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Rare Travel Books Page 2


The Picture of Birmingham,
being a concise but comprehensive account of that place 
intended for the information both of residents and visitors.
Price : $250 Buy now

Published in  Birmingham;- by J. Drake, 1825. ;- 1st. Edition with a fold-out colour map of Birmingham to the frontispiece;- & 4 pages of plates. 112 Pages;-  Original blue paper boards with a re-bound brown leather spine;- This was the first of three editions of Drake's Pictures of Birmingham and this edition is particularly scarce & rare. in fine collectable edition;-

 A Brief History of Birmingham;
intended as a guide to the inhabitant stranger;- 1805
Price : $350 Buy now

Published by Longman, Hurst;- London 1805;- 3rd. Edition;- A fold-out map of the Town of Birmingham by Wilks & Grafton, Birmingham;- 58 un-cut pages;- Containing all subsequent changes & up to 1805;-Original light blue paper covers with a light brown paper spine; This is very Scarce/Rare, no other copies to be found on the world wide web;- In fine collectable condition;-

 An account of the manner in which a standing general commercial committee was established at Birmingham, :
for the purpose of watching over and conducting the public interests of that town and neighbourhood;-
Price : $300 Buy now

Publisher by Pearson and Rollason;-1784- in Birmingham;- 23 pages;- Re-bound in marbled paper covers;- A Scarce/Rare early copy of Birmingham;- Highly collectable;- In fine condition;-

Russell, Rev. Michael
 VIEW OF ANCIENT AND MODERN EGYPT; With an Outline of Its Natural History. 1831
Price $100 Buy Now

Published in Edinburgh 1831 by Oliver and Boyd. Hardcover.12mo., 480pp., 10 full page  engravings, one foldout map of Egypt. Original brown cloth binding, with a white paper label to the top of the spine;- 

9 engraved plates with tissue guards..the 10 plate is opposite the fold-out map of Egypt within the front covers. a clean tidy copy of an early travel book of North Africa. fine copy;- 

5. The Private Journal of of H.M.S. Hecla, 
during the recent voyage of discovery under Captain Parry. by Captain G. F. Lyon
Price : $500 Buy now

First edition, 8vo, pp. x 468; 7 engraved plates after Lyon, 1 folding map; uncut copy in contemporary (if not original) boards, original brown calf with gilt label on spine;  Arctic Bibliography 10531: "Author's record of the second Parry expedition to Canadian Arctic waters in the Fury and Hecla, 1821-23." "Almost the entire volume is devoted to the narration of the peculiarities of the Aborigines of the Arctic regions." Lyon's drawings were also used to illustrate Parry's Second Voyage.

6. A Voyage to Hudson's Bay, 1819
During the Summer of 1812. - Voyage to the North Pole, in the Frigate the Syrene.
by Dr. Thomas M’Keevor & Christopher Paulin de la Poix Freminville
Price : $1,000 Buy now

2 works in one volume. 8vo., (9 x 5 6/8 inches). Published by Richard Phillips 1819. 1st. edition;- Fine aquatint frontispiece and five aquatint plates, total of 6 rare plates;-  Modern calf backed marbled paper boards.  M'Keevor was a medical advisor on Thomas Douglas, fifth earl of Selkirk's expedition of 1812 to establish a colony at Red River, the first European settlement in what is now western Canada. M'Keevor records in considerable detail the customs of Inuit natives and Arctic geography and fauna, as well as an account of the Red River settlement. Accompanying his description are spectacular aquatints of ice-flows, iceburgs, and an engraving of a polar bear. Bound with Christophe Paulin Chevalier de las Poix de Freminiville's "Voyage to the North Pole" in 1806, one of his earliest voyages. An archeologist, sailor and naturalist de Freminville began his career on the seas in 1801, inspired by the voyages of Captain James Cook, which he is reputed to have read for the first time at the age of 8. Rising steadily through the ranks he became a captain in 1830. During his many years at sea Freminiville was involved in several scientific expeditions. Between the years 1823-1829 he sailed along the Central and Southern American coastline, and as on all his voyages, drawing coastal profiles and views, and specimens of exotic creatures, some of which were named in his honour, including a number of marine species, but most notably the Eagle Ray (Myliobatis Fremonvillei). Including a Vocabulary of the Dialects of The Chippeway Indian Language;-  Stunning condition and very rare...two in one.

7. The History of Paraguay. 1769
Containing Amongst Many Other New, Curious, and Interesting Particulars of That Country, a Full and Authentic Account of the Establishments Formed There By the Jesuits, from Among the Savage Natives.
By Father Charlevoix.
Price :  $1250 Buy now


Published   P & W Wilson &c Dublin: P & W Wilson &c. G : in 1769;- fine condition;- 2 Vols. Complete...Original bindings. Very Rare in the two vols.Early travel books about South America are always Rare;-Father Charlevoix (1682-1761) lived for a time in Canada, and travelled extensively. Besides this history of Paraguay he wrote works about Japan, Canada, and the Antilles. He is not, however, famous as a traveller, but as a historian and is one of the best of that period.  Probably the most successful missionary enterprise in world history was that of the Jesuit reductions in Paraquaria (Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil). From 1610 to 1767 the Society of Jesus ministered to the Guaraní, developing their already high-level culture into one totally acculturated to the European way of life. Self-government, capitalistic production, a printing press, an armed and trained militia, and a highly developed native language were among the salient contributions of the Jesuits in Paraquaria. Jesuit Father Pierre Françoise-Xavier Charlevoix (1682-1761) His history of the Jesuits in Paraguay was the most inclusive of the Jesuit chronicles of the region and the last prior to expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767.Although Charlevoix did not visit Paraguay, he has left us an indelible account of the Jesuit Province of Paraguay up to mid-eighteenth century. Although he had no personal knowledge of the area, he made excellent use of many Spanish documents placed at his disposal. Many consider these manuscripts, presented here in both Spanish and French,  Charlevoix’s history covers not only Paraguay, but also the border regions of Argentina and Brazil (including, for instance, the founding of Buenos Aires and its early history). Included is information on natural history and resources (such as mining);-

8. North of England and Scotland in MDCCIV
Price : $200 Buy now

  Published in Edinburgh 1818 - [Scotland.] North of England and Scotland in MDCCIV. Edinburgh:  Publisher William Blackwood, 1818. (4), 71  pages.  1st. Edition.  only 100 copies printed so very scarce; The leaf following the title-page contains a brief explanation of the origin of this text: "The following journal is now first published from the original manuscript, formerly in the possession of the late Mr. Johnes of Hafod, the well-known translator of Froissart, Joinville, &c. Nothing is known with regard to the author, but it appears probable that he was a Londoner." The writer found the Scots "commonly blown up with a strange prejudice to the English in general." A printed note on the verso of the title reads, "Only a hundred copies printed." Marbled paper to the covers with a dark brown leather to the spine gilt lettering along the spine; A handsome copy of a scarce book, in fine condition.

9. Astoria;  
By Irving Washingtonor,
Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains.
Price : $250 Buy now

Published by Richard Bentley 1839. 1st. English Edition. Hardcover, VERY GOOD, 440 pp., rebound in dark-brown cloth, with gilt lettering to the spine. Engraved illustration of author on forepage, rice paper, the usual age-spotting, some rubbing to corners and edges; tight copy. Text includes author's introduction dated Sept., 1836 and an appendix, including "Draft of a Petition to Congress, sent by Mr. Astor in 1812"; "Letter from Mr. Gallatin to Mr. Astor, dated New York, August 5, 1835"; "Notices of the present state of the Fur Trade, chiefly extracted from an article published in Silliman's Journal for January 1834"; "Height of the Rocky Mountains" including a letter from Professor James Renwick of Columbia College, New York, February 23, 1836, to W. Irving, Esq.; and "Suggestions with Respect to the Indian tribes, and the Protection of Our Trade". Classic record of the first effort in the United States to settle the Pacific Coast. A Rare book by a Famous Author. I offer this Rare book for £150. Early American travel book. Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith and Muhammad, and several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra. Irving also served as the U.S. minister to Spain from 1842 to 1846. He made his literary debut in 1802 with a series of observational letters to the Morning Chronicle, written under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle. After moving to England for the family business in 1815, he achieved international fame with the publication of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. in 1819. He continued to publish regularly—and almost always successfully—throughout his life, and completed a five-volume biography of George Washington just eight months before his death, at age 76, in Tarrytown, New York. Irving, along with James Fenimore Cooper, was among the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving encouraged American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe. Irving was also admired by some European writers, including Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Thomas Campbell, Francis Jeffrey, and Charles Dickens. As America's first genuine internationally best-selling author, Irving advocated for writing as a legitimate profession, and argued for stronger laws to protect American writers from copyright infringement.

11. Notes of a Journey in the North of Ireland,
in the Summer of 1827 : to which is added, a Brief Account of the Siege of Londonderry, in 1689
Price : $375 Buy now

Published by Baldwin and Cradock 1828. And Sold by Wakeman & Cumming;- Dublin;- Hempton & Ireland ; Londonderry; No name of Author on the Title page, but it was written by a Mrs. John Jackson. 1827. Original three quarter dark brown leather binding with red marble paper to front and back covers. Gilt lettering &date 1827 &  decorations to the spine;- A fine copy of a scarce and rare book, no other copies to be found world wide. Engraved Frontispiece of the Giants Causeway and a very find foldout map of Ireland present; Plus 3 further plates;- An Appendix of 25 pages containing a brief account of the siege of Londonderry  in 1689 to the back pages. And this section was published by J. and J. Jackson, -Market Place- Louth. A rare find and highly collected. Scarce.

12. WORTH, R. N.
Tourist's Guide to Somersetshire: Rail and Road
Price : $50 Buy now

Published by Edward Stanford ;- London;- 3rd. Edition 1888. Hard back binding in publisher's original russet cloth covers, gilt lettering to spine and upper panel. 8vo 6½" x 4¼" 168, 32 [pp] An Index to the back pages. Fold-out map to front, plan of Wells Cathedral. Fine condition, highly collectable.

13. Charles Armar Wilkins
Curiosities of Travel or Glimpses of Nature
Price : $70 Buy now

Publishedd by Tinsley Brothers 1876 - A two volume in one. 1st. Edition of this fascinating work, bound in blue cloth with gilt decoration of a desert scene to the front cover, gilt lettering and decorations to the spine. frontispiece is present, a fine copy.

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