Maritime

Early Voyages to Terra Australia now called Australia: A Collection of documents, and extracts from early manuscript maps, illustrative of the history of discovery on the coasts of that vast island. From the beginning of the sixteenth century tp the tome of Captain Cook. – R.M Major FSA

Published by Burt Franklin, New York 1963. A faithful facsimile of the scarce desirable original by the Hakluyt Society of 1859. Good condition; would be very good but contains traces of being in the Parliament Library but let go as carries the signature of Manfred Cross. No Jacket as published.

This is a landmark book about the European discovery of Australia pre Cook.

Octavo, hardcover, no jacket as issued, blue cloth covered boards pseudo Hakluyt style. unusual form in that contains a 119 page introduction followed by 200 pages of text. Three super multi folding charts.

Contains …….

A Memorial addressed to the King of Spain, by Juan Lusi Arias, re the exploration, of the Southern Land, translated from the Spanish Original”;

Relation of Luis Vaez de Torres on the discoveries of Quiros. Dated Manila, July 12, 1607.

A translation by Alexander Dalrymple from a Spanish manuscript originally published in Burney’s ‘Discoveries in the South Sea’.

Extract from Book of Dispatches from Batavia, January the 15th 1644, ending November the 29th following, from Dalymple’s ‘Collections Concerning Papua’.

The Voyage and Shipwreck of Pelsart, in the ‘Batavia’, on the Coast of New Holland, translated from Trevenot’s ‘Recueil des Voyages Curieux’.

Voyage of Pool to the South Land. Translated from Valentyn’s ‘Beschryvinghe van Banda’.

Account of the Wreck of the ‘De Vergulde Draeck’ on the South Land, from manuscripts at the Hague.

Description of the West Coast of the South Land by Vokersen, of the ‘Waeckende Boey’, which sailed from Batavia in 1658, from manuscripts at The Hague.

The observations of Dampier on the coast of New Holland, in 1687-1688.

The voyage of Willem de Vlamingh to New Holland in 1696 from manuscripts at The Hague.

Voyage to the Unexplored South land, by order of the Dutch East India Company, in the years 1696 and 1697, by the ‘De Nyptang’, the De Geelvink’ and the ‘De Wesel’, from manuscripts at The Hague.

Observations of Dampier on the coast of New Holland, in 1699.The voyage of the ‘Vossenbosch’, the D’Wijer’, and the ‘Nova Hollandia’, dispatched by the government of India from manuscripts at The Hague.

The Houtman’s Abrolhos in 1727, translated by Captain P.A. Loupe of the Dutch Navy”.

$80.00

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Escape to the Sea – The Adventures of Fred Rebell [Single Handed Small Boat across the Pacific]

Scarce and sought after voyaging account despite being second printing 1951 – try and find another.

Published by John Murray, London. Octavo, 254 pages, illustrated with good voyage chart and from original photographs. Jacket aged and torn to spine – previous book owners stamp on title otherwise a nice clean copy of as we say a hard to come by worthy account.

Fred Rebell was born in Russian occupied Latvia and made his break and off to Australia. Sitting in the Sydney public library he dreamed of sailing, proper sailing – something he had never done before. His goal was set high, and this account is of his first outing, a 9,000 mile open boat voyage from Sydney to California. Nice in the moment writing with considerable detail … New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Danger Islands, Hawaii then the long haul to California.

Unfortunately, in California his passport documents were seen as, well sort of “home- made” and he was without funds which saw him jailed [twice] and eventually deported!

Nothing came that easy to Fred Rebell – all the way across the Pacific without any previous experience.

$40.00

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Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania – 1936 – Meston on the Origin of the Tasmanians

Printed by Shimmins, Hobart – the Government Printer. Published, as always, a year later – 1937.

Contains a number of papers of natural history interest – crustaceans, leaf-hoppers, and fossil plane [at Warrentinna, North East Tasmania.

A good paper by much hated Crowther on an early sealing voyage in the Bass Staits – the schooner “Brothers” Captain Kelly. Historical content is from a manuscript log by Kelly in Crowthers hands – we would love to know where it is now. This is an early voyage indeed before Kelly’s circumnavigation of the island. They had a total cull of over 7,000 seals [poor things]. Salt to preserve the skins was got from Kangaroo Island.

Distinguished anthropologist A.L. Meston offers a thoroughly considered paper on the origins of the Tasmanian aboriginal. Written without prejudice we think – he debunks the then theory that they arrived via Pacific Islands [via New Caledonia] and believes that they arrived in Northern Australia and after moving south, island hopping over the Bass Strait having the skill to build the bark canoes that feature in our modern view of their history. Interesting report.

Original soft wrappers, larger size, 104 pages, illustrated with scientific drawings, images form photographs etc. A nice copy.

The origin of the Tasmanian aboriginals, voyage of the Brothers etc

$80.00

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Byron’s Journal of His Circumnavigation 1764-1766 – Edited by Robert E. Gallagher

Another well produced book by the distinguished Hakluyt Society and in our view one of the better ones for its special illustrations and fold out maps.

John Byron of Wager fame (the poets Grandfather and Voyager hero) came in for some criticism regarding his circumnavigation of 1764-1776. The were some controversies and there were “secret instructions”.

Sent by the Admiralty in HMS Dolphin to search for Pepys’s Island and the Southern Continent and then up to the North Pacific to find the “other end” of the North West passage. He re-discovered the Falkland Islands (but was beaten by Bougainville) and when in the Pacific decided for his own reasons to go in a more direct route and hence all around the globe back to England..

His journal is at the mecca of all journals marine, the National Maritime Museum, London. And, here it is published with super supporting items by editor Robert Gallagher. Much about the giants of Patagonia.

Printed by the Cambridge University Press for the Hakluyt Society in 1964. Octavo, 230 pages with, as mentioned, numerous illustrations and maps and charts many folding or multiple folding. A particularly good thoroughly clean copy.

John Byron first the Wager then the circumnavigation in the Dolphin; one of the great naval heroes of the 18th Century.

$50.00

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Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Recovered by Mike Hatcher] – Shipwreck in the Gaspar Straits 1822

Qing Dynasty decorated footed dish recovered by Mike Hatcher from the Tek Sing shipwreck. A very good clean example.

Niceley decorated and with peony and magnolia flowers and double lines at rim, simple decoration under rim. Strong colouring and no damage which is rare. 10.5 cm in diameter 2.5 cm high. Retains the auction reference sticker from the famous Nagel auction in Germany underneath.

A fine example of a Tek Sing shipwreck bowl

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The Tek Sing Shipwreck – Background

The Tek Sing (Chinese for “Bright Star”’) was a large Chinese Junk which sank in 1822 in the South China Sea at the Belvidere Shoals. She was 50 meters long, 10 metres wide and weighed a thousand tons. Manned by a crew of 200. The great loss of life has led to the Tek Sing being referred to as the “Titanic of the East”.

Sailing from the port of Amoy (now Xiamen), the Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, with a cargo of porcelain goods and 1,600 Chinese immigrants. After a month of sailing, Captain Lo Tauko took a shortcut through the Gaspar Straits and ran aground on a reef and sank in 100 feet of water.

The next morning and English East Indiaman captained by James Pearl sailing from Indonesia to Borneo passed through the Gaspar Straits. He found debris from the sunken Chinese vessel and survivors. They managed to rescue 190 people.

In 1999, marine salvor Mike Hatcher discovered the wreck. His crew raised what has been described as the largest cache of Chinese porcelain ever recovered. It was auctioned by Nagel in Stuttgart, Germany the following year

$140.00

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Shipwreck and Discovery of the Pelew Islands – First Edition 1788

An Account of the Pelew Islands situated in the Western Part of the Pacific Ocean, composed from the Journals and Communications of Captain Henry Wilson, and some of his Officers who, in August 1783, were there Shipwrecked in the Antelope … George Keate – 1788

Published by G Nicol, Booksellers to His Majesty the King, Pall Mall, LonDon in 1788. Quarto, xxvii, 378 pages. Bound in half leather over marbled papered boards, spine in compartments with gilt titles, author, date [1788] and fouled anchors to compartments. Binding a little rubbed to edges but still strong and impressive, internally a little age and occasional foxing and the odd stain, overall a good to better copy complete and worthy in any collection.

Frontispiece and sixteen magnificent engravings 8 of which are folding. Frontispiece of Wilson and an important folding map of the islands and their relationship with The Philippines, also a three-fold plan or view of the islands.

Composed from the journals and communications of Captain Wilson and his Officers who in 1783 were shipwrecked in the Antelope a packet belonging to the Honourable East India Company. They hit a reef near one of the Palau (Pelew) Island, a previously unexplored group. The entire crew managed to get ashore safely, where they were well treated by the natives and eventually managed to build a small vessel from the wreck in which they reached Macao. They took Prince Lee Boo, one of King Adda Thulle’s sons, with them to England, where he made a very good impression. Unhappily despite of precautions he died of smallpox. Keate was the author of numerous books of poetry, history, and letter, and counted Captain Wilson as well as Voltaire amongst his friends.

First Edition 1788 – An important Account with an interesting, readable narrative and impressive plates and maps.

$790.00

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Early Voyages to Terra Australia now called Australia: A Collection of documents, and extracts from early manuscript maps, illustrative of the history of discovery on the coasts of that vast island. From the beginning of the sixteenth century tp the tome of Captain Cook. – R.M Major FSA

Escape to the Sea – The Adventures of Fred Rebell [Single Handed Small Boat across the Pacific]

Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania – 1936 – Meston on the Origin of the Tasmanians

Byron’s Journal of His Circumnavigation 1764-1766 – Edited by Robert E. Gallagher

Tek Sing Shipwreck Treasure [Recovered by Mike Hatcher] – Shipwreck in the Gaspar Straits 1822

Shipwreck and Discovery of the Pelew Islands – First Edition 1788

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