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

Paris: Pillet aîné, 1825. Octavo, 16 pp., quarter calf. Rare report by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire on the zoological volume of the Freycinet voyage publication, including some personal observations on the mammals of Australia. The Zoologique section of the voyage publication was prepared by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard, physicians and naturalists accompanying the expedition, and was published in 16 livraisons between 1824 and 1826. In this report, the eminent naturalist and savant critiques the publication, summarising the chapters and adding his own notes and observations. Originally prepared for inclusion in the Revue encyclopédique (1825, volume 26), it was separately printed in this form by the Parisian publishers Pillet to encourage sale of the Zoologique and other upcoming volumes of the Freycinet voyage publication. Effectively it forms a prospectus for the Zoologique, distributed gratis by Pillet to likely buyers. In his report Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire comments on the… Read More

Quarto, 128 pages, bound in saifu cloth with colour dustjacket. 138 items fully described and illustrated in colour throughout. The first part of the catalogue includes 138 items, divided into five sections, each item being fully described bibliographically and illustrated. The sections cover Dampier to Swift; the Anson expedition; The South Pacific before Cook; The North Pacific before Cook; and finally, James Cook himself. .

Quarto, 160 pages, bound in saifu cloth with colour dustjacket. 156 items fully described and illustrated in colour throughout, with bibliography of principal references and an index to both parts. The second part continues the story of Pacific discovery and exploration from La Pérouse to Wilkes, the immediate post-Cook period to the middle of the nineteenth century. .

Land & Estate Agency, George Street: Stephen & Stokes, Printers, 1833. Slight wear along folds, in good order.. 112 x 174 mm, printed form completed in manuscript in brown ink; printed decorative device above printers' caption; completed" Webb £2.12.0" on verso, together with small sum workings in pencil. An ephemeral reminder of the growing prosperity of the colony and a rising middle class. This formal receipt is also of colonial printing interest: the printed forms were prepared by the two printers Alfred Stephens and Frederick Stokes who went into business together in 1829, starting the Sydney Herald (later Sydney Morning Herald) in 1831. The form is completed in manuscript to receipt two pounds, twelve shillings from one Mr Webb as a deposit for Lot 4 in the "Burwood Estate, Thos. Rowleys division". It is signed by the property's auctioneer Thomas Bodenham. This slight piece memorialises the period when suburban growth was really getting going. In about 1833, the owners of a number of grants… Read More

Paris &c: Didot jeune et al., 1786. Wrappers a little worn, but very good.. Octavo, uncut in original plain blue-grey wrappers, early ink spine label. Attractive Didot-printed work on scurvy with references to James Lind and Captain Cook: 'Les Médicins Anglois ont donné l'exemple à ceux des autres nations...'. This was translated into French by the magisterially named Joseph Vigarous de Montagut, a physician and member of the Société Royale des Sciences de Montpellier. In many ways Montagut's translation is more interesting than the original English because of the introduction he contributed which specifically noted the importance of combating scurvy on long voyages, and which is an interesting addition to the promotion of French voyages of exploration by French scientists. Montagut notes that Milman should be read in conjunction with Lind, and that the practical details have been expertly displayed by Cook in his voyages around the world. It is a companion to the 1783 Paris edition of Lind's… Read More

London: J.H. Bohte, 1822. In very good original condition.. Handcoloured engraving, 289 x210mm.; mounted. The Reed Warbler is an interesting bird, found down Eastern Australia to Victoria and Tasmania, but coming and going mysteriously in the southern parts of its habitat. Besides being a migrant, the Reed Warbler, as its name indicates, is a merry and cheerful songster, not only by day but by night, its song being quite canary-like. The bird's habitat is the sedgy sides of rivers and reeds and rushes of swamps. John Lewin was Australia's first professional artist, he arrived in the colony in 1800 and established himself as the first natural history artist. He is best remembered through the superb paintings and books he published on Australian ornithology and entomology. As the catalogue of the Wettenhall Library pointed out, "The bibliographical and historical importance of Lewin has been emphasised in recent years, but Lewin the naturalist has been somewhat neglected. Although his illustrations… Read More

Sydney: Hordern House, 2001. Large quarto, 310 x 225 mm, xxxii + 670 pp., with a portrait, twenty maps and illustrations and eight colour plates; in mint condition in the original quarter vellum and glazed boards. One of just twenty-eight copies of the special issue on large paper. The original publication sold out in a few days; this de luxe version was prepared in a large quarto format, in a specially commissioned binding by Newbold and Collins. It too sold out rapidly. Publishers sometimes create special issues of their books re-imposed on especially large paper with wide margins. For this special issue using the large proof sheets prepared for the work the bindery retained the largest possible margins, making the page format 310 x 225 mm (as against the standard edition at 245 x 177 mm). The colour plates remain at their actual printed page size, as was usually the case with such issues of colour-plate books in the nineteenth century. The binding is a traditional quarter binding using English… Read More

Utrecht & Amsterdam: G.T. van Paddenburg en Zoon & M. Schalekamp, 1793. Old ink spots to a few pages, slight water-staining to a few leaves, one plate a little frayed at bottom edge; spine wearing, front joint split. Small quarto, frontispiece and two plates, with an additional handcoloured double-hemisphere world map bound in; a good copy in contemporary half calf, flat spine gilt. Scarce second Dutch edition of Cook's second voyage of discovery, slightly changed from the first edition. This copy is extra-illustrated with a fine coloured map of the world which shows the tracks of all three Cook voyages, Waereld-Kaart volgends de Laatste Ontdekkingen waar op de Reizen van Cook (Leiden, Du Mortier en Zoon, 1804; not recorded by Perry and Prescott's Guide to Maps of Australia in Books Published 1780-1830; not in Tooley's Printed Maps of Australia). .

Groningen: A.L. Scholtens, 1849. Wrappers a little discoloured; a few spots but mostly excellent.. Small slim octavo, three plates, original blue printed stiff wrappersred, neatly rebacked to match. Uncommon edition of the journals of Abel Tasman, here condensed and edited for use by younger readers. This copy is well preserved in the original printed wrappers and contains three skilfully printed lithographic plates. These depict Amsterdam Island, and also the first contact between Europeans and the Māori at "De Moordenaars-Baii" (Murderer's Bay, now renamed Golden Bay located at the northwest point of the South Island). Of special interest given Tasman's early Australian landfall is the bucolic scene of Tasmanian Aborigines, here depicted in a style reminiscent of the work of nineteenth-century French voyage illustrators such as Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and Louis de Sainson. .

Cadiz: Manuel Espinosa de los Monteros, 1769. In fine condition.. Small quarto, with a folding map; a fine copy, clean and crisp in contemporary marbled calf, red leather label. The scarce and desirable second edition, effectively the first procurable (the 1621 edition has always been recognised as almost impossibly rare): the Nodal brothers made a landmark voyage of Pacific discovery to the Straits of Magellan, clearing the way for future Spanish approaches. The voyage came about as the Spanish reflex reaction to the discovery of the Le Maire Strait (called San Vicente by the Spanish) by Le Maire and Schouten during their 1616 voyage in search of the Southern Continent. The Dutch success alarmed the Spanish - but they were also interested in a safer means of passage into the South Sea; they therefore sent out two caravels under the command of the Nodal brothers, to report on the Le Maire and Schouten discoveries. This is effectively the first procurable edition of this important book as the 1621… Read More

Madrid: Ibarra, 1793. A very good copy.. Quarto, two volumes bound together, with an engraved portrait of Magellan as frontispiece, five fine large folding maps and five folding tables; contemporary calf-backed marbled boards.f. The full first edition, complete with the separately published Apendice a la Relación (Madrid, 1793) which appeared ten years after the main work and is not present in all copies. This is the best early description of Patagonia and the Straits of Magellan, giving the official account of the two expeditions made by Antonio de Córdoba to 'ascertain the advisability of Spaniards continuing to use the Strait in voyages - the results indicated the negative. After these expeditions the Spanish trade routes were exclusively to east coast ports and then overland to the Pacific ports...' (Hill). As part of this, the Relación provides a general history of earlier voyages of discovery to the Strait. The large folding maps, fine and detailed, are all based on observations made during… Read More

Madrid: Imprenta Real, 1802. Two volumes, octavo text [16], CLXVIII (i.e. 168), 185 pages; folded letterpress table between pp. 168-169, and errata leaf (p. 185) at end: and the accompanying Atlas, small folio, [4] pages (letterpress title-page and "Explicacion" table of contents, 17 fine engraved plates comprising nine maps (four folding) and eight illustrations (two folding) of scenes of the Pacific Northwest and its native inhabitants. Original speckled calf, excellent copies but for blue ownership stamps on title-page of the atlas. A work of great rarity, one of the scarcest of Pacific voyages and an important account of this expedition, the last great Spanish exploration of the Northwest coast of America. The atlas volume contains a series of plates of Nootka of great ethnographic importance including two remarkable large folding aquatints, atmospheric depictions of Nootka and its people, one of them the famous quite riotous scene of the festival given by the powerful chief Macuina (Maquinna) to… Read More

Mons: chez Gaspard Migeot, 1740. Spine chipped at base but a very good copy.. Duodecimo, contemporary mottled calf, gilt. Attractive copy of a rare work, with a Belgian imprint, relating the "mysterious voyage" to a "Land of Virtue". First published in Rouen in 1684, this rare spiritual romance is an educational novel written as an allegorical voyage to the imaginary island of 'Virtue' on the River Orontes, the chief Syrian river, and the standard route to Egypt since antiquity. The island proves to be a peaceful religious utopia, presented as a model for the reader. The work is attributed to Palafox y Mendoza (1600-1659), a Spanish bishop and writer, who was a Viceroy in New Spain (in Mexico) in 1642. His attempts to improve conditions for Native Americans led to clashes with the Jesuits and his ultimate excommunication. Attempts to have Palafox y Mendoza beatified were routinely blocked; in fact it was only in March 2010 that Pope Benedict XVI finally approved a miracle, and Palafox y Mendoza's… Read More

Leipzig, 1799. Some wear to binding, front joint wearing and with small split; otherwise a very good copy. Octavo, frontispiece, five plates, and a large folding map; contemporary quarter calf, bookplate. Abridged account of the La Pérouse voyage, published two years after the official edition. Although printed in a smaller format than the lavish (and handsomely priced) official edition, this book was aimed at voyage enthusiasts, advertising itself on the title-page as a supplement to La Harpe's series of voyage accounts. Although the title page attributes the abridgement to Jean-Francois de La Harpe, McLaren states it is actually the work of Charles Françoise de Villers. Rolf du Rietz confidently speculates 'the Leipzig imprint is probably fictitious.' The preface records all previous Pacific voyagers of any note, and includes a full list of persons who embarked with La Pérouse including officers, scientists, artists, sailors, engineers, artillerymen, carpenters, domestic servants and supercargo… Read More

Delft: Henry van Rhin, 1711. Worn at extremities, spine chipped with some loss at head, joints starting; internally quite good.. Duodecimo, speckled calf. First and apparently only edition of this rare South American utopia, set off the coast of the Guianas. Before Defoe and Swift, this classic utopia is set on a fertile island off South America, the capital Macarie being 'gradually reformed by men's reasoning their way to discover the best procedures' (Gibson). Owing as much to Plato's Republic as the work of Sir Thomas More, the community takes up the tradition of rational government and communal education, albeit with the surprisingly modern twist of having the entire society descended from a single French merchant and his wife Marie (rather as if the Swiss Family Robinson had met the Bounty descendants on Pitcairn Island). More religiously-minded, the author makes the comparison with Abraham and the tribes of Israel. Published anonymously and with a preface only signed E.R.V.F.L., the work is… Read More

Sydney: Thomas Richards, Government Printer, 1860. A few leaves discoloured at bottom margin, otherwise excellent.. Two foolscap reports, stitch-sewn, 14,44 pp, Two reports prepared for parliament, the salient issue is not the importation of opium through an Australian port, but the avoidance of the full customs tariff. .

London: House of Commons, 3 August, 1840. Dusted and a little marked; wrapper torn with small loss to front, spine worn away revealing the gathers; good original condition.. Folio, 207 pp.; in the original blue printed wrappers. An important report in good original condition: "valuable and historical" (Hocken). Regarding this now rather scarce report, Hocken wrote: "Prompted and promoted by the New Zealand Company, an influential meeting of merchants, bankers, shipowners, and others was held at the Guildhall on 15th April, 1840, to petition Parliament in favour of a systematic colonisation of New Zealand and to preserve it to the Crown... This report was the outcome, and was favourable. The witnesses were E.G. Wakefield, Saxe Bannister, John Blackett, R.N., John Ward, Dandeson Coates, Rev. Drs. Hinds and Beecham, Charles Enderby, W. Hutt, and Alex. Busby. Their evidence gives and account of the natives and their lands, mission labours, origin and history of the New Zealand Company, and the necessity… Read More

London: George Woodfall, 1837. First and only edition. 8vo. pp. 11; sewn as issued in original titling wrappers. The Van Diemen's Land Company, established by Act of Parliament, and incorporated by Royal Charter, comprised a group of London businessmen who managed a large tract of land in north west Tasmania on a for-profit basis. The land, centred on Circular Head, formed the basis for a dairy herd, and the present report lists some of the changes of the previous year. It also provides a list of sales of livestock, a list of directors, and expresses their 'great satisfaction in being able to inform the Proprietors that Captain SirJohn Franklin, R.N., recently appointed Lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land, and who sailed for the Colony in September last, expressed himself favourably disposed towards the objects of the Company' (p. 10). .

London: Printed by George Woodfall, 1833. In fine condition, as issued.. Octavo, 8 pp., unbound as issued, top edges unopened. Not originally noted by Ferguson, who did record the report of the eighth "Yearly General Meeting" that had taken place in March of the same year. The Ferguson Addenda volume locates two Tasmanian institutional copies and another in South Australia. The Van Diemen's Land Company, major land-owner and farming corporation in Tasmania, is still in business today if considerably reduced in size, and is "widely believed to be the last Australian chartered company still operating". It was founded in 1825 by a group of London merchants who planned a wool growing venture to supply the needs of the British industry and markets. Edward Curr was appointed as their chief agent, arriving back in Hobart in 1826. Large scale plans were put into place for sheep-rearing on the Company's huge grant at Surrey Hills, but the attempts failed over the first years of the 1830s with cold weather… Read More

Melbourne: John Ferres, 1862. Fine condition.. Foolscap folio, printed on blue paper; blue art morocco. Very scarce official Commission Report. The Enquiry apportions the blame between Burke himself, William Wright, and the Exploration Committee of the Royal Society of Victoria. Bound in with it is the single-leaf Victorian Parliamentary Paper Country discovered by Burke and Wills of 1863. .