Brisbanila Odyssey, 1943-1945... 2773rd Engrs
[Manila? 2773rd Engineers Base Reproduction Company, 1945].
Large quarto, [136] pages with monochrome vignette illustrations and numerous illustrations (mainly from photographs, some reproduced in monochrome) plus a colour map on the pastedowns.
Dark brown cloth (with the half-title in gilt on the front cover) a little marked and stained, and starting to split along the hinges (but the binding is firm); a very good copy (internally fine).
'Two and a half years ago the first men came together to form this unit. Starting "Down Under" in Brisbane, we moved northward, adding men as we gathered miles, until Manila became our final home. During this time we have seen and done many things of interest in a part of the world that had been, to most of us, only a few unimportant Pacific isles. We hope that this record of our travels will help ... keep alive and vivid the rich memories of experience and friendships we have all shared ...' The book is divided into sections covering the various postings of the company: Brisbane, Port Moresby, Hollandia, Leyte, Mindanao and Manila. Without doubt, this lavish unit history (for want of a better term) was produced in-house; the 2773rd Engineers Base Reproduction Company were, in fact, printers in the field. Also beyond doubt is the rarity of this item. The nominal roll of members of the Company printed at the rear of the book records just 187 names; one can imagine the print run was determined primarily by this figure. We located only one copy in an Australian institution (the State Library of Queensland) when we recently doubled that figure with a copy in a variant binding (in publisher's card covers decorated to resemble woven bamboo or similar).
Item #97176
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