Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - September - 2004 Issue
Voyages and More<br>From Hordern House
Image from John Latham's A General History of Birds.
John Gould was to Europe what Audubon was to America. He published books filled with beautiful drawings of birds. His "Birds of Australia" was published around the same time as the Octavo (and popular) edition of Audubon's "Birds of America," and like Audubon, he followed it with a lesser known book of mammals. In Gould's case, the book is called The Mammals of Australia, and it is one of the most attractive animal books you will find. Gould was so amazed by the mammals he saw in Australia that he went ahead with this book even though he had no anticipation of it being as financially rewarding as his bird books. Item 36. Price on request.
Item 28 is the first edition, including the large atlas, of Matthew Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis; undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803... Flinders was sent to map the entire coastline of Australia, and he completed the first circumnavigation of the continent. He established that Australia was just one large island, not split down the middle as had previously been believed. AUD $86,000 (US $60,641).
Item 46 is the "best" (complete) English edition of La Perouse's A Voyage Round the World, performed in the Years 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788... La Perouse had already explored much of the Pacific when he arrived in Australia in 1788. He visited with the English who were already settled at Botany Bay and then set sail for the remainder of his expedition. La Perouse was never heard from again. Despite many search parties, his disappearance remained a mystery for 40 years before wreckage was finally located. Fortunately, La Perouse had a habit of sending parts of his journal home with others at various stops, so his report survived. AUD $14,500 (US $10,226).
We will finish with some imaginary voyages. This book is by Gabriel de Foigny and is called A New Discovery of Terra Incognita Australis, or the Southern World by James Sadeur a French-man... This is the first English edition from 1693. There was no Sadeur, but there would be an Australia. Foigny's use of that name and his naming of the inhabitants as "Australians" is significant as this is believed to be the first use of that term in English. Sadeur "discovered" a Utopian society in Australia with little resemblance to what would be found when the continent was explored for real. Item 40. Price on request. If you want an even more fantastic imaginary Australia, there is Viages de Enrique Wanton a las Tierras Incognitas Australes from 1781-1785. This four-volume set, written by Zaccaria Seriman and translated into Spanish and expanded upon by Joaquin de Guzman y Manrique, describes the imaginary Mr. Wanton's trip to Australia. He discovers within the continent a society of monkeys living as fashionable Europeans, attending coffeehouses, balls, and the theater. Item 42. AUD $4,400 (US $3,104).
Hordern House may be found on the internet at www.hordern.com while their phone number is (61-2) 9356 4411.
