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The Monkey Wrench Gang -
Edward Abbey
1975 - J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York - First Edition
‘Hell of a place to lose a cow,’ Smith thinks to himself while roaming through the canyonlands of southern Utah. ‘Hell of a place to lose your heart. Hell of a place... to lose. Period’.
‘Since the publication of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Mr. Abbey has become an underground cult hero.’ - New York Times
A fine first edition of this inspirational and incendiary call to protect the American wilderness, by its prickliest and most outspoken environmentalist. A ‘comic extravaganza’ based on a group of misfits who join forces with a Vietnam vet on a rafting trip down the Colorado River, and together they wander off to wage war on the big yellow machines.
‘Ribald, outrageous and, in fact, scandalous.’ - Smithsonian.
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Price HK$ 6,000
1975 - J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York - First Edition
‘Hell of a place to lose a cow,’ Smith thinks to himself while roaming through the canyonlands of southern Utah. ‘Hell of a place to lose your heart. Hell of a place... to lose. Period’. ‘Since the publication of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Mr. Abbey has become an underground cult hero.’ - New York Times
A fine first edition of this inspirational and incendiary call to protect the American wilderness, by its prickliest and most outspoken environmentalist. A ‘comic extravaganza’ based on a group of misfits who join forces with a Vietnam vet on a rafting trip down the Colorado River, and together they wander off to wage war on the big yellow machines.
‘Ribald, outrageous and, in fact, scandalous.’ - Smithsonian.
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Price HK$ 6,000
Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates. Edited, with a Preface and Some Account of the Arabs and Their Horses by W. S. B. -
Lady Anne Blunt, Wilfred Scawen Blunt
1879 - Harper &, New York - First American Edition
‘Fortunately we are too old travellers to be easily impressed by tales of lions and robbers, even supported, as they were in this instance, by the authority of special correspondents of The Times.’
First American edition of Lady Anne Blunt’s intrepid excursion to the Euphrates, Nejd and the Nafud desert. Based primarily on her journals and letters, and edited by her husband, this is a testament to the beauty and culture found in the heart of Central Arabia, accompanied with a folding colour map, a folding chart of Arabian thoroughbreds, and twelve engraved illustrations from Lady Blunt’s own sketches.
‘To find out how the Bedouin lived, Lady Anne lived like one herself: she became a temporary nomad, riding the two thousand miles from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf for the most part in Arab dress, and without guides or the usual caravan. This was quite an innovation, and prompted Blunt to dub his wife ‘the first bona-fide tourist who has taken the Euphrates road'. - Jane Robinson, Wayward Women.
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Price HK$ 3,200
1879 - Harper &, New York - First American Edition
‘Fortunately we are too old travellers to be easily impressed by tales of lions and robbers, even supported, as they were in this instance, by the authority of special correspondents of The Times.’ First American edition of Lady Anne Blunt’s intrepid excursion to the Euphrates, Nejd and the Nafud desert. Based primarily on her journals and letters, and edited by her husband, this is a testament to the beauty and culture found in the heart of Central Arabia, accompanied with a folding colour map, a folding chart of Arabian thoroughbreds, and twelve engraved illustrations from Lady Blunt’s own sketches.
‘To find out how the Bedouin lived, Lady Anne lived like one herself: she became a temporary nomad, riding the two thousand miles from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf for the most part in Arab dress, and without guides or the usual caravan. This was quite an innovation, and prompted Blunt to dub his wife ‘the first bona-fide tourist who has taken the Euphrates road'. - Jane Robinson, Wayward Women.
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Price HK$ 3,200
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.
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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.
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Price HK$ 12,000
The Borders and Beyond -
Abel Chapman
1924 - Gurney and Jackson, London - First Edition
A bright copy of this informative work of field exploration and natural history in Northumberland and the Anglo-Scottish borderlands.
Hunter-naturalist Chapman includes chapters on the British red grouse, the wildfowl of the north east coast, a search for the ‘moorland nymph’, salmonology, seagulls, woodcocks and herons, ravens, and the otter, together with a commentary on ‘modern zoology’, and extensive particulars on the migrations and plumage-phases in certain waders, to which he gave the name ‘Globe-Spanners’.
Profusely illustrated throughout with seventeen wonderful colour illustrations (on fourteen plates) by W.H. Riddell, twenty one black and white plates, two folding maps, and 170 sketches by the author.
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Price HK$ 1,000
1924 - Gurney and Jackson, London - First Edition
A bright copy of this informative work of field exploration and natural history in Northumberland and the Anglo-Scottish borderlands. Hunter-naturalist Chapman includes chapters on the British red grouse, the wildfowl of the north east coast, a search for the ‘moorland nymph’, salmonology, seagulls, woodcocks and herons, ravens, and the otter, together with a commentary on ‘modern zoology’, and extensive particulars on the migrations and plumage-phases in certain waders, to which he gave the name ‘Globe-Spanners’.
Profusely illustrated throughout with seventeen wonderful colour illustrations (on fourteen plates) by W.H. Riddell, twenty one black and white plates, two folding maps, and 170 sketches by the author.
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Price HK$ 1,000
La Montre Chinois. Relations de l Horologie Suisse avec la China -
Alfred Chapuis, Gustave Loup
1919 - Attinger Freres, Neuchatel - First Edition
A superb and fine copy, text in French, illustrated with 33 colour and black & white plates, and 245 half-tone illustrations. Included is an introduction on ‘L’Horométrie et le Système cosmologique des Chinois’ by Léopold de Saussure.
A survey of European cosmological instruments and mechanical amusements introduced to the Chinese Imperial Court from the 14th century, and the elaborate Swiss timepieces made for that market in Europe and in China, the first seeming to be by Francois-Louis Stadlin, a Swiss Jesuit in China from 1707-1740. The whole is referenced with texts from the contemporary writings of ambassadors, merchant traders and churchmen; preceded by de Saussure’s essay on ancient Chinese cosmology.
Prominent Swiss makers included Charles de Constant in the 18th century and the Bovet family in the 19th century, and many examples of their timekeepers could be found in the imperial palaces.
Formerly owned by Le Comte Alain de Suzannet.
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Price HK$ 8,000
1919 - Attinger Freres, Neuchatel - First Edition
A superb and fine copy, text in French, illustrated with 33 colour and black & white plates, and 245 half-tone illustrations. Included is an introduction on ‘L’Horométrie et le Système cosmologique des Chinois’ by Léopold de Saussure.A survey of European cosmological instruments and mechanical amusements introduced to the Chinese Imperial Court from the 14th century, and the elaborate Swiss timepieces made for that market in Europe and in China, the first seeming to be by Francois-Louis Stadlin, a Swiss Jesuit in China from 1707-1740. The whole is referenced with texts from the contemporary writings of ambassadors, merchant traders and churchmen; preceded by de Saussure’s essay on ancient Chinese cosmology.
Prominent Swiss makers included Charles de Constant in the 18th century and the Bovet family in the 19th century, and many examples of their timekeepers could be found in the imperial palaces.
Formerly owned by Le Comte Alain de Suzannet.
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Price HK$ 8,000
A Treatise on Cobbett's Corn -
William Cobbett
1828 - By William Cobbett, London - First Edition
In 1820 on returning from the United States, were he had fled fearing arrest for his arguably seditious writings, Cobbett established a plant nursery at Kensington, where he trialed a dwarf strain of maize he found growing in a French cottage garden which grew well in England’s shorter summer. To help sell this variety, Cobbett published Treatise on Cobbett’s Corn. Charmingly written, including anecdotes of his travels through America, and the farming techniques and people he encounters there. The title and contents pages are printed on paper made from the husks and stalks of ‘Indian Corn’ (Maize).
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Price HK$ 2,500
1828 - By William Cobbett, London - First Edition
In 1820 on returning from the United States, were he had fled fearing arrest for his arguably seditious writings, Cobbett established a plant nursery at Kensington, where he trialed a dwarf strain of maize he found growing in a French cottage garden which grew well in England’s shorter summer. To help sell this variety, Cobbett published Treatise on Cobbett’s Corn. Charmingly written, including anecdotes of his travels through America, and the farming techniques and people he encounters there. The title and contents pages are printed on paper made from the husks and stalks of ‘Indian Corn’ (Maize).
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Price HK$ 2,500
The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook Round the World. -
Captain James Cook
1821 - Longman, London
A handsomely bound seven volume set of all of Cook’s three voyages. Illustrated with twenty five striking aquatint plates, including frontispieces in each volume, large folding map, and a table.
‘The famous accounts of Captain Cook’s three voyages form the basis for any collection of Pacific books. In three great voyages Cook did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than all his predecessors had done together. He was really the first scientific navigator and his voyages made great contributions to many fields of knowledge’. [Hill]
On his first voyage, 25 August 1768 to 12 July 1771, Cook circumnavigated New Zealand and for the first time explored the east coast of Australia, of which he took possession for Great Britain; he also sailed through the straits separating New Guinea and Australia. On the second, and historically most important, voyage (13 July 1772 to 30 July 1775) he began by cruising as far south as possible around the edge of the antarctic ice. He again visited New Zealand and, cruising through the Pacific, discovered, or explored again, many of the islands, in particular New Caledonia, Palmerston and Norfolk Islands, Easter Island, the Marquesas, New Hebrides, Tonga, the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia. The third voyage (11 July 1776 to 4 October 1780) was undertaken to find the North-West Passage from Europe to the East. After again visiting Tasmania, New Zealand and many Pacific Islands, Cook sailed on to North America, discovering on the way the Cook Islands and the Hawaiian group. He charted the North American coast from Oregon as far north as the Bering Strait, where ice turned him back. On the way back the great explorer was killed [in 1779] in a fight with natives in Hawaii.
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Price HK$ 52,000
1821 - Longman, London
A handsomely bound seven volume set of all of Cook’s three voyages. Illustrated with twenty five striking aquatint plates, including frontispieces in each volume, large folding map, and a table.‘The famous accounts of Captain Cook’s three voyages form the basis for any collection of Pacific books. In three great voyages Cook did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than all his predecessors had done together. He was really the first scientific navigator and his voyages made great contributions to many fields of knowledge’. [Hill]
On his first voyage, 25 August 1768 to 12 July 1771, Cook circumnavigated New Zealand and for the first time explored the east coast of Australia, of which he took possession for Great Britain; he also sailed through the straits separating New Guinea and Australia. On the second, and historically most important, voyage (13 July 1772 to 30 July 1775) he began by cruising as far south as possible around the edge of the antarctic ice. He again visited New Zealand and, cruising through the Pacific, discovered, or explored again, many of the islands, in particular New Caledonia, Palmerston and Norfolk Islands, Easter Island, the Marquesas, New Hebrides, Tonga, the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia. The third voyage (11 July 1776 to 4 October 1780) was undertaken to find the North-West Passage from Europe to the East. After again visiting Tasmania, New Zealand and many Pacific Islands, Cook sailed on to North America, discovering on the way the Cook Islands and the Hawaiian group. He charted the North American coast from Oregon as far north as the Bering Strait, where ice turned him back. On the way back the great explorer was killed [in 1779] in a fight with natives in Hawaii.
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Price HK$ 52,000
The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook, with "The Death of Captain Cook" Plate -
James Cook, John Hawkesworth, James King
1773 - Strahan, London - Second Edition, First Edition, Second Edition
A complete set of the best possible editions, superbly bound in full tree calf and with the additional ‘Death of Captain Cook’ drawn by the John Weber who witnessed the dispute and ensuing fight. Eight quarto volumes and the elephant folio volume of plates. Magnificently illustrated with two hundred and five engraved charts and plates, many of which are double page or larger.
There is no greater set of travel works, Cook was the first scientific navigator, these three voyages made great contributions to numerous fields of knowledge,, and did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than his predecessors had done together [Hill].
The first voyage is in its second and best edition, complete with the ‘Directions for placing the cuts’ and the ‘Chart of the Straights of Magellan’, and with the new Preface containing Hawkesworth's virulent eight-page reply to Dalrymple's whining reviews of the first edition, and the whole volume revised by the voyage's astronomer William Wales.
The third voyage is in its second and best edition, with the printing by Hughs (rather than Strahan who printed the first edition) with the text itself entirely re-set. Isaac Smith presenting a set on behalf of Cook's widow in 1821 noted that 'I am desired by Mrs Cook to request your acceptance of the 4 books sent herewith being her Husbands last Voyage round the World, as a mark of her respect the letter press of the second edition being much superior to the first both in paper & letter press' (quoted by Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography, 85). King George III's copy of the official account, preserved in the British Library, is also an example of this second edition. This particular set with variant title pages, dated correctly, but without edition statement or vignette of Royal Society medal.
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Price HK$ 430,000
1773 - Strahan, London - Second Edition, First Edition, Second Edition
A complete set of the best possible editions, superbly bound in full tree calf and with the additional ‘Death of Captain Cook’ drawn by the John Weber who witnessed the dispute and ensuing fight. Eight quarto volumes and the elephant folio volume of plates. Magnificently illustrated with two hundred and five engraved charts and plates, many of which are double page or larger.There is no greater set of travel works, Cook was the first scientific navigator, these three voyages made great contributions to numerous fields of knowledge,, and did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than his predecessors had done together [Hill].
The first voyage is in its second and best edition, complete with the ‘Directions for placing the cuts’ and the ‘Chart of the Straights of Magellan’, and with the new Preface containing Hawkesworth's virulent eight-page reply to Dalrymple's whining reviews of the first edition, and the whole volume revised by the voyage's astronomer William Wales.
The third voyage is in its second and best edition, with the printing by Hughs (rather than Strahan who printed the first edition) with the text itself entirely re-set. Isaac Smith presenting a set on behalf of Cook's widow in 1821 noted that 'I am desired by Mrs Cook to request your acceptance of the 4 books sent herewith being her Husbands last Voyage round the World, as a mark of her respect the letter press of the second edition being much superior to the first both in paper & letter press' (quoted by Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography, 85). King George III's copy of the official account, preserved in the British Library, is also an example of this second edition. This particular set with variant title pages, dated correctly, but without edition statement or vignette of Royal Society medal.
More details
Price HK$ 430,000