Highlights
Each year our exhibitors bring extraordinarily rare, beautiful and unusual items for sale.
Here is a selection of the items offered in 2025 by our exhibitors. These may still be available for purchase. If interested, contact the respective exhibitor directlyCloser to the 2026 Fair, new highlights of what will be on offer in 2026 will be posted. Bookmark this page and visit again to see the 2026 highlights.
Bony Buys a Woman By Arthur Upfield (Signed)
$350
BONY BUYS A WOMAN
By Arthur Upfield
Lond. Heinemann. 1957.
First Edition. Scarce.
Inscribed & signed by Arthur Upfield
The philosophy of Andy Warhol. (From A to B and back again). (Signed copy with drawing of a Campbell’s Soup can)
$7500
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. First edition. Octavo, boards in dust jacket, pp 241; a fine copy; the half-title is signed and inscribed by Warhol, accompanied by an original pen drawing by the artist of a Campbell’s Tomato Soup can, his most iconic image.
Andy Warhol’s seminal self-analysing memoir, filled with his reflections of youth and society which help give an insight into one of the most enigmatic and magnetic artistic figures of the twentieth century.
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“CARTE DE LA NOUVELLE-HOLLANDE”; LOUIS CLAUDE DE SAULCES DE FREYCINET.
$2750
“CARTE DE LA NOUVELLE-HOLLANDE”
1824
Cartographer: LOUIS CLAUDE DE SAULCES DE FREYCINET
(Montélimar 1779- Loriol-sur-Drôme 1841)
Technique: COPPER ENGRAVING
Rare updated version of Freycinet’s seminal map of Australia which was first issued in 1807 in a larger format in the accounts of the French expedition under the command of Nicholas Baudin.
Freycinet was the cartographer for the expedition...
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Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising
Three novels in the Dark is Rising quintet by Susan Cooper, a contemporary fantasy series set in England and Wales, which incorporates British mythology such as the Arthurian legends and Welsh folk heroes.
The Dark is Rising (2nd imp 1975, $275),
The Grey King (1st ed. 1975, $350) and,
Silver on the Tree (1st ed 1977, $150).
Salvador Dali, Hidden Faces
$150
1st thus, revised translation, 1973. London: Peter Owen.
8vo. Original black boards gilt in dustjacket; pp. i-xiv, 15-320 (last blank), with illustrations by the author. A near fine copy.
The famous surrealist artist’s only novel, written in 1944, describing the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolises the decadence of the 1930s
The Beatles: Autographed Magazine by all four Beatles.
$31300
A February 1966 edition of the French magazine ‘La Semaine’ that has been autographed on the front cover by The Beatles in black felt tipped pen. The photo on the front of the magazine pictures the famous image of The Beatles in their famous grey collarless suits which was taken by Dezo Hoffman in his studio in Wardour Street, London, England in April 1963. The autographs were obtained during The Beatles tour of Germany which took place between 24th and 26th June 1966.
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Vegetius Renatus (Flavius) THE FOURE BOOKS OF FLAVIUS VEGETIUS RENATUS.
$15000
brieflye contayninge a plaine forme, and perfect knowledge of Martiall policye, feates of Chivalrie, and whatsoeuer pertayneth of warre. Translated out of lattine, into Englishe, by John Sadler. Thomas Marshe, London, 1572. First edition. *The first printed English version of De Re Militari by Vegetius. (Earlier English translations exist in manuscript form). Written circa 390 AD and focusing on military organization (how to set up and fortify a camp, train and discipline troops, how to march, etc.), De Re Militari was highly influential in Europe after the Middle Ages.
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The Insane Root: A Romance of a Strange Country by Mrs. Campbell Praed.
$1500
New York, Funk & Wagnalls, [1902]. Octavo, frontispiece with tissue guard, paper tanning but very good in original eucalypt grey ribbed pictorial cloth, bottom & fore-edges uncut. Second US impression in the year of first publication with fantastic mandrake root design on upper board and spine. Noted for her Australian romances, The Insane Root, with its body swapping theme, is one of several Rosa Praed novels dealing with the occult and spiritualism &c. Very scarce in any contemporary edition. Bleiler, 1337.
A Winter Ship
$5750
Plath’s first independently published poem - one of only 60 copies. Depicting a desolate scene across an unnamed harbor, this beautifully produced booklet is a true literary treasure.
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CHURCHILL (Winston S.) The Second World War: The Gathering Storm; The Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy.
$30750
First editions, first printings. Six volumes. Numerous maps and diagrams, some folding and others full-page, throughout each volume. 8vo. Original black cloth, spines lettered in gilt, top edges in red, supplied dust jackets. London, Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1948-1954.
Inscribed to Grace Hamblin, "the longest-serving member of Churchill’s secretarial staff."
Bonaparte, Napoleon: MILITARY BREVET, 1803, SIGNED 'BONAPARTE'.
$5000
Foolscap folio parchment sheet, with engraved letterhead 'Departement de la Guerre, Republique Francaise' incorporating an image of Marianne, wearing a feathered helmet and holding a lowered sword, seated leaning against the table of the Constitution above the words 'Bonaparte, Consul de la Republique'. *The document records the details of service of citizen Ambroise Melac, and 'in the name of the French people' orders other officers to recognize his qualities and rank.
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Astounding Science Fiction July 1940
$150
In this issue: the first printing of Robert Heinlein's novelette, "Coventry" as well as L. Ron Hubbard's "The Idealist" (published under the psuedonym, Kurt von Rachen). Part of number of titles on early science fiction.
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Pedro Fernández de Quirós: Manuscript memorial to Philip III of Spain.
$800000
A radical abolitionist in the age of Shakespeare: original Quiròs manuscript memorial arguing against the Black slave trade. [Madrid, possibly before September 1611]. An exceptional document in the history of Portuguese colonization of South America, and one of the greatest rarities in the field of voyages and exploration: an original manuscript petition, not recorded in any other copy, written to the King of Spain by the Portuguese-Spanish seafarer and discoverer Pedro Fernández de Quirós (Queirós), proposing to settle the "Austral lands" for the Spanish crown.
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![Marlborough, His Life and Times [Presentation copy] [OFFERED WITH] A.L.S. from Clementine Churchill and additional Churchilliana](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/orders@archivesfinebooks.com.au/15544_7.jpg)
Marlborough, His Life and Times [Presentation copy] [OFFERED WITH] A.L.S. from Clementine Churchill and additional Churchilliana
$25000
Volume I INSCRIBED, "To Geoffrey Hale from Winston S. Churchill 1955" (on the recto of the frontispiece) : Volume II INSCRIBED, "From Winston S. Churchill 1955" (on first blank) : autograph letter SIGNED from Clementine Churchill to, "My dear Doctor Hale" expressing her gratitude, "for all you did for my sister, not only during her last illness, but also for many years." (Chartwell, 13 February, 1955) : two Christmas cards from Winston and Clementine Churchill (one with autograph note from Clementine), and an invitation and order of ceremony for the presentation to Churchill on his 80th.
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Globe terrestre
$45000
Paris : L. C. Desnos & J. B. Nolin, 1760. A large and highly decorative French table globe from the mid-eighteenth century, rich in geographical detail that includes the voyages and discoveries of French, English, Dutch and Russian explorers.
Provenance :
Jean R. Perrette, New York based French businessman and collector, his bookplate pasted under the base of the globe.
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A Selection of Gollancz SF Classics
Victor Gollancz, the publishing house, strongly associated with Science Fiction and Fantasy literature was originally founded in 1927 and became a prominent UK publisher, particularly through its imprint Gollancz Science Fiction. Notable authors published under the imprint include Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, J.G.Ballard and Ursula Le Guin.
Strugatsky, Arkady & Boris, The Snail on the Slope. 1st UK edition, 1980, $350
Heinlein, Robert A., Time for the Stars. New edition, 1985, $50
Mitchison, Naomi, Memoirs of a Spacewoman. 1st edition, 1962, $250
CURIE, Marie. “Radio-Active Substances.”
$31400
First edition in English of Curie’s famous dissertation, rare in such excellent condition in the original parts. Serialized across 15 issues of The Chemical News, it was applauded by the examination committee for being the greatest scientific contribution ever made in a doctoral thesis. Later the same year, Curie received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of radioactivity.
Andy Pollitt, Punk in the Gym
$250
Pollitt, Andy. Punk in the Gym. 1st edition. 2016. Sheffield: Vertebrate Publishing.
8vo. Original black cloth in dustjacket; pp. 318, with illustrations. No. 107 of a limited edition of 200 cloth-bound copies signed by the author. A fine copy. The life story of highly talented British climber, Andy Pollitt, and his relationship with Wolfgang Gullich’s 1984 test piece Punks in Gym, an exceedingly difficult rock climb at Mt Arapiles, in Western Victoria, at the time the hardest climb in the world. Publisher, Jon Barton, rates this book his personal favorite among the Vertebrate list.
Boyle (Roger, Earl of Orrey) A TREATISE OF THE ART OF WAR.
$4500
Printed by T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringham, London, 1677. First edition. Wing O499; ESTC R200. *The frontispiece portrait of a warlike Charles II astride a horse, with troops in military formation and a battle fleet in the background, was engraved by Abraham de Blois. Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery (1621-1679), was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician who held senior positions under the Commonwealth and later under Charles II. This work includes chapters on choosing, educating and disciplining soldiers, the ordering of garrisons, the marching and camping of an army, and battles.
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Bib and Bub Painting Book. New Stories by May Gibbs
$1250
Oblong quarto (210 × 305 mm), [24] pages of black and white comic-strip artwork plus text on the covers.
A rare and charming 'colouring book', the last of May Gibbs' Bib and Bub titles.
![ONE OF TEN KNOWN BOOKS FROM SIR WALTER RALEGH'S PRISON LIBRARY IN THE TOWER OF LONDON. [RALEIGH (Walter).] VIGNIER (Nicolas, the younger). Theatre de L‘Antechrist.](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/mark@maggs.com/221171-_3.jpg)
ONE OF TEN KNOWN BOOKS FROM SIR WALTER RALEGH'S PRISON LIBRARY IN THE TOWER OF LONDON. [RALEIGH (Walter).] VIGNIER (Nicolas, the younger). Theatre de L‘Antechrist.
$72000
First edition. Small Folio. 692, [14 (index/errata)] pp. Diagonal closed tear from a paper flaw in EEe2. Contemporary limp vellum, sewn on four tawed leather slips, the covers tooled in the centre with the armorial crest of Sir Walter Ralegh. [Saumur] 1610.
ABNEY, Hephzibah. Manuscript with hundreds of original watercolour illustrations of shells.
$26100
A conchological labour of love: an attractive album of “shells from nature” by the talented watercolourist Hephzibah Abney (née Need, 1758-1841) and a record of the conchylomania that swept Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This is the only recorded example of Abney’s shell illustrations and has re-entered the market almost 50 years after its last appearance.
![歌舞伎ミ二紙劇場. [Kabuki Miniature Paper Theatre].](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/books@asiabookroom.com/kabuki_highres-3.jpg)
歌舞伎ミ二紙劇場. [Kabuki Miniature Paper Theatre].
$1500
A delightful miniature paper theatre presented in a beautiful pictorial box (18 x 28cm). Contains a fold out stage, fifteen actors on stands (two extra stands also included), three double sided sheets of stage set illustrations, two sets of theatre curtain illustrations. This colourful kabuki miniature paper theatre was likely produced during the Meiji period. The set includes six different stage backdrops from famous kabuki programmes, including Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (菅原伝授手習鑑). Players use the paper figures, such as Benkei from Kanjincho (勧進帳), to recreate iconic kabuki scenes.
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