Search Results: Titles starting with D from Hordern House Rare Books

Uppsala: Royal Academy Press, 1822. Very fine.. Small quarto, [ii], 8 pp.; uncut and unbound, as issued. A scarce and significant academic paper, this was the first serious attempt at compiling a formal fauna of Australia, in the form of a dissertation presented by Huss before Carl Thunberg, Linnaeus's great disciple and successor. Thunberg, using the traditional method of publishing his own work through the medium of his students' dissertations, "mapped" much of the flora and fauna of South Africa, China, Japan, and, in this instance, Australia. His prolific output included especially important work on both the botany and zoology of South Africa and the far east, but this is his only work that deals specifically with Australia. This is an especially fine copy of this rare and important piece. .

London: Cassell, 1880. Fine.. Quarto, 25 colour plates; original decorated cloth. Written in response to the increase in imports of dairy produce in the late 19th Century, this thorough and well-illustrated guide to dairying is a concerted effort to improve 'home produce'. .

Stuttgart: Friedrich G. Schutz, 1820. In fine condition.. Handcoloured paper globe comprising six gores measuring 170 x 65 mm., well preserved with the original cord ties within the publisher's folding card case with printed onlays; accompanied by a folding suite of 15 handcoloured lithographic plates measuring 97 x 130 mm. depicting the peoples of the Earth, and a loose engraved card sheet detailing the orbit and poles of the earth. A splendid early nineteenth-century German handcoloured paper globe, here offered complete with the original publisher's ensemble containing a folding suite of 15 plates depicting native peoples of the earth and other educational aids. Two of the plates depict Australian First Nations subjects. The globe and its accompaniments are a fine example of late enlightenment publishing for the benefit of children. The publisher Schutz states his plan for a novel educational aid 'to facilitate the introduction and use of geographic education in schools about the nature and… Read More

Zurich: n.p., 1821. Square octavo, aquatint frontispiece, 13pp. with engraved oval portrait at head of first page; a fine copy in the original printed brown wrappers, preserved in a folding bookform case. Only edition: with the famous engraved portrait of John Webber, the official artist of Cook's third voyage. This was the only contemporary portrait of Webber to have been published. This biographical essay, the main source for what little is known of Webber's life, is based on letters and oral communications Wagner collected soon after Webber's death in 1793, including information from the artist's brother Henry. A stand-alone and separately-paginated publication, this was issued as one of a series of small printings put out by the Society of Artists (Kunstler-Gesellschaft) in Zurich who produced an annual New Year's publication over some decades. Wagner's pamphlet not only features an attractive frontispiece based on Webber's image of the burial platform in Tahiti, one of the more famous images… Read More

Amsterdam: Louis Elzevir, 1653. A very attractive copy.. 24mo., engraved title, all edges gilt; in nineteenth-century full red morocco, gilt arms of Henry J.B. Clements on front cover, spine banded and gilt. Attractive small Elzevir edition of this utopian work by the famous Dominican friar Campanella. Chapter XXXI (pp. 274-288) is explicitly concerned with discoveries and settlements in the New World, and he recommends building forts at the mouths of all rivers and harbours "lest the English should break in and bring heresy." Written in 1598 or 1599, and rewritten soon after, this work prophesies the coming of a universal Christian monarchy (said to be the fifth such great monarchy in history) by the Spanish King. Curiously, it was first published in German in 1620, translated, probably by Besold, from Campanella's original manuscript: such an involved publishing history is not unlike many books in Campanella's oeuvre, testament to his unfailing trouble with ecclesiastical authorities; orthodoxy… Read More

Paris: Martinet, 1827. Wormhole in lower margin of first 3 leaves, well clear of text.. Octavo, pp. [4], 67, [1], complete with the half-title; a fine copy, uncut, stitched the original plain dark blue wrappers. . The only edition of this significant study by the historian and pioneering statistician Louis-François Benoiston de Chateauneuf (1776-1856) of convict transportation and the prospects for the system's adoption by the French government. Most of the study discusses the success of the penal colony of New Holland, the practicalities involved and the various locations for transportation and for secondary punishment, including some discussion of Tasmania. The author stresses the redemptive possibilities of distant transportation, citing specific examples of post-punishment successes in New South Wales. The Australian experiment is compared with Russian deportations to Siberia and the sequestering of Spanish criminals in Africa. The author proposes the Caribbean islands of Vièque, La Désirade… Read More

Gand: J. N. Houdin, 1821. Creased and generally worn paper wrappers, but in good original condition.. Octavo, uncut, in wrappers. First French edition: history of the formation of an early socialist society in Europe. This is a French translation from the Dutch of a text by the reformer van den Bosch, who, along with his Societé de Bienfaisance set up the colony of Frederiks-Oord in an attempt at social regeneration. In a movement similar to the kibbutzim of the twentieth century, the Societé advocated reintegrating the disenfranchised and neglected by allotting them barren tracts of land which they could renew through their own labour. Within Frederiks-Oord all are given equal rights, but all must also submit to the communal impetus in the formation of 'un état laborieux, mais productif, une existence honnête et indépendante.' Like so many utopian societies of the nineteenth century, an unquestioned faith in progress and innovation combines with an inherently positivistic notion that through… Read More

London and Paris: Barbou, 1777. Joints chafed and head of spine slightly chipped.. Duodecimo, with a frontispiece to the first work; contemporary dark green morocco, sides bordered and spine panelled in gilt, all edges gilt. The beautifully-printed Barbou edition of Utopia bound, as often, with the matching edition of Erasmus' Praise of Folly. The friendship between Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and Erasmus (1469-1536) was one of the great scholarly alliances. More's Utopia (1516) was a revolutionary work of philosophy which inaugurated the entire tradition of the modern imaginary voyage, but it was also a book to which a small coterie of his greatest friends contributed, particularly including Erasmus. More also played an important part, in turn, in the writing of Erasmus' Moriae Enkomion - the 'praise of folly' but also a pun on the 'praise of More' - which is said to have been written whilst they were staying at More's London house. It was first published in 1511. This Barbou edition of both… Read More

Amsterdam: Jan Rieuwertsz and Pieter Arentsz, 1669. Title-page a little darkened at margins; a very good copy.. Quarto, with eight engraved plates; bound in later period-style full calf, spine gilt with raised bands. First Dutch edition: the only separate appearance and the only illustrated edition of Beaulieu's account of his travels for the fledgling French "Compagnie des Indes Orientales". Beaulieu was a French navigator and coloniser who was appointed in 1619 to command the so-called "Fleet of Montmorency". The three ships sailed to Madagascar and Banda Atjeh via the Cape of Good Hope, but the voyage was not entirely a success, with two of the ships captured by the Dutch, keen to preserve the rights of the VOC. Undaunted, Beaulieu still petitioned for Madagascar to become a waypoint for voyages to the East Indies, but Richelieu prevaricated, fearing provoking the Dutch. Despite Beaulieu's repeated encouragement, over the following decades Madagascar saw only desultory settlement, much of it from… Read More

London: Jeffryes & Co, Ludgate Hill, 1 October, 1798. Very good condition.. Handcoloured mezzotint measuring 554 x 655 mm. (plate size). Splendid mezzotint depicting the dramatic death of Alexander Hood, a Royal Navy captain who served under Captain Cook in his early career. This appears to be the only published image of Hood, making it an unusual addition to the known gallery of Cook's men. Hood was assigned to the Resolution on 5 March 1772 as a 14 year-old midshipman, taking advantage of his prestigious family connections (he was the first cousin of admirals Lord Hood and Lord Bridport). Hood served under Cook with distinction; he was the first to sight land in the Marquesas on 6 April 1774 and Cook named Hood Island in his honour. After the voyage Hood saw service in North American waters where he was promoted captain in 1781 at the age of 23. He fought against Napoleonic France, and this mezzotint shows his final moments as captain of the British man-of-war Mars when on 21 April 1798 the… Read More

London, 1800. Tightly clipped not affecting image and retaining central caption.. Engraving, 16.5 x 22 cm. (image size), a good strong impression, mounted. An unusual version of the famous scene at Kealakekua Bay, in a very good impression. Although the original image on which this is loosely based is clearly that of Webber, the engraving bears close comparison with the version of the scene first published by the engraver Alexander Hogg in 1784, and included in the important compendium edited by George William Anderson, A New, Authentic, and Complete Collection of Voyages Round the World (see Forbes 61). Given that the "Anderson" was much re-issued and copied, it is possible that this print originally derives from one of the later editions. .

London: Sold in Spur Street, Leicester Square, 1784. Small crease in lower corner, in good condition.. Oval engraving, 350 x 265 mm. (image size); mounted. Rare variant of the famous engraving of Cook's death showing, as the caption notes, "Part of the Original Plate after Webber" and presumably quite literally printed from an oval cut from the fuller engraved copper. This is only very rarely seen: the single example noted by Joppien and Smith was in the British Museum. The full-size engraving was first issued early in 1784. Based on the oil painting executed by Webber soon after he returned to London in 1780, the figures were engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi and the landscape by William Byrne. Quickly becoming the most famous of all eighteenth-century depictions of the massacre, the view appeared at about the same time as the official third voyage account was published. This was no coincidence: although lavishly illustrated by Webber, the official account did not include any depiction of the most… Read More

Paris, 1778. Good.. Engraving, 155 x 280 mm., some rubbing. View from the French edition of Cook's Second Voyage towards the South Pole, showing the landing at Erramanga, one of the New Hebrides Islands. .

Berne: Nouvelle Société Typographique, 1783. In excellent condition.. Octavo, woodcut vignette on title; contemporary continental (?Swiss) mottled calf, spine with small floral device gilt in compartments between raised bands, double orange labels just chipped at edges; a nice copy. The second French edition, and very scarce. Beddie records only the Mitchell and National Library copies in Australia. 'Both French editions are of great rarity and are of interest not only on that account but because of the additional matter which they contain...' (Holmes). Zimmermann's eye-witness account of Cook's third voyage first appeared, in German, at Mannheim in 1781. The French version was next, with this second French edition and a second German edition appearing in 1783. Dutch editions appeared in 1784 and 1791, and a Russian version was published at St Petersburg in 1786 (Kroepelien, 1365). These seem to have been all the appearances of the narrative until the Alexander Turnbull Library published Tewsley's… Read More

Santiago, Chile: Imprenta Nacional, 1891. Some moderate foxing and intermittent browning, as to be expected of paper stock of this nature, yet a most attractive copy overall.. Thick quarto, with 95 plates and coastal profiles (many folding and printed in smaller format); but a very good copy overall in later quarter calf over old marbled boards. Scarce pilot guide to the Straights of Magellan and the coastline of Tierra del Fuego, publishing the results of Chilean naval surveys conducted from 1888 to 1890. The book is notable for the extensive maps and profiles - some 95 in total - and is divided into four sections respectively treating the Straits of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonian channels, and a better route from Chacao Channel to Cape Horn. The author was a captain in the survey party, acting under instructions from the Ministry of Marine (which are provided in the preface to this volume). The intention of the survey was twofold, firstly to provide accurate charts and coastal profiles for… Read More

Hamburg: J.G.Sn. Wichers, 1840. Some light staining throughout but essentially in good condition; the original wrappered binding is in good state having been preserved by a plain paper cover since discarded.. Octavo, 64pp; original printed dark blue wrappers; protective cloth case. Very rare: a gripping and romantic account of the survival of La Pérouse, describing his voyage into the far reaches of the Arctic, through the Bering Strait and turning north-east to the Pole, where he discovers a sunlit society ruled by women in this remote but beautiful 'New France.' The story is said to be based on the discovery of a pile of manuscripts on remote "Bricer Island" by an English doctor called Reidcliff, which recount in some detail the survival of La Pérouse and his escape from Vanikoro on La Boussole and his decision - rather under-explained - to sail up into the Arctic, where he abandons ship to continue into ever higher latitudes on foot. He and his crew are rewarded for their ardour by discovering… Read More

Lisbon: Typographia da Academia, 1863. Original printed wrappers, a few chips.. Quarto, 24 pp., with a map integral to the text, original printed wrappers; an uncut copy. A controversial treatise claiming the primary discovery of the Australian continent as a Portuguese achievement. This theory derives from the author's belief in the secret Portuguese mapping of various parts of the Australian coast as revealed in the Dieppe maps. The author, Richard Major, enjoyed privileged access to rare manuscript and cartographic materials as an employee of the British Museum and secretary of the Hakluyt Society. He had a fluent command of Spanish which allowed him to study and interpret first-hand archaic and difficult material beyond the grasp of his contemporaries. The theory was, unsurprisingly, popular with the Portuguese. In 1861 Major was honoured by Pedro V of Portugal and made a knight of the Tower and the Sword. Although many of Major's beliefs are now not widely held (and his interpretation of the… Read More

Lisbon: Typographia da Academia, 1863. some slight foxing;. Quarto, 24 pp., integral map, original printed pink front wrapper bound into modern brown boards. A controversial treatise claiming the primary discovery of the Australian continent as a Portuguese achievement. This theory derives from the author's belief in the secret Portuguese mapping of various parts of the Australian coast as revealed in the Dieppe maps. The author, Richard Major, enjoyed privileged access to rare manuscript and cartographic materials as an employee of the British Museum and secretary of the Hakluyt Society. He had a fluent command of Spanish which allowed him to study and interpret first-hand archaic and difficult material beyond the grasp of his contemporaries. The theory was, unsurprisingly, popular with the Portuguese. In 1861 Major was honoured by Pedro V of Portugal and made a knight of the Tower and the Sword. Although many of Major's beliefs are now not widely supported (and his interpretation of the Dieppe… Read More

Lisbon: Melchiades & Co, 1863. Large octavo pamphlet, 24 pp. with an additional map sheet, an excellent partially uncut copy. A controversial treatise claiming the primary discovery of the Australian continent as a Portuguese achievement. This theory derives from the author's belief in the secret Portuguese mapping of various parts of the Australian coast as revealed in the Dieppe maps. The author, Richard Major, enjoyed privileged access to rare manuscript and cartographic materials as an employee of the British Museum and secretary of the Hakluyt Society. He had a fluent command of Spanish which allowed him to study and interpret first-hand archaic and difficult material beyond the grasp of his contemporaries. The theory was, unsurprisingly, popular with the Portuguese. In 1861 Major was honoured by Pedro V of Portugal and made a knight of the Tower and the Sword. Although many of Major's beliefs are now not widely held (and his interpretation of the Dieppe maps has been vigorously challenged), his… Read More

London: W. Innys, R. Manby, T. Woodward, 1743. Some very light browning and two plates bound in upside down; spines rubbed, hinges starting but firm.. Two volumes, octavo, five folding plates, contemporary speckled calf. First edition: Hales' ventilators became known as "ship's lungs", and were so appreciated by eighteenth-century sailors, and contributed so significantly to an improvement in seaboard conditions, that captains reported the crews needed little encouragement to work the machines. After a leisurely twelve years in residence at Cambridge, Hales (1677-1761) took up a parish and became heavily involved in local affairs, but this did not preclude him from a long and productive scientific career. His continuing fame was assured with these two books, which effectively invented artificial ventilation. Designed to draw fresh air into confined spaces, his machines were installed in His Majesty's ships, merchant vessels, slave ships, in hospitals, even at the court of King's Bench, the Drury… Read More