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

Sydney: By Order of the Council, 1835. Single foolscap sheet folded to docket size. A document giving the Governor of the day, Sir Richard Bourke permission from his majesty to pass a law legitimising land grants that do not bear the name of his Majesty or any of his predecessors. .

London: Rudolph Ackermann, 1820. Very good; laid down on fine tissue, with small repaired tear.. Handcoloured engraving, 230 x 335 (plate size), mounted. Rare and attractive view of Vaucluse, from Wallis's Historical Account of the Colony,the first view book engraved in Australia. This work was an extraordinary collaboration between Major James Wallis, then commander of the convict settlement at Newcastle, and the convicts under his command, notably the artists Walter Preston and Joseph Lycett. Two of the central figures in the creation of the views were Preston and Lycett; Preston had earlier worked with Absalom West on his famous views of Sydney, while the latter had only recently been sent to Newcastle after his involvement in the forging of bank drafts in Sydney. At the time, Newcastle enjoyed a fearsome reputation for brutal secondary punishment and was described by Lieutenant Purcell as "the Hell of New South Wales." Wallis had arrived in the colony in 1814 and proved a successful commandant… Read More

Lisbon: Vicente Jorge de Castro, 1841. Slight spotting.. Three volumes bound in one, small octavo; some wear to the edges of the boards and a library reference at head of spine, an attractive copy in contemporary quarter calf. Rare: an unusually good copy of this intriguing imaginary voyage to Australia in the 1830s, and a most uncommon example of any utopian fiction published in Portugal. Written at a time of unrest in the Portuguese-speaking world, and not coincidentally at a time when rumours of vast fortunes being made in Australia abounded, this story tells the detailed history of the manservant to a Lord who travelled from Liverpool to New South Wales in 1836, where he is dazzled by the beauties of nature and society alike, culminating in his visit to the utopian 'Vale da Razão' (Valley of Reason), run by a grand council of men and women 'free from the vices of the old world' (Ferguson). The author was the little-known public servant Vasco José de Aguiar (died October 1855), secretary of… Read More

Livorno: Tipografia Vignozzi, 1827. Three leaves a little short at the margins (printer's error), a little foxing, but very good.. Three volumes, duodecimo, three frontispieces and three plates, all with good contemporary handcolouring; contemporary quarter roan binding, lettered in gilt, marbled boards with vellum tips. Attractive early Italian edition of La Pérouse's voyage, containing six charming coloured plates (three of which are not recorded in the standard bibliographies). The first of these unrecorded plates is a costume study captioned 'Uomo e Donna volgari della Concezione'; the second a view of Macao and the third depicts the death of botanist and savant Robert de Lamanon amidst a melée in Samoa during 1787. Neither Ferguson, Forbes nor McLaren note the three plates additional to the frontispieces. Forbes did not in fact manage to inspect a copy of the book. Ferguson cites his own copy, while McLaren consulted the Nan Kivell copy held by the National Library. This edition was part of… Read More

Milan: Dalla Tipgrafia Sonzogno e Comp, 1815. The marbled sides a little rubbed.. Four volumes bound in two, small octavo, with a folding world map outlined in colour and 16 hand-coloured plates; a nice set in contemporary quarter calf, flat spines gilt. Quite uncommon: the first Italian edition of the voyages of La Pérouse, with a lovely series of handcoloured plates based on the original images of Gaspard Duché de Vancy done for the official French edition. Part of their charm lies in the way that they have been simplified to suit the format of the Italian edition. The existence of this Italian edition is testament to La Pérouse's enduring fame throughout Europe, appearing as it did before even Captain Cook's voyages were translated (Navigazioni di Cook, 1816-17). It was almost fifteen more years before Peter Dillon published his discovery of the wreck of the Astrolabe and Boussole on Vanikoro and the map for this edition therefore still shows La Pérouse's track finishing at Botany Bay. The… Read More

Firenze: Giuseppe Allegrini, 1768. A few ink marks on the title-page but remarkably fresh throughout.. Square octavo, engraved frontispiece, 4, 152 pp., untrimmed, in plain modern boards. Uncommon contemporary Italian edition of the famous account of Byron's circumnavigation by Charles Clerke. As would be expected, the edition includes an excellent new version of the famous frontispiece of an English sailor offering a towering Patagonian couple a biscuit. First published in London in 1767, and quickly followed by a French translation, this Italian edition is very scarce. It would appear to be based on the first London edition (because it does not include a short appendix that was included in the second London edition, also of 1767). This famous unauthorised account of "Foul-Weather Jack" Byron's command of the Dolphin on the 1764-66 circumnavigation of the globe was published anonymously but is usually attributed to midshipman Charles Clerke who later sailed on all three of Cook's voyages. Byron's… Read More

Madrid: Imprenta de Don Tomás Jordan, 1832. Six volumes, duodecimo, with six engraved plates (one in each volume), original blue printed wrappers preserved, early owner's name on the title-pages, old stamps from Barcelona library, bookplates of José Gallart Folch; a charming set in contemporary Spanish quarter calf, gilt. Very uncommon first Spanish edition of Cook's first voyage, published in 1832 as part of a series described as the 'New Library of Modern Voyages useful and interesting for Spanish youth.' The work has a charming series of six plates which include a scene in Tahiti featuring the Chief Mourner and two New Zealand scenes (a warrior in profile, the war canoe), and conclude with a dramatic scene on board the Endeavour. The presence of the original printed wrappers bound-in is of more than passing interest as the back wrappers give an interesting overview of how the set was marketed, being sold for 6 reales per volume as they were issued whether in Madrid or in the provinces, and… Read More

Madrid: M. Pita, 1833. Some slight wear to extremities of binding but a neat and most attractive copy.. 16mo (115 x 75mm), engraved frontispiece, 192 pp.; a fine fresh copy in contemporary Spanish marbled calf, gilt spine, red morocco label. Very rare Spanish imprint detailing the life and adventures of the gentleman pickpocket George Barrington. Ferguson records many versions of Barrington in one form or another, perhaps the most exotic being the Russian translation published in Moscow in 1803 (known from the single copy in the Mitchell Library), but this bizarre Spanish version eluded him; nor did any copy appear in time to be added to the Ferguson Addenda. More recently Garvey has identified four copies: Mitchell Library, National Library of Australia, and two in the Spanish national library. This is essentially an abridgement of the Voyage to New South Wales, but is more than just a translation as extra editorial matter includes a section of fifteen pages concerning the geography of Australia,… Read More

Paris: Hôtel de Thou, 1789. A couple of spots and slight marginal defect to the first leaf of text in volume II, but a fine copy.. Two volumes, octavo; bound with the half-titles in contemporary French mottled calf, spines gilt in compartments; quarter calf bookform box. An important association copy: Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney's copy of the Kippis biography of Captain Cook. This handsome French octavo edition bears his ornate bookplate as Viscount Sydney (which he became in 1789), with his title engraved beneath the armorial crest depicting a stag facing a lion rampant. Lord Sydney drew directly upon the experiences of Cook and his men in formulating the plan to establish the penal colony at Botany Bay. Books of this nature from his library highlight the connection between the exploration of the east coast of Australia and its subsequent settlement in the late eighteenth century. Aside from its desirable provenance, this is a handsome set in a contemporary French mottled calf binding. It was… Read More

Sydney: A. West, 1812. In very good original condition, strengthened with Japanese tissue.. Engraving; Paper size approx. 310 mm. x 405 mm. Printed lower right below image in black ink, 'Engraved by W.Presston[Sic]'. Printed lower left below image in black ink, 'Drawn by J.Eyre.'. Printed lower centre below image in black ink, 'Published Novr 30th 1812 by A West Sydney.'. Printed, lower centre below image in black ink, 'View of PART of the TOWN of PARRAMATTA in New South Wales. / taken from the North Side of the River / Dedicated to his Excellency Lachlan Macquarie, Esq. Governor of Nw South Wales. &c. &c. &c.'. Printed upper left above image in black ink, 'No.11'; mounted and expertly framed. This fine and exceedingly rare engraved view of Parramatta is based on an original painting by one of the colony's first artists, John Eyre, and was published by Absalom West in Sydney as part of the most fascinating and enigmatic publishing project of the Macquarie period. Dedicated to Macquarie, West's… Read More

London: Rudolph Ackermann, 1820. Very good; a small closed tear expertly repaired at upper blank margin very good.. Engraved view measuring 230 x 335mm. (plate size), early handcolouring. An early engraved view of Sydney Cove, itself the extraordinary outcome of the fruitful relationship between two convict engravers, Walter Preston and Joseph Lycett, and the artistically talented army officer Major James Wallis. This plate forms the frontispiece of Wallis' fine album of Australian views titled An Historical Account of the Colony of New South Wales published by Ackermann in London in 1821. The plate was engraved by the convict artist Walter Preston whose considerable talents came to the attention of Major Wallis, then commander of the convict settlement at Newcastle. At the time, Newcastle enjoyed a fearsome reputation for as a place for secondary punishment and was described by a contemporary officer as 'the Hell of New South Wales'. For many years the attribution of Wallis as the artist of the… Read More

Somerset, 1840. Original sepia watercolour with manuscript title in Wallis's hand, 167 x 368 mm, mounted. Inscribed lower right by James Wallis, "View of Culborne Church and Bristol Channel, Somersetshire". Wallis arrived in Sydney in February, 1814 in charge of the 46th Regiment which was to replace the 73rd. It was evident that he had a keen interest in art because after five years in Sydney and Newcastle he placed an advertisement in the Sydney Gazette, 9 January, 1819, for the sale of a "series of original views in New South Wales". This was a set of 13 printed views, engraved on copper by W. Preston. The imprints indicate that Wallis was responsible for the original drawings from which the engravings were taken. The Mitchell Library has the only extant examples of this Sydney printing. On his return to London in 1820, Wallis arranged a London edition of the views, in a bound volume, "Historical Account of the Colony of New South Wales" published by the well known London firm, Rudolf Ackermann.… Read More

London: Printed & Sold by Carington Bowles, Published as the Act directs, 1779. Small expert paper repair to lower margin.. Handcoloured engraving, 360 x 505 mm. in fine original condition, mounted and framed. Earliest issue of this fascinating depiction, with vibrant contemporary handcolouring, of convicts from the hulks labouring on the dockyards at Woolwich on the river Thames. The use of derelict ships as floating prisons really began with the loss of the American colonies following the War of Independence. The hulks were unpopular, but as this image vividly shows, they were considered a source of useful prison labour: a description of Woolwich in 1785 by Duncan Campbell, a contractor and overseer of the hulks, corresponds to this scene, with particular notice of convicts raising gravel for ballast and construction, sawing timber and constructing earthworks and embankments. The departure of the First Fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip and the foundation of a penal colony in New South Wales in… Read More

Sydney, 1845. Bright condition, sealed repaired tear in sky.. Original watercolour and pencil with gum arabic on paper, 310 x 500 mm; signed lower right C. Martens; in handsome nineteenth century frame; gold slip. A superb Sydney Harbour scene, sweeping from Elizabeth Bay House in the middle-ground around to the lower north shore, showcasing Martens's remarkable talent at capturing the shimmering waters and the intense light of the city. Martens has chosen his viewpoint, the ridge at Darling Point looking back across Elizabeth Bay towards the city, with great care, giving full rein to his skill as a landscape artist while also allowing him to devote his typical care to the foliage in the foreground: his informal scientific training meant that he was one of the few colonial artists to really master the distinctive look of the Australian Bush, and he took unusual care to be botanically accurate. More, in the present picture he has purposefully set out to minimise the built landscape by positioning the… Read More

London: J. Souter, 1825. A very fine copy. Oblong folio, pictorial lithographed title and 48 coloured aquatint views and one lithographed illustration after drawings by Joseph Lycett, with descriptive text, two folding maps; half red calf, marbled end papers and all edges gilt. A specially desirable copy of the great Australian colourplate book, the most important collection of antipodean landscapes and a landmark in the development of Australian illustrated books. Image one, "North View of Sydney, New South Wales" is found here in two states; the usual aquatint illustration and the very rare lithographed version. Lycett, a competent lithographer produced only two Australian images in lithography; one of Sydney and one of Hobart. It was originally planned that all the illustrations in "Views..." would be hand coloured lithographs, but as the prints when taken from the stone soon lost definition the publishers turned to aquatints, "in order that the accurate and highly finished drawings by Mr.… Read More

Paris, 1845. Fine.. Tinted lithograph, 230 x 380 mm., mounted in acid-free card. Original lithograph from Dumont d'Urville's Voyage au Pole Sud, the official published account of his second voyage through the South Pacific into Antarctic waters. Dumont d'Urville's instruction from King Louis-Philippe was to explore the South Pole. Up to this time France had taken no part in Antarctic discovery which had been dominated by the English. Dumont d'Urville left Toulon on September 7, 1837 with two ships, the "Astrolabe" and the "Zelee", on a voyage that was to become dogged by mishap and illness. Two artists accompanied D'Urville, Ernest Auguste Goupil and Louis le Breton. Goupil died in Hobart whilst the expedition was there in April 1840.0 .

London: James Carpenter, 1837. Slightly scuffed. a few spots but very good.. Quarto, plates; original publisher's quarter calf. Fourth edition of Robinson's fourth pattern-book, including designs for all types of village buildings from an Anglo-Norman church to a pump. The last of the high-quality plates is a view of the village street which emphasises the irregularity and varied grouping necessary to achieve the desired level of "picturesqueness" - the quality which Sir Uvedale Price described and Robinson believed possible to create. .

London: J. Dodsley, 1783. Text a little dusted, calf spine label defective but a good copy.. Quarto, with half-title and final blank; in later drab boards. First edition of Crabbe's best poem, an unsentimental homage to English country life. It was the work that confirmed his reputation and promise. Written in stirring heroic couplets, the poem was an implicit protest against the enclosure of common land by landowners. Mistakenly regarded as nothing more than a grim cataloguing of the ills of rural life, the opening to the second book is apropos:'No longer truth, though shown in verse, disdain,But own the village life a life of pain;I too must yield, that oft amid these woesAre gleams of transient mirth and hours of sweet repose'. .

London: Hodgson & Graves, 1839. Fine.. Mezzotint measuring 305 x 230 mm. (plate size). A beautifully executed mezzotint portrait of William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne, after whom the capital city of Victoria was named in 1837. Although printed in 1839, at the height of Melbourne's career and while he was serving as Prime Minister of Great Britain, the mezzotint is based on a youthful portrait of the great statesman by Sir Thomas Lawrence R.A. The city of Melbourne grew from humble beginnings, when John Batman explored the Port Phillip Bay area against the express wishes of Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales. Within two years Bourke was forced to acknowledge the rapidly growing settlement which he named in honour of Viscount Melbourne in 1837. In doing so Bourke replaced a variety of names for the fledgling settlement including Bearbrass, Bearport, Glenelg and Batmania (so called after John Batman). Largely due to the gold-rushes of the mid nineteenth-century Melbourne became one of… Read More

London: Richard Bentley, 1853. A very good set; folding end pocket chart repaired.. Two volumes, octavo, with eight fine tinted lithograph plates (printed by Day & Son); folding chart in a rear pocket; in an excellent modern half calf binding. A fine set of this splendid book, with eight superb plates lithographed by Hawkins after Oswald Brierley. Henry Keppel had first served in the Malacca Straits in the early 1840s during the campaign against the Borneo pirates. During that time he formed a close friendship with Sir James Brooke, who had been appointed rajah of Sarawak in perpetuity by the sultan of Brunei. In 1847 Keppel returned to the region as captain of the frigate Maeander which was to convey Brooke to Labuan, an island off Borneo. 'At Brooke's suggestion, Labuan was ceded to Great Britain in 1846 by the Sultan of Brunei; it was made a crown colony, and Brooke was named governor. Keppel's book treats of the voyage to Labuan, incidents there, piracy in the South China Sea, and gives a… Read More