Author: Madonna. Meisel, Steven (photographer). O'Brien,Glenn (editor).

Publisher: USA: Martin Secker & Warburg.

Format: Hardcover quarto, spiral bound. In original sealed aluminum bag with CD, 39.5 x 31cm (bag).

SEX is Madonna's cult coffee table book photographed by esteemed fashion photographer Steven Meisel. The book coincided with the release of Madonna's fifth studio album Erotica.

As new. In original bookseller's paper bag.

Publisher: Canberra: C.J. Thompson, Commonwealth Government Printer.

Format: Softcover staple-bound booklet in white card wrappers, annotated and signed in ink by Paul Keating on cover, 27pp, 24.9 x 17.5cm.

Annotation reads "To Keith, with best wishes, Paul Keating."

Text on title page continues "Delivered on 19 August 1986 by the Honourable P.J. Keating, M.P. Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia."

Paul John Keating (b.1944), Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as treasurer from 1983 to 1991 and as deputy prime minister from 1990 to 1991 under the prime ministership of Bob Hawke. He became the  24th prime minister of Australia and leader of the Labor Party in 1991 and served until 1996.

Keating autographs signed at the time of the event are scarce.

Foxing, creases to covers.

Publisher: Sydney: The Futurian Society of Sydney.

Format: Staple-bound typed booklet with blue wrappers, 14pp, 29.1 x 20.8cm.

The Australian Science Fiction Convention was the first science fiction convention held in Australia and

The first Australian Science Fiction convention was held in the Grand United Order of Oddfellows Hall in Sydney on March 22nd, 1952. It was likely the first Australian fan convention, with much of the initial organisation done by the Futurian Society of Sydney. William D. Veney was the Chairman, and 58 people attended. Ref: Fanlore Wiki.

Foxing and creases to wrappers, 2cm tear to edge of left wrapper margin.

Format: Process screen and letterpress, postcard format, addressed to "Miss Ria Henley, Richmond, Milawa, via Wangaratta" in ink, with stamp and postmark dated "May 27, 1905", annotated in ink and initialled "L.L." verso, 8.9 x 13.3cm.

Annotation reads "Liz & I saw Miss G—[Vida Goldstein] on today re papers. Apologies for not attending to yours sooner but very busy at present. Lecture Monday we are all going. Will write soon & tell you all about it. All send love to all. Yr affec. friend, L. L., 26/3/05."

This note is feasibly from Louisa Lawson (1848–1920), Australian writer, suffragist, feminist, and mother of Henry Lawson, on a postcard promoting the Women's Political Association of Victoria and Miss Vida Goldstein, president.

Ria Henley's name appears a number of times in Woman Voter newspaper as a donor to the £1000 fund towards the candidature of Vita Goldstein, and in a letter to the editor regarding the Women's Political Association. Ref: Trove.

Creases, minor chips to edges.

Author: Dali, Salvador.

Publisher: Spain: Naipes-Comas.

Format: 78 process lithograph tarot cards, each with gilt edges, housed in cardboard box with three-language information booklet [Spanish, English, French], in red flocked slipcase with gilt text, 14 x 7.8cm (cards), 16 x 8.5 x 3.4cm (slipcase).

First edition.

Dali began working on a set of tarot cards in 1973 at the request of film producer Albert R. Broccoli. The cards were to be a prop in the James Bond film Live and Let Die. The cards did not make it into the film, but Dali continued to work on his tarot deck–undoubtedly with the encouragement of his wife and muse Gala, "the demonic dominatrix"–and they were published in Spain in 1984 with gilt edges, befitting of the surrealist master.

The cards include Gala as The Empress, and Dali himself as The Magician. The deck represents one of the most ambitious and complex projects of Dali’s late career. The arcanes are "filled with references to the history of art, the occult and Dali's personal iconography...[they] reimagine traditional tarot archetypes through a surrealist lens." Ref: The Dali Museum.

Rubbing to slipcase, box corners a little scuffed, cards near Fine with one edge slightly rubbed of gilt.

A collection of 125+ items relating to one or two families who seemed to have been connected through The Society for Psychic Research (Australia), located at Lisgar House, 30 Carrington Street, Sydney.

The focus of the collection is a group of 113 books or printed pamphlets; all related to spiritualism and psychic research. Their themes include seership, astral projection, life beyond death, palmistry, hypnotism, astrology, immortality, heaven, mediumship, clairvoyance, consciousness, psychology, and numerology. They range in date from 1900 to 1976, and were mostly published in London, Manchester, or Sydney – though a few come from India and California.

Spiritualism and psychic research became a growing trend in the early 20th century after the mass casualties of WWI. Stories were being published of hauntings and strange happenings – messages from the dead uncommunicated in life. As families sought closure with their dead relatives, they solicited the help of mediums, clairvoyants, and séance practitioners. Belief that there was life after death must have been of great comfort to those mourning family lost in the war.

Several of the books contain a sticker plate stating: “This book is presented by the Marianne Bayley Worthington Trust. Office: 16 Queensberry Place, London. The objective of the trust is:– To spread the knowledge, based on ascertained evidence, that humanity survives the death of the body. That such survival means unbroken continuity of conscious life, affection and memory. That the Law of Spiritual Consequence governs life here and in the hereafter. That personal responsibility must be acknowledged for every thought, word and deed. That people, both in the physical body, and those who have passed on to the unseen, influence each other for good and for ill according to their individual thought and feeling.

Most books in the collection contain several names stating ownership. They include E.M. Fergusson, E.R. [Edward, also listed as Edgar, Raymond] Fergusson, Isabella Fergusson, Albert Ernest Fergusson, Rev. J.J. E.L Fergusson, S.E. [Sally/Sallie/Sarah] Fergusson, Carrie Jansen, Allie Smith, and “Rosie”.

Locations associated with these families are Hobart, London, and Sydney. It appears the Fergusson family were based in Hobart before Sydney, and that their entire family were interested in spiritualism. One newspaper clipping (1906) tells of “Mrs Waldie–one of the Fergussons, of Tinder Box Bay–…an educated lady, Mrs Waldie was seized with the idea that she was the reincarnation of Mary, Queen of Scots.”

Edward, also known as Edgar, Fergusson, was a Freemason in Hobart in 1927 before leaving the brotherhood in 1929. He was active during WWI as an ambulance official.

The name "S. Fergusson" appears most often, likely to be that of Sally Fergusson. Some letters refer to her as “Sallie”, and in another she mentions how bizarre it is to be referred to as “Sarah” again, as everyone knows her as Sally. Letters in the collection show that Sally Fergusson was the Secretary of the Society for Psychic Research in Sydney during the 1960s.

Allie Smith is the other major name found, and this collection contains her school notebook with drawings, her London diary, and two letters noting her resignation from the Society for Psychic Research, in 1947. Allie Smith appears to be the London connection, and it is possible she was friendly with Sally as they both lived in Sydney’s North Shore at one point.

This collection is supported by correspondence, both typed and handwritten; items from the Hobart Masons Victory Lodge; and some photographs and glass plate negatives.

A detailed list of titles is available on request.

Most books are missing dust jackets, are annotated with previous owner’s names, and are in Fair condition with foxing.

Author: Esswein, Hermann.

Publisher: Munich and Leipzig: R. Piper & Co.

Format: Slim hardcover quarto, quarter linen cloth with printed card cover, 51pp, 30 x 23.7cm.

Text in German. Several illustrations, some full page.

Soiling and discolouration to boards, 2cm tear to upper margin of p.31, minor foxing.

Publisher: London and New York: John Lane and The Bodley Head.

Format: Hardcover quarto in cream cloth with brown illustrations and text on cover and spine, top edge gilt, “SEB” ex-libris on pastedown, 174 plates each with separately titled paper guards, 29.3 x 23.7cm.

First edition. Contains three colour plates. Collated and complete.

Volume 2 of a two-volume set published by John Lane. The Early Works of Aubrey Beardsley was released in 1899, one year after Beardsley’s (1872–1898) death from consumption at the age of 25.

“Beardsley's style is sophisticated and refined, the lines elegant and the subjects often classical, but his treatment of them is subversive, provocative and frequently obscene. These contradictions lie at the heart of Beardsley's aesthetic appeal, as visual pleasure is both undercut and enhanced by ugly content, eliciting a shiver of disgusted delight.” Ref: V&A.

Bumping to corners, discolouration to spine, hinges front and back cracked and 2 pages are loose from block. Foxing to edges, prelim pages and some pages throughout.        

Format: Set of thirty-six hand-cut and pasted silhouettes on heavy card stock, approx. 8 x 5cm each (image).

These silhouettes, likely dating from the silhouette revival in the 1910s and 1920s, are a combination of portraits of men, women, and children.

Silhouettes became popular around 1790 as a fast and affordable way for people to have their portrait taken. Artists would often use a physiognotrace to take the profile of the sitter, before cutting out the details on the spot. Many were embellished with ink or gouache, and some of these examples show quick ink additions for a more dramatic profile. By the 1840s photography was becoming the dominant form of portraiture, but the silhouette never really left – it saw a revival with the arts and crafts movement of the early 20th century and continues to be a fascination of early portraiture.

Please inquire for more images.

Offset, creases and minor soiling to backing cards. Some cards have painted or letterpress letters verso.

Author: Strachan, Francoise (ed).

Publisher: London: The Aquarian Press.

Format: Softcover octavo, illustrated wrappers, 180pp, 18 x 10.8cm.

Scarce London directory for occult, mystical, or religious orders and groups, qabalism, ceremonial magic, witchcraft, flying saucers, talismanic magic, and ‘unusual contacts’: such as that of Reverend J.C. Neil-Smith M.A., St. Savior’s Vicarage, 2 Eton Rd, Hampstead, London, who can provide an exorcism “if you think that you are actually possessed by a demon and sincerely need help.”

Minor creases and indents to wrappers. Previous owner’s annotation in ink on half-title.