Travel
[Beckford (William)] Recollections of an Excursion to the Monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha.
By the author of "Vathek"
London, Richard Bentley, 1835.
First edition. 8vo. Engraved mezzotint portrait frontispiece, half-title, xi, 228pp. Later full tan morocco gilt, by Riviere.
An attractive association copy of Vathek author William Beckford's memoir of his travels in Portugal. Beckford first travelled to Portugal in 1787, mostly staying in the environs of Lisbon and Sintra; he returned in 1793, taking up residence in a coastal villa overlooking the Tagus estuary, from where he planned this excursion to the nearby monasteries. Although he found Alcobaça gloomy and "Saxon", Batalha intrigued and enchanted him. It was also said to have had a significant influence on various aspects of his famous, constantly evolving designs for Fonthill Abbey.
This copy is from the library of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, with his bookplate and Epsom library bookstamp - many of the books from "The Durdans" were sold at auction in 1933, including eighty-six Beckford titles, which is presumably when this book came onto the market. The Rosebery family has a long association with Beckford, bibliographically, the first Lord Rosebery buying prodigiously from the auction of Beckford's library at the Hamilton Palace sales in the 1880s. Further books and manuscripts from the Rosebery family collection, housed in Barnbougle Castle in Scotland, were sold at auction in 2009.
London, Bles, 1937.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original red cloth, dust-jacket, priced 8s6d.
Attractive first UK edition of this important work by the author of The Grand Hotel, set during the 1906 Dutch intervention in Bali.
Being an account of a sojourn in the White Sea Monastery and a journey by the old trade route from the Arctic Sea to Moscow
London, Wells, Gardner, Darton, 1893.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth.
A lovely copy of this book by one of the founders of Pentecostalism in Britain.
London, Clarion Press, 1940. 2 vol. (all published). Mixed edition. Small 8vo. Original blue printed wrappers. An important, oft-referenced book on all things relating to the Seychelles, the first volume dedicated to the history of the archipelago, and the second focussing on other elements including geology, botany, zoology, agriculture and economy. A third volume was planned, relating to the British Occupation, but it was never published. Rare.
Travel
...Rambles in a rural, old-fashioned country, with chat about its history and romance. Illustrated by photographs
London, Foulsham, 1933.
New Edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket.
Originally published in 1916, and followed by several other titles in a similar vein by this author, this "New Edition" is newly illustrated and delightfully dust-jacketed. A cycle trip around Lancashire.
The experiences of a naturalist with the "St. George" Expedition
London, Hutchinson, [1926].
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 18/-.
A picturesque account of of travel on the yacht "St. George" among some of the little-known islands of the South Seas, from Easter Island to Rapa and the Marquesas.
Travel
London, Harrap, 1938.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 9/-.
Amelia Earhart's absorbing account of her ill-fated last flight around the world, begun in 1937, comprising her diary entries and other notes - a classic of aviation history. Amelia Earhart was twice the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air: initially in 1928 as a passenger just a year after Lindbergh's pioneering flight and then in 1932, flying solo.
Second impression, Stanley Paul, [1930]. The wrapper is unpriced but identical to first (which is priced 7/6 on spine) and list of titles on back panel. The lack of a price may imply it was a copy intended for export.
South Africa 1929
n.p., International Geological Congress, [1929].
Index, introduction (fold-out black and white colour maps) + 22 booklets (incomplete, lacking 1 issue 'C19'), with additional general programme (32 pages + pull-out map). 8vo. Loose as issued, housed in original grey cloth slip-case with French title and the Congress logo to spine.
An important series of pamphlets published for the International Geological Congress of 1929, including contributions by noted geologists such as du Toit, Rogers, Haughton, Hall & Wagner and others, being guides to accompany delegates on excursions all over South Africa to various geologically noteworthy sites. Places include Chapman's Peak & the peninsula, Kimberley, Pilanesberg, Pretoria salt-pan and iron ore deposits, Vredefort, the Eastern Escarpment, Port Elizabeth, southern & northern Rhodesia, among others. Rare.
Travel
London, William Heinemann, 1922.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in black. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
This tale of diplomatic and social life on the Bosphorus, a certain number of years ago, has the exciting elements of the 'spy' story... (jacket blurb). Seemingly scarce in the jacket.
and the Million Elephants
London, Rich & Cowan, [1936].
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 12/6.
A fascinating account of a journey through the jungles of Indo-China. The photographic illustrations are by Gertrude Legendre née Sanford, an American woman of rather remarkable qualities: socialite, spy, explorer big game hunters, environmentalist and plantation owner, to name a few. She met Sidney Legendre during an expedition in Abyssinia.
A Yarn of the Papuan Gulf
London, Ward & Downey, 1888.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial blue cloth.
A very nice first edition of the scarce first book by this well-known author & artist, best remembered for his ghost stories and weird fiction. Nisbet was born in Scotland, but moved to Australia at the age of 15, with many of his works based on or inspired by his travels in that region of the world.
London, Heinemann, 1963.
First edition. 8vo. Original burgundy boards. Dust-jacket, priced 21s.
The important consideration on the history and development of Ghana, by the Ghanaian politician, political theorist and revolutionary Kwame Nkrumah, who served as the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957.
being a record of travel in Southern Arabia. With an appendix on the rock inscriptions by A.F.L. Beeston.
London, Methuen, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 25s.
A very good first edition of Philby's account of his journey from Central Asia to the Indian Ocean, in his role as Ibn Saud's official advisor. An important work, notable for Philby being the first European to enter Abha, capital of Najran, the frontier district between the Wahhabis and the Yemenites, and the second to visit Shabwa, where he was the first to thoroughly examine the city's ruins.
being a description of the Great South Desert of Arabia known as Rub' al Khali
London, Cassell, 1933.
First edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth.
Philby embarked on notable journeys, most significantly across the 'empty quarter' in 1932, travelling by camel and car. He meticulously documented geographical and scientific data, secretly recording his findings at night, wary of his distrustful Arab companions.
The startling story of an English woman who failed to secure common justice from the government of South Africa
London, Trefoil Publishing Company, 1933.
First edition. Signed presentation inscription from the author. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Full length inscription by the author on the front inside flap of the jacket, written in November 1932, describing the recipient, one [?]Mrs Jeffreys, as a "shining light" and passing on Christmas greetings.
Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesian Printers Ltd, 1956.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket.
A very good first edition of this fascinating work on the modern history and development of Katanga, one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914, written by someone who was actively involved over various periods of time.
London, John Murray, 1940.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, neatly price-clipped.
An important work in which the author describes her travels in the late 1930s through what is now Yemen and depicts the culture of the region.
London, John Murray, 1937.
First UK edition, second enlarged edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 12s 5d.
Scarce in the dust-jacket. This 'second edition' builds considerably upon the Baghdad edition of 1932, including the addition of ten sketches.
London, The Graphic, 1890.
Folio. 26pp including the wrappers.
A very fine example of this iconic piece of Africana, focusing on the explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley.
London, Longmans, 1959.
First edition. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, priced 35/.
The famous account of the author's five year stay in the Empty Quarter.
First edition, 2 volumes,
London, Sampson Low, 1888
A Haggardesque tale written in collaboration with a female novelist presumably drawing on Thomson’s own experiences in Central and Eastern Africa.
Thomson was a Scottish geologist and explorer who played an important part in the Scramble for Africa. Ulu is his only work of fiction and very rare in commerce.
South Africa, Trigonometric Survey Office, [c.1945]. 4 volumes (complete). Small folio (c. 340 x 210 mm) when closed. Large linen-backed folding maps in original pictorial boards. A complete set of this important work relating to the air routes in Africa at the time, comprising: Ndola/Germiston, Ndola/Nairobi Kisumu, Nairobi Kisumu/Khartoum and Cairo/Khartoum. The scale is 1:1,000,000. The maps show air routes, aerodromes, landing grounds, prohibited areas, air corridors, overhead high tension cables and magnetic course. Rare complete.
Knap U Engels Op (Brush up your English)
London, Dent, 1941.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
From the famous 'Brush Up' series.
London, Hogarth Press, 1934.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, 7s6d.
The first edition of Van der Post's first novel, published under the aegis of Leonard & Virginia Woolf's Hogarth Press. The work was considered significant at the time due to its perspective on race relations in South Africa. An attractively jacketed first edition.
Australia
London, George Routledge and Sons, 1877.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth stamped in black & gilt.
A superior example of the first UK edition of this the second part of three (the others being 'South America' and 'New Zealand').