Once he had purchased the shop, over time a healthy combination of new, secondhand and antiquarian books took shape. For decades, the Beckery was recognized as South Australia’s pre-eminent bookshop and generations of significant collections and notable libraries passed through its doors.
Although the business had long since closed by the time Harry died in 1992 aged 83, his legacy remains – and no doubt collectors will come from far and wide for the chance to obtain a sample of his wide ranging collection on Australiana and Pacific voyages.
Amongst the historic journals on offer is an uncut first edition copy of William Bligh’s voyage to the South Sea in HMS Bounty that includes an account of the mutiny on board and his subsequent voyage in an open boat from Tofua to Timor (lot 17).
Another is a letter by David Carnegie to Lawrence Wells, leader of the ill-fated 1896 Calvert expedition fitted out to explore the remaining unknown regions of Australia, during which two men perished (lot 37).
The two-day auction, which continues from 10am on Tuesday August 3, also features an important collection of more than 200 early Australian maps from the 1600s onwards – lovingly obtained by husband and wife Dr Brian and Pam Faragher.
In building the collection, the Faraghers tried to compile a mapping history of Australia – their interest sparked in the early 1980s by map collecting friends they stayed with in England.
Now 82, Pam said they obtained most of the maps through overseas catalogues because there were few map sellers in Australia when they started. A good example is the 1680 Oost Indien map by Dutchman Pieter Goos depicting New Holland as it was known at the time and based on the exploratory journeys of Dutch seaman such as Abel Tasman, Dirk Hartog, Pieter Nuyts and Jan Carstensz (lot 270).
Another interesting collector is former 3AW newsreader and director of its community trust from 1950 to 1988, Ray Chapman. Now 88, his interest in collecting books on Australian history and art resulted from exposure to such prominent celebrities as Dame Nellie Melba.