Travel

Showing all 33 results

£85



London, Jarrolds, 1957.

First edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.

A motorcycle tour through Switzerland and Italy to the continent of Africa.

£1,250


Fifty years' experiences of a foreigner in the Chinese government service
London, Constable, 1931.

First edition. Inscribed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket with mounted colour illustration, priced 21/-.

Inscribed on the half-title with the authors compliments, with the dedicatee's name and official Peking stamps beneath.

£225


A Historical and Intimate Description of its Chief Places of Interest
Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hankow, Yokohama, Kelly & Walsh, 1920.

First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth stamped in black and gilt.

A very good copy of this important essay on Peking in the 1920s, by an author who lived in China for many years and is well-regarded for her observations of Chinese life and history.

£275


A Diary of Tragic Adventure
London, John Murray, 1937.

First edition. 8vo. Original pale blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 6s.

The tragic true story of Edgar Christian, who, along with his cousin John Hornby and another companion, starved to death in the Barren Lands of the Canadian Arctic during an ill-fated expedition in the late 1920s. This edition had sections removed, possibly due to perceived implications of homosexuality, with a fuller version published in 1980 as Death in the Barren Ground.

£250



South Africa, The Automobile Association of South Africa, 1939.

First edition. 8vo. Original cloth, gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 20/-.

An attractive guide to the then blossoming road routes that were opening up South Africa to the tourist.

£135



London, Elkin, Mathews & Marrot, 1936.

8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 18/-.

Great jacket artwork graces this narrative of a journey from Cape Town to Cairo, undertaken in 1928. Originally published in 1931.

£195



London, Robert Hale, 1946.

First trade edition. 8vo. Original red cloth with gilt image stamped to upper cover. Dust-jacket, priced 16s.

A collection of essays written in the 1930s concerning the author's sojourn in Arabia. First published in 1943 by the Golden Cockerel Press.

£295



London, Seeley, 1910.

First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth gilt, gilt vignette to upper cover, top edge gilt.

An important account of the Rendille peoples of the northern Eastern province of Kenya, near Lake Stefanie. Uncommon.

£400


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.

£75



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.

£75


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.

£280

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.

£250


...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.

£95


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.

£325



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.

£125



London, Methuen, 1915.

First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth lettered in blind to upper cover and gilt to spine.

Grace Ellison (d. 1935) was a journalist and suffragette with a fascination for Turkish culture. This book, first published in 1915, is a collection of accounts originally written for The Daily Telegraph about her stay in the harem of a Turkish nobleman. Keen to dispel the sensationalist Western view of the harem, Ellison paints an intimate portrait of the luxurious but secluded life of women in their segregated portion of the household. Subjects covered include fashion, social events, polygamy and the bonds between family members.

£250

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.

£325


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.

£120



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.

£175


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.

£225


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.

£225



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.

£495


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.

£395


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.

£250


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.

£125



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.

£95



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.

£575



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.

£150



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.

£600

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.

£195

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.

£75


Knap U Engels Op (Brush up your English)
London, Dent, 1941.

First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.

From the famous 'Brush Up' series.

£1,375



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.