Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2008 Issue
Thirty-two Rare Books, Prints and Manuscripts from Hordern House
Hawaiian Queen Kamamalu (Tamehamalu) on her ill-fated trip to London.
Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was given the task of finding La Perouse. This voyage turned out almost as poorly as the one they were trying to locate. It did not leave until four years after La Perouse disappeared, and it found no trace of him. Fortunately, it did a good amount of scientific research in Australia. However, the timing could not have been worse, as the French Revolution was underway, and the ship was divided between royalist officers and a revolutionary crew. D'Entrecasteaux would himself be taken ill and die. The officers would take the ship to Java to place themselves under Dutch protection from the crew. As for La Perouse, his whereabouts would remain a mystery for another 40 years, until some pieces of wreckage were finally discovered on a Pacific island. Item 17 is Voyage de Dentrecasteaux, envoye a la Recherche de la Perouse. AU $37,500 (US $32,746).
Tamehamalu (more commonly known as Kamamalu) was a young (22-year-old) Hawaiian Queen when she and her husband, 27-year-old King Kamehameha II, traveled to Great Britain on a state visit in 1824. He planned to meet with King George IV to arrange for an alliance with England. It wasn't to be. They arrived and quickly became the toast of London. Unfortunately, like so many American Indians, they lacked immunity to common European diseases. Queen Kamamalu was stricken with measles and died on July 8. The King died less than a week later. Their bodies were returned to Hawaii for burial. Item 12 is a lithograph portrait of the Queen from her trip. AU $15,500, (US $13,572).
The website for Hordern House is www.hordern.com. Their telephone number is (02) 9356 4411.
