Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

HAZLITT, William. Political Essays, with Sketches of Public Characters. London: for William Hone, 1819. First edition, 8vo (214 x 128mm.) (Browning, spotting to front and rear leaves.) Near contemporary half calf over marbled paper-covered boards, morocco lettering piece to the spine (spine heavily sunned, inner hinge weakened, rubbing to all extremities). Provenance: Richard Tidswell (bookplate to front pastedown). Note: after many years of being out-of-print, Hazlitt's work is gaining in recognition, especially since the publication of 'Day-Star of Liberty', a critical work on Hazlitt by poet Tom Paulin. - And a further three volumes by William Hazlitt (including 'A View of the English Stage', 1818, 8vo, and 'Lectures on the English Poets', 1818, 8vo) (4).

ITALY. - Patrick BRYDONE. A Tour Through Sicily and Malta. London: W. Strahan, and T. Cadell, 1773. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (213 x 127mm.) Errata leaf to rear of volume 1. (Toning, closed tear to F1 in volume 1, minor soiling to K8 in volume 2, minor damp-staining to front-free endpaper of volume 2.) Contemporary calf, red morocco lettering pieces to the spines (rubbing to extremities). Note: the first edition was issued without a map. Provenance: 'Legard' (?) family (bookplate to front pastedown); Richard Brettingham (bookplate to the front pastedown); Mae Waterhouse (ink name to front pastedown) (2).

ITALY. - Patrick BRYDONE. A Tour Through Sicily and Malta. London: W. Strahan, and T. Cadell, 1773. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (213 x 127mm.) Errata leaf to rear of volume 1. (Toning, closed tear to F1 in volume 1, minor soiling to K8 in volume 2, minor damp-staining to front-free endpaper of volume 2.) Contemporary calf, red morocco lettering pieces to the spines (rubbing to extremities). Note: the first edition was issued without a map. Provenance: 'Legard' (?) family (bookplate to front pastedown); Richard Brettingham (bookplate to the front pastedown); Mae Waterhouse (ink name to front pastedown). - And a further two volumes relating to Malta (4).

PALERMO. - Girolamo MATRANGA. Discorsi Sagri Accademici. Palermo: Decio Cirillo, 1645. 8vo (207 x 144mm.) Engraved device to title, engraved headpieces. (Lacking front blanks, some marginal damp-staining to preliminaries, marginal worm damage throughout, toning.) Contemporary limp vellum, manuscript lettering to spine (loss to top of spine, minor soiling). Note: rare. No copies recorded on Jisc. - And a further volume ('Novum Testamentum', 1679, 12mo) (2).

WOODS, Julian E. Tenison. A History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1865. 2 vols., 8vo (222 x 135mm.) Half-titles, lithographed frontispiece, map in volume 1, large folding map in pocket to rear of volume 2. (Textblock of volume 2 cracked in two places, textblock of volume 1 entirely detached from boards, toning.) Original blind-stamped red cloth (worn). Provenance: W.E. Frere (bookplates to front pastedowns, and ink inscribed to titles). - And a further volume relating to Australia (volume 2 of Charles Sturt's 'Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, During the Years 1828, 1829, 1830, and 1831', vol. 2. (only) of 2 vols., 1833, 8vo) (3).

MITCHELL, Thomas Livingstone. Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, with Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix and of the Present Colony of New South Wales. London: T. and W. Bone, 1838. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (213 x 126mm.) Pictorial lithographed titles, 50 lithographed plates and maps, 7 coloured and several folding, 1 large fold-out map. (Lacking publisher's advertisements, large tear along crease of map, small paper repairs verso map, toning and light spotting throughout.) Near contemporary black half morocco over buckram-covered boards, gilt lettering to spines (surface rubbing and to extremities). Provenance: Radcliffe Library, Oxford (stamps to title-pages, pastedowns and verso a frontispiece) (2).

GREY, George. Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, During the Years 1837, 38, and 39. London: T. and W. Boone, 1841. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (226 x 139mm.) 2 folding engraved maps by John Arrowsmith in front pocket of volume 1, 6pp. of publisher's advertisements to front and 16pp. to the rear of volume 1, 22 lithographed plates, of which 6 with hand-colouring, 4pp. of publisher's advertisements to front of volume 2, including for John Gould's 'Birds of Australia'. (Toning, spotting to plate margins, plates to rear of volume 2 with damp-staining, and damp-staining to pastedowns of volume 2.) Original brown blind-stamped cloth (worn).

LE VAILLANT, Francois. New Travels into the Interior Parts of Africa by Way of The Cape of Good Hope, in the Years 1783, 84 and 85. London: for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1796. 3 vols., first English translation, 8vo (223 x 138mm.) Half-titles, 23 engraved plates, including 6 folding engraved plates with 1 map in outline hand-colouring. (1 plate loose and pp.115-126 loose in volume 2, occasional browning, toning, spotting to plate margins, occasional marginal loss and trimming.) Contemporary cloth-backed boards, paper labels mounted to spines (wear and some loss to all spines, upper cover of volume 3 nearly detached, worn). - And a further two volumes (the first English translation of Francois le Vaillant's two earlier volumes 'Travels into the Interior Parts of Africa, By Way of the Cape of Good Hope; in the Years 1780, 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85', 2 vols., 1790, 8vo) (5).

EYRE, Edward John. Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia, and Overland From Adelaide to King George's Sound in the years 1840-1… including an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines and the State of their Relations with Europeans. London: T. and W. Boone, 1845. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (222 x 138mm.) 1 folding cloth-backed engraved map by John Arrowsmith with partial hand-colouring to rear pocket of volume 1, 22 engraved or lithographed plates, 2pp. of publisher's advertisements to front of volume 1 and 4pp. to the rear, 4pp. to the front of volume 2 and 8pp. to the rear of volume 2. (Moderate spotting to most plates, sometimes heavy, lacking 1 map.) Original green blind-stamped cloth (front endpaper replaced, worn).

AFRICA. - Joseph THOMSON. To the Central African Lakes and Back: the Narrative of the Royal Geographical Society's East Central African Expedition, 1878-80. London: Sampson Low, Marston et al., 1881. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (189 x 124mm.) Albumen portraits of Keith Johnston and Joseph Thomson mounted as frontispieces, 2 large folding colour maps. (Spotting to preliminaries of volume 2 and to fore-edges, pencil annotation to rear endpaper of volume 1, a wave to frontispiece of same volume, a 1-inch tear to one map, lacking publisher's catalogue.) Original brown cloth, gilt lettering to spines (burn mark to upper cover of volume 2). Note: Thomson accompanied Keith Johnston on the expedition from Dar es Salaam to the Lakes Nyasa and Tanganika, but when Johnston died on the expedition Thomson took over the leadership and became the first European to cross the 250-mile plateau between the two lakes.

AUSTRALIA. - William HARDMAN (editor). Explorations in Australia. The Journals of John McDouall Stuart During the Years 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, & 1862. London: Saunders Otley & Co., 1864. First edition, signed and inscribed by John McDouall Stuart, 8vo (222 x 139mm.) Oval albumen portrait of John McDouall mounted as frontispiece, 1 large folding map in rear pocket, and another map, both hand-coloured, 12 wood-engraved plates by George French Angas. (Spotting to frontispiece and to inscription verso, textblock cracking in several places, tear to rear pocket.) Original red cloth (worn). Provenance: Roderick Murchison, geologist (gift inscribed to by John McDouall Stuart verso the frontispiece).

GILES, Ernest. Australia Twice Traversed: The Romance of Exploration… Into and Through Central South Australia, and Western Australia, from 1872 to 1876. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1889. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (222 x 143mm.) 21 plates, 6 folding maps with colour, numerous illustrations. (Toning, a tear to one map, moderate spotting to preliminaries and rear leaves.) Original blue pictorial cloth (slight rubbing and sunning to spines, and abrasion to spine panel of volume 2). [Wantrup 202a, 'arguably the most handsomely produced of late nineteenth century Australian books'] (2).

HARRIS, William Cornwallis. The Wild Sports of Southern Africa. London: William Pickering, 1841. Third edition, 8vo (244 x 168mm.) Additional hand-coloured lithographed title, 24 hand-coloured lithographed plates, folding map to rear. (Lacking frontispiece, marginal spotting to preliminaries, occasional minor soiling, hinges strengthened.) Original green blind-stamped and decorative gilt covers, g.e. (rebacked, original spine laid-down, minor soiling to lower cover, rubbing). Provenance: W. Long (pencil inscribed to front free-endpaper). - And a further related volume (David and Charles Livingstone's 'Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries', 1865, 8vo) (2).

MITCHELL, Thomas Livingstone. Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, with Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix and of the Present Colony of New South Wales. London: T. and W. Bone, 1838. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (221 x 137mm.) Pictorial lithographed titles, 50 lithographed plates and maps, 5 coloured and several folding, 1 large linen-backed map to rear of volume 1 and 16pp. publisher's advertisements to rear of volume 1. (2 plates loosening, browning and spotting sometimes heavy, especially in volume 1.) Original green cloth, gilt vignettes to spines (textblock of volume 1 entirely detached from covers, staining, worn) (2).

MAWSON, Douglas. The Home of the Blizzard., Being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914. London: William Heinemann, 1915. 2 vols., first edition, large 8vo (244 x 171mm.) 2 photogravure frontispieces with tissue-guards, 18 colour plates with captioned tissue-guards, numerous half-tone photographic plates, 13 folding panoramas and 3 folding maps in rear pocket of volume 2. (Toning, light spotting, occasionally moderate to heavy, spotting to fore-edge, some browning.) Original blue cloth, silver vignettes to upper covers and gilt lettering (lightly bumped, mark to upper cover of volume 2) (2).

MOUNTAINEERING. - C.K. HOWARD-BURY. Mount Everest, The Reconnaissance, 1921. London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1922. First edition, large 8vo (252 x 168mm.) Frontispiece with tissue-guard, 32 plates, 3 folding maps to rear. (Toning, light to moderate spotting, a 3-inch tear to one map.) Original blue cloth (lightly rubbed, staining to upper cover). Provenance: Edith M. Pateman (ink name to front-free endpaper). - And a further ten volumes relating to mountaineering and travel (including Frederick Hardman's 'Scenes and Adventures in Central America', 1852, 8vo, and H.D. Inglis's 'A Personal Narrative of a Journey Through Norway, Part of Sweden, and the Islands and States of Denmark', 1835, 8vo) (11).

AMERICA. - Miguèl VENEGAS. Noticia de la California, y Desu Conquista Temporal, y Espiritual Hasta el Tiempo Presente. Madrid: Imprenta de la Viuda de Manuel Fernandez, 1757. 2 vols. (of 3). First edition, small 4to (202 x 141mm.) 1 engraved folding map. (Lacking 3 maps, spotting to map, corner loss to initial blank of volume 3, toning, spotting to fore-edges, upper hinge of volume 2 broken, lacking rear blank of volume 3.) Original vellum, title in manuscript to spines (lacking ties, minor soiling). Note: contains the first description of California and to put the rest the myth that it was an island.

RICHARDSON, Robert. Travels Along the Mediterranean… extending as far as the Second Cataract of the Nile, Jerusalem, Damascus, Balbec, &c. London: T. Cadell, 1822. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (214 x 130mm.) 6 lithographed plates, 1 hand-coloured, 2 folding engraved plans. (Lacking half-titles, browning, spotting to all plates and occasionally heavy to text.) Contemporary cloth, brown morocco lettering pieces to the spines (spotting, fading, some discolouring to cloth). Note: mainly relates to the Middle East rather than the Mediterranean.

PERIEGETES, Dionysios. Dionysios Oikumenes Periegesis. [In Greek.] Dionysii Orbis Descriptio cum Eustathii Commentariis et Anonymi Paraphrasi Graeca. Oxford: Sheldon theatre, 1717. 8vo (186 x 114mm.) Engraved allegorical frontispiece, 4 folding engraved maps of Africa, Greece, Asia and Europe, 17pp. index to rear, parallel texts in Latin and Greek, commentary in Greek. (Browning, light to moderate spotting, initial blanks nearly detached, indecipherable ink name verso the frontispiece, ink marks verso the last leaf.) Contemporary calf (rubbing). Provenance: Richard Dodsley (ink name to initial blank).