman Douglas, addressed to his friend Ralph Straus, prolific novelist and biographer: 'c/o T. Cook & Son, Via..... More
Hammersmith, The Doves Press, 1902. One of 325 copies on paper (with the Doves Press watermark); a further 25 copies were printed on vellum (see Tonkinson, page 54). 'Printed by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson & Emery Walker at The Doves Press'. Cobden-Sanderson wrote in his journal that 'The book is primarily the..... More
London, Faber and Faber, 1944 [first English edition]/ 1943 (first collected edition). The first English edition of this important collection. The four poems were first published together in the American edition, published in May 1943. 'The four poems which make up this volume have all appeared separately: "Burnt Norton" first..... More
London, Faber & Gwyer Limited, 1925 [1926, first edition, signed deluxe issue]. Number 1 of 85 copies of the deluxe issue on hand-made paper, signed by T.S. Eliot (and only 75 copies were offered for sale). This collection includes some of Eliot's best-loved poems, including 'Prufrock', 'The Waste Land', and..... More
London, Faber & Gwyer Limited, 1925 [first edition]. This collection includes some of Eliot's best-loved poems, including 'Prufrock', 'The Waste Land', and 'The Hollow Men'. 'The dedication to "The Waste Land" ['For Ezra Pound, il miglior fabbro'] (which appears as an autograph inscription in the copy of the first edition..... More
London, Eragny Press, April 1905. One of only 175 copies on paper (of which 150 were offered for sale), printed at the Eragny Press of Lucien and Esther Pissarro. A further 10 copies on vellum were also produced. The title vignette was designed and engraved by Laurence Binyon; the other..... More
London, Printed at the Eragny Press for Hacon & Ricketts, 1901 [first thus]. One of only 226 copies (of which 200 were offered for sale), printed at the Eragny Press of Lucien and Esther Pissarro. The title vignette was designed and engraved by Lucien, and Esther engraved the other decorations..... More
London, Printed at the Eragny Press for Hacon & Ricketts, 1902 [first thus]. One of only 230 copies (of which 200 were offered for sale), printed at the Eragny Press of Lucien and Esther Pissarro. The title vignette and two illustrations were drawn and engraved by T. Sturge Moore; the..... More
London, Printed at the Press of the Guild of Handicraft, Limited ... for Edward Arnold [Essex House Press], 1899. The second publication of the Essex House Press of Laurence Hodson and C.R. Ashbee, and one of only 300 copies. The 'Hymn of the Pearl' or 'Hymn of the Soul' is..... More
[No Place, No Publisher, No Date] (but circa 1860s). 'Edward John Eyre (1815-1901), explorer and administrator, emigrated to New South Wales from England when he was seventeen. Settling in Adelaide after pioneering expeditions with sheep and cattle, he made several attempts to find an overland stock route from the city..... More
Adelaide, C.E. Bristow, Government Printer, 1891. Printed at the head of the first page is the following: '29/6/91. Draft of a Bill as adopted by the National Australasian Convention, 9th April, 1891. Henry Parkes, President. F.W. Webb, Secretary'. Provenance: Sir John William Downer (1843-1915), one of the South Australian delegates..... More
London, Published for the Florence Press by Chatto & Windus, 1910 (first thus)/ 1881. Number 124 of 250 copies on Aldwych hand-made paper (of which 235 were offered for sale); a further 12 copies were printed on vellum (of which 10 were for sale). This collection of essays by Stevenson..... More
Rosemary Woodford Ganf (born 1949) illustrated all three volumes of the important limited-edition series, 'Marsupials of Australia'; individual details are as follows. Volume 1: Possums, the Koala and Wombats, by Meredith Smith (1980). Volume 2: Carnivorous Marsupials and Bandicoots, by Meredith Smith and Heather J. Aslin (1987). Volume 3: Kangaroos..... More
Keith Bowden ('Samuel Thomas Gill, Artist', 1971) records these pieces as 'Illustrated Letter Paper (4 pp) Embracing Town, Suburban and Digging Views, with Sketches of Colonial Life and Character. Published by James J. Blundell and Co. Melbourne. Priced at 6d. per sheet or 7/6 a quire (46 views available in..... More
All five images are initialled 'S.T.G.' and titled by the artist. The titles are: 1. 'Native Cherry Tree, Victoria', featuring an Aboriginal man reclining in the foreground, overlooking a picturesque valley with other Aboriginal figures. 2. 'Shepherds Out Station Nr Mt Horrocks - North Station', showing a rustic hut with..... More
![Item #123096 Open Head [and] Open Eye. Allen Lawrence FERLINGHETTI GINSBERG, and](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/123096_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1675825211)
Melbourne, Sun Books, 1972. Inscribed 'For Ethel Payne from Allen Ginsberg | Adelaide 9 March '72'. Both authors were participants in Writers' Week at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in Adelaide in March 1972. The recipient was the manager of the Co-op Bookshop, the official booksellers at the event. More
London, The Golden Cockerel Press, 1935. Number 186 of 325 copies signed by H.E. Bates (of which the first six copies were printed on vellum, 60 were bound in full morocco, and 25 were not for sale). Provenance: Ronald Nickels (Jack) Finlayson (1882-1945), a South Australian lawyer and law lecturer..... More
London, The Golden Cockerel Press, 1925. Number 26 of only 30 copies in full vellum signed by John Nash; the standard edition (unsigned, in quarter parchment) comprised a further 350 copies. Swift's satirical essay was first published posthumously in 1745. Chanticleer 23. 'An experiment, possibly in this case retrograde, in..... More
London, The Author, and printed by Taylor and Francis, 1865. [2 items]. More
![Item #135270 Malurus longicaudus [Long-tailed Wren]. John GOULD, Elizabeth GOULD](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/135270_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1690163989)
[London], Printed by C. Hullmandel [for John Gould, 1848]. Plate 19 from Volume III of John Gould's 'Birds of Australia' (1840-1848). This species is now known as the Superb Fairywren [Malurus Cyaneus]. More
London, John Lane The Bodley Head Limited, 1930 (first thus). Number 181 of only 275 copies of the 'Large Paper Edition, printed on specially made rag paper', signed in ink by both the author and the artist. More
London, John Lane The Bodley Head Limited, 1928 (first thus). Number 176 of only 275 copies of the 'Large Paper Edition, printed on specially made rag paper', signed in ink by both the author and the artist. More
New York, G. Schirmer, Inc., 1944. The front cover of each volume is signed and dated (October 1944) by Percy Grainger, with a warm personal inscription in each case, respectively 'To dear Harry, with love from his friend Percy'; 'To dear Harry, in boundless admiration from Percy'; and 'To Harry..... More
London, Grayson & Grayson, 1935 (first edition). One of only 285 copies printed of this early short story by Greene, this being number 223 of 250 copies for sale, signed by the author. One of the Grayson Books series, edited by John Hackney and printed by the Garden City Press..... More
[Gregynog], The Gregynog Press, 1935 (first thus). Number 180 of 300 copies. 'The Gregynog Press, Montgomeryshire, was one of many artistic activities due to the enlightened philanthropy of two sisters, Miss Gwendoline Davies, C.H., and Miss Margaret Davies, LL.D.. The standard of craftsmanship which was quickly achieved made it comparable..... More
Newtown, The Gregynog Press, 1936 (first thus)/ 1633. Number 109 of 225 copies, printed 'under the direction of James Wardrop, at the Gregynog Press, Newtown, Montgomeryshire; finished the twenty-second day of October, 1936' (colophon). '[Greville's] "Caelica" (published 1633) begins as a conventional sonnet sequence but gradually abandons Neoplatonism for pessimistic..... More
'The Battle of the Somme was the first campaign launched by Sir Douglas Haig after he took over command of the British Army on the Western Front. His leadership during the battle made him one of the most controversial figures of the war and has been intensely disputed ever since..... More
Maastricht, Halcyon Press for A.A.M. Stols, 1929. One of a small number of copies in a deluxe binding of russet morocco; 25 hors-de-commerce copies were produced (this may be one of them), and the standard edition of 300 copies was bound in green cloth. 'Printed for the Halcyon Press, at..... More
Netley, Wakefield Press, 1986. One of 150 copies signed and numbered by the artist, with an original signed and numbered etching ('Skipping') loosely inserted (image size 211 × 146 mm, sheet size 285 × 205 mm). More
Adelaide, Rigby Limited, 1966. This copy is signed in full by Sir Hans Heysen (1877-1968) at the head of the first page of the introduction (next to his photographic portrait). More
London, John Murray, 1854 [first edition]. The account of Hooker's travels in India and the Himalayas between 1847 and 1850, dedicated to his fellow naturalist Charles Darwin. Travelling with Dr Archibald Campbell, the British government agent, he was briefly imprisoned by the Raja of Sikkim. 'The British government secured their..... More
London, Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1924. The 'country, the habits and customs as well as the beliefs of the Wonkonguru and their neighbours [east of Lake Eyre] ... For the last eight or nine years Mr Aiston has dwelt at Mungeranie, although more than twenty years he has spent in..... More
Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1942 (the first five volumes) and 1943 (last volume) (all first editions). Book 1: Shoot to Kill. Green and yellow pictorial wrappers; [viii], 85, [1] (colophon), [2] (advertisements) pages with 2 diagrams. Plain spine a little discoloured, with slight loss at the foot; slight silverfish loss..... More
![Item #134802 The Australian Guerrilla. Book 1 [to] Book 6. [The complete set, comprising Shoot to...](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/134802_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1688354908)
Uralla, Idriess Enterprises Pty Limited, 1999 (facsimile edition)/ 1942 and 1943. Each volume is limited to only 500 copies. Although these are the facsimile editions, they are superb examples of the reprinter's craft, and the originals are so rare, we can't resist quoting a few snippets from the dustwrapper blurbs..... More
[Brisbane, Daniel Marquis, circa late 1860s]. Scottish-born photographer Daniel Marquis (1829-1879) emigrated to Brisbane in March 1865. By the end of that year he 'had rented studio and living space in George Street in Brisbane.... Daniel established a successful photographic business in the George Street studio. He made portraits that..... More
[Brisbane, Daniel Marquis, circa late 1860s]. Scottish-born photographer Daniel Marquis (1829-1879) emigrated to Brisbane in March 1865. By the end of that year he 'had rented studio and living space in George Street in Brisbane.... Daniel established a successful photographic business in the George Street studio. He made portraits that..... More
London, J. Johnson, C. Dilly [and numerous others], 1799 ('eighth edition, corrected and revised')/ 1755. Courtney and Smith: 'A Bibliography of Samuel Johnson', page 58. [2 items]. More
![Item #133891 Kunst vom Sepik [complete in three volumes]. Heinz KELM](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/133891_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1680747774)
Berlin, Museum für Völkerkunde, 1966, 1966 and 1968. Veröffentlichungen des Museums für Volkerkunde Berlin, Neue Folge 10, Abteilung Südsee V; Neue Folge 11, Abteilung Südsee VI; and Neue Folge 15, Abteilung Südsee VII. The text is in German. [3 items]. More
London, Printed by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, 1894 (second Kelmscott edition)/ 1891. One of only 250 copies on paper (a further seven copies were printed on vellum). This is the second edition, and the first to contain the illustrations by Walter Crane. 'When he was planning the first..... More
Sydney, Law Book Company of Australasia Limited (and printed at The Hassell Press, Adelaide), 1925. The author's personal copy, extensively annotated on the printed text and the interleaves, with numerous newspaper review cuttings and original letters from distinguished members of the law fraternity mounted in the book. There are minor..... More
London, The Folio Society, 2009 (first thus). 'The "Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám" was first published by Bernard Quaritch in 1859. The text of this edition follows that of the first edition, with minor emendations' (verso of the title page). This sesquicentennial 'edition is limited to one thousand copies, signed and..... More
![Item #77263 An Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul [sic]. Being the Substance of Observations made...](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/77263_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1550893433)
London, William Miller, 1811 [first edition]. 'No Englishman had hitherto passed beyond the range of lofty mountains which separates the secluded valley of Nepaul from the north-eastern parts of Bengal' when the author spent seven weeks in the country (13 February to 3 April 1793) on a diplomatic mission to..... More
London, Max Parrish & Co. Limited, in association with Chanticleer Press Incorporated, New York, 1948. The book was issued in conjunction with Kokoschka's first American exhibition, organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. The colophon states that 'Of this edition of 2,000 copies, 200 numbered copies have been specially..... More
London, The Mallinson Publishing Company, Ltd., 1933. A collection of eighteen short stories dedicated to bookseller and anarchist Charles Lahr. This is number 56 of 95 copies signed by all 18 contributors, of which only 85 copies were for sale. The contributors are: John Arrow, H.E. Bates, Oswell Blakeston, Alec..... More
