Our latest catalogue, Exploration & Travel 2023 is about to be published. The 131 items include spectacular voyages and beautiful colour plate books, so I have selected, as a preview, five items that might get overlooked amongst such grand offerings.
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A preview of our latest catalogue Travel & Exploration 2023, curated by senior specialist Julian MacKenzie.
Item 5 is a copy of Albert Armitage’s Two Years in the Antarctic. To my mind this is one of the most important narratives of the Antarctic ‘Golden Age’, being one of the few first-hand accounts of Scott’s ‘Discovery’ Expedition. With its fugitive green cloth binding it is tricky to find a good-looking copy but here there is only minor fading to the spine and the copy is further elevated by having a lengthy presentation inscription from Armitage.
In what is quite a strong section on Africa, my favourite is item 52. This is the individual issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society for 1857. It contains the first account of David Livingstone’s discoveries in South Africa. It is just such a beautifully preserved copy, and the chances of finding another are very slim.
I don’t buy many books on Europe outside of Greece and the Balkans, but I do have a soft spot for the chilly northern climes. Item 73 is the privately printed account of William Hooker’s Notes on Norway(1839). As a doctor and botanist, Hooker brings a scientific mind to his observations. This, combined with the atmospheric lithographs of the far north, the original nondescript brown wrappers, and the fact that it is an inscribed presentation copy, really appeal to me.
A small book printed anonymously in Basra in 1917 might not attract too much attention but The Arab of Mesopotamia (item 86) is by Gertrude Bell. In it she turns her attention to a variety of subjects including not only the tribes and chiefs of Iraq, Syria, and Eastern Arabia, but also Palestine and Zionism, as well as Kurdistan. Hot topics then as now.
Finally, my favourite entry, item 116, the North Western Railway Time table for special trains conveying their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales and suite, Lahore (1905). I suppose it is not really a book, rather a stunningly beautiful brochure produced for the royal party, celebrating the visit of the future King George V and Queen Mary to India. What makes it for me is the series of 12 original mounted photographs including the tomb of Ranjit Singh and the Golden Temple at Amritsar. This tour produced a lot of works on paper, but few can match this for the sheer sense of luxury. Definitely ‘Peak Raj’.
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Journal of the discovery of the source of the Nile.
SPEKE, John Hanning.Original price £2,250.00 - Original price £2,250.00Original price £0.00£2,250.00£2,250.00 - £2,250.00Current price £2,250.00Speke's third and final expedition to Africa. The account of Speke's third and final expedition to Africa. This took place in 1860 with his friend ...
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India Past and Present.
FORBES-LINDSAY, C.H.Original price £375.00 - Original price £375.00Original price £0.00£375.00£375.00 - £375.00Current price £375.00A handsome set, with illustrations exploring the regions of India through architecture, people, and geography. First edition; 2 vols, 8vo; numero...
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Narrative of a journey through the upper provinces of India, from Calcutta to Bombay, 1824-1825.
HEBER, Reginald.Original price £1,250.00 - Original price £1,250.00Original price £0.00£1,250.00£1,250.00 - £1,250.00Current price £1,250.00A valuable description of the culture of India in the 1820s. Heber's tour encompassed a journey through Bihar, Rohilkhand, Rajputana, and Gujarat,...
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Narrative of an expedition into the interior of Africa,
LAIRD, Macgregor; OLDFIELD, R.A.K.Original price £850.00 - Original price £850.00Original price £0.00£850.00£850.00 - £850.00Current price £850.00Laird was a member of the famous shipbuilding family and the Alburkah, built by his yard, was the first iron vessel to make an ocean voyage. The ...
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Notes on Norway;
HOOKER, William Dawson.Original price £750.00 - Original price £750.00Original price £0.00£750.00£750.00 - £750.00Current price £750.00Inscribed on the upper wrapper: 'Mrs. W????/ With Wm. Hooker's/ Compliments'.Scarce. William Dawson Hooker (1816-1840), physician and botanist, un...
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A Grammar of the Cingalese language.
CHATER, James.Original price £2,500.00 - Original price £2,500.00Original price £0.00£2,500.00£2,500.00 - £2,500.00Current price £2,500.00First English grammar of Sinhala. Chater's book is the first English grammar of Sinhala, the major language of Sri Lanka, and the first major book ...
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Narrative of a journey through Greece,
TRANT, Thomas Abercromby.Original price £1,850.00 - Original price £1,850.00Original price £0.00£1,850.00£1,850.00 - £1,850.00Current price £1,850.00Scarce. Trant began his journey in October 1829, travelling extensively through Greece, before arriving in Constantinople. The work contains 'a li...
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New light on dark Africa:
PETERS, Carl.Original price £1,500.00 - Original price £1,500.00Original price £0.00£1,500.00£1,500.00 - £1,500.00Current price £1,500.00A German counterpart to Stanley's In Darkest Africa. 'A German counterpart to Stanley's In Darkest Africa, this represents Peter's journey to find ...
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The Story of the Malakand Field Force:
CHURCHILL, Winston Spencer.Original price £3,500.00 - Original price £3,500.00Original price £0.00£3,500.00£3,500.00 - £3,500.00Current price £3,500.00Churchill's first book. 'While I was attached to the Malakand Field Force, I wrote a series of letters from the London Daily Telegraph. The favoura...
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