Maritime

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…

Special Maritime Book: On the Wind of a Dream (The Saga of the Solace) – Commander Victor Clark – First Edition 1960

A first edition of this sought after and outstanding voyage account.

Commander Victor Clark found himself released from the Admiralty in London and decided to satisfy his adventurous spirit with a round the world voyage, which was to take six years.

The Solace was purchased, and his adventure began sailing south and west to take the route through the Panama Canal. Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotu, Society and Cook Islands. Then to Palmerston Island … a whole story must be written about this strange place … a form of English being the language of the day and many of the people descend from their Birmingham England forefather. Unfortunately, Solace was wrecked here which meant Clark had to undertake a full year stop over, but because of which we learn something special about Palmerston Island .

Published by Hutchinson in 1960 a first edition. Octavo, 308 pages, illustrations from photographs taken on the voyage, end paper maps a bit more informative than most. With the rare, un-clipped dust jacket albeit taped at some time along the top and bottom of spine.

This book commands significant prices around the world … apart from being hard to come by we feel the observations and writing, the events and adventures, the detail on the unusual Palmerston Island and its society make it special and therefore desired by those in the know.

Victor Clark RN in the Solace and what an adventure

$180.00

Updating cart…

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

Special Maritime Book: On the Wind of a Dream (The Saga of the Solace) – Commander Victor Clark – First Edition 1960

Product Categories