Esoteric

A Bibliography of the Writings of Jonathan Swift – Herman Teerink.

A second revised and corrected edition of Dr Teerink’s fundamental reference on Swift.

Published by the University od Pennsylvania Press in 1963. Published in Britain by the Oxford University. First published in 1937, Teerink had continued to compile new discoveries and corrections since that date. He died in 1961 so it was down to Editor Arthur Scouten to produce this update from Teerink’s notes.

Large, thick octavo, 453 pages with frontispiece of Captain Lemuel Gulliver. A very good copy.

The preface by Thomas Yoseloff, Director of the Press reflects on the decision to publish the revision and the difficultly in understanding Terrink’s handwriting. Probably in the history of bibliography there has not been more challenge than in this work on Swift, mainly because of the nature of the publishing trade in the first half of the 18thC and the many potential attributions not under the authors real name or published anonymously.

A monumental work. One might say … what interest a Swift bibliography unless the completely immersed. Well, really it give one a thorough education of the publication of the book in the era … the challenges .. unsold runs of earlier copies and how they can be used in bolstering re-issues of complete works etc. the printing houses and the quality of editorial and review before press.

The structure of book is helpful … Table of Symbols and abbreviations. Table of Location of Teerink Numbers and then the body … Collected Works; Smaller Collections; A Tale of the Tub; Gulliver’s Travels; Separate Works; Doubtful (well some would challenge other and put some of these in the mix); Biography and Criticism, 1709-1895. And a useful index.

Jonathan Swift – more than Gulliver and “the Tub” a lifetime work by Teerink.

$60.00

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The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

A self-published pamphlet by Georgina King of work previously published in the “Sunday Times”. Printed by William Brooks, Sydney and issued in 1924.

Octavo, 23 pages, soft wrappers as issued, three illustrations in the text regarding aboriginals. Some age from use still a very good copy.

The articles are as per the title … The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – Two Stone Ages in Australia; The Discovery of Gold and How it was Found in Payable Quantities; Magnetism – terrestrial and Universal; Diamond and Their Origin.

A most usual body of work. Georgina King (1845-1932) was an amateur geologist and anthropologist. As a woman she was excluded from the “professional” category e.g. she was not allowed to read her own paper at the Royal society of NSW. Her ideas were rather whacky though and make for interesting reading … they did not stop her becoming a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society. The daughter of Rev George King she was advised by him and naturalist Bennett not to marry if she wanted to get on in her chosen filed. She corresponded with Robert Logan Jack regarding geology and Huxley on natural sciences. In her eccentricity she blamed other for stealing her ideas, including Edgeworth David on her radical concepts of the earth’s formation and Einstein on the theory of relativity. She believed diamonds were fossilised marine organisms … quoting from the paper contained here …

“Diamonds existed as marine organisms. They are composed of pure carbon, containing only a little hydrogen, and the most minute particles are often found in what were small cavities, perhaps their breathing apparatus; some were like feathers. The cleavages of the diamond were the gills of those marine organisms …”

Her article of the aborigines is a lot more grounded. She was a friend of Daisy bates and provided financial support to Bates for her work among aboriginal people.

Georgina King isolated Australian Scientist with some wild ideas and some interesting ones.

$50.00

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Ghost Towns of Australia – George Farwell

Published by Rigby, Adelaide in 1965. Octavo, 247 pages with plates and map end papers. Minor ageing with relevant article glued in at end. A Very good copy.

Australia has its fair share of towns no longer up to their former glory … indeed many completely gone. That is the nature of pioneering existence whether mineral or agricultural or some other purpose.

Interesting images of once glorious places

$30.00

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A Reply to the Objections of Robert Nelson Esq and an Anonymous Author – Dr Samuel Clarke – 1714

Full title continues … “against Dr Clarke’s Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity. Being a Commentary upon Forty Select Texts of Scripture. To which is added, An Answer to the Remarks of the Author of, Some Considerations concerning the Trinity, and the Ways of Managing the Controversy”.

Original panelled calf binding, raised bands to spine with six compartments, red leather title label. Binding aged and hinges cracked but holding well on strong cords. Despite deficiencies a delightful antiquarian patina. Octavo, 311 pages after preliminaries plus book advertisements and “index of the texts explained in this book”. First page is title so likely missing front end paper. Internally some ageing and staining to pages but overall very good condition for its age.

Printed for James Knapton, at the Crown in St Paul’s Church Yard 1714.

A more important historical work than immediately apparent. Samuel Clarke (1675 – 1729) was the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkley. Born in Norwich he went to Caius College, Cambridge where his tutor was John Ellis a personal friend of Isaac Newton. Clarke adopted the new physical system of Newton and in 1697 published a book on the superiority of the Newtonian system. Taking holy orders Clarke moved rapidly up the hierarchy and by 1709 he was Rector of St James, Westminster and Chaplain in Ordinary to Queen Anne. At this time, he became in personal contact with Isaac Newton. Just before this period he presented the Boyle Lectures where he presented examples of a physico-theological system. That is that God is self-existent, infinite, omnipresent, having existed from eternity …

In 1712 Clarke published his treatise “The Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity” it was controversial and he was cautioned not to publish … he ignored this advice. There were complaints from the Lower House of Convocation and the Blasphemy Act was threatened and those that published against him included Robert Nelson (1656 – 1715) mentioned strongly in the title to this work and Francis Gastrell who was the “Anonymous Author” also referred to in a robust defence.

Clarke a controversial intellectual with personal influence from Isaac Newton, Boyle Lecturer and Chaplain to Queen Anne – 1714

$170.00

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Ethnology of the Sixth Sense, Studies and Researches into its Abuses, Perversions, Follies, Anomolies, and Crimes – Dr Jacobus X – 1899

By Jacobus X [Louis Jacolliot] published by Charles Carrington, Paris based bookseller and publisher of erotica in 1899. A limited first edition of 1000. Original blue cloth binding, 422 pages all in fine condition.

The “Sixth Sense” not the psychic sense but the genital sense which is explored in its active phase.

Includes, among many topics, clinical accounts of deformities of the sexual organs, such as “profound despondency of the unfortunate persons who have lost their penis”, “penis found in stomach of dog” etc.

Interestingly the preamble says “this work, printed for a small number of Subscribers – Medical Men – Experts and Specialists in Nervous Diseases – Lawyers etc.” The limitation page suggests 1000 copies but is unnumbered as with other copies we have seen.

You need to be over 18 and eccentric to buy this book – proof required

$90.00

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The Great Pyramid Witness and Near Eastern Nations in the Light of Christ’s Second Coming – Rev Lamb (Sydney) 1928

A rather special soft covered second edition of Rev lamb’s book on the second coming and the link to the Great Pyramid of Giza. Self-published in Sydney in 1928.

Lamb a rather eccentric Reverend with a keen eye for Marketing. His list of five titles could be got at the discounted price of 7/6 if the money was sent directly. His first edition was sold out and given that the second coming would have severe personal consequences it was essential that this book was purchased if you missed the first printing!

His forward is direct “This book, over which I have earnestly prayed for many days, is now finished. Its message, as in everything else I have previously written, is to convince all who read it that the coming of God’s Son to this world is now right at hand. The intention all through its pages is to make its every reader feel that their chief business now should be that they “May be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” … I shall now pray every day that its mission may in this way be fully realised”

Lamb, not too keen on this modern theory of Evolution, correctly points out how clever the early Egyptian were any Greek civilisation having been founded on Egyptian intelligent. The destruction of the great library at Alexandria still stands as the worst act of vandalism against culture. The books kept the fires in the bakeries and hot baths etc. going for many months. His references to the Pyramids and the Great pyramid of Giza are a very special account. He recounts the scale, accuracy and quality of construction which is always bewildering to read, how was it really done? And the alignment with the stars. Early views of Sir John Herschel and then, Voyager favourite Piazzi Smyth who calculated the date of construction as 2,170 BC given the backward calculation of the position of Draconis, the Pole Star, being directly aligned with the extraordinary passage at midnight that year. This vent will happen 25,817 years later when the stars will be similarly aligned.

The book contains more than this of course and his view of the likely consequences of the rise in fascism throughout the world … well we all know what happened.

$30.00

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A Bibliography of the Writings of Jonathan Swift – Herman Teerink.

The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

Ghost Towns of Australia – George Farwell

A Reply to the Objections of Robert Nelson Esq and an Anonymous Author – Dr Samuel Clarke – 1714

Ethnology of the Sixth Sense, Studies and Researches into its Abuses, Perversions, Follies, Anomolies, and Crimes – Dr Jacobus X – 1899

The Great Pyramid Witness and Near Eastern Nations in the Light of Christ’s Second Coming – Rev Lamb (Sydney) 1928

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