The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook, with "The Death of Captain Cook" Plate -
James Cook, John Hawkesworth, James King
1773 - Strahan, London - Second Edition, First Edition, Second Edition
A complete set of the best possible editions, superbly bound in full tree calf and with the additional ‘Death of Captain Cook’ drawn by the John Weber who witnessed the dispute and ensuing fight. Eight quarto volumes and the elephant folio volume of plates. Magnificently illustrated with two hundred and five engraved charts and plates, many of which are double page or larger.
There is no greater set of travel works, Cook was the first scientific navigator, these three voyages made great contributions to numerous fields of knowledge,, and did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than his predecessors had done together [Hill].
The first voyage is in its second and best edition, complete with the ‘Directions for placing the cuts’ and the ‘Chart of the Straights of Magellan’, and with the new Preface containing Hawkesworth's virulent eight-page reply to Dalrymple's whining reviews of the first edition, and the whole volume revised by the voyage's astronomer William Wales.
The third voyage is in its second and best edition, with the printing by Hughs (rather than Strahan who printed the first edition) with the text itself entirely re-set. Isaac Smith presenting a set on behalf of Cook's widow in 1821 noted that 'I am desired by Mrs Cook to request your acceptance of the 4 books sent herewith being her Husbands last Voyage round the World, as a mark of her respect the letter press of the second edition being much superior to the first both in paper & letter press' (quoted by Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography, 85). King George III's copy of the official account, preserved in the British Library, is also an example of this second edition. This particular set with variant title pages, dated correctly, but without edition statement or vignette of Royal Society medal.
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Price HK$ 430,000
1773 - Strahan, London - Second Edition, First Edition, Second Edition
A complete set of the best possible editions, superbly bound in full tree calf and with the additional ‘Death of Captain Cook’ drawn by the John Weber who witnessed the dispute and ensuing fight. Eight quarto volumes and the elephant folio volume of plates. Magnificently illustrated with two hundred and five engraved charts and plates, many of which are double page or larger.There is no greater set of travel works, Cook was the first scientific navigator, these three voyages made great contributions to numerous fields of knowledge,, and did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than his predecessors had done together [Hill].
The first voyage is in its second and best edition, complete with the ‘Directions for placing the cuts’ and the ‘Chart of the Straights of Magellan’, and with the new Preface containing Hawkesworth's virulent eight-page reply to Dalrymple's whining reviews of the first edition, and the whole volume revised by the voyage's astronomer William Wales.
The third voyage is in its second and best edition, with the printing by Hughs (rather than Strahan who printed the first edition) with the text itself entirely re-set. Isaac Smith presenting a set on behalf of Cook's widow in 1821 noted that 'I am desired by Mrs Cook to request your acceptance of the 4 books sent herewith being her Husbands last Voyage round the World, as a mark of her respect the letter press of the second edition being much superior to the first both in paper & letter press' (quoted by Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography, 85). King George III's copy of the official account, preserved in the British Library, is also an example of this second edition. This particular set with variant title pages, dated correctly, but without edition statement or vignette of Royal Society medal.
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Price HK$ 430,000
A Plain and Easy Account of British Fungi -
M.C. Cooke
1898 - W. H. Allen and Co., London - Sixth Edition, Revised
An informative Victorian-era reference to British fungi, wonderfully illustrated with 20 full page colour plates of thirty-four species and numerous woodcuts throughout the text.
Mordecai Cubitt Cooke (1825-1914) was an English botanist and mycologist. From 1872 to 1894, he edited Grevillea, a monthly periodical devoted to the study of mushrooms.
The word ‘esculent’ means ‘edible’.
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Price HK$ 700
1898 - W. H. Allen and Co., London - Sixth Edition, Revised
An informative Victorian-era reference to British fungi, wonderfully illustrated with 20 full page colour plates of thirty-four species and numerous woodcuts throughout the text.Mordecai Cubitt Cooke (1825-1914) was an English botanist and mycologist. From 1872 to 1894, he edited Grevillea, a monthly periodical devoted to the study of mushrooms.
The word ‘esculent’ means ‘edible’.
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Price HK$ 700
The Wild Life of Scotland -
James Hunter Crawford
1896 - John Macqueen, London - First Edition
A beautiful copy, illustrated throughout by John Williamson.
Including chapters on bird life, the moors, marine mammals and fish, the stag, lochs and the Shetlands.
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Price HK$ 1,200
1896 - John Macqueen, London - First Edition
A beautiful copy, illustrated throughout by John Williamson.Including chapters on bird life, the moors, marine mammals and fish, the stag, lochs and the Shetlands.
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Price HK$ 1,200
Highland Sport -
A Grimble
1894 - Chapman and Hall Ltd., London - First Edition
A large and beautifully bound work Illustrated with eleven full page plates by Archibald Thorburn.
Personal recollections and views on fishing and shooting in the highlands of Scotland. Grimble was the first to call for a close time to the Salmon fishing season in Scotland after witnessing the alarming drop in catch, and rise in netting technology and quantity. He was successful.
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Price HK$ 4,200
1894 - Chapman and Hall Ltd., London - First Edition
A large and beautifully bound work Illustrated with eleven full page plates by Archibald Thorburn. Personal recollections and views on fishing and shooting in the highlands of Scotland. Grimble was the first to call for a close time to the Salmon fishing season in Scotland after witnessing the alarming drop in catch, and rise in netting technology and quantity. He was successful.
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Price HK$ 4,200
The Lady and the Panda: An Adventure -
Ruth Harkness
1938 - Carrick & Evans, New York - First Edition
A bright copy – in the rare original dust jacket – of this uncommon book, American socialite Ruth Harkness’ account of her panda-hunting expedition to China in 1936. Successfully – and unexpectedly – capturing an infant panda, which she named Su-Lin,
Harkness brazenly side-stepped Chinese bureaucracy, and garbed in fur with a cigarette dangling from her lipsticked mouth and a baby bottle propped in hand, she waged a savvy public battle to extricate Su-Lin from his native land, eventually finding a home for him at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, where he attracted record crowds: 53,000 visitors the first day, a number yet to be matched.
Wonderfully illustrated throughout with 16 pages of black and white photographs taken during Harkness’ journey and of panda, Su-Lin.
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Price HK$ 9,000
1938 - Carrick & Evans, New York - First Edition
A bright copy – in the rare original dust jacket – of this uncommon book, American socialite Ruth Harkness’ account of her panda-hunting expedition to China in 1936. Successfully – and unexpectedly – capturing an infant panda, which she named Su-Lin, Harkness brazenly side-stepped Chinese bureaucracy, and garbed in fur with a cigarette dangling from her lipsticked mouth and a baby bottle propped in hand, she waged a savvy public battle to extricate Su-Lin from his native land, eventually finding a home for him at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, where he attracted record crowds: 53,000 visitors the first day, a number yet to be matched.
Wonderfully illustrated throughout with 16 pages of black and white photographs taken during Harkness’ journey and of panda, Su-Lin.
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Price HK$ 9,000
The Riddle Of The Tsangpo Gorges -
Captain F. Kingdon-Ward
1926 - Edward Arnold & Co., London - First Edition
A near fine example of this important work, describing the period spanning 1924-25, during which Kingdon-Ward made what was probably his most famous and successful expedition, in the company of Lord Cawdor, to Bhutan and south-east Tibet, during which, in addition to ‘The Riddle’, related to the existence, or not, of the ‘Falls of Brahmaputra’, he collected ninety-seven varieties of rhododendron, and the first viable blue poppy seed.
The Brooke-Hitching copy, housed in custom slipcase. Illustrated with a folding coloured map, and 21 photographs on 16 plates.
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Price HK$ 16,000
1926 - Edward Arnold & Co., London - First Edition
A near fine example of this important work, describing the period spanning 1924-25, during which Kingdon-Ward made what was probably his most famous and successful expedition, in the company of Lord Cawdor, to Bhutan and south-east Tibet, during which, in addition to ‘The Riddle’, related to the existence, or not, of the ‘Falls of Brahmaputra’, he collected ninety-seven varieties of rhododendron, and the first viable blue poppy seed.The Brooke-Hitching copy, housed in custom slipcase. Illustrated with a folding coloured map, and 21 photographs on 16 plates.
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Price HK$ 16,000
SOLD - The Curious Lore of Precious Stones -
George Frederick Kunz
1913 - J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia & London - First Edition
A sumptuously bound definitive study of the history and folklore of gems. Profusely illustrated with six colour plates, 57 doubletone plates and 24 line cuts in text.
Kunz was the legendary gem scholar, gemologist, and gem buyer for Tiffany & Co at the turn of the century, named vice president of Tiffany & Co. at the age of 23. This is the definitive study of the magical abilities and strange characteristics of precious stones. Wide range of sources — Greek, Latin documents, medieval lapidaries, Eddas, Egyptian writings, Oriental gem books, the Bible — reveal magic, occult, medicinal and religious uses of dozens of gems. Kunzite, a pink gemstone found in Afghanistan is named after him.
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Price HK$ 0
1913 - J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia & London - First Edition
A sumptuously bound definitive study of the history and folklore of gems. Profusely illustrated with six colour plates, 57 doubletone plates and 24 line cuts in text. Kunz was the legendary gem scholar, gemologist, and gem buyer for Tiffany & Co at the turn of the century, named vice president of Tiffany & Co. at the age of 23. This is the definitive study of the magical abilities and strange characteristics of precious stones. Wide range of sources — Greek, Latin documents, medieval lapidaries, Eddas, Egyptian writings, Oriental gem books, the Bible — reveal magic, occult, medicinal and religious uses of dozens of gems. Kunzite, a pink gemstone found in Afghanistan is named after him.
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Price HK$ 0
Voyage dans les Mers de l'Inde -
Guillaume Joseph Le Gentil de la Galaisière
1779 - Imprimerie Royale, Paris - First Editions
‘Two monumental volumes... crammed with details on astronomy, navigation, and natural history... His descriptions of life in Manila, Pondicherry, and Madagascar are invaluable’ (Dunmore).
A stunning set In contemporary bindings and illustrated with twenty seven folding copper engravings showing two world maps, maps charts and plans of Eastern and Western Philippines, Bay of Manila, Philippine Harbours, Manilla, Madagascar and it’s coastline, Isle de France (Mauritius), Isle de Bourbon (Réunion), Quartier S. Denis on Réunion, Eastern and Western Straits of Malacca, and Pondicherry. Together with engraved plates of animals and plant life, the ruins of Pondicherry, pagodas, Indian deities, and charts of comets and constellations.
‘In addition to the scientific details for which the voyage was undertaken, the first volume treats of the manners, customs, and religion or the people of the Malabar Coast and of the astronomy of the Brahmins. The second volume contains elaborate accounts of the Philippine Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Bourbon and their inhabitants, including views and charts of the Philippines. Le Gentil gives details of the Islands, their climate, volcanoes, fertility, fruits, birds, animals, peoples, language, history, and description of Manila, the government, ecclesiastical and civil, commerce, &c.’ (Edwards).
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Price HK$ 37,000
1779 - Imprimerie Royale, Paris - First Editions
‘Two monumental volumes... crammed with details on astronomy, navigation, and natural history... His descriptions of life in Manila, Pondicherry, and Madagascar are invaluable’ (Dunmore). A stunning set In contemporary bindings and illustrated with twenty seven folding copper engravings showing two world maps, maps charts and plans of Eastern and Western Philippines, Bay of Manila, Philippine Harbours, Manilla, Madagascar and it’s coastline, Isle de France (Mauritius), Isle de Bourbon (Réunion), Quartier S. Denis on Réunion, Eastern and Western Straits of Malacca, and Pondicherry. Together with engraved plates of animals and plant life, the ruins of Pondicherry, pagodas, Indian deities, and charts of comets and constellations.
‘In addition to the scientific details for which the voyage was undertaken, the first volume treats of the manners, customs, and religion or the people of the Malabar Coast and of the astronomy of the Brahmins. The second volume contains elaborate accounts of the Philippine Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Bourbon and their inhabitants, including views and charts of the Philippines. Le Gentil gives details of the Islands, their climate, volcanoes, fertility, fruits, birds, animals, peoples, language, history, and description of Manila, the government, ecclesiastical and civil, commerce, &c.’ (Edwards).
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Price HK$ 37,000