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Australian & Colonial History — Leski Auctions Pty. Ltd.

Articles on this Sale

Auction House:Leski Auctions Pty. Ltd.Number of lots recorded:625
Sale Title:Australian & Colonial HistoryLots with images:618
Auction Location:MelbournePrices available:624
Date:15-Jul-2018
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A shelf of books by or about Professor Griffith Taylor. Thomas Griffith Taylor (1880, 1963) was an English-born geographer, anthropologist and world explorer. He was a survivor of Captain Robert Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica (1910?1913). (27 items)
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Edgeworth David, T. W. The Geology of the Commonwealth of Australia / by the late Sir T.W. Edgeworth David ; edited and much supplemented by W.R. Browne. [London : Edward Arnold, 1950.] 3 volumes. hardback, dark blue cloth: ill., port., maps (part folding.; 5 coloured in separate slipcase). Some tone spots and other faults.
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Rosser, Celia, and George A.E. The Banksias Rosser, Celia, and George Alexander S. The Banksias (Vol.1) [London; Academic Press in Association with Monash University, 1981] #9 from a limited edition of 720; elephant folio, green quarter morocco with gilt top edge.
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Wilson, W. Hardy Building 'Purulia'. Preface and Introduction by Ralph Lewis. 1982. Edition limited to 200 numbered copies (this being #3) handset and printed on handmade paper (with Guild of Craft Bookbinders watermark) for private circulation for Guild members to bind themselves. In solander box by Bettine Gresford for Rosemary and Phillip Scully; in full leather binding in maroon 'Oasis' Nigerian goatskin with gold-tooled design.
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Wantrup, Jonathan Australian Rare Books, 1788- 1900. [Hordern House, Sydney, 1987] Octavo, tipped-in frontispiece and numerous illustrations: #13 of the special issue of 125 signed and numbered copies with an accompanying volume, First news from Botany Bay; uniform original cloth in slipcase.
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Peck, Marilyn The Waste Land Suite [Melbourne, MacMillan, 2004] 112pp Burnt orange/pumpkin cloth boards and silvery blue endpapers. Title blind-stamped onto front cover and in bright gilt on the spine. In matching solander box together with an original signed watercolour 'At the Market Place' from a limited edition [#16 of 50] with accompanying 'Special Edition' sleeve signed by the artist.
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The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio [Published by The Folio Society, Westminster, 2007] 8vo. 710 pp. limited edition, this 560 of 1750 numbered copies in this Wassa Goatskin red leather binding blocked with Jeff Clements design, in very decorative red leather gilt. With 'The Happy Art of Narration' Folio Society 2007, pamphlet; in original dark green cloth gilt solander box.
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Turnbull, John A Voyage round the World, in the years 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, in 1804; in which the Author visited the principal Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the English settlements of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island. In three volumes (but lacking Vol.2). [London; Richard Phillips, 1805] Volumes 1 and 3 uniformly rebound with gilt titles to spines. Vol.1 deals with the author's journey to Botany Bay, the stay in Syney, Criminals, punishments, Bennelong, Norfolk Island, the cost of provisions, Tahiti,…
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Acts of Parliament & Reports: 1812 - 1861 Acts of Parliament & Reports: July 1812 English Act 'for amending...the Provisions....imposing the Penalty of Death for any Act done in Breach of or Resistance to any Part of the Laws for collecting His Majesty's Revenue'; July 1825 'An Act for registering of British Vessels.'; July 1830 'Returns Relating to the Employment of Convicts at New South Wales; 1826-1828'; March 1832 'Copy of the Instructions issued to the Governor of New South Wales for theRegulation of…
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Reid, Thomas Two Voyages to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, with a Description of the Present Condition of that Interesting Colony: including Facts and Observations relative to the State and Management of Convicts of both Sexes. Also Reflections on Seduction and its General Consequences. [London; Longman, Hurst, et al., 1822] First edition; xxiii, 392pp. Paper boards, parchment backed with printed label inserted. Ferguson 876. In solander box with gilt titles to spine. A valuable first-hand account…
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Sir Robert Peel refuses the extension of the Royal Mercy to John Miller, a prisoner 'under sentence of Transportation on board the Hulks': 7 June 1823 mss signed letter from Peel at 'Whitehall' to a John Buchanan, who had sent a Petition and Letter to Peel, in his capacity as Home Secretary. Miller was sentenced to be transported for Life at the Sussex Special Sessions; he arrived in New South Wales in October 1824 aboard the convict ship 'Mangles' along with 189 other convicts. Peel went on to serve twice…
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John Bull [Newspaper] January 18, 1824 [London, 8pp] Includes a full page report titled 'The Tread Mill' being a comprehensive coverage of the evidence from prisoners who had been punished on this instrument of torture, as presented to the official investigation conducted by Magistrate Briscoe of Surrey.
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Capper, John Henry Two Reports of John Henry Capper, Esq. Superintendent of Ships and Vessels Employed for the Confinement of Offenders Under Sentence of Transportation: dated 16th July 1825. [London, House of Commons. 1826.] 11pp. Folio. British Parliamentary Paper. HC36. Contains lists of convict hulks at Portsmouth, Gosport, Sheerness, Chatham, Woolwich & Deptford with numbers of convicts. Summaries of work performed, health etc.
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Jean Moffatt - Transported for 14 years: Between 1824 and 1837 the convict ship, Sir Charles Forbes, made 4 voyages to Australia to deliver convicts to Van Diemen's Land (3 voyages) and Botany Bay. Her second voyage, departing in August 1826 arrived at Hobart Town with 72 female convicts of whom Jean Moffatt was number 55. She had various aliases: Wilson, Donnelly and McDonald. She had received her sentence of 14 years transportation for theft following her trial at Glasgow Court of Justiciary in September…
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Bridget Magahan had a bad temper and liked a drink: Magahan's Convict Record indicates that, following her trial at Middlesex in May 1827, where she was found guilty of larceny, Magahan was sentenced to be transported for 7 years, arriving in Van Diemen's Land in November 1827 aboard 'Sovereign', along with 80 other female convicts, many of them also having passed through the court at Middlesex. Her offence, which she admitted, was stealing a gown. Despite periods in the Cascades Female Factory and being…
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The Hobart Town Gazettes 1828 - 1845 The Hobart Town Gazette: 12 Jan.1828 edition with the lead article annoucing the re-opening of Norfolk Island '...to be the place to which any Offender convicted in Van Diemen's Land......shall be sent or Transported.' as well as other convict-related reports; 19 Sept.1844 edition carries news of land allocations, but mainly reports on Court proceedings, Convict Houses of Correction, Ticket of Leave Musters, Absconders, Wanted Notices and a list of convicts granted…
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Papers Explanatory of the Charges Brought Against Lieut. Gen. Darling By William Charles Wentworth, Esq Published by The House of Commons, London, July 1830. 60pp. Folio, in recent binding. An extremely fine fresh copy. British Parliamentary Paper HC586. Ferguson 1355. Wentworth, an outspoken emancipist sought to impeach Governor Darling, principally over the Sudds incident. In this Parliamentary Paper the Colonial Secretary presented correspondence on the Wentworth-Darling affair but with the omission of…
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Police Gazette; Or, Hue and Cry. Published by AuthorityA group of six editions, 1831 - 1834, published in London. Police Gazette; Or, Hue and Cry. Published by Authority A group of six editions of the 4-page newspaper, 1831 - 1834, published in London. 24 & 28 Sept.1831 editions include a 'List of Convicts who have absconded from their respective Employments in New South Wales, and who are supposed to have Escaped from that Colony.' (including several who had 'absconded from Norfolk Island'); 18 & 25 June…
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Whately, Richard Thoughts on Secondary Punishments, in a Letter to Earl Grey [B. Fellowes, London, 1832] 204pp, octavo, a little browning, very good in papered boards with material spine and paper label. First edition of an important critique of the transportation system by of the Archbishop of Dublin Richard Whately (1787-1863).
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The Alarming History of Abraham Crabtree - Van Diemen's Land & Norfolk Island Crabtree arrived in Van Diemen's Land in July 1832, one of the 221 convicts aboard 'Katherine Stewart Forbes', following his trial at York, West Riding Quarter Sessions, where he had been sentenced to 14 years transportation. This very detailed document on 2 large sheets of vellum records Crabtree's passage through the convict system from his arrival until 22 years later, when he was granted a Free Certificate by William Nairn,…
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Awaiting Departure: 'Expecting to go away every day?' 20 April 1833 mss letter from Robert Erskine at 'Newgate Northside' [Prison] to his correspondent in Clerkenwell. Evidently well educated, Erskine is writing to ask for the return of his Savings Bank Book, his 30 shillings and 'all the Clothes and Books of mine' as he is 'expecting to go away every day....You say that you will keep the things for me 'till I return to the shores of Hated England, But as I do not mean ever to come back to England I do not…
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A New South Wales Conditional Pardon April 1833 Conditional Pardon granted to Thomas Yarwood and signed by Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales [1831-37]. The document is vellum and retains a small portion of the official seal of the Colony. Yarwood had arrived aboard 'Indefatigable' in April 1815, aged only 19, having been found guilty of burglary and being sentenced to Transportation for Life. Thomas Woods (alias Yarwood) was convicted of breaking into the shop of Thomas Woodyer, a tailor and…
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Elizabeth Cheatham - sentenced to death; transported for life: 5 November 1833 mss letter (2pp) written to her parents from the Chester City Gaol where she was being held pending removal to the hulks prior to transportation. 'I am sorry to afflict your tender hearts with my misfortunate Destiny after all the good advice you have boath given me. I was taken up for taking some money and sentenced to be Transported for Life....[I] should be very happy to see you boath for the Last time and to hear from my…
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If You Wish to See Your Daughter?.: 28 June 1834 final autographed letter to Thomas Cheatham (father of Elizabeth Morris) from George Jepson, Governor of Chester City Gaol, 'Having received an order for the removal of the Female convicts, If either you or any of your Family wish to see your Daughter before she leaves Chester you had better come over on Monday or Tuesday.' With Chester circular datestamp. Evidently, appeals on her behalf to the Member for Salop and the Secretary of State were unsuccessful.
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The Assignment System at work: 19 June 1838 printed Memorandum (sent as an Opso letter with Crowned Free postmark) from the Principal Superintendent's Office completed in mss regarding the convict John Holman, a bricklayer who had been transported to Van Diemen's Land for 7 years, arriving aboard the 'Eden' in December 1836. The memorandum advises that he was being made available for 3 months to Mr J. Leake at Campbelltown. As 'mechanics' were is short supply, bricklayers and other experienced tradesmen…
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A Ticket-of-Leave to Look For Work September 1839 Van Diemen's Land Ticket-of-Leave in favour of Thomas Thorpe, granting him permission to travel 'all streets' of Campbell Town to 'look for work'. Thorpe [listed as Thorp] had arrived aboard 'Juliana' in December 1820. He had been sentenced to be transported for life.
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Maconochie, Alexander (Capt.) Australiana. Thoughts on Convict Management and other subjects connected with the Australian Penal Colonies. [London & Hobart; John W. Parker & J.C. MacDougall, 1839] Octavo bound in original blue cloth; remnant paper title to spine. With errata slip bound-in. Supplement to Thoughts on Convict Management. In 1836 Maconochie accompanied Sir John Franklin the new lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land to Hobart Town as his private secretary. Once there he prepared a report…
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New South Wales Parliamentary Papers: April 1840 Copy of a Letter addressed to the Secretary of State ofr the Colonial Department by Edward Macarthur...transmitting Copy of a Petition to the House of Commons, from certain Inhabitants of New South Wales.'; April 1858 'Alleged Case of Kidnapping Islanders.' being correspondence between The Colonial Secretary, Mauritius, to the Under Secretary, Sydney; April 1875 'Harbour of Refuge At Trial Bay. (Report respecting employment of prison labour in forming.)';…
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A Convict Department Probation Pass circa 1840 A printed, but otherwise blank 2-sided Probation Pass-holder document which would give a convict official permission to proceed to the house of his or her employer, 'there to remain in the hired Service...' of the free settler. 'On the day the Bearer arrives at his Master's residence, his Master will cause this Pass to be delivered to the Chief Constable of the District.' The reverse of the form provides spaces for the identification of the convict, including…
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The Woeful Tale of George Neal, Convict: Part-printed Convict Record document on vellum providing extensive details of the trials and tribulations of one George Neal, a chimney sweep from Coventry who was sentenced to be Transported for 10 years at the Warwick Assizes in July 1839. He had broken in to a house and stolen 2 shirts. He arrived in Van Diemen's Land aboard 'Asia' in April 1840 along with 275 other convicts. Both sides of the closely written document recount the many instances of absconding,…
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A Prostitute & Murderer Transported For Life: The convict record of Eliza McILVEENE, who (apparently) arrived in Van Diemen's Land aboard 'Mexborough' in December 1841; transported for life, having had her death sentence for murdering a fellow prostitute, commuted. [Nb: Her companion, Mary Moody, also found guilty of murder and transported for life, listed as being on the same voyage as Eliza, of whom there is no published record.] McILVEENE had murdered Catherine Kearns (or Cairns) while beating her with…
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Browning, Colin Arrott, M.D. England's Exiles; or, a View of a System of Instruction and Discipline, as carried into effect during the voyage to the Penal Colonies of Australia [London; Darton and Clark, 1842] 1st ed. Small octavo, 238 pp., original printer's green cloth, yellow endpapers, with early ownership inscription. Important book by Browning building on his experience as a Surgeon on board convict transports, most notably the Elphinstone which arrived in Hobart in 1836. He first visited Australia…
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Mary Leigh or Lee or Gangell or Murphy - Free Settler or Convict: 9 May 1842 mss transcript of evidence in the case of John Thornley, who has been charged with harbouring 'Mary Leigh, an absconded offender.' Leigh goes to great lengths, apparently successfully, to explain that Leigh is not really her name, even though she acknowledges that she has been known by that name. She claims it is her mother's maiden name, that her real name is Mary Murphy, that she arrived in New South Wales a free settler,…
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The Convict Record of John Taylor, transported for 10 years for burglary: The official record providing the sorry tale and details of the years 1842 to 1863 during which period Taylor remained in the 'system'. Following his trial at York, where he was convicted, he was transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard 'Eden', arriving in July 1842 along with 280 other male convicts. The document records his many episodes or solitary confinement, hard labour, time spent in chains and in chain gangs as a result of his…
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William & Alice Get Married - Van Diemen's Land 1842: William Smith arrived in Van Diemen's Land aboard 'Gilmore' in January 1839 having been found guilty of robbery and Transported for 15 years. Alice Reevey arrived in September 1839 aboard 'Hindostan', transported for 7 years for larceny. In July 1842 they applied for permission to marry, which was granted. The present mss documents record their histories within the Convict Department and the process of applying for permission to marry.
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A New South Wales Ticket-of-Leave William Petts, who had been found guilty of housebreaking and was sentenced to seven years transportation, arrived in New South Wales in August 1838 aboard 'Lord Lyndoch' is granted a Ticket-of-Leave in December 1842. He is permitted 'to employ himself in any lawful occupation within the District of Camden' and that is 'Altered for Yass' a few weeks later. Petts was only 25 at the time he arrived in the colony, living until 1886 and the age of 71. He married twice and had…
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Wait, Benjamin Letters From Van Dieman's Land, Written During Four Years Imprisonment For Political Offences Committed in Upper Canada. [Buffalo, A.W. Wilgis, 1843] 356 pp. frontispiece and fold-out map. Dampstains and mild foxing. In December 1837, Benjamin Wait became involved in the Upper Canada Rebellion, first by trying to join the unsuccessful action of Charles Duncombe in the London District and then by throwing in his lot with William Lyon Mackenzie. Early in 1839, Wait & eight other state…
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Frederick Kalmus (Kalmers) - Transported For 15 Years For 'Cutting and Wounding': Kalmus arrived in Van Diemen's Land in February 1842, one of 401 convicts aboard the 'Tortoise'. His 15 year sentence arose out of his violent refusal to pay for a cup of coffee and four slices of bread and butter at a coffee-shop in Wardour Street, Soho. This original printed and mss Convict Record covers only the first three years of his sentence during which time he was allocated to the Cascades Station Gang. He very…
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An Unconditional Free Pardon For Timothy Lee: A Free Pardon For Timothy Lee: 18 February 1844 Free Pardon on vellum, awarded to one Timothy Lees and signed by the Governor of New South Wales, George Gipps; with official Coat of Arms and the original seal of NSW still attached. Lees had been tried and convicted of larceny at Bathurst in September 1841 'and had Sentence of Transportation passed upon him for the same'. The Pardon is countersigned by Edward Deas Thomson. Lees, one of 11 children, had been born…
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A Free Pardon For William Lackey: November 1844 Free Pardon on vellum, issued in favour of William Lackey, an Irish convict who had arrived at Sydney Cove aboard 'Sir Godfrey Webster' in 1826, aged 22. He had been sentenced to Transportation for Life at Roscommon in 1825. He had been found guilty of manslaughter. The Freemans Journal, of 15 March 1825 & 12 July 1825 reported 'Thomas Goold, a watchman of Athlone along with four other watchmen, Robert Browne (the commander of the party), Patrick O'Neill,…
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A Ticket-of-Leave For Myles Keenan: December 1844 ticket-of-leave issued to Miles [Myles] Keenan, permitting him to travel from Fingal Police Station to Campbell Town Police Station, a distance of approximately 60kms. Keenan's physical description is noted on the reverse, as are his age, his trade ('labourer') and the ship he arrived in. Keenan had arrived in Van Diemen's Land aboard 'Coromandel' in October 1838; having been convicted of stealing at Lancaster and sentenced to be transported for 10 years.…
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Hodgkinson, Clement Australia from Port MacQuarie to Moreton Bay; with Description of the Natives, Their Manners and Customs; the Geology, Natural Productions, Fertility, and Resources of That Region; first Explored and Surveyed By Order of the Colonial Government. [T. and W. Boone, London, 1845] 1st ed., 243 pp with engraved plates and map. Original cloth boards. Scarce early account of the settlement of Moreton Bay and New South Wales from Port Macquarie north. A great deal on the Aborigines. Ex Libris…
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Principal Superintendant Convict Office New South Wales circa 1845 brass handstamp with wooden handle and brass ring. Believed to be unique.
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A Conditional Pardon signed by Queen Victoria: Andrew Munro, 'now under Sentence of Transportation in Millbank Prison, he having been convicted of felony at Perth in April 1846?' is the beneficiary of this Conditional Pardon, granted and signed by Queen Victoria with her seal still intact. The pardon was issued 'on condition that he be imprisoned and kept to hard labour in the Gaol of Dundee for Eighteen Calendar Months.'
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A Free Pardon For Joseph Taylor: December 1846 Free Pardon signed by Governor Charles Fitzroy and bearing his seal, issued in favour of Taylor, a tailor, who had originally been tried at Cumberland Assizes in 1830 at the age of 16, found guilty and transported for 7 years aboard 'York' arriving at Sydney Cover in February 1831. The subject of the present Free Pardon is another event, 'Stealing in a Dwelling house' for which he was tried and convicted in the Supreme Court Sydney in July 1846 and 'had…
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A Conditional Pardon For Mary Ann Beddow December 1846 Van Diemen's Land Conditional Pardon on vellum, signed by Charles Latrobe and with the seal of the Colony largely intact at left. Extremely rare. Beddow had been sentenced to seven years transportation at her trial at Glamorganshire, Cowbridge Quarter Sessions in April 1840. She arrived in September 1842, one of 204 female prisoners aboard 'Royal Admiral'. Of the 76,000 convicts transported to Van Diemen's Land between 1803 and 1853, approximately 12…
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Browning, Colin Arrott, M.D. The Convict Ship, and England's Exiles. In Two Parts. [London; Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1847] second Edition. 414pp; re-bound preserving most of the original dark green cloth with gilt embossed ship to front; foxing throughout but mainly early and late.
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The short convict record of Hannah O'Maley: O'Maley was tried at the Central Criminal Court, found guilty of Larceny (receiving stolen goods) and sentenced to 7 years Transportation, arriving at Van Diemen's Land in July 1847 along with 169 other female convicts aboard 'Asia'. Married, but deserted by her husband, the notes include the remarkable information that 5 of her 7 children were on board the ship with her. The Surgeon's Report consisted of one word: 'Indifferent'. A year later she is recorded as…
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Catherine McINTOSH Had A Drinking Problem: The single page manuscript record of transported convict, Catherine McIntosh, who had arrived in Van Diemen's Land in September 1842 aboard 'Royal Admiral', transported for 10 Years following her conviction at Edinburgh Court of Justiciary for Theft. In the years after her arrival, the document records episodes of 'absconding', 'period of transportation extended three months', 'drunk', 'solitary confinement', 'drunk and out after hours', 'drunk and fined', 'drunk…
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A Disgraceful Miscarriage of Justice Barber, William Henry The Case of W.H. Barber: containing, Copies of all the Documents recently submitted to the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart., Secretary of State for the Home Department; A Letter from Norfolk Island, showing the revolting cruelties to which Mr. Barber was there subjected. And a Narrative of the Steps by which his Innocence has been established and his Deliverence effected. To which are now added the Observations of the Legal and Public Press.…
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Melville, Henry Australasia and Prison Discipline [Charles Cox & J. Effingham Wilson, London, 1851] 392pp, Octavo, frontispiece map, original crimson cloth with gilt title to (split) spine. Lacks pale yellow free front endpaper. Henry Melville (1799-1873) arrived in Hobart Town in late 1827 or early 1828. In March 1830 he bought the Colonial Times and later that year he printed and published Henry Savery's Quintus Servinton, the first Australian novel published in Australia. From 1833 to August 1834 he…
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Van Diemen's Land 1852 Clearance Permit May 1852 printed form (No.74 - Clearance Permit) issued at Launceston Police Station in favour of William Bambury, who is described as having arrived in the Colony as a convict aboard 'Emily'. This very rare form gives Bambury permission to travel to Melbourne aboard the ship 'Sphynx' and his physical characteristics are recorded on the reverse. A Clearance Permit had to be issued to any ex-convict seeking to leave Van Diemen's Land. These are very scarce, probably…
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All Is Lost! 25th August 1852 mss letter from Bathurst to a Mr Lowe, 'Regina v Sullivan. All is lost - Sullivan has been found guilty after two days' trial & sentenced to Death.' And signed illegibly 'in haste' probably by the solicitor representing Sullivan. Timothy Sullivan, 30 September 1852, Hanged at Bathurst for the murder of Daniel Harrington at King's Plains, near Carcoar. This execution was badly botched. In accordance with Sullivan's express request, before death, he was buried in the same grave…
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The Convict Record of John Hill, transported for 7 years for stealing lead for clothing: Hill arrived in Tasmania in December 1852 aboard the 'Equestrian' having been tried found guilty at the Devon Assizes at Exeter. Shortly after arrival, Hill was assigned as a servant to John & Mary Balfe at Sandy Bay where he remained for 18 months, applying for a ticket-of-leave. It was largely down hill from there: larceny in February 1854; breaking into the house of Mrs Buckley; July 1855 misconduct resulting in 3…
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The Convict Record of George Young Only 15 years old at the time he was found guilty of house-breaking and larceny at the Central Criminal Court (The Old Bailey) in May 1839, Young was sentenced to 10 years transportation, arriving at Van Diemen's Land aboard 'Runnymede' in March 1840. The present document records his sad passage through the convict system for the next 11 years at which time, presumably, he received his ticket of leave. The two-sided mss document lists the many times he was confined to…
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William Smith - Arrived Aboard 'William Jardine' in November 1844; sentenced to 7 years Transportation. In the present 3-sided official record or 'copy' document (circa 1855) Smith is charged with 'misconduct in making a false statement of and insolence to Mr Assistant Overseer Turner' to which he pleaded Not Guilty. Several witnesses are called and provide details of finding him asleep in bed instead of performing his guard duties. Not a good look for a convict trustee. 'Verdict: Guilty. Sentenced 10 days…
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Victorian Parliamentary Papers: August 1856 'Transportation: Despatch from Major-General Macarthur to the Secretary of State, Relaive to Transporation.'; December 1858 'Execution of Criminals. Report of the Sheriff, relative to recent executions at Her Majesty's Gaol, Melbourne.'; October 1859 'Penal Department. Report of the Inspector-General.'; August 1883 'Deportation to Australia of Approvers at the trials for certain murders in Phoenix Park, Dublin.' (4 items).
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A Pension For the Chief Clerk at Norfolk Island: In May 1857 Thomas Jewel Oliver applied 'for a Superannuation Allowance' following his enforced retirement from the Penal & Convict Department after ten years service. Transportation to Tasmania had ended in 1853 and the last convicts on Norfolk Island were removed to Tasmania in 1855. Oliver's application consists of 16 pages, partially printed, detailing his various positions in Van Diemen's Land and on Norfolk Island, his rate of pay, his days of absence…
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Gerstaëcker, Friedrich Wilhelm Christian [1816-1872] The Two Convicts (in German, Die beiden Sträflinge, 1856) [London; G. Routledge & Co., 1857] 1st edition in English; 393pp in original half-calf binding with marbled boards; title in gilt to spine. With early ownership inscription. Gerstaecker, writer and traveller, was born in Hamburg. In 1837, aged 21, he migrated to America where he led 'a wild and adventurous life'. On his return to Germany in 1843 he established himself as a writer of travel books.…
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Gibson, Charles Bernard Life Among Convicts (in two volumes) [London; Hurst and Blackett, 1863] 1st ed. 304 + 305pp + 8 pages of adverts. Attractively re-bound in half-leather with marbled boards, gilt titles and decorations to spines.
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Tasmanian Parliamentary Papers: October 1870 'Convicts, Paupers, and Lunatics at Port Arthur'; September 1876 'Mrs. Dandridge. Correpondence with the Government.' (2 items) The Port Arthur Return lists the Names, Ages and Periods of Sentence of the 556 'residents' ; Mrs. Dandridge petitions the Government for the continuation of the allowance she and her late husband received for the care and maintenance of Truganini (to whom she refers as Lallah Rookh') and the other Aborigines in her care.
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Monthly Muster Roll-Book: March 1878 to August 1882 A Waterlow & Sons accounts book, completely filled-in in neat manuscript listing all those Police Officers, Court Officials and Prisoners entitled to receive Government Rations. A wealth of information and many 100s of names for further research.
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Request to Attend A Hanging: 19th August 1889 letter from J.Drayton, Editor of The Sunday Times (Sydney) to C.C. Cowper, Sherrif, Darlinghurst, requesting a card to allow a representative of his paper to be present at the execution of 'the condemned man' (Morrison). The letter is annotated in another hand 'Refused. orders only issued to the duty Press.' James Morrison, 19 August 1889, Hanged at Darlinghurst for the murder of Constable David Sutherland in Macleay St, Potts Point.
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The Cholera Scare: 5 September 1890 mss letter to his son from W.G.Browne in which he expresses the hope that 'the Cholera scare is over and that it will not reach P.M.Burg, it is a fearful scourge.' Pietermaritzburg is the capital (and 2nd largest city) in the South African province of Natal.
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Ellis, M.H. Francis Greenway: His Life and Times. [Sydney; The Shepherd Press, 1949] Small 4to. Original gilt-decorated full red morocco. Gilt-decorated spine with raised bands. (xx, 296pp.). With colour portrait, colour plates, black and white plates, maps, plans, and illust. coloured endpapers. 1st Edition, limited to 350 numbered copies, fully signed 'M.H. Ellis'. In original slipcase.
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The Penal Settlement On Norfolk Island: A select library including 'Alexander Maconochie of Norfolk Island' by Barry [1958], 'The Life and Death of John Price' by Barry [1964], 'The Norfolk Island Story' by Clune [1967], 'The Commandants: The Tyrants who ruled Norfolk Island' by Britts [1980], 'Punishment Short of Death - A History of the Penal Settlement at Norfolk Island' by Hazzard [1984], 'The Forgotten Generation of Norfolk Island and Van Diemen's Land' by Wright [1986], and 6 others; mainly h/cover…
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The Hunter Sketchbook. Birds and Flowers of New South Wales drawn on the Spot in 1788, 89 & 90 by Captain John Hunter RN of the First Fleet. Calaby, John (general ed.) [Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1989] 251pp. 100 colour plates, index, quarter cream calf and marbled boards in slipcase, #252 of the edition limited to 500 copies. Also, Baudin in Australian Waters - The Artwork of the French Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands 1800-1804 edited by Bonnemains, Forsyth & Smith [Melbourne, Oup,…
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The Geoff Telfer Library A collection of nearly 500 volumes covering the full breadth of Australian History. Subjects include the Voyages of Discovery and the Journals kept on-board those ships, Australia's Convict Beginnings, early European contact and settlement and the impact on the Indigeneous population, much on Captain Cook, William Bligh, the First Fleet, the social and political conditions which lead to Transportation, Botany Bay and Sydney Cove, Convict life, the Convict ships, Female convicts,…
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Two 1797 Proclamation pennies with convict related markings '1830' and '45' 3.5 cm diameter
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Convict ball and chain, cast iron, 19th century chain not original ball 15 cm diameter
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Cessation of Transportation medallion 1853 in white metal, 55 mm
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A Tasmanian Colonial occasional table, huon pine, musk, blackwood, cedar, beefwood, casuarina and myrtle, circa 1845 A Tasmanian Colonial occasional table, huon pine, musk, blackwood, cedar, beefwood, casuarina and myrtle, mid 19th century pencil inscription on drawer 'John Wood Upholsterers, Launceston, Tasmania, 1860' 73 cm high, 52 cm wide, 40 cm deep
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A spade back carver chair, Australian cedar, N.S.W. origin, circa 1860 51 cm across the arms
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A Colonial whatnot, Australian cedar, Tasmanian origin, circa 1845 100 cm high, 57 cm wide, 36 cm deep
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An early linen press, finely crafted with bi-fold doors, Australian cedar with full cedar secondary timbers, N.S.W. origin, circa 1835 A rare and early linen press, finely crafted with bi-fold doors, Australian cedar with full cedar secondary timbers, N.S.W. origin, circa 1835 Palladian pediment, double reeded edging to base, interior fitted with slides, impressively proportioned 250 cm high, 147 cm high, 48 cm deep
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An Australian chest of four drawers, cedar, N.S.W. origin, circa 1865 full cedar secondary timbers 96 cm high, 102 cm wide, 44 cm deep
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A rare Colonial coaching table, cedar and blackwood, Tasmanian origin, 19th century 71 cm high, 84 cm wide, 45 cm deep
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A Federation hall chair with shield back inscribed 'Advance Australia', cedar, late 19th century 45 cm across the seat
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A Colonial campaign chest, cedar and pine with brass fittings, 19th century 100 cm high, 102 cm wide, 45 cm deep
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An Australian cedar chiffonier, New South Wales origin, circa 1850 full turned columns, some pine secondary timbers 139 cm high, 100 cm wide, 54 cm deep
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An early double-ended miner's couch, Australian cedar, circa 1845 adorned with turned roundels 92 cm high, 210 cm wide, 66 cm deep
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A Colonial eight legged extension dining table, Australian cedar, 19th century 76 cm high, 115 cm wide (extends to 208 cm), 126 cm deep
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A set of six Australian spade back dining chairs, cedar, New South Wales origin, mid 19th century 46 cm across the seat
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An early Colonial hall table with two drawers, cedar, circa 1830 full cedar construction with finely turned legs 76 cm high, 95 cm wide, 49 cm deep
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A Colonial crab leg wine table, Tasmanian blackwood, 19th century 69 cm high, 58 cm wide, 45 cm deep
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A solicitor's stationary cabinet, Australian cedar and pine, 19th century 231 cm high, 102 cm wide, 41 cm deep
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An early footstool with bun feet, Australian cedar, circa 1840 25 cm high, 37 cm wide, 36 cm deep
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A fine specimen table, fiddleback blackwood, cedar and huon pine, Tasmanian origin, circa 1855 drawers fitted with compartments in huon pine with blackwood trim 76 cm high, 62 cm wide, 49 cm deep
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An Australian cedar Gothic style collector's cabinet, Melbourne origin, 19th century front interior fitted with 10 drawers, side doors fitted with pigeon holes and 10 drawers red pine secondary timbers 106 cm high, 108 cm wide, 62 cm deep
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An Australian Depression era folk art box, cedar, circa 1930 brass name plaque on lid 'E.A. Heath, 1930' interior lined in antque pictorial lithographed paper 29 cm high, 41 cm wide, 28 cm deep
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A dwarf open face bookcase, Australian cedar, circa 1860 110 cm high, 123 cm wide, 26 cm deep
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A Colonial cedar occasional table with octagonal column, N.S.W. origin, circa 1840 full cedar construction 77 cm high, 61 cm wide, 44 cm deep
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An early Colonial double ended settee, Australian cedar, circa 1835 235 cm across the arms
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An unusual Gothic style folk art cabinet, cedar and pine, 19th century interior fitted with shelves and 6 drawers, top with secret compartments 134 cm high, 65 cm wide, 21 cm deep
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An impressive Australian folk art mirror, cedar and pine, 19th century 124 x 97 cm
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Free standing bookshelves, Australian cedar and pine, 19th century 138 cm high, 135 cm wide, 31 cm deep
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A rare Australian cedar farmhouse table with blackwood legs, Tasmanian origin, 19th century peg jointed construction 76 cm high, 151 cm wide, 84 cm deep
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An Australian specimen wood pedestal, cedar, blackwood, pine, Queensland maple and Tasmanian oak, 19th century 117 cm high
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A Colonial dressing table, Tasmanian origin, birdseye huon pine and marble top, circa 1870 finely carved with cockatoo decoration to knees 169 cm high, 121 cm wide, 58 cm deep
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A church mirror, acid etched glass framed in huon pine, Tasmanian origin, 19th century 52 x 55 cm
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