History·Travel
Winston Churchill
Wayward Women
Aviation
Maritime
Military
Polar
Voyages
Africa
Britain
Europe
Latin America
North America
Middle East
Scotland
Drums -
James Boyd, N. C. Wyeth (Illustrator)
1928 - Charles Scribner's Sons, New York - First Edition, Second Issue
Finely bound copy of Boyd’s epic novel of the American Revolution, finely bound, and highlighted by N. C. Wyeth’s iconic illustrations, black and white pen drawings, colour title page and fourteen full-page colour plates.
One of Life magazine’s 100 most outstanding books for 1924-1944.
More details
Price HK$ 4,000
1928 - Charles Scribner's Sons, New York - First Edition, Second Issue
Finely bound copy of Boyd’s epic novel of the American Revolution, finely bound, and highlighted by N. C. Wyeth’s iconic illustrations, black and white pen drawings, colour title page and fourteen full-page colour plates.One of Life magazine’s 100 most outstanding books for 1924-1944.
More details
Price HK$ 4,000
Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 -
James Bruce of Kinnaird
1790 - Printed by J. Ruthven, Edinburgh - First Edition
A superior set of the first edition in five large and finely bound volumes, one of the great annals of travel and explorations in Africa, a cornerstone of any collection of Africana. In addition to the three large folding copper-engraved maps, there are fifty-eight copper-engraved plates (four of which are maps or battle plans) and seven pages of Ethiopic language.
A Scotsman with ability and education, James Bruce, 1730-1794, was appointed the English consul to Algiers, serving for two years before resigning to roam North Africa investigating architectural ruins. Following this preparation, he set off to fulfil his great ambition, to discover the source of the Nile. His travels into Abyssinia, a remarkable solo undertaking, resulted in the present body of work which not only includes the narrative of his travels but also comments on the history and religion of Egypt, an account of Indian trade, a history of Abyssinia and other such material.
The DNB notes that while Bruce would not be confused with "a great scholar or a judicious critic..., few books of equal compass are equally entertaining; and few such monuments exist of the energy and enterprise of a single traveller." The many engraved plates are finely executed, and present primarily the flora and fauna encountered by Bruce on his travels.
More details
Price HK$ 50,000
1790 - Printed by J. Ruthven, Edinburgh - First Edition
A superior set of the first edition in five large and finely bound volumes, one of the great annals of travel and explorations in Africa, a cornerstone of any collection of Africana. In addition to the three large folding copper-engraved maps, there are fifty-eight copper-engraved plates (four of which are maps or battle plans) and seven pages of Ethiopic language.A Scotsman with ability and education, James Bruce, 1730-1794, was appointed the English consul to Algiers, serving for two years before resigning to roam North Africa investigating architectural ruins. Following this preparation, he set off to fulfil his great ambition, to discover the source of the Nile. His travels into Abyssinia, a remarkable solo undertaking, resulted in the present body of work which not only includes the narrative of his travels but also comments on the history and religion of Egypt, an account of Indian trade, a history of Abyssinia and other such material.
The DNB notes that while Bruce would not be confused with "a great scholar or a judicious critic..., few books of equal compass are equally entertaining; and few such monuments exist of the energy and enterprise of a single traveller." The many engraved plates are finely executed, and present primarily the flora and fauna encountered by Bruce on his travels.
More details
Price HK$ 50,000
Sick Heart River -
John Buchan
1941 - Hodder Stoughton Limited, London - First Edition
A fine first edition of Buchan’s last book, published posthumously.
The review in the April 1941 edition of Punch sums it up nicely:-
‘"If thou hast a woe, tell it not to the weakling, tell it to thy saddle-bow, and ride singing forth." John Buchan took this Proverb of Alfred as text for his book Sick Heart River (Hodder and Stoughton, 8/3) which is as good a sermon to lift the downhearted as has ever been given in the form of a novel. When Sir Edward Leithen, a former British Attorney-General, received his notice of death from a specialist, "his memory sprawled over places he had seen" and he decided to go to Quebec to make his soul and to "die standing". One journey led to another in quest of a famous French-Canadian who, in a mood of mental sickness, had suddenly left his wife and important office in New York; and was "wanted" by American people because of his genius over international affairs. The tale that follows of two white men, their half-breed guides and some "Hare Indians", their fight with and against Nature in a lonely place is soul-stirring in more than one way and makes as brave a book as the late Governor-General of Canada ever gave us.’
The fictional Sick Heart River is in the real region of the Nahanni River in Canada's Northwest Territories. It is in some of the most rugged terrain in Canada. The area was only just being mapped when Buchan, as Governor-General Lord Tweedsmuir, passed nearby during his voyage down the Mackenzie River in the summer of 1937. Having heard much about the mysterious South Nahanni, Buchan was fascinated by it and wanted to go there, but did not make it before he died in February, 1940. [Galbraith, 2001]
More details
Price HK$ 3,500
1941 - Hodder Stoughton Limited, London - First Edition
A fine first edition of Buchan’s last book, published posthumously. The review in the April 1941 edition of Punch sums it up nicely:-
‘"If thou hast a woe, tell it not to the weakling, tell it to thy saddle-bow, and ride singing forth." John Buchan took this Proverb of Alfred as text for his book Sick Heart River (Hodder and Stoughton, 8/3) which is as good a sermon to lift the downhearted as has ever been given in the form of a novel. When Sir Edward Leithen, a former British Attorney-General, received his notice of death from a specialist, "his memory sprawled over places he had seen" and he decided to go to Quebec to make his soul and to "die standing". One journey led to another in quest of a famous French-Canadian who, in a mood of mental sickness, had suddenly left his wife and important office in New York; and was "wanted" by American people because of his genius over international affairs. The tale that follows of two white men, their half-breed guides and some "Hare Indians", their fight with and against Nature in a lonely place is soul-stirring in more than one way and makes as brave a book as the late Governor-General of Canada ever gave us.’
The fictional Sick Heart River is in the real region of the Nahanni River in Canada's Northwest Territories. It is in some of the most rugged terrain in Canada. The area was only just being mapped when Buchan, as Governor-General Lord Tweedsmuir, passed nearby during his voyage down the Mackenzie River in the summer of 1937. Having heard much about the mysterious South Nahanni, Buchan was fascinated by it and wanted to go there, but did not make it before he died in February, 1940. [Galbraith, 2001]
More details
Price HK$ 3,500
A Complete History of the most Remarkable Transactions at Sea -
Josiah Burchett, Esq; Secretary of the Admiralty
1720 - Printed by W.B. for J. Walthoe, London - First Edition
'This volume is particularly important in the literature of naval history, not only as a narrative of naval operations in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, but as the first general naval history written in the English language.' [ODNB]
A stunning large folio, in contemporary binding, illustrated with nine folding naval charts by Hermann Moll, engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved portrait, the royal privilege leaf (sometimes missing), engraved head and tail-pieces and initial letters, and title page printed in red and black.
More details
Price HK$ 22,000
1720 - Printed by W.B. for J. Walthoe, London - First Edition
'This volume is particularly important in the literature of naval history, not only as a narrative of naval operations in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, but as the first general naval history written in the English language.' [ODNB]A stunning large folio, in contemporary binding, illustrated with nine folding naval charts by Hermann Moll, engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved portrait, the royal privilege leaf (sometimes missing), engraved head and tail-pieces and initial letters, and title page printed in red and black.
More details
Price HK$ 22,000
Travels in Nubia -
John Lewis Burckhardt
1819 - John Murray, London - First Edition
Illustrated with an engraved portrait and three maps, two of which are folding.
Edited from Burckhardt's journals by Lieutenant Colonel William Martin Leake (1777-1860); he also wrote the biographical memoir which is prefaces the ‘Travels’. John Lewis Burckhardt of Kirshgarten (1784-1817) was a pioneering Swiss explorer who is best remembered for his rediscovery of the ancient city of Petra in modern Jordan.
In 1809 Burckhardt was commissioned by the African Association and their president, Sir Joseph Banks, to discover the source of the River Niger. Posing as a Muslim convert and going by the name of Sheikh Ibrahim he spent two years exploring and studying Arabic and Islamic law in Aleppo, before travelling widely in Arabia and Egypt This volume, first published posthumously in 1819, contains Burckhardt's account of his two visits to Nubia (modern Upper Egypt and Sudan) in 1813 and 1814. Burckhardt was the first western scholar to explore the Sudanese Nile valley, and one of the first western explorers successfully to cross the Nubian Desert. In this valuable volume, he describes in fascinating detail the many ancient ruins along the Nile and the logistics and hardships of his desert crossing. [CUP]
On his return to Cairo, Burckhardt, unable to set off for the Niger, compiled his journals into books which he sent to London for publication. He died in 1817 of dysentery and is buried in a Muslim cemetery under the name of Ibrahim ibn Abdallah.
In an article on Burckhardt published in 1973, Professor William Adams wrote of his first journey to Dongola in the Sudan, ‘I doubt if any ethnographer in history ever returned from a five-week field trip into totally unfamiliar country with a more balanced and comprehensive account’. [DEI].
More details
Price HK$ 9,000
1819 - John Murray, London - First Edition
Illustrated with an engraved portrait and three maps, two of which are folding.Edited from Burckhardt's journals by Lieutenant Colonel William Martin Leake (1777-1860); he also wrote the biographical memoir which is prefaces the ‘Travels’. John Lewis Burckhardt of Kirshgarten (1784-1817) was a pioneering Swiss explorer who is best remembered for his rediscovery of the ancient city of Petra in modern Jordan.
In 1809 Burckhardt was commissioned by the African Association and their president, Sir Joseph Banks, to discover the source of the River Niger. Posing as a Muslim convert and going by the name of Sheikh Ibrahim he spent two years exploring and studying Arabic and Islamic law in Aleppo, before travelling widely in Arabia and Egypt This volume, first published posthumously in 1819, contains Burckhardt's account of his two visits to Nubia (modern Upper Egypt and Sudan) in 1813 and 1814. Burckhardt was the first western scholar to explore the Sudanese Nile valley, and one of the first western explorers successfully to cross the Nubian Desert. In this valuable volume, he describes in fascinating detail the many ancient ruins along the Nile and the logistics and hardships of his desert crossing. [CUP]
On his return to Cairo, Burckhardt, unable to set off for the Niger, compiled his journals into books which he sent to London for publication. He died in 1817 of dysentery and is buried in a Muslim cemetery under the name of Ibrahim ibn Abdallah.
In an article on Burckhardt published in 1973, Professor William Adams wrote of his first journey to Dongola in the Sudan, ‘I doubt if any ethnographer in history ever returned from a five-week field trip into totally unfamiliar country with a more balanced and comprehensive account’. [DEI].
More details
Price HK$ 9,000
The Life of Robert Burns -
Robert Burns, John Gibson Lockhart, William Scott Douglas, Sir Walter Raleigh
1914 - Henry Young &, Liverpool - Number 405 of 500 copies, signed by the publishers
Two finely bound volumes printed on thick paper, illustrated with thirty-one plates. Included is an ‘Essay on Robert Burns’ by Sir Walter Raleigh, a ‘Memoir of Lockhart’, the ‘Author’s Preface’ and notes and appendices by William Scott Douglas.
‘Lockhart's ‘Life of Burns’, his first sustained attempt in biography, was for a century and more the standard account of the poet and his work. If Lockhart is sometimes limited, he is generally sensible he was born just before Burns died, and had access to men who had seen and known the poet his critical approach is often close to that of the literary world to which Burns, for a time, turned a hopeful eye and his succinct sketches of Burns's milieu and of the men in it, are excellent.’ ‘One of the few judicious and eminently readable biographies of Burns.’ - Professor James Kinsley, introduction to the 2006 edition.
More details
Price HK$ 4,000
1914 - Henry Young &, Liverpool - Number 405 of 500 copies, signed by the publishers
Two finely bound volumes printed on thick paper, illustrated with thirty-one plates. Included is an ‘Essay on Robert Burns’ by Sir Walter Raleigh, a ‘Memoir of Lockhart’, the ‘Author’s Preface’ and notes and appendices by William Scott Douglas. ‘Lockhart's ‘Life of Burns’, his first sustained attempt in biography, was for a century and more the standard account of the poet and his work. If Lockhart is sometimes limited, he is generally sensible he was born just before Burns died, and had access to men who had seen and known the poet his critical approach is often close to that of the literary world to which Burns, for a time, turned a hopeful eye and his succinct sketches of Burns's milieu and of the men in it, are excellent.’ ‘One of the few judicious and eminently readable biographies of Burns.’ - Professor James Kinsley, introduction to the 2006 edition.
More details
Price HK$ 4,000
Atlas, Designed to Illustrate the Geography of the Heavens -
Elijah H. Burritt
1835 - F. J. Huntington and Co., New York - New Edition
A large early 19th century decorative celestial atlas containing stunning hand-coloured engraved plates (1 double page and 7 full page), and a two page black and white plate engraved plate ‘Exhibiting the Relative Magnitudes, Distances and Positions of the Different Bodies which Compose the Solar System’.
Scarce, especially in this condition. First published in 1833, this ‘New edition’ is actually a thoroughly revised edition with newly engraved maps by W. G. Evans.
More details
Price HK$ 12,000
1835 - F. J. Huntington and Co., New York - New Edition
A large early 19th century decorative celestial atlas containing stunning hand-coloured engraved plates (1 double page and 7 full page), and a two page black and white plate engraved plate ‘Exhibiting the Relative Magnitudes, Distances and Positions of the Different Bodies which Compose the Solar System’.Scarce, especially in this condition. First published in 1833, this ‘New edition’ is actually a thoroughly revised edition with newly engraved maps by W. G. Evans.
More details
Price HK$ 12,000
The Book of the Sword -
Sir Richard Francis Burton
1884 - Chatto and Windus, London - First Edition
A magnificent and large work on edged weapons by Burton, who was a very skilled swordsman, and published an earlier practical work on military exercises for infantry in 1876. Profusely illustrated throughout.
Rarely encountered in such nice condition. This first part of a planned three volume work, ‘treats of the birth, parentage and early career of the sword. It begins with the very beginning, in pre-historic times and amongst proto-historic peoples; and it ends with the full growth of the Sword at the epoch of the early Roman Empire.’ Despite Lady Burton’s efforts to find someone to complete the next two volumes after Burton’s death, the haphazard collection of notes, partial manuscripts, and the commercial failure of the first volume, were enough to put off any publisher.
More details
Price HK$ 15,000
1884 - Chatto and Windus, London - First Edition
A magnificent and large work on edged weapons by Burton, who was a very skilled swordsman, and published an earlier practical work on military exercises for infantry in 1876. Profusely illustrated throughout.Rarely encountered in such nice condition. This first part of a planned three volume work, ‘treats of the birth, parentage and early career of the sword. It begins with the very beginning, in pre-historic times and amongst proto-historic peoples; and it ends with the full growth of the Sword at the epoch of the early Roman Empire.’ Despite Lady Burton’s efforts to find someone to complete the next two volumes after Burton’s death, the haphazard collection of notes, partial manuscripts, and the commercial failure of the first volume, were enough to put off any publisher.
More details
Price HK$ 15,000