We guarantee the authenticity and completeness of all items (unless otherwise described), and are happy to provide a certificate to this effect. All items can be assumed to be in good condition, with any defects being described in our description.
We guarantee the authenticity and completeness of all items (unless otherwise described), and are happy to provide a certificate to this effect. All items can be assumed to be in good condition, with any defects being described in our description.
A preview of our latest catalogue Travel & Exploration 2023, curated by senior specialist Julian MacKenzie.
Our latest catalogue, Exploration & Travel 2023 is about to be published. The 131 items include spectacular voyages and beautiful colour plate books, so I have selected, as a preview, five items that might get overlooked amongst such grand offerings.
Item 5 is a copy of Albert Armitage’s Two Years in the Antarctic. To my mind this is one of the most important narratives of the Antarctic ‘Golden Age’, being one of the few first-hand accounts of Scott’s ‘Discovery’ Expedition. With its fugitive green cloth binding it is tricky to find a good-looking copy but here there is only minor fading to the spine and the copy is further elevated by having a lengthy presentation inscription from Armitage.
In what is quite a strong section on Africa, my favourite is item 52. This is the individual issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society for 1857. It contains the first account of David Livingstone’s discoveries in South Africa. It is just such a beautifully preserved copy, and the chances of finding another are very slim.
I don’t buy many books on Europe outside of Greece and the Balkans, but I do have a soft spot for the chilly northern climes. Item 73 is the privately printed account of William Hooker’s Notes on Norway(1839). As a doctor and botanist, Hooker brings a scientific mind to his observations. This, combined with the atmospheric lithographs of the far north, the original nondescript brown wrappers, and the fact that it is an inscribed presentation copy, really appeal to me.
A small book printed anonymously in Basra in 1917 might not attract too much attention but The Arab of Mesopotamia (item 86) is by Gertrude Bell. In it she turns her attention to a variety of subjects including not only the tribes and chiefs of Iraq, Syria, and Eastern Arabia, but also Palestine and Zionism, as well as Kurdistan. Hot topics then as now.
Finally, my favourite entry, item 116, the North Western Railway Time table for special trains conveying their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales and suite, Lahore (1905). I suppose it is not really a book, rather a stunningly beautiful brochure produced for the royal party, celebrating the visit of the future King George V and Queen Mary to India. What makes it for me is the series of 12 original mounted photographs including the tomb of Ranjit Singh and the Golden Temple at Amritsar. This tour produced a lot of works on paper, but few can match this for the sheer sense of luxury. Definitely ‘Peak Raj’.
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Shapero Rare Books is an internationally renowned dealer in London, specialising in antiquarian & rare books and works on paper, with particular expertise in fine illustrated books from the 15th to the 20th century, travel & voyages, natural history, modern firsts, rare children’s books, guidebooks, Hebraica & Judaica, Eastern European, and Islamica.
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Speke's third and final expedition to Africa. The account of Speke's third and final expedition to Africa. This took place in 1860 with his friend ...
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A handsome set, with illustrations exploring the regions of India through architecture, people, and geography. First edition; 2 vols, 8vo; numero...
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A valuable description of the culture of India in the 1820s. Heber's tour encompassed a journey through Bihar, Rohilkhand, Rajputana, and Gujarat,...
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Laird was a member of the famous shipbuilding family and the Alburkah, built by his yard, was the first iron vessel to make an ocean voyage. The ...
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Inscribed on the upper wrapper: 'Mrs. W????/ With Wm. Hooker's/ Compliments'.Scarce. William Dawson Hooker (1816-1840), physician and botanist, un...
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First English grammar of Sinhala. Chater's book is the first English grammar of Sinhala, the major language of Sri Lanka, and the first major book ...
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Scarce. Trant began his journey in October 1829, travelling extensively through Greece, before arriving in Constantinople. The work contains 'a li...
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A German counterpart to Stanley's In Darkest Africa. 'A German counterpart to Stanley's In Darkest Africa, this represents Peter's journey to find ...
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Churchill's first book. 'While I was attached to the Malakand Field Force, I wrote a series of letters from the London Daily Telegraph. The favoura...
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Johnston was invited in 1884 on behalf of the Royal Society to undertake a scientific mission to explore Mount Kilimanjaro and its surroundings. T...
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Includes views of the Ionian Islands, Malta, Gibraltar and Sicily after drawings by Lieut. Henry Allen, Bartlett and Allom.4to, engraved additiona...
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The expedition was sent by the RGS under its African Exploration Fund scheme. It was led by the cartographer Keith Johnston on a route from Dar es...
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Scarce. Alexandre de Rhodes (1591-1660), 'the father of the romanization of Vietnamese' (Lust), wrote several books relating to his own experience...
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Ruggiero Boscovich (1711-1787), an Italian-Croatian Jesuit polymath, travelled to Constantinople in 1761 with the Venetian ambassador Pierre Corre...
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Foundation work of neo-classical architecture with good architectural provenance. In July 1757, in company with the French architect C.L. Clerissea...
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A survey of Haiti at an important time, when the island was united under Boyer. Includes chapters on Haitian independence.First edition. 8vo, vii...
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Jennings gives an account of the British expedition against Mohamed Abdille Hassan known as the 'Mad Mullah', as well containing much on local cus...
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The author was treasurer and advisor to the Nawab of Tonk, a principality in the northwest of India, now part of the Indian state of Rajasthan. W...
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The public perception of the East India Company, an organisation which was to become one of Britain's most notorious colonial ventures, was mediated by a collective of artists. Diplomatic wrangling, imperial posturing, trade and warfare became the subjects of a significant artistic movement, aimed at depicting and dissecting the Company’s involvement in the political and social life of the period.
The woods and rivers, hills and hollows of fiction constitute some of our earliest and most beloved memories: from the Hundred Acre Wood to the home of Mr. McGregor. Join us this Easter as we travel through the imaginary places and winding roads of children’s literature.
Welcome to TEFAF Maastricht: the fair that plays host to some of the most memorable treasures in the art world. With artworks that span over 7000 years, the event has an illustrious history, welcoming collectors and art loves alike for more than three decades.
This International Woman’s Day, travel from the political vicissitudes of Rome to the sun draped heat of the Sasanian empire, through cold moors and loveless houses, to gardens at the heart of England and London’s diluvian crowds.
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