Biography/ autobiography

Together Alone (In the Pacific) – Ron Falconer.

Published by Bantam in 2004, an only softcover. A super story about a great man and his family.

Ron Falconer born in Scotland joined the RAF, became an architectural draftsman and then designed and built his one boat. A special yacht he named Fleur d’Ecosse. He went sailing, alone, perhaps, we are told, 50,000 miles. He met the beautiful Anne and he took her to the Caroline Atoll in the northern reaches of French Polynesia. There they had a family, built their Robinson Crusoe style house and lived the life we all dream of.

Octavo, 255 pages, with maps and a handful of nice images from photographs taken in their heavenly Paradise.

We think Ron now lives in France but until recently lived at Moorea … and could be heard singing at the Kareka Bar … he has a super voice in the Simon and Garfunkel sort of style … check him out on Youtube,

A Scotsman in Paradise with the voice of an Angel.

$25.00

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To Greenland’s Icy Mountains – Eve Garnett – First Edition 1968

A semi fictionalised account of Hans Egede, Explorer and Missionary who in the early 18thC went in search of the descendants of 10thC Christians who went to the West Coast of Greenland.

Egede was in Greenland between 1797-1718. The author makes Egede’s story come alive as if it was yesterday.

Published by Heinemann, London in 1968, a first edition. Octavo, 190 pages, well illustrated with frontispiece portrait, sketches by the author and images from appropriate photographs, maps and charts. Good condition albeit front free end paper excised.

Inspirational Greenland Story

$25.00

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Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley – Autobiographies – edited by Gavin De Beer.

A first edition published by the Oxford University Press in 1974. Octavo, 199 pages, plus useful index, illustrated. Very nice condition.

Darwin and his bulldog together in condensed highly readable form. What better pairing – like peaches and cream.

The editor was one of the many Darwin admirers, wrote a good biography and several other Darwin related works. So it was appropriate that he took the editorial pen to Darwin’s lengthy account of himself … adding Huxley from a far more obscure personal rendition was a masterstroke of compare and contrast

Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley – gold plated “Two for One”

$30.00

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Skinner Prout in Australia 1840-48

If you want to collect Skinner Prout you may be too late his works are fetching big prices.

This is the best “get to know him” book put together by Tony Brown and Hendrik Kolenberg to accompany a tour of Prout’s work held in 1987.

Squarish format, perfect bound, 80 pages, with many illustrations of the works … super biographical outline of the master. Very good if not better condition.

Sought after reference to Skinner Prout.

$38.00

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James Fenton of Forth – A Tasmanian Pioneer 1820-1901 – One of 100 special bound, signed and numbered copies.

This magnificent and substantial book was complied and edited by the subjects descendant Paul Fenton as a celebration of the 100th year of the great man’s death. Effectively self published with no cost spared.

Limited overall to 800 copies. This part of a special first 100 copies specially quarter bound in Buckram with Brillianta spine and signed and numbered by Paul Fenton – this number 48.

Folio, 454 pages, profusely illustrated. A fine, as new copy, in a fine protected dust jacket. A heavy book that will require a distance postage supplement.

James Fenton was not only a pioneer and traveller through unmapped territory in Tasmania he penned some interesting accounts of his travel and one of the few dependable histories of Tasmania, still very much collectable and referenced by all serious historian.

Signed limited numbered edition – we cannot find another one.

$160.00

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Exchange of Letters between Sir Leslie Orme Wilson and the Maharaja of Gondal on the former’s appointment as the Governor of Bombay – 1923. Subsequently Wilson to become Governor of Queensland

An official exchange along with a corrected draft from the Maharaja so clearly from the files of his office.

Military man and parliamentarian Leslie Orme Wilson (1876- 1955) was appointed Governor of Bombay (1923-1926). His formal advice to His Highness Sir Bhagwatsinhji Sagramji – Thakor Saheb of Gondal ((1865-1944) was sent dated 13 December 1923 on the rather striking elaborately bordered paper of the day and regime. It is framed with a “Friendly disposition”.

The delightful response was not made until 5th February the following year and I have no doubt there may have been an underlying message despite the responses carefully crafted words “great pleasure to receive the assurance of the friendly disposition”. We also like the fact that the Maharaja’s similarly elaborate paper has retained far more gold over the years than his British counterpart.

There relationship did in indeed prove friendly and Wilson was “sent on” to Brisbane to become it’s longest serving Governor from 1932 through the war years to 1946. He was the head honcho in the Queensland masons and did a lot of tress planting including sone of the nice ones down around the beginning of Coronation drive – have they survived the continuous development?

An unusual and friendly piece of history with a Queensland connection

$80.00

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Together Alone (In the Pacific) – Ron Falconer.

To Greenland’s Icy Mountains – Eve Garnett – First Edition 1968

Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley – Autobiographies – edited by Gavin De Beer.

Skinner Prout in Australia 1840-48

James Fenton of Forth – A Tasmanian Pioneer 1820-1901 – One of 100 special bound, signed and numbered copies.

Exchange of Letters between Sir Leslie Orme Wilson and the Maharaja of Gondal on the former’s appointment as the Governor of Bombay – 1923. Subsequently Wilson to become Governor of Queensland

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