ADVENTURE BOOKS
CATALOGUE 6
CABINET ITEMS 2 016
G’day!
Greetings from Oamaru, New Zealand. Please feel welcome to
visit Adventure Books here in our old Victorian Precinct. Call in, say hello, spin yarns or talk books if you are travelling through
the South Island. My bookshop home is in a building completed in 1875, now filled with vintage and rare books within the fields of
adventure, including Polar, Mountaineering, Exploration, Sailing,
Travel and Natural History. If you visit, you might even notice a 23 foot lifeboat, a ‘James Caird’ replica with sails set, right here in the Polar Books section.
While looking through my locked cabinets recently, listing
a few Polar books for a catalogue, I rediscovered some other rare items and decided to do a new catalogue, Cabinet Items. These
books and objects are not necessarily within the adventure fields, yet quite scarce and unique, standing on their own.
So please find in this catalogue several famous and difficult to find First Editions, a rare 1792 English book in lovely binding,
and a scarce, mint Folio New Zealand Limited Edition. Alongside
ADVENTURE BOOKS 7 HARBOUR STREET OAMARU, NEW ZEALAND
vintage books listed, is a very special, original pen & ink drawing by a scientist/artist who died with Scott in Antarctica, plus an exceptional 1650 map. Enjoy the descriptions, photographs,
and interesting illustrations herein, all based on the belief that the day of the colourful printed catalogue is not over yet. If
interested, please contact me for further information. All listed prices are in New Zealand dollars and I provide free shipping within the country.
WWW.ADVENTUREBOOKS.CO.NZ INFO@ADVENTUREBOOKS.CO.NZ +64 3 434 7756 ADVENTURE BOOKS, OAMARU, NEW ZEALAND
Cheers,
Bill Nye (The Book Guy) Eccentric Book Dealer & Potential Bookseller since 2012 Bibliophile, Bookscout and Book Collector, since a lot longer.
POLUS ANTARCTICUS MAP (THIRD STATE) Jansson, Jan
Amsterdam, 1650. ‘The Antarctic Pole with the adjoining regions and seas flowing near it’. 43 X 49 centimeters, framed behind glass. Beautiful handcoloured decorative hemispherical map, with notes (Latin) of early Dutch explorations in the region. Map is centred on the South Pole to the Tropic of Capricorn, with southern parts of South America and South Africa, plus the incomplete coastlines of West and South Australia. Includes significant updates along the coast of South America and Cape Horn. This ‘Third State’ map was originally drawn by Henricus Hondius in 1641, updated and enhanced by Jansson nine years later. Map predated the first appearance of New Zealand and Van Diemen's Land. At centre of map (South Pole) is written: “Terra Australis Incognito”, Latin for ‘Unknown Southern Land’, an undiscovered part of the world in 1650. The supposed coastline of the unknown southern continent continues to appear, as previously. It is considered one of the earliest realistic maps of the Antarctic continent, which is partially delineated in a combination of coastline and strings of islands with notes, affirmations such as first discovered by Magellan. Corners are filled in with fabulous hand-coloured vignettes of native scenes, including animals, birds, early explorers, ships, boats and a penguin. Title and name ‘Joannes Janssonius’ is within cartouche at lower left centre of map. (Map Reference: Tooley, 729). This variant version appears more liberally hand-coloured than others, colours bright, with Antarctic Circle coloured in blue. Brilliant map, scarce and in excellent condition, slightly wrinkled and could benefit from careful re-framing. NZ$4,000
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Johannes Janssonius (Jan Janszoon in Dutch; Jan Jansson in English), born 1588, in Arnhem; died 1664, in Amsterdam. He was a Dutch cartographer and publisher who lived and worked in Amsterdam during the 17th century. Provenance: this original and rare map, now 366 years of age, was purchased from a private collector in Auckland, through auction, in 2013. ” - Bill
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2016
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Jack Kerouac’s book ‘On the Road’ was found with a stack of books in a corner of a secondhand bookstore in Austin Texas a few years ago. It is an authentic 1957 First Edition; Near Fine condition, Near Fine dustjacket. One of the best written of the Beat Generation’s classic stories, and the iconic true First Edition by Kerouac. Rare in this condition. ” - Bill
ON THE ROAD Kerouac, Jack
New York, 1957, The Viking Press, First American Edition. 310 pages. First edition of Jack Kerouac’s most famous work, rare in this beautiful condition. That well-loved, wildly exuberant, often funny account of a journey through America and Mexico. On the Road inspired generations with stories that capture the essence of wild explorations while travelling American roads and cities in the 1950’s. This book instantly defined a generation following its publication in 1957: it was, in the words of a New York Times reviewer, “the clearest and most important utterance yet made by the ‘beat generation’ that Kerouac himself named years before. Kerouac in 1950 outlined the “Essentials of Spontaneous Prose” and decided to tell the story of his years on the road with Neal Cassady as if writing a letter to a friend in a form that reflected the ecstatic improvisational fluidity of jazz. In a letter to a student in 1961, Kerouac wrote: “Dean and I were embarked on a journey through post-Whitman America to FIND that America and to FIND the inherent goodness in American man. It was really a story about two Catholic buddies roaming the country in search of God. And we found him.” “Written in that
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2016
mode Allen Ginsberg described as “spontaneous bop prosody,” Kerouac’s novel remains electrifying in its thirst for experience and its defiant rebuke of American conformity. In his portrayal of the fervent relationship between the writer Sal Paradise and his outrageous, exasperating, and inimitable friend Dean Moriarty, Kerouac created one of the great friendships in American literature; and his rendering of the cities and highways and wildernesses that his characters restlessly explore are a hallucinatory travelogue of a nation he both mourns and celebrates. On the Road has become a classic of the Beat Movement with its stream-of-consciousness depiction of the rejection of mainstream American values set in a physical and metaphysical journey across America” (Books in America, 136). True First Edition, title page date of 1957 and “Published in 1957 by the Viking Press, Inc. 625 Madison Avenue, New York 22” on the copyright page. With Copyright marker of 1955, 1957 by Jack Kerouac. Dustjacket with Bill English’s abstract rectangular drawings in blue, red, and black on the front panel and the spine, printed in bands of blue and red on the rear panel, with a 22-line excerpt on the rear panel. Only 7,500 copies were printed in 1957 so it is quite scarce. Finely woven black cloth stamped in white on the front boards and the spine. A clean, tight copy in crisp black boards. Near Fine condition, with a few tiny spots on endpapers and slight toning at very bottom of boards; in a Near Fine DJ, quite scarce in this condition. NZ$9,000
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” - Jack Kerouac
EARLY SKETCHES AND CHARTS OF BANKS PENINSULA 1770-1850 Maling, Peter Bromley
Wellington, 1981, A.H. & A.W. Reed, First New Zealand Edition. 103 pp, numerous maps, charts and drawings, with 82 plates, of which 27 plates are beautifully coloured and tipped-in from publisher. Hardcover Folio in boxed case. Blue cloth boards with leather spine. Page dimensions: 390 x 271mm. Contents: Cook to D'Urville (1770-1840); Stanley and the Arrival of the French Settlers (1840); An Unknown Artist and the Infant Settlement at Akaroa (1841); Charles Meryon and the Rhin (1843-46); A Trio of Journal Artists: Selwyn, Barnicoat and Mantell (184449); William Fox and the Canterbury Settlement (1848-50); Richard Aldworth Oliver (1848-50); Notes on Sources; Index. Spectacular illustrations and plates in a quality production, decorative endpapers, fine paper and blue boxed case. No. 162 of a Deluxe Limited Edition of 500 copies. High quality, boxed Elephant Folio, Fine condition. NZ$1,000
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2016
LHASA
Landon, Percival An Account Of The Country And People Of Central Tibet And Of The Progress Of The Mission Sent There By The English Government In The Year 1903-4. London, 1905, Hurst and Blackett, First U.K. Edition. 2 Volume Set, 8vo. (Xix), 414 pp and (Xi), 426 pp, 2 frontispieces - portraits with tissueguards, 7 maps and plans, 4 in colour, of which one is folding, 24 photogravures, 13 coloured plates, 4 B&W plates, and numerous text illustrations, many full-page, a few in colour. Tissue-guards with legends over some of the plates. Landon was a journalist traveling with Younghusband's expedition to the Forbidden City in 1903-04. He accompanied the expedition as special correspondent of the 'Times'. So the account is an open window onto a colonial age, part of British Empire, and seen today as not always an honorable history. Dispatched on the orders of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, and prompted by the Russian presence in Tibet, the Tibet Frontier Commission was officially instructed to establish diplomatic relations with the government of Tibet and to resolve a dispute over the border between Tibet and British-held Sikkim. Escorted by a large military force led by Brigadier-General J.R.L. Macdonald, the expedition amounted to a de facto invasion. Armed conflicts erupted, in one instance resulting in the massacre of hundreds of poorly armed and poorly trained Tibetan soldiers, who proved to be no match for a professional army equipped with modern
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With the unique Buddhist symbol and Tibetan writing in gilt on the red cloth front boards of this two volume set, ‘Lhasa’ by Percival Landon is a distinguished addition to any shelf of special and rare books. Purchased from a collector in Christchurch New Zealand 2006, Landon’s work preserves photographs and observations made while he was traveling with Younghusband’s expedition in 1903-04, and remains a valuable historical record. ” - Bill
armaments. Some five thousand Tibetans lost their lives as opposed to only five British casualties. Original red cloth, sun-faded on both volumes, with leather spine, title ‘Lhasa’ in gilt lettering along with large traditional Buddhist symbol over Tibetan writing, quite a handsome set. Board corners worn, and ‘Liverpool Free Public Library’ blind-stamped on rear boards. Small bookplate of previous owner. Book is Ex-Library, but no RSM’s and no library marks found on spine or title page, clean internally with exception of small and unobtrusive embossed library seal on the Plates. Scarce, impressive and attractive set. No DJ, Very Good condition. NZ$2,000
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2016
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Edward Whymper’s famous ‘Travels Amongst The Great Andes Of The Equator’. Provenance: became soughtafter by this collector and first purchased when travelling and working in South America, especially through Ecuador and Peru 1979-1982, in some of the same locales that Whymper visited. This 1891 set was acquired at auction in Auckland New Zealand, 2013, as such rarely seen with the accompanying ‘Supplementary Appendix’ including added attractive engravings, thus an appealing set to any collector. ” - Bill
TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES OF THE EQUATOR Whymper, Edward
London, 1892-1893, John Murray, First U.K. Edition. Two volume set, Volume I, 8vo. Xxiv, [2], 456. With half-title. 4 maps & plans (3 folding). 20 wood-engraved plates and 118 wood-engraved text illustrations by Edward Whymper after F. Barnard, A. Corbauld, F. Dadd and others. Volume II, separately published supplementary volume of scientific observations, Vol. II, xxii & addenda, 147 pp, 14 Plates and 42 other illustrations, woodengraved. After many years climbing in the Alps, Whymper decided to organize an expedition to the Andes of Ecuador. His primary purpose was to study altitude sickness and the effect of reduced pressure on the human body. During 1880, he made two ascents of Chimborazo (20,498 feet), also claiming the first ascent, and made first ascents of six other great peaks ranging in height from 15,000 to 20,000 feet. He spent a night on the summit of Cotopaxi (19,613 feet), and was able to thoroughly study the features of the great volcano. Whymper’s great contributions to science and exploration were recognized by the Royal Geographical Society, which in 1892 conferred on Whymper one of their Royal Medals “In recognition of the fact that, apart from his mountaineering exploits, ‘he had largely corrected and added to our geographical and physical knowledge of the mountain systems of Ecuador, fixed the position of all the great Ecuadorian mountains, produced a map constructed from original theodolite observations extending over 250 miles, and ascertained seventy altitudes by means of three mercurial barometers.” Whymper also brought back important collections of rock specimens and natural history specimens. He devised a popular form of tent which bears his name, and was able to suggest improvements in aneroid barometers (Neate). Volume I has many uncut pages throughout (top), including all of Appendix and Index from pp. 393 to 456. Pages that have been opened were done carefully and correctly. Both volumes exhibit extremities rubbed, joints slightly cracked, yet are clean and intact internally, without foxing. No DJ’s, and with beveled green decorative boards, gilt decorations and gilt spine titles. NZ$1,000
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“Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are naught without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end.� - Edward Whymper
ORIGINAL PEN & INK DRAWING OF A WREN ON GILT-EDGED GIFT CARD. CIRCA 1880 Wilson, Edward A.
An original pen and ink drawing of a Wren on gilt-edged gift card, inscribed on verso “Given to me by his sisters at Cheltenham in July 1939, (signed) A.T. Pycroft”, and below that, “Work of my brother Edward A. Wilson about 1880 (signed) Ida Wilson”. Gilt-edged gift cards were common in late-19th century England, and people would place a design, drawing or inscription on them for birthdays or other occasions. Wilson was born in 1872 so if the date is correct he would have been only 8 years old, and thus demonstrates his blossoming artistic talent at that early age. Wilson’s drawing on gilt-edged card, and both snapshots came from the Pycroft Collection, which was placed with Art & Object for auction in 2011. Excellent condition. “The A.T. Pycroft (1875-1971) Collection of Rare Books was assiduously pieced together over seven decades from the 1890s and was referred to as the last great private New Zealand library. The 630-lot Pycroft collection offered over a two day auction attracted enormous media and collector interest resulting in the most successful rare book auction in New Zealand for over three decades.” (Art & Object). Two deckle-edged sepia-toned photographs (snapshots – original prints) are included with the card. One is of Wilson’s statue on the Cheltenham Promenade in England, and the other is of his sisters with Pycroft, when the drawing was acquired from them, and is inscribed on verso “Edward Wilson’s two sisters with A.T. Pycroft at home in Cheltenham, July 1939”.
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2016
Wikipedia: “By the age of nine Wilson had announced to his parents that he was going to become a naturalist. With encouragement and tuition from his father, he started to draw pictures of the wildlife and fauna in the fields around the farm.” At any measure it is a finely drawn representation of the bird, nest and limb. On the front is written “Wren (Troglodytes vulgaris) Many happy returns of the day to you.” Also reference George Seaver’s book ‘Edward Wilson Nature Lover’ for similar bird drawings by Wilson.
“To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield” - Last line of Tennyson’s Ulysses, inscribed on the wooden cross on Observation Hill in Antarctica, looking across to the Great Ice Barrier where the five men perished. Offered Along With: DIARY OF THE ‘TERRA NOVA’ EXPEDITION TO THE ANTARCTIC 1910-1912 Wilson, Edward
London, 1972, First U.K. Edition. Blandford Press, London, 1972. First Printing of the First UK Edition. A Fine copy in a Very Good dust jacket with fading to the spine. Edward Wilson was the Chief Scientific Officer aboard the “Terra Nova’ on Scott’s second and final expedition to Antarctica; this is his account of that fateful expedition to the South Pole. Wilson was part of Scott’s five-man party which successfully reached the South Pole, only to see the Norwegian flag and learn that Amundsen had arrived there first. They had been beaten in the race for the Pole by five weeks. Scott and all four of his companions, including Wilson, perished during the return journey. Wilson’s personal account, originally intended just for his family, is published here for the first time. At its heart this is a chronicle of personal observations from this second voyage with Scott, a voyage that would cost them their lives. His manuscript was found in the tent at their final camp. Text is accompanied by twentyseven of his delicate and meticulous watercolors. References and index follow text. Near Fine DJ, now protected with removable archival plastic bookcover, Near Fine condition. WILSON’S TERRA NOVA BOOK; The PEN & INK DRAWING on card by WILSON; And the two PHOTOGRAPHS – Four Items Total: NZ$4,000
THE BRITISH SPORTSMAN Osbaldiston, William Augustus
Or Nobleman, Gentleman, and Farmer’s Dictionary, of Recreation and Amusement. London, 1792, J. Stead, First U.K. Edition. Quarter Leather calf, beautifully rebound with contemporary marbled boards, gilt bands to spine, black label, gilt lettering. 664 pp, plus 2 pp of indexes. Coloured Frontispiece of a wild boar and Title Page, both in facsimile, 40 Hand-Coloured Plates of nets, traps, fishing, various kinds of hunting and shooting (additional Plate, opposite page 277, appears in coloured facsimile). An extensive 18th-century sportsman's reference, with much information on riding, racing, hunting, hawking, shooting, fishing, as well as animal breeding (oxen, cows deer and sheep), with sections on training dogs, hawks, cocks, doves, pigeons and singing-birds. Also includes information on traps, nets, engines, baits and "magical contrivances." Rodent destruction included. Torn segment from last page 663-664, approximately 2.5 X 4 inches at bottom corner margin, minimal loss of text. Various foxing, spotting, stains, tears and wrinkles of time throughout, as would be expected for a book more than 224 years old. Hand-Coloured Plates are very clean with very little off-setting or foxing, bright and beautiful. Splendidly bound in handsome quarter leather, marbled boards and raised bands on spine. NZ$2,500
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2016
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA Hemingway, Ernest
New York, 1952, Charles Scribner’s Sons, First American Edition. 140 pages. Very scarce FIRST AMERICAN EDITION & FIRST IMPRESSION, with the identifiers on the copyright page of “A” and the Scribner’s Seal. Hemingway’s last novel published during his lifetime. The Old Man and the Sea remains one of his most popular and widely acclaimed novels, and won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Additionally, The Old Man and the Sea is credited with being a major contributor to Hemingway’s 1954 selection as winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. The plot tells of an elderly fisherman called Santiago, and describes his struggle with a giant Marlin off the coast of Havana, Cuba. Metaphorically, it is often considered to be the story of Hemingway’s own struggle to continue to write and preserve his art in spite of his fame and the cost it has taken on his mental and physical health. Like Santiago, who had not caught a fish in months, Hemingway had not written a novel in the past decade. Boards are worn and faded, corners bumped. Graded at VG- (Very Good Minus condition), with no DJ. However, to dress up the book, a facsimile colour photocopy DJ of
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2016
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‘The Old Man And The Sea’, found in a second-hand bookshop in Dallas Texas, and First Illustrated Edition of ‘The Old Man And The Sea’, found in a second-hand bookshop in Dunedin New Zealand. Scarce items, and spectacular additions to any bookshelf. ” - Bill
the Illustrated Old Man and the Sea Edition, with removable protective archival bookcover, conceals the worn boards and makes this First Edition book far more attractive on the shelf.
Offered Along With: THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA Hemingway, Ernest
London, 1953, The Reprint Society, First U.K. Special Edition (first thus). 119 pages. End pages front and rear depict the old man with the enormous fish. Numerous illustrations throughout by C.F. Tunnicliffe and Raymond Sheppard. Publishers note: The illustrations in this Special Reprint Society Edition of ‘The Old Man and The Sea’, comprise drawings by C.F. Tunnicliffe and Raymond Sheppard. Originally, the two artists were possible alternatives. However, the Publishers considered that Society members would find both interpretations of the story so excellent and so interesting in their varying styles that both have been included in this first illustrated edition. On the inner prelim of the original Dustjacket, it states: ‘Club Edition 5/- For World Books Members only’, which means this special edition was limited to Club recipients and not a mass market publication. This original Dustjacket retains vivid colouring, with very slight wear, now housed in a removable archival sleeve. Boards are aqua coloured cloth with silver gilt lettering and decoration. Title is on red box to spine. All pages are clean and tightly bound. DJ, Near Fine. Two First Edition Ernest Hemingway titles offered together: NZ$4,000
DISCOVERIES & SURVEYS IN NEW GUINEA AND THE D’ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS Moresby, Captain John
A Cruise In Polynesia And Visits To The Pearl Shelling Stations In Torres Straits Of H.M.S. Basilisk. London, 1876, John Murray, First U.K. Edition. (Xx), 327 pp, plus 20 pp adverts, 3 maps in text, plus 1 folding colour map at rear (colour facsimile of the original map), frontispiece and 3 full-page plates. This is an important historical work describing Captain (later admiral) Moresby’s journey in H.M.S. Basilisk along the unknown coasts of New Guinea. He accurately charted and surveyed the area, discovering Port Moresby Harbour, now the capital of Papua New Guinea. His reports also included China Strait and Milne Bay, and led to the annexation of British New Guinea. Original blue cloth over beveled boards, gilt vignettes on the upper board and spine; rebacked with the original (faded) spine laid down. Bumped corners at top, which are slightly frayed, a few bumps and nicks, otherwise a clean copy, quite scarce. No DJ, decorative boards, with beautiful gilt vignette - raising the English colours, with natives and palms on front board, overall VG. NZ$1,000
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2016
“To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin.” THE MINT
- T.E. Lawrence
Lawrence, T.E. A Day-Book Of The R.A.F. Depot Between August And December 1922 With Later Notes By 352087 A / C Ross. London, 1955, Jonathan Cape, 1st U.K. Edition. 206 pp. In 1924 “Lawrence of Arabia” enlisted in the British Royal Air Force, after previously being rejected for enlistment due to his fragile physical and mental condition following his experiences in the First World War. “The Mint” consists of his organized and rewritten notes of his time in the R.A.F, a daily diary of the shattered life of a famous and often ostracized enlistee. Scarce. A Fine tight copy in a Near Fine DJ (top faded), now protected with removable archival plastic bookcover. NZ$400
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2016
THE SNOW LEOPARD Matthiessen, Peter
New York, 1978, Viking Press, First American Edition. 338 pp, endpaper maps. In this beautifully written book, the author recounts a journey to find the Snow Leopard with famed field biologist George Schaller. They set out walking from Pokhara, hoping to reach the Crystal Mountain in the land of Dolpo, on the Tibetan Plateau in western Nepal. Matthiessen calls this journey of over250 miles across the Himalaya “a true pilgrimage, a journey of the heart.” Winner of the National Book Award for Non-Fiction, this search for the elusive and endangered mammal becomes, through his writing, a Zen-inspired reflection on his wife’s death and a search for his own meaning on the Crystal Mountain. Signed on the title page by Peter Matthiessen, obtained on visit to author’s home, The Hamptons, New York in 2010. Slightly chipped and wrinkled DJ, now protected with removable archival plastic bookcover. VG+. NZ$600
“To glimpse one’s own true nature is a kind of homegoing, to a place East of the Sun, West of the Moon—the homegoing that needs no home, like that waterfall on the upper Suli Gad that turns to mist before touching the earth and rises once again into the sky.” - Peter Matthiessen,
MY FIRST SUMMER IN THE SIERRA Muir, John
Boston & New York, 1911, Houghton Mifflin, First American Edition. 354 pp. Dark green cloth with pictorial decoration of forest scene with mountains in the background, in black, green, and gilt, with gilt lettering on front, top edge gilt, cream endpapers. Frontispiece and 11 other plates from photographs with printed tissues; additional illustrations throughout the text from John Muir’s drawings. “Muir was 72 years old when he began to prepare the journal of his first summer in the Sierra for publication. With the skilful editing of his mature years, he retains the refreshing spontaneity and enthusiasm of his youthful experiences.” (Kimes bibliography). Rare First Edition of this most famous work on the Sierra Nevada mountain range, by one of the best and most influential Natural History writers in American history. His writings were instrumental in the preservation of Yosemite as a National Park, at the time threatened with development. He entertained President Teddy Roosevelt there, and wrote letters to many in Congress about saving the Sierras. He was founder of a leading conservation group, The Sierra Club, still important today. Decorative Boards, spine faded, VG+. NZ$800
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“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” - John Muir
Tibetan Jewllery - Lhasa, Percival Landon
ADVENTURE BOOKS 7 H A R B O U R S T R E E T, OA M A R U, N E W Z E A L A N D +64 3 434 7756 I N F O @ A DV E N T U R E B O O K S. CO. N Z W W W. A DV E N T U R E B O O K S. CO. N Z