Australiana

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.

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

Lightning Ridge, Australia: Gan Bruce, 1983. Book. Good. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. First Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Hardcover with black boards with gold writing (title and author) and pictorial dust jacket, First Edition, 775gms, 192 pages, red coloured endpapers. Gan Bruce completes the picture with legends and tales of the almost unbelievable characters who toiled and fought in their lust for the Black Opal- the Queen of Gems. Book is in good condition with no visible general wear and tear, some minor page discoloration. Dust jacket is in good condition with mild shelf wear, otherwise no other pre-loved markings. Attached picture is of actual book. Purchase more than 1 item and save money with combined postage. And if you can't find the title you're looking for - why not ask us direct. With over 30,000 books in stock we can't list them all!.

London: Printed at St. John's Gate, for D. Henry, and sold by F. Newbery, 1774. Hardcover. Good. Copperplates (5 of 10 called for in Vol 1, 10 of 11 in Vol 2. Plates present include Head of a New Zealand Chief curiously Tataowed, newly discovered frescoes at Herculaneum, portrait of Louis XV who has died (missing plates are mainly of planned Canals i. Two Volumes each containing 6 monthly issues, plus Supplement for the Year 1774 in Vol 2. Contemporary leather-spined marbled boards (spine leather worn bits missing, date & title neatly inked in). Text complete: iv (general titlepage for year & preface) +628pp +[16]pp index. Each monthly issue has a "titlepage" with a view of St. John's Gate. Very clean nice copies internally with paper strong & supple. *Includes detailed description of Lieut Cooke's Voyage round the World, arrival at Terra Australis incognita, favourable account of landing & circum-navigation of New Zealand (Originality of the Arts in that Country which no other People had ever… Read More

Sydney: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company (Australasia) Limited. 1925. Small Quarto Size. Very Good Condition. Lovely deep brown boards with copper-look embossing to face. The light coloured patches behind the ship are a little rubbed on some volumes. Each book is a little worn at corners and spine ends. Some volumes are also a little rubbed at edges. All volumes have previous owners bookplate stuck to front pastedown. Several volumes are lightly cracked between the half-title and title pages - the binding is solid otherwise. Gilt to top-edge now dulled Illustrated with black and white plates. Still a very attractive set. This is a heavy set so please contact us for a shipping quote. Volume 1: Searching for a Continent; Volume 2:Exploring the Continent; Volume 3: Settling a Continent; Volume 4: Developing a Continent; Volume 5: Governing a Continent; Volume 6: The Pioneers. Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. . 1st thus. Hardback.

Adelaide: The Cyclopedia Company. 1907& 1909. Quarto Size [approx 24cm x 30.5cm]. Good+ condition in original half-leather binding. Gilt to page edges. Corners, top and tail of spine lightly rubbed. Gilt to spine still clear. Gilt page edges. Previous owner's details to preliminary pages. Black & white illustrations. Overall a very nice set. This is a very heavy item [weighs 6.25kg unpacked] and will require substantial additional postage costs for an international sale. 630 pages. The Cyclopedia contains a vast resource of historical and biographical information on South Australia - the people, towns, industries, professional, commercial and social institutions and much more. The volumes include thousands of illustrations, the larger number of these being portraits of those whose biographies are included. These are not just the wealthy and influential, but include quite a number of "ordinary citizens". . 1st Edition. Hardback.

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

Canberra: Department of National Development. 1970. Small Quarto Size [approx 17.5cm x 24cm]. Very Good condition in Very Good Dustjacket. DJ protected in purpose-made clear archival plastic sleeve. A nice copy. Illustrated with Black & White Photographs and Drawings. Six [6] large folded coloured maps to rear pocket. Quite scarce. Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics Bulletin 100. 222 pages. The Amadeus Basin is a large sedimentary basin in central Australia, lying mostly within the southern Northern Territory, but extending into Western Australia. Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. . 1st Edition. Hardback.

Picturesque Atlas of Australasia in three volumes. Note: This set is heavy, 10kg+. Arrangements can be negotiated for the most cost effective method of delivery. This set does not contain the 2 unbound Railway, Postal and Telegraph maps of Australia maps at rear Volume One, 2 of 3 unbound at the rear of Volume Two (Qld is there), and 1 of 2 unbound Railway, Postal and Telegraph maps of New Zealand at the rear of Volume Three (North Island is there). All other maps and engravings are present.Corners of covers bumped with some preventative work to secure the covers and spine. Some pages are lightly foxed at the edges, but remain tightly bound. The content is clean.

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

St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1992. First edition. Hard cover in dust jacket. Published St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1992, first printing. 8vo., xxi+602pp., illustrated. "'In Reserve' presents the history of banking in Australia. The post-war period in particular has seen dramatic changes in the control and subsequent deregulation of Australia's financial industry and this book gives a detailed account of monetary and economic policy since that time. "In Reserve" chronicles Australia's changing involvement with the international monetary system and the evolution of central banking in a small, open economy; the rise and decline of a system of monetary regulation; the formation of economic and monetary policy since World War II; interaction between Bank and Government and the powerful personalities such as Dr H.C. Coombs and Sir Roland Wilson who shaped post-war policy and institutions." Fine in fine dust jacket. Out of print. Scarce. . 1st. Hard.… Read More

London: W. & R. Chambers, 1912. First Edition. N. Parker. First edition of this justly famous children's book with anthropomorphised kangaroo characters - 'perhaps the best known story entirely devoted to the kangaroo' (Robert Holden 'The Mint Exhibition' 1985). Twelve stories of kangaroos told in verse with many small drawings in sepia and twelve beautifully printed, full-page, partially-coloured plates. Quarto, full colour pictorial boards, edge rubbing, corner wear, chipping of paper at spine ends and along spine edges, two pages with minor nicks at page edge, clean and bright, a very good copy indeed overall.

1889 1ed Queensland Cannibals Lumholtz Australia Aborigine Illustrated Maps

The Norwegian, naturalist, anthropologist and explorer Carl Lumholtz spent four years in Australia from 1880. Lumholtz' expedition to Australia was partly paid at the expense of the University of Christiania, to collect zoological and zootomical material for the museums of the University, and research the manners and anthropology of the natives, and among the cannibals. Lumholtz succeeded in securing a large collection of zoological specimens and discovered four new mammals - a tree kangaroo and three opossums, which are depicted in the colored lithographed plates. He collected four new species of mammals with his account of his travels, Among Cannibals, containing detailed observations of Aboriginal life.
This 1889 first edition includes 2 folding colored maps, 29 plates including frontispiece portrait and 4 colored lithographs, and numerous in text illustrations.
Item number: #13415
Price: $499
LUMHOLTZ, Carl
Among… Read More

An historical account comprising two volumes of the evolution of the Colony of Victoria and its surrounds.
Note: This set is heavy at 7kg. Arrangements can be negotiated for the most cost effective method of delivery.
Front covers and spine marked and slightly damaged. Some internal pages have water staining and some foxing, but most are clean and tightly bound. Some page edges are bumped near the beginning and end of the books.

This spotless copy has been inscribed and signed by John Olsen with some additional freehand artwork added as a personal touch. (refer photos)
MacMillan, Melbourne, 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good Condition, inc. numerous illustrations, index, minimal shelf wear, dust jacket not price clipped, a unique copy in first class condition. Size: Large Folio. 312 pages. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 2-3 kilos.