Maritime

Passage from Paradise – Helen Smallwood [Self Published Adventure}

Self published by the adventurer author and her husband from there home in Wales in 1988.

Larger form softcover (only form) in very good condition. 155 pages, nicely illustrated throughout with charts, images from the voyage, some in colour.

The vessel in question was formerly a Norwegian Rescue Ship that mainly worked the North Sea in the 1930’s. Forty years later she was found in a miserable condition in the Seychelles by Helen Smallwood and her husband. They, along with another family, spent the next two years plus restoring the vessel. Then a magnificent voyage was undertaken through the islands of the Western Indian Ocean down west of Madagascar, round the Cape and on to St Helena … to the West Indies and eventually Florida before an Atlantic crossing to finish at Plymouth.

The vessel then became a training ship for young sailors in Scotland … similar to the role of the Windward Bound in Hobart. If you are feeling generous donate to the Windward Bound … they do some wonderful work with young people .. some doing it a bit tough.

A special book about a special boat rebuilding project the sailing adventure that followed ... a Voyager favourite

$25.00

Updating cart...

Captain William Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty

The very special Hordern House publication to support the sale of the Parks collection. 133 catalogued items all with a special illustration. Many rare and some unique items.

Hard bound with dust jacket in very good condition and of a standard as would be expected from Hordern House. A must for any Bountaneer!

Special Mutiny on the Bounty item

$60.00

Updating cart...

Narrative of the Wreck of HMS Porpoise – Robert Purdie [A Flinders Item]

Octavo, xiv, 134 pages, published by Hordern House in 2014. A very good copy.

Robert Purdie was a young surgeon who was wrecked on HMS Porpoise on a reef off the Queensland coast (to become known as “Wreck Reef’’). This was the vessel originally taking Matthew Flinders back the England having completed his coastal survey of Australia, confirming the entirety of the land mass. Purdie’s account had been published anonymously in The Naval Chronicle in 1807/07. He had been a junior officer on the Investigator and was among those that stayed on the reef whilst Flinders and other rowed back to Sydney to successfully mount a rescue.

The narrative is lively, informative and readable … here well presented with an excellent introduction and notes by Matthew Fishburn

Flinders and Wreck Reef by Surgeon’s Mate Purdie.

$40.00

Updating cart…

The Great South Land – Searching for the Antipodes from Classical Scholars to Quiros & Dampier.

Published by Hordern House in 2011 another scholarly catalogue of key works presented in a depth and standard unlikely to be surpassed.

Hardback quarto, in dust jacket, unpaginated but circa 180 pages with 127 rare items. A fine copy.

After a useful introduction we start with “Ideas of a southern continent” … Classical Geographers with works by Strabo, Mela, Macrobious, Ptolemaeus … the Renaissance and later. Leading to Marco-Polo, Mandeville and the “travellers and story tellers”. Dutch exploration and the VOC … Duyfken, Tasman, Pelsaert. Before the Spanish and Portuguese … Varthema, Quiros, Mendana. The “English Adventurers make Landfall” .. Drake, Woodes Rogers, William Dampier. Hakluyt wraps it all up. All up 104 voyagers, travellers or distinguished authors.

The period up to Dampier explained by reference to key works

$40.00

Updating cart…

Destination Barrier Reef – Arnold Lock – First Edition 1955

Published by Georgian House, Melbourne a first edition 1955. Octavo, 227 pages, illustrated with numerous images from photographs taken by the author. End paper maps. Some dust jacket repairs, generally a nice copy. Super dust jacket art.

A well put together book, by traveler Arnold Lock, of Queensland along the Great Barrier Reef .. we particularly like the Hinchinbrook / Cardwell section. Despite the title quite a bit in the Torres Strait and particularly Badu Island (a favourite of contemporary Idriess) and the pearling industry. Don’t whatever you do step on a stone fish … not nice.

The Barrier Reef and further “Up” before the tourist got there … well most of them

$35.00

Updating cart…

A View of the Island of St Helena – Allain Mallet -1683

An original copper engraved view of the island of St Helena in the Southern Atlantic by Mallet published in Paris in 1683 as part of his great work on the Universe.

Allain Manesson Mallet (1630-1706) was a French cartographer and engineer. He started his career as a soldier in the army of Louis XIV and became a Sergeant Major and an Inspector of Fortifications. He at one time acted as a mercenary for the Portuguese. His work contains unique imagery. The map of St Helena supports that view in that he portrays the island in perspective as if viewed from the ocean. The rugged landscape emphasised and the Governors House not far from the solitary landing place. The cannon firing fully rigged ships emphasise a time of turmoil and hostility. Not long earlier in 1673 the Dutch had taken the island before British re-enforcements restored control.

It is thought that St Helena was discovered by the Portuguese circa 1503 but they never exploited the island. Sir Francis Drake likely called in during his circumnavigation in 1580. It was the Dutch who formally first made claim on the island in 1633 but they soon abandoned it in favour of the Cape of Good Hope. Oliver Cromwell granted the English East India Company the right to govern St Helena in 1658. In 1815 the island was selected to be the second place of detention of Napoleon Bonaparte [having previously escaped from Elba]. Napoleon died there in 1821. Britain applied Crown rule of the island from 1834.

Price $90.00 unframed. $190 framed … includes postage subsidy.

Cannon’s blazing off St Helena – Mallet

$90.00

Updating cart…

Passage from Paradise – Helen Smallwood [Self Published Adventure}

Captain William Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty

Narrative of the Wreck of HMS Porpoise – Robert Purdie [A Flinders Item]

The Great South Land – Searching for the Antipodes from Classical Scholars to Quiros & Dampier.

Destination Barrier Reef – Arnold Lock – First Edition 1955

A View of the Island of St Helena – Allain Mallet -1683

Product Categories