Flindersland and Sturtland; or, The Inside and Outside of Australia
London, Richard Bentley, 1862 (first edition, first issue).
Octavo, two volumes, viii, 289 and x, 322 pages.
Original navy blue textured cloth blocked in gilt and blind (with the large kangaroo illustration on the front covers particularly striking); all edges uncut; covers a little bumped and marked, with slight wear at the extremities and the spines a little tanned; trifling signs of age and use; overall, an excellent set with the armorial bookplate of Edward Bennett on both front pastedowns, and a very small inkstamp ('Knox Collection') on the verso of both title pages.
An adventurous tourist's travels in Australia in the late 1850s and early 1860s ('A detailed description of the South Eastern part of Australia, including station properties, social conditions, travel, aborigines, etc.' according to Ferguson), but there's much more ... In the second volume (pages 233-50) Jessop records meeting two men at Wilpena 'on their way back to Adelaide, with the results of a private exploration.... The leader, or scout, was named Giles, who was engaged by Mole, a man of more energy than money, to assist him in opening up some new part ... [They] finally left the known country at Angipena, and entered upon the unknown in the direction of north-west ... They were absent about a month from Angipena, and altogether, going and coming, passed over 1,200 miles'. The meeting is recorded in some detail, not least regarding contact with the Aborigines ('Giles said he was the first person in the Colony that vaccinated a black, and that it happened on this occasion'). Wantrup notes that this expedition 'does not appear to be elsewhere recorded and dates at least ten years before Giles's career became a matter of public record. Jessop supplies no precise date, but from the context it is clear that the expedition took place in the first half of 1859.... Constituting the first appearance in print of the last of the great Australian explorers, it is well worth adding to an exploration library'. Wantrup 2023, pages 346-7; not in McLaren; see Ferguson 10938-41. [2 items].
Item #116508
Price (AUD):
$1,000.00