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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
Natural History of the Strait of Magellan and West Coast of Patagonia -
Robert O. Cunningham
1871 - Edmonston and Douglas, Edinburgh - First Edition
A superior example of the first edition, illustrated with folding colour map and 21 lithograph plates, some in colour.
‘The Scottish naturalist Robert O. Cunningham (1841-1918) began his 1866 voyage to South America in inclement weather, and, by the eleventh day of travel, noted a 'pond' forming in his tiny cabin aboard HMS Nassau. With never-failing humour, Cunningham presents here a record of the zoological, botanical and geological observations made across the three years he spent at sea.
As the ship's naturalist (recommended for the post by Joseph D. Hooker), his time was given wholly to research and exploration, and his findings are both fascinating and thorough. Included are his anecdotal records of seamen's slang, research into the history of the changing landscapes he visited, which had been previously documented by travellers as diverse as Drake and Darwin, statistical data on various species of animals and plants, and numerous original images. An absorbing testament of the breadth of the explorer-naturalist's interests. [C.U.P.]
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Price HK$ 10,000
1871 - Edmonston and Douglas, Edinburgh - First Edition
A superior example of the first edition, illustrated with folding colour map and 21 lithograph plates, some in colour.‘The Scottish naturalist Robert O. Cunningham (1841-1918) began his 1866 voyage to South America in inclement weather, and, by the eleventh day of travel, noted a 'pond' forming in his tiny cabin aboard HMS Nassau. With never-failing humour, Cunningham presents here a record of the zoological, botanical and geological observations made across the three years he spent at sea.
As the ship's naturalist (recommended for the post by Joseph D. Hooker), his time was given wholly to research and exploration, and his findings are both fascinating and thorough. Included are his anecdotal records of seamen's slang, research into the history of the changing landscapes he visited, which had been previously documented by travellers as diverse as Drake and Darwin, statistical data on various species of animals and plants, and numerous original images. An absorbing testament of the breadth of the explorer-naturalist's interests. [C.U.P.]
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Price HK$ 10,000
Our American Adventure - with - Our Second American Adventure -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1923 - George H. Doran Company, New York - First American Editions
Two volumes. The accounts of Doyle's two American tours, the second only a year after the first due to popular demand, investigating and speaking on matters of Spiritualism.
Illustrated with black and white photographs.
‘We live in the time of dawn, and year by year the overwhelming importance of this psychic question is forcing itself upon the public attention’
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Price HK$ 2,500
1923 - George H. Doran Company, New York - First American Editions
Two volumes. The accounts of Doyle's two American tours, the second only a year after the first due to popular demand, investigating and speaking on matters of Spiritualism.Illustrated with black and white photographs.
‘We live in the time of dawn, and year by year the overwhelming importance of this psychic question is forcing itself upon the public attention’
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Price HK$ 2,500
Stage-Coach and Tavern Days -
Alice Morse Earle
1900 - The Macmillan Company, New York - First Edition
‘Long ago at the end of the route,
The stage pulled up, and the folks stepped out.
They have all passed under the tavern door –
The youth and his bride and the gray three-score.’
Rare first edition of this profusely illustrated history of the days of the American stagecoach and the taverns where weary travellers inevitably stopped at along the course of their journey. Chapters include ‘Old-Time Taverns’, ‘Tavern Fare and Tavern Ways’, ‘Early stage-coaches and other vehicles’, and ‘The Romance of the Road.’
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Price HK$ 3,000
1900 - The Macmillan Company, New York - First Edition
‘Long ago at the end of the route,The stage pulled up, and the folks stepped out.
They have all passed under the tavern door –
The youth and his bride and the gray three-score.’
Rare first edition of this profusely illustrated history of the days of the American stagecoach and the taverns where weary travellers inevitably stopped at along the course of their journey. Chapters include ‘Old-Time Taverns’, ‘Tavern Fare and Tavern Ways’, ‘Early stage-coaches and other vehicles’, and ‘The Romance of the Road.’
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Price HK$ 3,000
A Time Of Gifts, Between The Woods And The Water, The Broken Road -
Patrick Leigh Fermor
1977 - John Murray, London - First Editions
A bright, brilliant first edition trilogy of these erudite, high-spirited, and much-loved biographical classics of travel literature by Patrick Leigh Fermor, who was once described by a BBC journalist as a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Graham Greene.
On the 8th of December 1933, at the tender age of eighteen, shortly after being expelled from The King’s School, Canterbury for reportedly holding hands with a greengrocer’s daughter, Patrick Leigh Fermor set off on an incredible journey: walking the length of Europe, from Hook Holland all the way to Istanbul....
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Price HK$ 4,500
1977 - John Murray, London - First Editions
A bright, brilliant first edition trilogy of these erudite, high-spirited, and much-loved biographical classics of travel literature by Patrick Leigh Fermor, who was once described by a BBC journalist as a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Graham Greene.On the 8th of December 1933, at the tender age of eighteen, shortly after being expelled from The King’s School, Canterbury for reportedly holding hands with a greengrocer’s daughter, Patrick Leigh Fermor set off on an incredible journey: walking the length of Europe, from Hook Holland all the way to Istanbul....
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Price HK$ 4,500
Scotia Depicta -
James Fittler, John Claude Nattes
1804 - Printed by T. Bensley for W. Miller, London - First Edition
This remarkable folio work contains forty-eight engraved plates of Scottish Landscapes and buildings etched by James Fittler (appointed engraver to King George III) from drawings by John Claude Nattes, each one accompanied by a detailed historic description. In addition to the more well known locations of Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands, Nattes included places such as Aberdeen, Banff, Moray and Inverness.
In a contemporary binding, with additional engraved frontispiece, engraved title page, and engraved tailpiece.
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Price HK$ 14,000
1804 - Printed by T. Bensley for W. Miller, London - First Edition
This remarkable folio work contains forty-eight engraved plates of Scottish Landscapes and buildings etched by James Fittler (appointed engraver to King George III) from drawings by John Claude Nattes, each one accompanied by a detailed historic description. In addition to the more well known locations of Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands, Nattes included places such as Aberdeen, Banff, Moray and Inverness.In a contemporary binding, with additional engraved frontispiece, engraved title page, and engraved tailpiece.
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Price HK$ 14,000
Flying Colours. Including A Ship Of The Line -
C. S. Forester
1938 - Michael Joseph Ltd. in conjunction with The Book Society Ltd., London - First Edition
One finely bound volume containing two classic Hornblower novels, in which Captain Horatio Hornblower commands his first ship of the line, HMS Sutherland. A Ship Of The Line and Flying Colours, are the second and third books in the Horatio Hornblower series. This is the first publication of Flying Colours which was released shortly afterwards as a stand alone title, making this the true first edition.
A Ship of the Line - May 1810, seventeen years deep into the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Horatio Hornblower is newly in command of his first ship of the line, the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland, which he deems ‘the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List’. Moreover, she is 250 men short of a full crew, so Hornblower must enlist and train ‘poachers, bigamists, sheepstealers’, and other landlubbers. By the time the Sutherland reaches the blockaded Catalonian coast of Spain, the crew is capable of staging five astonishing solo raids against the French. But the grisly prospect of defeat and capture looms for both captain and crew as the Sutherland single-handedly takes on four French ships.
Flying Colours - Forced to surrender the Sutherland after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower now bides his time as a prisoner in a French fortress. Within days he and his first lieutenant, Bush, who was crippled in the last fight, are to be taken to Paris to be tried on trumped-up charges of violating the laws of war, and most probably executed as part of Napoleon's attempt to rally the war-weary empire behind him. Even if Hornblower escapes this fate and somehow finds his way back to England, he will face court-martial for his surrender of a British ship. As fears for his life and his reputation compete in his mind with worries about his pregnant wife and his possibly widowed lover, the indomitable captain impatiently awaits the chance to make his next move.
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Price HK$ 5,000
1938 - Michael Joseph Ltd. in conjunction with The Book Society Ltd., London - First Edition
One finely bound volume containing two classic Hornblower novels, in which Captain Horatio Hornblower commands his first ship of the line, HMS Sutherland. A Ship Of The Line and Flying Colours, are the second and third books in the Horatio Hornblower series. This is the first publication of Flying Colours which was released shortly afterwards as a stand alone title, making this the true first edition.A Ship of the Line - May 1810, seventeen years deep into the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Horatio Hornblower is newly in command of his first ship of the line, the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland, which he deems ‘the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List’. Moreover, she is 250 men short of a full crew, so Hornblower must enlist and train ‘poachers, bigamists, sheepstealers’, and other landlubbers. By the time the Sutherland reaches the blockaded Catalonian coast of Spain, the crew is capable of staging five astonishing solo raids against the French. But the grisly prospect of defeat and capture looms for both captain and crew as the Sutherland single-handedly takes on four French ships.
Flying Colours - Forced to surrender the Sutherland after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower now bides his time as a prisoner in a French fortress. Within days he and his first lieutenant, Bush, who was crippled in the last fight, are to be taken to Paris to be tried on trumped-up charges of violating the laws of war, and most probably executed as part of Napoleon's attempt to rally the war-weary empire behind him. Even if Hornblower escapes this fate and somehow finds his way back to England, he will face court-martial for his surrender of a British ship. As fears for his life and his reputation compete in his mind with worries about his pregnant wife and his possibly widowed lover, the indomitable captain impatiently awaits the chance to make his next move.
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Price HK$ 5,000
Architectura Navalis - bound with - Architectura Civilis, Nova & Antiqua -
Josephum Furttenbach, Georg Andreas B
1629 - Johan Saurn, Ulm - First Editions
A stunning, clean and complete copy of Joseph Furttenbach’s famous treaty on shipbuilding, Architectura Navalis with double-page engraved title, title in red and black, twenty stunning double-page engraved plates showing boat design, and various types of boats many engaged in action with other boats and monsters of the sea. Furttenbach was a highly influential German architect, who attempted to cover all fields of architecture in his writings. Böckler corresponded with Furttenbach and his works on architecture were intended to contribute to the rebuilding of Germany after the devastation of the Thirty Years War, his Architectura Civilis, Nova & Antiqua presents a comparative treatment of the Orders [Architectural Styles] and is illustrated with forty engraved plates, woodcut printer’s device and red and black text to title page, woodcut head pieces, and initials.
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Price HK$ 95,000
1629 - Johan Saurn, Ulm - First Editions
A stunning, clean and complete copy of Joseph Furttenbach’s famous treaty on shipbuilding, Architectura Navalis with double-page engraved title, title in red and black, twenty stunning double-page engraved plates showing boat design, and various types of boats many engaged in action with other boats and monsters of the sea. Furttenbach was a highly influential German architect, who attempted to cover all fields of architecture in his writings. Böckler corresponded with Furttenbach and his works on architecture were intended to contribute to the rebuilding of Germany after the devastation of the Thirty Years War, his Architectura Civilis, Nova & Antiqua presents a comparative treatment of the Orders [Architectural Styles] and is illustrated with forty engraved plates, woodcut printer’s device and red and black text to title page, woodcut head pieces, and initials.
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Price HK$ 95,000