You can download the PDF file for this catalogue here - Fifty Unique Items.
Right click and select Save Target As to save to your computer.

Fifty Unique Items
Albums, Archives, Books (with letters etc), Drawings, Letters, Manuscripts, Photographs & Watercolors

If you wish to purchase any item please email us at: wayfarers@shaw.ca

---

1. [BATTLE OF OMDURMAN]
Manuscript Notes of an Eye-Witnesses Account of the Battle of Omdurman, 1898.
Lymington, ca. 1898. 4 pages. Pages: ca. 22 x 15 cm ( 9 x 6 inches) each. The pages and envelope are in very good condition and written in a legible hand.
From the papers of Eva Ducat, niece of Charles Baron Clarke, sometime Director of Kew and noted plant-hunter. Presumably the account was dictated to Eva Ducat (sample of her hand enclosed for comparison), presumably by a relative (several Ducats appear in the records as military or naval, including "Gen. Ducat" referred to in correspondence from the botanist, C.B. Clarke, her uncle, and presumably her father).

The account commences: "Battle of Omdurman. / Encamped 5 or 6 miles outside City. Khalifa had force of 60,000 men, drew them up outside city day before. British force drawn up in form of horse-shoe with flanks on river. Camel corps on extreme right. (Archie Hamilton general.) If attacked at night our men wd have been [?] up. Kitchener kept all prisoners taken in the2 days march; put them in hut when about 8 miles from Omdurman, held a false [sic] Council of War [?] them in wh. Determined to attack Khalifa that night. Then allowed them to escape." He describes the night when many soldiers had to walk up and down all night, a false alarm, description of the Khalifa's forces (brown men - cruel Bagarras [sic]) and black "with thick etc etc"). "Put bullets in billies of dead animals over night that they might be unclean & so prevent wounded fm going to heaven." Their fighting ability, military disposition, use of maxim guns, appearance of dervish army, their attack, quote of "Etches" who asked if advancing army "Friendlies", the part played by the zaruba, "Fine night to see 21st Lancer charge. Egyptian cavalry made to ride after fugitives (all they were fit for)", Egyptians sent forward to finish off those lying on the field, incident with "nigger", incident with "Pathfinder" Sergeant and axe, surrender, entry to Omdurman, giving a woman "silver 20 piatsre piece- took it in her hand, spat on it, & flung it at me", burying the dead, having to carry them ("ugh!"), description of the "Khalifa's rule" (cruelty). The notes then change subject for a paragraph on Kitchener [?] during the Boer War: "At Blomfontein left 40,000 men for 6 weeks outside the town in mud instead of quartering them on town [6000 died of dysentery]. Nothing to eat or buy..." Kitchener not a favourite.
"At the Battle of Omdurman (2 September 1898), an army commanded by the British General Sir Herbert Kitchener defeated the army of Abdullah al-Taashi, the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad. It was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined European-led army equipped with modern rifles and artillery over a vastly larger force of tribesmen armed with older weapons, and marked the success of British efforts to re-conquer the Sudan. However, it was not until the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat, a year later, that the final Mahdist forces were defeated"(Wikipedia).
$2500USD

2. [BRITISH COLUMBIA], HMS Termagant
Manuscript Journal by Ship's Engineer J. Sanders which covers the Period of 1 January 1856 (Port Royal, Jamaica) to 1 November 1862 (‘Proceeding from Honolulu to England’).
1856-1862. Octavo. Ca. 80 leaves. Ninety-four pages of text, twenty-five pages (including front endpapers) of diagrams in pencil and ink. Eleven tables (two not completed) give detailed month-by-month breakdowns of 'Fires Lighted', Ocham, Oil, Coal, Tallow, etc. Period brown full calf with brass clasp. Extremities mildly rubbed, otherwise a very good copy.
Includes an account of the celebrated incident in which the ship ran a ground in Active Pass, near Galiano Island, British Columbia: '22nd. [September 1860] Raised Propeller and took all the Bolts out of After Cupling of Shaft. 9.30 A.M Whent on the dock, And at 11.50 A.M their being but 51st. Of Water under us on the Dock 6 of the Sections out of 16 gave way and Sank having put us on our Beamends twice when the rest sank and we righted again, but we could not get off it. Laid fires and connected after length of Shaft.' Painstaking account of matters relating to the ship's propeller-driven engine - performance, use, repair, cleaning, etc. Also records ports of call, events on board (courts martial, plays, etc), weather conditions, encounters with other ships, taking on of coal and distilling of water.
"HMS Termagant was a wooden screw frigate, launched in 1847 and sold in 1867" (Wikipedia).
Worldnavalships.com:
"TERMAGANT: commissioned 29 January 1859 at Portsmouth by Captain Robert Hall:
Feb 1859: at Portsmouth, fitting & storing
24 Feb: out of harbour, to anchor at Spithead
26 Feb: inspected by Admiral Sir George Seymour ....the gallant admiral was received onboard with manned yards and having inspected every department complimented Captain Hall on the state of efficiency of his ship and sailor-like appearance of his crew. On leaving the ship a salute of 17 guns was fired which was acknowledged by the Victory flagship.
2 March: sailed Spithead for exercise and training & then joined Channel Fleet
Between March and July 1859 she was part of the Channel Fleet, usually at Plymouth or Portland area
18 May: at Southampton providing escort for arrival of two Portuguese frigates carrying Prince George & his new bride the Portuguese Infanta; Termagant manned her yards and fired a royal salute as the royal couple disembarked
June: to the Channel Islands to collect volunteers for the Navy
Late July/early August: at Devonport, defect repairs
8 August: sailed Devonport for South America
Sept: called at Rio de Janeiro
October: arrived on station
October 1859 - January 1860, remained River Plate/ Montevideo area
6 February 1860: sailed for the Pacific in company with the gun vessels Forward and Grappler – she towed the gun vessels for some # 3
of the time
31 March: at Valparaiso
27 April - sailed Valparaiso for Canada
May arrived Esquimalt
May to September remained vicinity Vancouver / Esquimalt / Nanaimo
31 July: ran aground off San Juan, Vancouver; ship managed to get free but sustained severe damage. Made her way to San Francisco, ...in an excessively leaky condition escorted by the Ganges
September: at San Francisco to be placed in the sectional floating dock at Mare Island
22 Sep: while being docked the sections partially collapsed, flooding the dry dock and causing further damage to the ship, which was #3
extricated with difficulty.
October-November: under repair at Mare Island
8 December: sailed for the coast of Mexico
December 1860 - July 1862: remained on Central American station, usually off the coast of Mexico (Acapulco - Coibai - Mazatlan) or at Panama.
July 1862: conveyed British Commissioner for the Sandwich Islands to Hawaii
8 September: sailed Honolulu
7 November: sailed Falkland Islands
29 Dec: arrived Spithead
9 January 1863: ship paid off into reserve
Over 100 men reported to have deserted during the commission, most of them when in San Francisco"
$1250USD

3. [CHARCOT], [Jean-Baptiste] (1867-1936)
[Charcot French Antarctic Expedition: Set of Ninety-Nine Glass Stereo Positive Slides Showing Images from the Charcot French Antarctic Expedition with the Ship Français Which Explored the West coast of Graham Land, Antarctica from 1904 until 1905].
Graham Land, Antarctica, 1904-1905. Ninety-Nine glass stereo positive slides, each 4.5 x 11 cm (1.75 x4.25 inches). The glass stereo positive slides are generally in very good condition and housed in a custom made wooden box. Several slides with chips affecting images, otherwise a very good set.
The generally strong images of these lecture stereo slides of this early land exploration of the Antarctic continent show the Antarctic terrain, caves, ice bergs, camp life, scientific studies and activities, penguins and the ship 'Francais.'
"Jean-Baptiste Charcot was appointed leader of the French Antarctic Expedition with the ship Français which explored the west coast of Graham Land from 1904 until 1905. The expedition reached Adelaide Island in 1905 and took pictures of the Palmer Archipelago and Loubet Coast. They roughly surveyed the SW coast of Anvers Island in 1904.., [Then] Loubet Land was explored in January 1905 and named after Émile Loubet, the then President of France.., Logistics support for this expedition was provided by the Argentine Navy, employing the legendary corvette ARA Uruguay" (Wikipedia).
"Charcot returned to a hero's welcome. The expedition had lost not a single life, almost a thousand miles of coast had been charted, and the first accurate map of the western archipelago of Graham Land had been compiled" (Howgego 1850-1940, Polar Regions C8).
$9750USD

4. [DEATH OF COOK] WILLIAMSON, John, died 1798
[Rare Signed Document from the Commander of the Launch that Could have Potentially Saved Captain Cook from his Death]. Document Signed and Dated Spithead, 10th April 1782 certifying to the Lords of the Admiralty that "Mr William Collis served as Lieutenant of His Majesty’s Bomb Vessel Vesuvius under my Command from the 2nd November 1781 to the date Hereof, and Complied with the General Printed Instructions."
Spithead, Hampshire, 1782. 1 page. Ca. 14.5 x 18.5 cm (5.5 x 7.5 inches). The document is in very good condition and is written in a clearly legible hand.
John Williamson sailed on Cook's third voyage and started the voyage as third lieutenant and was "an unpopular member of the crew. At odds with everyone including Cook. Unlike Cook, he was prepared to shoot to kill and disapproved of many aspects of island life, finding them improper. Trevenen described him as 'a wretched, feared & hated by his inferiors. Detested by his equals, & despised by his superiors; a very devil, to whom none of our midshipmen have spoke for above a year.' Griffen wrote that he was 'a very bad man & great Tyrant.'
Williamson was in command of the launch at Kealakeua Bay when Cook died. He claimed to have misunderstood Cook's signals, which led to him being blamed by some for not doing sufficient to save his colleagues. He is supposed to have fought duels as a result. Williamson kept a log and proceedings from February 1776 until June 1778. Williamson was made post-captain in June 1782. He was appointed captain of HMS Agincourt, a Third Rate of 64 guns, in 1796. He took part in the Battle of Camperdown (Camperduin) against the Dutch off the Dutch coast in October 1797.
Williamson was charged with cowardice, negligence and disaffection that he had held Agincourt back from the fight and not done his utmost to bring the enemy ships to battle. He was court-martialled at Sheerness for his unsatisfactory behaviour. Cowardice only was proven. He was sentenced to be placed at the bottom of the captain's list and rendered incapable of ever serving on board a ship of the Royal Navy. This ended his naval career and he died in 1798. Williamson Passage in Nootka Sound is named for him" (Robson: The Captain Cook Encyclopaedia p.246).'
The official account of Cook's last voyage also questions Williamson's conduct at the scene of the Cook's death: " Our unfortunate Commander, the last time he was seen distinctly, was standing at the water's edge, and calling out to the boats to cease firing, and to pull in. If it be true, as some of those who were present have imagined, that the marines and boat-men had fired without his orders, [then].., it is not improbable..., [that these actions by the marines commanded by Third Lieutenant Williamson] proved fatal to him"(A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, London 1785, Vol. III, p.45-46).
This document was signed by Williamson while he was the Commander of the Bomb Vessel ‘Vesuvius, his first ship after coming back from Cook's Last Voyage. In 1797 William Collis served as 1st Lieutenant of ‘Goliath’ at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
$3250USD

5. [GREENLAND]
[Original Pen and Wash Drawing of the Town of Ivittuut in South Greenland].
Ca. 1865. Single sketch in a contemporary frame, 27 x 31 cm (11 x 12 1/2 inches), matted to approximately 15 x 20 cm (6 x 7 1/2 inches). Drawing and frame in very good condition.
Original pen and wash drawing of the mining town of Ivittuut (formerly Ivigtut), in South Greenland. Contemporary inscriptions on the back of the frame appear to indicate that the drawing is either the basis for, or has been done after, an 1865 photogravure by Thomas Schniat.
"The name of the settlement means the grassy place in Greenlandic. The town has a 5 kilometer road that connects it to Kangilinnguit. Ivittuut is also the only town in Greenland to have roads leading to another town.., Ivittuut stands at the site of the Norse Middle Settlement, which is sometimes considered part of the Western Settlement. This was the smallest of the three settlements, including about 20 farms, and less is known about it than about
either of the others, as no written records survive.., In 1806, cryolite was found in the area, with mining operations starting in 1865. The mineral deposits were exhausted by 1987,and the town lost its economic base. It was abandoned soon after" (Wikipedia).
$2250USD

6. [HAITI] MILNE, Robert
[Life and Trade in Haiti in the Early Nineteenth Century]: Two Autograph Letters Signed, both in English, written from Haiti to his brother Alexander Milne, including descriptions of an interview with King Henry Christophe (A key figure in the Haitian Revolution) and of his palace Sans Souci. With autograph copy of a letter to his father. 18 July 1813 and 4 February 1814; both from 'Cape Henry, Hayti' (Cap Henri, subsequently Cap Haitien, northern Haiti).
Cape Henry, Hayti, 1813-14. Eight & Four Pages. Letters quarto and folio. The two folded letters are written in a legible hand and are in generally good condition
In 1806 Haiti was divided into a southern Republic under Alexandre Pétion, and a northern State under Henri Christophe (1767-1820), who proclaimed himself King of the latter in 1811. The author is a merchant connected with the house of D'Arcy, Didier, Dodge & Co', and the first of these two letters is a substantial and important communication, providing a rare and valuable first-hand account of affairs in Christophe's northern State. As Milne explains at the beginning, the unreliable nature of the post from Haiti required him to make numerous copies of his letters, in the hope that one at least would find its way to its destination.
Letter One (18 July 1813): Foolscap (leaf dimensions 30.5 x 18.5 cm), 7 pp on two bifoliums, with the letter addressed and docketed on the reverse of the last leaf. Text clear and complete: neatly and closely written (for example the second page consists of fifty-one lines). Very good on lightly-foxed paper. 10 cm vertical closed tear to last leaf.
Headed: '20. - Original p[er] Schooner Hotspur, Mr White which sailed for London from hence 23 July This Duplicate, p[er] Schooner Maryann to sail for New Providence 26 July 1813'. He begins by explaining that since 7 May he has written 'by four different conveyances': 'but my letters by these latter opportunities will most probably never reach you [...] In regard to the political affairs of this part of Hayti, it is not prudent to communicate much from hence in writing, and in letters addressed to this place, the subject should never be mentioned, nor even alluded to in the most distant way; as all letters on arrival are opened and read by the Officers of government, and their contents laid before the King in the most minute manner.' Gives further details of censorship ('the natives, [...] to a great degree of error, consider their interest to be in opposition to that of strangers, as we are termed'), before passing on to his own business.
On his arrival 'there was no other merchant vessel in the port', but a ship from London and three schooners from America have 'had an immediate disadvantageous effect on the market'. Gives details and instructions regarding a consignment of coffee loaded onto his ship the Louisa. 'I would much rather run the risk of the seas in good or bad ships as might happen and spend my life as an humble supercargo between Great Britain and this place, than permanently remain here at the head of the first establishment in Cape Henry. It is not many months, since the most horrible events happened, to the richest and best of the native mulattos under this government most materially to the injury of British property; but in regard to it, the like will probably not happen again. There are few strangers who are acquainted with both sides of this island, who would not prefer living under the government of the King to that of the president'.
Describes a meeting, ten days before, with the King: 'I had a good deal of conversation with H.M. Who understands English perfectly well, yet in speaking to an American or British subject, he always chooses to have his own government translator, whose translation he patiently waits, unless like another great ruler, something is said that irritates him, and then he breaks out in such a strain of vehement reply, both in gesture and language, that none but himself dare look up or speak.' Describes the subjects covered in his interview. The King's palace Sans Souci 'is on a scale of magnitude almost equal to any nobleman's house in England, directly off the shores of the island, and the construction of that place, has cost what to a European eye, is a most astonishing achievement of labour; but the external architecture is neither very regular nor very elegant.' Gives its location. 'To enlarge and beautify Sans Souci, the King is daily depriving the buildings of the Cape of every thing, which previous to their conflagration, most contributed to their ornament.' After some domestic communications describes Cap Francois. Lists nine statements by 'that insidious, lying fellow Rouse, who, well knowing that [his letter's] contents would literally be laid before the King of this place'.
Names the 'seven or eight white Europeans' with whom he socialises at his lodgings in a coffee house. Also 'a poor old Frenchwoman who has resided here forty years' and 'a very old Englishwoman, who is in great poverty, and earns what little is required for existence by selling shells'. He and the other English residents were 'highly gratified at learning the result of the battle between the Shannon & Chesapeake frigates. The King has a newspaper containing the particulars, but we strangers cannot be indulged with a sight of it, nor even hear the details stated, although there is not a white man in the place that his not expressed an anxious wish to know every thing about the contest.' Describes how to manage the sending of letters and newspapers to the island.
Letter Two (4 February 1814). 4to, 2 pp, with copy of letter to his father ('Copy of an original letter dated Cape Henry, Hayti 30th November 1813'), 4to, 1 p. Good, on aged and creased paper, with a few words of text adhering to a small scrap of paper torn away on the breaking of the red wax seal, to which it still adheres. A bifolium, with Milne's letter to his brother on both sides of the first leaf, and the copy of his letter to his father on the recto of the second leaf, the verso of which carries the address and docketing. Sent 'p[er] the Spanish Schooner Estrille via St. Thomas'. Writing to his brother Milne gives business instructions and expresses 'satisfaction and exalted pride at the grand events that have taken place at Dresden & Leipsic, as well as the affairs on the side of Spain'. He conveys to his father his deep disappointment at the capture of the Lousia. 'Captain Silk did every thing in his power to prevent the loss of the Lousia, and in a spirited manner resisted capture, at the hazard of all the lives on board'.
$3750USD

7. [PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL]
Relatorio da Commissao Directora da Exposicao Provincial de Pernambuco em 1872. [Report of the Commission Director of the Provincial Exhibition of Pernambuco in 1872]. Royal Copy of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846-1921).
Pernambuco, Brazil: Typographia do Jornal do Recife, 1873. First Edition, Royal Copy. Octavo. ii, 79pp. With five tables, three of which are fold-outs. Original brown gilt tooled full sheep with Royal arms in gilt on front cover and the words 'A Serenissima Princeza Imperial'. Cream silk endpapers and all edges gilt. Internally very good but binding with some worming, otherwise a very good copy.
Very Rare work as no copy found in Worldcat. This report describes the various products and activities of the economy in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco shown at the provincial exhibition in 1872. Then as now the economy of Pernambuco was based on agriculture, animal husbandry and related industries.
$1250USD

8. [POSSIBLY BARNARD?], [Frederick Lamport]
[Manuscript Map of Central Madagascar].
Mar. 17 1848. ca. 32 x 41 cm (13 x 16 inches) Original manuscript map in pen on blueish paper. Folded, slightly age-toned otherwise in very good condition.
This interesting and important map dated March 17th 1848 has the following note:"N.B. Antsianaka, Imerina, and Betsileo are the three most central provinces of Madagascar, and believed to be by far the most populous. The country between the coast and the plateau of the interior is forest and very thinly inhabited."
Possibly drawn by Frederick Lamport Barnard (Author of: 'A three years' cruize in the Mozambique Channel for the suppression of the slave trade'), this map of central Madagascar shows the areas of influence of the London Missionary Society, the Church Missionary Society and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The main cities, mountains and rivers are also drawn in as well as the unexplored areas.
This map of the main population centers of Madagascar was made during the "33-year reign of Queen Ranavalona I (Ranavalona the Cruel), the widow of Radama I, began inauspiciously with the queen murdering the dead king’s heir and other relatives. The aristocrats and sorcerers (who had lost influence under the liberal régime of the previous two Merina kings) re-asserted their power during the reign of Ranavalona I. The queen repudiated the treaties that Radama I had signed with Britain..., She issued a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity in Madagascar, expelled British missionaries from the island, and persecuted Christian converts who would not renounce their religion.
Christian customs are not the customs of our ancestors, she explained. The queen scrapped the legal reforms started by Andrianampoinimerina in favour of the old system of trial by ordeal" (Wikipedia). "An ill-managed attack by combined British and French forces on Tamatave in 1846 led to the total exclusion of all Europeans, and foreign commerce almost ceased" (Howgego 1800-1850, M5).
$2250USD

9. [PUERTO RICO & DOMINICAN REPUBLIC]
Manuscript Account, by an English Mariner (Possibly Charles William Patterson), of 'Some Spanish Bays' in the Caribbean, including 'Aguada Bay Porto Rico', 'Island Mona' and 'The Island Saona West End'. Entry on 'Island Mona' dated '13 June,' 1787. The Interesting and Likely First Detailed Maritime Description is of Two Islands and One Bay Situated in Between but Part of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
[Puerto Rico & Dominican Republic], 1787. 4 pages. Ca. 32 x 20 cm (12.5 x 8 inches). Manuscript is on aged and lightly-stained laid paper, with two neat stab holes in the margins, otherwise in very good condition and written in a very legible hand.
This manuscript is written with particular reference to navigation and begins and ends abruptly indicating that it is incomplete. Starts ' is very foul, if you keep along Shore at the distance of 2 or 3 miles off, keeping a good look out you will fall right into it, in the Season of the Norths, of course it would not be proper to come here tho' 'tis good holding ground.' Ends 'Observed at the East end ' with the catch-word 'of'. A couple of references to places 'Where we Anchored'.
The sections on Aguada Bay and Island Mona, both slightly more than a page long, are complete. The Aguada Bay section begins 'An open Bay and deep requires no particular directions, coming from the North and Eastwd. You may round the North point at 1 Miles distance and keep as near the North Shore as you please, you do not get Soundings till you are within a Mile of the Town in 40 faths.' The Island Mona section begins 'There is good Anchoring at the South end of this Island between a low point Covered with Trees & a Steep Cliff, 'tis best to pass on the West side of the Island to come to this road, where the bottom looks white is the best Anchoring, tho' where tis black 'tis chiefly I believe darkened by Turtle grass, depth of Water 9 to 14 fathoms, from 1 to 1 1/2 Mile from the Eastern Shore'.
Presumably information acquired for the use of the Royal Navy in these waters. From the papers of the families of Captain George Anthony Tonyn and Admiral Charles William Paterson (1756-1841).
"Aguada is a municipality of Puerto Rico, located in the western coastal valley region bordering the Atlantic Ocean, west of Rincón, Aguadilla and Moca; and north of Anasco; Mona (Spanish: Isla de la Mona) is the third largest island of the archipelago of Puerto Rico, after the main island of Puerto Rico and Vieques; Saona Island (in Spanish Isla Saona) is a tropical island located a short distance from the mainland on the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic, near La Altagracia Province" (Wikipedia).
$2250USD

10. [SIBERIA] ZNAMENSKY, Mikhail Stepanovich (1833-1892)
Three Watercolours Show Scenes of Ostiaks, a Northern Siberian Tribe from the Vicinity of Tobolsk. These watercolours are from the series of works created by Znamensky to the celebration the 300th anniversary of the founding of Tobolsk and annexation of Siberia to Russia, which was celebrated in 1885.
Tobolsk, 1880. 3 x (17.5 x 23 cm). Each of the paintings is 17.5 x 23 cm, on paper, within a line border; all were signed by the author in the left lower corner ('Znamensky'). The watercolours have brief descriptions in lower margin, made by pencil in Swedish. The watercolours are in fine condition and housed in a custom made blue half cloth clam-shell portfolio with marbled boards. A fine set.
These watercolours were created by Mikhail Stepanovich Znamensky, a prominent 19th century Siberian artist, writer, historian, archaeologist and ethnographer. Very well educated as a religious artist, Znamensky belonged to the elite society of Tobolsk and was close to many exiled members of the famous Decemberist revolt of 1825 (I. Puschin, I. Yakushkin and others), as well as to the outstanding Russian writer Pyotr Yershov. Znamensky worked as a teacher in several religious and secular colleges in Tobolsk; was a translator of the Tatar language. He also illustrated the literary works of N. Gogol, P. Yershov, N. Goncharov, Leo Tolstoy and regularly published his caricatures in Saint Petersburg magazines 'Iskra' and 'Vsemirnaia Istoriia'. But his main interest was Siberian history and ethnography. Znamensky’s essays and stories on Siberian history were regularly published in the local magazines 'Sibirskii listok', 'Vostochnoe obozrenie' and 'Tobolskie Vedomosti'. Several of his books on the same topic were published in Tobolsk, Tyumen and Saint Petersburg.
Highly interested in Siberian history and ethnography, in 1850-1860's Znamensky travelled extensively in Siberia, Central Asia and Northern regions of Asiatic Russia, making interesting sketches and paintings of the landscapes and tribes. In 1872 his works were exhibited at Moscow Polytechnic Exhibition, where they were awarded with the silver medal from Moscow University.
Our watercolours are from the series of works created by Znamensky to the celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Tobolsk and annexation of Siberia to Russia, which was celebrated in 1885. The artist took a special trip around the towns of the Tobolsk region - Berezov and Obdorsk (now Salekhard). The result was a unique series of sketches and watercolours. From this work an album titled: "From Tobolsk to Obdorsk", was bound in a portfolio, specially made of birch bark. It contained 32 works depicting panoramas of Tobolsk, Berezov and Obdorsk, life of local people (Russians, Ostiaks, Samoeds, Tatars), and historical sketches ("Conquer of Siberia" etc).
The album was exhibited in the Tobolsk Art Gallery in 1889. Later, in 1894 the heir to the Russian throne Nikolai Alexandrovich (future Russian emperor Nikolai II) visited Tobolsk during his around the world trip. He was very attracted by the album and bought it for the high price of 800 roubles (as per his inscription on the verso of the folder). The album came to the Emperor’s library in the Winter palace in Saint Petersburg and after the Revolution of 1917 became part of the Russian State Library in Moscow where it is located now. Our watercolours weren’t included in the album but they are very similar stylistically with the ones included. For example the scene with three Ostiaks, a Russian bureaucrat and a portrait of Russian Emperor Alexander II at the background compositionally repeats the watercolour included in the album with minor differences (color of the table cloth, for example).
Znamensky’s watercolours weren’t published in Russia before the Revolution of 1917. His album "From Tobolsk to Obdorsk" was facsimile reprinted for the first time in 2008. However, his works were used as
illustrations in the first and only edition of the book by the Italian ethnographer, anthropologist and botanist Stefano Sommier "Un' Estate in Siberia fra Ostiacchi, Samoiedi, Siriéni, Tatàri, Kirghìsi e Baskìri" (Firenze, 1885). This valuable report of Sommier’s travels through Siberia in 1880 contains 14 interesting woodcuts based on Znamensky’s water colours and depicts Samoyeds and Ostiaks resting in their dwellings, riding deer, playing musical instruments, walking at market place and others. Znamensky’s works are in many Russian state collections including the State Historical Museum (Moscow), State Literary Museum (Moscow), Omsk Art Gallery, Tobolsk State Historic-Architectural Museum and others.
Russian Brokhaus Encyclopaedia; Russian Biographic Dictionary/ed. Polovtsov.
$12500USD

11. [SOUTHERN AFRICAN AUTOMOBILE SAFARI]
Two Photograph Albums: Southern African Automobile Safari.
ca. 1920. Oblong Folio, 2 albums. ca. 40 leaves. With ca. 480 photographs, ca. 10 x 13cm (4. x 5 inches). Original brown patterned cloth. Very good albums.
The strong images show: the Zambezi, Victoria Falls, hunting(: elephants, warthogs, rhinoceros, gazelle, antelope, water buffalo, zebra, & leopard), natives and native life, camps and camp life, difficulties in crossing African terrain with an automobile, Cape Town and visiting Cairo and the Pyramids.
$1250USD

12. [TIBET]
East India (Tibet) British Parliamentary Papers 1904-1910.
London: HMSO, 1904-1910. First Edition With Two Signed Letters by Younghusband & Macdonald. Folio. x, iv, xxvi, xvi, 314, 29, 3, 277, 229 pp. With a large folding map Period style navy gilt tooled half straight-grained morocco with navy cloth boards. A near fine copy.
Sir Francis Younghusband. Autograph Letter Signed "FE Younghusband" to Colonel Nisbet [Headed notepaper] Bowood, Calne, Wilts, 15 Jan. 1905. Soldier, diplomatist, explorer, geographer, and mystic (see DNB). Three pages, 8vo, good condition. He thanks Nisbet for a dinner and the trouble he had taken "to gather together so many representative Anglo-Indians. It went off wonderfully well and I am most grateful to you for having got together such a welcome for me." He is having a "jolly time in one of the most delightful of the 'stately homes of England [Bowood House]'" He expects to return to London to see all his friends. Note: his mission to Tibet was in 1903-4, so he was in the recovery period, perhaps even just returned. His correspondent, Nisbet, preceded him as Resident in Kashmir. The dinner was presumably a celebration of his mission. He was staying in the country house, Bowood, of Lord Lansdowne, eminent statesman and sometime Viceroy of India which he mentions above as if contrasting it with Tibet.
[With] Sir James Ronald Leslie Macdonald. Autograph Letter Signed "JRL Macdonald" to "Sir Reginald". Burton's Hotel, 29 Queen Anne's St., S.W. 27 May 1905. Major-General, on Younghusband expedition to Tibet in 1903. Four pages, 8vo, some staining but mainly good condition, note in another hand (prob. Sir Reginald's giving details of writer and underlining the passage about Lady Macdonald's health. "... The 7th July will do excellently for the presentation of the Thibet plate. / I have directed [Con & Co?] to send round a circular to the officers concerned informing them of the date & asking all who can attend to send their names to the [?] President. ...[Lady Macdonald's health and his inability to visit] Have you read Col. Waddell's book 'Lhasa & its Mysteries.' It is the best book on the Thibet show. / I got into Percival Landon's black books owing to enforcing the Press Censorship Rules & he appears to have run down the Military side of the Expedition in consequence. / However I think the proper authorities all know how much of the success was due to the military & how little to the Political..."

Note (DNB account): "In that year (1903) the government of India decided to dispatch a political mission to Tibet under (Sir) Francis Younghusband, in order to counter Russian intrigues and to stabilize relations with Tibet by means of a treaty. Lord Kitchener, commander-in-chief in India, selected Macdonald to command the military escort. The party crossed the Jelep pass and entered Tibet on 12 December 1903. The journey was broken by several engagements with the Tibetans, who resisted the advance of the mission during the next four months, especially in the neighbourhood of Gyantse. Gyantse fort itself was the scene of severe encounters and, although it surrendered without resistance on 12 April, the capture was not finally consolidated until 7 July, when the monastery and the rest of Gyantse were secured. The last stage of the march began on 13 July 1904, and on 3 August the mission arrived at Lhasa, where a treaty was duly concluded. For this arduous campaign, Macdonald was awarded the K.C.I.E. And received the medal and clasp of the expedition."
The papers comprise: PAPERS RELATING TO TIBET, Cd 1920. 1904 - large folding map (Routes between Tibet and India), x.314pp; FURTHER PAPERS RELATING TO TIBET (In continuation of Cd 1920) Cd 2054. 1904. iv.29pp; FURTHER PAPERS RELATING TO TIBET, No III. (In continuation of Cd 2054) Cd 2370. 1905. xxvi.277pp; FURTHER PAPERS RELATING TO TIBET (In continuation of Cd 2370) Cd 5240. 1910. xvi.229pp.
Here is to be found the background to the 1904 Mission, reports from Nepal of Tibetan attacks on yaks, warnings to the Russian ambassador of the contemplation of the Mission, conversations with Russian ambassadors and Chinese Government, Younghusband's reports of the Mission's progress, etc.
The second paper begins with a dramatic telegraphic reports from Younghusband, dated 31st Jan 1904: "All authority has been taken by the Dalai Lama into his own hands. He has ignored the Chinese, has thrown his Councillors into prison, and has defied us. Officials and people share his confidence in the strength of Tibet, and the impotence of the British Government.: This intransigent attitude was to lead to the heavy Tibetan losses against superior modern forces, something which Younghusband had not expected. In a later despatch from the Escort Commander, Macdonald notes Younghusband's order to avoid firing unless attacked and then recounts: "They were informed that they would have to lay down their arms, and an attempt was accordingly made to disarm them. The Lhasa leaders then incited an attack upon us, the Lhasa Depon firing the first shot and the Tibetans firing point blank and charging with swords:they were, however, so hemmed in that they could not make use of their numbers, and after a few minutes were in full retreat under a heavy fire of guns, Maxims and rifles, which caused them heavy loss."
Even in the midst of war trade continued whenever there was an interval. Younghusband reports from Gyantse on 22nd April: "Camp is besieged with Tibetans selling country products, carpets and trinkets. A daily bazaar is now established outside the camp. Today 177 Tibetans, mostly women, were selling their goods there. The scene presented was very remarkable and significant - British officers and soldiers, Sikhs, Ghurkhas, and Bhutias bargaining away peaceably with their foes of a fortnight ago, and giving the sharp Tibetan traders exorbitant prices for vegetables, eggs, condiments, watches, cigarettes, carpets, trinkets, cotton goods, cooking utensils - even penny whistles. The Tibetans are evidently born traders and they are already sending to Phari for more goods from India." Howgego Continental Exploration 1850-1940 M2 &Y4.
$4750USD

13. [VOYAGE OF HMS GORGON] PATERSON, Admiral Charles William (1756 - 1841)
A Significant Archive of Eight Letters and Documents Relating to the Naval Career of Admiral Charles William Paterson. Of Particular Interest are the References to Captain Samuel Wallis Under Whom Paterson Wanted to Serve in 1774 after Wallis had Returned from his Circumnavigation and a Document About the H.M.S. Gorgon of Which Paterson took Command from 1793 to 1794. Right After the Gorgon Returned from it's Voyage as part of the Third Fleet Taking Convicts to Australia and also the new Governor of Norfolk Island, Philip Gidley King. Mrs Paterson who was also on this Voyage Stayed on in Norfolk Island and was the only Female Companion of her own Class to Mrs. King. On the Return Voyage the Gorgon took on Board ten of the Mutineers of the HMS Bounty who had been Captured in Tahiti by HMS Pandora and Survived the Wreck of that Vessel. During the Voyage many of the Children on Board, Including Charlotte Bryant, died of heat and Illness, this Occurence is Possibly Mentioned in one of the Letters:"had the misfortune of losing a little Girl last Year by Inoculation." The Letters Are Written by Important Naval Figures Sir Hyde & Harry Parker, Admiral Sir James Wallace and Sir George Collier.
London et al., 1774-1825? Eight Letters & Documents 1 to 4 pages long. The eight letters and documents are from octavo to folio in size. The letters and documents are in very good to near fine condition.

The Archive Includes:
1. Sir George Collier (1738-1795), British naval officer:
Autograph Letter Signed ('Geo Collier') to Rev. Charles William Tonyn (d.1805) of Radnage, Bucks.
17 March 1774; London. 4to, 3 pp. Text clear and entire on gilt-edged paper: aged and with some wear at foot. Small strip of paper torn away in breaking of red wax seal, and still adheres to the reverse of the second leaf of the bifolium, which bears the address. ('Geo Collier') to Rev. Charles William Tonyn (d.1805) of Radnage, Bucks.
Thanks Tonyn for his concern over Collier's 'late accident; which has been attended not only with very considerable Loss of Property, but likewise of Papers, which neither Time or Fortune can ever make me amends for'. Condoles with Tonyn on 'the loss of Mrs. Patterson'. He hopes his 'Young Friend is happy in his new Ship, & that the Rose is in every Respect as agreeable to Him as the Flora'. He is 'very little acquainted with Capt. Wallis'. One paragraph describes his peregrinations on the continent around the time during which, according to the New DNB, he appears 'to have been sent to North America on some special service, the circumstances of which are not known'. 'I can say little of my future motions, as single men are always [sic] vagrants; if the King has no Commands for me, I believe I shall return again into Shropshire the beginning of the Summer'. Presents his compliments to 'the Governor' (Tonyn's brother Patrick, Governor of East Florida').

2. Admiral Sir James Wallace [Admiral Wallace] (1731-1803):
Autograph Letter Signed signed by 'J Buller', 'H Penton' and 'Rt Man' as Lords of the Admiralty, and by 'Php Stephens' as First Secretary, appointing 'Lieut: Charles Willm: Patterson [sic]' 'First Lieutenant of His Majesty's Ship the Ardent'.
28 March 1774; Whitehall. 4to: 1 p. A bifolium, addressed by Wallace on the reverse of the second leaf, which carries two postmarks and the remains of his red wax seal. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper, with a couple of light spots. The letter concerns Tonyns kinsman Charles William Paterson, a future admiral. Wallace is 'happy in having it in my power to oblige you, or your Nephew ye Rose is under ye same orders she was last year. /for Newfoundland/ people that are cheque'd of their provision for being absent is of no consequence. I am always chequ'd myself when absent'. In 1778 Wallace's ship The Experiment, pursued by the French, was the first two-decker ever to attempt the dangerous passage of Hell Gate (the East River connecting Long Island Sound and New York harbour).

3. Sir Harry Parker (c.1735-1812), 6th Baronet, of Melford H.
Three Autograph Letters Signed (one 'H Parker' and two 'Harry Parker') to the Rev. Charles William Tonyn (d.1805) of Radnage, Bucks.
23 April 1774; 12 March 1775; and 1 July 1779. The last two from Newman Street. All three items 4to. All three bifoliums, and addressed by Parker on the reverse of the second leaf, which in each case is postmarked. The second letter carries Parker's seal, impressed in red wax. The three items are in good condition, on lightly aged paper. There is slight damage to the second leaf of the second letter (involving two words of text) as a result of the breaking open of the seal. Letter One (2 pp): On receiving Tonyn's letter he spoke to Commodore Shuldham 'to cause Charles [Tonyn's kinsman Charles William Paterson] to be received on board the Panther in case the Rose should be gone to Sea'. 'Will you allow me to say that I hope this will be the last time the young Man is indulged in such an absence, for it is not only my Opinion, that he might be much more advantageously employed on board his Ship, and I might add that to be absent for so long a time from his Duty, is not only uncommon but contrary to the Rules of Service'. He has 'the welfare of the young man tho' he has never called upon me) much at heart'. Letter Two (3 pp): His 'attachment to my late Friend was such, that I would embrace with eagerness any opportunity of being useful to any body he held dear; Charles Paterson is therefore fully entitled to any Services I can possibly render him'. Paterson should 'by no means at his time of Life be idling in a Guard ship, now is the time for him to make himself thoroughly master of his Profession'. Discusses what he considers to be the Paterson's best course of action. He 'had the misfortune of losing a little Girl last Year by Inoculation'. Letter Three (2 pp): He regrets that 'my Brother has no vacancy for my friend Charles'. Parker has been 'sending to Mr. Humes this week past to desire that Charles might come to Town immediately - He is appointed 1st Lieutenant of the Ardent & should come without any delay to take up his Commission as the Ship is much wanted to proceed on service.'

4. John Buller; Henry Penton; Robert Man [Admiral Charles

Warrant (commission), signed by 'J Buller', 'H Penton' and 'Rt Man' as Lords of the Admiralty, and by 'Php Stephens' as First Secretary, appointing 'Lieut: Charles Willm: Patterson [sic]' 'First Lieutenant of His Majesty's Ship the Ardent'. 18 June 1779. One one side of a piece of vellum, dimensions 28.5 x 32.5 cm. Neatly folded four times. Red wax seal under paper in top left-hand corner, embossed with the Admiralty anchor. Two blue 2s 6d stamps in left-hand margin. Small paper stamp on reverse. Text entirely legible on discoloured vellum. The body of the document is printed over fifteen lines, with the specific information added in manuscript. Headed 'By the Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland &c. And of all His Majesty's Plantations &c. -' From the Paterson and Tonyn family papers.

5. Admiral John Dalrymple (d.1798), Commander-in-Chief
Autograph Order Signed ('Jno Dalrymple') to 'C. W. Paterson Esqr. Commander of His Majs. Ship Gorgon'.
'Sandwich at the Nore 2d. August 1793.' On one side of a piece of paper, 16.5 x 20.5. Creased and with a couple of closed tears to extremities. A little light staining in blue ink (including thumb print) at foot. Relates to an apprentice unlawfully pressed into service on a Royal Navy ship. The Navy were bound to release such individuals on appeal from their masters. 'It is my direction you immediately discharge John Marsh from His Majesty's Ship under your Command he being an Apprentice, and give him a Certificate of it's [sic] having been done by my Order.' Docketed on reverse 'Admiral Dalrymples Order to Discharge J. Marsh | Augt 2. 93'.

6. Admiral Charles William Paterson (1756-1841) [Royal Navy]:
Autobiographical fragment by Paterson not in his hand.
Without date [post 1825] or place. One page, filling one side of a leaf of laid paper, watermarked 'R BARNARD | 1825'. Leaf dimensions 32 x 20 cm. Thirty-four lines of text. Text neatly written and completely legible. On aged paper, with chipping and short closed tears to extremities. For Paterson's long and distinguished naval career see his entry in the New Oxford DNB. , not in his hand.
Begins '<...> to England in her and was paid off. On the commencement of the French Revolution I was appointed to the command of H: M: Store Ship the Gorgon and was sent to the Mediterranean under Lord Hood who promoted me to the rank of Post Captain in 1794 in H: M: Ariadne'. Concludes 'and upon the 12th of August 1812 was by Lord Melville raised to the rank of Rear Admiral, & on the 12th Augst. 1819 obtained the rank of Vice-Admiral -'. Not mentioned in Paterson's DNB entry are the facts that he had 'the honour of attending His late Majesty two seasons at Weymouth', and that he 'went up the Mediterranean with a large Convoy, delivered it safe and on my return joined the Blockade of Havre de Grace until the peace of 1802'.

"Paterson, Charles William (1756-1841), naval officer, son of James Paterson, an army officer of the 69th regiment, was born at Berwick. In 1765 his name was put on the books of the Shannon at Portsmouth, and in 1768 on those of the St Antonio. His first voyage was probably in 1769, when he joined the Phoenix going out to the Guinea coast, with the broad pennant of his maternal uncle, Commodore George Anthony Tonyn. He afterwards served on the home and Newfoundland stations as able seaman and midshipman in the Flora, Rose, Ardent, and Ramillies, before passing his lieutenant's examination on 4 October 1775.
In 1776 Paterson was in Howe's flagship, the Eagle, in North America, and on 3 February 1777 Howe promoted him lieutenant of the fire ship Strombolo. In Howe's engagement with d'Estaing on 11 August 1778 Paterson commanded the galley Philadelphia. In June 1779 he joined the Ardent (64 guns), which, on 17 August, was captured off Plymouth by the combined Franco-Spanish fleet. In April 1780 he was appointed to the Alcide (74 guns), which joined Lord Rodney in the West Indies in May; Paterson went to New York with him during the summer, returned to the West Indies in November, and in the following January was present at the capture of St Eustatius and the other Dutch islands.
In February 1781 Paterson joined the Sandwich, Rodney's flagship; he went home with the admiral in the Gibraltar, and returned to the West Indies with him in the Formidable. He was appointed acting captain of the armed ship St Eustatius in February 1782 and on 8 April was promoted to command the fire ship Blast, in which he returned to England on the conclusion of the peace.
In 1793 Paterson was appointed to the store ship Gorgon, in which he served under Hood at Toulon, and on 20 January 1794 he was made captain of the Ariadne (20 guns). On the surrender of Corsica he was moved into the frigate Melpomène, before returning to England in 1795. In 1797 he was inspecting captain of the quota men in Kirkcudbright and Wigtownshire, and in 1798 superintended the fitting of the Admiral de Vries, until she was turned over to the transport board. He commanded the Montagu in the channel in 1800, and from 1801 to 1802 he commanded the San Fiorenzo. In March 1801 he married Jane Ellen Yeats, daughter of his first cousin, David Yeats, formerly registrar of East Florida.
Paterson had charge of the French prisoners of war in Portchester Castle in 1810, and from 1811 to 1812 he commanded the guard ship Puissant at Spithead. He was promoted rear-admiral on 12 August 1812, vice-admiral on 12 August 1819, and admiral of the white on 10 January 1837, but had no further service, and died on 10 March 1841, presumably at his home, East Cosham Cottage, near Portsmouth"(Oxford DNB).
$5750USD

14. ARAGO, J[acques Etienne Victor] (1790-1855)
Promenade Autour du Monde, Pendant les Annees 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820, sur les Corvettes du Roi l'Uranie et la Physicienne Commandees par M. Freycinet. [Narrative of a Voyage Round the World in the Uranie and Physicienne Corvettes Commanded By Captain Freycinet, During the Years 1817, 1818, 1819, 1nd 1820; on a Scientific Expedition Undertaken By Order of the French Government, in a Series of Letters…].
Paris: Leblanc, 1822. First Edition With a Signed Letter by Arago. Octavo 2 vols & Folio Atlas. xxx; [iv], 452; 506 pp. Atlas with a world map and 25 other lithograph plates. Very handsome period style navy gilt tooled quarter straight-grained morocco with cloth boards, text housed in a matching slip case. Text mildly foxed, otherwise a very good set.
With a Autographed Letter Signed by Arago. "The Uranie, with a crew of 125 men under the command of Captain Louis de Freycinet, entered the Pacific from the West to make scientific observations on geography, magnetism, and meteorology. Arago was the artist of the expedition, which visited Western Australia, Timor, Hawaii, and New South Wales. The original ship was wrecked off the Falkland Islands. Two months later the expedition continued aboard the Physicienne, which stopped for a time at Rio de Janeiro. Captain Freycinet's wife, Rose Pinon, was smuggled on board at the advent of the voyage and made the complete journey, causing some discord among the crew.

Freycinet named an island he discovered after her - Rose Island among the Samoa islands. These entertaining letters, written in a lively and witty literary style, provide vivid descriptions of the topography and the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands. The book achieved great success" (Hill 28-9).
"The Hawaiian portion of the text, contained on more than 150 pages, records impressions of the artist's stops on Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu. Extensive portions of the text also record the Arago impressions of Australia, Guam, and the Marianas Islands. The artist's main interest (as reflected by the plate subjects) are of peoples encountered. Several of the plates record somewhat gruesome aspects of Hawaiian culture" (Forbes 537); Ferguson 850; Sabin 1867.
$9750USD

15. ARTHY, E.
[Original Manuscript] List of Death Among the Late African Company Officers in the Settlements on the Gold Coast from the 1st of January 1812, to 1st of January 1822 Being a Period of Ten Years.
Gold Coast, 1822. 4 pages. Manuscript ca. 34 x 21 cm (13 x 8 inches). Manuscript with tears but no loss of text housed in a blue cloth custom made portfolio with a red gilt morocco cover label. In very good condition.
The author was Assistant Surgeon in the late African Company. The manuscript gives an annual account of the deaths of the officers of the company including their names and then a 1 1/2 page remarks section comparing the mortality of Europeans in the Gold coast and other colonies. "The African Company Establishment when fully appointed consisted of fourty-five commissioned and non commissioned European officers but during the period of time stated above, there was not more than thirty-five residing in the Settlements on a yearly average & the deaths among them being five annually on an average…".
"The African Company of Merchants was a Chartered Company in the Gold Coast area of modern Ghana, in the coastal area where the Fante people lived. It was founded in 1752 and replaced the Royal African Company which was dissolved in that year.
In 1817 the Company had signed a treaty of friendship that recognized Asante claims to sovereignty over large areas of the coast, including areas claimed by the Fante. The Company was abolished in 1821, as the slave trade had not been suppressed in these privately held areas. Authority over the area was given to Governor Charles MacCarthy, the governor of Sierra Leone, who was subsequently killed in the First Anglo-Asante War" (Wikipedia).
$2250USD

16. BACK, George (1796-1878)
Autograph Letter Signed "Geo Back" Dated Nov. 1835 Addressed to John Murray, publisher. With a Brief Manuscript Account of Back's Last Expedition. "Brighton, Thursday Evening (Nov. 1835), My Dear Sir, Nothing would have given me greater pleasure than to have met Sir Fr[ancis] Head at your Table, but His Majesty [William IV] has fixed Saturday for me to dine at the[Brighton] Pavilion".
In another hand, an account of Back's early experience in the Arctic, recording the temperatures he encountered ("With a fresh breeze this [temperature] was nearly insupportable. Washing his face within three feet of the fire, his hair clothed with ice before he had time to dry it."). He then describes his last expedition in 1836 ("hemmed in by one impassable sheet of ice", etc), concluding "The vessel came home a miserable wreck." It doesn't look like Murray's hand but it is tempting to believe that, since the letter passed through Murray's premises that an employee had added the account. Back has countersigned the address panel "GB".
Brighton, Nov. 1835. 4 Pages. Ca. 23 x 18.5 cm (9 x 7.5 inches). The letter is in very good condition and written in a legible hand.
Head at this time was Lieutenant-Governor of Canada, and Back had returned from the Northwest Territory and was later to further explore the Canadian Arctic the following year. An interesting letter with manuscript notes of important exploration details.
"At Naples in January 1832 [Back] heard of the supposed loss of Captain Ross in the Arctic regions, and offered the Royal Geographical Society to go in search of him. He had been informed by Copper Indians on his previous journey of the existence of a river rising in the neighbourhood of the Great Slave Lake, and debouching on the Polar Sea, and by tracing this river to its mouth he hoped to make his way to Regent's Inlet, where he thought Captain Ross might be. The council accepted his offer, and grants from government and Hudson's Bay Company, supplemented by a public subscription, financed the expedition, on which Back set out from Liverpool with only one companion of his own rank, Dr Richard King, as surgeon and naturalist, in February 1833.
Back's instructions were, in brief, firstly to make for the sea by the aforesaid river and, if possible, aid Captain Ross, and, secondly, to survey the coast as far as possible. The first winter he spent at Fort Reliance, a house that he constructed near the Great Slave Lake, when himself half-starved and amid starving Indians. In April he received news of Captain Ross's arrival in England, but he was ordered to push on to the river and survey the coast from there to Cape Turnagain. His first difficulty was to discover where the river lay, and to avoid embarking on the wrong one. The name of it was Thlew-ee-choh-deeseth, or Great Fish River (later known as the Back River). His journey down it is vividly recounted in his Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the Great Fish River, in 1834 and 1835 (1836), illustrated by his sketches. The ice prevented Back's proposed survey of the coast, and after again wintering at Fort Reliance he reached La Chêne, the Hudson Bay station where he had started over two years before, in August 1835, having travelled 7500 miles, including 1200 of discovery. Besides his discovery of a river over 440 miles long, he had made important observations of the Aurora Borealis, and had given the name of Montreal to an island afterwards sadly familiar in connection with the fate of Franklin.
In September 1835 Back reached England, and received a hero's welcome. He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal, and was promoted by the Admiralty to the rank of captain on 30 September 1835, by order in council, an honour that no other officer in the navy had received except William IV. In February 1836 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Also in 1836 he was, at his own proposal, appointed to the command of an expedition, the object of which was to complete the coast line between Regent's Inlet and Cape Turnagain. Back was given command of HMS Terror and the expedition set out in June 1836. The ship became trapped in ice; Back described the voyage in his Narrative, a book that captures much of the drama of Victorian Arctic exploration" (Oxford DNB).
$2250USD

17. BARROW, Sir John (1764-1848)
Interesting Autograph Letter Signed "John Barrow" addressed to Lord Stuart de Rothesay and dated Admiralty 1st Decr.1828. In this Interesting Letter Barrow Inquires About the Fate of Gordon Laing, who had been the First White man to ever Reach Timbuctoo in 1826, but had been Killed a few Weeks later, so was Already dead for two Years Before this Letter was Written.
Admiralty, London, 1st Decr.1828. One Leaf. Letter ca. 23 x 18 cm (9 x 7 inches). Letter in very good condition.
"Admiralty 1st Decr.1828
My Dear Lord,
Permit me to thank your Lordship for the trouble you have kindly taken in endeavouring to procure information as to the fate of poor Laing. Since I wrote to your Lordship a letter has been received from the consul at Mogadore, stating that he had got a trace of Laing's Journal in the possession of an Arab, and was not without hope of recovering it.
I beg leave to rouble your Lordship once more with a letter for M. Jomard..,
My dear Lord,
Yours very faithfully,
John Barrow
The Lord Stuart de Rothesay."
"Laing set out, on 18 July, without official protection, across a vast desert notoriously infested by Tuareg marauders. Sheikh Babani, a merchant long resident in Timbuktu, accompanied him as a guide. Following a circuitous route across the desert, the party reached Ghadames, where they stayed six weeks (Laing sketched the Roman ruins), then moved westwards, making the detour to suit Babani's interests, to Ensala, where they were joined by a large trading caravan. Delayed by rumours of warfare between Tuareg and Arab clans, they eventually left on 9 January 1826. Sixteen days later they were attacked by Tuareg. Laing was fearfully wounded, with sabre cuts on his head, body, arms, and legs. Astonishingly he survived, tended by a kindly sheikh, Sidi Muhammad, who lived nearby...,
On 13 August Laing reached Timbuktu, where he stayed for several weeks, researching into old manuscripts. But the city was now under the control of Ahmadu, the Fula ruler of Masina, who refused to let him go further. Nevertheless he again set out and (the full details are uncertain) was attacked and killed by a party who came out after him from Timbuktu on 24 September 1826" (Oxford DNB).
$2250USD

18. BATES, Henry Walter (1825-1892)
Autograph Letter Signed "H. W. Bates" to an unknown Dear John from the Royal Geographical Society (on RGS letterhead) Dated 10th Dec. 1869, a time when Bates was acting Secretary of the RGS. "Dear John, Collecting autographs for your young friend is a very slow process, + I think I had better forward the few already gathered than wait longer. I might find one of Baker's perhaps but have not yet had time to hunt out an unimportant letter from which the signature might be taken. Livingstone's autograph has been very scarce for several years past, but I wrote to him by.., Zanzibar mail I shall probably get an answer some day. If he returns to England we shall get plenty of communication from him..., Yours affectionately H. W. Bates."
1869. Folded: Four Pages. Letter: 21 x 13 cm (8 x 5 inches); Photograph ca. 13.5 x 10 cm (5.5 x 4 inches). The letter is in very good condition.
"Henry Walter Bates was an English naturalist and explorer who gave the first scientific account of mimicry in animals. He was most famous for his expedition to the Amazon with Alfred Russell Wallace in 1848. Wallace returned in 1852, but lost his collection in a shipwreck. When Bates arrived home in 1859 after a full eleven years, he had sent back over 14,000 species (mostly of insects) of which 8,000 were new to science"(Wikipedia)."The Naturalist on the River Amazons (2 vols., 1863) was a major contribution to the knowledge and literature of Amazonia. Bates had spent longer on the Amazon than any of his European predecessors, and the book was an immediate success and has become a travel classic" (Oxford DNB).
$1250USD

19. BEAUFORT, Sir Francis (1774-1857)
Fine Autograph Letter Signed "F. Beaufort" to A. Fox Esq and dated: Admiralty, 22nd October 1835. "I have forwarded your letter respecting the Magnetic dip and intensity to Sir John Franklin (Arctic Explorer), and am much obliged to you for the sketch you gave me of the very interesting results of your brother's observations. The subject well deserves to be very closely investigated."
Admiralty, London, 22 October 1835. One Page. Ca. 23 x 18.5 cm (9 x 7.5 inches). The letter is in near fine condition.
"Beaufort was the ideal candidate for the great and urgent task that presented itself: that of making the seas of the world, most of them (including almost the entire coastline of Britain and Ireland) uncharted or badly charted, safe for the rapidly increasing quantity of British and foreign shipping. For twenty-six years he presided over the hydrographic office with unwearied care, planning and directing surveys, guiding and encouraging the surveyors, correcting and publishing their charts. Although the public connects his name only with his wind scale, among seamen and especially hydrographers Beaufort's achievement is remembered with awe. More than one thousand charts were issued during his time; from 1835 to his retirement in 1855 the average was sixty-eight new charts a year" (Oxford DNB).
"Robert W. Fox (A. Fox's brother mentioned in this letter) studied terrestrial magnetism, and its connections with electricity, and this led him to correspond with Michael Faraday. He devised an improved compass dipping needle, with the assistance of Thomas Brown Jordan, which was used by naval expeditions to determine the locations of the south and north geomagnetic poles" (Oxford DNB).
$2250USD

20. BRUCE, James (1730-1794)
Important Autograph letter signed ('James Bruce') to an unidentified correspondent, most likely Sir Joseph Banks.
Kinnaird, Scotland, 12 December 1777. Two Pages. Letter is ca. 24 x 19 cm ( 9.5 x 7.5 inches) Letter in very good condition.
"A FINE LETTER ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF EGYPT. Bruce's letter, rich in scientific detail, is likely to have been addressed to Sir Joseph Banks, “I inclose you a letter to my friend Mr La Trobe who is in possession of the Nubian seeds I wrote you of from Aegypt. I call them Nubian because I found most of them in Abyssinia & Nubia where certainly they never were brought from Aegypt”. Bruce had landed at the port of Abyssinia on 19 September 1769 where he encountered great resistance from the natives. The first European to visit Abyssinia for almost 150 years, he reached the capital in February 1770.
Bruce rejects general opinion that Egypt was once under water and therefore could have no indigenous plants, “I am convinced it never more than Britain was coverd with Sea, & if, as it is certainly true, no plants are found in Aeygpt but what may from their places found be supposed to have been introduced there are scarce any plants can grow in such a climate where being for many months dried to pulverization they are three month entirely coverd with water'. He finds 'the hardiest of all plants are annuals & can only be preserved by planting them in the intervals betwixt those two terrible extremes”.
Bruce urges caution in preserving the Arabic names of the seeds which he encloses, “as from them I may have something to tell you of their history & manner of culture' and continues 'I shall send you the bird by my ship master ... Kindest Compts. To Mr Solander. If you please to wrap up the drawing of the Brucia (Wooginous) carefully...”. Solander had been a favourite pupil of Linnaeus, and when Banks first made his acquaintance was employed as an assistant librarian at the British Museum. He subsequently became Banks' companion on his travels around the world and later his librarian. Before becoming President of the Royal Society in 1778, Banks, along with Solander, had accompanied Captain James Cook aboard the Endeavour on his first voyage. Bruce's Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile in the Years 1768-1773 was published in five volumes in 1790. The final volume is titled Select Specimens of Natural History, collected in Travels to discover the Source of the Nile" (Christies).
$12500USD

21. BURNABY, Frederick Gustavus (1842-1885)
Two important Autograph Letters boldly Signed, to "Sir" [Richard Bentley, publishers]. [Headed notepaper] Cavalry Barracks, Windsor, 11 and 13 April 1876.
Windsor, 11 & 13 April 1876. Four pages each, total eight pages. Letters: ca. 18 x 11 cm (7 x 4.5 inches). The two letters on Cavalry Barracks, Windsor letterhead are in fine condition.
[11 April]: "I have no objection to write a work on my travels to Khiva - provided the terms offered are acceptable - Several Publishers have written to me... & [I] am perfectly prepared to take into consideration any offer you may propose - If I were to write a work the volume would be about the same size as S[amue]l Bakers...". He goes on to describe how experienced a writer he is through being "The Times" correspondent in Spain and Egypt. If he writes something he has no doubt it will sell well "however I am not going to take the trouble to go into the book market on mere speculation." Another hand (in the publishers) has added notes for a proposition: "100 on day of pub[lication] / 200 on sale of 1100 / 200 on sale of 1800".
[13 April]: He doesn't find their proposal "sufficetly definite to suit me. What I would require is a fixed sum down on the day the work is handed over to the Publisher - I have been already offered 750 by one firm & have not as yet accepted the offer as I am convinced that with the interest attached to the Eastern Question & the curiosity of the public to [hear?] what was the gist of my interview with the Khan of Khiva which by the way was of a highly political character - that the book would have an immense sale - There are several other Publishers also in treaty... - it would be as well to lose no time. I shall come to terms with the Publisher who offers me the best terms."

Note: Fred Burnaby. The Ride to Khiva. With maps and an appendix, containing, amongst other information, a series of march-routes, translated from several Russian works. Publisher: Cassell Petter & Galpin, [1876]. Its sale fully justified Burnaby's anticipations.
"In 1875, on leave again, Burnaby departed from London on 30 November and in the winter travelled through Russia and central Asia, enduring intense cold and frostbite. Evading Russian officials, and accompanied by a dwarf Tartar servant, in January 1876 he reached Khiva and was welcomed by the khan. Back in England Burnaby was lionized, and summoned by the queen to dinner at Windsor. He published A Ride to Khiva (1876), which he sold outright for £750. It was a vivid, lively travelogue, proudly British, in which he warned against Russian aggressive expansion through central Asia towards India, and denounced Russian rule as despotic, corrupt, and cruel. The book, vigorously advertised, sold well and was reprinted and translated. His journey and book made Burnaby a celebrity" (Oxford DNB).
$2750USD

22. CAILLIE, Rene (1799-1838)
Journal d'un voyage a Temboctou et a Jenne, dans l'Afrique centrale, precede d'observations faites chez les maures Braknas, les Nalous et d'autres peuples; pendant les annees 1824(-)28 [Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and Across the Great Desert, to Morocco, Performed in the Years 1824-1828]. With a Signed Letter by Edme François Jomard.
Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1830. First Edition With a Signed Letter by Edme François Jomard. 3vols. Octavo & Folio Atlas. xii; [iv]; [iv], 475; 426; 404 +[2] pp. With an aquatint portrait frontispiece, a double page view of Timbuctoo, 4 other plates, and a large folding map. Handsome period dark brown gilt tooled mottled quarter sheep with marbled boards. Atlas expertly bound to match, text housed in matching slip case. A near fine set.
"Caillie began his quest for Timbuctoo in March 1827 at the mouth of the Rio Nunez, in what is now Guinea, and reached the Niger at Kouroussa in June. To disarm suspicion along the way, he claimed to be an Egyptian of Arab parentage who had been taken to France as a youngster and was now returning to the land of his birth.
From August 3, 1827, until January 9, 1828, he was forced to remain at Tieme, being felled first by foot trouble and then by a bout with scurvy. He reached Timbuctoo on April 20, 1828, and stayed there until May 4, thereby becoming the second European to visit the city of his own volition and the first to survive the journey"(Delpar p.95); Howgego 1800-1850 C2.
With a letter dated 1814 to Jean Baptiste Corabeouf (1777-1859), Capitaine of the Corps of Geographical Engineers relating various activities of the corps by Edme François Jomard (1777 -1862), who produced the map in this work and also authored several other works relating to Caillie's Travels. Jomard was a French cartographer, engineer, and archaeologist. He edited the "Description de L'Egypte" and was a member of the Institute d'Egypt established by Napoleon.
$6750USD

23. CHAUMONT, Alexandre, Chevalier de (1640-1710)
[Pension Receipt from the Paris City Hall (Quittance des Rentes de Hotel de Ville) “for his Services for King Louis XIV as the First French Ambassador to Siam”].
Paris, 1693. ca. 14 x 20 cm (5.5 x 8 inches) Printed on vellum with manuscript completions. Receipt in near fine condition.
"Alexandre, Chevalier de Chaumont was the first French ambassador for King Louis XIV in Siam. He was accompanied on his mission by Abbé de Choisy, the Jesuit Guy Tachard, and Father Bénigne Vachet of the Société des Missions Étrangères de Paris.
He tried without success to convert King Narai the Great to Catholicism and to conclude significant commercial treaties. He is, above all, remembered for his memoirs describing life in 17th century Siam" (Wikipedia).
$1500USD

24. COLOMB, Capitaine Joseph
A Collection of Two Letters Dated Rochefort, December 27 & 28th 1829 (1842?) to Vice-Admiral Le Blanc and Baron Duperre discussing Capitaine Colomb's Desire to be Sent to Serve France in the Marquesas Islands.
Rochefort, 1829 (1842?). Two Letters, Two Pages Each. Each 26 x 20cm (10 x 8 inches). Both letters in near fine condition.
These two interesting letters give an early account of the French conquest of the Marquesas Islands.
"The American Maritime Fur Trader Joseph Ingraham first visited the northern Marquesas while commanding the brig Hope in 1791, giving them the name Washington Islands. In 1813, Commodore David Porter claimed Nuku Hiva for the United States, but the United States Congress never ratified that claim, and in 1842, France, following a successful military operation on behalf of a native chief (named Iotete) who claimed to be king of the whole of the island of Tahuata, took possession of the whole group, establishing a settlement (abandoned in 1859) on Nuku Hiva. French control over the group was reestablished in 1870, and later incorporated into the territory of French Polynesia" (Wikipedia).
$1250USD

25. COOKE, Lt-Col A C (compiler at the Topographical & Statistical Department of the War Office)
Routes in Abyssinia.
London: HMSO, 1867. First Edition With a Signed Letter by Colonel Hozier. Folio. [iv], 252 pp. With a large folding map, coloured in outline (by E G Ravenstein), smaller folding map by Keith Johnstone). Period style navy gilt tooled half straight-grained morocco with navy cloth boards. A very good copy.
A particularly interesting work produced at the time of the Abyssinian Campaign reviewing the different routes of exploration taken up to that date in Abyssinia, beginning with the 1541 Portuguese Expedition and continuing with the routes taken by Salt, Pearce, Ferret et Galinier, Mansfield Parkyn, Munzinger, Merewether, Harris, D'Hericourt, Isenberg & Krapf, Coffin, Hamilton, Bruce, Beke, Combes & Tamisler, Mendez, Lefebvre, and Steudner. The last twenty pages describe and discuss the Line of Advance of the British Expedition. Also, a detailed description of Abyssinia is given and the large folding map is most likely the most detailed and accurate map of the country to that date.
With an Autograph Letter Signed ‘Colonel Sir Henry Montague Hozier' to Mr. Carruthers (William Carruthers – botanist and keeper of the Botanical Department at the Natural History Museum from 1871 to 1895) looking forward to visiting the museum at South Kensington, dated the Netherton Meigle 26 September no year given. Colonel Sir Henry Montague Hozier (1838-1907) was author of 'The British Expedition to Abyssinia'. "While serving as assistant military secretary to Lord Napier of Magdala on the Abyssinian expedition (1867), [Hozier] was again engaged by The Times as a war correspondent" (Oxford DNB).
$2250USD

26. COUTO, Diogo Do (1542-1616)
Decada Novena da Asia [Ninth Decade of Asia].
Portugal: Manuscript, ca. 1730. Large Quarto. 95 leaves. Clear handwritten copy in excellent penmanship. Period brown gilt full calf. A very good copy.
This Ninth decade of Asia gives an account of the government of Vice Roy Don Antonio de Noronha, and a partial history of the government of Vice Roy Antonio Moniz Barreto. This was the last "decade" written by Couto and probably a manuscript draft for the first printed edition of 1736. With an ex-libris of A. B. F. Infante.
The Decades of Asia, continued after Barros's death by the more critical and inclusive Diogo do Couto rank among the greatest works of exploration and discovery in Portuguese.

Diogo do Couto studied Latin and rhetoric at the College of Santo Antao and philosophy at the Convent of Benfica. In 1559 he left for India, where he stayed ten years. Diogo do Couto became a close friend of the poet Luis Vaz de Camões (Camoens) whom he met on his return trip to Lisbon on the island of Mozambique in 1569. Luis Vaz de Camões was in debt and without the money to return to Lisbon but Diogo do Couto and other friends help him to return which allows the publication of
Luis Vaz de Camões major work, Os Lusiadas (The Lusiades), for which Couto wrote a commentary history.
In 1595 Diogo do Couto becomes Guarda-Mor do Tombo Goa (Director of Archives of Goa) and begins to organize the Archives of Goa, and Phillip II of Spain asks him to continue the decades of João de Barros, who had died in 1570, namely the History of Portuguese in the East (in Africa and Asia).
The story of Décadas da Ásia (Decades of Asia) is amazing: The Fourth decade had also been written by Barros but it was lost and then later found after Couto had published his version. The publication of the Fifth decade took ten years. After printing the Sixth decade most copies of this decade burned in a warehouse fire. The Seventh fell into the hands of English privateers in 1601 on its way to Portugal and was thus lost, so Couto had to rewrite it before it was published in 1603. The manuscripts of the Eighth and Ninth decades were stolen from Couto’s home, thieves taking advantage of the fact that he was sick. Couto rewrote them in a summary form in 1616. The Tenth was lost and only found in the Eighteenth century. The Eleventh was stolen in Portugal, when it was sent for publication. Most of the twelfth is also lost. The first complete edition of the Décades of Barros and Couto were first published in their entirety in 1777-1778 in 24 volumes, with the first edition of the Tenth and with accounts of various authors of the Eleventh and Twelfth (Wikipedia).
$7500USD

27. DE FILIPPI, Filippo [H.R.H. Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi]
Il Ruwenzori. Viaggio Di Esplorazione e Prime Ascensioni Delle Piu Alte Vette Nella Catena Nevosa Situata Fra I Grandi Laghi Equatoriali Dell' Africa Centrale [With] Il Ruwenzori Parte Scientifica: Geologia, Petrografia, E Mineralogia. [With] Camerano, Lorenzo; Estratto Dal Volume 1 Dell'Opera Il Ruwenzore Relazione Scientifische (five parts in one), Presentation Copy from the Author to the last King of Italy, Victtorio Emanuele III, with the King's book plate. [Ruwenzori: An Account of the Expedition of H.R.H. Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi].
Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1908-9. First Editions. Quarto, 3 vols. xii; xix, [iv]; 360; 286; 66, 22, 10, 6, 35 pp. With a color frontispiece, 25 photogravures and five panoramas (four folding) by Vittorio Sella, numerous black & white illustrations from photographs, two folding diagrams, six folding maps including five in color, and 54 (plates 11 and 12 of the third part not bound in) illustrations on plates. Original blue cloth. Third volume period light brown gilt tooled quarter calf with marbled boards. The first two volumes housed in a matching slipcase. A very good set.
"An account of the expedition of H.R.H. Prince Luigi Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi. Classic reference work on this tropical range; the expedition succeeded in climbing all the principal peaks" (Neate F27). The second of the Duke's major expeditions. The Ruwenzori, Ptolemy's 'Mountain of the Moon', had never been seriously attempted before this remarkable expedition made the first ascents of this mountain group in central Africa between Lake Albert and Lake Edward on the boundary between Uganda and Zaire. With the rare second and third volumes of scientific data. Howgego, 1850-1940 Continental Exploration 1850-1940, F11.
$2250USD

28. DUMONT D'URVILLE, Jules Sebastien Cesar (1790-1842)
Voyage de Decouvertes Autour du Monde et a la Recherche de La Perouse, par M. J. Dumont d'Urville, Capitaine de Vaisseau, execute sous son commandement et par ordre du gouvernement, sur la Corvette l'Astrolabe, pendant les annees 1826, 1827, 1828, et 1829. Histoire du Voyage. [A Voyage of Discovery Around the World and the Search for La Perouse].

Paris: A la Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret, 1832-1833. Rare General Reader's Edition With a Signed Letter from Dumont d'Urville. Octavo, 5 vols & Folio Atlas. cxii; [iv]; [iv]; [iv]; [iv], 528; 632; 796; 760; 678, [1] pp. Folio Atlas with lithographed portrait frontispiece, lithographed title, eight charts (six double-page), and twelve plates (six hand colored). Period brown gilt tooled quarter sheep with red gilt morocco labels and marbled boards. Handsomely rebacked in style using original boards, otherwise a near fine copy.
With a 1840 four page Autographed Letter Signed from Dumont d'Urville to Monsieur de Montrol.
"This was the first expedition commanded by Dumont d'Urville. Its purpose was to gain additional information about the principal groups of islands in the Pacific and to augment the mass of scientific data acquired by Louis Duperrey. The Astrolabe sailed south, around the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Port Jackson. Proceeding to New Zealand, a careful survey was done of its coast, especially the southern part of Cook Strait. Tonga and parts of the Fiji Archipelago were explored, then New Britain, New Guinea, Amboina, Tasmania, Vanikoro, Guam, and Java. The return home was by the way of Mauritius and the Cape of Good Hope. Massive amounts of scientific materials were collected and published. Dumont d'Urville is also known for an incident from an earlier voyage: in 1819, while on a surveying vessel near the island of Milos, locals told him about an ancient statue they had recently unearthed. After viewing the statue, he promptly arranged for it to be bought by the French government and shipped to Paris, where it remains in the collection of the Louvre. The statue is known as the Venus de Milo" (Hill 504); Howgego 1800-1850 D34.
The rare "household" or general reader's edition of Dumont-d'Urville's grand series of narrative and scientific volumes describing the Astrolabe expedition. The very rare atlas volume was issued but is rarely found as in this case with the text volumes. Australian Book Auctions.
$19750USD

29. ELLIS, Henry (1788-1855)
Journal of the Proceedings of the Late Embassy to China; comprising a Correct Narrative of the Public Transactions of the Embassy, of the Voyage to and from China, and of the Journey from the Mouth of the Pei-Ho to the Return to Canton. Interspersed with Observations upon the Face of the Country, the Polity, Moral Character, and Manners of the Chinese Nation.
London: John Murray, 1817. First Edition With a Signed Letter from Lord Amherst. Quarto. vii, 526+ [1] pp. With a stipple portrait frontispiece of Lord Amherst, seven hand colored aquatint plates, and three engraved maps (one folding). Handsome period style brown gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards. Several unobtrusive blind stamps on title page and plates, otherwise a very nice copy.
With an Autographed Letter Signed by William Pitt Amherst (1773-1857) and dated Knole 29th July 1850 and addressed to the painter and engraver Joseph Lionel Williams.
"Sir Henry Ellis was a noted diplomat and historian. He served as third commissioner on Lord Amherst's Embassy to China in 1816, sent out by King George III to protest ill-treatment of British subjects. Unfortunately this honour was short-lived. Lord Amherst and his retinue were sent home after Amherst refused to "kow-tow" (nine strikings of the forehead on the ground) at his presentation to the Emperor Khein Lung in Peking. As if this was not enough, their ship, the Alceste, was wrecked off the coast of Sumatra on the return home. Happily, all hands survived, and another ship was found to carry them home again. On the return voyage the ship stopped at St. Helena, and included in the present text is Ellis' interview with Napoleon Bonaparte. On the journey out the Alceste had visited Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Java, and Macao" (Hill 542).
"In 1816 Ellis accompanied Earl Amherst on his mission to China, and he recorded his experiences in A Journal of the Proceedings of the Late Embassy to China (1817). The mission, to negotiate a new trade agreement, was unsuccessful. Ellis was not impressed by the Chinese, whom he considered xenophobic, ultra-traditional, and ‘uninteresting’ (Ellis). On the return voyage, Ellis and his companions were wrecked in the Strait of Gaspar and only reached Batavia after a perilous journey of several hundred miles in an open boat. Later they called at St Helena, where Ellis met Napoleon. Napoleon later hotly disputed Ellis's account of the meeting" (Oxford DNB); Abbey Travel 536; Cordier 239304; Lust 509; Tooley 20.
$2750USD

30. FELLOWS, Sir Charles (1799-1860)
An Interesting Archive of Seven Autograph Letters Signed of Correspondence of British Archaeologist and Orientalist Sir Charles Fellows to and from J. Wiener, C. Kelsall and Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall in 1840-41 Discussing Various Academic and Orientalist Issues.
London & Other, 1840-41. Seven Letters: between one and four pages in length. Seven letters from octavo to quarto in size. The letters are in very good to near fine condition.
An interesting archive of letters between like minded Orientalists of different nations.
"After the death of his mother in 1832 Fellows passed much of the next ten years in Italy, Greece, and the Levant. On 12 February 1838 he landed at Smyrna, in Turkey, whence his explorations in the interior of Asia Minor led him to districts unknown to Europeans, and he thus discovered the ruins of a number of cities which existed earlier than 300 BC. After entering Lycia he explored the River Xanthus from the mouth at Patara upwards. Nine miles from Patara he found the ruins of Xanthus, the ancient capital of Lycia. About 15 miles further up he came upon the ruins of Tlos, the remains of which, like those at Xanthus, date to the fifth century BC. After taking sketches of the most interesting objects and copying a number of inscriptions, he returned to England, where his Journal Written during an Excursion in Asia Minor (1839) created such interest that Lord Palmerston, at the request of the trustees of the British Museum, applied to the sultan of Turkey for permission to bring away a number of the Lycian works of art.
Late in 1839 Fellows again set out for Lycia, accompanied by George Scharf, who assisted him in sketching. (This expedition and others with Fellows proved formative for Scharf, who went on to become a noted connoisseur and ultimately director of the National Portrait Gallery.) Fellows discovered thirteen ancient cities, all containing works of art, produced a map of the area, and brought home much natural historical material, as well as coins, and transcriptions and impressions of Lycian letters. However, permission could not be obtained from the Porte for the removal of any monuments or sculptures. In 1841 his Account of Discoveries in Lycia appeared" (Oxford DNB).
$2250USD

31. GLOVER, Captain (John Hawley) (1829-1885)
[Manuscript Map on Linen] The Region of the Volta "Taken from a Tracing of an old Danish Map Supposed Date 1832" by E Stubbs Cr RN.
1873. Inscribed Captn. Glover. Folded Manuscript map, pen on linen 31 x42 cm (11 x 16.5 inches) The Map is in very good condition and is housed in blue cloth custom made portfolios with red gilt morocco cover labels.
The Volta is a river in western Africa that drains into the Gulf of Guinea. It is divided into the Black Volta, the White Volta and the Red Volta. The river gave its name to French Upper Volta and then the Republic of Upper Volta before that country was renamed Burkina Faso in 1984... The river was named by Portuguese gold traders; it was their furthest extent of exploration before returning ("Volta" is Portuguese for "twist" or "turn")" (Wikipedia). The map which covers much of modern day Ghana has many interesting manuscript entries which document the terrain and the inhabitants of the areas covered.
Sir John Hawley Glover was a captain in the British Royal Navy. "During his years of service as lieutenant in the navy he had had considerable experience of the coast of Africa, and had taken part in the expedition of Dr. Baikie up the Niger (Wikipedia). "In 1873, following the Asante invasion of the Gold Coast protectorate, the imperial government decided to send a military expedition to invade the Asante kingdom. Glover offered his services to the Colonial Office, proposing to raise an African force in the Accra and Volta region to attack Asante in the flank and rear. The government, however, decided that Glover's flank attack, by the Volta route to the east, should be subsidiary to Wolseley's offensive against Kumasi" (Oxford DNB).
Thus this map seems to have be in Glover's possession when he was fighting the Ashantees and probably provided much useful information in the endeavour.
$2250USD

32. GORE, Vice-Admiral Sir John (1772-1836)
Autograph Letter Signed, Dated Bombay January 17th 1834 as Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies. Addressed to Sir James Graham (First Lord of the Admiralty), Filled with Interesting Content and Among Other Things commenting on methods of defeating Pirates and discussing heatedly among other matters the subject of his own accommodation preferring to live on board his Flagship rather than a Tent on land.
Bombay, 1834. 6 pages. Ca. 23 x 18.5 cm (9 x 7.5 inches). Letter in fine condition and written in a very legible hand.
Found among the papers of Sir James Graham (1792-1861), First Lord of the Admiralty. Vice-Admiral Sir John Gore (1772-1836) served in Canada and the West Indies in the 1780’s and commanded the Windsor Castle in the actions off Toulon on 13 March and 13 July 1795. In 1801 he was appointed to the Medusa in which Nelson hoisted his flag during the operations off Boulogne. Apart from two years in India, he continued to command a number of ships off the coast of Spain and in the Mediterranean until the end of the Napoleonic Wars. From 1831 to 1835 he was commander-in-chief in the East Indies.
On the subject of pirates, Gore writes: "Boats, such as Ships can carry, are of no manner of use against them. Small Brigs or Schooners, that can be rowed and sail tolerably fast may effect something and keep them in check and there must be several of these to do much. Steamers would be effectual but are not yet attainable for want of coals." "From December 1831 to 1835 he was commander-in-chief in the East Indies. During this time his only son, serving as his flag lieutenant, was drowned in attempting to save a seaman who had fallen overboard" (Oxford DNB).
$2250USD

33. H[OWELL], W[illiam]
Some Interesting Particulars of the Second Voyage Made by the Missionary Ship, The Duff; Which was Captured by the Buonaparte Privateer in the Year 1800.
Knaresborough: Hargrove & Sons, 1809. First Edition, Presentation Copy with a Signed Note from the Author. Octavo. 288 pp. Period style brown gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards. A very good copy.
With an autograph note by the author, "Wm Howell presents his kindest respects to Dr. Murray - he hopes Doctor will do him the pleasure to accept a copy of his Narrative as a small acknowledgement of the Doctors numerous favours / Saturday 19th Augt.".
"When The Duff returned to Britain it was immediately sent back to Tahiti with thirty more missionaries. Unfortunately this journey was disastrous. Captured by French privateers, the Duff was sold by its captors. The expense of the journey cost the Missionary Society ten thousand pounds, which was initially devastating to the society. Gradually it recovered, however, and in 1807 was able to establish a mission in China under Robert Morrison" (Wikipedia).
$1750USD

34. HASTINGS, Warren (1732-1818)
Autograph Letter Signed, Dated Daylesford House, 6th April 1802 and addressed to John White esq. (possibly the author of "Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales"):"I am My dear Sir Your obliged & affectionate friend Warren Hastings,' thanking him for the trouble he has taken to authenticate the important fact which you formerly communicated to me relative to Ra. Nubkishen and offering to send one of the relevant books.
Daylesford, Gloucestershire, 1802. 4 pages. Ca. 23 x 18.5 cm (9 x 7.5 inches). Letter in very good condition with the integral address leaf (torn at seal opening), Chipping Norton postal mark.
"Warren Hastings PC, was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.
Under Hastings's term as Governor General, a great deal of administrative precedent was set which profoundly shaped later attitudes towards the government of British India. Hastings had a great respect for the ancient scripture of Hinduism and set the British position on governance as one of looking back to the earliest precedents possible. This allowed Brahmin advisors to mould the law, as no English person thoroughly understood Sanskrit until Sir William Jones, and, even then, a literal translation was of little use; it needed to be elucidated by religious commentators who were well-versed in the lore and application. This approach accentuated the Hindu caste system and, to an extent, the frameworks of other religions, which had, at least in recent centuries, been somewhat more flexibly applied. Thus, British influence on the fluid social structure of India can in large part be characterised as a solidification of the privileges of the Hindu caste system through the influence of the exclusively high-caste scholars by whom the British were advised in the formation of their laws"(Wikipedia).
$2250USD

35. KINGSLEY, Mary Henrietta (1862 -1900)
Thirty Two Page Signed and Dated Manuscript in the Author's Hand of the First Chapter: Introduction to English West African History of Kingsley's Third and Last Book: “The Story of West Africa” London, 11 March 1899.
Kensington, London, 11 March 1899. Folio. 32 leaves. ca. 32.5 x 20.5 cm (13 x 8 inches) each. Manuscript in very good condition, housed in a red gilt tooled full morocco clamshell box.
32 Leaves, written in the author's own hand, signed by her in full, dated 11 March 1899, addressed to herself with postage stamp and postmark. This is the handwritten manuscript comprising the first chapter of her last and very rare book “The Story of West Africa”, which was part of the Story of the Empire series and edited by Howard Angus Kennedy. The manuscript is accompanied by a copy of the 169 page book published in 1900.
Mary Henrietta Kingsley was an English writer and explorer who greatly influenced European ideas about Africa and African people. This is the first chapter of Kingsley's third and last book which is the rarest of the trio and unknown to most collectors. Kingsley died in South Africa as this book was being published which may explain its rarity.
On return to England in 1895 from her first trip to Africa , Mary Kingsley settled into her brother's London home and began work on writing her book “Travels in West Africa”. The first book was a best seller, and she immediately set about writing a second containing all the material discarded earlier for lack of space. “West African Studies” was published, again by Macmillan, in 1899. At the same time, Kingsley became more active in various campaigns against colonial intervention in Africa. Kingsley was quite influential, with direct access to the Colonial Office, and British colonial policy after 1890 showed a greater concern for retaining African social institutions. In 1899, while planning her third trip to West Africa, Kingsley wrote to one of her few intimate friends, Matthew Nathan, an officer of the Royal Engineers, who became the Governor of Sierra Leone. The letter included the portentous comment: "I went down to West Africa to die. West Africa amused me and was kind to me and was scientifically interesting - and did not want to kill me just then. I am in no hurry. I don't care one way or the other, for a year or so."
Instead of West Africa, Kingsley departed in 1899 for South Africa; to collect specimens of fresh-water fish from the Orange River. On arrival at Cape Town, she was plunged into the thick of the recently declared Anglo-Boer War. She immediately went to the Army's Principal Medical Officer and offered her services. Apparently annoyed by her persistent application, and in an attempt to discourage further enquiries he suggested she try nursing Boer prisoners at a nearby camp in Simon's Town. Undeterred by an outbreak of typhoid and dysentery, Kingsley took up the post. She started smoking, and drank wine instead of water, in an attempt to avoid the contagion. But she failed, and on 3 June 1900 at the age of 37 she died of typhoid fever. Kingsley's last request was to be buried at sea. Her coffin was taken out into False Bay by torpedo-boat and, with full military and naval honours, interred (Wikipedia).
$8750USD

36. LUETKE, Count Feodor Petrovich (1797-1882)
Autograph Letter Signed "Luetke" and Dated Alexandrie, Monday 19th August, asking for help in renting the former residence of the Grand Duke Constantin in the city. The Letter is in French.
Alexandria, ca. 1850. Folded: One page of writing on four pages. Letter: 19 x 13 cm (7.5 x 5 inches) The letter is in fine condition.
"Count Fyodor Petrovich Litke, born Friedrich Benjamin Lütke, was a Russian navigator, geographer, and Arctic explorer. Litke started his naval career in the Imperial Russian Navy in 1813. He took part in Vasily Golovnin's world cruise on the ship "Kamchatka" from 1817 to 1819. Then from 1821 to 1824, Litke led the expedition to explore the coastline of Novaya Zemlya, the White Sea, and the eastern parts of the Barents Sea. From 1826 to 1829, he headed the world cruise on the ship "Senyavin", sailing from Cronstadt and rounding Cape Horn. He was accompanied in his venture by Capt. Mikhail Nikolaievich Staniukovich who was in command of the sloop Moller. During this voyage he described the western coastline of the Bering Sea, the Bonin Islands off Japan, and the Carolines, discovering 12 new islands. In 1835 Fyodor Litke was appointed by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia as tutor of his second son, Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaievich of Russia...
Litke was one of the organizers of the Russian Geographic Society and its president in 1845-1850 and 1857-1872. He was appointed Chairman of the Naval Scientific Committee in 1846. Litke was a commander-in-chief and a military governor of the ports of Reval (today's Tallinn) and later Kronstadt in 1850-1857. In 1855, Litke became a member of the Russian State Council. In 1873, Russian Geographical Society introduced the Litke gold medal. They named a cape, a peninsula, a mountain and a bay in Novaya Zemlya after Litke, as well as a group of islands of the Franz Josef Land, Baydaratskaya Bay, and Nordenskiöld Archipelago. A strait between Kamchatka and Karaginsky Island, as well as a Russian icebreaker also were named after him" (Wikipedia).
$1250USD

37. MURCHISON, Sir Roderick I (1792-1871)
Address at the Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Geographical Society 25th of May, 1863.
London: W. Clowes and Sons, 1863. Presentation First Edition. Octavo. 85 pp. Original blue printed wrappers. A very good copy.
Rare offprint presented by the Speaker, President of the R.G.S. Sir Roderick I Murchison to Professor Hochstetter. With Speke and Grant's Discovery of the Sources of the Nile and Livingstone's latest efforts. Murchison devoted a large part of his life "to the affairs of the Royal Geographical Society, of which he was in 1830 one of the founders, and he was president 1843-1845, 1851-1853, 1856-1859 and 1862-1871" (Wikipedia).
"Ferdinand Christian Ritter von Hochstetter was chosen as geologist to the Novara expedition (1857-1859), and made numerous valuable observations in the voyage round the world. In 1859 he was employed by the government of New Zealand to make a rapid geological survey of the islands" (Wikipedia).
$275USD

38. NANSEN, Fridtjof (1861-1930)
Original Signed Letter In English Dated "Nonnedal, 1st of August 1899 to "My dear Dr. Pempecki". With the original envelope with address and stamps (Norge 5 Øre + Norge, 35 Øre), post stamped. With A Studio Cabinet Photograph of Nansen Dated 1906 L. Forbeck.
Kristiania (Oslo), 1899 & 1906. 2 Pages on Folded Leaf. Letter and Photograph: ca. 17 x 11 cm (7 x 4 inches) each. Letter and envelope are in very good condition and the photo is in fine condition.
The letter: "This has been sent me by a mistake, I hope you have already got the proofs of it. Many thanks for your kind letter. I look forward to see you in September. You must excuse that the printing of your paper has taken such a long time, but there have been difficulties with the printer as the head man has been ill and has now died. Kindest regards Yours Sincerely Fridtjof Nansen." On verso of this leaf are written a few lines about his expedition to attain "Farthest North" (He recorded the latitude of the final northerly camp as 86°13.6'N) ,"Franz Josef Land Archipelago extended from Northbrook Island..," Northbrook Island is were Nansen met the English Explorer Frederick Jackson who upon meeting asked: "You are Nansen, aren't you?", and received the reply "Yes, I am Nansen." An encounter reminiscent of the meeting of Stanley and Livingstone.
"Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel laureate..., he led the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°13' during his North Pole expedition of 1893-96. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.., Nansen was honoured by many nations, and his name is commemorated in numerous geographical features, particularly in the polar regions" (Wikipedia).
[According to the address on the envelope Dr. Pempecki was a researcher at the] "Paläontologische Museum München (Palaeontological Museum Munich)" is a German national natural history museum situated in Munich, Bavaria. It is associated with the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. It has a large collection of fossils of animals and plants such as Mesozoic reptiles, early elephants and sabre-tooth tigers"(Wikipedia).
$2750USD

39. NIGHTINGALE, Thomas
Oceanic Sketches; with a Botanical Appendix by Dr Hooker of Glasgow. With Hooker Letter.
London: James Cochrane, 1835. First Edition With a Signed Letter by Dr. Hooker. Small Octavo. x, 132, 8 pp. Engraved frontispiece and 5 aquatint plates, 1 of which is hand-colored. Original publishers olive patterned cloth with a gilt black paper label. A near fine copy.
With an Autograph Letter Signed by Sir William Hooker, author of the Botanical Appendix, dated Sept. 14th 1850. The author spent time in Peru and Chile, before going on to the Galapagos Archipelago. There he found tortoises in abundance on the coast. Some of the Pacific islands visited were the Marquesas Islands, the Society Islands, Rarotonga, and Samoan Islands. He describes the habits of natives, including cannibals, in the various places he visited. Sabin 55303
$2750USD

40. PANAMA CANAL
[Photograph Album of the Construction of the Panama Canal, 1913].
1913. Oblong Folio. 18 leaves. With 35 photographs with descriptions, ca. 19 x 23cm (7.5 x 9.5 inches). With a Folding map: General Map of the Panama Canal. And Gray's Aero View of the Panama Canal. Period dark green gilt tooled full straight grained morocco. A very good album.
The strong images show: The construction of the Panama Canal, the operation of the Gatun Locks, Blowing up of the Gamboa Dyke, Culebra Cut, Gold Hill, Pedro Miguel Locks, Miraflores Spillway Dam, Miraflores Locks, and Balboa Terminals.
"In 1907 Roosevelt appointed George Washington Goethals as Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal. The building of the canal was completed in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of June 1, 1916. The canal was formally opened on August 15, 1914 with the passage of the cargo ship SS Ancon" (Wikipedia).
$1250USD

41. RANKIN, F. Harrison
The White Man's Grave, Autograph Manuscript By the Author of Chapter One (Arrival) latter published in The White Man's Grave: A Visit to Sierra Leone (London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1836, 2 vols).
Freetown, Sierra Leone(?), 1836. 12 Leaves. Pages: ca. 25 x 20.5 cm (10 x 8 inches) each. The manuscript is in very good condition and written in a legible hand.
These manuscript pages correspond to Chapter One of the work ("Arrival"), vol. 1, pp.[1]-20, with very minor corrections and additions. Rankin gives his first (and detailed) impressions of the people and the place, the effects of the heat, the infestation of insects, local activity such as a bustling market. He comments on the "aristocratic" bearing of the "free black men of Freetown". He concludes climactically with a brief description of a white lady being taken to the cemetery, adding: "This, thought I, is indeed Sierra Leone, the European's grave.
"In his Preface, Rankin reveals his motives in writing a comprehensive book about "a colony little visited". He wishes to make people better informed and less prejudiced about an area which has played (and still did) an important role in putting an end to the Slave Trade and which became "foster-mother" to liberated slaves. He believes this role should continue despite the expense. Other subjects within the larger work include: the history of the region; surrounding nations; colonisation; slaves and slavery; Freetown; settlers; the Maroons; Foulahs and Mandingos; white population; manufactures and trade; the Kroomen; communications; food and drink;
agriculture; position of women; the law; education; music and dancing; former explorers; the "Banana Islands"; the coast and inland; health and the climate; native customs. He concludes with extensive hints to travellers and an appendix containing statistics about languages, This chapter is described as missing in the description of the rest of the manuscript at a Sotheby's sale in 1963 (from the Bentley Estate).
$3750USD

42. READE, Sir Thomas (1785-1849)
Two Documents: Being the instructions to George William Crowe to act on the Bey’s behalf "in all such matters as may be for the service of His Highness & particularly to treat for a loan for his use"; with a separate Italian translation of the document signed by Hassuna Morali, First Interpreter of the Court of His Highness the Basha Bey of Tunis, further certified as genuine and signed overleaf by the British Consul General, Sir Thomas Reade, with the impressed seal of the British Consul General’s Office Tunis. [With] the Original Document in Arabic bearing the ink seal of the Bey of Tunis.
Tunis, 11th August 1828. 2 leaves each. Each 34 x 23 cm (12½ x 8½ inches). Each folded and consisting of two leaves. The Documents are in good condition.
Sir Thomas Reade, the British Consul at Tunis whose signature appears on one of these documents, played an important role in the abolition of slavery. Reade was Deputy Adjutant-General on St. Helena during Napoleon’s captivity and a zealous supporter of Government policy. He was present at Napoleon’s post-mortem and left a valuable account of it preserved in the Lowe Papers.
$1250USD

43. ROSAMEL, French Naval Minister Claude Charles Marie du Campe de (1774-1848)
A Significant Archive of Eleven Autographed Letters Signed "Rosamel" most from Rosamel's Time as French Naval Minister. The Letters, Most on Ministre de la Marine et des Colonies Letterhead and all from Paris, are All Addressed to l'Avocat General Joseph Pierre Chassan and Discuss Governmental, Political and Maritime Issues and Events Related to Rosamel's Naval Service and are Dated from the 19th of March 1834 to the 29th of September 1841.
Paris, 1834-1841. Eleven Letters: many folded and from one to four pages long. Letters from octavo to quarto in size. Letters in good to near fine condition.
This is an interesting and important archive of letters of one of the leading naval figures of the 19th Century. Of particular interest is the repeated discussion of French interests in Algiers and Senegal. During his time as French Naval Minister he was in charge of the scientific voyages of Dumont-D'Urville, Dupetit-Thouars and Gaimard.
"Claude Charles Marie du Campe de Rosamel served as French naval minister from September 6, 1836 until March 31, 1839. During his administration, several national scientific voyages were launched, most notably that of the Astrolabe to the Magellan Straits and Antarctica. It was during this voyage that an island was named in his honor. It was subsequently renamed Andersson Island" (Wikipedia).
$5250USD

44. SALAS, Luis Ccosi
[Photograph Album of the Restoration of Machu Picchu in 1958-9] Photographs with Descriptions, Folding Plan and Drawing and Contemporary Newspaper Clippings.
Cusco, 1958-9. Oblong Small Folio. 26 Leaves. With 65 photographs (some showing details of the ruins and others showing details of restoration plans) with detailed descriptions, one folding blue print restoration plan for the Porta Principal (Main Gate) and one blue print drawing of the site (both by Luis Ccosi Salas) and five El Comercio (Cuzco) and four El Sol (Cuzco) 1958-9 newspaper clippings about the restoration project. Period brown full sheep with a color illustration of an Indian on the front cover. A very good album.
Luis Ccosi Salas is an important Peruvian archaeologist who amongst other things produced a scale model of Machu Picchu in the 1940's, which is still one of the main attractions in the Museo de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú in Lima. This scale representation was designed to be viewed from the top down which was a new concept at the time. Luis Ccosi Salas was called in to be chief advisor in the Machu Picchu reconstruction project in 1958-9 and this album most likely put together by him during that time represents his photographs, plans and drawing for the project. Thus, this is a prime source of first hand material for Machu Picchu.
"Machu Picchu "Old Mountain, "is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres above sea. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru.., Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti.., The Incas started building the estate around AD 1400 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.., Machu Picchu.., since it was not found and plundered by the Spanish after they conquered the Incas, it is important as a cultural site" (Wikipedia).
$3750USD

45. SCHLIEMANN, Heinrich (1822-1890)
Autograph Letter Signed Dated Paris, 10th of April 1878, 53 Boulevard Haussmann and Addressed to Dr. Bowman (Sir William Bowman, ophthalmic surgeon) explaining that he did not call due to the sudden illness of his wife referring to the success of Bowman’s cold water douche on Schliemann’s eyes and to his order for spectacles.
Paris, 1878. 1 page. Ca. 22.5 x 14.5 cm (9 x 5.5 inches). The letter on bluish paper is in very good condition and clearly legible.
"I praise the Olympian gods that I addressed myself to you for your cold water douche has a marvellous effect on my eyes. I forget the name of the Optician in Bond Street. When you pass his magazine pray inform him of the circumstances which impeded me to call again for the spectacles ordered and of my intention to return to London as soon as Mrs S’s state permits my absence".
Heinrich Schliemann, the most famous archaeologist of the 19th century, "was a German businessman and archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an important archaeological excavator of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns. His successes lent material weight to the idea that Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid reflect actual historical events" (Wikipedia).
$2750USD

46. SCHWEINFURTH, Georg (1836-1925)
Autograph Letter Signed "Dr. G. Schweinfurth" to The Egyptologist Heinrich Brugsch Pascha (Prussian Consul in Kairo at this time) from Kenek in Egypt and Dated the 3rd of 3rd January 1865. [With] An Oval Mounted Portrait Photograph taken in Riga, Livonia in 1859 by C. Th. Suesseroth.
1865. Folded: Three Pages. Letter: 21 x 13 cm (8 x 5 inches); Photo ca. 10 x 7.5cm (4 x 23 inches). Both the letter and photograph are in fine condition.
In the Letter Schweinfurth Accepts Brugsch's offer to deliver an Article to the Geographical Society in Berlin and also some letters to the Prussian capital. He says that he will give this package to Mudir, who will hopefully soon get it to Brugsch. Furthermore, Schweinfurth explains that he tried to shorten his forty days travel to Kenek with work and that he plans to travel to Kosser, where he plans to stay a few days, on the day after tomorrow but knows that he'll probably get his next mail from European when he reaches Khartoum. Finally, he states that he is almost finished with his travel narrative which he intends to send in a future shipment.
"Georg August Schweinfurth was a German botanist, traveller in East Central Africa and ethnologist..., Commissioned to arrange the collections brought from the Sudan by Freiherr von Barnim and Dr Hartmann, his attention was directed to that region; and in 1863 he travelled round the shores of the Red Sea, repeatedly traversed the district between that sea and the Nile, passed on to Khartoum, and returned to Europe in 1866" (Wikipedia)
"Heinrich Karl Brugsch (also Brugsch-Pasha) was a German Egyptologist, born in Berlin. He was associated with Auguste Mariette in his excavations at Memphis. He became director of the School of Egyptology at Cairo, and his works on the subject are numerous, and of great value..., In 1864 he was consul at Cairo. Brugsch's services to Egyptology are most important, particularly in the decipherment of Demotic and the making of a vast Hieroglyphic-Demotic dictionary (1867-1882)" (Wikipedia).
$2250USD

47. SMITH, Admiral Sir William Sidney (1764-1840)
Archive of Five Autograph Letters Signed and Documents relating to the Career and Life of Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith. The Letters and Documents are all in French and written in the Period from 1818 to 1838 when Admiral Smith was a Resident in Paris.
Paris & Other, 1818-1838. Five documents from one to four pages. The documents range in size from octavo to folio. The letters and documents are all in very good condition.
The six autograph letters signed and documents include: A request for an audience with the Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding an urgent and important matter; An invitation on printed letterhead dated 24 April 1838 and Signed W.S.S.; Printed naval pass signed by William Sidney Smith with an official Ottoman stamp and by the order of John Keith; A Letter dated Paris 9 th of April 1835 to "Tres Noble Frere" discussing an English Embassy; A Letter dated Paris the 27th of August 1818 discussing the Siege of Gibraltar.
"Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith was the British admiral of whom Napoleon Bonaparte said, "That man made me miss my destiny"(Wikipedia). "Smith lived in Paris for much of the remainder of his life. Initially this was to escape his creditors. In 1811 he had been refunded £7375 for past expenses and, on petitioning government from Paris, his pension was doubled..,He was invested with the KCB in December 1815 and attained the rank of admiral on 19 July 1821. In Paris he formed the order of ‘knights liberators’ to campaign for the release of Christian slaves from captivity in the piratical states of north Africa. With characteristic enthusiasm, he continued to request naval employment" (Oxford DNB).
$3500USD

48. STANLEY, Henry Morton (1841-1904)
The American Testimonial Banquet to Henry M. Stanley. In recognition of his Heroic Achievements in the case of Humanity, Science & Civilization, and A Greeting to His Chief Officers, Portman Rooms, London May 30th 1890. The Hon. Ino. C. New Chairman & Geo. Shepard Page Esq. Vice Chairman. With a Signed Letter from Mouteney-Jephson and a tipped in Signature of H. M. Stanley.
London: Privately printed, 1890. First Edition With a Signed Letter from Mouteney-Jephson and a tipped in Signature of H. M. Stanley. Large Octavo. six leaves. Six mounted photographs including studio photos of Stanley, Lieutenant W. G. Stairs, Surgeon Thomas Heazle Parke, Captain Robert Henry Nelson, and Mr. A. J. Mounteney-Jephson. Extra illustrated with an original photograph of Stanley tipped onto the front free endpaper. Original blind stamped full calf, with the American Eagle atop star spangled arms with Stanley crossing the shield. Rebacked in style, otherwise a very good copy.
With a Signed Letter from Mouteney-Jephson and a tipped in Signature of H. M. Stanley. Upon his return from the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, Stanley was lionized and a Banquet was given in his honour and that of his officers. This is the leather-bound Program/Menu setting out he proceedings of that evening. Five pages printed text mounted on card. Following the title there is a list of the Committee members and the Honorary Stewards whose number included P.T. Barnum and James McNeil Whistler. The photographs of the Honoured Guests are followed by a description of the "Testimonial Shield," which in turn is followed by the menu and the toast list.
"The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1886 to 1889 was one of the last major European expeditions into the interior of Africa in the nineteenth century, ostensibly to the relief of Emin Pasha, General Charles Gordon's besieged governor of Equatoria, threatened by Mahdist forces. Led by Henry Morton Stanley, the expedition came to be both celebrated, for its ambition in crossing "darkest Africa", and notorious, for the bloodshed and death left in its wake"(Wikipedia).
$3250USD

49. WARWICK, Robert Rich, Second Earl (1587-1658)
Original Warrant Signed "Warwicke" as Lord High Admiral of England (for Parliament) during the Civil War addressed to the Commissioners of the Navy ordering the complete provisioning of the fleet "for the next summer’s guard" listing all 44 ships by name beneath.
Warwick House, 6 February 1648. Four Leaves (two with text). Ca. 32.5 x 22.5 cm (13 x 9 inches). Right margin ragged and soiled, but complete, and in good condition otherwise. Warwick’s device (a crown above an anchor) impressed upper left.
"In 1642, following the dismissal of the Earl of Northumberland as Lord High Admiral, Warwick was appointed commander of the fleet by Parliament"(Wikipedia). Another of Warwick's titles was Lord of the Caribee Islands and he was active in colonial ventures becoming president of the New England Company and a zealous member of the Bermuda and Providence Companies. The warrant replaces an earlier order with this revised list of ships and requires the provision of boatswains’ and carpenters’ stores for the whole summer’s campaign. Colonial interests. From the Collection of the 5th Earl of Rosebery.
$2500USD

50. WATERLOW, George S. (1890’s-1932)
[Album of Forty-Three Water colors and Pencil Sketches of Western Scenery; Scenes in British Columbia, California Nevada etc].
1901-1912. Large Quarto. 43 works on sixteen leaves. Forty-three original water colors, pencil sketches, and oil paintings of various sizes, mounted on recto and verso of album leaves. Images generally ca. 11 x 17cm (4 x 6.5) inches and some larger. Period black elaborately gilt tooled full morocco. A couple of leaves with some minor expert repair, otherwise a very good album.
An excellent collection of watercolors and pencil sketches made by Waterlow, whose works have been exhibited at the Irish National Academy. This album includes beautiful views of the natural scenery in the western United States. Two of the water colors are nicely painted scenes of Nevada made while Waterlow travelled on the Southern Pacific line. Of particular note, however, are the eight water colors and pencil sketches of scenes in the mountains of British Columbia, Mount Donald, and Arrow Lakes, including a couple of sketches of mining operations there. Also included is a pleasing water color of Monterey Bay, and a sketch made in a Santa Barbara garden. Other drawings show the Hudson River and Lake Superior, with the remaining paintings made during European and other excursions. This artist works usual fetch between $1000-$3000 for larger works.
The complete list of water colors and drawings is:
− "Through the plains of Nevada from the Southern Pacific Train, U.S.A." Water color, 7 x 4 inches.
− Landscape with mountains in distance. "Through the plains of Nevada from the Southern Pacific Train, U.S.A." Water color, 7 x 4 inches. Different view, closer to snow- capped mountains.
− "Sunset on the Prairie from the C.P.R. Train." Water color, 8 3/4 x 6 1/4 inches.
− "Lands End." Water color, 8 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches. Large rock formation overlooking coastal view.
− "Rossland, B.C." Water color, 6 x 4 inches. Pleasant view of British Columbia scenery, trees in foreground, village in distance.
− "Arrow Lakes, B.C." Watercolor, 6 x 4 inches. View of the lake, with mountains and forest in background.
− "The Prairie from the C.P.R." Signed in pencil by the artist. Water color, 6 x 4 inches. Small house at left.
− "Lady of the Columbia, above the Trail Shelter, B.C." Water color, 6 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "A poor miner's claim, B.C." Pencil sketch, 6 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "Columbia Kootenay Mine, B.C." Pencil sketch, 6 3/4 x 4
1/2 inches.
− "Near Victoria, Vancouver Island." Pencil sketch, 7 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "In the woods at Glacier, British Columbia." Pencil sketch, 4 x 6 inches.
− "Mount Donald. Glacier, in the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia." Water color, 4 x 6 inches.
− "In my Garden, 'Bonnymade' - at Montecito. Santa Barbara, Cal." Pencil sketch, signed by the artist in
lower right, 7 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "Monterey Bay, California." Water color, 7 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches.
− "Mount Donald and Glacier. Rocky Mountains, British Columbia. October, 1903." Water color, 8 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches.
− "Iron Mountain. Lake Superior." Pencil sketch, 7 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "Lake Superior." Pencil sketch, 7 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "Sunrise from H.M.S. Ophir, Sept. 1901. In the Gut of Causo." Watercolor, 6 1/2 x 4 inches.
− "In the gut of Causo, from the H.M.S. Ophir, Sept. 1901." Water color, 6 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "H.M.S. Diadem, St. Lawrence River." Water color, 4 x 6 inches.
− "From H.M.S. Ophir in the Gut of Causo." Water color, 6 x 4 inches.
− "H.M.S. Diadem. Escorting H.M.S. Ophir in the St. Lawrence River. Sept. 1901." Pencil sketch, 4 x 3 1/2 inches.
− "H.M.S. Ophir. Halifax. Sept. 1911." Pencil sketch, 6 x 4 inches.
− "Jubilee Review. Spithead." Water color, 4 x 6 inches.
− "Railway Bridge, Hudson River, Oct. 1901." Pencil sketch, 6 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "Hudson River from Train, Oct. 1901." Pencil sketch, 6 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches.
− "Hudson River from Train, Oct. 1901." Pencil sketch, 6 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches. Different view from above.
− "Moonlight, South Atlantic." Oil painting, 8 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches. Moonlit ocean.
− "Moonlight near St. Helena." Oil painting, 8 x 5 1/2 inches.
− "Sunset. South Atlantic." Oil painting, 8 x 5 inches. Untitled round oil painting, 6 1/4 inches diameter. Sea, sky, and clouds.
− "Hastings Pier from our Lodgings, February 1872." Water color, 8 x 6 inches.
− "Boulogne." Water color and pastel, 8 1/4 x 6 inches. Handsome view of bridge and sunset.
− "In the Barrancho della Cruz Orolava, Teneriffe." Pencil sketch, 7 x 5 inches.
− "Lac Chiberta, Biarritz, Dec. 1912." Pencil sketch, 6 x 4 inches.
− "Kynance Cove, Cornwall." Water color, 7 x 5 inches.
− "On the Atlantic. 1903." Signed and dated by the artist. Water color, 6 x 4 inches. Scene of sail vessel at sea.
− "Oban." Water color, 8 x 5 1/2 inches. Sunset at sea with sailboat.
− "Grand Canary." Water color, 7 x 5 inches. Beach scene.
− "Loch Scavaig, Isle of Skye, July, 1880." Water color, 7 x 4 3/4 inches.
− "Atlas Mountains, from Mustapha, Algiers." Water color, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.
Beach scene. Untitled water color, 4 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches. Mediterranean scene of road leading to coast.
$7500USD

---