Highlights

Rare: all published. The beautifully drawn and handcoloured plates of The Entomology of Australia make it one of the finest of all Australian illustrated natural history books, and one of a very select group of important colour-plate books on Australian natural history issued before 1840; others in this category include the famous books by Smith and Lewin. Gray’s was the second separately published work on Australian entomology.

A wonderful example of the skill of early printers. This 1474 leaf was printed by Zainer in Augsburg, with coloured initials added by hand after the printing. A huge leaf, folio size, 405x285 mm. Text is from the second edition of the Pantheologia - a theological work of Dominican Raniero Giordani of Pisa (d. 1351). It was organised alphabetically as a dictionary of important theological concepts. Written c. 1331 and influenced by the works of Thomas Aquinas. The red initial ’T’ begins Chapter 6 of Rainerius’ discussion on animal sacrifices.

London: 1821. 2 vols., small octavo, xii (lacking vii/viii), 12, xxiv ( lacking i - iv), 214 pp; [I], [215]-592 pp. With an engraved frontispiece to each volume, and 230 illustrations including three maps (two folding), 17 woodcuts and 6 engraved plates by Blake, and four other designs by Blake engraved by others. Original sheep rebacked to style, in a quarter calf box (just starting to show wear at the corners). The first volume is very good internally though showing more age-toning and with just the occasional fox mark and offsetting from prints, the second volume is very good. Item #22

LEWIN, John William (1770-1819) A natural history of the birds of New South Wales ... London : Henry H. Bohn, 1838. Folio, original publisher’s binding of quarter crushed morocco, spine lettered in gilt ‘Lewin’s Birds of New Holland’, green cloth covered boards, yellow endpapers, pp [iv], 26 etched plates with original gouache hand colouring, interleaved with accompanying letterpress text. A fine example, in original condition, of one of the rarest illustrated works of Australian natural history.

Ken Kesey looks back on the 1964 trip of the Merry Pranksters in their psychedelic bus across the United States told largely in dialogued transcript including the famed monologues of Neal Cassady and illustrated throughout with previously unpublished photographs of the voyage from coast to coast partying, handing out LSD, and travelling further. A real glimpse at the psychedelic cult tale told in Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. This copy signed by Kesey, and one of a small number he individually hand marbled in swirling yellow, purple and blue paint.

From 'Dictionaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle', a French natural history series reknown for the superb quality of the plates. Edouard Travies is regarded as one of the great French natural history artists of the 19th century.

[Copenhagen] Denmark, Politikens Forlag, December 2006 and 2007, Hardcover illustrated pictorial boards FIRST EDITION, first printing in English together with Danish third impression, SIGNED and with laid in ephemera Both editions were privately published by Noma in very small print runs. Laid in are the receipt for the purchase of the books at Noma dated 6 September 2007; a menu and two table cards.

[Circa 20th Century]. One case of cast metal very small movable type sorts for Japanese kanji, hiragana and katakana, case 13.5 x 13.5 cm, the type 2.2 x 05 x 0.5 cm, 25 columns x 25 rows of sort specimens; in very good condition. Fine examples of Japanese type.

Mary Hammond was born in 1928. Her sketches of people and places around Melbourne Prices range from $475-$850 Unframed

First editions, complete in twelve volumes.

Stipple engraving with original hand-colouring after Pancrae Bessa, 1836.

London, Constable & Co, 1925. First edition. Martin Boyd's first novel, published under a nom de plume.