Books and Ephemeral Items from Samuel Gedge Ltd. Rare Books

For those who collect pieces printed at uncommon locations, you won't find one much rarer than this. Item 32 states, This was Printed on Board the Ship Amiga, George Penney Commander, While crossing the Equator...bound from London to Algoa Bay, 29 days from Portsmouth. April 11, 1848. It is safe to say that this is a unique imprint. The sheet contains twelve lines from the poem The Convict Ship by Thomas Kibble Hervey, except where the original said “tall vessell” they have substituted “the Amiga.” The printer's name is given as James Fordred. For those unfamiliar with the geography, Algoa Bay is in South Africa. £250 (US $410).

Item 90 is a very bizarre watercolor drawing, with a handwritten notation at the top, “Pomarre King of Otaheite, combing his hair with his foot, as is the custom of all the natives of that country – taken from a drawing in the possession of Governor Thring - 1807.” It is seriously doubtful that all, if any of the natives of Tahiti combed their hair with their feet. Try just reaching your hair with your foot if you doubt me. Pomare was a real king, having been King at the time of Cook's second visit. Who Governor Thring, who supposedly possessed the original of this drawing, might be is a mystery. Certainly this strange drawing could not have been made from life as Pomare has an ear where his right eye is supposed to be while the missing eye appears to be growing from his cheek. In this era, people still had some rather wild ideas of what people in far off lands looked like. £750 (US $1,231).

Samuel Gedge Ltd. Rare Books may be reached at +44 (0)1263 768 471 or rarebooks@samuelgedge.com. Their website is www.samuelgedge.com.