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Rare and Antiquarian Books

Australiana

There are some very rare and special books in the Biblio Rare Book Room, and if you love all things Australia, you should definitely look through the rare Australiana books section below. From signed, first-edition books to one of a kind documents to the Australian government, there are plenty of fascinating rare and antique books about Australia in the Biblio Rare Book Room.

Results 1 - 15 of 85
Blast the Bush; Too Long in the Bush; Bush Bashers; Beating About the Bush; Still in the Bush;...
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Blast the Bush; Too Long in the Bush; Bush Bashers; Beating About the Bush; Still in the Bush; End of an Era (6 vols # 41 of 50 Signed Sets)

by Beadell, Len

  • Used
  • as new
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
As New
Edition
1st Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Kellerberrin, Western Australia
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$5,067.60
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Adelaide: Corkwood Press 1999-2003 Special Editions 6 vols 8vo, 1999 Very Fine leather-bound matching set of all six of Len Beadell's often humorous autobiographical writings detailing his pioneering road-building projects throughout the Central Australian deserts on behalf of the Woomera Rocket Range. Each volume is beautifully bound in kangaroo leather, with gilt titles, gilt maps to covers, map end-papers, and illustrated with b&w and colour photographs and Len's original line drawings. A special limited edition of 50 copies of each volume, each volume offered here being no.41 of the series. Blast the Bush is autographed by Len's widow Anne Beadell, and his children, Connie Sue Beadell and Gary Beadell, after whom two of the great outback highways are named. Too Long in the Bush is also signed & inscribed by Anne Beadell, and Bush Bashers is signed and inscribed by Connie Sue Beadell. A magnificent set that does justice to Len Beadell's writings, and looks great on the shelf.
Item Price
NZ$5,067.60
NZ$20.00 shipping to USA
Experiences of a Colonist Forty Years Ago; A Journey from Port Phillip to South Australia in...
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Experiences of a Colonist Forty Years Ago; A Journey from Port Phillip to South Australia in 1839; and A Voyage from Port Phillip to Adelaide in 1846. By an Old Hand

by [HAMILTON, George]

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
2nd Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Adelaide, South Australia
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$2,421.54
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA

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Adelaide: J. Williams, Printer [for the Author], 1880. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Adelaide, J. Williams, Printer [for the Author], 1880 [second edition]/ 1879. Octavo, [viii], 84; 80; and 23 pages plus 3 albumen paper photographs of 5 drawings on 3 unnumbered leaves. Gilt- and blind-stamped blue cloth a little bumped and rubbed at the extremities, with minor wear to the corners; spine sunned, with a slightly lighter spot near the centre where a paper label (an old auction lot number) has been removed; front cover has some light stains on it where something has been spilt (removing some of the gilt from the top left-hand border); rear flyleaf removed, with offsetting to the final page; a very good copy (internally excellent). The particulars of the photographs match those given in Holden (where the discrepancy in the number of plates present as against listed is explained). The plates are of drawings by Hamilton; he contributed similar sketches to the published journals of Grey and Eyre. The… Read More
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NZ$2,421.54
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA
Wolfingham; or, The Convict-Settler of Jervis Bay: A Tale of the Church in Australia
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Wolfingham; or, The Convict-Settler of Jervis Bay: A Tale of the Church in Australia

by Anonymous

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Schenectady, New York
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$1,317.58
NZ$6.50 shipping to USA

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London: John Henry and James Parker, 1860. First Edition. Hardcover. Historical Tales No. 20. Part of a series recounting the history of the Church in Great Britain and other countries. iv, 112pp + 4pp of advertisements. Recent maroon cloth stamped in gold on the spine. Frontispiece. Two small stains to fore edge affecting the first and last two leaves. A very good+ copy. ; Octavo.
Item Price
NZ$1,317.58
NZ$6.50 shipping to USA
A comprehensive collection of Parliamentary Papers pertaining to the explorations in South...
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A comprehensive collection of Parliamentary Papers pertaining to the explorations in South Australia of Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815-1878)

by BABBAGE, Benjamin Herschel

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Adelaide, South Australia
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NZ$8,255.25
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Babbage was 'engineer, scientist and explorer ... son of Charles Babbage, Cambridge professor of mathematics [and the first computer pioneer], and his wife Georgina, sister of W.W. Whitmore, a founder of South Australia.... In 1856 Babbage was sent north to search for gold as far as the Flinders Ranges. He found none, but discovered the MacDonnell River, Blanchewater and Mount Hopeful. He was the first to dispel the current idea of the impassability of the Lake Torrens "horseshoe" ... [In late 1857 he was] appointed leader of a northern expedition. Babbage left in February 1858 to explore the country between Lakes Torrens and Gairdner, and further to the north and west. His concept of exploration was based on thorough survey, mapping and examination of the country, ideals with which Francis Dutton, commissioner of crown lands, agreed in his instructions and early correspondence. With cumbrous and ingenious equipment Babbage carried out the first part, hampered by bad terrain and lack of water. But he… Read More
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NZ$8,255.25
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA
The Acts of The Parliament of Western Australia, Passed in the Sixty-Fourth Year of the Reign of...

The Acts of The Parliament of Western Australia, Passed in the Sixty-Fourth Year of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, During the Sixth Session of the Third Parliament of Western Australia (15th August to 5th December 1900), With an Appendix containing the Imperial Act 63 & 64 Vict., Ch.12, "The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act" [The Statutes of Western Australia Vol.VIII 1900]

by Parliament of Western Australia

  • Used
  • near fine
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Near Fine
Edition
1st Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Kellerberrin, Western Australia
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$1,351.36
NZ$20.00 shipping to USA

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Perth: Perth: Richard Pether, Government Printer 1901 First Edition xiii, 578, 32, 31pp, 1901 Near Fine original blue boards, half-calf, slightly worn, with former owner's name in gilt to front board, now rubbed, corners and spine in calf, with raised titles, internally Fine throughout except for a little mild age-toning, with hand-written emendations. This volume contains the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, in which Western Australia agrees to become part of the Commonwealth of Australia. Very Scarce.
Item Price
NZ$1,351.36
NZ$20.00 shipping to USA
A Voyage to New Holland, &c. In the Year, 1699.
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A Voyage to New Holland, &c. In the Year, 1699.

by Dampier, William

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Chanute, Kansas
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$8,446.00
NZ$5.00 shipping to USA

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London: James Knapton, 1703. First Edition . Full Leather. Very Good/No Jacket. 162 pages, followed by index and five pages of publishers' ads. Folding map at frontispiece, plus four tables/maps and ten natural history plates. Vol. III in Captain William Dampier's adventure series stands alone, though a continuation of this work was published six years later. This is a particularly lovely, sound, and complete copy of the scarce first edition. Later full calf binding in contemporary style. Covers show very light rubbing, mostly on lower edges. Map is bright and crisp with strong water mark. Two older inked names are seen at the top of the title page, one dated 1877. Mostly light foxing, though a little heavier on the first six leaves. Otherwise, contents remain crisp and clean.
Item Price
NZ$8,446.00
NZ$5.00 shipping to USA
An almost-lifesize vintage portrait photograph of Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1790-1875), 'one of...
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An almost-lifesize vintage portrait photograph of Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1790-1875), 'one of the most important pioneers of South Australia' ('Australian Dictionary of Biography')

by FISHER, Sir James Hurtle

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Adelaide, South Australia
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Item Price
NZ$27,517.50
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA

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The very fine portrait (visible image size 545 × 395 mm, in its original ornate gilt frame, external dimensions 740 × 595 mm) is exquisitely hand-painted and signed by the famous colonial photographer, Townsend Duryea (1823-1888). His original label is affixed to the paper backing on the verso of the frame ('T. Duryea, Artist Photographer, 66 and 68 King William Street, Adelaide'), and in our opinion, he has created a masterpiece as both artist and photographer with this work. James Hurtle Fisher commenced practice as a solicitor in London in 1816 and 'was drawn into the colonizing movement in 1835.... [He] was selected as resident commissioner, one of the most important offices under the South Australian Act ... second only to the governor'. Fisher 'left England in July 1836 with the governor's party in the "Buffalo", arriving on 28 December 1836 at Holdfast Bay, where the official oaths were administered, a proclamation was read and a ceremony marked the beginning of settlement. In January 1837… Read More
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NZ$27,517.50
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA
Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers explored and surveyed during...
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Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers explored and surveyed during the Voyages of H.M.S. 'Beagle', in the Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43... Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea

by STOKES, John Lort

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Adelaide, South Australia
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$3,302.10
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA

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Description:
London: T. and W. Boone, 1846. First Edition. Hardcover. London, T. and W. Boone, 1846. Octavo, two volumes, [2] (inserted advertising leaf for this work), xii, [ii] (list of charts, verso blank), [ii] (errata, verso blank), 522 (last blank), 8 (publisher's catalogue) pages [first volume], and [4] (inserted prospectus for Siborne's 'History of the War ... in 1815'), viii, [ii] (list of charts, verso blank), 544 (last blank), 8 (publisher's catalogue) pages [second volume], plus 26 engraved or lithographed plates and 7 (of 8) folding maps (lacking the chart of Bass Strait); all advertising leaves, and the slip for Eyre (at the end of the second volume), are present, but the one for Dutton is missing. Original cloth later rebacked, retaining the original backstrips, with new endpapers (but retaining all but the original front free endpaper as well); new endpocket in the second volume (containing five of the maps); cloth a little bumped and rubbed at the extremities; spine sunned, with a few blemishes;… Read More
Item Price
NZ$3,302.10
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA
Van Dieman's Land. Copies of Despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor

Van Dieman's Land. Copies of Despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor

by Australia; Transportation; Van Dieman's Land

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Clark, New Jersey
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Item Price
NZ$1,689.20
NZ$9.50 shipping to USA

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1839. together 7 items. together 7 items. Parliamentary Documents Relating to the Penal Colony of Van Dieman's Land and New South Wales, 1839-1855 [Australia]. [Transportation]. [Van Dieman's Land]. Van Dieman's Land. Copies of Despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Dieman's Land, Relative to Transportation and the Assignment of Convicts. [London]: Ordered, By the House of Commons, To be Printed, 12 August 1839. 4 pp. [With] An Act for the Government of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land [30th July 1842]. [Running title]. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and Andrew Spottiswoode, 1842. [833]-850 pp. [And] An Act to Explain and Amend the Act for the Government of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land [6th August 1844]. [Running title]. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and Andrew Spottiswoode, 1842. [577]-580 pp. [And] South Australia. Convicts (Van Dieman's Land). Copies of All the Correspondence Between Any Person or Persons Interested in South Australia and the Colonial Office,… Read More
Item Price
NZ$1,689.20
NZ$9.50 shipping to USA
The Gawler Handbook. A Record of the Rise and Progress of that important Town; to which are added...
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The Gawler Handbook. A Record of the Rise and Progress of that important Town; to which are added Memoirs of McKinlay the Explorer and Dr Nott

by [Gawler]. LOYAU, George Ettienne

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Adelaide, South Australia
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$3,852.45
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA

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Adelaide: Goodfellow & Hele [almost certainly the author: James Dally was convinced], 1880. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Adelaide, Goodfellow & Hele [almost certainly the author: James Dally was convinced], 1880. Octavo, 182, 30 (advertisements) pages plus 6 lithographed plates (of farm machinery by James Martin & Co.) and 17 albumen paper carte de visite photographs individually mounted on tipped-in captioned leaves. Blind-decorated blue cloth lettered in gilt on the front cover; cloth slightly rubbed and bumped at the extremities, a little marked and bubbled, and lightly sunned on the spine; some mounts lightly creased (a production flaw); a few trifling signs of use; a very good copy (but internally fine, with the photographs in superb condition). Ferguson 11744; Holden 70. Holden's entry is more accurate and informative, although the photographs may vary slightly between copies. The photograph facing page 17 in this copy is of the 'Gawler Institute' (showing the Institute building and… Read More
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NZ$3,852.45
NZ$25.00 shipping to USA
Shipwreck of the Stirling Castle : containing a faithful narrative of the dreadful sufferings of...
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1838 1ed Shipwreck of Stirling Castle Australia James Fraser Voyages Illustrated

The Stirling Castle was a Scottish ship who is remembered for its fateful voyage where it wrecked near Queensland, Australia. Commanded by James Fraser, this ship was on an excursion toward Singapore where they ran aground on the reefs. Those that survived the wreck were taken into camps by local Aboriginal people of the Butchulla tribes.

'The Shipwreck of the Stirling Castle' is a rare account of the wreck and the events of the survivors. Written by John Curtis, this book describes the tortures endured by the survivors, including Fraser's wife Eliza. In addition to describing the wreck and the local tribes, Curtis describes the landscape of Australia and Amboyana Islands, account of 'kangaroo dogs' (dingo), influence of the British government and British missionaries in Australia, along with impressive full-page engravings depicting events of the voyage. One notable engraving is an illustration of Captain Fraser being… Read More
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NZ$1,266.90
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An Account of the Voyages by the order of his present Majesty for making discoveries in the...
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An Account of the Voyages by the order of his present Majesty for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, and successively performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret and Captain Cook, in the Dolphin, the Swallow, and the Endeavour.

by COOK. HAWKESWORTH, JOHN

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Used
Seller
CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire
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Item Price
NZ$26,627.50
NZ$8.95 shipping to USA

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London: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1773,Contemporary full mottled calf gilt, a very attractive set.
FIRST EDITION, 3 volumes, 52 engraved plates, charts and maps (most folding or double-page, including "A Chart of the Straights of Magellan")
Volume I contains the voyages of Byron, Carteret and Wallis, with the discovery of Tahiti, and volumes II-III contain Hawkesworth's edited account of Lieutenant Cook's voyage (he was only promoted to Captain on his return). Cook's instructions for this first voyage were to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti and to carry on John Byron's survey and examination of the seas between Cape Horn and New Holland, but they did not extend to searching for Terra Australis. He did, however, add more than 5,000 miles of coastline to Admiralty charts for Tahiti, Australia and the Great Barrier Reef, and New Zealand, which he circumnavigated.
[Beddie, BCJC 648; Hill (2004) 782; Sabin 30934]
Item Price
NZ$26,627.50
NZ$8.95 shipping to USA
AN ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE TO NEW SOUTH WALES and THE HISTORY OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
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AN ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE TO NEW SOUTH WALES and THE HISTORY OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

by BARRINGTON, George.:

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Oxford, Oxfordshire
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NZ$3,834.36
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London, printed for M. Jones, 1802-1803.. FIRST EDITIONS 2 volumes 1803 and 1802, by George Barrington Superintendent of the Convicts. To which is prefixed a Detail of His Life, Trials, Speeches, &c. &c. Enriched with beautiful Coloured Prints. AN ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE TO NEW SOUTH WALES 1803. 8vo, approximately 210 x 125 mm, 8¼ x 5 inches, engraved frontispiece portrait of the author, engraved title page with hand coloured vignette of an aborigine fishing from a boat, a folding hand coloured map of NSW, 10 hand coloured plates including 4 views of Sidney, A Native Family, The Cape of Good Hope, The Peak of Teneriffe, Pinchgut Islands, Spotted Hyena and Camelopard, the last 2 on 1 plate, pages: (8), 1-467, (5 - index), lacking Directions to the Binder, not always included in this edition, bound in modern quarter burgundy morocco over marbled sides, raised bands, gilt rules and gilt ship motif in compartments, 2 dark brown gilt lettered labels. Pale age-browning to text, occasional pale foxing to a… Read More
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NZ$3,834.36
NZ$30.40 shipping to USA
AN HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE DISCOVERY OF NEW HOLLAND AND NEW SOUTH WALES.   Containing an...
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AN HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE DISCOVERY OF NEW HOLLAND AND NEW SOUTH WALES. Containing an account of the inhabitants, soil, animals, and other productions of those countries, and including a particular Description of Botany Bay.

by FIELDING, John.:

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Used
Seller
Oxford, Oxfordshire
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NZ$15,976.50
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London, John Fielding, in Pater-noster Row, 1786.. THE FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST SEPARATE ACCOUNT OF NEW SOUTH WALES. Illustrated with 2 maps on 1 sheet, a chart of New Holland, New South Wales, Botany Bay, and the New Discovered Islands in the North and South Pacific Ocean, hand coloured in outline,1786, corrected second impression with longitude East from the meridian of Greenwich omitted from the first printing in frame at foot. Small slim folio, page size: approximately 235 x 185 mm, 9¼ x 7½ inches, no binding, stitched as issued, publisher's small device on title page, price one shilling and six-pence at bottom of title page, note to reader about the chart on reverse of title page, pages: [2], 33, [1] - adverts mentioning books by Captain Cook, loosely laid in purpose-made covers of modern half dark blue morocco over blue cloth sides, gilt title to upper cover, white pastedowns, in matching cloth slipcase with morocco round edges of opening. Title page slightly dusty with 2 small creases… Read More
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NZ$15,976.50
NZ$30.40 shipping to USA
UNIVERSAL MAGAZINE OF KNOWLEDGE AND PLEASURE.  A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND...
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UNIVERSAL MAGAZINE OF KNOWLEDGE AND PLEASURE. A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLAN OF ESTABLISHING A COLONY OF CONVICTS AT BOTANY BAY.

by UNIVERSAL MAGAZINE.:

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Oxford, Oxfordshire
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NZ$1,235.52
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London, W. Bent, 1787.. Small section of the Universal Magazine (no title page) 1787 including 3 pages on early Australia with summary of plans for the convict settlement at Botany Bay, also several mentions of Captain Cook, pages 137-139. Slim 8vo, approximately 220 x 135 mm, 8½ x 5¼ inches, engraved portrait of Jonas Hanway and engraved folding chart of New Holland dated 1787, pages: 113-168, nicely bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe (their name in gilt at the foot of first pastedown), in half calf, gilt lettering and rules to spine, marbled boards with dividing gilt rules, new cream endpapers. Lacks original wrappers, printing on page 137 a little pale, but all text legible, pale age-browning, 2 small neat edge repairs, otherwise a very good copy. One article outlining early Dutch discoveries and the landfalls of William Dampier before Captain Cook's survey of the east coast. The folding chart is based on Fielding's map of 1786, though the 3 page article is short it details early Dutch discoveries… Read More
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NZ$1,235.52
NZ$30.40 shipping to USA