They will be added to their categories soon unless they are bought first. More books will be added here regularly.

A selection of books that have recently arrived at Horizon BoTuesday, December 02, 2008 3:30:37 mixture of subjects. They were listed here on:

ADAMS, Brian; The Flowering of the Pacific; Being an Account of Joseph Bank's Travels in the South Seas and the Story of His Florilegium. Sydney, Collins, 1986, First Edition, 4to [29 x 21 cm]; 194 pp, well illustrated in bw and color with many full page color plates from Banks' Florilegium, orig cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (small stain on rear panel), fine.

Banks was the naturalist on Cook's first circumnavigation, but the fine illustrations of the plants he collected were not published until recently. There is a separate part describing in detail Bank's Florilegium The narrative covers three years beginning in 1768 describing Australia, New Zealand and much of the Pacific, Java, Tahiti, Tierra del Fuego, Rio de Janeiro.

US$30. bookID # 13030

ANDREWS, J. R. H.; The Southern Ark; Zoological Discovery in New Zealand 1769 - 1900. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, [1986], First American Edition, folio [30 x 22 cm]; xii, 237 pp, numerous illus and plates, mostly in color from early sources, detailed bibliog, index, orig cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and front cover, pictorial endpapers, dj (not price clipped), fine and clean copy, unused and unmarked.

A description of the discovery of the unique fauna such as the Kiwi, Moa, Takahe and the Tuatara beginning with the voyages of Captain Cook to the end of the Victorian era. Attractive illustrations include those of Parkinson, Forster, Lear, Gould, Wolf, Martyn, Keulemans and Donovan cover all aspects of animal, bird, marine and insect life.

US$12. bookID # 13029

DAVIS, Wade; One River; Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest. [New York], Simon & Schuster, [1996], , 8vo [24 x 16 cm]; 537, [i] pp, illus from photos, bibliog, index, orig cloth-backed boards, spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), clean, fine copy in fine dj.

"An epic tale of adventure and a compelling work of natural history." The author, a student of ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, traces his own search, with Tim Plowman, for medical plants, including coca, the source of cocaine, among the Indian tribes of Amazonia. He describes the 12 year travels beginning in 1941 of Schultes. Schultes collected 20,000 botanical specimens including hundreds new to science, documented the knowledge of native shamans and explored unmapped areas. Schultes became the leading authority on plant hallucinogens. A fascinating and well written book, greatly enriched by the descriptions at two points in time. 'Richard Schultes was one of the last great explorer naturalists' (Edward O. Wilson). 'Wade Davis is one of our most lyrical nature writers, has written the definitive book about the South American rain forest' (Andrew Weil). 'A rare treasure' (David Suzuki).

US$20. bookID # 13027

DRESSLER, Robert I. and Glenn E. Pollard; The Genus Encyclia in Mexico. Mexico, Asociacion Mexicana de Orquidealogia, A. C., 1976, second edition, revised, limited to 2,000 copies, 8vo [23 x 17 cm]; 151, [ii] pp, 70 color photos, numerous illustrations from drawings, 4 maps showing distribution, index, orig pictorial heavy paper wraps, title lettering on spine and cover, very light wear, small corner of blank endpaper clipped, very good+.

A comprehensive study, well-illustrated, besides covering the subgenuses in detail, has chapters on generic relationships, key to Mexican species, natural hybridization, and a chapter on excluded or dubious species. This revised edition is in English.

US$35. bookID # 13037

EDWARDS, Amelia B.; A Midsummer Ramble in the Dolomites. London, George Routledge and Sons, [1889], Second edition, 8vo [23.5 x 17 cm]; xxiv, [ii], [27] - 389 pp, frontis with tissue guard, 8 additional plates, 18 illus in text, folding colored map with the author's route in red, orig pictorial cloth, gilt lettering on front cover and spine, picture of mountains in white on cover, spine ends bit frayed, a little corner wear, hinges cracked but firm, else very good, interior is fine, clean and unmarked.

Neate 236. This edition has additional material added that was not in the first edition of 1873 and corrections and clarifications were made and the map updated. The book was also published under the title 'Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys' with the same illustrations and content. The author 'published a hugely popular book on the little-frequented Dolomite mountains. Since there was not any proper roads or tourists, it became a voyage of discovery'. She later wrote A Thousand Miles Up the Nile, regarded as one of the most inspiring travel books in any language.

US$50. bookID # 13039

FOUNTAIN, Paul; The Great North-West and the Great Lake Region of North America. London, Longmans, Green and Co., 1904, First Edition, 8vo [22.5 x 16 cm ]; vii, 355, [ii, publisher's ads] pp, glossary, index, orig cloth, gilt lettering on front cover and spine, gilt decorations on spine, spine faded but lettering clear, cover lightly rubbed, very good, interior is clean, unmarked and near fine.

The author recounts his travels in the wilderness in his youth, in the 1860's and 1870's, in the first part of the book, including a journey to the Red River area, Winnipeg, to Fort Severn, the Ottawa River, James Bay and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The latter part of the book concentrates on his travels to the wilds of Michigan, the shores of Lake Superior, Ohio. Interesting observations on people, animals, hunting, fishing, conditions and life in general. Whale 428: "Travel classic of the Northwest and Manitoba, with considerable detail on Indians, travel, hunting and trapping."

US$40. bookID # 13041

FOUNTAIN, Paul, preface by W. H. Hudson; The Great Deserts and Forests of North America. London, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1901, First edition, 8vo [23 x 15 cm]; ix, 295 pp, with the appendix, orig cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and cover, gilt spine decorations, spine lightly faded but lettering clear, cover bit rubbed, interior is clean, unmarked and near fine, overall very good.

The author's first book describes the prairies of the Mississippi Valley, swamps, Yosemite Valley, deserts, Indian life, California and Colorado, wild life, insects, spiders, etc, each in detail. 'It is the freshness of Mr Fountain's observations which makes them so attractive. . . the vanished bison, the puma, grizzly bear and prairie marmot, the moose, the golden eagle, the road runner. . . a procession of noble and beautiful forms and they hold our attention. . . we see them alive and active in their wild haunts through the author's sympathetic eyes'. [W. H. Hudson, famous naturalist and writer].

US$40. bookID # 13040

FREEMAN, Lewis R.; On the Roof of the Rockies; the Great Columbia Icefield of the Canadian Rockies. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, [1925], First Canadian issue, published at the same time as New York edition, 8vo [24 x 16 cm]; xiii, [i], 270 pp, frontis, illus and plates from photos (complete), orig pictorial gilt cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and cover, spine faded but lettering clear, near fine, interior is clean and unmarked.

Neate F60. An important photographic surveying expedition, producing some of the first photos of this area in the Canadian Rockies, around Athabaska, with detailed description of the expedition, excellent illustrations.

US$25. bookID # 13033

HUNT, P. Francis; The International Book of Orchids. Secaucus, Chartwell Books, [1979], , 4to [29 x 22 cm]; 172 pp, numerous colored illus from photos and drawings, including from early sources, index, original black cloth, silver title lettering on spine, light private blind-stamp, very good overall in dj (light wear, short tears), with loose illustrated newspaper clipping on subject.

A lavishly illustrated work surveying the history and cultivation of all types of orchids with appendices listing the orchid genera and hybrid genera.

US$5. bookID # 13051

LEES, Carlton B.; Gardens, Plants and Man. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall, [1970], First edition, 4to [28 x 22 cm]; 251 pp, color plates and illustrations from photos, including many double-page, some black and white photos, garden plans, bibliog, index, original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and cover, dj (not price clipped, tiny tear at edge), fine and clean.

A beautifully illustrated and produced book, showing some of the greatest gardens through history to the present.

US$3. bookID # 13042

LEIGHTON, Ann; American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century; "For Use or for Delight". Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976, First Edition, 8vo [23.5 x 16 cm]; xxiii, 514 pp, numerous illustrations, manuscripts and plans, mostly from early sources, bibliog, pictorial endpapers, index, original pictorial cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (price clipped), library stamp on copyright page, very good, interior clean, signed by author on half title page.

A useful and comprehensive survey with an extensive appendix of 105 pages listing and describing the plants most frequently cultivated in eighteenth century American gardens. A detailed source book with chapters on voyages, gardeners and collectors, herbal gardens, husbandry, period vegetables, fruits, gardening catalogues, etc.

US$20. bookID # 13047

LEIGHTON, Ann; American Gardens in the Nineteenth Century; "For Comfort and Affluence". Amherst, The University of Massachusetts Press, 1987, First Edition, 8vo [23.5 x 16 cm]; xviii, 395 pp, numerous illustrations of old gardens, plans, garden ornaments, etc, mostly from early sources, bibliog, index, original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (small tear), fine and clean, unmarked.

A detailed work on the history of American gardens including early American botanists, botanist explorers of the western territories, observers from abroad, seedsmen, nurseries, lady gardeners, societies and gardening shows, parks, Central Park, uses of space, making country places, specialty gardens, etc, with a chapter on Canadian gardens and a 82-page appendix on the plants used in nineteenth century American gardens.

US$35. bookID # 13048

LEIGHTON, Ann; Early American Gardens; "For Meate of Medicine". Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, [1970], First edition, first printing, 8vo[23.5 x 16.5 cm]; xviii, 441 pp, 84 illus and plans from early sources, bibliog, pictorial endpapers, original cloth with decorative spine, gilt sine title lettering, dj (light wear, not price clipped), near fine and clean in very good dj, inscribed and signed by author on half-title page.

A comprehensive survey of seventeenth century American gardening with an emphasis on herbs and their uses and with much historical information, describing the uses of hundreds of varieties.

US$35. bookID # 13045

MAGGS BROS, ; Voyages and Travels, Being a Selection of One Thousand Books relating to all Part of the World. London, Maggs Bros., 1931, First edition, large 8vo [24 x 18.5 cm]; 128 pp, engraved headpiece and tailpiece, orig heavy paper printed wraps with title printed in red and illus of ship on covers, list of their catalogues on inside cover, a fine, clean and unmarked copy.

A fine catalogue #562 by one of the most famous of antiquarian booksellers who have been in business for over two hundred years. The books are arranged by geographical area and each list the number of plates and maps. Many have some interesting description. A pleasure to browse through after all these years with prices you can only dream about.

US$15. bookID # 13043

MAYR, Ernst; The Growth of Biological Thought; Diversity, Evolution and Inheritance. Cambridge, London, Harvard University Press, 1982, , 8vo [24 x 16 cm]; xiii, 974 pp, extensive bibliog, glossary, index, orig brown cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), slightly foxed on outer edge of text block, near fine and clean in fine jacket, unused.

A scholarly, authorative and detailed work by one of the most respected biologists of the twentieth century. Ten years in preparation, it traces the development of the major problems of biology, from earliest times to the present, around several themes: classification of life forms, evolution of species and inheritance and variation of characteristics.

US$20. bookID # 13028

M'CORMICK [MCCORMICK], R.; Voyages of Discovery in the Arctic and Antarctic Seas, and Round the World; Being Personal Narratives of Attempts to Reach the North and South Poles; and of an Open-boat Expedition up the Wellington Channel in Search of Sir John Franklin. . .. London, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1884, First edition, large 8vo [26 x 18 cm]; 2 volumes complete, xx, 432, [xvi, prospectus of this book, ads]; xii, 412 pp, 66 plates & maps, mostly tinted lithographs, including folding, panoramas, 3 colored maps, 1 folding, 3 portraits, many other illus, index, original pictorial blue cloth with pictures in black & gilt, gilt title lettering on spines & cover, spines slightly faded, light wear at spine ends, slightly foxed on some leaves, endpaper bookplate, inscribed by author on endpaper, near fine sound set.

The bookplate is of Andrew Taylor, polar archivist and important collector. The author, who was chief medical officer, naturalist and geologist to the expeditions, published this work when he was 84 based on his diaries and notes and covers three expeditions: Ross' expedition to the Antarctic, 1839-42, on which the author was surgeon with the botanist Joseph Hooker as assistant surgeon; Parry's 1827 north pole expedition; and the voyage to Wellington Channel in search of Franklin in 1852-52, including the boat expedition under the author's command. His account of the Ross Antarctic expedition is the only one other than that of Ross. The work is detailed and notable for its breadth of content including much on natural history including of Spitsbergen based on the Parry expedition. The numerous plates are excellent and include views, scenery, icebergs, sea, birds, plants, etc. Spence 747. Arctic Bibliog 10582. An superb copy of one of the scarcest polar book in first edition and inscribed by the author to W. H. K. Wright, honorable secretary of the Tercentenary Commemoration Exhibition. The set was published in an edition of only 750 copies many of which were later lost.

US$6500. bookID # 13056

MEE, Margaret, foreword by Roberto Burle Marx, preface by Sir George Taylor; Flowers of the Brazilian Forests. London, The Tryon Gallery in association with George Rainbird, [1968], First edition, limited edition of 500 copies of which this is #350, large folio [53 x 41 cm]; [72 l] pp, 32 fine colored plates, including frontis, from paintings by Mee, each with tissue guard, signed in the plate by Mee, dated 1960s, maps, list of plates, pictorial endpapers, original green morocco-backed boards, bound by Zaehnsdorf, boards with hand marbled paper, gilt spine title lettering & gilt vignette on front, top edge gilted, orig clear glassine jacket, orig cloth slipcase, clean, fine and bright copy.

A superb production with most attractive plates, including nine of orchids and six of bromeliads, each plate with a descriptive leaf. Margaret Mee (1909-88) traveled to the Amazon area 15 times over a 32 year period, by canoe, on foot and often alone. Her paintings and sketches "could stand without shame in the high company of such masters as Georg Dionysius Ehret and Redoute" (Wilfred Blunt). Mee was a passionate conservationist and devoted her life to recording the diversity and beauty of the Amazon. She was one of the first to protest the destruction still taking place there. Sitwell in Great Flower Books describes her work as: 'exceptional and quite in the tradition of the great eighteenth-century books '. 'Mee's work is of an unusually high order of excellence and in the best tradition of flower painting' [Taylor, director of Royal Botanic Garden of Kew]. 'Mee was a talented botanical painter and intrepid traveller. . .an exceptional personality' [Oak Spring Flora]. One of the plants illustrated was discovered by Mee herself.

US$1900. bookID # 13044

MICHAUX, Henri; Ecuador; A Travel Journal. Seattle, University of Washington Press, [1970], First edition in English, first edition in French was 1929, 8vo [22 x 14 cm]; xii, [13]-132 pp, orig black cloth, silver spine title lettering, dj (slightly rubbed at edge, not price clipped), corner of text leaf with slight crease, near fine, clean unmarked copy.

A classic of South American travel narratives, it has been called 'the first wholly modern travel book'. The author, Belgian poet, painter, mystic, writer on mescaline, describes his journey through Panama to Quito and down the Amazon to Iquitos, Peru and Para, Brazil, with much on the mountains and jungle, the native peoples and conditions. The translator provides a extensive introduction.

US$25. bookID # 13049

MINTA, Stephen; Aguirre; The Re-creation of a Sixteenth Century Journey Across South America. New York, Henry Holt Company, [1994], First edition, 8vo [21.5 x 14.5 cm]; [xii], 244 pp, 3 maps, including double-page showing route, bibliography, index, original pictorial boards, spine title lettering, near fine and clean in dj (tears, section of rear panel lacking, not price clipped).

Based on original sources and his own filling in the gaps, the author retraces the route of Lope de Aguirre in the sixteenth century through Colombia, Venezuela, up the Amazon through Brazil and into Peru, where he travels extensively reaching Cuzco. Aguirre had become a rebel and traitor to Spain and travelled with a large fighting force, which found a violent end.

US$4. bookID # 13052

MONCRIEFF, A. R. Hope; paintings by T. Mower Martin; Kew Gardens. London, Adam and Charles Black, 1908, First edition, 12mo [20 x 14 cm]; x, 208 pp, colored frontis with tissue guard, 24 colored plates from Mower Martin paintings, index, original cloth, decorated in gilt and black, gilt spine title lettering, top edge gilted, cover rubbed, interior clean and unmarked, very good, this copy with some loose related newspaper clippings on Kew.

A good description of one of the finest botanical gardens in the world, including buildings, greenhouses, gardens of various types. The work is notable for its fine reproductions of the paintings by T. Mower Martin, RCA (Royal Canadian Academy), one of the finest and most well-known painters of the British Commonwealth of the time, his paintings still being highly sought after.

US$25. bookID # 13034

MOYAL, Ann; 'A Bright and Savage Land'; Scientists in Colonial Australia. Sydney, Collins, 1986, First Edition, 4to [28.5 x 21 cm]; 192 pp, col frontis, numerous illus & plates, many in color, from orig sources, bibliog, index, original cloth, spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), fine and clean.

The author describes the work and characters of the pioneering scientists in Australia, based on their letters, diaries and journals, who had sent home to Europe and America, preserved specimens of animals, flowers and rocks. Beautifully illustrated, many of which are from the travelling scientists own paintings and sketches.

US$12. bookID # 13032

QUARITCH, Bernard; Bernard Quaritch's Catalogue of Geography, Voyages and Travels; History & Topography of America, Australasia, Africa (excluding Egypt) and Asia (excluding India); Languages of America, Africa and Oceanica. London, Bernard Quaritch, 1899, First edition, 8vo [24 x 15.5 cm]; 192 pp, disbound but intact full catalogue.

Full descriptions of 1781 items, all books except a few manuscripts, issued by the most famous British antiquarian bookseller. With collations, many with detailed descriptions and interesting facts. All are priced. Makes you wish for a time machine.

US$35. bookID # 13035

QUARITCH, Bernard; Catalogue of Works on Natural History, Physics, Mathematics and other Sciences. London, Bernard Quaritch, 1881, First edition, 8vo [22 x 15 cm]; iv, [91]-421 pp, extensive index, orig cloth with later matching cloth spine, gilt spine title lettering, endpaper bookplate, small inkstamp on title, very good sound copy.

A complete listing of Quaritch's natural history and science book offering which was part II of a general catalogue, with descriptions of over 4,300 books, mostly antiquarian, Quaritch being the foremost antiquarian British bookseller of the time. Included in the catalogue is the full ornithological libraries of Sir William Jardine and of John Gould, an extensive section on field sports of all types, occult sciences, freemasonry, the Challenger voyage, scientific voyages, etc. All of the books have descriptions, many with interesting historical facts, all are priced.

US$50. bookID # 13036

ROSS, Christopher; Mishima's Sword; Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend. London, Fourth Estate, [2006], , 8vo [22.5 x 14 cm]; [x[, 262 pp, illus from drawings, glossary, orig cloth, silver spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), fine, clean and unmarked.

Travels through Japan to discover more about Japanese writer Yukio Mishima who committed hara-kiri with his own antique sword and discovers much about Japanese culture and society. There is a full-page illustrating how to tie a Fundoshi in detail.

US$5. bookID # 13038

SANBORN, Helen J.; A Winter in Central America and Mexico. Boston, Lee and Shepard Publishers, 1886, First edition, 12mo [17.5 x 13 cm]; iv, 321, [ii, ads] pp, original pictorial cloth, decorated in black, with gilt lettering on front cover and spine, light cover wear, mainly at spine ends, very good, interior clean.

Smith (American Travellers Abroad) S4. Welch p. 64. The author accompanied her father, James Sanborn of the coffee firm Chase and Sanborn, in search of coffee. The book describes their travels in most Central American areas with descriptions of the people, Indians, society, culture and even some description of coffee plantations and cultivation.

US$90. bookID # 13050

STEPHENS, John L.; Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1841, First edition, 8vo [23 x 16 cm]; 2 volumes, viii, [i], [9] - 424; vii, [ii], [7] - 474 pp, 2 frontispieces (one double page), numerous illus and plates, some double-page, fldg map (tear), complete including the extra plate in vol I, p. 109, in some copies, original pictorial gilt cloth, gilt spine title lettering & decorations, edges rubbed and worn, spine ends chipped and frayed, lightly foxed, but volume II has much less foxing than usual, very good complete set of the first printing..

Hill p. 282. Sabin 91297. Welch p. 171. This classic and influential work opened up a whole new area of research into the Mayan people. The plates by Catherwood are most impressive and have become famous in themselves. Considerable archeological research followed Stephens discoveries. "But even this progress might have been delayed had it not been for Stephens the writer, for his account of his discoveries went through ten editions in three months, laying the foundation (so excellent were his judgments) on which Maya archaeology has since rested". -- V. Von Hagen, in "Maya Explorer, John Lloyd Stephens and the Lost Cities of Central America and Yucatan". Griffen 1213: "Probably the most widely read and enjoyed books on American archaeology, these recount the adventures and describe most carefully, for the first time, the antiquities that Stephens and his artist-architect companion, Catherwood, encountered in the Maya country." "The man who first awakened widespread American and English interest in the Maya ruins of Central America was John Lloyd Stephens." (Wauchope in 'They Found the Buried Cities'). Field 1496: "It is difficult to believe that two individuals were capable of such an astonishing amount of labor, as is evidenced in these volumes. The wonderful structure of the race of Indians which once inhabited the peninsula of Central America are here described by pen and pencil, with great clearness and

US$700. bookID # 13055