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TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER
THE SEA
Jules Verne.
Ward, Lock & Co., London, Melbourne, Toronto. No
date.
This edition: Hardcover, embossed boards with pasted
illustration. The frontispiece is a painting of a ship; same as on the
front board; 320 pages. [ps] |
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A CRIME OF THE UNDER SEAS.
Guy Boothby
London, Ward Lock. 1905.
Decorated dark blue cloth, attractively embellished in
gilt (gilded fish no less) and green. 8vo.
A series of short stories from the man who invented Dr.Nicola
(and his cat), including the title story involving a sunken steamer, a
murdered jewel courier and a variety of copper-helmeted diving suit shenanigans. |
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A DIVER WENT DOWN
Jack McLaren.
The Mandrake Press, London.Undated C.1929. Hardcover
, dustjacket. 16mo - over 5" - 6" tall. 84pp.
Stephen at Grant's Bookshop in Armadale, Victoria, states:
The book appears to be fiction. The opening page states that "The victim
was Burford, owner and diver of the Thursday Island pearling-lugger Better
Luck, an underwater adventurer who had walked the sea-floor...".
The action seems to occur near the New Guinea shore. There is only one
illustration, the frontispiece, and was drawn by
Frederick Carter. Although the upper panel of the dustwrapper
does contain another small illustration of a diver. |
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A DIVER IN CHINA SEAS - stories.
Fred Urquart
Quartet Books, London, 1980. Hardcover, dustjacket, 214
pp. I have no further information - may be fiction. |
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COME AWAY, PEARLER
Colin Simpson.
Angus and Roberston, Sydney & London, 1952.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 248 pages.
From the fly:
Here is a novel from the author of that best-seller in
another field, Adam in Ochre. Its action and romance find an uusual and
exciting setting in the pearling life of tropical Australia in the great
days of the nineties. The scene moves from Thursday Island across the Arafura
Sea to the .. tide-rips and hurricanes that beset the luggermen of Broome
and King Sound. It is the story of Ty Calvert, the young pearl-buyer from
Paris who becomes a diver. He contends with the violence of men and of
nature, and trespasses not only in the fantastic world beneath the Coral
Sea but, in the lives of two beautiful women - Leda Haslingden, daughter
of a Brisbane surgeon, and Clover, the half- caste Balinese. Colin Simpson
knows the pearling ports at first hand, and vividly portrays their strange
and highly-coloured mixture of humanity. Equally real is the life at sea
and under the sea, with its perils and fascinations; and the hurricane
that overtakes Ty's lugger will blow the reader's breath away.
--
I am sure the book is better written than the fly blurb.
[ps],[cd] |
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DEVIL DIVER
Frank Crisp
The Bodley Head Press, 1954.
Hardcover, dustjacket. *** No idea what this is
about - may or may not be fiction. |
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IN AUSTRALIA TREASURE IS NOT FOR THE
FINDER Allan Robinson.
Self published, in 1980. ISBN 0-9594957-0-3
Hardcover, oblong format. No dustjacket. Mono drawings,
several colour photographs and drawings, newspaper article reprints. 140
pages, two column text.
It's not structly a children's book, but it is a lod
of fiction even though that was not the author's intention. In fact I would
not recommend any child, nor indeed an adult, to read it. Robinson claimed
to have found the Dutch East Indiaman Vergulde Draeck when actually it
was first discovered in 1963 by a sixteen-year-old lad, Graeme Henderson,
later Director of the Maritime Archaeology Department of the Western Australian
Museum. Robinson lay claim to the thousands of dollars worth of coins found
on the wreck, resulting in a long and bitter battle with the WA Government
though the courts. The discovery also made the author a self-acclaimed
mritime historian who claims that the Egyptians were the first to colonise
Australia, having rowed across the Indian Ocean in triremes. He was accused
of conterfieting coins, and assault, and ended up in prison where he hung
himself. The book covers the authors bitter struggles with the government
at a time when the Historic Shipwreck Act was being introduced. It really
is a sad story all round, but this book is really an absolute load of crap,
and will no doubt become a classic just for this reason. [ps] |
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LOG OF THE FLYING FISH
Harry Collingwood.
Printed by Blackie & Son, London, early 20th century.
From eBay:
"Great picture of a diver on the front cover.A ripping
yarn."
No idea what this is about, nor if it contains any relevance
to diving. |
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OUT OF THE DEPTHS
A Scuba Mystery.
Leonard Holton.
Published by Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1966.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 185 pages.
From the fly: Father Bredder of the Church of the Holy
Innocents and his friend Lieutenant Minardi of the Los Angeles Police Department
were engaged in the pleasant pastime of fishing from a pier that jutted
out into the Pacific. It was Father Bredder who first hooked onto
something which felt like a prodigious strike but which turned out to be
part and parcel of a scuba diver's gear. A police launch confirmed
the ghastly suspicion-deep in the dark waters below them lay the lifeless
body of a scuba diver in his full equipment. The Father Bredder stories
are notable for the excitement of their plots, their warmth of characterization
and the wit and wisdom which grace their pages. All these are present
in full measure in the pages of this new novel. [ps] |
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SECRET SEA
"Close-hauled adventure in a search for sunken gold."
by Robb White
Copyright: 1951, Printed: 1955, Published by: Pocketbook
Jr.
Paperback.
No idea what this is all about. Probably fiction.
24 July 2007. Following information kindly posted by
Scott Mayeda, USA (thankyou Scott):
Secret Sea is a good baby boomer teen book about a wounded
WW II Navy officer who is forced out of the Navy
having to go treasure hunting to support his kid brothers
hospital bills. He sets out with a young warf rat as his
partner, has a sinister German (thinly veiled former
Nazi) following him to try and steal the treasure, battle with an
octopus in the wreck, and comes home with the treasure
so his brother can get the medical treatment he needs. |
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SHIPWRECK
Douglas Stewart.
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The Shepherd Press, Sydney, Australia 1947.
Special edition: The Shepherd Press, Sydney, 1948,
Hardcover, full Leather, Signed by Author, Special Limited Edition
of 100.
Frontispiece watercolour painting by Norman Lindsay,
‘The Death of Huyssen'.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 96 pages.
This is a play, based on the wreck of the Batavia in
1629 in the Abrolhos Islands off the Western Australian coast. Those familiar
with this famous wreck and its notorious aftermath of rape and massacre
will readily appreciate that the scenario of the survivors on Beacon Island
may indeed make a fine, if gruesome, play. Here we have Francis Pelsart,
the Commodoree, and the murdering swine Cornelius, the ships Supercargo.
There is Webby Hays (sic) who finds water on another island (and in reality,
warns
Pelseart of the murders on the island on his return from Batavia). There
is Godwin Van Mylen and his wife Lucrecia who survives, in the play at
least. Godwin doesn't. Nor do over a hundred others on the island.
Why anyone would want to write a play about such a terrible event in Australia's
history I have no idea. It is a ‘poetic drama', in dull prose.I tried to
read it, to check its authenticity in as much as one can without being
there, but I couldn't follow much of the drivel of dialogue and how it
was presented. The author attaches a love scenario from Cornelious to Lucretia,
of doubtful veracity when lust is his motivation, and there is a running
theme of the missing cat - who cares? Maybe thats the message - the survivors
are worried about the bloody cat when so many have been mordered. Well,
I've stayed on Beacon Island for several nights, in a hut, and even in
my wildest dreams, which I did not have, I could not image the scale of
horror that Cornelious caused. I'm not sure that the author got that message
across. I have no idea if this play was ever staged - I hope not. The painting
by Norman Lindsay is superbly executed as expected, but it hardly describes
the scene. [ps] |
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THE AMPHORA PIRATESA
Lou Cameron.
Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1971. Harcover, dust
jacket, .211pp. First British novel of skulduggery involving underwater
archaeologists and amphora pirates-criminal skindivers who plunder ancient
wrecks for Greek vases (amphorae).
Hardcover, dustjacket, 211 pages.
From the fly: Leo Martin was bumming around Europe with
skin-diving gear and a typewriter when he fell into trouble. He'd
written a piece on underwater treasures which had attracted the attention
of quite a few people. Among them was a group of amphora piratescriminal
skin-divers who plunder ancient wrecks for the Greek vases (amphorae) which
can be sold for enormous amounts to innocent tourists. The head of
this outlaw band of cut-throats is Mike Konakai, a huge Hawaiian. Martin
was dragooned into joining themone look at big Mike was enough. Martin
realized that his associates were under the watchful eye of Captain Colonna,
the deceptively soft-spoken officer in charge of protecting ltaly's sunken
heritage from vandalism-by shooting to kill with a deck gun if necessary.
Konakal finally lets Martin take a legitimate skin-diving job with an underwater
archaeologist, Dr. Menderes, who has been searching for a treasure galley
that went down a thousand years B.C. One of the charms of this job is the
archaeologist's daughter, very knowledgeable about sea treasures-and other
less intellectual pursuits. Unlike the amphora pirates, Menderes has a
licence to salvage the wreck. So there should be no problems, except
for the continuing suspicions of Captain Colonna, the determination of
Konakai to hijack the treasure if and when it is ever found-and someone
. . . someone Leo can't identify, who keeps murdering people connected
with the project. The Amphora Pirates is full of action, suspense and adventure
and has the added charm of professional know-how about underwater exploration.
[ps] |
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THE LOG FROM THE SEA OF CORTEZ
John Steinbeck.
'The narrative portion of the book Sea of Cortez with
a profile about Ed Ricketts'.
First published in Great Britain in 1958 by William Heinemann
Ltd, London. Copyright indication give the impression tht it was previously
published in 1941 and 1951, no doubt in the USA.
Hardcover, dust jacket, 282 pages.
Havn't read it - no idea what its all about, but if its
Steinbeck, its got to be good. If you have read it, perhaps you would like
top contact me with a synopsis. |
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THE TEN KINGS OF THE SEA: THE
SALVAGE OF SANTA ISABELLA'S TREASURE
Jacques Mayol, Pierre Mayol, Carla Sherman (Translator)
Aa fictional story that holds appeal for divers and sea
lovers. The story is based upon Jacques and Pierre Mayol shared underwater
experiences and discoveries. Their interest in the lost continent of Atlantis
led them to the Atlantic Ocean, the Bahamas and the mysteries of Bimini
and other islands of the Bahamas. Along the way, Jacques discovered a Spanish
galleon sunk some 300 years ago. This shipwreck became a primary inspiration
for this novel. |
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THE PEARL FISHERS
Subtitle: A Story of St Francis Xavier.
Gertrude Hollis
Published by: Thomas Nelson and Sons, London in 1913.
Hard back with illustrated cover; 245 printed pages.
Dimensions: 19.5 cms tall by 13 cms wide
Adventure novel about an expedition from Portugal to
the East Indies and Far East. Fictionalized account of the life of St Francis
Xavier, co-founder of the Jesuits in the sixteenth century, told as an
exciting boys' adventure story. The pearl diving (by breath hold)
takes place off Ceylon, known today as Sri Lanka It is written in
nineteen chapters with two colour prints, sadly not of divers. The
book cover shows a native pearl diver handing a bag of pearl shell over
to two members of the crew, the spine has a picture of a galleon sailing
away. [pt]
Additional note: There is also - THE PEARL FISHERS
by H. De Vere Stacpoole.
Hutchinson & C0., London. No date but circa 1910.
Hardcover, 288 pages.
And by way of intererest, Georges Bizet wrote The
Pearl Fishers (Die Perlenfischer), a vocal opera score, available as
sheet music of course and also in paperback, in German and English, of
202 pages by Kalmus, 1973. [ps-nb] |
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THE PEARLING MASTER
Tom Ronan.
Cassell, London, 1958.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 318 pages.
A tale of pearling set in north-west Australia. |
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THE SPONGE PIRATES AND OTHER
FLORIDA KEY STORIES
Jack Stark. A Hopkins Publication, 1956
Appears ot be softcover, 86 pp., size 6 x 9.5 inches.
From eBay blurb: In 1948, Arthur Mc Kee, Jr., a professional
deep sea diver, located the scant remains of a sunken ship off the Florida
reefs. In searching through the rubble, among the ancient cannons and ballast,
Mc Kee found a number of silver coins each dated 1732. He found the cannons
and cannon balls were marked with the Spanish insignia.This rare edition
was published in 1956 and probably has less than 500 copies published.
This edition has two pages titled "Treasure Diver", and a full page
photo of Art Mc Kee [rigged in full hard~hat diving gear and effortlessly
clutching a 75lb. bar of silver which he recovered from the wreck of an
ancient Spanish Galleon sunk on a reef ‘East of Key Largo'. A book that
is possibly based on historial fiction and is adolescent for the most part
but illustrates backgroud history and artifacts of the 1733 Fleet wrecks.
"..a legend...a book...and a man that brought treasure
to the surface when Mel Fisher was still feeding chickens!".
A very rare book that is seldon offered for the serious
collector. |
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WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS
Being the Personal Narrative of Ross Sidney, Diver.
Holman Day.
Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York and London.
Printed June 1917.
Hardcover, illustrated and embossed boards in green cloth,
gold text; probably no dustjacket but if so, a plain protective wrapper.
A single colour painting of a depressed diver and his anxious girlfriend
on the opposite page to the title page gives the only indicatioin that
this book is about a diver. No other illustrations, 461 pages.
I thought this was a true autobiography when I bought
it but it is actually a novel, and although I have not read it, a skim
through reveals little underwater adventure. I wish bookseller would be
more explicit when detailing books as I may not have purchased it, but
it was not expensive. If anyonbe has read it, please let me know your thoughts.
[ps] |
