Natural history, Voyages, Military, Fine Bindings ….

12 noon, Sunday 27th July

We have so many goodies in our next auction. Many beautiful and important works. See below of just a few of the highlights….

Lot 3 Birds of Australia by John Gould. A comprehensive and scientifically groundbreaking work. It was the first comprehensive survey of the birds of Australia. A remarkable 681 species describe with an addition 328 described by Gould being new to Western science.

Lot 7 Temple of Flora is the third part of the New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus by Dr Robert Thornton and is regarded as a great 19th C English botanical publication. Thornton commissioned artists Peter Henderson, Philip Reinagle, Abraham Pether and Sydenham Edwards to illustrate with a vision of art meeting science.

Lot 38 Joseph Banks’ Florilegium – Botanical Treasures from Cook’s First Voyage. Sydney Parkinson made many of the original drawings from the specimens collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander collected on board the Endeavor. The engravings were original done in the 1771-1784 but is wasn’t until the 1980s that Bank’s vision came to life.

Lot 1 Darwin Zoology on HMS Beagle. Charles Darwin (1809-1892) was the naturalist on the voyage of the HMS Beagle(1831-1836) which spent much time around South America. It was in the Galapagos islands that he observed that the finches on this island had habitat specific ways of gathering food. He reflects that this voyage was an important part of his life. It may have been the seed for Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Lot 10 Facsimile of the Kelmscott Chaucer. William Morris was a key figure in the Arts & Crafts Movement and founder of The Kelmscott Press. Morris designed the book’s typefaces, initial letters and borders. The pages were printed by hand printed and bound in a medieval style. The Chaucer was published a few months before Morris’s death(1896) and is considered his masterpiece.

When 12PM noon, Sunday 27th July

Catalogue https://connect.invaluable.com/sydneybook/

Timed Auction online bidding and absentee

Absentee bids and questions due by email 3pm Sydney Time Friday 25th July 2025


Books, bookplates, postcards: First editions, Military, History …

In our next auction we return to our usual eclectic collections of items from bookplates to books and postcards.

There is a wonderful collection of bookplates including some of Australia’s greats Sidney Long (Lot 25), George Perrottet and Andrian Feint. If you like bookplates, then look at Keith Wingrove (Lot 15) book which features his bookplates done by numerous Australian artists and has one done by Norman Lindsay on the front cover.

If you like printmaking check out the folder of prints by Bruno Heroux (Lot 30) or the artist book by Tate Adams (Lot 29).

There is a first edition Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by JK Rowling (Lot 81) and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin Beatrix Potter (Lot 8).

There is also a first English edition of the Koran (Lot 334). We also have Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Meccah by Richard F. Burton (Lot 71).

For the Australian history buff check out the Aboriginal Life in Old Australia (Lot 52) and 1842 Squattocracy Act (Lot 17).

We have lots of military items including a photograph album of Egypt during World War One (Lot 192) and numerous unit histories including WWI Australian and Malayan Battle-Planes Baker Limited edition (Lot 35) and Rare Unit History 6th Division Cavalry Commandos (Lot 63).

If you like fine bindings Dickens works are impressive! (Lot 82) and Le Mierre’s Poems is not only bound beautifully it also comes with a letter from the author (Lot 14).

Viewing Notes

When: 12 noon Sunday 13th July

Timed auction Online bidding and absentee

Viewing encouraged.
10am – 4pm weekdays
At Sydney Rare Book Auctions Dalgety Square
at C11/372-428 Wattle Street, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Bidding absentee, on Invaluable and on our website.

Absentee bids are due by email 3pm Sydney Time Friday 11th July 2025.

Questions welcomed. Please get them in before 3pm Sydney Time Friday 11th July 2025.

Catalogue