Ilustrated

The Travels of Marco Polo – Manuel Komroff

Our favourite edition of the Travels of Marco Polo edited and introduction by Manuel Komroff.

Published by Garden City, New York, a first in this form 1930. Large royal octavo, xxxii, 370 pages including the index. Embossed black cloth covered boards with gilt titles and design to spine. Dust jacket complete but protected in unremovable protection. Top edge stained blue as required. Illustrated by Witold Gordon with 32 full page coloured designs. A little age and a few spots – still a very worthy copy.

The work leans on two earlier translations by British orientalists. First, that of William Marsden (1754-1836) published in 1818 … importantly Komroff identifies a missing part of this work. Secondly, that of Yule (1820-1889) published by Murray in 1871 elements of which Komroff provides important revisions.

After an excellent 32 page introduction the work follows the traditional plan … Prologue … Book I – Account of Regions Visited or Heard of On the Journey from the Lessor Armenia to the Court of the Great Khan at Shangtu; Book II – Account of the Great Kublai Khan, His Capital, Court and Government. Also, of Cities and Provenances Visited on Journeys Westward and Southward; Book III – Japan and Archipelago, Southern India, and the Coasts and Islands of the Indian Sea; Book IV – The Wars Among the Tartar Princes and Some Account of the Northern Countries. Index etc

New York born, Manuel Komroff (1890-1974) was a multi-talented writer and translator. He spent time in Russia during the Russian Revolution. The illustrator, Witold Gordon (1885-1968) was born at Warsaw and after emigrating to New York became a recognised artist. At the time of this book he was commissioned to do the murals at the Radio City Music Hall and in 1939 completed a 6,000 square foot mural for the New York World Fair. The works in this book are considered his finest examples of his modernist aesthetic style.

Marco Polo – The Best Travels – Nicely Illustrated.

$90.00

Updating cart…

Modern Cottage Architecture [By Various Architects] – Maurice Adams – First Edition 1904.

Published by Batsford, London in 1904, First Edition. Quarto, 29 pages after preliminaries followed by 50 full page plates of external views and floor layouts. Printed on thick heavy paper which makes the plates more manageable and has kept them in fine condition despite handling.

Editor Maurice Adams provides an introductory essay on “Cottage Building and Notes on the Subjects”. He was author of “Artists Homes” [nice idea] and “Old English Homes”

Not the book for a modernist or “Block” follower but a super book for those that salivate over unique English country home. Cottage not to be confused with a tiny house – some of these clearly in the Mansion category.

[Not so] Modern Cottage Architecture – wish we had one

$120.00

Updating cart…

Daphnis et Chloe By Longus with aquarelles by G. P. Jornard – Surely the world’s prettiest book

Published on the Champs-Elysees, Paris in the 1920’s by Editions Nilsson.

This superb book contains six mounted watercolours (aquarelles) that match the quality of the watercolour adorning this beautiful onion skin paper front cover.

Small quarto, 154 pages. This book often found as effectively a soft cover – this copy hard bound, pretty basic half red cloth over brown papered boards, top edge gilt. Whilst we say basic it’s done a good job in protecting the aquarelles … the odd bit of spotting in the text. Overall, a very worthwhile copy.

A Greek pastoral novel written by Longus during the second century AD. Based on the island of Lesbos a young couple having been brought up adopted by a goat herder and a shepherd respectively having been abandoned at birth eventually find love. It was a difficult road but it ends well.

The artist was Germaine Paule Jounard, she was a highly respected artist of the period and completed many illustrations particularly for the frencg fashion industry at the time.

What better romantic gift than this

French 1920’s with beauty and style

$190.00

Updating cart…

Geology and Mineralogy – William Buckland [Considered with Reference to Natural Theology] – Published 1837

Published in London by William Pickering in 1837 – 2 Volumes complete bound in half black Morocco over marbled papered boards, gilt titles, volume numbers and designs to spine. In very good condition, the condition of the plates terrific.

Large octavo, xvi, 618 pages; vii, 129 pages, 69 plates [2 folding]

The volumes as lavishly illustrated with a famous multiple fold out plate in excess of a metre long beautifully hand coloured demonstrating various geological structures [one of the best executed coloured plates of the period.

Rev William Buckland (1784-1856) was an exceptional individual – a Fellow of the Royal Society, President of the Royal Geological Society. His interest in geology and paleontology led him to write the first full account of a fossil dinosaur which he named Megalosarurus. He discovered the Kirkdale cave and concluded that it had been a prehistoric hyena den – for which he was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society. This work was written just prior to his awakening that certain geological structures and fossil remains were a result of glaciation and not the effect of floodwaters from the great deluge. Buckland was a friend of a young Charles Darwin – there must have been some very interesting conversations.

Buckland’s Great Work on Geology and Paleontology – a Voyager favourite

$440.00

Updating cart…

Queensland Illustrated – 70 Exquisite Views – c1925

Published by A. A. White Brisbane and in our opinion the best of the nostalgic promotional books of the early 20thC. We say that as the images are often vanilla, same size pseudo postcard images.

Here we have a mixture of forma and subjects, some with aboriginal people albeit a bit posed .. the railways shots are varied including a super image of the logging train going through the Barron Gorge. Gympie Gold Mine is still active as is Mount Morgan and the bush images prove a good counterbalance to the Brisbane street scenes which are compared with nowadays rather bereft of people. The trams and very limited motor car activity … the odd horse help date this undated publication.

Landscape (30cm x 24cm) 32 pages, original decorative cover. In really good condition given its age – best we have seen.

Voyager’s favourite early Queensland views

$80.00

Updating cart…

The Hunter Sketchbook. Birds & Flowers of New South Wales drawn on The Spot in 1788 89 & 90 By Captain John Hunter of the First Fleet.

A really rather beautiful and slightly strangely titled work.

We say strangely titled because we do not have to read far about the original sketchbook, (once owned by the great Rex Nan Kivell and now housed in the Australian National Library) to find that the sketches include fishes and people … and of New South Wales and also Norfolk and Lord Howe islands. Peeking at the reproductions of the sketches we can also see a kangaroo and a dolphin. What is really surprising is the rarity now of some of the birds he drew e.g. the Swift Parrot and we wonder where he saw that bird …

Captain Hunter, to be Governor Hunter, known as a skilled sketch artist through the illustrations in his sought after First Fleet journal .. but these images take one’s understanding and admiration to a whole new level.

No expense spared production limited to 500 copies and with a further 50 sets of unbound plates. Edited by John Calaby with assistance. Published in 1989. Quarto, x, 252 pages with 100 full page colour plates and other illustrations in the lengthy introductions. Bound in quarter calf, raised bands to spine, separate green leather title label, exotic marble paper covered boards, original removable glassine protector, silk ribbon release from original open slip cover. A fine copy.

A special edition from a unique work of historical significance – an Australian National Treasure.

$190.00

Updating cart…

The Travels of Marco Polo – Manuel Komroff

Modern Cottage Architecture [By Various Architects] – Maurice Adams – First Edition 1904.

Daphnis et Chloe By Longus with aquarelles by G. P. Jornard – Surely the world’s prettiest book

Geology and Mineralogy – William Buckland [Considered with Reference to Natural Theology] – Published 1837

Queensland Illustrated – 70 Exquisite Views – c1925

The Hunter Sketchbook. Birds & Flowers of New South Wales drawn on The Spot in 1788 89 & 90 By Captain John Hunter of the First Fleet.

Product Categories