Highlights
Here is a small selection of the highlights offered in 2026 by our exhibitors for you to browse and whet your appetite. These highlights are only a small offering of what will be available at the fair.
Our exhibitors will be uploading more highlights regularly up to the opening of the fair.
If you are interested in a highlight, contact the respective exhibitor directly. Prices are in Australian dollars inclusive of GST.
Remarkable Spanish illustrated pedagogical treatise on music, ‘perhaps the most widely dispersed’ instructional manual of the period
$22000
Minguet e Yrol, Pablo. Reglas, y advertencias generales que enseñan el modo de tañer todos los instrumentos mejores y mas usuales como son la guitarra, tiple, vandola, cythara, clavicordio, órgano, harpa, psalterio, bandurria, 1752-1754. Madrid. Joachim Ibarra.
First edition, first issue, one of the most important (if not the most) pedagogical treatise of the 18th century of Spanish musical instruments, namely string instruments, wonderfully illustrated and exceptionally rare, peculiar namely because of its aim to teach students to play music without the assistance of a tutor or teacher.
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Un Coeur Simple
$2000
Unique French binding with repousse silver plates to the inner boards.
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Lyall, Alan. The First Descent of the Matterhorn. A Bibliographical Guide to the 1865 Accident & Its Aftermath
$150
First Edition 1997. Llandysul: Gomer Press.
8vo. original blue boards gilt in dustwrapper; pp. 674, with illustrations.
Signed by the author, Alan Lyall.
A comprehensive account of the tragic descent of the Matterhorn, following its successful first ascent via the Hörnli Ridge in 1865 by a party of seven including Edward Whymper. Four fell to their deaths on the way down, and the ensuing controversy dogged Whymper to the end of his life.
A fine copy.
Young Men in Spats by P.G. Wodehouse
$1250
London, Herbert Jenkins, 1936. Octavo, [8]pp. publisher's advertisements, minor foxing & offsetting, original primary turquoise cloth lettered in black with chipped pictorial dustwrapper (bit oxidised on verso & creased on lower panel), oval 2/6 price label on spine, additional wrap-around band. First edition ‒ first issue 7/6 dustwrapper with 2/6 label. Jasen, 55; McIlvaine, A55a. Very scarce with the publisher's promotional 'Drones Club Book of the Month' wrap-around band. Collection of short stories including 'Uncle Fred Flits By' introducing Frederick, Earl of Ickenham.
![Howls & Whispers [Ted Hughes / Leonard Baskin]](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/orchardbookshopadl@gmail.com/20260715_173700.jpg)
Howls & Whispers [Ted Hughes / Leonard Baskin]
$7750
Stunning letterpress production from Leonard Baskin's Gehenna Press, limited to just 110 copies [ours, nicely, is #110], consists of 11 poems by Ted Hughes with each accompanied by a signed Baskin etching.
Published in the year of Hughes' death [1998], Howls & Whispers sits with Birthday Letters [published the same year] as a deeply personal reflection of his life with Sylvia Plath.
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Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia, performed between the years 1818 and 1822
$10500
Association copy of Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia by Phillip Parker King.
Both volumes bear identical ink presentation inscriptions to the front free endpaper: “John Lethbridge King / from his affect[ionate] father / Phillip Gidley King / 1892.”
John Lethbridge King was the son of Philip Gidley King (1817–1904), grandson of Phillip Parker King (1791–1856), and great-grandson of Captain Philip Gidley King (1758–1808), Governor of New South Wales.
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The Anglo-Israelite
$1200
The Anglo-Israelite.
Monthly Journal, Volume III (March 1882 - February 1883, 240 Pages + Index), Volume IV (March 1883 - February 1884, 244 Pages), Volume V (March 1884 - February 1885, 240 Pages).
Printed G & J Black, Edward St Brisbane.
Rebound in cloth with new end-papers.
A one page note from previous owner written in pencil.
Very good to excellent condition.
Unlisted in Trove.
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![Robert Burns: A Poem - Algernon C. Swinburne [Thomas J. Wise]](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/John@sainsburysbooks.com.au/Picture11.jpg)
Robert Burns: A Poem - Algernon C. Swinburne [Thomas J. Wise]
$600
An unusual item. Presumably a forgery by Thomas J. Wise as it resembles the copy described by Barker and Collins (1983) in all ways except for the wrappers which are noted to be of a dark red colour. Arranged by Wise, there were also 16 original copies issued to the members of the Burns Centenary Club (which according to Barker and Collins may never have actually existed). This suggests that this is then either a variant of the dark red forgery, or, one of the 16 originals.
KINGSFORD-SMITH, Charles: A fully signed vintage photo-montage of the crew of the 'Southern Cross' shortly after their historic first trans-Pacific flight
$4000
The photograph is signed in ink by all four aviators; the blindstamp of the photographers (Broughton, Ward & Chaseling) is in the bottom right-hand corner. Charles Kingsford Smith, fellow Australian pilot Charles Ulm, and two Americans, navigator Harry Lyon and radio operator James Warner, left Oakland in California on 31 May 1928. The pioneering flight ended on 9 June in Brisbane, after a journey of 11,585 kilometres completed in three stages.
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GUNN, Thom. The Menace.
$200
South San Francisco: Manroot (1982). First edition, lettered & signed issue. [24 pp]. Fine in sewn wrappers. Illustrated with drawings by J.J. Hazard. One of 26 lettered copies on Strathmore SIGNED by Gunn and Hazard. A long poem. Original prospectus accompanies. Hagstrom & Bixby A32.
Fleming (Ian) CASINO ROYALE.
$8500
Fleming (Ian) CASINO ROYALE. Pp. 218; cr. 8vo; handsomely rebound in full red morocco, lettered and ruled in gilt, with '007' in gilt at all corners of boards and 'James Bond' at centre of upper board; within marble papered slipcase; matching marbled endpapers; edges of leaves a trifle foxed; Jonathan Cape, London, 1953. First edition, first impression. Campbell 1007A; Gilbert A1.1 or A1.2 (Without the dust wrapper it cannot be determined if this copy is a first or second issue).
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Postans, Mrs (Marianne) - Cutch, or Random Sketches of Western India.
$3750
A scarce, pioneering account of India under Company rule, beautifully illustrated after sketches by the author.
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First book. Australian botany: specially designed for the use of schools
$800
Guilfoyle, W. R. Sydney: S. Mullen, 1878. Octavo, 110 (last blank), ii (errata) folding frontispiece, 4 uncoloured plates. Handsome decorated publisher's cloth in gold and green. "To the Hon. Graham Berry M. P. Services- Treasurer of Victoria with the authors kindest regards 8 August 1878". Also the signatures of Charles French and R. T. M. Prescott, a wonderful association copy.
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GOULD, Elizabeth. Original watercolour of a gyrfalcon. 1829.
$115000
“Avian perfection”. A superbly executed study by the ornithological artist Elizabeth Gould, predating any of her published work. Gould’s watercolours are rarely seen on the market. Watercolour, ink, and pencil drawing on wove paper (650 × 480 mm), signed in the image.
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The second recorded copy of the Kanagawa Treaty, negotiated by Perry and effectively opening Japan to trade with the West
$33000
[USA - JAPAN - TREATY]. Treaty between the United States of America and the Empire of Japan. Concluded March 31, 1854; Ratified August 7, 1854; Proclaimed June 22, 1855.
[Washington D.C., 1855]. Folio. Signed in type by Franklin Pierce as President and by W. L. Marcy as Secretary of State. Original printed self-wrappers, stitched. 5, [1 blank] pp.
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Rare early Thai astronomical printing and description of the 1850 solar eclipse. - J.H. Chandler Union Press Bangkok -1850 Almanac
$12500
This Almanac was printed in Bangkok in 1850 by John Hassett Chandler. The first book was not printed in Thailand until 1837, so this is an early imprint. The text for this 1850 almanac is particularly interesting as it includes a very early description of Western astronomy aimed at a Thai audience. The description of the mechanism of an eclipse, and the map of route of the upcoming solar eclipse demonstrated Western understanding of the universe. We know that King Mongkut (1804-1868) had a deep interest in Western science, and famously accurately predicted the 1868 solar eclipse in Thailand.
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To Kill A Mocking Bird
$2300
1960 (First UK Edition). Heinemann, London, England
A famous story written as a first novel by Harper Lee through the eyes of children and made all the more famous by the brilliant 1962 film with Gregory Peck. Both the US and English additions are notoriously scarce, particularly now with the recent death of Ms.Lee.
All three edges are slightly browned though the text is in an excellent shape with the only fault being a prior owner signature on the front free endpaper, with no foxing at all either.
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Kowalewski, Joseph Etienne - Dictionnaire Mongol-Russe-Français Dédié à Sa Majesté L'Empereur de Toutes les Russies.
$3950
A landmark work - the first large-scale scholarly dictionary of Mongolian published for the European market and a milestone in historical linguistics and academic publishing. Published in three volumes over six years, it drew on classical Mongolian and religious and archaic texts (reflecting the author's own interests in Mongolia and in Buddhism); the trilingual dictionary also addressed the challenge of transliterating Mongolian script. These three volumes were reprinted and bound as one in 1941 by the influential White Russian bookseller and publisher Ivan Serebrennikoff in Tianjin.
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1962 Standardisation of Railway Gauge Sydney & Melbourne
$1000
1962 Standardisation of Railway Gauge b/w Sydney & Melbourne. 14 Items collected by H. Kingsmill, NSW Railways Superintendent, to include Souvenirs, Ticket, Dinner Menus, Official Event Ephemera.
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![We Have Always Lived In The Castle [1st Ed]](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/orchardbookshopadl@gmail.com/20260616_182204.jpg)
We Have Always Lived In The Castle [1st Ed]
$1950
"We Have Always Lived In The Castle" was Shirley Jackson’s sixth & final novel, with many declaring it her masterpiece.
A classic of gothic disquietude, First Editions of this title [and most other Jackson titles, to be fair] are keenly sought. However, the book design, especially the cream spine & predominantly white dustjacket, often lends itself to disagreeable discolouration. We are happy to report our copy is in exceptional condition for this title.
"[Shirley Jackson is] leader in the field of beautifully written, quiet, cumulative shudders" - Dorothy Parker
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RUSCHA, Ed. 4 x 6: Zeichnungen von Edward Ruscha.
$1750
Münster: Westfälischer Kunstverein (1986). First edition, numbered & signed issue. [72 pp]. Fine in full blue cloth with silver stamping to spine and front panel. Essay by Marianne Stockebrand in German and English translation. Twenty-four full color reproductions. One of 100 numbered copies SIGNED by Ruscha.
Photograph Album of 1921 Victoria
$1000
B&W Photograph Album (43cm x 32cm) of Easter 1921. Victoria - Walhalla, Taralgon, Kilcunda, Phillip Island, Mount Dandenong, Beaumaris, Mentone, Botanical Gardens, Melbourne, The Grampians, Maryborough, Wangaratta. Total 126 Photographs. Some small panoramas. Each photograph captioned. Photographs in very good condition.
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