It is to be hoped that the above 36pp catalogue for the Sydney Buttonhole Fancy Costume Company , published between 1910-1920 , did not contain any accursed Halloween clobber for hire. Priced at $220 , it is one of many interesting offerings in the latest acquisitions list of Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Melbourne .
It contains a brief description of the entire fancy dress costume inventory and hiring rates .
An unusual item is a January 1841 handwritten letter by John Irvine , Assistant Commissary General of New South Wales, a foundation member of the Australian Chess Club, Sydney, the first chess club in the nation, which ran from 1840-44.
The letter is to a friend back in Scotland with a" significant reference" to the activities of the newly formed Australian Chess Club. Price : $2200.
