Antiquities & Oddities

//Antiquities & Oddities
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  • Thomas Stanley Hepworth (1916 - 1985) was a teacher, author and editor, responsible for the Australian Children's Newspaper, The ABC Children's Hour Annual Nos. 1–5 (1956–58, 1960–61), and The Australian Children's Annual Nos 6–8 (1963–65). There is plenty to amuse and educate in this thoughtfully-produced annual: stories, plays, information on how things were manufactured, hobbies and other countries; songs; riddles; crosswords and handicrafts. Contributors to this edition include Ruth Park, Rowena Farre, Denys Burrows, G.K. Saunders and 'The Argonauts'.  In a day of limited television, these annuals were regarded as very instructive for young people. Illustrated with cartoons and black and white photographs of events in Australia and overseas.
  • Ronnie Clarke, an Australian airline pilot, learns that John Pascoe has crashed in the remote Tasmanian bush trying to fly help to a sick girl and is lying with a fractured skull. Ronnie decides to try and fly a doctor there despite the dangerous conditions, since he has always admired John ever since he taught Ronnie to fly.  By the time Ronnie reaches John, he has become close to the heart of the man, the secrets of his adventurous life and the two heartbreaks he has suffered.
  • A rare first edition of West's second book, with the ingredients for first class entertainment: a disillusioned hero who seeks escape in treasure hunting, a sunken galleon, a lonely tropical island, a thoroughly modern villain and a very beautiful girl. The background is authentic, research by West when he travelled the length of the Great Barrier Reef in the tracks of the early navigators.
  • The most magical nanny in the history of reading is up to more adventures and taking everyone along for the ride. And she's reappeared just in time. According to her tape measure, Jane and Michael have grown "Worse and Worse" since she went away. But the children won't have time to be naughty with all that Mary has planned for them. A visit to Mr. Twigley’s music box-filled attic, an encounter with the Marble Boy and a ride on Miss Calico’s enchanted candy canes are all part of an average day out with everyone's favorite nanny. Illustrations by Mary Shepard.
  • A story of sibling devotion told from The Mill On The Floss. This excerpt of Tom and Maggie's early years was first published as a stand-alone in 1909. Little Maggie worships Tom and wants his approval - but Tom is unpredictable; sometimes he acts as if he loves Maggie and other times he is very unpleasant to her. Tom is sent to school to get a proper education and Maggie misses him greatly.  But when his school days are done, Tom may have learnt to love his studies; he has made a very good friend; and Maggie is becoming a young lady.
  • Ronald Searle ( St. Trinians, Down With Skool, How To Be Topp, et al)  describes several fantasy, fictional and overwhelming  encounters with Toulouse-Lautrec - with illustrations!
  • A compendium of comic pieces that take a light-hearted look at life, from cross the globe and across the decades.  In this volume:  Special Delivery, Richard Gordon; The O'Conors Of Castle O'Conor, Anthony Trollope; When In Rome, Peter Ustinov; Butch Minds The Baby, Damon Runyan; A Linguistic Experiment, Jerome K. Jerome; The Whore Of Mensa, Woody Allen; Introduction To Cold Comfort, Stella Gibbons; How I Killed A Bear, Charles Dudley Warner; A Day In The Life Of A Milligan, Spike Milligan; Adventures Of A Y.M.C.A. Lad, H.L. Mencken; The House Of Fahy, E.Œ Somerville and Martin Ross; 'Not A Porthouse Man', Tom Sharpe; Getting A Glass Of Water, Frederick W. Cozzens; The Wrong Boot, Evelyn Waugh; The Adventures Of A Christmas Turkey, Mark Lemon; The Stalled Ox, Saki; Darrowby Show, James Herriot; The Phantom Elopement, Charles Dickens; The Waltz, Dorothy Parker; A Visit To Grandpa's, Dylan Thomas; The Hand That Riles The World, O. Henry; Without The Option, P.G. Wodehouse; Top Of The League, A.G. Macdonell; The Yahi-Bahi Oriental Society Of Mrs Rasselyerbrown, Stephen Leacock;  Body And Soul, Alan Coren; The Brief Engagement Of Lupin Pooter, George and Weedon Grossmith; 'Absolutely Ghastly!' H.E. Bates; Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog; Kurt Vonnegut Jr; The Idol's Eye, S.J. Perelman; The Morning After, Kingsley Amis; A Visit To Niagra, Mark Twain; The Fiancé, Nancy Mitford; The Night The Bed Fell, James Thurber; An Italian's View Of A New England Winter, James M. Bailey. Cover art by Alistair Graham.
  • Originally published in 1837, here are the 'Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers' - pirates! True stories of the diabolical desperadoes who plundered ships on the high seas and murdered their passengers and crews. The stories - based on contemporary newspaper accounts, trial proceedings and Admiralty records - describe in lurid detail the life, atrocities and bloody death of the infamous Black Beard as well as the cold-blooded exploits of Jean Lafitte, Robert Kidd, Edward Low, Thomas White, Anne Bonney, Mary Read and scores of other maritime marauders. For those interested in the true-life adventures of the ruthless men and women who sailed under the black flag so long ago. With illustrations reproduced from the original edition.  
  • The trail led from the assassination of a youthful President to the murder of a cynical homosexual after a bizarre orgy to a beautiful, promiscuous woman slain by an unknown lover. Then the trail went on to secret files behind the unmarked doors of an unlisted government agency. The victims have one thing in common - all twenty-five of them appeared on one piece of film. And twenty-four are now dead, leaving one man to tell the story to an unbelieving world - if he can live so long...
  • Inimitable (definition): that which defies imitation. For years, Mikes wrote witty articles and books on every aspect of British life, pricking pomposity and praising decency.  Contains chapters on how to avoid travelling, wine snobbery, television, how to be class conscious and how to remain poor.  Mikes may have emigrated from Hungary - but he wouldn't live anywhere else.  Illustrated by Nicholas Bentley.
  • What's in a name? Well, plenty, according to this interesting little booklet.  The word 'dunce' meaning slow-witted or dull is from the name Duns Scotus, a brilliant medieval teacher; Dick Whittington, mayor of London, did exist but is not the legendary poor boy with a pet cat seeking his fortune; Robert Louis Stevenson's infamous character Dr. Jekyll was based on a real man; Old 'Uncle Tom Cobbleigh' was a hotblooded and amorous red-headed man; Lady Godiva did get her gear off  as a result of a bet with her husband - and Mother Goose did write a swag of nursery rhymes! Loads of interest in a small package.
  • Cat; n. Small domesticated carnivorous quadruped.  This selection of writings has been presented as Nine Lives: The Kittenish; The Legendary; The Traditional; The Diabolical; The Poetical; The Domestic; The Curious; The Wild and The Last. A fabulous vintage volume for those who worship and observe cats. Illustrated with black and white photographs.
  • Based on original scripts by Spike Milligan and brought to life by illustrator Pete Clarke.   Entertainments in this volume include: Rommel's Treasure; The Case of the Missing C.D. Plates; The Saga of the Internal Mountain and The Case of the Vanishing Room.
  • Can one think of Torquay without the image of Basil Fawlty cropping up? This charming guide book covers not only the Torquay of 1920 but also delves into history, folklore and local customs. With beautiful colour plate illustrations by Frederick J. Widgery. Reprinted in 2016.
  • This book, which has nothing to do with anything, owes nothing to almost everyone including Robert Burns, Napoleon, Graeme Green, Livingstone Hopkins, Longfellow, John Bull, Guiseppe Verdi, Daniel Defoe, Lord Byron and others. It owes a lot to Bill Wannan, who over the years has pandered to his sudden rushes of comic inspiration and has strayed into a world of dreadful puns, comic narrative, biographies brief and banal, philosophical snatches and illustrated idiocy. His assiduous filing has allowed the accumulation of these visual and verbal tid-bits for the delectation of mankind.  So if you want to knit a scarf for a giraffe, see Mr. Hyde's last confession, understand the difference between a ballad and a ballade, read of the historic meeting between William Wordsworth and the Inspector of Stamps, find out who was the world's most eligible vandal - then this book is for you.  Illustrated.
  • Simon Templar...The Saint No. IV. The lovely Sonia Delmar takes a bite of chocolate - and thereby involves Simon Templar in the most thrilling adventure of his young career. It seems that the young lady is an American munitions heiress...and the chocolate is drugged. The game is kidnapping, blackmail and international turmoil in the very vulnerable Europe of 1930. And though the Saint's allies are the stalwart Roger Conway and the powerful Sir Isaac Lessing, his adversaries are equally formidable: Rayt Marius, the 'Millionaire Without A Country', who would sacrifice the lives of millions for his own profit; Prince Rudolph who fancies himself the new Napoleon; and Vassilov, agent of the Kremlin...
  • Brian Savage, eligible bachelor-about-Manhattan had an antic mind and breezy drawing style that gave Playboy some of its wittiest visuals.  Mr Savage's art has been described - not as savage - but as pointed, perceptive, piquant and uniquely critical of the platitudes and attitudes of contemporary life. Vintage Playboy Magazine humour, 1972.  Probably very non-P.C. and highly collectible.
  • The year is 1793, the darkest days of the French revolution, and little Charles-Léon is ill. The delicate son of Louise and Bastien de Croissy is recommended country air, but travel permits are needed - and impossible to come by. Louise's friend, Josette, believes she knows a way out. For Josette is convinced that her hero, the Scarlet Pimpernel, will come to their rescue. She refuses to believe that he only exists in her imagination. 'I say that the Scarlet Pimpernel can do anything! And I mean to get in touch with him,' she vows, and sets forth into the Paris streets...