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, Methuen & Co. Ltd. ('in Association with the Proprietors of "Punch"'), 1927. Number 80 of 150 copies of this deluxe edition signed by the artist (with 50 copies reserved for sale in the United States). The illustrations were originally published in 'Punch' magazine; the colour plates feature verses by..... More
London, J. Saville & Co. Ltd., 1927. Number 145 of only 160 copies signed in ink by both the author and the illustrator. More
Sydney, The Bookfellow, 1912. Number 2 of only 15 copies of this deluxe edition 'marginally illustrated by the author' and signed by him. It was priced at 'half-a-guinea'; the balance of the edition (in papered boards, printed as per the wrappers in the deluxe edition) comprised 'one hundred and eighty-five..... More
London, Printed by J.C. Hailes, 1843. The first section comprises a 'Statement of the Proceedings of the Directors for the Information of the Proprietors', with the final unpaginated section consisting of a statement of accounts for the surveys of the River Light and the River Murray. This copy has the..... More
London, J.C. Hailes and S. Gilbert, 1843. This copy contains the armorial bookplate of Henry Percival Moore (and his pencilled ownership initials on an early binder's blank). Moore was the Colonial Manager for the South Australian Company from 1901 to 1929. Interestingly, the lithographs are by George French Angas from..... More
Melbourne, George Robertson & Company, 1896. The verso of the initial binder's blank is inscribed 'To The Hon G.H. Reid Esqre with kind regards. October 29th 1896'. Trove records the first newspaper reviews for this novel of station life in October 1896. We have not identified the handwriting, but it..... More
Carlton, Melbourne University Press, 1947. Provenance: Pastor Gordon Gerhardy (1933-2023), a Lutheran missionary in PNG, with his signature in pencil on the front free endpaper. More
Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1971. 'The first complete account of the poetic heritage of the aboriginal people of Central Australia; an analysis of aboriginal songs as fully-developed oral literature, and their evaluation as authoritative documents of aboriginal religion' (from the original prospectus). Although the original edition comprised 500 copies, this..... More
Adelaide, Townsend Duryea, [printed circa 1866; original negative circa 1863]. 'Townsend Duryea began making cartes de visite in late 1862 or early 1863, and was advertising his "new" style of carte in May 1863' (Bob Noye, AGSA website). The portrait, taken in Duryea's Adelaide studio, shows Stuart after his epic..... More
The first nine pages, closely written in ink in a single hand which we know to be that of pastoralist Alfred Barker (1812-1880), contain a version of Stuart's journal for the period from 31 March (the beginning of the expedition) to 17 May 1859, with some significant variation from the..... More
London, George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1860. The front free endpaper is signed by John McDouall Stuart, at the foot of the following inscription: 'Presented to me Henry Nathaniel Phillips by John McDouall Stuart on board of the Ship "Indus" on her pasage [sic] from South Australia to London..... More
The archive comprises: 1. Correspondence and documents relating to the sale of John McDouall Stuart's pastoral runs at Chambers Creek Runs (eight autograph letters from John Chambers to Alfred Barker, together with eight further documents relating to the sale). These documents suggest that, within months of purchasing the Chambers Creek..... More
'Art direction & design: Suzanne Boccalatte | Photography: Geoffrey Boccalatte'. More
Sydney, The Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners, 1919. Four of the folding maps are superb bird's-eye views, from artwork by William Henry Withers. Details of these evocative illustrations are as follows; it is scarcely any wonder that copies of this work are rarely found intact. (1) 'Birds Eye View of the..... More
London, Herbert Jenkins, 1927. Signed and dated (12 December 1928) by the author on the title page, with a contemporary ownership signature on the front pastedown (T.W. Adams, 4 January 1929). The 'Heart of Northern Australia' in the title is misleading. Terry and his companions drove two 'one-ton model Guy-Roadless..... More
Adelaide, Printed for the Proprietor and Publisher, A. Timmann, at the 'Pioneer' Office, 1890 and 1891. The recto of the large folding supplement to Number 10 contains the text, with three line illustrations, of an article that 'appeared originally in the "SA Register" in six short letters': 'Protection or Freedom..... More
New York, Hyperion, 1995 (first edition thus)/ 1981. 'Three thousand five hundred copies of the first Hyperion edition of "The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation" have been specially bound with sixteen [reproduced] drawings by the authors, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.... In addition, each copy has been numbered and individually..... More
London, Sampson Low ... 1882. Alexander Tolmer (1815-90) was Commissioner of Police in South Australia in 1852-53. He is best remembered for his 'overland gold escort service from Victoria to South Australia, designed to reverse the drain of currency from the colony during the gold rush'; however, his long absences..... More
Melbourne, B.H. and B.J. Baker, 1965 to 1967. A satirical magazine that might best be categorized in library-speak as 'Australian wit and humour | Australian wit and humour, Pictorial | Photography of women'. This set lacks only Number 1 (September 1965), Number 3 (November 1965), and Number 8 (May 1966)..... More
New York, Bicknell & Comstock, 1880. 'In preparing the following collection of designs, we have not so much intended to offer new and original studies, as to make a compilation from various published works' (preface). More
Tunstall, Richards Tiles Ltd, [1930s]. More
Adelaide, The Critic (and printed by Vardon & Sons Limited), 1909. This original edition is rare; the 1970s facsimile reprint by the Australian Electric Transport Museum is quite common (and easy to distinguish). More
[London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts, London, and John Lane, New York] [Vale Press], 1901. One of only 310 copies. The Latin text of this famous tale of Cupid and Psyche from the 'Metamorphoses' of Apuleius (often known as 'The Golden Ass') was edited by C.J...... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1896 (first thus). One of only 210 copies of this elegant publication from the Vale Press. The colophon states: 'Chosen by John Gray, the border and decorations engraved by Charles Ricketts, under whose supervision the book has been..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1896. One of only 210 copies of the fourth publication from the Vale Press. In his 'Bibliography of the Books issued by Hacon & Ricketts' (page xx), Ricketts notes: 'The greater number of these poems are translations from..... More
![Item #124573 The Kingis Quair [cover title]. Vale Press, King of Scots JAMES I](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/124573_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1690192261)
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1903 (first thus). One of only 270 copies, including 10 copies on vellum. In his 'Bibliography of the Books issued by Hacon & Ricketts', Charles Ricketts elaborates: 'Edited by Robert Steele, the original spelling being retained ... Composed..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1896 (first thus). One of only 200 copies for sale of the second publication from the Vale Press. The colophon states: 'printed by the Ballantyne Press, the build of the book and its decoration being by Charles Ricketts'..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1903 (first thus). One of only 230 copies of 'The Last Book Sold by Hacon & Ricketts'. In fact, Ricketts' published his 'Bibliography of the Vale Press' in 1904, after which he threw the punches and matrices for..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1899. One of only 250 copies on paper of this work on fine printing from the Vale Press. The colophon states: 'Printed at the Ballantyne Press. Decorated by C. Ricketts'. In his 'Bibliography of the Books issued by..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Floury and for Hacon & Ricketts [and with the elaborate Vale Press device], 1898. One of only 250 copies on paper of this work on fine printing from the Vale Press. The colophon states: 'Ce livre fut commencé par Lucien Pissarro en avril..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1899 (first thus). One of only 210 copies of this attractive publication from the Vale Press (a further ten copies on vellum were also produced). In his 'Bibliography of the Books issued by Hacon & Ricketts' (page xxvi)..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [and with the elaborate Vale Press monogram], 1898 (first thus). One of only 210 copies of this elegant publication from the Vale Press. The colophon states: 'The text carefully prepared from the earliest editions by John Gray; the ornaments designed..... More
![Item #123849 Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson. [Tennyson Lyric Poems (cover title)]. Vale Press,...](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/123849_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1690163198)
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1900. One of only 320 copies of this elegant publication from the Vale Press, issued in conjunction with a matching companion volume, 'In Memoriam'. The colophon states: 'Seen through the press by C.J. Holmes and decorated with border..... More
![Item #123883 The Sacred Poems of Henry Vaughan, Silurist [cover title]. Vale Press, Henry VAUGHAN](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/123883_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1690192245)
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], 1897 (first thus). One of only 210 copies of this attractive publication from the Vale Press. The colophon states: 'Printed at the Ballantyne Press under the supervision of C.S. Ricketts the designer & engraver of the decorations'. In..... More
London, Printed at the Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts [Vale Press], [1902] (first thus). One of only 310 copies of this elegant edition from the Vale Press. The colophon states: 'Chosen and edited by T. Sturge Moore & illustrated by woodcuts designed & engraved by T.S. Moore. Printed at..... More
[Sydney], Vale & Pearson [for Hugh D. McIntosh], 1919. A contemporary newspaper account of the dinner records there were 27 VC winners present at the event. The recto of each of the first 21 blank leaves has been signed by attendees at the dinner; 16 are VC winners (one of..... More
Carindale, The Vintage Car Club of Queensland, 2005. Number 121 of only 200 copies. Provenance: the ownership details of 'E.J. Harris 2/06' are written in ink on the front pastedown, and a double-sided sheet of pencilled notes (on Bentley Drivers Club, South Australia Inc. letterhead). More
Brisbane, The Vintage Car Club of Queensland, July 1980. Number 209 of only 300 copies. The numerical list of pre-publication subscribers printed at the rear accounts for the first 140 copies. Provenance: the ownership details of 'E.J. Harris 1985' are written in ink on the front pastedown. More
London, John Murray, 1913. 'With Mr Murray's compliments' is blindstamped at the head of the title leaf. More
Bathurst, E.J. Brill and Robert Brown & Associates (Aust) Pty. Ltd., 1988. An important survey of Aboriginal rock art; 'One hundred individual sections cover the rock art of not only every Australian state and territory but also every major rock art region and art style. Many art panels in the..... More
Toowong, Takarakka Nowan Kas Publications, in association with The Australian Centre, University of Melbourne, 2000. Signed and dated (17 August 2000) on the title page by the author. An unparalleled 'visual record of ancient Kimberley rock art, dealing specifically with periods predating the Ice Age', and a work of lasting..... More
Carouge-Geneva, Edition Limitée, 1994. The fact that it is one of only 1000 copies makes it scarce; the important content makes it much sought-after. Provenance: pioneering desert field archaeologist Professor Mike Smith AM (1955-2022), with his colour-pictorial bookplate on the front pastedown. More
London, Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1924 [but 1925]. Number 377 of 450 copies. Loosely inserted is a postcard depicting the bookstall where the previous owner purchased the book, with a brief hand-written narrative of the subject of the ballad: 'Charles Thomas Wooldridge murdered his unfaithful wife at Clewer on 20th..... More
Paris, [No publisher], 1903. Number 117 of only 250 copies. Mason/Millard 607 (in his section on 'Pirated Editions'), noting that this edition was 'Published by Smithers and (or) "Wright and Jones" in 1903', and that an Edition de luxe was also produced, comprising a further 50 copies on Japanese vellum..... More
London, John Lane The Bodley Head, 1912 [but a little later]. An early edition not noted by Mason/Millard, Mikolyzk or Gallatin. It contains much the same material as the Bodley Head quarto edition of 1907 and its 1912 reissue (Mason/Millard 355 and 356), but in reduced format. These editions were..... More
Adelaide, C.E. Bristow, Government Printer, 1897. More
Yardea Station is a pastoral lease approximately 400 kilometres north-west of Adelaide; it was the first property taken up in the Gawler Ranges, in the late 1850s. 'Lying on one of the main east-west corridors through the Ranges, Yardea became the main postal depot during the late 1860s. A stone..... More
London, 'Privated Printed for Subscribers only by T. Werner Laurie, Ltd.', 1925 (first edition). Number 193 of only 600 copies signed by the author. A meditation on history, personality and the occult, with reference to Gerald of Wales and Qusta ibn Luqa. Wade 149. More
![Item #130048 A Broadside. No. 1 (New Series) January 1937 [to] ... No. 12 (New Series) December...](https://treloars.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/130048_01.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1690163474)
Dublin, Cuala Press, 1937. The print run of each number of this new series was limited to 300 copies, with 150 complete sets issued in a bound volume in December 1937. That edition was titled 'Broadsides. A Collection of New Irish and English Songs ... Songs by W.B. Yeats, W.J...... More
