New Zealand

Polynesian Navigation – A Symposium on Andrew Sharp’s Thoery of Accidental Voyages – Edited by Jack Golson

Andrew Sharpe certainly stirred up the debate as to hoe the Pacific Islands may have been settled.

A symposium in the 1960’s brought together some pretty good minds on the subject.

Published by the Polynesian Society, Wellington, New Zealand in 1963. Being Memoir No 34, a Supplement to the Journal of the Society. Softcover, octavo, 153 pages plus bibliography. Three useful maps, two of which are folding. A little age, still a very good copy.

Cartographic expert, Thomas M Perry’s copy with his discrete stamp top of front cover.

The body of the work review the “Accidental Voyage Theory”’ – Parsonson; Primitive Navigation – Captain Hayen and Captain Hilder; Sailing Characteristics of Oceanic Canoes – Bechton; The Geographical Knowledge of the Polynesians and the Nature of Inter-Island Contact – Dening; Geographical Knowledge of Tahitian etc etc

The Pacific Solved – Maybe

$35.00

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The Happy Isles of Oceania (Paddling the Pacific) – Paul Theroux

Value for money, the best modern book by far on the western Pacific – Oceania by the talented Theroux.

Published by Hamish Hamilton, London in 1992 a first edition. Thick octavo, 541 pages with maps at the end for those that are unfamiliar.

Seemingly Theroux was encouraged to visit the Trobriand Islands by Malinowski’s “the Sexual Life of Savages” a ground breaking and “’writer’s taboo” breaking work from the esteemed anthropologist.

All of this is after the Land of the Long White Cloud and before the paddle to Fifi and Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Marquesas. Then straying east to Easter Island and up and back a bit to Hawaii and “Paradise” … and some others in-between.

Theroux throws his lot into the Pacific.

$30.00

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Chance or Design? – A Pioneer Looks Back [Papua New Guinea] – George Seymour Fort

George Fort (1851-1951) was prodding ninety when he wrote this reminiscence and it’s an interesting one particularly his time in New Guinea as an aid to Sir Peter Scratchley who carried out the annexation. Some history of events in that period that we have not seen elsewhere,

Published by Robert Hale, London in 1942. Octavo, 180 pages, good images from early New Guinea photographs. Original blue cloth covered boards, a very good copy.

As well as Australasia and New Guinea, Fort spent time in South Africa and Rhodesia. Chapters on Prospecting Experiences in Manicaland.

Fort kept the Fort in New Guinea and had some interesting things to say about it…

$40.00

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Ten Great Mountains – R.L. Irving

Classic “Mountain” book by the author of “The Romance of Mountaineering” – Voyager’s favourite romantic book.

Published by Dent, London in 1942. Octavo, 213 pages nicely illustrated with diagrams of ascents and from original expedition photographs. Ownership name on front free end paper, chip to dust jacket top of spine, otherwise a very good copy, and clean and bright internally for a wartime publication.

Unusual selection of mountains with Snowden and Ben Nevis before we move on to the more challenging Mount Cook and the highly challenging and some yet to be conquered … the Matterhorn; Ushba; Mont Blanc; Mount Logan; Nanga Parbat; Kangchenjunga and Everest,

The “Royal” list of Mountains … presented well by the knowledgeable Irving

$35.00

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WWI Maritime and Travel Original Annotated Photograph Album – Over 180 Images

A most interesting collection spanning the years of WWI and shortly afterwards. Taken and compiled by a marine officer, over 180 original photographs, taken with some expertise, nicely presented in its original Morocco bound photograph album. The photographer has presented each photograph framing it within white borders and added very neatly in white a useful description.

The condition of the photographs is good overall, a few are faded or marked in some way from the passage of time, others are crisp and clean. A few have been removed or fallen out and few are loose inside …we have not studied where they could go … the album is robust and showing minor age wear, the whole package is very presentable and more or less complete. We wish we knew the photographer … he was clearly officer material on the Orontes and had a wife and child … we have included his image as the “thumbnail” … does anyone know who he was …?

The album can be split into two distinct periods. The first, before January 1919 being mainly onboard the HMT Orontes a vessel that plied the England – Australia route for the Orient line. With the outbreak of WWI, it became a troop carrier. The photographer appears to have also served on SS Derbyshire in a similar capacity. During this phase he took images of a number of famous vessels used in the war effort and numerous images of views, landmarks, architecture, and the people at various ports of call.

The second element post January 1919 is devoted to a circumnavigation on SS Cufic which head across the Atlantic to Nova Scotia, down to the Panama Canal and across the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia, Durban, Cape Town, and Home.

Photographs of vessels include … RMS Mauretania; Kaiseren Auguste Victoria [surrendered in 1919 and used to bring American troops home]; HMS Renown [in New York Harbour with the Prince of Wales on board]; HMS Carpathia [of Titanic rescue fame and later torpedoed and sunk]; RMS Pannonia; SS Explorer; SS Demosthenes [used to carry Australian troops]; HMS Sydney [in Colombo Harbour just after the sinking of the German Cruiser Emden]; SS Derbyshire [Colombo – Rangoon Line]; HMT Osterley; SS Cufic and HMT Orontes.

Examples of the touring images include …

The Flatiron (previously Fuller) skyscraper – New York
Washington Arch – New York
Statue of Liberty – New York
Top of Woolworth Tower – New York
5th Avenue – New York
A Glimpse of Wall Street – New York
Brooklyn Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge – New York
Boston views
The Citadel Quebec
Main Street Gibraltar
A “Blimp” convoying
A Glimpse of the US army
Panama Canal scenes
On route to Calcutta
Homeward bound in the Bay of Biscay
Cinnamon Gardens Colombo
Cape St Vincent – Portugal [Incorrectly described Spanish]
Hindu Temple South India
Colombo Harbour
Ox waggon Rangoon Burma
On the Temple steps – India
Native of South India
Children of North India
Hindu dockworker
The Pagoda Calcutta
Burmese Shrine to the God Dagan
The Schegadon Pagodas Rangoon
The lake Rangoon
A Burmese girl off to the well
Anzac Day 1918 some fancy costumes
Sierra Leone West Africa
Leaving Table Bay HMS Britannia escorting
South African troops on board – the first bugle call – “Cookhouse!”
Scene in Native Quarter Durban
Australian sheep Hamilton Victoria
Sydney Zoo
Wellington New Zealand
Tahiti South Sea Islands
Main Street Papeete
Tahitian Friends
Papeete from Crows Nest
A Harbour view Tahiti
A big dam Panama Canal
Electric Mule Panama Canal
Leaving Liverpool Jan 18, 1919 – “Bon Voyage” [a self portrait]
The first port Louisbourg – Cape Breton Island [Nova Scotia]
Snow scene St John Nova Scotia
Lock gates and numerous others – Panama Canal
“Star of Holland” mid -Pacific [a US Tall Ship]
New Zealand including memorial to Robert Scott
Melbourne – picking up the Pilot
Quarantine procedures in Melbourne
A number in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane … and the way home via South Africa

Superb, interesting unique photographic record. Now over 100 years old.

$590.00

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Voyage Through the Antarctic – Richard Adams and Ronald Lockley

A first edition published by Allen Lane, London in 1982.

Richard Adams, author of Watership Down struck up a friendship with Ronald Lockley author of The Private Life of the Rabbit whilst researching for Watership. This friendship led to making a full Antarctic voyage on the Linblad Explorer from Tierra del Fuego to Stewart Island of South Island New Zealand.

As would be expected an observant and well written narrative with a super selection of photograph’s taken on the voyage by Peter Hirst-Smith … well he did take three thousand from which to make the selection.

Small quarto, 160 pages, numerous illustrations from photographs, nice chart etc …a very good copy.

Adams and Lockley in the Antarctic and not a rabbit in sight.

$40.00

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Polynesian Navigation – A Symposium on Andrew Sharp’s Thoery of Accidental Voyages – Edited by Jack Golson

The Happy Isles of Oceania (Paddling the Pacific) – Paul Theroux

Chance or Design? – A Pioneer Looks Back [Papua New Guinea] – George Seymour Fort

Ten Great Mountains – R.L. Irving

WWI Maritime and Travel Original Annotated Photograph Album – Over 180 Images

Voyage Through the Antarctic – Richard Adams and Ronald Lockley

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