The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments ... together with the Psalter or Psalms of David ..

London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1860. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. London, George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1860. 'Small pica 16mo', unpaginated. Original full morocco, all edges gilt; leather a little rubbed at the extremities, with a small glass-ring on the front cover; some foxing throughout; mild signs of age and use (including a dried sprig of maidenhair fern loosely inserted at one opening); in very good condition. The front free endpaper is signed by John McDouall Stuart, at the foot of the following inscription: 'Presented to me Henry Nathaniel Phillips by John McDouall Stuart on board of the Ship "Indus" on her pasage [sic] from South Australia to London in 1864'.

Written on the verso in another hand is '"Ask, and it shall be given you". Matt 7th - 7.v'. The book has the contemporary blindstamp of the Adelaide booksellers W.C. Rigby (53 Hindley St, Adelaide) on the top corner of the rear free endpaper. We would like to think the book was purchased in Adelaide, inscribed with a most apposite Biblical text, and given to Stuart prior to his departure from Adelaide in late 1861 on his ultimately successful sixth expedition, across the continent and back. However, in many ways, it was a Pyrrhic victory: 'Ill with scurvy and nearly blind, Stuart had to be carried on a stretcher slung between two horses; recovering sufficiently to ride by the time they reached Mount Margaret on 26 November, he pushed on with three of the party and arrived in Adelaide on 17 December [1862]. On a public holiday on 21 January 1863, crowds lined the streets amid banners strung from buildings. He was awarded £2000, though allowed only the interest from it, and his party received £1500 between them.

White-haired, exhausted and nearly blind, Stuart decided to visit his sister in Scotland and sailed in April 1864. He later went to London. His claims for a greater reward from the South Australian government led to another £1000, again with only the interest. His "Explorations in Australia. The Journals of John McDouall Stuart" was edited by W. Hardman and published in 1864.

He died of ramolissement and cerebral effusion on 5 June 1866 [aged only 50] in London and was buried in the Kensal Green cemetery. He has remained a lonely and independent figure, with a fierce pride. His reputation as a heavy drinker has led detractors to minimize his achievements, even to the extent of doubting that he reached the Indian Ocean in 1862' ('Australian Dictionary of Biography'). Surprisingly, apart from this singularly personal gift from Stuart, Henry Nathaniel Phillips has left no other trace of his existence that we can find.