The Arab World: History, Science, Travel, Religion
| 1 | Abu al-Fida Isma`il ibn `Ali. The Life of Mohammed, translated from the Arabic of Abulfeda. With an introduction and an appendix by Rev. Wm. Murray. Elgin, A. C. Brander, [1833]. 8vo. XVI, 217, (1) pp. Contemp. red silk binding with remains of a printed spine label. |
| € 1,250 | |
| First English edition of this mediaeval biography of the Prophet, "Mukhtasar tarikh al-bashar". Abu'l-Fida, born in Damascus in 1273, was a historian, geographer, military leader, and sultan. The crater Abulfeda on the Moon is named after him. - Title stamped. Some foxing and fingerstaining; a few pages loosened. Binding bumped at extremeties; defects to spine-ends. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 4396746. | |
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| 2 | [Abu Zaid Hasan ibn Yazid / Sulayman al-Tajir / Renaudot, Eusebe (transl.)]. Anciennes relations des Indes et de la Chine, de deux voyageurs Mahometans, qui y allerent dans le neuvieme siecle. Traduites d'Arabe: avec des remarques sur les principaux endroits de ces relations. Paris, Jean-Baptiste Coignard, 1718. 8vo. XXXIX, (1), 397, (17) pp. Later half calf with giltstamped red spine label, marbled boards and endpapers. |
| € 2,500 | |
| First French edition. - The famous travel report of the Arab merchant Suleiman al-Tajir, who had visited China and India in the 9th century. His book is the oldest Arabic account of China, written more than 400 years before Marco Polo. This is augmented by the "Silsilat al-Tawarikh" of Abu Zayd al-Hasan al-Shirafi, written in the early 10th century and based on the account of Ibn Wahb al-Basri, who had visited China shortly after Suleiman. The texts are translated and edited with a preface and notes by Eusèbe Renaudot. - Binding rubbed; inner hinges reinforced with brown cloth. Interior somewhat browned throughout. From the collection of the French bibliophile Jean-Baptiste Denis Guy de Sardière (d. 1759), whith his ms. ownership to final page; his signature at the lower end of the title page was obliterated by the next owner (slight damage to t. p. and following leaf due to ink corrosion). The Macclesfield copy sold at Sotheby's in 2007 for £1800. (more) | |
| ¶ Lust 298. | |
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| The biography of Tamerlane, printed in Arabic | |
| 3 | Ahmad ibn Muhammad (ibn 'Arabshah) / Golius, Jacob (ed.). [Kitab 'Aja'ib al-maqdur fi aghbar Timur]. Ahmedis arabsiadae vitae et rerum gestarum Timuri, qui vulgo Tamerlanes dicitur, historia. Leiden, Elsevier, 1636. 4to. (8), 448 pp. T. p. in Latin and Arabic printed in red and black within architectural woodcut border by Christoffel van Sichem; Latin half title printed in blue and red; editor's letter to the reader printed in red, blue, and black. (Bound with) II: Dieu, Ludovic de. Rudimenta linguae persicae. Ibid., 1639. (8), 95, (1) pp. T. p. printed in red and black. Contemp. vellum with ms. title to spine. |
| € 18,500 | |
| I: First Arabic edition of this important eyewitness account of the life of Tamerlane (Timur Lenk), the successful and barbaric Turkish conqueror in the 14th century, printed entirely in Arabic. "An interesting feature of the book is the use of blue ink for the printing of the word 'Tamerlanis' (between two red lines) on the half-title, as well as for one typographical ornament on leaf 3 recto" (Smitskamp). Based on the original Arabic manuscript completed in 1437-38 by the Syrian author Ahmad lbn 'Arabshah who was secretary to Sultan Ahmad of Baghdad. In the 16th century Timur was made famous in Europe through Christopher Marlowe's play "Tamburlaine" (publ. 1590). - The present work was edited by Jacob Golius and includes a preface by him. The Arabic manuscript used by him is still preserved at Leiden University library and contains many notes in his hand. A French translation by Pierre Vattier appeared in 1658. - II: First edition of the first Persian grammar ever to be printed (Willems notes that Raimondi, in 1614, produced a grammar in Rome for the use of missionaries which remained virtually unknown in the West, but this existed only in manuscript [cf. Smitskamp 310]). "De Dieu's most striking performance" (Smitskamp). The grammars of Ignazio di Gesù (Rome 1661) and of Labrosse (Amsterdam 1684) were largely based on his work. "The two chapters from Genesis are taken from a complete transcription in Arabic characters after the Hebrew-printed Persian text was published by Soncino in Istanbul in 1546" (Smitskamp). - Several contemporary marginal notes in the text; old table of Persian alphabet on endpapers, as well as an old ms. note reproducing Pietro Della Valle's remarks on the Persian language. A very clean, attractive copy. The Life of Tamerlane, especially, is extremely rare: the last copy on the market was the Burrell copy in 1999 (sold at Sotheby's for £8400). (more) | |
| ¶ I: Willems 434. Smitskamp 313. Schnurrer 166. Lambrecht 1774. Fück 81f. De Nave 90. Cf. GAL II, 29. - II: Willems 477. Smitskamp 310, 312. Berghman 674. Schwab II, 727. | |
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| Manuscript map of Euphrates and Tigris river basin. A very early example of geological mapping | |
| 4 | Ainsworth, William Francis / Gliddon, George Robins. Physical map of the basin of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Enlarged from a manuscript sketch of W. Francis Ainsworth. London, July 1849. Large coloured manuscript map mounted on cloth (89 x 89 cm) by Gliddon after Ainsworth. With title in large panel at upper right, geological keys and scale in panel at lower left, and surrounded by a red border. |
| € 12,000 | |
| A large manuscript map of the Euphrates and Tigris river basin, showing the large area between the quadrangle of the Mediterranean, the Black and Caspian Seas and the Persian Gulf. Copied by G. R. Gliddon after W. F. Ainsworth. Between 1835 and 1837 the British geographer, geologist and surgeon Ainsworth (1807-96) participated in an expedition of the Royal Geographical Society into Northern Syria led by Francis Rawdon Chesney (1789-1872). During this expedition Ainsworth was commissioned to survey large portions of the largely unknown Euphrates and Tigris rivers from their sources in the Taurus Mountains to their outlet in the Persian Gulf, in order to ascertain the feasibility of their navigation with European vessels and to explore the physical formation of the area. As a result and using a biblical frame of reference (to find geological evidence for Noah's flood) he constructed this geological map and a series of four geographical cross-sections - very early examples of this kind of thematic cartography. Upon his return Ainsworth published only a small portion of the results in his "Researches in Assyria, Babylonia, and Chaldaea" (London, 1838), which does not include the present map. This was one of the earliest Western expeditions to the regions that belonged to the old kingdom of Armenia, and the map includes Mount Ararat, Lake Van and the cities of Van and Yerevan (the ancient city of Ani was to be discovered and excavated only in the 1890s). In 1849 the Royal Geographical Society allowed the English-born American Egyptologist G. R. Gliddon (1809-57) to inspect and copy the map. He prepared two copies: first, a small-scale one now in the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia, made for one of his publications on the Ancient World; then our map, an enlarged copy of the original, meant for educational purposes, such as the series of commercial lectures he delivered on that theme. - Somewhat creased and a with few minor tears in the border. In good condition. (more) | |
| ¶ For Ainsworth cf. DNB, Supplement I, 20-21; for Gliddon: Encyclopaedia Britannica XII (1910), 122. | |
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| 5 | Al-Rashid, Ibrahim (ed.). Documents on the History of Saudia Arabia. Salisbury, NC, 1976. Folio (222 x 280 mm). 3 vols. (6), XII, 233 pp. (4), III, (1), 246 pp. (4), IV, 238 pp. Original cloth with printed spine title. |
| € 3,500 | |
| First and only edition; no. 113 of 200 numbered copies. Important source-based history of Saudi Arabia from 1909 to 1935, covering the unification of Central Arabia under Ibn Saud (1909-25; vol. 1), the consolidation of power in Central Arabia under Ibn Saud (1925-28; vol. 2), and the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under Ibn Saud (1928-35; vol. 3). Includes many otherwise inaccessible documents of diplomatic correspondence. (more) | |
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| 6 | Al-Sajawandi, Muhammad. Al Sirajiyyah. Probably western Asia Minor, 1019 AH (= 1610 AD). 8vo (194:117 mm). Ottoman Arabic ms. on smoothed paper. (1), 108 ff. With ornamental headpiece in gilt and colours; double page borders in red. Contemp. brownstamped calf with fore-edge flap. |
| € 3,000 | |
| Important 12th century treatise on the Islamic laws of inheritance, here in an early modern commercial manuscript with unsophisticated calligraphy. The text is surrounded by wide borders, within which are marginal notes (mostly by the same hand). The scribe is one Ihsani ibn Abdülkâdir ibn Ihsani el-Aksehri, from Aksehir in central Anatolia. - The watermark of clover rod suggests that western (Italian?) paper was used. - One missing leaf (fol. 3) replaced; index and notes on endpapers. Somewhat soiled and browned; signs of wear. Binding shows severe wear; partly restored. (more) | |
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| 7 | al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad / Muhammed ibn Muhammad, Abu `Ali Bel`ami. Chronique de Abou-Djafar-Mo'hammed-Ben-Djarir-Ben-Yezid Tabari, traduite sur la version Persane D'abou-'Ali Mo'hammed Bel'ami, d'après les manuscrits de Paris, de Gotha, de Londres et de Canterbury. Paris, Imprimerie Impériale (vol. IV: Nogent-le-Rotrou, Imprimerie de A. Gouverneur), 1867-1874. Large 8vo. 4 vols. VIII, 599, (1) pp. (4), II, 552 pp. (4), 752 pp. (4), III, (1), 665, (1) pp. Contemp. marbled red half calf with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 1,500 | |
| Hermann Zotenberg's celebrated French translation of Tabari's great 9th-century chronicle ("Tarikh al-Tabari"), actually based on a Persian digest of this work. It remains one of the most important sources for the early days of Islam and for the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. The Silesian-born French orientalist and Arabist Zotenberg (1836-94) worked for the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. - Bindings rubbed; edges and corners bumped; hinges weakened; front cover of vol. IV loose. Interior clean and well-preserved. - Rare. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 6967785. Cf. Fück 251. Cf. E. Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 52 (only the English edition under the title "The conquest of Persia by the Arabs"). | |
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| 8 | Anville, [Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d']. L'Euphrate et le Tigre. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1779. 4to. 148, XII pp. With engr. folding map (535 x 448 mm) with borders in contemp. colour. Early 19th-c. brown calf; giltstamped spine rebacked. |
| € 2,500 | |
| Very rare topographical work about Mesopotamia and Babylonia, written by one of the greatest cartographers and geographical writers of his age. The large-format map was also sold separately and is almost never encountered with the book it was meant to accompany. It shows the area from Kayseri in Anatolia to Tabriz and Basra and "offre les noms anciens et modernes placés comparativemente" (Notice, no. 54). The supplement on Basra announced at the end of the books is not bound with any known copy and was probably never published; the Anville bibliography states "160 pages" (i.e., 148+12). - Covers somewhat rubbed; spine, corbers and inner hinges restored in early 20th c. Comewhat foxed, but wide-margined copy. Covers bear giltstamped arms of the "Society of Writers to the Signet", one of the oldest British legal associations (founded in 1594); their shelfmarks on pastedown; their contemp. ms. ownership note on t. p. The Burrell copy (described as "without the supplement on Basra") fetched £632 in 1999. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 558160044. Notice des ouvrages de M. d'Anville (1802), no. 54 (cartes) & 36 (ouvr. impr.). | |
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| Fine set of Burton's Arabian Nights in first edition, with an autograph letter signed by Isabel Burton | |
| 9 | [Arabian Nights]. Burton, Richard Francis. A plain and literal translation of the Arabian Nights' entertainments, now entituled the book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. (Including: Supplemental nights). Benares, printed by the Kamashastra Society for private subscribers only, 1885-1888. 16 vols. Royal 8vo (24 x 15 cm). With title-pages printed in red and black. Contemp. gilt-decorated red morocco, spine with raised bands, star and crescent ornaments on covers and spines, silk flyleaves and morocco pastedowns, original black cloth covers bound-in at end, tops gilt (Stikeman & Co., New York). |
| € 14,500 | |
| The first edition of Richard Burton's celebrated translation of "Alf Laylah Wa Laylah", commonly known as the Arabian Nights. These Arabic tales, cherished in Europe since the early 18th century, are often erotic in content, and in Burton's unexpurgated translation they outraged Victorian England. Burton included numerous footnotes and a scholarly apparatus, offering a vivid picture of Arabian life, which set his translation apart from earlier English renderings. The work was printed in a limited edition of 1,000 copies by the 'Kama Shastra Society', a bogus society founded by Burton and Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot to publish (semi-)erotic Arabic and Indian texts. - Tipped in volume two is a 4-page autograph letter signed (187 x 115 mm) by Isabel Burton (dated 23 September, 1885) to "Mr Heath" concerning subscribers of the Arabian Nights who have not paid yet. Since it is "quite impossible for a lady to ask for money", Ms Burton urges her correspondent "to write and ask those who have not paid, if they would mind sending by return of post a cheque for the whole ten guineas [the price for the first 10 volumes], or returning me the 1st Vol intact". - Isabel Arundell, longing for a wild and roving life, married Burton in 1861. She acted as his agent, wrote a number of books on her own account, and was responsible for the financial success of the Arabian Nights. She was an unconventional and intelligent woman, editing many of her Burton's works. Yet, as she writes in the present letter, she "was not allowed to read" her husband's Arabian Nights. - A fine set, beautifully bound by Stikeman. (more) | |
| ¶ Casada 74. Penzer 114-116. Spink 73. Cf. Colligan, "'Esoteric Pornography': Sir Richard Burton's Arabian Nights and the Origins of Pornography", in: Victorian Review 28/2 (2002), 31-64. Lovell, A Rage to Live (London, 1998). | |
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| An illustrated edition of Burton's Arabian Nights | |
| 10 | [Arabian Nights]. Burton, Richard Francis. A plain and literal translation of the Arabian Nights' entertainments, now entituled the book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. (Including: Supplemental nights). [London?], Richard Burton Club, [c. 1910]. 17 vols. Royal 8vo (24 x 16 cm). With numerous illustrations (including the series by Albert Letchford), repeated on laid paper; the 17 frontispieces repeated in colour. Contemporary three quarter olive green morocco, gold-tooled spine, tops gilt. |
| € 10,000 | |
| A handsome edition of Burton's "Arabian Nights", finely illustrated and printed in a limited edition of 100 hand-numbered copies. Bold to a fault, Richard Burton travelled to Mecca, explored the African Great Lakes, shocked his readers with his candid travel accounts, and gained fame and riches with his translation of the Arabian Nights. The first edition was published in 1885-88 and re-issued by the Burton Club shortly thereafter. The present edition is a reprint of the first Burton Club edition, illustrated with, among others, Albert Letchford's famous plates. - Spines slightly faded. Fine set, uncut and partly unopened. (more) | |
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| 11 | Artin Pacha, Yacoub. Contribution a l'Étude du Blason en Orient. (Cairo, Imprimerie Nationale d'Égypte for) Bernard Quaritch in London, 1902. 8vo. XV, (1), 244 pp. With 76 lithographed plates (56 in colour). Original illustrated giltstamped cloth. |
| € 2,800 | |
| First edition, no. 7 of 300 numbered copies on velin. Amply illustrated, colourful work by Yacoub Artin (1842-1919), Egyptian historian and former Minister of Education, on the origin of armorial bearings in the Middle East. The plates depict more than 300 coats of arms, many in striking full colour, with descriptions. Includes the study of Hieroglyphs, the Crescent, the Star of David, and many more symbols often found on Middle Eastern crests. "A strange collection of these symbols, drawn from plants and animals, conventional ornaments, and articles of domestic use, are figured in the plates of Artin Pasha's sumptuous work" (The Calcutta Review 118 [1904], p. 257). - Binding slightly dusty; some wear to spine-ends. Scarce. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 3282918. | |
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| 12 | [Arvieux, Laurent d']. Beschreibung der Reise nach Palestina, zu dem Grossen Emir, dem Oberhaupte unter den Fürsten der Araber in der Wüsten, welche unter dem Titel der Bedouiten oder der arabischen Sceniten bekannt sind, und welche vorgeben, sie wären die rechten Nachkommen Ismaels, des Sohnes Abraham [...] Benebst einer allgemeinen Beschreibung von Arabien [...]. Leipzig, Braun, 1740. 8vo. (22), 286, (2) pp. T. p. printed in red and black. With engr. frontispiece, folding plate, and 4 engr. plates (1 folding). Modern marbled calf with gilt title to spine. |
| € 1,800 | |
| First German edition, first published from the author's posthumous papers in Paris in 1717. D'Arvieux (1635-1702) lived in the Levant for a long time, spending six years at Aleppo as French consul, and collected these important observations on the Arabic Bedouins of the area. "His observations, which departed greatly from what had been formerly reported about the Bedouins, were received with doubt, but were confirmed by later travellers such as Niebuhr" (cf. Henze I, 101). The plates show costumes and the Bedouin camp on Mt. Carmel. - Some offsetting to text; insignificant browning; slight waterstain near end. Author and bibliographical note supplied in ink at upper edge of t. p. (more) | |
| ¶ Röhricht 1113. Fromm 739. Cf. Cox I, 220. Gay 3453. Tobler 108 & 115. | |
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| 13 | [Arvieux, Laurent d']. Voyage dans la Palestine, vers le Grand Emir, Chef des Princes Arabes du Desert, connus sous le nom de Bedouins, ou d'Arabes Scenites, qui se disent la vraie posterité d'Ismael fils d'Abraham [...]. Avec la description générale de l'Arabie, faite par Ismael Abulfeda, traduite en François [...] par M. [Jean] de la Roque. Amsterdam, Steenhouwer und Uytwerf, 1718. 8vo. (46), 342, (6) pp. With engr. frontispiece and 4 engr. plates (1 folding). Contemp. calf with giltstamped red label to gilt spine. Marbled pastedowns. |
| € 2,000 | |
| Second edition of this travelogue, first published from the author's posthumous papers by La Roque in 1717. D'Arvieux (1635-1702) lived in the Levant for a long time, spending six years at Aleppo as French consul, and collected these important observations on the Arabic Bedouins of the area. "His observations, which departed greatly from what had been formerly reported about the Bedouins, were received with doubt, but were confirmed by later travellers such as Niebuhr" (cf. Henze I, 101). The plates show costumes and the Bedouin camp on Mt. Carmel (with a view of Haifa). - Binding rubbed and slightly bumped. Old catalogue entry mounted on front pastedown; t. p. has ms. ownership of the library of St. Lambert (dated 1749). Slight worming to beginning and end. Browned throughout due to paper. (more) | |
| ¶ Tobler 108. Röhricht 1112 & 1207. Hage Chahine 180. Gay 3452. Henze I, 101. | |
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| 14 | Abû-Ga `far Muhammad ibn-al-Hasan at-Tûsî. Kitâb al-Hilâf fi `l-fiqh (Treatise on Islamic Law). No place, 1370 AH (1951 AD). Folio. 2 parts in 1 vol. 36, 278 pp. 264, 4 pp. Contemp. blindstamped calf with reinforced spine. |
| € 250 | |
| The "Book of Legal Stratagems", edited by Mirza Hasan Yahya al-Hasseini Khâshânpûr. - A good, clean copy. Binding rubbed; spine reinforced with leather strip. Wants front flyleaf. (more) | |
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| 15 | Atai. Hadaiku'l-hakaik fi-tekmileti' s-sakaik. [Istanbul], H 1268 (= 1852 AD). Folio. 2 pts. in 1 vol. (16), 771, (1) pp. Red half calf with blindstamped spine and covers. |
| € 850 | |
| Biographies of Ottoman jurists. - Somewhat browned due to paper. Binding rubbed and bumped at extremities; cloth wrinkled; rear cover somewhat duststained. (more) | |
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| 16 | Attar, Farid al-Din. Tezkereh-i-evliâ. Manuscrit ouigour de la Bibliothèque Nationale. Reproduit par l'héliogravure typographique. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1890. Folio. (4), 392 pp. Original printed boards with later cloth spine. |
| € 350 | |
| First edition of this Uyghur work ("Mémorial des Saints") by Farid al-Din `Attar (d. ca. 1230), preserved in a ms. in the Bibliothèque Nationale. Printed in the language's characteristic Arabic-derived alphabet. - Edges rubbed and bumped; covers stained. Interior foxed throughout. An uncut, untrimmed copy. Collection orientale, tome 16: 2me série, tome II (wants the first volume containing the French translation). (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 7524145. | |
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| With an important map of the Peninsula | |
| 17 | Avril, Adolphe, Baron d'. L'Arabie contemporaine. Avec la description du pèlerinage de la Mecque et une nouvelle carte géographique de Kiepert. Paris, E. Maillet & Challamel Ainé, 1868. 8vo. (4), 313, (3) pp. Contemp. red morocco on four raised bands, with blindstamped covers and giltstamped title to spine. Marbled endpapers. |
| € 2,500 | |
| First and only edition of this rare description of the Arabian Peninsula and its inhabitants, as well as of the Muslims' annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The French diplomat Louis-Marie-Adolphe Lévesque, Baron d'Avril (1822-1904), served as Minister Plenipotentiary. Includes Heinrich Kiepert's groundbreaking map of the region (in German, folding, with slight tear near inner edge). Interior somewhat foxed throughout; altogether a good, very appealingly bound copy in excellent condition. Sold for £2,800 at Sotheby's (Oct 14, 1999, lot 61: Burrell copy). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 810. Pirenne 309. | |
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| 18 | Azevedo, Luis Marinho de. Apologeticos discursos offerecidos a Magestade del Rei Dom Ioam Nosso senhor quarto do nome entre os de Portugal. Em defensa da fama, e boa memoria de Fernão d'Alburquerque do seu conselho, & governador, que foi da India. Contra o que delle escreveo D. Goncalo de Cespedes na chronica del Rei D. Phelippe quarto de Castella. Lisbon, Manoel da Sylva, 1641. 4to. (8), 144 ff. With armorial title woodcut. Contemp. limp vellum with ms. title to spine. Edges sprinkled in red. Traces of ties. |
| € 3,500 | |
| First and only edition of this defence of Fernão de Albuquerque, a crucial source for the 1622 siege and capture of Hormuz by an Anglo-Persian force. The defeat of Rui Freire de Andrade effectively ended Portuguese power in the Arabian Gulf. This book is a most valuable source for the siege of Ormuz and operations in the Arabian Gulf in 1619-23 and contains extracts from contemporary documents relating to this campaign. - Several contemporary underlinings. Some browning; remarginings to title page, p. 3 of preliminary matter, Bb4 (defects to text); some of the loss has been supplied in blue ink (showing unattractive bleeding). (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 13255383. Not in Macro. | |
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| 19 | Barbosa, Duarte. The Book of Duarte Barbosa. An Account of the Countries Bordering on the Indian Ocean and Their Inhabitants, Written by Duarte Barbosa, and Completed About the Year 1518 A.D. Translated from the Portuguese text [...] by Mansel Longworth Dames. Vol. I. Including the Coasts of East Africa, Arabia, Persia, and Western India as far as the Kingdom of Vijayanagar. London, Hakluyt Society, 1918. Vol. 1 only. 8vo. LXXXV, (1), 238, XXXIX, (1) pp. With folding map in rear flap. Original blue cloth with giltstamped cover vignette and spine title. |
| € 950 | |
| New English edition of the itinerary of Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese official in India from 1500 to 1516. The first English translation appeared in 1865. Includes accounts of Mecca and Medina, the ports of Jeddah and Aden, the Arab kingdom of Hormuz, the islands in the Arabian Gulf (with reference to pearl-diving), etc. "The work may be a compilation of several sources, as it was impossible for one person to visit all the places [the author] mentions. Even if the book is not a record of personal observation, it is valuable for the information it supplies" (Cox I, 312). - Withdrawn from the Kansas City Public Library (their stamps on the flyleaf). The second volume was not published until 1921. The map reproduces Diego Ribero's 1529 map of the world. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 467. Cox I, 316. | |
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| 20 | Bent, J. Theodore. The Bahrein Islands, in the Persian Gulf. [London, Royal Geographical Society], 1890. 8vo. 20 pp. With 3 text illustrations and a folding lithographed colour map. Modern blue wrappers with cover label. |
| € 500 | |
| Offprint from the "Proceedings of The Royal Geographic Society", No. I, 1890. An early, oft-quoted study of country, history, and people of Bahrein, the "Cyprus of the Persian Gulf", with discussion of pearl fisheries, archaeological sites, commercial centres, etc. Bent's original paper, when presented before the RGS, had been accompanied by photographic slides, and Admiral Lindesay Brine had taken exception to the misleading character of some: "The Arabs were not such fearful people to look at as they appeared on the screen, some of them being very handsome men indeed" (p. 17). - Well-preserved copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. Macro 517. | |
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| 21 | Bent, Theodore and Mabel. Southern Arabia. London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1900. Large 8vo. X, (2), 455, (5) pp. With photoengraved portrait frontispiece (w. tissue guard), 6 (mostly folding) colour maps, and 24 plates. Original giltstamped red cloth. |
| € 2,000 | |
| First edition; rare. The work, which includes a bibliography, is divided into sections on Southern Arabia, Maskat, the Hadramaut, Dhofar and the Gara Mountains, the Eastern Soudan, the Mahri Island of Sokotra, Beled Fadhli and Beled Yafei. - Bent and his wife, Mabel, made seven journeys in all around the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, including Oman and Dhufar, which from 1893 to the end of his life he made the special field for his observations and travel. He gathered an enormous amount of geographical and other information on the Hadramaut region, which they photographed extensively, but tried in vain for three successive years to penetrate the Mahri districts. In 1896 Bent traversed the island of Socotra in the Gulf of Aden and the year after made further explorations around Aden itself. This account was compiled by his wife after his death and has become one of the most sought-after of early twentieth century Arabian exploration narratives. - Ex-library copy with remains of a library label on front pastedown and stamp of the "Suez Eastern Telegraph Company" on the final endpaper, slight traces of spine shelfmark label, otherwise clean. Sold for 4,600 GBP at Sotheby's 1998 Peter Hopkirk sale. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 524. | |
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| 22 | Bérard, Victor. Le Sultan, l'Islam et les Puissances. Constantinople - la Mecque - Bagdad. Avec deux cartes hors texte. Paris, Armand Colin, 1907. Small 8vo. VI, 443, (3) pp. With 2 folding maps. Contemp. half leather with giltstamped spine title. |
| € 750 | |
| Only edition. The maps show Egypt and Abessinia with the Arabian Peninsula and Asia Minor with the Middle East and Iraq. - Some foxing throughout; slight worming to lower corner of preliminary matter. Corners rubbed and bumped. Sold at Sotheby's 2002 Travel Sale for 454 GBP (later half morocco). (more) | |
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| An early 14th century Western manuscript with 130 citations of Avicenna | |
| 23 | Bernard de Gordon. Lilium medicinae [and other medical texts]. [Southern France], 1332. 8vo (148 x 88 mm). Old French textualis (brown ink) on vellum, written by Magister Petrus Rastellus. 203 (instead of 206?) ff.: 1[7] (instead of 8, wanting f. VI and most of VIII), 2-23[8], 24[6] (instead of 8, wanting VII and VIII), 25[8], 26[3] (2+1), 27[3] (?; wanting most of III). C. 40-60 lines, ruled in lead (c. 115 x 63 mm). Rubricated throughout, one-line initials and chapter headings in red, two- to four-line lombardic initials in red and blue. Wants at least three ff. and lower margins of ff. 7 and 204; f. 6 cut sideways; numerous original remarginings loosened (lost entirely in at least eight cases, and partly in another seven); some contemp. marginalia trimmed; occasional fading but well-legible altogether. Late 18th c. French half calf with marbled covers (wants spine; rubbed and bumped). Edges sprinkled in red. Modern morocco case (spine gilt). |
| € 185,000 | |
| One of the earliest textual witnesses for one of the most important mediaeval scientific works. Bernard de Gordon's systematic manual is chiefly a compilation from Arabic medical works which he supplemented with his own observations. The book enjoyed great popularity until well into the 17th century and was widely known through mnanuscripts and prints in French, German, Spanish, English, Irish, and Hebrew. In his "Canterbury Tales", Geoffrey Chaucer counts the author among the three modern authorities of Western medicine. - "Among the Arabic authors, the one to whom Bernard leaned most and whose popularity evidently reached a peak in the first half of the fourteenth century, was Avicenna" (Demaitre, 112). Contents: Short medical texts on pills, salts, purging, excesses of the humours, explanation of weights and list of substances used in medicines. Opening defective after most of added margin lost (incipit "veri tulli et contra vitia pectoris..."), including "De pilluris, Pillule ante cibum" (f. 1; cf. Thorndike/K., col. 1049); "Colere hec sunt medicine digestive simplices. Viola rosa" (f. 2; cf. Thorndike/K., cols. 1698 & 862), attributed to Masalwab (Mesue); cures for upset stomach and nose bleeding (f. 7v; in different hand; most of leaf lacking). On ff. 8-15v: a list of 99 physical problems or desiderata with the substances to cure or promote them, numbered with red arabic numerals (including inducing and suppressing lust and how to promote hair growth with the ashes of green lizard: "Aurora. Haec capillos generant. Cinis locerte viridis..." (not listed by Thorndike/K). - This is followed by the main text: "Incipit lilium medicine a magistro Bernardo de Gordonio conditum", prologue inc. "Interogatus a quodam socrate ... Inchoatus autem est liber iste cum auxilio dei magni in preclaro studio montis pesulani post annum xxiii relecture. Anno domini m.ccc.iii mense julii" (f. 16); list of chapters for Part I (ff. 16r/v); Part I, chapter 1, opens "Febris est calor" (f. 16v); Part VII, chapter 24 ends "sine ista factum est nichil. Et libellus de graduatione", followed by the colophon in two parts and a list of the numbers of folios occupied by each part (f. 200r). This is followed by Bernard's "De conservatione vite", from part 3, headed "Libellus de pulsibus", opening "Pulsus est nuncius" and ending "constrictio sicut motus contrarii" (f. 200v; cf. Thorndike/K., col. 1150). At the end: Walter Agilon, "Tabula de pulsibus", inc. "Cum x sint genera pulsum", expl. "pulsa currus naturalis significat ablationem" (in a different hand, ff. 201-202v; for Agilon [Montpellier, first half of 13th c.] cf. E. Wickersheimer, Dictionnaire biographique des medecins en France au Moyen Age, 1936, pp. 170-173); on f. 203 truncated medical text in a different hand opening "Ars medicinorum". - The "Lilium medicinae" was the greatest work of Bernard de Gordon, composed betweeen 1303 and 1305 at the University of Montpellier, where he was professor from 1283 to 1307. Montpellier's reputation as the foremost medical school in Europe owed much to Bernard de Gordon who, like all his contemporaries, drew extensively from the writings of Arab and Jewish physicians. His fame largely rested on the "Lilium", a wide-ranging treatise that covers the weaknesses and diseases of the body from top to toe, with one of the earliest mentions of spectacles for correcting vision and of the possible action of the nerves in causing muscle movements. The popularity of Bernard's work is reflected in the 53 manuscripts listed by Demaitre. Only three of these are positively dated earlier than the present manuscript, which is a fascinating example of the ingenuity brought both to book making and medical science in the fourteenth century. - This manuscript was clearly a portable working copy, with additional reference works added to the Cilium. Despite its small scale, some of the leaves had to be made up to size, before writing, by the addition of parchment strips to the margin, a technique usually associated with larger volumes. The text is clearly articulated by the red initials and numbering. Signed and dated in the colophon on f. 200: "Iste liber est magistri petri rastelli quem manu propria scripsit et perfecit anno domini I[ncarnationis] m.ccc.xxxii die xxi in me[n]se iust lune ante madalenam". Southern features of the script and vellum suggest that this was in southern France, where Bernard de Gordon, professor at the University of Montpellier, began the Lilium medicinae in 1303, as stated on f. 16. It is likely that Petrus Rastellus, who had the university title of Master, wrote the volume for his own use on a limited budget. Later in the library of the Carthusian monastery at Macourt near Valenciennes, as noted on f. 204v: "Liber domus beate marie de macourt ordinis carthusiensis iuxta val cameracensis dyocesis/Carthus/" (late 14th-c. ms. ownership with shelfmark "T.20"). The monastery, founded in 1288 and transferred to Macourt in 1297, could have lost books from the library when it was pillaged by Calvinists in 1566 or at its suppression in 1790. On 11 December 1810, the volume was purchased in Paris by Alexander Serdobin Sarmatich when he was on the staff of Prince Alexander Kurakin, the Russian ambassador, at the Hotel de Thélusson, rue de Provence, as inscribed on f. 201. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. L. E. Demaitre, Doctor Bernard de Gordon. Professor and Practitioner (Toronto 1980). L. Thorndike/P. Kibre, A Catalogue of lncipits of Medieval Scientific Writings in Latin (London 1963). | |
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| 24 | [Berse, Kaspar]. Epistolae Indicae, in quibus luculenta extat descriptio rerum nuper in India Orientali praeclar[a]e gestarum a Theologis societatis Iesu. Dillingen, Sebald Mayer, 1563. 8vo. (192) pp. (Bound after) II: Ephrem Syrus. Opuscula. Eiusdem monita sive praecepta Christianae vitae, in lucem aedita per Iacobum Menchusium. Ibid., (1563). (8), 83, (1) ff. (Bound with) III: Schottenius, Hermann. Vita honesta, sive virtutis: quomoodo quisque vivere debeat. [Ibid.], 1563. 79 ff. Contemp. blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards. Wants clasps. |
| € 9,500 | |
| I: First edition of this collection. Contains the important letters of Caspar Berse (Barzaeus, 1515-53), the "Dutch St. Francis Xaver", written on the Island of Hormuz in the Arabian Gulf. Berse gives an interesting account on the coasts of India from the Arabian Gulf to the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, including Ceylon, containing detailed information on the mission. These letters were re-published several times in the next decade and became known as one of the first 'modern' descriptions of India. The Jesuit Berse, born on Walcheren Island and educated at Louvain and Coimbra, was sent to the Middle East in 1548. In 1551 he was made headmaster of St. Paul's College in Goa, where he also died. The editor, the physician Johannes Agricola Ammonius (d. 1570), dedicates the work to Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria. Deleted contemp. ownership to t. p. - II: First edition produced by the Dillingen professor Menchusius, containing the lesser works of the greatest theologian of the Syrian Christian church. First quire loosened; old ownership and notes. - III: Later edition of this moralizing treatise, first published in 1527 and frequently reprinted until 1631. The Cologne professor Schottenius is mainly remembered for his didactic plays. Deleted contemp ownership to t. p.; the name of the editor, Adrian Barlandus, has been obliterated. - Very slightly browned and brownstained throughout. The appealing binding is insignificantly rubbed; corners bumped; covers slightly warped. (more) | |
| ¶ I: VD 16, B 2149. IA 114.322. Lach I, 431. Bibl. Belgica I, 183, B 2. Bucher 172 (s. v. Canisius). Cf. de Backer/Sommervogel I, 996f. Not in BM-STC German. - II: VD 16, E 1577. Adams E 214. IA 161.224. Bucher 171. - III: VD 16, S 4031. Not in BM-STC (German) or Bucher. | |
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| 25 | Bertrandon de la Broquière. The travels of Bertrandon de La Brocquière, to Palestine, and his return from Jerusalem overland to France, during the years 1432 & 1433. Extracted and put into modern French from a manuscript in the National library at Paris [...]. [Hafod Uchtryd, Cardiganshire], at the Hafod Press, by J. Henderson, 1807. Royal 8vo. (4), 336 pp. With engr. folding map and 1 full-page dedication engraving. Contemp. full marbled calf with giltstamped black label to attractively gilt spine; cover borders; inner cover fillets; leading edges gilt. All edges marbled. |
| € 2,000 | |
| First separately published edition. Published previously only in a modern French translation, prepared and edited by Pierre Jean Baptiste Legrand d'Aussy in the "Mémoires de l'Institut national des sciences et arts. Sciences morales et politiques" (vol. 5 [1804], 422-637), here translated with Legrand d'Aussy's preface and notes by Thomas Johnes. - Bertrandon (c. 1400-1459), counsellor to Duke Philip of Burgundy, made a pilgrimage to Palestine in 1432 but decided to return home overland - a route considered unfeasible for Christians at the time. His travels led him from Damascus through Anatolia, Bursa, Constantinople, Adrianople (where he met the Caliph), Sofia, Nis, Belgrade, Buda, Vienna and Basel to Dijon, where he reported to the Duke. Betrandon was asked to write an account of his adventures (intended partly also as a source of information for a possible crusade to the Holy Land). "Bertrandon is a curious and perceptive observer; he actively sought contact with the peoples he visited, aided by a good knowledge of Italian, Greek, and Turkish. Bertrandon, who visited Constantinople but two decades before its Fall, provides a precise description of the Turks, of whom he has a high opinion [...] His sensitivity to nature is remarkable for the time. He brought the Duke a Qur'an and a biography of the Prophet as gifts [...] Bertrandon's travelogue must count as an exceptionally valuable source for the historical geography and ethnology of the Near East before 1453" (cf. M. Mollat, in: LexMA I, 2044). - Printed at the private press of Thomas Johnes (1748-1816), noted for his translation of Froissart's Chronicles. Johnes built a country house for himself in Hafod near Aberystwyth in Wales and set up his press in an adjacent cottage, which operated from 1803 to 1810. - A beautiful, wide-margined and uncommonly well-preserved copy. The giltstamped design on the spine incorporates stars and half-moons within decorative meanders; giltstamped heraldic crest at lower spine-end. Bound by Johnston in Lincoln; later in the collection of Walter and Dorothy (Boillotat) Donnelly with their bookplate on the front pastedown. Walter (1900-81) was editor of the University of Michigan Press; Dorothy (1903-94) was a poet. Their large library focused on fine printing and typography; their Family Papers are in the Special Collections of the University of Central Florida. (more) | |
| ¶ Blackmer 744. Ransom 308f. Aboussouan 484. Weber II, 108. Röhricht (Bibliotheca geographica Palaestinae) 108. Tobler 47. Graesse I, 545. OCLC 5207684. Cf. Henze I, 360f. Not in Atabey or Howgego. | |
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| 26 | Bilainkin, George. Cairo to Riyadh Diary [signed copy]. London, Williams and Norgate, 1950. 8vo. X, 233 pp., plus frontispiece and 18 reproduced photographs. Inscribed in blue ink to pastedown "For Catherine Hutchinson, from George Bilainkin", signed and date 1950. Bound in original publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine. |
| € 450 | |
| Scarce account of the author's experiences with Arab nobility in Egypt, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia in the 1940s. Bilainkin, a journalist and later friend of President John F. Kennedy, includes intimate details of daily life with sheiks, pashas, and other dignitaries as he travels from Egypt to Riyadh and back again. The territorial disputes with Britain of the 1940s occupy a prominent place in the narrative, as does the position of Palestine. In Riyadh Bilainkin has an audience with King Ibn Saud, who expresses his views on the problems facing Palestine in April of 1947. "The king said to me through an interpreter, 'The Zionists are fighting the British with British arms ... Let the British Government act. The fear of the Arabs is, the British will disarm the Arabs in Palestine and allow the Jews to arm'" (pp. 105-6). The present copy is noteworthy for its contemporary presentation inscription from Bilainkin himself. (more) | |
| ¶ Not in Macro. | |
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| 27 | Bizzarri, Pietro. Pannonicum bellum sub Maximiliano II. Rom. et Solimano Turcar. imperatoribus gestum. Cumque Arcis Sigethi expugnatione, iampridem magna cura & studio, descriptum [...]. Basel, Sebastian Henricpetri, (February 1573). 8vo. (70) pp., 1 bl. f., 322, (4) pp. With woodcut printer's device on last page. Modern blindstamped calf in contemporary style. |
| € 2,500 | |
| First Latin edition of Pietro Bizzarri's "Historia della guerra fatta in Ungheria dall' intuitissimo imperatore dei Christiani contro quello deui Turchi" (Lyons, Roville, 1568/69). Contains interesting accounts of the Turkish wars in Hungary during 1564-68, of the siege of Malta, and about the French conquests in Florida and Canada. Also contains passages on Transylvania: "Caeterum paucae urbes, oppida vero complura, non obscuri nominis, in quibus Cibinium, Brassovia, Colosium, Bistricia, & plura alia a Germanis, quos nos Saxones appellamus, condita, & habita, nec rara passim, aedificia cernuntur. Eius solum variis in locis auriferos surculos, & glebulas aureas passim gignit [...] Hanc duae cingunt Walachiae, Transalpina, & Moldavia, illa Danubio, haec mari Euxino admota" (p. 8). "Other passages show that Bizzarri also considered the problem of the meaning of history [...] The second part is a checkered conglomerate of various notes, not without historical value. Bizzarri was especially interested in more or less credible reports of celestial phenomena" (cf. Göllner). - The Italian historian Pietro Bizzarri (1530-83) from Sassoferrato lived in France and England for a time, served the Elector August of Saxony for ten years, and spent most of his life in Antwerp (cf. Jöcher). - Occasional brownstaining (especially to title). Modern binding using old stamp material (fleuronnée stamps forming a border and a central ornament). (more) | |
| ¶ VD 16, B 5658. Adams B 2087. BM-STC German 128. IA 119.707. Atabey 110. Göllner 1613. BNHCat B 665. Graesse I, 433. Brunet U, 935. Apponyi 455. Schottenloher 43.474. Cf. Jöcher I, 1110. Not in Blackmer. | |
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| From the library of the Duke of Württemberg | |
| 28 | Bizzarri, Pietro. Persicarum rerum historia in XII libros descripta, totius gentis initia, mores, instituta, et rerum domi forisque gestarum veram atque dilucidam enarrationem continens. Antwerp, Christophe Plantin, 1583. Folio (228 x 334 mm). (12), 451, (25) pp. With woodcut printer's device to t. p. and full-page woodcut arms on reverse. (Bound with) II: Heuterus, Pontus. Rerum Burgundicarum libri sex. Ibid., 1584. With woodcut printer's device to t. p. (4), 192 pp. (wants the final 6 unnumbered ff. and the 99-page appendix). Contemp. blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards. |
| € 3,500 | |
| First edition. "The first 11 books recount the history up to 1578; book 12, with a historico-cultural focus, contains excerpts from classical authors on ancient Persia" (cf. Fueter). Bound with the first edition of Pontus de Heuter's history of Burgundy in the late Middle Ages. - Some brownstaining throughout. Bound around 1618 by the Stuttgart master M.S. for Duke Ludwig Friedrich von Württemberg (1586-1631) with his arms and those of his wife Elisabeth Magdalena von Hessen-Darmstadt (Haebler I, 423 I & 424 III). Later in the library of the Princes' School in Grimma; then transferred and ultimately deaccessioned from the library of the Dept. of Cultural and Universal History at Leipzig University. (more) | |
| ¶ BM-STC Dutch 35. Adams B 2088. IA 119.711. Ruelens/de Backer 258, 21. Degeorge 110. Voet 727. Atabey 112 (note). Fueter 123. - II: BM-STC Dutch 94. Adams H 525. Ruelens/de Backer 270, 34. Degeorge 114. Voet 1325. Sorgeloos 245. | |
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| 29 | Bizzarri, Pietro. Rerum Persicarum historia, initia gentis, mores, instituta, resque gestas ad haec usque tempora complectens [...]. Frankfurt, Andreas Wechel / Claude de Marne & Erben Johann Aubrys, 1601. Folio (210:323 mm). (8), 644, (32) pp. With woodcut devices on t. p. (repeated at the end) and several pretty woodcut initials. Contemp. half calf with giltstamped label to gilt spine. Edges sprinkled in red. |
| € 1,800 | |
| Second edition (first printed in 1583). Important collection of previously published works about Persia, including the travels of the Venetians Giuseppe Barbaro (1436) and Ambrogio Contarini (1473), "together with several other tracts relating to the Turks, including works by Callimachus, Minadoi, [etc.]" (Sotheby's, Atabey sale, no. 117). - Somewhat browned due to paper, otherwise very clean. Binding rather rubbed; edges and corners bumped. Old bibliographic note on endpaper; bookplate of Eivind Hassler (1939-2009) on front pastedown. (more) | |
| ¶ VD 17, 23:231248Y. Atabey 112. Schwab 47. Graesse I, 433. Brunet I, 956 & VI, 28069. Cf. Adelung I, 139ff. Cicogna I, 360. Cox I, 258. Not in Blackmer. | |
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| 30 | Blanche. Syrie. Sites et Paysages. Paris, L. Boulanger, [c. 1900]. Oblong folio. (4) pp., 8 printed illustrations in colour after photographs. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 150 | |
| Fascicule 16 from the "Autour de Monde. Aquarelles, Souvenirs, Voyages", showing eight views from Syria. Depicts mosques, resting camels, etc. - Well preserved. (more) | |
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| 31 | Blunt, Wilfred Scawen. A Visit to Jebel Shammar (Nejd). New Routes through Northern and Central Arabia. [London], 1880. 8vo. pp. 81-102. With 2 folding colour maps. Modern wrappers. |
| € 1,300 | |
| Extract from the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, No. II (Feb. 1880). An account of a journey made by Blunt and his wife, Lady Anne, in the winter of 1878. The Blunts travelled in the company of Mohammed Ibn Aruk, a friend they had made in Palmyra whose family descended from a Nejd tribe. Mohammed wished to return to Nejd in order to find a wife and the Blunts seized the opportunity of accompanying him. The description of their journey is highly detailed, with details of villages they visited, careful topographical description, observations on local custom, descriptions of wildlife and an account the stud of Arab horses belonging to ibn Rashid, the reigning Emir of Hail. The account is followed by a transcript of a discussion that followed Blunt's presentation to the Royal Geographical Society. It includes observations by Sir Lewis Pelly, Mr Blanford and Sir H. Rawlinson. - The maps show Northern and Central Arabia (with the travel route taken by the Blunts) and a detailed sketch map of Jebel Shammar. A copy in modern cloth, with library stamps of the Chelsea Public library, was sold for GBP 999 at Sotheby's Travel Sale (Mediterranean & Middle East) in 2001. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 560. | |
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| 32 | Boha-Eddin (Yusuf ibn Rafi’ Ibn Shaddad al-Mausili) / Albert Schultens (ed.). [Sirat al-Sultan al-alik al-Nasr Salih al-Din]. Vita et res gestae Sultani, Almalichi Alnasiri, Saladini [...]. Grandiore cothurno conscripta ab Amadoddino Ispahanensi ex mss. Arabicis [...] Editit et latine vertit Albertus Schultens. Leiden, Samuel Luchtmans, 1732. Folio. Four pts. in 1 vol. (30), 278 pp. (2), 64 pp. 26, (88, index) pp. T. p. printed in red and black, Arabic and Latin text in two columns. Contemp. blindstamped vellum on seven raised bands with faded ms. title to spine. |
| € 9,500 | |
| First edition (reprinted in 1755). The eminent Arabian writer and statesman Bohaddin, better known in the East as Ibn-Sjeddad, "wrote several works on Jurisprudence and Moslem Divinity; but the only one that can be interesting to us is his 'Life and Actions of Saladin', which, with other pieces connected with the same subject, was published by Albert Schultens, at Leyden, in 1732, accompanied by a somewhat inelegant Latin translation, also by notes, and a Geographical Index. This work affords a favourable specimen of the historical compositions of the Arabs [...] The enthusiasm with which every thing about [Saladin] is narrated, and the anecdotes which the author, from his own personal knowledge, is able to communicate respecting that extraordinary character, give his work a great degree of interest" (Enc. Britannica, Suppl. II [1824], p. 352f). - An appealing copy in Dutch blindstamped vellum from the Berne Abbey, home of the Premonstratensians of Heeswijk, North Brabant, and the oldest extant religious community in the Netherlands (their stamp on t. p.). Modern protective flyleaves (but original pastedowns). Slight wrinkling to final pages; otherwise clean and unbrowned. (more) | |
| ¶ Schnurrer 148, no. 175. Gay 2238. Cf. Fück 107. Not in Smitskamp. | |
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| A circular world map centered on the Middle East | |
| 33 | [Bongars, Jacques]. [Orientalium expeditionum historia.] Gesta Dei per Francos, sive Orientalium expeditionum, et regni Francorum Hierosolimitani historia [...]. Hanau, typis Wechelianis, apud heredes Joan. Aubry, 1611. Folio (230 x 354 mm). (56), 621, (1), 625-1207, (1) pp. With 2 double-page-sized engr. folding plates and 2 engr. plans; woodcut printer's device at end. (Bound with:) Sanudo, Marino. Liber secretorum fidelium crucis super Terrae Sanctae recuperatione et conservatione [...] Orientalis historiae tomus secundus. Ibid., 1611. (12), 361 pp. (a double-page-sized folding plate numbered as 283f.). Engr. printer's device to both titles. Contemp. vellum with giltstamped spine title. |
| € 15,000 | |
| Only edition of this early, important source book for the history of the crusades and the Kingdom of Jerusalem and its vassal states. The much-sought maps, usually found in the second part, are here bound after the preliminary matter of pt. 1. "Four of the maps from Marino Sanudo's early fourteenth-century manuscript atlas were reprinted by Johann Bongars in 1611. Sanudo's planisphere [...] is one of the few examples of medieval maps based on portolano sources in printed form. It is a circular map centered on Jerusalem with the Mediterranean relatively well defined. The ocean surrounds the whole of the known world, the outer parts of which are represented by conjecture. The authorship of Marino Sanudo is not definitely established and the original manuscript has also been attributed to Pietro Vesconte" (Shirley). - Slight paper defect in last text leaf but one of vol. 2, otherwise an excellent and complete copy showing only minor browning. A copy in modern half vellum (severely browned, with some worming) commanded 13,000 Euros at Reiss's spring 2009 auction. (more) | |
| ¶ Shirley 276 (and plate 217). Tooley I, 162. Laor 783, 1145f. Nordenskiöld 51 (and plate 28). VD 17, 1:069728C & 23:231141Q. Brunet I, 1098. Cioranescu (16e siècle) 4305. Rep. font. hist. med. aevi I, 105. Lex. Kart. 576 & 860f. Cf. Tobler 12. | |
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| 34 | Brandel, R[obert] A[lbin]. Om och Ur den arabiske geografen ´Idrîsî. Akademisk afhandling [...]. Uppsala, Akademiska Boktryckeriet Edv. Berling, 1894. 8vo. Pt. 1 only. V, (1), 40 pp. Original printed wrappers (wanting back cover). |
| € 75 | |
| First part only (wants parts 2-3 [32, 114 pp.]). Dissertation about the Andalusian geographer, cartographer, Egyptologist and traveller Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Sharif al-Idrisi (1099-1165?; known as "Dreses" in the Latin tradition), who lived in Sicily at the court of King Roger II. and drew the famous "Tabula Rogeriana" (or "Kitab Rudjdjar"). - Front cover somewhat duststained. Untrimmed and uncut copy. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 7535251. Dinse (Kat. der Bibl. der Ges. für Erdkunde zu Berlin) A 1370. | |
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| 35 | Bruce [of Kinnaird], James. Voyage aux sources du Nil. Traduit de l'anglais par P. F. Henry. Paris, Lepetit, an VII (= 1798). Large 12mo. 9 vols. 237, (1) pp. 225, (1) pp. 244 pp. 255, (1) pp. 255, (1) pp. 223, (1) pp. 213, (1) pp. 158 (but: 258) pp. 108, (2) pp. With 1 folding engr. map and 22 engr. plates (no. 1 as frontispiece in vol. 1, the others in vol. 9). Decorative contemporary calf bindings with double gilt-stamped red labels to gilt spine. |
| € 850 | |
| Attractive French edition (published as part of the "Bibliothèque portative des voyages" series) of Bruce's description of his 1768-73 travels in Egypt and Abessinia, first printed in English in 1790. "The work was widely received and immediately translated into German and French. The animated narration of his adventurous travels made his report so attractive" (cf. Henze). - Bookplate of Walter Goerlich on front pastedowns. Several small restorations to bindings, otherwise well-preserved and decorative. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 600. Cf. Cox I, 389. Henze I, 376. | |
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| 16th century Life of the Prophet, illustrated | |
| 36 | Bry, Johann Theodor & Johann Israel de. I. Acta Mechmeti I. Saracenorum principis. Außführlicher Bericht, von Ankunfft, Zunehmen, Gesatzen, Regirung und jäm[m]erlichem Absterben Mechmeti I. Genealogia seiner Successorn, biß auff den jetztregirenden Mechmetem III. Auß vielen glaubwürdigen Autoribus fleissig zusammen getragen. II. Propheceyung. Keysers Severi un[d] Leonis, sampt etlichen andern Weissagungen, vom Undergang deß Türckischen Regiments bey jetztregirenden Mechmete III. [Frankfurt/Main], Gebr. Hans Dietrich & Hans Israel de Bry, 1597. 4to. (8), 101, (3) pp. With engraved title border and 26 engravings in the text. Marbled boards (c. 1900). |
| € 12,500 | |
| Very rare first German edition; published simultaneously in Latin. "The first part of this work deals with Mohammed the Prophet, the ten illustrations depicting scenes from his life. It was reprinted, complete with the engravings, in 1664 by Wilhelm Serlin in his Chronica Turcica. The second part, containing sixteen allegorical engravings, records a prophecy of the downfall of the Turkish Empire" (Blackmer Sale). - Slightly browned and brownstained throughout; several edge defects remargined (slight loss to text at lower edge of ff. B4 and M1), but complete (the incomplete edition sold at the Atabey Sale in 2002 commanded £9,560). (more) | |
| ¶ VD 16, ZV 2613. IA 126.170. Blackmer 484. Blackmer Sale 92. Göllner 2287. Hiler 5. Lipperheide Lb 11. Cf. Adams B 2978. Atabey 331. Atabey Sale 333. Cicognara 1863. Praz² 291 & 401f. BM-STC German 634. Not in Brunet, Caillet, Colas, Dorbon-Ainé, Ebert, Graesse, Landwehr. | |
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| Second volume about the "Nedjed Country" | |
| 37 | Brydges, Harford Jones. An account of the transactions of His Majesty's Mission to the Court of Persia, in the Years 1807-11. To which is appended, a brief history of the Wahauby. London, James Bohn, 1834. 8vo. 2 vols. VIII, 472, XXXIV, (2) pp. (4), V, (6)-238 pp. With hand-coloured lithogr. frontispiece raised in gold, 11 lithogr. plates on india paper and 1 folding lithogr. map. Contemp. English full calf bindings with giltstamped title to lacquered spines; leading and inner edges gilt; marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. |
| € 12,000 | |
| First edition, a complete and attractive set. The second volume - and the map - devoted entirely to the so-called "Nedjed Country" (now Saudi Arabia). - The first political and commercial treaty between Great Britain and Persia was concluded in 1801, when the East India Company sent John Malcolm to the Court of Fath Ali Shah. Persia undertook to attack the Afghans if they were to move against India, while the British undertook to come to the defence of Persia if they were attacked by either the Afghans or the French. When the Russians intensified their attacks on the Caucasian Provinces in 1803 annexing large territories, Fath Ali Shah appealed to the British for help, but was refused on the grounds that Russia was not included in the Treaty. The Persians thus turned to the French and concluded the Treaty of Finkenstein in 1807. It was against this background that Harford Jones, who was the chief resident at Basra for the East India Company, was sent to Persia by the Foreign Office in 1809 [...] The French who had now entered into a treaty with Russia (the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807) had lost interest in Persia and removed their political and military missions. Thus the British were able to conclude another treaty with Persia (the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, also called the Treaty of Tehran) which bound Britain to assist Persia in case any European nation invaded her (even if Britain had a treaty with that nation). This treaty was not honoured by the British after the first Persian-Russian War. There were two later revisions to the Treaty: 17 March 1812 and 25 November 1814" (Ghani). Volume 2 is devoted exclusively to the Wahabis, tracing their history from the mid-eighteenth century to their defeat by Egyptian Ottoman forces at the site of the Wahabi capital, Darîyah (Dereyah), in 1818. - Rare: the only other copy in a contemp. binding on the market within the last 30 years was the Burrell copy (wanting half titles and rebacked; Sotheby's, Oct 14, 1999, lot 127, £8,000). Our copy complete, only slightly browned and foxed, but altogether fresh, in an appealing full calf binding with very slight bumping to lower corners. With the frequently lacking poem "To my Watch" on a separate leaf at the end of volume I. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 606. BM IV:457 (941). Wilson 33. Cf. Ghani 53 (reprint). Diba 79. | |
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| The fullest account of Wahhabism | |
| 38 | Burckhardt, Johann Ludwig (John Lewis). Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys, collected during his travels in the East. London, (A. J. Valpy for) Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831. 8vo. 2 vols. IX, (3), 382 pp. IV, 391, (1) pp. With a folding engr. map. Modern brown half calf with giltstamped spine. |
| € 4,500 | |
| First edition, second printing. With this work, Burckhardt submitted what was at the time the fullest and most thorough account of the various nomadic tribes of Arabia, including a history of the Wahhabites from their first appearance until 1816 (cf. Henze). A German translation appeared that same year. - The Swiss explorer Buckhardt (1784-1817) travelled through Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Nubia, and the Arabian Peninsula. Under the name "Sheikh Ibrahim", he crossed the Red Sea to Jeddah, passed an examination on Muslim law, and partcipated in the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. He died in Cairo and is buried there in the Muslim cemetery. He left his 350-volume library to Cambridge University; his diaries were acquired by the Royal Geographical Society. - Some brownstaining throughout. From the Friends Free Library in Germantown, Pennsylvania (their red library stamp, c. 1880); later in the collection of the British scholar Lawrence I. Conrad (b. 1949), historian of Near Eastern Medicine at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in London (his ms. ownership on front pastedown and bookplate to t.p.). Conrad is the author of numerous studies on medieval Near Eastern social history, Arabic and Islamic medicine, and Arabic, Greek, and Syriac historiography. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 4637295. Henze I, 406f. Embacher 57. Cf. Macro 626. Engelmann 104. | |
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| 39 | Cadi, Chérif. Terre d'Islam. Oran, Heintz frères for Charles-Lavauzelle in Paris/Limoges/Nancy, 1925. 8vo. 164, (2) pp. With 3 colour maps (1 folding) and 6 plates. Contemp. red half calf with marbled covers and giltstamped spine title. |
| € 850 | |
| Extremely rare French study of Islamic culture, society, religion, and the Islamic countries, with chapters on the Pilgrimage to Mecca, the Holy City of Mecca, Rabigh, Bir Derouich, bedouins, polygamy, the Arabic language, astronomy, legislative reforms, and geography. Binding slightly rubbed at extremities, otherwise perfectly preserved. Removed from the "Bibliothèque de Garnison, Place de Montpellier" with their library and accession stamps (1927) and shelfmarks. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 223135524. | |
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| 40 | Capece Galeota Zuccoli, Vittoria. Arabia Saudiana 1954. Milano, Casa Editrice Ceschina, 1954. 8vo. 187 pp. With 46 maps and plates (some folding). Original illustrated colour wrappers. |
| € 350 | |
| First edition. - Rare account of Saudi Arabia by a female author, with a strong focus on the petroleum industry. Vittoria Capece Galeota's husband had served as Italy's Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Saudi Arabia since 1933. Published but months after the accession of Saud ibn Abd al-Aziz. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 38805899. Not in Macro. | |
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| 41 | Carne, John. Syria, the Holy Land, Asia Minor, &c. illustrated. London u. a., Fisher, 1836-1838. 4to. 3 vols. With 3 engr. title pages, 2 engr. maps, and 113 (instead of 117) plates. (4), 80 pp. 76 pp. 100, (4) pp. Contemp. cloth. |
| € 850 | |
| First edition. The attractive views of Alexandria, Antioch, Beirut, Damascus, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Rhodes, Tripoli etc. are engraved from drawings by W. H. Bartlett, W. Purser and others. - Slightly rubbed and bumped, spine faded and with small tears. (more) | |
| ¶ Blackmer 291. Cf. Tobler 167. | |
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| With 103 engraved plates | |
| 42 | [Cassas, Louis François]. Malerische Reise in Aegypten und Syrien über Constantinopel nach Griechenland, Dalmatien, Illyrien, Neapel und Sicilien. Leipzig, Gerhard Fleischer d. J., 1820. 8vo. 6 vols. in 3. With 103 engraved plates (some double-page-sized) after L.-F. Cassas and a folding woodcut plan of the Great Pyramid. Printed original boards. |
| € 1,800 | |
| Fine German series of engravings showing Levantine travel views, accompanied by extensive descriptions, rarely encountered in a complete set. The plates were engraved after Louis François Cassas's "Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phénicie, de la Palestine et de la Basse Égypte" (Paris 1799, 180 plates in-folio; never completed - cf. Cohen/Ricci 204; Tobler 134) and were used previously in the "Wiener Taschenbuch" published by Degen from 1803 to 1809. The travels whose views are depicted here were mainly undertaken during the years 1778-87; Cassas was one of the engravers whom Choiseul-Gouffier had hired for his "Voyage Pittoresque". The text is compiled from the reports of various travellers. The views depict cities, landscapes, and classical and modern buildings of the Near East, usually enlivened by human and animal figures, including the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, a holy camel, as well as the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1779, the Phlegrean Fields near Naples, etc. - Contemp. owner's note "Schumburg" on front pastedown of vol. 3. Slight foxing, otherwise a good, compete copy in the original printed boards as issued. Untrimmed. (more) | |
| ¶ Tobler 137 (note). ALZ 152 (1820), col. 348. Cf. Steiner, Die Anfänge der Archäologie in Folio und Oktav, p. 96, no. 70. Weber I, 17 and II, 832f. Not in Blackmer, Atabey, Aboussouan. | |
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| 43 | Castro, Dom João de & de Carvalho, Antonio Nunes. [Logbook of the Red Sea and Arabian Coast]. Roteiro em que se contem a Viagem que fizeram os Portuguezes no Anno de 1541, partindo da nobre Cidade de Goa atee Soez, que he no fim, e Stremidade do Mar Roxo. Com o sitio, e pintura de todo o Syno Arabico...tirado a luz pela primeira vez do manuscrito original, e acrescentado com o Itinerarium Maris Rubri [...]. Paris, Baudry & Barrois, 1833. (6), liv, IX, 334 pp, with engraved frontispiece portrait of Castro, engraved portrait of Estevão da Gama, and folding map of the Arab coast (51 x 39.5 cm). Bound in handsome modern quarter calf on marbled boards with gilt titles to spine. Original green wrappers bound in. |
| € 850 | |
| Very scarce (unrecorded on ABPC) account of this 16th-century sea voyage around the Arabian Peninsula. The present work is the first full appearance of this journey in print, published from the original manuscript logbooks of Castro's journey, touching on both navigational matters and events of general interest; for example, he devotes a long passage to refuting the theory that the Red Sea really is red (p 257) by drawing up daily samples for examination. Joao's voyage took him up the Red Sea, alighting on both the African coast and the Arabian coast until he reached Suez; his account includes descriptions of the various ports he encountered enroute. As the British Library catalogue notes, the original manuscript was reputed to have bought by Sir Walter Raleigh for £60. (more) | |
| ¶ Catalogue of the manuscript maps, charts and plans...in the British museum, p 386. Scholberg, Bibliography of Goa & the Portuguese in India, DC7. Avila Perez 1562, 'rara'. Welsh 4780. | |
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| 44 | Caussin, Nicolas, SJ. De symbolica Aegyptiorum sapientia. / Polyhistor symbolicus. / Hieroglyphicorum et emblematum appendix. Ed. ultima auctior. Cologne, Johann Kinckius, 1654. 8vo. 3 parts in 1 vol. 597, (43) pp. 71, (17) pp. (16), 150, (10) pp. With engr. title page; repeated printer's device on separate titles. Contemp. vellum over wooden boards with ms. spine title. 2 clasps. |
| € 1,500 | |
| "A mixture of hieroglyphics, emblematics, and general symbolics, which had to substitute for a real understanding of Egyptian writing. No illustrations save for the title, showing two fantastical obelisks" (cf. Volkmann 112). The first part proper has been bound at the end of the volume. The appendix contains texts by Giovanni Pierio Valeriano and Maximilian Sandaeus. - Some browning and brownstaining, though much less than is common. Slight worming near end. Binding somewhat rubbed; one clasp loosened. From the Ritter Waldauf Library in Hall with their engr. bookplate and stamp. The Imperial Protonotary Florian Waldauf (also: Baldauf; c. 1450-1510; in 1495 countersignatory to the preliminary contract of the Habsburg-Spanish double wedding) and his wife Barbara founded a chapel, a collection of relics, and a ministry for the Hall parish church. As steward of the Waldauf endowment, the City of Hall was responsible for the donations "das alle jar etliche puecher nach anzaigen des predigers zum predigambt gekauft und in der heiligen capellen liberei an ketten gehangen und versorgt werden"; furthermore, the library was directed to acquire books from the estates of religious figures. Contrary to the Waldauf decree, the library was hardly enlarged by systematic purchases, but mainly through the incidental acquisition of books and endowments, primarily from clergymen, monasteries, and schools. The most famous previous owner was Johannes Eck. "After 400 years of existence and only occasional growth, interest in the survival of the Ritter-Waldauf-Bibliothek seemed to dwindle away. In addition, endowment possibilies dropped off completely during the First World War. During the Second World War an unknown number of valuable manuscripts and prints were handed out to private individuals in Hall, in order to secure them from impoundment by the National Socialists. After the War, however, not one of these books was returned" (cf. Hdb. der hist. Buchbestände in Dtl.). (more) | |
| ¶ VD 17 1:066739D (pts. I and II, without appendix). Praz 301 note. De Backer/S. II, 904, 4. | |
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| 45 | [Caussin de Perceval, Armand Pierre. Essai sur l'histoire des Arabes avant l'islamisme, pendant l'époque de Mahomet, et jusqu'à la réduction de toutes les tribus sous la loi musulmane. Paris, Didot, 1848]. Tables only: 11 genealogical tables on 15 folding sheets. Contemp. red half morocco; marbled covers and endpapers. |
| € 300 | |
| Slightly foxed throughout. From the library of Richard C. Hodges (his etched bookplate on front flyleaf); later in the library of Sidney Edward Bouverie-Pusey (1839-1911), only son of the agriculturist Philip Pusey (cf. DNB XLVII, 64), with his bookplate on front pastedown. (more) | |
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| 46 | Chair, Somerset de. The Golden Carpet. (London), the Golden Cockerell Press, (1943). Large 4to. 128 pp. With a portrait frontispiece. Original green half calf and cream cloth boards. Includes: ALS. No place, 29 June 1943. 8vo. 2 pp. Addendum. |
| € 2,800 | |
| First edition. An account of the British Army's 1941 campaign in the Middle East, advancing from the Mediterranean to Baghdad. Published during the ongoing war, with several poetic pieces about the the Middle East appended. Number 45 of 500 copies printed on Arnold's mould-made paper (nos. 1-30 of which were bound in full morocco). Signed and inscribed by the author to the Anglo-Armenian poet Ernest Altounyan: "for Altounyan / the conversations are resumed (on paper), with the author's sincere friendship / Somerset de Clair / 21 June 1943". Tipped in is a 2-page ALS from the author to Altounyan: "Let me lay the Golden Carpet before you. I have used you in the preface as a link between the Levant fighting in this war and the Revolt in the Desert [...]". He discusses some "security cuts" made to the ms. before publication, "such as the fact that [...] Glubb had only 150 men with him in the Desert Patrol although he was so much feared by the Iraqis." - Altounyan, based in Syria, wrote "Ornament of Honour" in 1937 addressed to T. E. Lawrence, written in Aleppo after Lawrence's death. He had known Lawrence for a long time and wrote the poem as a memorial embodying everything he believed to be their common philosophy of life. Of Altounyan, Lawrence wrote (in a letter to Robert Graves): "I think Frederick Manning, and an Armenian called Altounyan and E. M. Forster are three I most care for since Hogarth died." - Laid in is an ALS (21 April 1945, 1 p.) to Altounyan from Col. Franklin Lushington, author of "Yeoman Service: A Short History of the Kent Yeomanry 1939-1945", returning the volume with thanks. - Spine sunned; boards somewhat fingerstained; some browning to de Chair's ALS, otherwise in fine condition. (more) | |
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| 47 | Chessé. L'Algérie. Sites & Monuments. Paris, L. Boulanger, [c. 1900]. Oblong folio. (4) pp., 8 printed illustrations in colour after photographs. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 150 | |
| Fascicule 32 from the "Autour de Monde. Aquarelles, Souvenirs, Voyages", showing eight views from French Algeria (mosques, the ports of Oran and Algiers, Arabic villages, etc.). - Slight edge defects to wrapper covers, otherwise well preserved. (more) | |
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| The earliest western study of Wahhabism | |
| 48 | [Corancez, Louis Alexandre Olivier de]. Histoire des Wahabis, depouis leur origine jusqu'a la fin de 1809. Paris, Crapelet, 1810. 8vo. (4), VIII, 222, (2) pp. Somewhat later marbled half calf with giltstamped black label to gilt spine. |
| € 2,800 | |
| First edition of this fundamental study of Wahhabism, not translated into Arabic until 2005 ("Tarih al-wahhabiyin mundu naš'atihim hatta 'am 1809 m.", published in Riyadh by Darat al-Malik 'Abd-al-'Aziz). Corancez had lived in Aleppo for eight years as French consul. He married a Syrian and had first-hand information about the Wahhabi movement in Egypt, Syria, and Baghdad. He published his book soon after the followers of the Moslem reformer Abd-el Wahhab conquered the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in 1805, an event that fueled a strong interest in the movement throughout Europe. "This sect, which abhorred all loose living, attracted the attention of a number of travellers. Corancez' account of the Wahabis precedes by many years that of Burckhardt, which was published posthumously in 1830, although both men were living and travelling in Syria at the same time, and presumably knew each other" (Atabey). - Slightly browning to margins; title page stamped. Wth the frequently missing errata leaf at the end. Sold for £3,800 at Sotheby's (Atabey sale, contemp. half morocco). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 750. Gay 3461. Querard 1, 143. Atabey 282. Not in Blackmer. | |
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| Major source of information on the Muslim world in the 17th century | |
| 49 | Dapper, Olfert. Naukeurige beschryving van Asie: behelsende de gewesten van Mesopotamie, Babylonie, Assyrie, Anatolie, of Klein Asie: beneffens eene volkome beschrijving van gantsch gelukkigh, woest, en petreesch of steenigh Arabie. Vertoont in een bondigh ontwerp van 's lands benamingen, bepalingen [...] inzonderheit die van d'oude Arabieren, Mahomet en Mahometanen. Amsterdam, Jacob van Meurs, 1680. Folio. Contemporary vellum, blind fillet lines and centre piece on both sides, ribbed spine with title in ink written in the second compartment. With allegorical frontispiece, title printed in red and black with woodcut vignette (bear in foliage), 3 folding (double-page) maps of Bassora and surroundings, Anatolia, and Arabia, 12 folding (double-page) views of Babylon, Tower of Babel, Bagdad, Ninive, Smyrne, Ephese, Magnesie, Abydos (Dardanello), Aden and the red Sea, Mocha, Maskate, and the Mount Sinai (the last by K. Decker; Smyrne, Ephese, Magnesie and Abydo drawn by Charles Vastiau); one extra plate of the plants Avelmosch, Semsem, and Sambak, not called for in the List of plates, nor by Tiele); 20 half-page views and plates of plants in the text, woodcut initials, head- and tail pieces and some inscriptions rendered in Greek type. (8), 357, (3); 324, (4) pp. |
| € 8,000 | |
| Original and only edition of this great work by the Dutch physician and scholar Olfert Dapper (1639-1689), who published several highly esteemed descriptions of several parts of the world, based on travel narratives and reports by Jesuit missionaries and other explorers in the late seventeenth-century, including descriptions of Africa, Asia (India, China, Dutch East Indies), and the Mediterranean, although he had not visited these exotic destinations himself. In fact, he never travelled outside Holland. Dapper wrote also a book on the history of Amsterdam. His books became well-known in his own time and were a rich source of information on the various part of the world he described. - The present work is the complete first and only edition of Dapper's description of tthe Middle East, including Mesopotamia or Algizira (part 1, pp. 1-80), Assyria (pp. 245-72), Anatolia (pp. 273-357). The second part is entirely devoted to Arabia (part 2, pp. 1-324). Dapper's work is of special importance because of the original and new information on the Islam, Arab science, astronomy, philosophy, and historiography, and the fine plates, which includes maps, plans and beautiful views and costumes. Our copy is well complete of the frontispiece, the 3 maps, the 13 double-folding plates and by the 22 figures in the text. Extra inserted is a plate showing the plants Abelmosch, Semsem, and Sambak, growing in Arabia. One of the finest Dappers ever published. - The work is dedicated by Dapper to the Amsterdam burgomaster Johannes Hudde, dated 10 December 1679. A translation into German by Joh. Chr. Beer was published in the next year, Umbständliche und eigentliche Beschreibung von Asia (Nurnberg 1681), with the plated copied from this original edition. - First quire half-loose, some marginal wormholes and stains. Good copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Tiele 300. C. & N. Hage Chahine, Guide du Livre Orientaliste Levant, 1206. Atabey 322. Blackmer 450. Paulitschke 190. | |
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| 50 | d'Erlanger, Rodolphe. La Musique Arabe. Paris, Paul Geuthner, 1930-1959. Large 8vo. 6 vols. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 4,500 | |
| First edition of this standard work of reference for musicians and scholars alike. The wealthy French-born musicologist and painter Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger (1872-1932), a naturalised Brit of German-American descent, turned his interests to oriental studies and founded the artists' community at Sidi Bou Saïd. His lasting achievement is his present six-volume study of the history, theory, and repertory of Arabic music. Rodolphe d'Erlanger lived to see the publication of its first volume; his helpers Manoubi Snoussi, Henri Georg Farmer, Baron Carra de Vaux, Ali Darwish, and Ahmed El-Wafi completed the remaining volumes throughout a period of nearly three decades. - A clean, wide-margined copy. (more) | |
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| 51 | [Delisle de Sales, J.-B.-C.]. Histoire de l'empire Assyrien, ou des trois monarchies de Ninive, de Babylone et d'Ecbatane. Oucvage enrichi de cartes & de gravures. Nouvelle édition. Tome I (-II). Paris, Hardouin, 1782. 8vo. 2 vols. XLVIII, 332, (4) pp. 300 pp. With engr. map, 4 engr. plates, and 2 engr. tables (all folding). Contemp. marbled calf with double giltstamped label to attractively gilt spine; leading edges gilt. Alles edges red. |
| € 1,000 | |
| Second edition; rare. The attractive plates show views of Babylon (aerial view; Hanging Gardens, etc.), as well as the Kaaba in Mecca. - A few pencil Arabic marginalia. Restored tears to a few of the plates. Half-titles and last f. of vol. I have small cut-outs (rebacked); both volumes show traces of erasing and slight paper defects at the end (rebacked; slight loss to text). (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 28700868. Not in Barbier. | |
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| 52 | Dickonson, Violet. Forty Years in Kuwait. London, Allen & Unwin, 1971. With original dustjacket in excellent condition. |
| € 350 | |
| First edition, first printing. Violet was the wife of H. R. P. Dickinson, author of e.g. 'The Arab of the Desert' and 'Kuwait and her Neighbours'. (more) | |
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| 53 | Dickson, H. R. P. Kuwait and Her Neighbours. London, Allen & Unwin, 1956. With original dustjacket. Jacket in good condition only. |
| € 500 | |
| Scarce first edition with dustjacket. Frontispiece colour portrait of HH Sheikh Abdullah al Salim al Sabah, with a dedication to His Highness. (more) | |
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| 54 | Dickson, H. R. P. The Arab of the Desert. A Glimpse into Badawin Life in Kuwait and Sau'di Arabia. London, Allen & Unwin, 1951. Original publisher's red cloth. Very good condition. |
| € 350 | |
| Second edition of this classic work. With frontispiece portrait of HH Sheikh Sir Ahmad al Jabir al Sabah, contemporary Ruler of Kuwait. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 840 (1st ed.). | |
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| 55 | Didier, Charles. Séjour chez le Grand-Chérif de la Mekke. Paris, Hachette, 1857. Small 8vo. VII, (1), 310, (1) pp. Orginal printed wrappers. |
| € 750 | |
| First edition. - Didier (1805-64), a companion of Richard Burton, travelled with Burton and another English associate, James Hamilton, from Cairo to Suez. From Suez, Burton travelled on to Aden whilst Didier and Hamilton made for Jeddah. The present narrative is an account of that journey and time spent at Mecca. Translated into Arabic as "Rehla Ela Al-Hejaz". - Some foxing throughout. Wrappers wrinkled, with small tears and chipping to edges. Another copy in the original wrappers (first gathering becoming loose, spine ends chipped) was sold at Sotheby's for £552 at the 1998 Travel Sale (lot 53). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 841. OCLC 3174716. | |
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| Quran in German | |
| 56 | [Dionysius Carthusianus]. Alchoran. Das ist, des Mahometischen Gesatzbuchs, und Türckischen Aberglaubens ynnhalt, und ablänung. Strasbourg, Johann Schott, 1540. Folio (295 x 197 mm). (62) pp. (lacking final blank f.). With 3 woodcuts by Hans Baldung Grien on title page. (Bound after) II: Eppendorff, Heinrich von. Türckischer Keyszer Ankunfft, Kryeg und Händlung, gegen und wider die Christen, biß ynschlyesszlich uff den yetzt regyrenden Solymannum. Ibid., 1540. (8), CLI, (1) pp. With woodcut title border, armorial woodcut above the table of contents, and half-page woodcut portrait of Charles V (both by Hans Baldung Grien). 19th-c. half vellum with marbled boards. |
| € 14,000 | |
| I: First and only edition of this German (abridged) translation of Dionysius's "Contra Alchoranum", not printed until 1533. The translator, in all likelihood, was also Eppendorff. The three woodcuts on the title page show a group of Jews, Martin Luther (here captioned "Sergius the heretic"), and "Mahomet". - II: Rare first German edition of these treatises by Petrus Nannius, Juan Luis Vives, Josse de Fontanus, and Paolo Giovio. Heinrich von Eppendorff, a personal friend of Ulrich von Hutten, is known especially for his altercations with Erasmus of Rotterdam. Of particular interest is the portrait of Emperor Charles V on p. 101 (lacking in some copies). The ornamental title border shows ten portraits of emperors in medallions. - Title page of I trimmed rather closely at right edge (no loss to illustration); several ff. show slight defects or were remargined at an early date (no loss to text). Some browning and brownstaining. (more) | |
| ¶ II: VD 16, D 1864. Schmidt (Schott) 141. Ritter 657. Ritter, Catalogue, 850. Muller 97, 239. Göllner 660. Oldenbourg (Baldung Grien) L 184. BNHCat D 208. Cf. Hamilton, Europe and the Arab World, 3 (1533 Latin ed.). - II: VD 16, ZV 22371. Schmidt (Schott) 140. Ritter 740. Muller 97, 236. Göllner 661 (and fig. 28). Oldenburg (Baldung Grien) L 224. Neither work in Adams or BM-STC German. | |
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| 57 | Drouville, Gaspard. Voyage en Perse, fait en 1812 et 1813. Turin, Reycend & Cie., 1829. 12mo. 3 pts. and appendix in 2 vols. 200 pp. 167 pp. 188 pp. 96 pp. Contemp. half calf with giltstamped title to spine, signed "C.F." at lower spine end. |
| € 250 | |
| Third edition. Description of Persian customs, first published in St Petersburg 1819-21. Received text only; rare. - Slightly browned. Spines slightly rubbed; hinges cracked. "Les prisonniers du Caucase" by Xavier de Maistre (pp. 1-96 from an unidentified edition) bound at the end of vol. 2. (more) | |
| ¶ Wilson 62. | |
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| Arabian tribes in Egypt, the author's copy | |
| 58 | Du Bois-Aymé, [Jean Marie Joseph]. Mémoire sur les tribus Arabes des déserts de l'Égypte et sur les tribus Israélites qui ont occupé autrefois les mêmes déserts. Foligno, Campitelli, 1810. 8vo. 126 pp. Temporary wrappers. |
| € 1,500 | |
| First independent edition, printed in a low press run and taken from the previous year's "Déscription de l'Égypte", which had published the results of Napoléon's Egyptian expedition. Jean Marie Joseph Du Bois-Aymé (1779-1846) had participated as "membre de la Commission des sciences et des arts d'Égypte". - Some waterstaining, foxing and browning. Old ink notes regarding the law of fee-tail on rear pastedown. Untrimmed, uncut copy from the author's own collection: t. p. stamped on reverse, with ms. note "Provient de M. du Bois-Aymé, propriétaire à Meylan". (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. Gay 2011. | |
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| 59 | Duguet, [Juslin]. Le pèlerinage de la Mecque au point de vue religieux social et sanitaire. Par le Docteur Duguet, Médecin General, Inspecteur géneral du Conseil sanitaire, maritime et quarantenaire d'Égypte. Avec une préface de Justin Godart. Paris, Éditions Rieder, 1932. Large 8vo. XII, 337, (1) pp., l. bl. f. Original printed wrappers. With 8 plates printed on 4. |
| € 650 | |
| First edition. - Inscribed copy signed by the author: "à Monsieur et Professeur Grimani | Delegué de l'Italie au | Conseil Quarantenaire d'Égypte | Amical hommage | Med Gal D Duguet", dated by another hand (probably that of Grimani): "Alessandria Egitto 9. 4. 1932". - "The true subject of this book is not named in the title, yet two-thirds of the whole are given up to cholera. To introduce his subject the author gives a description of the pilgrimage which is so readable that it is almost ungracious to say that one or two points are open to criticism [...] In the body of the book the author describes the epidemics at Mecca, the hospitals (!), the development of preventive measures outside the Hedjaz, and his hopes for the future. The policies of the Turks, King Husain, and Ibn Sa'fid, the change in defence from long quarantine to inoculation and disinfection, and the growth of the International Sanitary Conference are explained. He records inhuman wickedness and magnificent courage and generosity. A squeamish layman should not read some of the pages just before dinner or bed [...] The conclusion is that all pilgrims should be protected by inoculation against cholera, plague, and smallpox before leaving their homes [...] There are a few misprints, one of which makes the name of Dr. Olschanietzki even less pronounceable than it is by nature. A very useful book" (A. S. Tritton, book review in: Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies VII, 1 [1933] 224). - Somewhat foxed throughout. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 871. | |
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| Splendid views of Palestine and Lebanon | |
| 60 | [Egerton, (Francis), Earl of Ellesmere]. [Collection of views in Palestine & Lebanon]. London, Day & Haghe, lithographers to the Queen, before 1846. Oblong folio (ca. 360 x 540 mm). With 13 tinted lithographed plates, including 7 proofs before letters and some with printed captions, first plate signed 'F. E. del., G. Hawkins lith'. Modern half red morocco gilt, green marbled boards, red morocco title label on front cover. |
| € 6,750 | |
| Very rare collection of splendid views of Palestine and Lebanon by the British politician, writer, traveller and patron of the arts Francis Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere (1800-57). The attribution of these plates is established by a note in the British Library copy, which also contains a letter from Egerton referring to "my lithographs", which he obviously presented as gifts to friends. The first plate alone is signed: "F. E. del.t. G. Hawkins Lith.". Lord and Lady Francis spent the winter and spring of 1839-40 travelling in the Mediterranean, mostly aboard Lord Francis's own yacht. Lady Francis (Harriet Catherine née Greville, a great-great-granddaughter of the 5th Baron Brooke) published her account of the tour in 1841 (Abbey Travel, no. 384), containing four lithographs, two of which are reproduced in the present collection in larger size. The date is taken from the date of presentation (1846) in the BL copy. - Collection of views of Palestine and Lebanon by the famous traveller and patron of the arts Francis Egerton. In excellent condition. (more) | |
| ¶ DNB XVII, 153f. Not in Cox or Abbey Travel. | |
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| 61 | El-Bokhâri, [Abu Abdallah Mohammed ibn Ismail]. Les traditions islamiques. Traduit de l'Arabe avec notes et index par O. Houdas et W. Marçais. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1903-1914. Small folio. 4 vols. (4), 682 pp. (4), XXV, (1) pp., 1 bl. f., 649 pp. (4), 700 pp. VIII, 676 pp. Contemp. green marbled half calf with giltstamped spine title. Marbled endpapers. |
| € 3,500 | |
| Original French edition of this important hadith collection, reprinted in 1977: a fundamental work on the words and deeds of the Prophet as reported by his disciples, explaining obscure points of the Quran and serving as a guide for every Muslim in his daily life. "Al-Jami' as-Sahih" ("collection of authentic traditions"), as it is known, contains a corpus of more than 7,000 tested traditions, arranged in chapters so as to offer a basis for a complete system of jurisprudence without the use of speculative law. The book "is highly regarded among Sunni Muslims, and considered one of the most authentic collections of hadith; most Sunni scholars consider it second only to the Qur'an in terms of authenticity. - Bindings rubbed at extremeties; upper spine end of vol. 1 chipped with hinges beginning to crack; some browning due to paper, otherwise a well-preserved set. (more) | |
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| First printing of any larger part of the Koran in Arabic | |
| 62 | Erpenius, Thomas. Historia Josephi Patriarchae, ex Alcorano, Arabicè. Cum tripici versione Latina, & scholiis Thomae Erpenii, cujus Alphabetum Arabum praemittitur. Leiden, ex typographia Erpeniana Linguarum Orientalium, 1617. 4to. 72 unnumbered ff. with contemporary ms. pagination. Architectural woodcut title border; woodcut printer's device on final page. (Bound with) II: The same. Arabicae linguae tyrocinium. Leiden, Maire, 1656. (12), 172, 282 (but: 284) pp. Large engr. title vignette; title printed in red and black. Contemp. vellum. Marbled endpapers. |
| € 15,000 | |
| The first printing of any larger part of the Koran, executed by the great Erpenius (1584-1624), professor of oriental languages at Leiden and "one of the men whom the study of oriental languages owes its resurrection" (cf. ADB). His own private printing shop, equipped with Hebrew, Arabic, Syrian, Ethiopian, and Turkish type, was able to produce its first specimens in 1615; two years later, his Arabic typeface was finally complete: "When Erpenius's printing press was finally equipped with proper vocal signs for his Arabic type, he published the Joseph sura (the 12th sura of the Koran), thereby making available for the first time in Europe a larger part of the Koran. At that time only the first sura had been published, by Postel and Kirsten [...] The first 12 leaves are taken up by the preface and the 'Alphabetum Arabicum'. Then follows on 20 leaves the 'Historia Josephi', with an interlinear literal translation (to be read backwards), and a freer rendering in the margin. It is followed on 7 leaves by the Bibliander translation, as a specimen of how it should not be translated. Finally on 31 leaves Erpenius's learned annotations, and, coronidis loco, on 2 leaves the text and translation with commentary of the first sura" (Smitskamp). - The second work is edited by Golius, "Erpenius' successor to the chair of Arabic. It repeats the edition of 1636, edited by Golius' pupil Deusing, but now added is also the modest Arabic chrestomathy edited by another pupil of Golius, J. Fabricius, in the latter's 'Specimen' of 1638" (Smitskamp). - Slightly browned; brownstain to lower right corner throughout. (more) | |
| ¶ I: Schnurrer 52 & 368. Juynboll 82f. Fück 67. Smitskamp, PO 89. - II: Schnurrer 81. Juynboll 148. Balagna 82. Smitskamp 72. | |
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| 63 | Erpenius, Thomas. Rudimenta linguae arabicae. Florilegium sententiarum arabicarum ut et clavim dialectorum ac praesertim arabicae adjecit Alb. Schultens. Editio altera, aucta indicibus. Leiden, S. & J. Luchtmans & Jean le Mair, 1770. 4to. (6), 374, (174) pp. With engr. publisher's device on t. p. Contemp. half calf with giltstamped red label to gilt spine. All edges red. |
| € 350 | |
| Reissue of the 1733 4th edition (first published in 1620). "An important addition is Schultens' 'Clavis dialectorum', in which he discusses the lexicological relation between Hebrew and Arabic. Another new feature is the anthology of proverbs entitled 'Al-Nawabig' [...] The indexes are this time predominant, for Arabic alone 142 pages" (Smitskamp). Erpenius (1584-1624), professor of oriental languages at Leiden, is regarded as "one of the men whom the study of oriental languages owes its resurrection" (cf. ADB). His own private printing shop, equipped with Hebrew, Arabic, Syrian, Ethiopian, and Turkish type, produced its first specimens as early as 1615. - Some slight browning and brownstaining throughout due to paper. Binding rubbed; extremieties bumped; spine-ends damaged. Contemp. bibliographical note to front flyleaf; ms. ownership "Fuchs" to pastedown. (more) | |
| ¶ Smitskamp, PO 76. Brunet II, 1050. Ebert 6914. Graesse II, 495. Schnurrer 108. | |
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| 64 | Faroughy, Abbas. The Bahrein Islands (750-1951). A contribution to the study of Power Politics in the Persian Gulf. An historical, economic, and geogra[p]hical survey. New York, Verry, Fisher & Co., 1951. 8vo. 128 pp. With printed portrait frontispiece (Salman ibn Hamad Al Khalifa, The Sheik of Bahrein), 3 plates (includung a colour plate of the Bahrain flag), and a printed map. Contemp. giltstamped red cloth. |
| € 650 | |
| Fundamental 1950s study of Bahrain's geography, history, and politics. Includes selected bibliography and an appendix of documents. - Withdrawn from the Bowdoin College Library (Brunswick, Maine) with their bookplate, blindstamp, and shelfmarks. (more) | |
| ¶ Not in Macro. | |
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| 65 | Field, Henry. Camel Brands and Graffiti from Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Iran, and Arabia. Baltimore, American Oriental Society , 1952. Large 8vo. VI, 41, (1) pp. With 43 black-and-white figures on 16 plates. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 350 | |
| Supplement to the Journal of the American Oriental Society, issued with vol. 72, no. 4. Fundamental study of Bedouin desert camel brands and graffiti found throughout the North Arabian Desert. Includes several graffiti recorded by Alois Musil, T. E. Lawrence, and Lady Anne Blunt, a section on "The Origin and Distribution of Arab Camel Brands" by Hans A. Winkler, and a bibliography. - Wrappers show slight signs of wear, otherwise fine. (more) | |
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| A Scoundrel's Conversion to Islam | |
| 66 | Finati, Giovanni / Bankes, William John (ed.). Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Giovanni Finati, Native of Ferrara; who, under the name of Mahomet, made the Campaigns against the Wahabees for the Recovery of Mecca and Medina; and since acted as Interpreter to European Travellers in some of the Parts Least Visited of Asia and Africa. Translated from the Italian as dictated by Himself. London, (William Clowes for) John Murray, 1830. 8vo. 2 vols. XXVII, (1), 296 pp. VIII, 430 pp. With folding engr. map. Deep chestnut calf bindings, blindstamped and giltstamped covers with giltstamped title to spine. Sprinkled edges. |
| € 8,500 | |
| First edition. - "Of all the Western travelers to Mecca, Giovanni Finati is the only out-and-out scoundrel - as the two-volume account of his travels, published in 1830, makes perfectly clear [...] But even scoundrels, apparently, are not immune to the impact of the Hajj" (Lunde). Finati travelled extensively in the Middle East, often acting as guide and translator to European explorers in the region. As a young man, he enlisted in the service of Muhammed Ali, took part in the capture of Mekkah and Medina and converted to Islam. Bankes travelled with Finati to Upper Egypt, Nubia, Syria and Palestine between 1815 and 1818. He also visited Syria with Buckingham, and was great friends with Hobhouse and Byron. The 'Narrative' includes sections on Mekkah and Medina, the Yemen, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Petra, Palmyra and Cairo, together with an eye-witness account of the Massacre of the Mamelukes by Mahomet-Ali. - Occasional slight foxing, but a fine copy in an appealing but later binding. Rare; the Burrell copy (bound in modern half calf) fetched £9,200 at Sotheby's (15 Oct 1999, lot 255); at the previous day's Travel Sale, a copy in poorer condition realised £6,325. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 954. S. Lunde, "The Lure Of Mecca", in: Saudi Aramco World 1974/6, pp. 14-21. Not in Atabey, Blackmer, Cobham-Jeffery, Röhricht, or Weber. | |
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| Early work on astrological meteorology: author indebted to many Arabic writers | |
| 67 | Firmin de Belleval (Beauval). Firmini repertorium de mutatione aeris, tam via astrologica, quam metheorologica, pristino nitori restitutum, per Philippum Iollainum Blereium, cum scholiis eiusdem. Paris, Jacques Kerver I, 1539. Small folio (28 x 20 cm). With Kerver's woodcut printer's device on the title-page, several woodcut initials and several tables in the text. 19th-century half cloth. |
| € 4,950 | |
| Early work on astrological meteorology by the French astrologer Firmin de Belleval from the first half of the 14th century. Here in the first edition edited by Philip Jollain of Blery after the very rare "editio princeps" printed in 1485 by Erhard Ratdolt in Venice, originally published anonymously, but generally attributed to Firmin. Although the author is indebted to the writings of Ptolemy, Pliny, Johannes Hispalensis, Albertus Magnus and many Arabic authors such as Al-Kindi, Abu Ma'shar, Ali ibn Ridwan, Abraham ben Ezra, he drew also largely on contemporary popular knowledge and oral traditions. - The prognostication is the only of Firmin's treatises that was ever printed. In essence it is a treatise on astrological meteorology and it is one of the first meteorological works ever published. Divided into 7 chapters, the book deals respectively with the nature of different parts of the sky, the stars, seasons and climates; global climate changes due to great conjunctions, eclipses and movements of the sun; similar changes due to the respective movements of the sun and the moon; particular judgments arising from the same sets of causes; and predictions concerning rain and weather forecasting in general. - A few minor spots, otherwise a very good copy with ample margins. (more) | |
| ¶ Adams F-508. BMC-STC French 166. Hellman, Meteorology 16. Sarton III, 657-658. Silvestre, Marques typogr. 52. Thorndike III, 18 & IV, p. 549. | |
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| 68 | Freeth, Zahra. Kuwait was my Home. London, Allen & Unwin, 1956. With original dustjacket. |
| € 300 | |
| Scarce first edition. (more) | |
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| 69 | Fresnel, Fulgence. Lettres sur l'histoire des Arabes avant l'Islamisme. Paris, Théophile Barrois & Benjamin Duprat, 1836. Title page, (V)-VIII, 114, (2) pp. Modern green cloth with giltstamped green label to spine. 8vo. |
| € 650 | |
| First edition of this remarkable collection. "Consists of translations from Arabian authors, with notes and comments" (OCLC). - The French orientalist Fulgence Fresnel (1795-1855), a student of Sylvestre de Sacy, undertook studies of Arabic at Maronite College in Rome in 1826. Later he was appointed consular agent in Jeddah. In Arabia, he became a proficient speaker of local dialects, and came in contact with descendants of the Himyarites. Fresnel is credited as the first European to translate ancient Himyarite inscriptions. In 1851 he was put in charge of a scientific expedition to Mesopatamia. When the expedition members were recalled in 1854, Fresnel chose to remain, and died in Baghdad on November 30, 1855. - Foxed throughout, inkstain in the margin; some ms. pencil notes. Wants both half-titles. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 988. Gay 261. OCLC 7054534. | |
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| The rarest treatise on falconry | |
| 70 | Friedrich II. von Hohenstaufen. [De arte venandi cum avibus.] Reliqua librorum Friderici II. Imperatoris, de arte venandi cum avibus, cum Manfredi Regis additionibus. Ex membranis vetustis nun primum edita. Albertus Magnus de falconibus, asturibus, & accipitribus. Augsburg, Johannes Praetorius (Hans Schultes), 1596. 8vo. (16), 414, (2) pp. With magnificent double-page woodcut illustration and woodcut printer's device on title page (repeated on recto of final leaf). Contemporary limp vellum binding, stored in 19th-c. half calf marbled portfolio. |
| € 15,000 | |
| First edition, extremely rare. "The first edition of a classic on hawking, held to be the best and most comprehensive treatise, which, with original Italian and Latin manuscripts, has been the study and research by many writers" (Schwerdt). This classic treatise on ornithology and falconry was written by Frederick II (1194-1250), Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick's original manuscript is lost, but his work exists in two book versions, by his two sons Manfredi and Enzo. The most famous copy of this treatise is the manuscript commissioned by Manfredi, between 1258 and 1266, and contains twelve short additions made by himself. The present publication is the editio princeps of that version; the "1560 Venice" and "1578 Basel" editions mentioned by Lallemant, Souhart, etc. are spurious. The woodcut faithfully reproduces one of the miniatures in Manfredi's version (in the Vatican library): an expressive image of the Emperor with two falconers at his side. Also includes the treatise "De Falconibus Asturibus, & Accipitribus" (p. 357 ff.) by a German dominican philosopher and theologian Alberto Magno, written in Cologne between 1262 and 1280 and first time printed in Rome in 1478. - Some browning and waterstaining throughout; washed. 19th-c. ms. shelfmark to t.p.; erased collector's stamp and stamp of the German hunting collector Kurt Lindner's "Bibliotheca Tiliana" on reverse. Double-page illustration restored (a long vertical tear to the right margin, barely touching image; large tear in leaf. 7 of preliminary matter restored); remarginings to N4 and T5 (barely touching text) and to lower third of final leaf (no loss to device). (more) | |
| ¶ VD 16, F 2826. BM-STC 319. Adams F, 982. Ceresoli 243. Harting 308. Pichon 201. Nissen IVB 333. Thiébaud 431. Jeanson 1485. Lindner 643.01. Schwerdt I, 187. Souhart 197. Graesse II, 635. Ebert 7925. | |
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| Galen's treatises on diseases and symptoms: author held in highest regard by Arabs | |
| 71 | Galen. De morborum et symptomatum differentiis et causis libri sex, Gulielmo Copo Basileien si interprete. Lyons, Guillaume Rouillé (colophon: Philibert Rollet), 1550. 16mo. With woodcut publisher's device on title-page, and several woodcut head- and tailpieces and decorated woodcut initial letters. Contemporary blind- and gold-tooled calf. |
| € 1,250 | |
| Early edition of the authoritative Latin translation of Galen's treatises on the classification and causation of diseases and symptoms by Wilhelm Copp (1460-1532). The Arabs held Galen in highest regard. Hunayn ibn Ishaq's translation (ca. 830-870) of 129 of Galen's works into Arabic, in particular Galen's insistence on a rational systematic approach to medicine, set the template for Islamic medicine, which rapidly spread throughout the Arab Empire. - With the owner's inscription of "Joannem Antonium Allemand. Sedenenus" dated 1760. Some foxing and thumbing and some annotations and underscoring in text. Binding slightly rubbed, spine chipped, and lacking first endleaf. Good copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Baudrier IX, 171. Durling 1818. | |
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| Galen with comments by Francesco Valles: author's Arabic translations of his work had the greatest impact | |
| 72 | Galen/Francesco Valles (ed.). Ars medicinalis. Including: Galen. De inequali intemperie. Compluti (Alcalá de Henares), Andreas de Angulo, 1567. 8vo. With some woodcut initials. Contemporary limp vellum with ties. |
| € 2,250 | |
| Early edition of Galen's Ars medica and De inequali intemperie with comments by the Spanish physician Francesco Vallés. Galen (AD 129/130-199/200) was a prominent ancient Greek physician. "Galen was early translated in Syriac, but the Arabic translations had the greatest impact. In this regard the achievements of Hunayn ibn Ishaq and his school are especially outstanding; moreover he has also provided a survey of the Syriac and Arabic translations" (DSB). - Binding damaged (especially the spine and back cover), 1 tie lost, age-browned, some waterstaining, early ownership's entry on the title-page and last blanks. Early edition of two major works of Galen in good condition. (more) | |
| ¶ Durling 1830. Palau 350885. Not in Adams; Garrison & Morton; Norman Library. Cf. BMC-STC Spanish 83. On Galen: DSB V, 227-235. | |
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| The pilgrimage in the 18th century | |
| 73 | Galland, [Julien Claude]. Recueil des rits et cérémonies du pelerinage de la Mecque, auquel on a joint divers ecrits relatifs à la religion, aux sciences & aux moeurs des Turcs. Amsterdam & Paris, Desaint & Saillant, 1754. 8vo. IV, 215, (1) pp. (Bound with:) Fénelon, [Gabriel Jacques] de Salignac de la Mothe. Directions pour la conscience d'un Roi, composées pour l'instruction de Louis de France. La Haye, Jean Neaulme, 1748. XII, 107, (1) pp. T. p. in red and black. Contemp. French full calf, spine gilt with floral designs in 5 compartments and giltstamped label. Marbled endpapers. All edges red. |
| € 2,800 | |
| Only edition. "Galland's account of the rituals surrounding the pilgrimage to Mekkah includes enlightening description of many of the important shrines and sites within the city. Extensive footnotes describe the history and physical appearance of such features as the Kaaba, the Black Stone, and Mount Ararat, as well as explaining relevantg Arabic terms and the importance of certain religious figures in the Islamic tradition" (Atabey cat.). "Galland, 'dragoman' or interpreter in the Levant, nephew of the celebrated orientalist Antoine Galland, translated many works into French, the present work being a collected edition of five Arabic and Turkish pieces" (Blackmer). Also contains a discussion of Ottoman science (the "Traduction d'une dissertation sur les sciences des Turcs, et sur l'ordre qu'ils gardent dans le cours de leurs études" by Zaini Efendi, pp. 85-98) and an extensive essay on the Greek island of Chios, ruled by Genoa from 1436 to 1566, when the Ottomans conquered the island (pp. 99-172), as well as an account of the Sultana Esma with Yakub Pasha, governor of Silistria. - Bound at the end is a later edition of Fénelon's well-known Mirror for Magistrates, written for the Dauphin, whose instructor Fénelon was (with contemp. note indexing this second work written on reverse of front flyleaf). - Slight browning throughout; lower half of t. p. remargined by a lithogr. facsimile. Edges and corners bumped; spine-ends damaged. Altogether an attractive copy; the Atabey copy (in a contemp. morocco binding for the provost of Paris) fetched £10,158 (Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 996. Gay 3639. Atabey 470. Blackmer 643. Van Hulthem I, 2509. Grenoble 5218. Nyon 21020. OCLC 13232933. | |
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| 74 | Gay, Jean. Bibliographie des ouvrages relatifs a l'Afrique et a l'Arabie. Catalogue méthodique [...]. San Remo & Paris, J. Gay & fils / Maisonneuve & Cie., 1875. 8vo. XI, (1), 312 pp. Contemp. half calf with giltstamped title to spine. Edges sprinkled in red. |
| € 350 | |
| First edition. - No. 94 of 500 numbered copies of this standard bibliography of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. - Spine and hinges somewhat rubbed, otherwise fair. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1010. Besterman 167 & 440. | |
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| Camels & Dromedaries | |
| 75 | Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Étienne / Cuvier, Frédéric Georges. [Chameau et dromedaires]. From: 'Histoire naturelle des mammifères, avec les figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'après des animaux vivans.' Paris, , A. Belin, 1818-1842. Large folio (52.5 x 35.5 cm). 3; 4; 2 pp. Suite of 4 hand-coloured lithographed plates, after drawings by Werner and lithographed by C. de Lasteyrie, with wide margins. |
| € 4,500 | |
| Fine suite of 4 hand-coloured lithographed plates with life-like depictions of one camel and three dromedaries, originally published in 'Histoire naturelle des mammifères' by the famous French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772-1844). With descriptive text to the plates. - Edges slightly frayed, some minor browning. Very fine suite of hand coloured plates with wide margins with dromedaries and a camel. (more) | |
| ¶ BMC Natural History, p. 656. Brunet II, 1536. Nissen ZBI 1525. Wood p. 354. | |
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| 76 | Gervais-Courtellemont, [Jules]. Mon voyage a la Mecque. Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1896. 8vo. (2), 236 pp. With frontispiece, large folding panorama, and 30 text illustrations. Original illustrated wrappers. |
| € 2,000 | |
| Rare first edition. Jules Gervais-Courtellemont (1863-1931), a convert to Islam, was one of the very few Western visitors to Mecca during his time. The classic account of his pilgrimage is of special interest due to the numerous illustrations drawn after photographs by the author and documenting buildings that have survived only greatly changed or which have disapperared altogether. - An untrimmed, well-preserved copy with very slight browning. Uncommon; auction records list the 2nd edition only (published in the same year), fetching as much as £950 (Sotheby's, Oct 14, 1998, lot 740); last sold for £750 (Sotheby's, Oct 15, 2003, lot 638). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1016. OCLC 23429140. | |
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| 77 | Gervais-Courtellemont, [Jules]. Mon voyage a la Mecque. Deuxième édition. Paris, Hachette, 1896. 8vo. (2), 236 pp. With frontispiece, large folding panorama, and 30 wood-engraved text illustrations (some full-page). Contemp. green half calf with giltstamped title to spine. Marbled endpapers. |
| € 1,000 | |
| Second edition. - Jules Gervais-Courtellemont (1863-1931), a convert to Islam, was one of the few Western visitors to Mecca during his time. His classic account of his pilgrimage is of special interest for the numerous illustrations engraved after photographs by the author. Many of the buildings and sites thus documented have since changed significantly or disappeared altogether. - Foxed throughout; old library stamp on t. p. Binding rubbed and bumped; spine faded. From the library of the "Cercle Militaire d'Amiens" with their name giltstamped to lower spine-end. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1016. OCLC 490071086. | |
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| 78 | Gilles, Pierre. De Constantinopoleos topographia lib. IV. Leiden, Elzevier, 1632. 12mo. (14), 15-422, (6) pp. Wants the 2 final blanks. With engr., illustrated t. p. Contemp. vellum with faded ms. title to spine. |
| € 450 | |
| Second printing of the second edition, "plus correcte", in the year of the first printing (which is distinguished by having 428 numbered pp.). "La différence dans la pagination provient de ce que la table, qui dans la première précédait l'ouvrage, a été rejetée à la fin du volume" (Willems, p. 93). - "Among the earliest [works] to describe Constantinople and the Thracian Bosphorus, providing accurate and reliable information" (Blackmer cat., lot 135, zur EA 1561). - The engraved t. p. shows a miniature view of Constantinople with the Golden Horn. - Somewhat browned throughout due to paper; slight worming (some loss to letters). (more) | |
| ¶ Willems 367. Atabey 497. Weber II, 678. Blackmer 687. | |
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| 79 | Goeje, M[ichael] J[an] de. Mémoire sur les Carmathes du Bahrain et les Fatimides. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1886. 8vo. 1 bl. f., (6), 232 pp. Original front printed wrapper cover bound within contemp. red half morocco with marbled boards and giltstamped spine. Marbled endpapers. |
| € 2,500 | |
| Mémoires d'Histoire et de Géographie Orientales, No. 1, second edition (first published in 1862). Standard work on a mediaeval Shi'a Ismaili group, the Qarmatians of Bahrain, which at this period included much of eastern Arabia as well as the islands that comprise the present state. For much of the 10th century the Qarmatians were the most powerful force in the Persian Gulf and Middle East, controlling the coast of Oman and collecting tribute from the caliph in Baghdad. They instigated what has been termed a "century of terrorism" in Kufa: they considered the pilgrimage to Mecca a superstition and, once in control of the Bahraini state, they launched raids along the pilgrim routes crossing Arabia. In 906 they ambushed the pilgrim caravan returning from Mecca and massacred 20,000 pilgrims. The Qarmatians came close to raiding Baghdad in 927 and sacked Mecca and Medina in 930. The assault on Islam's holiest sites saw the Qarmatians desecrate the Well of Zamzam with corpses of Hajj pilgrims and take the Black Stone from Mecca to Al-Hasa. - The Dutch Arabist and Orientalist de Goeje (1836-1909) taught at the University of Leiden. He was editor of the "Encyclopaedia of Islam" and collated the Bodleian manuscripts of al-Idrisi. - A few contemp. pencil notes in the margins. With an appendix containing relevant Arabic texts. Minor rubbing to binding, but altogether a fine copy of this rare work; no copy in auction records. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1052. OCLC 4738568. | |
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| Handsomely executed work on hunting and falconry, with 39 plates | |
| 80 | [Goury de Champgrand, Charles-Jean]. Traité de venerie, et de chasses. Paris, Claude-Jean-Baptiste Herissant, 1769. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4to. With 2 title-pages and 39 numbered engraved plates by Louis Halbou (including 2 frontispieces and 1 folding plate). Further with rococo headpieces, tailpieces and other decorations, some printed from woodblocks and some built up from cast fleurons. Contemporary sprinkled, tanned sheepskin with spine label, blind and gold fillets, marbled edges, blue-green ribbon marker. |
| € 4,750 | |
| First edition, first issue, of an extensively illustrated book devoted to hunting and falconry. It is charmingly designed, with rococo decorations, probably the main reason it has been described as a "well printed book" (Schwerdt), but the plates are skillfully engraved and lightly inked so that they reveal every detail of the engraving. The first part is devoted to the hunting of a wide variety of animals including the deer, boar, hare, wolf, fox, ermine, etc., while the second includes an extensive essay on falconry. The illustrations show hunting scenes, hunting dogs, traps, the various animals hunted and details of their horns, hooves, feces, etc., and in the second part 13 plates showing birds of prey, including a Eurasian eagle-owl and several species of falcon. The folding plate shows a deer-hunting scene. The engraver is erroneously identified by some bibliographers as "Hallou". "C'est à peu près le seul ouvrage cynégétigue illustré qui est été publié en France au XVIIIe siècle…" (Souhart). The book was reissued with a new title-page in 1776. - In fine condition, with only occasional very slight foxing foxing. The binding very good, with a small tear repaired, a couple tiny worm holes and the corners bumped. (more) | |
| ¶ Cohen-de Ricci 446 (calling for 30 plates only). Schwerdt I, 214-215. Souhart, col. 224. Thiébaud, cols. 469-470. | |
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| 81 | Greely, Margaret. Arabian Exodus. London, J. A. Allen, (1990). 240 pp. Illustrated throughout. Original black cloth witzh illustrated dustjacket. |
| € 50 | |
| 4th, revised printing, first published in 1975. Standard, oft-quoted study of the dissemination of Arabian horses and their breeding throughout the world. - A perfect copy. (more) | |
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| A rare and famous book on ophthalmology and dentistry, drawing on many Greek and Arab sources | |
| 82 | Guillemeau, Jacques. Hondert en dertien gebreken en genesinge der oogen… nu vermeerdert door Mr. Johannes Verbrigge… Nevens een kleyne beschrijvinge der tanden. Amsterdam, Jan Claesz. Ten Hoorn, 1678. 8vo. With an engraved frontispiece, title-page with woodcut vignette, and 3 decorative woodcut initials from 2 series. Contemporary vellum. |
| € 1,350 | |
| The first French work on ophthalmology, drawing on many Greek and Arab sources. First published, in French, in 1585 as Traité des maladies de lóeil. Considered by Garrison & Morton to be the best of Renaissance books on ophthalmology and an epitome of existing knowledge on the subject. This is the second Dutch edition but the first to have been augmented by the well-known Dutch surgeon and ophthalmologist J. Verbrugge, misspelled on the title-page as "Verbrigge". With an engraved frontispiece depicting an ophthalmologist at work. Also with numerous recipes for ophthalmologic problems and with an interesting treatise on dentistry, commonly attributed to Guillemeau although it has also been suggested that Verbrugge might be the author. Jacques Guillemeau (ca. 1520-1613) studied under his father in law, the renowned Ambroise Paré, and became surgeon to the king of France. He was the first to describe the repair of a congenital eyelid coloboma, a full-thickness defect of the eyelid, by freshening the edges and suturing their margins. - A good copy. A rare book by a famous ophthalmologist with an early tract on dentistry. (more) | |
| ¶ Schepers, Jan Claeszoon ten Hoorn 1678-08 (University of Amsterdam, MA thesis 2006). STCN (4 copies). Wellcome 179. WorldCat. (9 copies). Cf. Adams 1564 (other edition). Garrison & Morton 5818 (first edition). Waller 3854 (other edition). | |
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| 83 | Guyard, S[tanislas]. Fragments relatifs a la doctrine des Ismaélîs. Texte publié pour la première fois avec une traduction complète et des notes. Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1874. Large 4to. (4), 252, (2) pp. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 500 | |
| Only edition; with the Arabic text and commentary. "Extrait du t. XXII, 1ère partie des "Notices des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque nationale". Binding loosened; covers damaged; front cover and preliminary matter loose. Some browning and foxing. Wide-margined copy. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 248254768. | |
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| A classic of surgical bibliography, with texts from Greek and Arabic classics | |
| 84 | Haller, Albrecht von. Bibliotheca chirurgica. Tomus I[-II]. Bern, Emanuel Haller; Basel, Johann Schweighauser, 1774-1775. 2 volumes. 4to. With 2 title-pages, each with a different woodcut vignette. 19th-century green half sheepskin. |
| € 2,500 | |
| First edition of the first great bibliography of surgery, arranged historically, the first volume with texts from the Greek and Arabic classics to 1710 and the second from 1710 to the time of publication. Von Haller (1708-1777), a Swiss physician and anatomist, was a child prodigy who delved into classical languages, mathematics, botany and many other subjects. He studied at Tübingen and Leiden and became professor of medicine, botany and anatomy at Göttingen. His present bibliography of surgery is valuable not only for its record of about 10.000 publications on the subject, but also for his introductory texts to the various sections and his comments on individual publications and authors. It was the last of his 4 great bibliographical works to be completed during his life, following the Bibliotheca botanica and Bibliotheca anatomica, and followed by the posthumous Bibliotheca medicinae practicae. The books in his own library are indicated by an asterisk. - Somewhat foxed, primarily in the first few and last few leaves of each volume, but otherwise in very good condition. Binding good. (more) | |
| ¶ Blake 195. Garrison/Morton 5789. Waller 18471. Wellcome III, 199. | |
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| 85 | Hammer[-Purgstall], Joseph von. Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches, grossentheils aus bisher unbenützten Handschriften und Archiven. Pest, C. A. Hartleben, 1827-1835. Large 8vo. 10 vols. Contemp. marbled half calf with giltstamped spine label. With 10 woodcut vignettes on half-title, 8 engr. maps, and a large plan of Constantinople (rather browned). |
| € 2,800 | |
| First edition of the author's principal publication, a standard work unsurpassed to this day. Hammer, father of Ottoman Studies and founder of modern orientalist scholarship in Austria, was one of the 10th century's greatest specialists on the Near East. Also treats the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, which were part of the Ottoman Empire since 1517. - The map belonging to vol. 7 is bound at the end of vol. 8 in error. Bindings somewhat rubbed; cpines, spine-ends and corners bumped. From the library of the Royal Prussian Hussar Guard Regiment (with their stamps, giltstamped spine labels, and giltstamped shelfmark). (more) | |
| ¶ Goedeke VII, 765, 75. ADB X, 483. | |
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| Europe's first orientalist journal | |
| 86 | [Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph Frhr. von, ed.]. Fundgruben des Orients. Bearbeitet durch eine Gesellschaft von Liebhabern. (Auf Veranstaltung des Herrn Grafen Wenceslaus Rzewusky). - Mines de l'orient. Exploitees par une societe d'amateurs. 24 issues in 6 vols. (= all published). Vienna, gedruckt bey Anton Schmid (bzw. Schaumburg), 1809-1818 (i. e., 1820). Folio. With 6 title pages each in Turkish (engraved), German, and French, 29 (instead of 30) plates (engravings and lithographs: 6 folding and one full-page illustration with text on the reverse), a 4-page facsimile on 2 plates, several engravings and woodcuts in the text and two folding tables. 2 ff., VI p., 1 f. ("Gegen-Bemerkung auf die dem vierten Hefte dieses Werkes angehängten Erklärung der Redaktion"), 1 f. (list of subscribers), 469 (but: 459; pp. 263-272 omitted in pagination), (1) p., 1 f.; 3 ff., 476 (but: 480; pp. 283-286 counted twice) pp., 1 f.; 3 ff., 384 pp., 1 f.; 3 ff., 466 pp., 6 ff. (of which 5 ff. are tables); 3 ff., 451, (1) pp., 1 f.; 2 ff., 502 pp., 1f. Modern cloth; original engraved wrappers mounted on covers (the other original wrappers bound within). |
| € 35,000 | |
| First edition of Europe's first orientalist journal. Contains contributions by various authors in German, French, Italian, Latin, Turkish, etc., such as "Über die Sternbilder der Araber, und ihre eigenen Namen für einzelne Sterne", "Arabische Volksräthsel", "Was steht von der Kritik für den Koran zu erwarten?", "Auszug eines Briefes über Corfu. Von Herrn Bartholdy an Hrn. von Hammer", "Streifzug Sultan Suleinan's des I. in die Steyermark [...]", "Ueber die Sprache und Schrift der Uiguren", "Ueber die Berbern", "Engelhardt's Besuch bei den Galga-Inguschen", "Pentateuch der Juden in Bachara", "Über die Talismane der Moslimen", "Entzifferung eines hieratischen Alphabets", "Beitrag zur Geschichte der Luftsteine", "Über die Vergleichung der muhammedanischen und christlichen Zeitrechnung", "Beitrag zur Geschichte der orientalischen Musik", "Über die Oasen der libyschen Wüste", "Hebräische Inschrift in der Burg zu Grätz", "Urkunde über die Abkunft eines arabischen Pferdes", "Inschriften türkischer und persischer Klingen", "Descrizione della Macedonia", "Gerichte in China", etc. - "Highly original, also in its exterior, is Hammer's richly illustrated journal published between 1809 and 1819 in six folio volumes (each volume in four issues, each with splendid engraved wrappers) 'Fundgruben des Orients'. Complete series of this journal have been sought by many a collector for years without success" (cf. Rabenlechner). - "With his journal 'Fundgruben des Orients' (6 vols., 1809-18) and his imitatory poems, Hammer unlocked mediaeval oriental literature for the West and thus also inspired Goethe's 'West-Eastern Divan'" (ÖL). - Very occasional duststaining (stronger in a few ff. and plates), brownstaining and waterstaining; a few slight edge defects. Slight defect to one plate (no loss to image), another plate bound rather closely at inner margin. Quire 43 (pp. 169-172) of vol. 1 bound twice; 2 ff. of vol. 5 trimmed. The missing engraving (vol. 5, issue 3: "Aus Mumiengemälden des k.k. Antiken-Kabinetts") is supplied in a facsimile copy. - Altogether a fine, untrimmed copy on superior paper (bluish in the last volume). Extremely rare; no complete copy in German or international auction records of the past decades. (more) | |
| ¶ Goedeke VII, 751, 20 (with complete list of contents). Rabenlechner 121. Wilpert/G. 11. Fück 159-164. Durstmüller II, 220 (with ill. of title page of vol. 1). Kosch VII, 242. Giebisch/G. 136. ÖBL II, 166f. Ebert 8015. Graesse II, 647. | |
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| 87 | Harrison, Paul W. The Arab at Home. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1924. 8vo. XII, 345, (1) pp. With frontispiece, folding map and 37 plates. Original giltstamped green cloth. |
| € 500 | |
| First edition, first printing. This work, dedicated to Abdul Aziz bin Saud, one of the author's "best friends", catered to a Western public eager to learn about the Arab people and about Ibn Saud, whose military success against the Al-Rashidi and consolidation of control over the Nejd had brought him to international awareness. The following year, he would conquer the Hejaz. - Ex-library copy, rubbed and bumped, with edge defects to several plates and some damage to back cover; some brownstaining; lending card tucked into envelope on back pastedown. Ms. church library ownership to half-title. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1134 (cites a 1923 London edition in error). | |
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| 88 | Harrison, Paul W. The Arab at Home. London, Hutchinson & Co., [1924]. 8vo. XII, 345, (1) pp. With frontispiece, folding map and 37 plates. Original giltstamped blue cloth. |
| € 800 | |
| First British edition, printed in the U.S.A. This work, dedicated to Abdul Aziz bin Saud, one of the author's "best friends", catered to a Western public eager to learn about the Arab people and about Ibn Saud, whose military success against the Al-Rashidi and consolidation of control over the Nejd had brought him to international awareness. The following year, he would conquer the Hejaz. - Foxing and brownstaining to interior. Rear hinge split. Removed from the Times Book Club, London, with their inconspicuous bookplate on rear pastedown and contemp. accession stamp (2 July 1926). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1134 (cites a 1923 London edition in error). | |
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| Unpublished account of a journey in Turkey and Persia in the years 1699 and 1700 | |
| 89 | Harrsch, Ferdinand Amadeus Gf., Imperial General (1661-1722). Les Memoires du General Comte de Harrsch, Seigneur de Ste. Marguerite aux marets etc., Conseiller Aulique de Guerre, General del'Artillerie, et Commandant en Chef pour Sa Majesté Imp.le et Cathol.e a Fribourg en Brisgau. Escrits depuis sa naissance, iusqu'en 1713. [Donnés Gratis pr. estre imprimés en 1720]. Prob. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1720. Corrected manuscript in a scribal hand. Title page, 800 numbered pages, (56) pp. of index. Contemporary calf on five raised bands; spine sparingly gilt with giltstamped label; blindstamped cover fillets and fleuronnée stamps to corners. All edges sprinkled in red. Folio (230 x 325 mm). |
| € 85,000 | |
| Important, long-lost and unpublished manuscript memoir of the Imperial General Ferdinand Count Harrsch, containing accounts not only of his numerous campaigns in the Great Turkish War in Hungary and Greece as well as in the Wars of the Palatine and Spanish Succession, but also - most significantly - of his year-long travels in the Middle East. After having volunteered in the 1686 campaign against the Turks, suffering two severe wounds at the Siege of Negroponte (Euboea) in 1688, and fighting for Baden and Wuerttemberg against France in the Heidelberg area in the 1690s, Harrsch in 1699 undertook what he calls a "tour du monde" through Persia and the Ottoman Empire. Travelling via Malta, Cyprus, Syria, Aleppo, and Erzurum, he reached Yerevan and then Isfahan, where he stayed for half a year. In May 1700 he continued his journey to Tabriz and Trabzon, then by ship on to Constantinople. After several weeks on the Bosporus, Harrsch attached himself to the delegation of Count Oettingen, come to the Turkish capital for border negotiations following the Treaty of Karlowitz. They reached Vienna in early 1701 after a three-month return via the Balkans. His account, comprising more than two hundred pages (pp. 322-544), is a rare example of a 17th-century travel report of Turkey and especially Persia, most of which was not to be described in any detail until several decades later. Harrsch's narrative shows the Middle East as seen by a Western officer; uniquely, he describes not only topography, people, customs, and culture, but also pays careful attention to military aspects. An extensive index at the end references all places, persons and subjects discussed in the book ("Alcoran des Turcs" p. 352; "Arabe langue des Savants" p. 360; "Arabes Bedouins er leur vie" p. 332; "Julfa la vieille ville" pp. 378, 379, 471, "Mosquées fameuses de Constantinople" p. 486ff.; "Prieres des Turcs" p. 354, etc.). - After his return to the West, Harrsch fought in various theatres of the War of Spanish Succession: famously, he was compelled to hand over Freiburg to the French, but was created Reichsgraf in recognition of his merits. As a principal actor during the 18th century's last great European war, Harrsch was included in all the important reference works of the time (Zedler, Iselin, etc.), and all these biographies draw at least indirectly upon the present manuscript, which was last available to the editors of Moréri's "Grand Dictionnaire Historique". Although the manuscript is contemporary and contains corrections and probably final revisions, it is not in Harrsch's own hand; indeed, the General would seem to have had a distaste for paperwork, as very few autographs are extant and even his reports of the Siege of Freiburg are written by a scribe. Apparently Harrsch had planned to publish his memoirs but then changed his mind: the note "donnés gratis pr. estre imprimés en 1720" on the title page has been struck out. In spite of their having been considered lost as early as the 19th century, these memoirs always remained the principal source for Harrsch's biography, and their rediscovery in the 21st century opens the door to a new evaluation of his talents not only as a commanding officer but also as a travel writer visiting the Middle East at a critical time. (more) | |
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| Natural historical travels in the Middle East with a description of the caravans going to Mecca | |
| 90 | Hasselquist, Fredrik. Iter Palaestinum eller Resa til Heliga Landet, förrättad ifrån År 1749 til 1752, med Beskrifningar, Rön, Anmärkningar, öfver de märvärdigaste Naturalier, på Hennes Kongl. Maj:ts Befallning, Utgifven af Carl Linnaeus. Stockholm, Lars Salvii, 1757. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. With title-page, 1 part-title and woodcut decorations. Contemporary tanned half sheepskin. |
| € 700 | |
| First edition of an important contribution to Middle Eastern natural history and an interesting travelogue "which for its originality as well as accuracy, and variety of information, must always rank high among books of travel" (Pulteney). The book opens with a biographical preface by Linnaeus ("so admirable a travel journal has never before appeared"), followed by an account of Hasselquist's journey to the Middle East, first from Smyrna to Cairo, with a description of the caravans going to Mecca, then to the Holy Land, where he visited Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem, etc. Heading home he travelled to Cyprus, Rhodes and back to Smyrna, where he died in 1752 at the age of 30. The main text is in Swedish, but part two, with its own part-title (Descriptiones Rerum Naturalium Praestantiorum confectae in itinere orientali, imprimis per Aegyptum & Palaestinam ) is primarily in Latin and provides almost 400 pages of descriptions of flora and fauna in Egypt and Palestine, including sections on natural history, birds, animals, plants, geology, fish, a large section on "materia medica" and another on the commerce of the area. The last part contains Hasselquist's letters to Linnaeus. - Hasselquist was one of Linnaeus's most promising pupils. After his untimely death the manuscript and a rich collection of specimens were ultimately bought by Queen Luisa of Sweden and handed over to Linnaeus, who saw the book through the press. Within 15 years of its original publication in Swedish it had been translated into German, French, English and Dutch. A very good copy, with only a marginal inkstain on pp. 1-65, not approaching the text. Binding rubbed. First edition of an important travel account making original contributions to natural history. (more) | |
| ¶ BMC NH, 798. Cox I, 230. Hulth, 105-106. Krok, Bibl. Bot. Suec., 273. Stafleu, Linnaeus, 149. Stafleu/Cowan 2459. Cf. Atabey 564. Blackmer 792. Wood 380 (later eds.). Not in Bring, Itineraria Suecana. | |
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| Eyewitness account of Persia and other countries | |
| 91 | Herbert, Thomas. Some yeares travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique. Describing especially the two famous empires, the Persian and the great Mogull: [...] As also, many rich and spatious kingdomes in the orientall India, and other parts of Asia; together with the adjacent iles [...]. With a revivall of the first discoverer of America. Revised and enlarged by the author. London, Richard Bishop for Jacob Blome and Richard Bishop, 1638. Folio. (8), 364, (but: 362), (14) pp. With engr. title-page, letterpress title-page with woodcut device, 46 engraved illustrations, woodcut head- and endpieces, woodcut initials. Contemp. calf, gilt-tooled spine re-backed; new endpapers. |
| € 4,500 | |
| Rare revised and enlarged second English edition of Herbert's account of his voyage (1627-29) to Persia by way of the Cape, Madagascar and Surat (India). On his way back he visited North America. Herbert begins his account of America (pp. 355-364) with its supposed discovery in 1170 by Madoc, son of Owen Gwyneth, Prince of Wales, and attempts to defend this claim with linguistic and cultural evidence. ''The quaint and curious notes on the travels make the volume one of the most interesting and attractive of the earlier and more primitive accounts'' (South African Bibliography). The illustrations include maps of Madagascar and the southeastern coast of Africa, the Persian empire, India, and Southeast Asia, views of the Persian Gulf, Tenerife, St. Helena, natives of Angola, the Cape, Persia and depictions of a coconut tree, a shark fish, a penguin and a dodo. - Thomas Herbert (1606-82) travelled with Dodmore Cotton, the new English ambassador to Persia (who died before Herbert's return). He first published his account in English in 1634, and it was translated into Dutch (by Lambert van den Bos) in 1658 and into French in 1663. Jonathan Swift attacked its "impertinences, conceitedness, and tedious digressions" and called the author a coxcomb (South African Bibliography). - Some marginal waterstains and soiling. A good copy of this account which is still important for its early eyewitness descriptions, especially of Persia, India and Africa. (more) | |
| ¶ Diba 225. Gay, Bibl. de l'Afrique et l'Arabe 62. Sabin 31471. South African Bibliography II, 705-06. Cf. JCB II, p. 251. | |
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| One of the landmarks in Arabic studies | |
| 92 | Herbelot, [Barthélemi]. Bibliotheque orientale, ou dictionnaire universel, contenant généralement tout ce qui regarde la connoissance des peuples de l'Orient. Paris, Compagnie des libraires, 1697. Folio (262 x 400 mm). (32), 1059 [but: 1057], (1) pp. T. p. printed in red and black. Contemp. calf on six raised bands with giltstamped label to richly gilt spine (rubbed). |
| € 1,500 | |
| First edition of this copious, variously reprinted dictionary about the culture and history of the Near East. "One of the landmarks in Arabic studies" (Hamilton 36). Continued by A. Galand after the death of Herbelot. - Somewhat brownstained; slight worming in lower margin near beginning. From the library of Ditton Park in Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire), owned by Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (1638-1709), with engr. bookplate on front pastedown. (more) | |
| ¶ Atabey 572. Hoefer XXIV, 283. Zischka 15. Fück 98. | |
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| 93 | Hill, Richard. Slatin Pasha. London, Oxford University Press, 1965. 8vo. VII, (5), 163 pp. With frontispiece, map, and 8 photo illustrations on plates. Original orange cloth with giltstamped spine title. Illustrated dustjacket. |
| € 250 | |
| Scholarly Life of the Anglo-Austrian soldier and Sudan administrator Sir Rudolf Carl Baron Slatin (1857-1932), known as "Slatin Pasha" or "Abd al Qadir". - A fine copy with Slatin Pasha's autograph signature and four closing lines of a letter, mounted on front flyleaf. (more) | |
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| 94 | Hoffmann, Christian (praes.) / Melchin, Johannes (resp.). Diatribe exoterica de pollincturae antiquitate, ex Arabum potissimum monimentis illustrata. [Jena], Johann Jakob Bauhöfer, 1669. 4to. (28) pp. Disbound. |
| € 450 | |
| Curious Jena dissertation, based on Arabic sources, about the ritual washing of corpses (ablution, "ghusl al-mayyit") to achieve the state of purity, or "Taharah". Also treats embalming and mummification (with reference to mummies in the Chilean andres and the burial practices of the Native Americans of Virginia). Several passages in Greek, some in Hebrew and Arabic. Dedicated to the Councils and Aldermen of both Riga Guilds. After completing his studies at Jena in 1671, Johann Melchin from Riga became pastor in Sissegall, Livonia, in 1683 (cf. Recke/Napiersky). - Duplicate from the Gotha Library with 19th-c. ms. note on t. p. Some browning. (more) | |
| ¶ VD 17, 12:139017T. Recke/Napiersky, Allg. Schriftsteller- u. Gelehrten-Lexikon der Prov. Livland, Estland u. Kurland III, 188. | |
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| A ground-breaking account of Islam | |
| 95 | Hottinger, Johann Heinrich. Historia orientalis quae ex variis orientalium monumentis collecta, agit de Muhammedismo, de Saracenismo, de Chaldaismo, de statu Christianorum & Judaeorum tempore orti & nati Muhammedismi. Editio posterior. Zurich, Johann Jakob Bodmer, 1660. 4to. (20), 600, (24) pp. Text in Latin, Hebrew and Arabic. Modern half calf. |
| € 4,500 | |
| Second edition, expanded by several long sections in the original languages. "One of the most significant contributions to the history of Islam to have been published in the seventeenth century" (Loop) and "a groundbreaking account of the history and basic tenets of Islam which relied almost entirely on authentic Islamic sources" (ibid). Principal work of the theologian Hottinger (1620-67), a founder of oriental linguistics. Includes extensive chapters on the Prophet's genealogy, the main doctrines and the religious context of Islam, as well as many lengthy quotations in Arabic. While preparing the Historia Orientalis, Hottinger had to cope with several drawbacks, the most important being the lack of Arabic printing types. In the first edition of 1651 he had solved this problem by transliterating the Arabic quotations into Hebrew and using Hebrew letters with 'niqquds' to cover the Arabic alphabet. In the 1650s, however, the Swiss printers Johann Jakob and Heinrich Bodmer had started the casting of Arabic, Syriac and Samaritan types in their own foundry, and the present second edition of the Historia could be printed with Arabic types. Hottinger presents the entire body of knowledge about Islamic history and religion available at the time. He revised the first edition, published in 1651, during his stay in Heidelberg in 1655, where he had been summoned by the Elector Palatine. - Some browning, otherwise a fine copy. (more) | |
| ¶ VD 17, 23:000384N. Fürst I, 414. Durstmüller 147. Fück 91f. Brunet III, 347. Cf. Loop, "Johann Heinrich Hottinger (1620-1667) and the 'Historia Orientalis'", in: CHRC 88/2 (2008), 169-203. Not in Smitskamp. | |
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| 96 | Huntington, Randolph. History in brief of "Leopard" and "Linden," General Grant's Arabian stallions, presented to him by the Sultan of Turkey in 1879. Also their sons "General Beale," "Hegira," and "Islam," bred by Randolph Huntington. Also reference to the celebrated stallion "Henry Clay". [Philadelphia, PA], J. B. Lippincott Co. for the author, 1885. Large 4to. 66 pp. With 5 plates. Original giltstamped green cloth. All edges gilt. |
| € 2,000 | |
| First edition of this wonderful contemporary account of the Arabian stallions presented to General Grant in 1879 by the Sultan of Turkey; "Leopard" went on to achieve eternal fame as the first Arabian stallion to be registered in the stud book of the Arabian Horse Club of America. - During Grant's 1878 state visit to Constantinople, Sultan Abdul Hamid II personally escorted the General through the royal stables, and noting his fondness for horses, presented Grant with two stallions to be shipped back to the United States. The horses fell under the care of the breeder Randolph Huntington, who attempted to derive a new American breed from the Arabians using the old breeders' rule of "out-cross once and breed back by three closely related sources." - Huntington prepared the text of the present work as well as commissioning portraits of the stallions, and dedicated the book the the recently-deceased "General U. S. Grant, and his love for horses." - Several pages loose; severe edge defects; some tears. (more) | |
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| 97 | [Husayn ibn `Ali, King of Hejaz]. The King of Hedjaz and Arab Independence. With a Facsimile of the Proclamation of June 27, 1916. Together with the Proclamation issued at Baghdad by Lieut.-General Sir Stanley Maude, after the occupation of that city by the British Forces. London, Hayman, Christy & Lilly, Ltd., 1917. 8vo. 14, (2) pp. With portrait frontispiece and folding Arabic facsimile. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 1,500 | |
| Rare British pamphlet advertising the independence of Hejaz from Ottoman rule, following the Arab Revolt in which T. E. Lawrence had played so vital a role. Husayn strove for acknowledgement as "King of Arabia", though the powers would recognize him only as King of Hejaz. In 1924 Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud conquered Hejaz and proclaimed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia six years later. - Contemp. stamps of the "State Normal School, Los Angeles, California" ("with the compliments of the Over-Seas Club, Aldwych, London") on wrapper cover; interior clean. Rare, last copy in auction sold in 1999 (Sotheby's, Oct 14, 1999, lot 439, £800). (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 3949330. | |
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| 98 | Ibn Abi Zar' al-Fasi, Ali ibn Abd Allah / Tornberg, Carl Johann (ed.). Primordia dominationis murabitorum e libro arabico vulgo Kartâs inscripto, auctore Abu-L-Hhassano ibn Abi Zera', collatis codicius Bodleianis, Leidensi, Parisinis et Upsaliensi [...]. Uppsala, excudebant Reg. Acad. typographi, 1839. Large 4to. (2), 111, (1) pp. With 2 folding tables. Attractive contemporary red boards with gilt-stamped cover borders and title to spine. All edges gilt. |
| € 850 | |
| Second edition (first published in 1832). Part of the popular and influential mediaeval chronicle of Morocco, "Kitab al-Anis al-Mutrib bi-Rawd al-Qirtas fi Akbar Muluk al-Maghrib wa-taj ay Tarich madinat Fas" ("The Entertaining Companion Book in the Garden of Pages from the Chronicle of the Kings of Morocco and the History of the City of Fes"), usually referred to as "Rawd al-Qirtas" (Garden of Pages). The work, containing numerous references to the Spanish and Algerian parts of the Moroccan empire, is said to have been commissioned by the Marinid Sultan Abu Said Uthman II; the author is commonly stated as the scholar Ali ibn Abdallah Ibn-Abi-Zar al-Fasi (d. c. 1320/40?) from Fes. - A part-translation (in German) was already published in Zagreb in 1794-97. This present fragmentary edition, separately published from the Proceedings of the Uppsala Academy of Sciences, was prepared by Carl Johann Tornberg (1807-77), de Sacy's student and the first Swedish Arabist proper (cf. Fück 199). In 1843-46 he issued his first complete edition of the text, which long remained the only one to meet modern editorial standards: "A critical version of the Arabic text, utilizing all the manuscript versions then available, was published by Tornberg [...], and this is generally used as a basis for modern Arabic versions. Tornberg also gave a Latin translation. A French translation was published in 1860 by Beaumier but is based on fewer manuscripts and is considered faulty by modern standards" (Wikipedia). - Foxed throughout; edges slightly bumped. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 40551900. Not in Brunet or Graesse. | |
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| 99 | Ibn Hawqal / Ouseley, William. [Kitab Masalik wa-mamalik tasnif ibn Hawqal]. The Oriental Geography of Ebn Haukal, an Arabian Traveller of the Tenth Century. Translated from a Manuscript in his own Possession [...] by Sir William Ousely, Knt. LL.D. London, Oriental Press, Wilson & Co., for T. Cadell, jun., and W. Davies, 1800. Large 4to. (4), XXXVI, 327, (1) pp. With 1 folding engr. map. Modern marbled half calf with giltstamped red spine label. All edges marbled. |
| € 4,500 | |
| First printed edition of Ibn Hawqal's famous Mediaeval geography "Surat al-'Ard" ("The face of the Earth"), translated by the Oriental scholar William Ouseley (1769-1842), with parallel titles in English and Arabic. - Clearly more than a mere editor, Ibn Hawqal was a traveler who spent much of his time writing about the areas and things he had seen. He spent the last thirty years of his life traveling to remote parts of Asia and Africa. One of his travels brought him 20 degrees south of the equator along the East African coast. One of the things he noticed was that there were large numbers of people living in areas that the Greeks said must be uninhabitable. His accurate descriptions were very helpful to travelers. The book includes descriptions of Muslim-held Spain, as well as mentions of Yemen, Oman, and Bahrein. - Front cover of contemporary marbled wrapper bound within (old pencil notes on verso). Slight paper defects to title and final page restored. Rare. (less) | |
| ¶ OCLC 83518086. | |
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| 100 | Ibn Janah, Abu al Walid Marwan / Derenbourg, Joseph & Hartwig (eds.). Opuscules et traités d'Abou'l-Walid Merwan Ibn Djanah de Cordoue. Texte arabe publié avec une traduction française par Joseph Derenbourg et Hartwig Derenbourg. Paris, Imprimierie Nationale, 1880. Large 8vo. CXXIV, 400 pp. With a double-page heliogravure facsimile plate. Marbled half cloth. |
| € 650 | |
| Rare original edition (reprinted in 1969) of the works of Jonah ibn Janah from Cordoba, known as Abu al-Wali-d Marwan ibn Janah, (c. 990-1050), a mediaeval Hebrew grammarian and lexicographer. His philological works, written in Arabic, were quoted by Kimchi and Maimonides; they exercised the greatest influence on Judaic exegesis and form the basis of many modern interpretations. - Several underlinings in pencil. A good copy. (more) | |
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| An influential Arabic philosophical novel | |
| 101 | Ibn Tufail/Reland, Adriaan (ed.). Het wonderlyk en zeldzaam levensgeval van Hai Ebn Jokdan, waar in getoont wort, hoe imant buiten eenig ommegang met menschen, ofte onderwysinge kan komen tot de kennisse van zich zelven en van God. Zynde desen druk met de Arabische grondtext vergeleken door den heer Adriaan Reland. Utrecht, Hendrik Schouten, 1721. 8vo. With engraved title, 5 engraved plates. Contemporary vellum. |
| € 3,250 | |
| A rare Dutch edition of Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, an Arabic philosophical novel by the 12th-century Moorish philosopher Ibn Tufail. It relates the story of a child suckled by a goat (or a gazelle in some versions) and living on a desert island. The autodidactic child discovers truth through a process of reasoned inquiry, and as a young man he comes into contact with civilization and determines that imagery and material goods distract from the truth. The novel had a profound influence on Arabic, Persian and European literature, and the epistemological thoughts expressed in it can be found in the works of several important Western philosophers, including Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Immanuel Kant. There are, moreover, some interesting similarities between Ibn Tufail's novel and Defoe's famous Robinson Crusoe. - The present edition is a reissue, with a new title-page (but with the same frontispiece), of the edition published in 1701 as De natuurlyke wysgeer, of het leven van Hai Ebn Jokdan. It was translated from a Latin version, and edited by the great orientalist Adriaan Reland, who compared the text with the Arabic original. The first Dutch edition was published in 1672. (more) | |
| ¶ Buisman 5. STCN (2 copies). Cf. Faussett, Strange Surprizing Sources, 47-49. | |
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| 102 | Ikbal Ali Shah, Sirdar. Westward to Mecca. A Journey of Adventure through Afghanistan, Bolshevik Asia, Persia, Iraq & Hijaz to the Cradle of Islam. London, Witherby, 1928. Large 8vo. 224 pp. With tissue-guarded frontispiece and 12 reproduced photographs on 11 plates. Bound in contemporary black boards with cloth spine, gilt titles to spine. Pages and plates clean and crisp but small library stamps lightly embossed into margins of plates, sometimes encroaching on images. |
| € 950 | |
| Very scarce (not seen at auction) account of the author's Hajj to Mecca via a westward route from Afghanistan and India. Traversing the fragile political divisions of Central Asia in the 1920s, Ikbal Ali Shah finally arrives in Mecca satisfied that "if the faithful takes the longest route he has a higher spiritual reward". After numerous travails in Afghanistan, Bukhara and Samarkand, the author finally reaches the relative comfort of Iraq, where he notes the "news of the find of an 'oil-well' with enormous capacity" and gives an unexpected but interesting historical sketch of oil exploration in Mesopotamia. The final chapter, "Mecca at Last", provides early photos of the 'Shrine of the Black Stone' and the 'Kaba' along with a memorable account of thousands of exhausted pilgrims finally reaching their destination. By some privilege Ikbar Ali Shah was also granted an audience with His Majesty Ibn Saud, whom he describes as the "Napoleon of Arabia". (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1272. Wilson 106. | |
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| 103 | Irwin, Eyles. A Series of Adventures in the Course of a Voyage up the Red-Sea, on the Coasts of Arabia and Egypt. The third edition. London, J. Dodsley, 1787. 8vo. 2 vols. in one. XVI, 387, (1) pp. (2), 401, (1) pp. With 9 engr. plates, maps and plans (some folding). Modern library cloth with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 1,800 | |
| Third edition (first published in 1780). The East India Company servant Eyles Irwin, born in Calcutta in 1751, was appointed to survey the Black Town in 1771 and "was made superintendent of the lands belonging to Madras [...] In 1776 he became caught up in the political storm that overtook the governor of Madras, George Pigot, who was placed in confinement by members of his own council. Irwin supported Pigot, and in August he was suspended from the company's service. Early in 1777 he left India in order to seek redress in England. Irwin later published an account of his journey home, which was entitled 'A series of adventures [...]'. In this he displayed his classical education and described his experiences and observations during the journey, which lasted eleven months [...] Irwin returned to India in 1780 as a senior merchant and his route was again overland, but this time via Aleppo, Baghdad, and the Persian Gulf" (ODNB). The author recounts his imprisonment in Yanbu, Arabia, and further voyage to Jeddah, as well as his adventures in Egypt, his journeys through the Peloponnese and Balkans as well as Persia. He includes an "Ode to the Persian Gulf", which extols the beauties of Bahrain. - In 1802, Irwin produced a musical play, "The Bedouins, or Arabs of the Desert: a Comic Opera in Three Acts (1802), which played in Dublin for three nights. - Somewhat browned but altogether well-preserved. (more) | |
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| 104 | Jacob, Harold [Fenton]. Perfumes of Araby. Silhouettes of Al Yemen. London, Martin Secker, [1915]. Large 8vo. 263, (1) pp. With photoengr. frontispiece. Uncut. Publisher's beige cloth stamped in gilt and white; top edge stained blue. |
| € 1,500 | |
| First edition. - Rare account of Yemen by Indian Army Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Fenton Jacob, Political Agent in Aden. - From the library of M(urray) A(lexander) M(ungo) Graham (1924-2008) with his ownership stamp (dated 3 Nov. 1965) on front pastedown. Graham, a Rhodesian-born chemical engineer for BP in Yemen, enjoyed great respect as an amateur historian of the military, naval and postal history of British Aden. - Covers very slightly soiled; corners insignificantly bumped. Minor foxing and brownstaining to first and final pages, endpapers and tissue guard toned. A good copy. The Peter Hopkirk copy, in comparable condition, fetched £805 at Sotheby's 1998 sale. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1301. OCLC 5142318. | |
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| A Swede in Sinai | |
| 105 | Jägerskiöld, Leonard Axel. Private album of 43 original photographs taken by the Swedish naturalist during his expedition to the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt/Uppsala, 1901. 43 gelatin silver prints (vintage) on 45 leaves of stiff cardboard on cloth hinges. Tissue guards. Various formats, mostly 78 x 110 mm. Contemp. calf with giltstamped cover title "Sinai 1901" and monogram "L. A. J-d.". Moirée endpapers with floral designs. Oblong 8vo. Includes: L. A. Jägerskiöld, Fran Sudan och Sinai. Skildringar ur en vandrande naturforskares dagbok. Stockholm, Norstedt, 1903. 8vo. 312 pp. With 130 text illustrations (a few of which are reproductions after prints in the album). Contemp. vellum with giltstamped red spine label. Top edge gilt; original printed wrappers bound within. |
| € 3,500 | |
| Charming photo collection of landscapes and views, market scenes, camps and groups of people, buildings, interiors, portraits of Bedouins, a steam locomotive, etc. The Swedish professor of zoology Leonard Jägerskiöld (1867-1945), director of the Göteborg Natural History Museum, undertook an expedition to Egypt, Sinai and the Sudan in 1900/01. He published an account of his journey in 1903; Jägerskiöld's personal copy of that work (in a luxury binding with his bookplate on the pastedown) is included with the collection, as are three autograph picture postcards signed to his (remarried) mother, Baronesse de Ramsey, from Aswan, Cairo, and Suez (all dated 1901). - Occasional haziness to images, but mostly in rich, crisp contrast with broad toanl values. Well-preserved. (more) | |
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| With 61 miniatures, signed and dated | |
| 106 | Jami, Nurad-din 'Abd ar-Rahman. Yusof-o Zoleiha. Kashmir, 1182 (= 1793/94). 12mo (133 x 90 mm). 532 pp., 1 bl. f. Persian ms. by Muhammed Aslam with splendid title ornament and 61 miniatures. Illuminated calligraphical manuscript, 2 cols., 9 lines, black Nasta'liq script on browned varnished oriental paper. Written space ruled in blue, red, and gold, sprinkled in gilt; chapter separators decorated with flowers and ornaments, verse headings in red ink with sparse decoration. 20th-c. red calf. |
| € 35,000 | |
| Jami's (1414-92) famous romantic verse epic about "Joseph and Suleika" in rhyming half verses (Matnawi) was composed in 1483. Based on the 12th sura, the poem explores the relationship of Joseph and the wife of his lord, Potiphar. - Remarkable ms. with meticulously crafted miniatures and beautiful, finely ornamented calligraphy. Occasional dampstaining, 3 ff. show small defects restored with Japanese paper. Loss to one corner; another corner restored; slight loss to final page. Occasional smudging and fingerstaining. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. E. G. Browne, A Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the University of Cambridge, p. 118 (another ms. by the same scribe, written the same year). | |
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| 107 | Jarric, Pierre du, SJ. Thesaurus rerum Indicarum, in quo Christianae ac catholicae religionis tam in India orientali quam aliis regionib[us] Lusitanorum opera nuper detectis [...]. Tomus II (-III). Cologne, Peter Henning, 1615. 8vo. 2 vols. (instead of 4). Vol. 2: (14), 808, (24) pp. With engr. t. p. Vol. 3: 621, (19) pp. With engr. t. p. (Bound with vol. 2) II: Becanus (Van der Beeck), Martin, SJ. De iudice controversiarum [...]. 172 pp., 2 final blank ff. Mainz, Johannes Albin, 1616. (And) III: The same. Libellus de invocatione sanctorum. Ibid., 1616. 172 pp. Contemp. vellum with ms. title to spine; remains of ties. |
| € 3,500 | |
| Volumes 2 and 3 (part 2) of the first Latin edition of du Jarric's "Histoire des choses plus mémorables advenues tant és Indes Orientales qu'autres païs de la descouverte des Portugais" (first printed in 1608-14). The present set comprises the highly desirable volumes about Brazil, Hormuz in the Arabian Gulf, the Turkish Wars of the Portuguese and their settlements in India; also about Ethiopia, Congo, Angola, etc. "Contains a full account of the Jesuit mission to Brazil, St. Thomas, etc., with chronographical and historical descriptions of those countries" (Sabin). Du Jarric (1566-1617) vainly wished to join the missionaries of his order. Instead, he dedicated himself to writing on their behalf. His work gives a comprehensive picture of the missionary enterprises of the Jesuits up to 1612, chiefly within the sphere of Portuguese interests. It contains much valuable data on colonial history, geography, and ethnography. - Bond at the end of Vol. 2 are two rare controversial works by the Brabant Jesuit Martin Becanus (Verbeeck or Van der Beeck, c. 1561-1624), confessor to Emperor Ferdinand II. "He was one of the most fanatical champions of the return to Roman Catholicism" (Faber du Faur 944). - Some browning; index of vol. 3 misbound, otherwise very well preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ I: Sabin 35791. VD 17, 1:673928D und 7:682518Z. De Backer/Sommervogel IV, 752. Borba de Moraes 359f. ("1595" in error for "1615"). Vgl. Bosch (Brasilien) I, Nr. 47. - II: VD 17, 12:107997A. De Backer/S. I, 1104, 44. - III: VD 17, 23:241132U. De Backer/S. I, 1104, 43. | |
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| With views of Mecca and Medina | |
| 108 | Jazuli, Muhammad ibn Sulayman. Kitab Dalail al-khayrat wa-shawariq al-anwar fi dhikr al-salah 'alá al-nabi al-mukhtar ("Guide to Goodness"). [Probably Balkans], 1181 AH / 1767-68 CE. 8vo (114:168 mm). Arabic manuscript (black and red ink) on paper. 83 folios of text and 4 folios of notes. 11 lines; margins ruled in gold. With a large ornamental headpiece and 2 full-page illustrations in green, blue, orange, pink, brown, purple, red, and gold. Dated 1118 AH (1767-68 CE) at the end. Contemporary black and brown calf binding with flap and gilt-stamped central medaillons. |
| € 2,500 | |
| Arabic book of prayers in the mystical tradition, by Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli (d. 1465). With a theological introduction on the name of the Prophet Muhammad and a table of 168 names of the Prophet as well as two pretty views of Mecca and Medina. - Several contemporary marginalia in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish, one of the latter dated Skopje, 1191 (= 1778 CE). Front pastedown with small label bearing a Swedish note of acquisition from a Constantinople bazar (dated 1927). (more) | |
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| 109 | Kara Çelebi-zade Abdülaziz Efendi. Ravzatü'l-ebrar. Bulaq [near Cairo], H 1248 (= 1832 CE). Folio. 6 pp., 1 bl. f., 637, (1) pp. Contemp. calf binding with fore-edge flap, blindstamped cover ornament and cloth spine. |
| € 850 | |
| Islamic chronicle. Binding split after preliminary matter; a few pages show strong tears or significant wrinkling. (more) | |
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| 110 | Keane, J[ohn] F[ryer]. Six Months in Meccah: an account of the Mohammedan pilgrimage to Meccah. London, (Charles Dickens & Evands for) Tinsley Brothers, 1881. 8vo. (10), 212 pp. Original illustrated cloth. |
| € 650 | |
| First edition of this report of the Hajj performed by J. F. Keane (or, Hajj Mohammed Amin) during the pilgrim season of 1877/78 - one of the several 19th-century pilgrimages to Mecca performed by Westerners of which we have written accounts. - Ms. ownership of Benson Murray, NYC, on front pastedown. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 2698374. | |
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| 111 | Keith, Claude Hilbon. Flying Years: A British Airman's Overseas Tour. With many illustrations and maps. London, Hamilton, [1937]. 8vo. XII, 315 pp. With frontispiece, 11 reproduced photographs, and 6 maps of Middle Eastern regions (5 folding). In original pictorial dustjacket in good condition, protected in glassine sleeve. |
| € 450 | |
| Interesting account of a pilot's experience of the Arabian Gulf and Middle East from 1926-30, embellished with photographs and sketch maps. Chapter V focuses on the Arabian Gulf in particular, where the author visited Ras-al Khaimah, Umm-al-Quaim, Abu Dhabi, Dohar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Scarce in original green-and-black pictorial dustjacket. (more) | |
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| 112 | Khan, [Gazanfar Ali]. With the Pilgrims to Mecca. The Great Pilgrimage of A.H. 1319; A.D. 1902 by Hadji Khan, M.R.A.S. (Special Correspondent of the "Morning Post") and Wilfrid Sparroy (Author of "Persian Children of the Royal Family"") with an introduction by Professor A. Vambéry. London, John Lane, 1905. 8vo. 314 pp. T. p. printed in red and black. With frontispiece and 24 photo illustrations on plates. Publisher's original giltstamped and illustrated green cloth. Top edge gilt. |
| € 3,500 | |
| First book edition of this account of the 1902 Hajj (the greater part of the work had first appeared in the London Morning Post). - Brownstained throughout; binding rubbed and stained. - Rare. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1354. OCLC 1897964. | |
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| 113 | Khoury, H(eneine) B. Glimpses Behind the Veil. London, Sampson Low, Marston & Co., [1935]. Large 8vo. X, 342 pp. With portrait frontispiece and 62 illustrations on 23 plates. Original red cloth. |
| € 150 | |
| First edition. - "The travels (c. 1934) of an Arab girl in the Near and Middle East, including a journey with her brother through Lebanon, Iran and the Persian Gulf. The author, a feminist of sorts, visits Tehran, the Caspian region, Esfahan, Persepolis, Shiraz and Bushehr. She views Reza Shah favorably, 'the roads are safe', modernization, industrial plants, etc." (Ghani). Also contains chapters on her sojourn in the "romantic pearl islands of Bahrein" (with an illustration of the author in local Bahraini costume, a gift of the ruler and his wife). - Occasional slight foxing, but well preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 18175528. Ghani 208. Not in Macro. | |
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| The first complete edition of the most influential work of Oriental fiction | |
| 114 | Kitab Alf layla wa-layla. Vols. I and II. Bulaq, Matba`at Bulaq, 1251 AH [1835 AD]. Royal 8vo. 710 pp. 620 pp. Printed in Arabic throughout, each page framed by double rules. With large woodcut vignettes on opening page. Original brown morocco with flap; blindstamped central ornament. |
| € 600,000 | |
| The first complete edition of the Thousand and One Nights in the original Arabic; of the utmost rarity. Also "the oldest printed version of The Nights in Arabic by a non-European" (Wikipedia), preceded only by the 1814-1818 Calcutta edition, which was published by the British East India Company with an English title page and contained the first 200 'Nights' only. A complete Arabic edition of the Nights was begun by the EIC in 1839 and finished in 1842, but with the exception of the first 200 'Nights' already published, more than three quarters of that text were "printed directly or indirectly from the printed Bulaq text" (Grotzfeld, 73). The importance of the Bulaq edition as the final received corpus of the Arabian Nights cannot be overestimated: this first complete edition to be printed in the original language provides the culminating point of an oral and manuscript textual tradition reaching back more than a thousand years; until today all modern editions and translations are based on this corpus. "The earliest proof of the very existence of the work titled 'Alf layla' is the [9th century] paper fragment published by Nabbia Abott. The last decisive act in the textual history of the work now commonly known as the 'Thousand and One Nights' took place with the printed editions Bulaq 1835 and Calcutta 1839-42, which, by their wide distribution, put an end to the development of the work's Arabic text. In between these two points, there is a period of a thousand years during which the work has changed continually" (Marzolph, 51). Thus, even up to the present day "the first Bulaq edition (1835) gives the most trustworthy text" (Encyclopaedia Britannica [1952 ed.], XXII, 152). - For the present edition, the earliest ever printed and until today the most authoritative of the complete Arabic text, OCLC locates no more than 8 copies worldwide. No copies recorded at international auctions during the last decades; we are not aware of a single copy having appeared on the market within the last fifty years. - The appealing bindings are slightly rubbed; small defects to spine of vol. II. Interior of both volumes spotless and clean throughout. An outstanding, complete copy of the most desirable monument in the history of Arabic printing and literature. From the library of the Heidelberg linguist Hans J. Vermeer (1930-2010), father of the Skopos theory of translation. (more) | |
| ¶ Chauvin IV, 18, 20K. Brunet III, 1715. Graesse IV, 523. Fawzi M. Tadrus, Printing in the Arab World with emphasis on Bulaq Press (Doha: University of Qatar, 1982), p. 64. Heinz Grotzfeld. Neglected Conclusions of the "Arabian Nights": Gleanings in Forgotten and Overlooked Recensions. In: Journal of Arabic Literature, Vol. 16, (1985), pp. 73-87. Ulrich Marzolph (ed.). The Arabian nights in transnational perspective, Wayne State University Press 2007, p. 51. | |
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| First English translation | |
| 115 | [Kitab Alf layla wa-layla - English]. Torrens, Henry (transl.). The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night: from the Arabic of the Aegyptian M.S. as edited by Wm. Hay Macnaghten, Esq. B.C.S. Done into English by Henry Torrens B.C.S. B.A. and of the Inner Temple. Vol. I [no more published]. Calcutta & London, W. Thacker & Co / W. H. Allen & Co., 1838. 8vo. (4), II pp, (2), III pp, VIII pp., 492 pp, XLVIII pp. With engr. t. p. and blue and red printed header to p. 1. Bound in contemporary half calf on marbled boards with gilt titles to spine, a clean and crisp copy. |
| € 3,500 | |
| Rare first English translation of the "most complete" version of the Arabian Nights, that of the Egyptian manuscript tradition. "[U]ntil the one-volume translation of Henry Torrens appeared in 1838, Galland's work was the only version [of the Arabian Nights] known in England" (Shaw). However, unlike the later translations of Edward Lane, John Payne, and Richard Burton, Torrens's work is extremely scarce in the present day - no copies have been noted at auction since 1975. This is due partly to its printing in India, and partly to the fact that Torrens abandoned his project shortly after beginning the translation, based on the Egyptian ms. in the possession of his colleague Sir William MacNaghten. - The "Nights" have been often recognised as "the Islamic world's major contribution to world literature and an icon that has permeated literary imagery around the world" (Enc. of Islam), while Torrens's work has been highly praised by recent commentators for its sophisticated and sensitive rendering of the original Arabic: "Torrens's translation is a far more faithful rendering of the Arabic original (preserving, as it does, the spirit of the Orient and that most important feature of Arabic poetry, its rhyming-scheme) than Lane's more scholarly version, which renders Arabic verse into English prose" (Hawari). - Interestingly, whereas Edward Lane's translation "has done away with any such anecdotes and tales as are on any account objectionable", Torrens deals with the more explicit sexual subjects of the "Nights" by "omitting only the objectionable terms - not whole portions of tales". Rida Hawari of King Saud University, Riyadh, has in fact noted that Torrens's translation "sometimes imitates the essentially Arabian monorhyming technique and, by so doing, he gives a true impression of this difficult Arabian practice." - A fine copy from the estate of Clifton Hall, Staffordshire, and bearing the ownership inscription of Henry John Pye, Esq. (1802-84), son of poet laureate Henry James Pye. (more) | |
| ¶ E. Littman, "Alf Layla wa-Layla," The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Ed., vol. I, fasc. 6 (Leiden, 1956), pp. 358-364. Rida Hawari, "The Cult of the 'Exotic' in Victorian Literature: the Nights translations of William Torrens and Edward Lane", Journal of King Saud University vol. 4, Arts (2), pp. 65-76 (A.H. 1412/1992) & "Poetical Orientalization in 18th and 19th Century England with Reference to William Thackeray and His Literary Relations", Bulletin of the Faculty of Arts, University of Riyadh vol. I, pp. 7-12 (1970). Sheila Shaw, "Early English Editions of the Arabian Nights: Their Value to 18th Century Literary Scholarship," The Muslim World Vol. 49, pp. 232-238 (1959). | |
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| Travelling in Persia; original edition complete with the plates | |
| 116 | Kotzebue, Moritz von. Reise nach Persien, mit der Russisch Kais. Gesandtschaft im Jahre 1817. Mit neun ausgemahlten und schwarzen Kupfern. Weimar, Hoffmann, 1819. 2 vols.: portfolio (33 x 24 cm) and text volume (8vo). 198, [2] pp. With 7 leaves (ca. 25 x 23 cm, of which 4 aquatints and 3 hand-coloured engravings ), containing the 9 illustrations as called for in the text volume and title label of the portfolio (illustrations 1-2 and 8-9 together on 1 plate). Both contemporary boards, of which the portfolio with original pasted title label on front cover. |
| € 3,600 | |
| Very rare original German edition of Moritz von Kotzebue's narrative of a journey into Persia, in the suite of the Imperial Russian Embassy, in the year 1817. Complete with all plates including a foot-soldier and an officer, views of the mountains of Ararat taken from the gardens of the Sardar of Erivan, view of the castle Udgani, view of the castle of Sultanie (Solthaniyeh), the sepulchre of the saint Hassani-Kashi at Sultanie and a Tshimburak or Private of the Camel Artillery. - Moritz von Kotzebue (1789-1861) was a Russian/Estonian officer and traveller and brother of Otto von Kotzebue. In 1817, as a young lieutenant in Russian service he travelled to Persia (Iran), in the cortège of a Russian embassy sent to the encampment of Fathá-Al Shah at Soltaniyeh. He kept this illustrative journal which was soon afterwards published by his father, the playwright August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue, who also wrote the preface of this work. "The embassy left Tblisi in mid-April 1817 and arrived in Tabriz on May 18 1817, where the tsar's envoy was received by Abbas Mirza, the crown prince. After eight days the embassy left Tabriz for Soltaniyeh via Zanjanm and on July 26 1817, reached its destination where Fathá-Al Shah received the embassy five days later. At the end of August 1817 the embassy left the shah's encampment and travelled back to Russia by way of Tabriz and Erivan" (Howgego). A second German edition of this work was published in 1825; an English edition appeared in 1819; a Dutch in 1819; a French in 1819 and a Polish in 1821. - Bindings show traces of use. A very rare narrative into Persia in fine condition. (more) | |
| ¶ Howgego (1800-1850) K19. Cf. Abbey, Travel 390 (English edition). Not in Atabey, Blackmer, Colas, Hiler, Lipperheide. | |
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| 117 | [La Roque, Jean de]. Reise nach dem glücklichen Arabien, durch die Morgenländische See, und die Enge des Rothen Meeres, nebst einer ausführlichen Beschreibung der berühmten Stadt Moka, samt ihrem ansehnlichen Haven, wie auch besonders des Königreichs Yemen [...]. Leipzig, Braun, 1740. 8vo. (6), 192 pp. T. p. printed in red and black. With engr. frontispiece (Brühl sc.) and folding engr. map. Modern marbled calf with gilt title to spine. |
| € 2,500 | |
| Rare first German edition of this conflation of reports from French expeditions to Arabia during the years 1708-1713, first published in 1716. "It was with distinct literary skill that La Roque, who himself had visited Syria in 1689, prepared a construed travel report from the notes of various members of the first French expeditions to Arabia and Yemen. The 'Travels to Happy Arabia' well suited the tastes of the time. The well-founded knowledge which La Roque owed to the observations of Captain Merveille and his companions allowed him to provide the first detailed account of Arabic coffee plantations and the coffee trade of the Peninsula" (cf. Schnyder/v. Waldkirch, Wie Europa den Kaffee entdeckte, p. 207f.). - Some browning and brownstaining; tear on p. 3f. mended with Japanese paper. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1425. Cf. Boucher de la Richarderie IV, 432ff. Cox I, 222. Fromm 14334. Weber 468f. Hünersdorff 1276. Cf. Mueller (Kaffee) 180ff. | |
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| 118 | Lacroix, A[uguste] de. Storia privata e politica d' Abd-el-Kader. Bologna, Giuseppe Tiocchi, 1846. 8vo. 277, (3) pp. With engr. portrait and folding lithogr. manuscript facsimile. Contemp. marbled green half cloth with giltstamped spine title. |
| € 950 | |
| Early study of the Algerian rebel Abd el-Qadir, the Emir von Mascara (1807-83), published at the height of his insurrection against the French invaders. "On December 21, 1847, after being denied refuge in Morocco because of French diplomatic and military pressure on its leaders, `Abd al-Qadir surrendered to General Louis de Lamoricière in exchange for the promise that he would be allowed to go to Alexandria or Acre. Two days later, his surrender was made official to the French Governor-General of Algeria, Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale. The French government refused to honour Lamoricière's promise and `Abd Al-Qadir was exiled to France" (Wikipedia). - Binding rubbed; some brownstaining to interior. Rare. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 48656095. | |
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| 119 | Lammens, Henri, SJ. L'Arabie occidentale avant l'Hegire. Beirut, Imprimerie Catholique, 1928. 4to. (4), 343, (1) pp. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 500 | |
| First edition. - The French monk Henri Lammens (1862-1937) spent most of his life in Lebanon. He lectured in Islamic history at the Jesuit University of Beirut and was editor of the journal "al-Machreq". Here, Lammens discusses the situation of Christians and Jews in Mecca before the advent of Islam, the military organisation in Mecca, Arabic religious ceremonies, the border between Syria and Hijaz, etc. - Slight edge and spine defects. Ownership note "Shaffer" on t. p. Untrimmed, partly uncut copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1401. | |
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| 120 | Lammens, Henri, SJ. L'avènement des Marwanides et le Califat de Marwan 1er. Beirut, Imprimerie Catholique, 1927. 4to. (3), 44-147, (1) pp. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 350 | |
| Extract from the "Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph" in Beirut, tome XII, fasc. 2. - The French monk Henri Lammens (1862-1937) spent most of his life in Lebanon. He lectured in Islamic history at the Jesuit University of Beirut and was editor of the journal "al-Machreq". - Edge defects. Untrimmed, partly uncut copy. (more) | |
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| 121 | Lammens, Henri, SJ. La Mecque a la veille de l'Hégire. Beirut, Imprimerie Catholique, 1924. 4to. (3), 100-437, (3) pp. With a folding table. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 500 | |
| Extract from the "Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph" in Beirut, tome IX, fasc. 4. - The French monk Henri Lammens (1862-1937) spent most of his life in Lebanon. He lectured in Islamic history at the Jesuit University of Beirut and was editor of the journal "al-Machreq". - Front cover loose. From the library of the U.S. archaeologist and diplomat Easton T. Kelsey, signed and dated "Beirut, Syria, July 1936" on the flyleaf. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1408. | |
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| 122 | Langlois, Victor. Numismatique des Arabes avant l'Islamisme. Paris & London, Rollin, Durand & Curt, 1859. Small folio (227 x:283 mm). XII, 158 pp. With 1 lithogr. and 4 engr. plates. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 500 | |
| Only edition of this standard work. - Uncut, untrimmed copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1421. Leitzmann 73. Clain-Stefanelli 5850. | |
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| 123 | Le Brun, Corneille. Voyages [...] par la Moscovie, en Perse, et aux Indes Orientales. [...] Tom. II. Amsterdam, Gebr. Wetstein, 1718. Folio. Vol. 2 (of 2) only. T. p. printed in red and black, 253-467, (1) pp. With 73 engr. plates (mostly with several seperately numbered illustrations; numbered 111-260; many not numbered) and 20 engravings in the text. Contemp. vellum. All edges sprinkled in red. |
| € 2,000 | |
| First French edition (first printed in Dutch in 1714); vol. 2 only. The Dutch artist "travelled through Russia and Persia (Ardabil - Kum - Kashan - Isfahan - Persepolis - Lar - Persian Gulf) to East India during 1701-1708. Of these well-travelled paths he was able to contribute many new observations, many of them scientific, and his travel description, hailed by Gabriel as one of the best of its time, well deserves critical analysis and acclaim. The especial value of the work lies in its numerous engavings of cities, places, ruins, animals, and plants. Le Brun considered the preparation of accurate drawings as a necessary duty of the traveller. Of the ruins of Persepolis he brought home the best illustrations available at the time, as well as the first legible cuneiform inscriptions" (cf. Henze). - T.p. and flyleaf with cut-out defects (restored); unattractively deleted stamp on reverse of first plate (slight paper defect; restored); further clipped defects to first leaf of text and last index leaf as well as the instructions to the bookbinder (slight loss to text; restored). Large tear to p. 367f. Upper spine-end professionally restored. The fine plates are in good, clear impressions throughout. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1449. Schwab 345. Brunet III, 111. Graesse I, 552. Cf. Cox I, 251. Henze I, 379. | |
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| Most important source of information on Africa during the Renaissance, written by an Islamic scholar | |
| 124 | Leo Africanus, Johannes. De totius Africae descriptione libri IX. Antwerp, Johannes de Laet, 1556. 8vo. With De Laet's oval printer's device with the motto "Spes alit agricolas" on title. Contemporary overlapping limp vellum, title and label with press mark on spine. |
| € 9,500 | |
| First Latin edition of this celebrated work on African geography by the Islamic scholar Hasan ben Muhamed el-Wazzan-ez-Zayyati (1485-1552), better known under his Latin name Johannes Leo Africanus. His work long remained the principal source of information on the geography of Africa in general and the Sudan in particular. It is assumed that Leo wrote his description of Africa directly in Italian, though he certainly relied also on Arabic notes, some of which he might have composed while travelling in Northern Africa. The original Italian edition appeared in the famous series Navigationi et Viaggi, published at Venice in 1550 by Giovanni Battista Ramusio. The work was soon translated into Latin, French (1556), English (1600), and Dutch (1665). The present Latin edition of 1556, prepared by Johannes Florianus, rector of a grammar school in Antwerp, was widely used by European scholars until the late 19th century. - Some faint browning and foxing at places, ties lacking. Good copy of a classic work on African geography. (more) | |
| ¶ Adams L-480. Belg. Typ. 1874. Gay, Bibl. de l'Afrique et l'Arabe 258. Machiels L-179. South African Bibliography III, 86. | |
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| 125 | Lippens, Philippe. Expédition en Arabe Centrale. Paris, Librairie d'Amérique et d'Orient Adrien Maisonneuve, 1956. Large 8vo. (2), XI, (1), 214, (2) pp. With 39 black-and-white photo illustrations on plates, 4 colour photo plates, and 1 folding colour map. Illustrated colour wrappers. |
| € 1,500 | |
| The Belgian scholar and air force captain Count Philippe Auguste Hubert Lippens (1910-89) participated in UN-missions to Palestine and was among the discoverers of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1949. He was the third man (and the second European) to enter the first cave of Qumran, then in Transjordan. He undertook an archaeological expedition to central Arabia in 1951 and in to the Qumran site in 1953. Among his travel companions was Harry St. John Bridger Philby, who contributed the preface to this memoir. - Untrimmed, uncut copy. (more) | |
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| From the first printing press in the Middle East | |
| 126 | [Liturgy - Maronite lectionary]. Keryane dhe-yaumatha pherishe dhe-khullah. [Rish Keryan. The lessons, from the Old and New Testament, for Sundays and the principal festivals]. Qozhaya, Deir Mar Antonios, 1841. Folio (235 x 340 mm). (9), 425 pp. Printed in red and black throughout. Contemp. black calfskin on five raised bands. Edges sprinkled in red. |
| € 6,500 | |
| Well-printed Maronite lectionary, produced at the Monastery of St Anthony of Qozhaya (Kuzhaya, Kushaya), in Lebanon's Kadisha Valley. The monastery's Syriac press, imported from Tuscany in 1610, was the first printing press in the Middle East. International auction records list not a single copy of any work from this press. - Engr. armorial bookplate of the Miniscalchi Library on pastedown. Exceedingly rare; OCLC lists a single copy of this work (British Library). (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 560965451. | |
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| 127 | Lokman. Locmani sapientis fabulae et selecta quaedam Arabum adagia. Cum interpretatione latina & notis Thomae Erpenii. Leiden, in typographia Erpeniana linguarum orientalium, 1615. 8vo. (16), 78, (2) pp. Woodcut vignette to t. p. 19th-c. marbled half calf. |
| € 4,500 | |
| First edition of the Arabic text, printed with Latin translation and preface. Lokman was a legendary sage of the pre-Mohammedanian era, occasionally said to have been King of Yemen, a prophet, or an Abessinian slave. This late 13th-c. adaptation of a Syrian translation of Aesop's Fables was attached to his name. Edited by Thomas Erpenius (1584-1624), professor of oriental languages at Leiden, printed at his private press with types cut specially for him in 1613 after his return from Paris. - Slightly browned; some waterstaining. Several underlinings and vocalisations by an early 19th-c. hand; ms. ownerships "Simberg" (1813) and "Eric Malmborg" to front pastedown. (more) | |
| ¶ Brunet III, 1139. Schnurrer 219 ("Haec est prima editio"). | |
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| 128 | [Ludwig Salvator, Archduke of Austria]. Panorama von Alexandrette. Prague, Mercy, 1901. 369 x 59,3 cm. With two colored maps: Gulf of Alexandrette (1:208.000) and Bay of Alexandrette (1:15.300). Wood-engraving by Hölzel, Vienna. Reverse shows text in 14 colums with 4 wood-engraved illustrations and 2 tables. Rolled on two original beech rods; stored in original cardboard tube with printed title label. |
| € 5,000 | |
| Exceptional panorama of the old port of Iskanderia Issica (now Iskenderun) on the Syro-Phoenecian coast, from where the trade with Mesopotamia via Aleppo was organized. Archduke Ludwig Salvator rediscovered this place, described it and preserved its image in this unique 3.5-metre panorama. The front shows the town's buildings and docks (with the 1,500-metre Mt. Amanus in the background); to the right and left are maps (46 x 37 cm each) showing Gulf and Bay of Alexandrette. The reverse provides an extensive description of the history and significance of the town. Transferred onto wood by the painter Karl Liebscher (after drawings by Ludwig and detail photographs by Antonio Vives) and engraved by Johann Schimane (wood engravings on reverse by J. Jass) in Prague. - Fastened to two rods with loops for a string to prevent unintentional reeling. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 83372268. | |
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| The only complete copy on the market for decades | |
| 129 | Luynes, Honoré d'Albert de. Voyage d'exploration à la mer Morte, à Petra et sur la rive gauche du Jourdain. Oeuvre posthume. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, [1874]. 3 vols. and 1 vol of plates. (2), II ff., 388 pp. (6), 222, (6) pp. (4), VI, 326 pp. With 14 lithogr. plates (4 in colour). Printed original wrappers. Folio. Atlas: (4) pp., 85 plates (some double-page-sized), including 65 photogravures by Charles Nègre after Louis Vignes. Original half cloth portfolio. Ties. |
| € 38,000 | |
| First edition, very rarely encountered complete: only 2 copies sold at international auctions of the past decades (both incomplete; the last set wanting plate 44: Sotheby's, 15 Oct. 2003, lot 676, GBP 8500; only 40 plates from the set, including glass and collodium negatives, fetched 21,450 EUR at Sotheby's Paris [22 March 2003, lot 583]). - Rare travel report describing the scientific expedition to Palestine undertaken by the French archaeologist de Luynes (1802-67) in 1864. "Dieser hochsinnige freund der wissenschaften veranstaltete bekanntlich eine expedizion nach Palästina, die sich besonders die Aufgabe stellte, den todten See, seinen berggürtel und die wüste Arabah in beziehung auf hebung und senkung des bodens genauer zu erforschen, wozu ihm namentlich die gelehrten Vignes und Lartet behilflich waren" (Tobler, p. 203). "Während 22 Tagen [...] beschifften sie mit einer Eisenbarke [...] das Tote Meer; u. a. wurden Kerak und Petra besucht, J. de Bertous Messungen im Wadi el-Arabah verifiziert, die Wasserscheide des Arabah zu 240 m über dem Mittelmeer bestimmt" (Henze). The work is sought for its splendid illustrations based on photos by Henri Sauvaire and the Naval Lieutenant Louis Vignes. Vol. 1 contains the Duke's travel diary; vol. 2 contains the reports "De Petra à Palmyre" by L. Vignes and "Voyage de Jérusalem, à Karak et à Chaubak" by Mauss and Sauvaire; vol. 3 contains the "Géologie" by L. Lartet (with its own set of plates at the end). The atlas is divided into two parte with a total of 85 plates (thus complete): 67 plates pertain to the Duke's report (3 unnumbered and 64 numbered: 1 map and 1 itinerary in colours, 1 engr. double plate, and 64 photogravures by Charles Nègre after photos by Vignes (views of sites, towns, ruins, etc.); Mauss's report is illustrated by 18 numbered plates: 1 double-page-sized itinerary, 3 plans (2 in colour), and 14 lithogr. plates by Cicéri after photos by Vignes and Sauvaire (views of Karak, Zat-Raz, etc.). - Occasional slight foxing (esp. in vol. 3); plates celan and spotless throughout. A fine, complete set in the original printed wrappers as issued; text vols. are uncut and wide-margined. (more) | |
| ¶ Röhricht (Bibl. Pal.) 515f., no. 2824. Röhricht (Pilgerreisen) 637, no. 872. Henze III, 312. Parr/Badger, The Photobook I, 33. | |
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| 130 | Mackay, Ernest (John Henry) / Harding, (Gerald) Lankester / Petrie, (William Matthew) Flinders. Bahrein and Hemamieh. London (Vienna, printed by Adolf Holzhausen's successors for the) British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Bernard Quaritch, 1929. Folio (246:310 mm). VI, (2), 39, (1) pp. With XXIX plates (several folding). Contemp. half cloth. |
| € 2,000 | |
| Original edition. - Issued as "British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account" no. 47, the volume documents the findings of a season's archaeological work done in 1925 in Bahrain, investigating the origin of the field of tumuli (an ancient cemetery). An additional, shorter article is devoted to early sculptured tombs in Hammamiyah, Egypt. - From a private collection, with traces of removed bookplates and a few pencil markings, otherwise a clean copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1503. OCLC 3547687. | |
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| 131 | Malo, Charles (ed.). Voyages de Nadir-Shah en Europe, en Asie de 1840 é 1843. Tours, R. Pornin, 1845. 8vo. VIII, 392 pp. With engr. frontispiece, engr. t. p. and 2 steel-engraved plates. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 750 | |
| Rare travel report, edited by the French historian Charles Malo (1790-1871), who had previously published an edition of the travelogue of the Indo-Persian prince Abul-Taleb Mirza in 1819. During his three-year journey, the Persian prince Nadir Shah visited the Canaries, Ireland, London, France, Naples, Malta, the Cyclades, Turkey, Asia Minor, as well as the Red Sea, Baghdad, Basra and the Arabian Gulf before returning to Calcutta via Bombay. - Binding insignificantly rubbed; very slight brownstaining near end, otherwise clean, wide-margined and untrimmed copy from the library of Duke Max in Bavaria (1808-88), father of Empress Elizabeth of Austria. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 13056053. Cf. Hoefer XXXIII, 90. Not in Ghani. | |
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| Life under the despotic tyrannies of the Mogul empire | |
| 132 | Mandelslo, Johann Albrecht von. Morgenländische Reyse-Beschreibung. Schleswig, Johann Holwein for Christian Guth in Hamburg, 1658. Folio. 3 parts in one vol. (32), 248, (36) pp. With engraved frontispiece, engraved author's portrait, double-page engraved map, 21 large engravings in the text, woodcut head- and end pieces, woodcut initials. Early 19th-century boards, spine with ms. label and former shelf number. |
| € 11,000 | |
| First edition of this famous travel report, containing "many interesting details of the eternally plentiful oriental world" (cf. Henze). While the engraved maps depicts Southeast Asia from Persia to Japan and Java, the remaining engravings mainly illustrate the customs of the Arab world, of Persia and India. "Mandelslo was a German traveller and adventurer (1616-44). Originally a page at the court of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, in 1635 Mandelslo was attached to the duke's embassy to Moscow and Persia, a mission intended to open trade negotiations. The Duke's librarian and mathematician, Adam Olearius accompanied the embassy as its secretary. The ambassadors themselves remained in Persia, but in 1638 Mandelslo, feeling the need for wider travel, obtained permission to travel on to India. Sailing from Hormuz, he landed at Surat in April 1638 then travelled through Gujarat to Agra, Lahore, Goa, Bijapur and Malabar. He sailed for England from Surat in January 1639, calling at Ceylon and Madagascar, but was to die of smallpox five years later. Before his death, Mandelslo had entrusted his rough notes to Olearius, who subsequently published them bound with his numerous official accounts of the embassy" (Howgego I, 677). - This present edition is significantly rarer than its later reworkings and translations; ABPC lists a single complete copy at auctions of the last decades (Sotheby's, Oct 11, 2005, lot 177, £3,400). - Bookplate of Thomas Christian Wöhler on front pastedown; library stamp on t. p.; bottom of hinge weakened. Binding slightly rubbed and bumped; still, a fine copy. (more) | |
| ¶ VD 17, 23:233226D. Mitchell I, 854. Howgego I, M 38. Cox I, 271f. Adelung II, 306ff. Kat. Alt-Japan 943. Cordier (Japonica) 362-368. Dünnhaupt, pp. 293-4, 30.1. Bircher A 6927-8. M.S. Commissariat, 'Mandelslo's Travels in Western India', in: The Geographical Journal, 78/4 (1931), 375ff. Van Gelder, Het Oost-Indisch avontuur, pp. 77, 99, 263. Hadamitzky/Kocks 379. Griep/Luber 850, Anm. Dünnhaupt (Olearius) 30. 1. Henze III, 363. Not in Blackmer or Atabey. | |
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| 18th-century Dutch edition of the imaginary travels of Sir John Mandeville, including an account of the birth of Muhammad | |
| 133 | Mandeville, John. De wonderlyke reize van Jan Mandevyl beschryvende eerst de reize en geschiedenisse van den H. Lande van Beloften, te voet, te paard of ter zee, ende de gestaltenisze, ende gelegendheid van den zelvden landen. Amsterdam, Abraham Cornelis, [between 1756 and 1780]. 4to. With a woodcut illustration on the title-page and the text set in 2 columns. Modern blue paper wrappers. |
| € 1,750 | |
| One of the Dutch 18th-century editions of the classic 14th-century account of the travels of Sir John Mandeville, whose fictional travels took him through Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Persia, Arabia, India and a large part of Southeast Asia. The part on Arabia includes an account of the birth of Muhammad. "This was a very popular book in its day and illustrated the general equipment of geographical idea of the late fourteenth century. Long accepted as an authentic and valuable record of travel, we know now that it was a spurious relation compiled from various sources [...] Mandeville is said to have set out his travels in 1322 after visiting Egypt, Palestine, India, the Indian isles, etc., returned home in 1355. His death is set at 1371" (Cox). - With modern bookplate of W. L. Braekman. Slightly browned and a minor defect in the paper of final 2 leaves. A very good copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Cox I, 319-320. STCN (4 copies). Tiele, Bibl. 714. Cf. Gove 13. Ibrahim-Hilmy II, 12. | |
| 134 | Manuzio, Antonio (ed.). Viaggi fatti da Vinetia, alla Tana, in Persia, in India et in Costantinopoli etc. Venice, (nelle case de figliuoli di Aldo), 1543. 8vo (145 x 90 mm). 180 ff. With woodcut Aldine device on title page and repeated on verso of final leaf. Contemporary vellum over pasteboard, lettered in ink on spine ("Voyages"). |
| € 5,000 | |
| Fine collection of Middle Eastern travels performed by Venetians, edited with a preface by Antonio Manuzio. The authors are Josaphat Barbaro and Ambrogio Contarini, both Venetian merchants, whose accounts of their travels in Persia are here printed or reprinted, and Luigi di Giovanni, who journeyed into India. There are also two anonymous works. The book precedes Ramusio (who reprinted several of these tracts). A second edition was published in 1545. - Damage to f. 168 (with loss of text, some supplied in ms. on recto); tear in f. 169 with slight loss. From the collection of the French scholar Etienne Baluze (1630-1718), one of the most eminent church historians of his age, who signs his ownership to the title page: "Stephanus Baluzenius Tutelensis". Later in the the celebrated Macclesfield library (their ms. shelfmark to front pastedown). (more) | |
| ¶ Renouard 128, no. 8. Edit 16, CNCE 26947. Göllner 822. UCLA 317. | |
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| 135 | Mason, Alfred DeWitt / Barny, Frederick J. History of the Arabian Mission. New York, The Board of Foreign Missions Reformed Church in America, 1926. 8vo. 256 pp. With double-page map and 22 illustrations on 15 plates. Original green cloth with giltstamped spine title. |
| € 450 | |
| Only edition. - Rare history of Protestant missionary activity on the Arabian peninsula in the late 19th and early 20th century. Includes chapters on the land and its people, history and civilization, Islam, education, etc. Much attention is devoted to Bahrain, where buildings were maintained. - Some pencil markings. Rear inner hinge weakened, otherwise tight and well-preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1543. OCLC 5300543. | |
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| 136 | (Mason, Kenneth; Hugh Scott et al.). Western Arabia and the Red Sea. (Oxford, University Press for the) Naval Intelligence Division, 1946. 8vo. XIX, (1), 659, (1) pp. With 357 photo illustrations, 47 maps and text-figures (some folding), and folded full-colour map in back cover pocket. Original giltstamped green cloth. |
| € 600 | |
| Geographical Handbooks Series (for official use only) B.R. 527 (Restricted). In-depth, profusely illustrated discussion of the Western portion of the rabian Peninsula, focusing on the Red Sea Coast and Yemen. Produced during WWII for use of the Naval Intelligence Division, "to provide, for the use of Commanding Officers, information in a comprehensive and convenient form about contries which they may be called upon to visit, not only in war but in peace-time". The book's contents are, "however, by no means confined to matters of purely naval interest. For many purposes (e.g. history, administration, resources, communications, etc.) countries must necessarily be treated as a whole, and no attempt is made to limit their treatment exclusively to coastal zones" (1942 preface). - An excellent copy. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 27033079. | |
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| 137 | [Mecca]. View of the South Quarter of Mocha. View from the Factory at Mocha. London, Miller, 1809. Set of two engravings, each 225 x 280 mm. Signed in the plate "Salt del[ineavit], Angus sculp[sit]". |
| € 650 | |
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| The Turks conquer Mecca and Medina | |
| 138 | [Mecca and Medina]. Hienach volgt wie der Turck de[n] Soldan vertriben un[d] im vil stett angewon[n]en hat un[d] das heylig Grab eingenom[m]en zu Jherusalem. [Landshut, J. Weißenburger, 1518]. 4to. (8) pp., incl. final blank. With title woodcut. Disbound. |
| € 4,500 | |
| Very rare German translation of the Latin pamphlet "Omnia quae gesta sunt in oriente inter Sophin & maximum Turcarum Soldanum" with beautiful title woodcut. The typographical arrangement of the title page departs in several details from that described by Göllner (with fig. 6) and the VD 16 (BSB copy). The account begins in June 1516 and ends in July 1517, but also includes Sultan Selim's visit to Jerusalem in January 1518. In June 1516 the Sultan began a campagin against Sultan al-Ghuri of Egypt, allied with Shah Ismail I of Persia; in August he took Damascus and Cairo. "Sultan Selim wird zum Schutzherrn von Mekka und Medina und versucht auch, den Charakter eines Kampfes für den Islam zu geben" (Göllner 115). - Evenly browned throughout; slight tears to edge and gutter. Old note on title page. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. VD 16, O 742 & Göllner 120. | |
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| 139 | Mehmed Edib. Itinéraire de Constantinople à la Mecque: extrait de l'ouvrage turc intitulé: Kitab menassik el-hadj (livre des prières et des cérémonies relatives au pélerinage). [Paris, Everat, 1825]. 81-169 pp. Later half calf with marbled boards and gilt label to spine. 8vo. |
| € 950 | |
| First French edition of this detailed report of a journey from Constantinople to Mecca, translated and edited by the oriental scholar Thomas Xavier Bianchi and published as part of the second volume of the "Recueil de voyages et de Mémoires publié par la Société de géographie". The first independent monograph publication of Mehmed Edib's "Kitab menassik el-Hadj", written in 1682 and actually designed as a guidebook rather than a classic pilgrim's travelogue, was not published until 1840. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 39054908. |
| With the earliest map showing Riyadh and the portrait of Abdullah ibn Saud | |
| 140 | Mengin, Felix. Histoire de l’Egypte sous le Gouvernement de Mohammed-Aly, ou recit des Evenemens Politiques et Militaires qui ont eu lieu depuis le Depart des Francais jusqu’en 1823. Paris, A. Bertrand, 1823. 2 text vols. in 8vo and atlas in folio. 464 pp. 644 pp. (8), 12 lithogr. plates, including a folding hand-coloured plan and the folding, double-page map of the Nejd. Original printed wrappers (text) and original green cardboard portfolio with printed title label to cover (atlas); maps and plates loosely inserted within. |
| € 16,500 | |
| Extremely rare set preserved entirely in the original boards and wrappers as issued; almost never encountered thus. Mengin's history of Egypt from the end of the French expedition to Khedive Muhammad Ali's dramatic reforms of Egyptian society and culture is mainly sought for its extensive appendix containing an early chronicle of the Wahhabis, with an account of the sack of Derrieh. "This chronicle is ascribed to a grandson of the Shaykh named 'le cheykh Abderrahman el-Oguyeh', presumably this is Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan (d. 1869)", who travelled from Basra to Mecca and Medina (M. Cook, below). The folio-sized atlas contains the celebrated portrait of Abdullah ibn Saud, leader of the first Saudi state, who was executed by the Turks for sedition, and the famous, large map of the Nejd country with an inset of the environs of "El-Derreth" near Riyadh by E. F. Jombard. His commentary on the map is of particular note, being a synthesis of Arab and western knowledge, with many place names added for the first time. This "notice géographique" (vol. II, pp. 549-613) also includes a "nomenclature du pays de Nedjid", mentioning - among other places - Dubai and Qatar both in the original Arabic and in French transliteration. - The work is rarely found complete with both text volumes and the atlas as present, and almost never in the original condition as issued. Even the map mentioned above has separately commanded several thousand pounds at auction (cf. Sotheby's London, 6 May 2010, lot 147). - Some brownstaining to plates as usual, which are loosely inserted into the publisher's green cardboard portfolio (corners slightly bumped; five of the six original ties are preserved intact). The text is likewise still in the unsophisticated original bindings, uncut and unopened. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1577. Atabey 802 (without the Atlas). Michael Cook. On the Origins of Wahhabism. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 2, No. 2 (July 1992), pp. 191-202, here 192. | |
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| 141 | [Mentelle, Edmé / Mailhol, Gabriel]. Anecdotes orientales. Premiere (-seconde) partie. Paris, Vincent, 1773. 8vo. 2 vols. XII, 748 pp. (2), 820 pp. Contemp. marbled calf with double gilt-stamped red and black labels to spine and attractively gilt spine. Remnants of gold tooling to leading edges; marbled endpapers. Edges in red. |
| € 900 | |
| Second edition of this chronicle of the Near East, including the Ottoman Empire. Vol. 1 edited by E. Mentelle (1730-1815), vol. 2 by Gabriel Mailhol (1725-91). - The attractive bindings somewhat bumped at the corners; binding of vol. 2 slightly wormed. Marbled front pastedown damaged in both volumes; interior clean. (more) | |
| ¶ Barbier I, 185. Cioranescu (18e siècle) 41362 and 44339. Schwab 22. OCLC 7801596. Atabey 804 (= The Ottoman World, Cat. Sotheby’s 28 May 2002, lot 800 [Hammer price 1,076 GBP]). | |
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| Two Englishmen in Yemen | |
| 142 | Middleton, Henry / Downton, Nicolas. Sesde Reys van de engelsche Maatschappy na Oost-Indien. Leiden, Pieter van der Aa, [1727?]. Folio. (2) pp., (5)-118 cols., (5) pp. With engr. title vignette, 6 large text engravings and 1 engr. plate. Disbound. |
| € 850 | |
| Rare folio edition of this Dutch translation of the journals of Henry Middleton (d. 1613) and Nicholas Downton (Dounton, 1561-1615). Downton was lieutenant under Sir Henry Middleton on the sixth voyage set forth by the English East India Company, in 1610-12. Their ships landed in Aden before continuing to Al-Mukha (Mocha) in Yemen, where Middleton's ship ran aground and had to be refloated. "After an initially friendly reception, the local ruler changed his tune and imprisoned Middleton and his crew on the pretext pf their breaking an embargo against Christian shipping. After spending three weeks as prisoners at Mocha, they were taken inland to Ta'iz and the San'a, where the Pasha explained that the arrival of English ships had been resented by the local Muslim traders. Released in February 1611, Middleton and his crew returned to Mocha and sailed on 9 Aug. 1611 for Surat in India" (Howgego I, 719; cf. also p. 320). - Slightly browned throughout; title page loosened. The engravings show an English ship exploding the the harbour, Middleton in chains in a Mocha jail, etc. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 17332613, 78731509. | |
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| 143 | [Mohammad ibn Mankali]. Sid Mohamed El Mangali. Traité de Vénerie. Traduit de l'Arabe par Florian Pharaon. Avec une introduction par M. le Marquis G. de Cherville. Paris, E. Dentu, 1880. 8vo. XI, (1), 143, (1), 154 pp., 1 bl. f. Contemporary half calf with giltstamped spine and marbled covers; marbled endpapers. |
| € 7,500 | |
| Presentation copy inscribed by the editor-translator. First French edition of the Uns al-mala' bi-wahs al-fala (Entertainment of the Public by the Beasts of the Deserts), written c. 773/1371. Includes the Arabic text in full. Ibn Mankali was Colonel of the Guard of Sultan al-Malik al-Asraf Sa'ban and composed several other works on military matters (cf. Brockelmann, GAL II, 136 & Suppl. II, 167). - No. 208 of 300 copies; numbered and autographed by the publisher on the reverse of the title page and inscribed by Pharaon on the dedication page to "Monsieur Arnold, hommage de l'auteur [...] pour l'intermediaire de son traducteur" (15 July 1880). This rare and highly interesting treatise describes the methods employed in the Middle East for the capture, taming, training, and care of birds of prey used for hunting purposes. "The account is lightly and pleasantly written; it includes vivid descriptions and amusing anecdotes [...] The editor and translator was dragoman of the French army in Algiers" (Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science III, p. 1642). "Contains a description of the Syrian method of taming and training hawks. The Saker is particularly mentioned as a bird of double passage, and several varieties are noted. There is a chapter on the first man who ever tamed the Saker, and another on the mode of taking the Ostrich with the Sakers. Other Eastern falcons are described, with remarks on their qualifications and peculiarities. Some useful advice, evidently derived from experience, is given in regard to the feeding of Hawks, and the management of them on a journey" (Harting). - Slight browning to endpapers; stamp of the Bibliothèque du Villa St. Jean, Fribourg, on title page. Well preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ Harting 212. Souhart 376. | |
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| 144 | [Monterroyo Mascarenhas, José Freire de]. Relaçam da solemne procissam de preces, que por ordem da Corte Ottomana fizeraô os Turcos na Cidade de Meca, para alcançar a assistencia de Deos contra as armas do Augustissimo Emperador de Alemanha, & mais potencias Christãas. Lisbon, na Officina de Pascoal da Sylva, 1716. 4to. 8 pp. Disbound. |
| € 850 | |
| Account of a pilgrimage to Mecca ordered by the Ottoman court to invoke divine assistance against the Christian forces in the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-18. In fact, the practical value of this pilgrimage turned out to be limited: in August that same year, Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated the Turks at Petrovaradin; in 1717 he recaptured Belgrade, defeating the Turkish forces with an overwhelmingly outnumbered army; in 1718 the Treaty of Passarowitz was signed, in which the Ottomans had to surrender large areas to Habsburg Empire, which now reached its greatest territorial expanse in history. - Translated into Portuguese and published by José Freire de Monterroyo Mascarenhas (1670-1760), the polyglot editor of numerous travel accounts and topical pamphlets. Rare; OCLC lists only two copies in America (Yale, Toronto). Final leaf loose. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 222370772. Cf. Apponyi 2402, 2405. | |
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| Illuminated and in its original binding | |
| 145 | Moroccan prayer book. Dala'il al-khayrat wa-shawariq al-anwar / Qasidat al-burda / Al-husn al-hasin / etc. Morocco, early 18th c. Small 8vo (96 x 96 mm). 214 ff. Arabic script (Maghribi, with rubrications and embellishments in Thuluth) on paper. With six richly illuminated pages decorated in gold and colours. Square calf binding over wooden boards with fore-edge flap; covers decorated with interlacing star design in gold and colours. All edges gilt and goffered. |
| € 12,000 | |
| Splendidly decorated Maghreb prayer book in its corresponding original binding. The volume unites several texts which were popular in Morocco and typical for such prayer books: a collection with very similar content and cover design is preserved at the Austrian National Library (Cod. Vind. Mixt 1876; edited as a facsimile in 1987; see below). The ms. begins with a richly decorated double page (f. 2v-4r) which echoes the binding decoration with its interlacing star design in red, blue, and gold. A sturdy leaf coloured in pinkish orange (f. 3) protects the two illuminated pages. - The first text (f. 4v-105v), encompassing roughly the first half of the volume, is the famous "Dala'il al-khayrat wa-shawariq al-anwar" ("Guide to Goodness") by the Moroccan mystic Muhammad al-Jazuli (d. 1465), one of the so-called "Seven Saints of Marrakesh". The text begins with an illuminated title page which takes up the decoration of the introductory pages (Thuluth inscriptions in gold, based on a blue-and-white background with borders in gold, white, and red). This is followed by a glorification of the Prophet and by the "99 Most Beautiful Names of Allah", as well as by a splendid double-page illumination typical for Maghreb prayer books: the right page (f. 16v) depicts a prayer niche (mihrab) with a lamp (an allusion to the "Verse of Light", sura XXIV, 35). On the left (f. 18r), the motif is repeated in a more elaborate fashion: the interior field hints at the steps of a pulpit (minbar); on the opposite is a glorification of Muhammad in golden Thuluth script. - The second text (f. 106v-124r) is the so-called "Qasidat al-burda" by the 13th-c. Egyptian teacher al-Busiri, an encomium of the Prophet's cloak ("burda") which miraculously cured the author of paralysis. The "Qasidat al-burda" is probably the most famous poetic praise of Muhammad in Islamic literature. - This is followed by the third text (f. 124v-126v), a brief mystical poem by Umm Hani al-Madanija; as elsewhere, the verses are delimited by red and blue dots. - The fourth text (f. 127v-130v) actually constitutes a transition to the next long text; its last page depicts a decorative mystical "Magic Square". - The fifth and final text (f. 132r-206v) is "Al-husn al hasin" ("The Fortified Fortress") by the Damascus judge Muhammad al-Jazari, one of the most reknowned theologians and mystics of his age. This last text is dated "1209" (1795 A.D.) in the colophone and thus apparently is a later addendum, while the rest of the ms. dates from the early 18th century. This dating is supported by the different appeareance of the text (written by a different hand with a thinner pen). The last pages (f. 207r-213v and 1v) contain other addenda by a later hand (prayers, partly on different, thinner paper) as they are frequently found in Islamic prayer books, especially after the volume changes hands: cf the old ms. marks of ownership on the front pastedown. (more) | |
| ¶ Printed in: al-Jazuli, Dala'il al-khayrat wa-shawariq al-anwar und andere Texte. Vollständige Faksimile-Ausgabe. Graz, 1987 (= Codices selecti 86), nos. 1, 3, 4, 12, 13. Cf. also Brockelmann II, 252 (al-Jazuli) and I, 252 (al-Busiri). | |
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| 146 | Müneccimbasi. Sahaif-ül-Ahbar. [Istanbul, H 1285 (= 1868)]. Folio. Vol. 1 (out of 2) only. (4), 857, (1) pp. Red half calf with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 300 | |
| Principal work of the Ottoman historian Müneccimbasi (1631-1702), originally written in Arabic ("Jami' al-duwal"). The only printed version of this universal history (reaching up to the year 1672) is the Turkish digest published under the present title by the poet Ahmed Nedin. - Browned throughout due to paper. Binding slightly rubbed at the edges. (more) | |
| ¶ Babinger 205, p. 235. | |
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| 147 | Muhammad Efendi Mukhtar. Al-madjmu´a al-shafiya fi ´ilm al-jugrafiya. Cairo, Matba'a Amum Arkan, AH 1294 (AD 1875). Large 8vo. (4), IV, 139, (1) pp. With 5 lithogr. plates and 5 colour maps. Contemp. red half morocco on five raised bands with giltstamped spine title. |
| € 200 | |
| Appealingly bound copy of this rare "Clear and Comprehensive Study on Geography". - Browned throughout. Several corners broken off, but no loss to text. The author served as Lieutenant to the General Staff of the Egyptian Army. (more) | |
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| 148 | Muhiti. Diwan. Istifa?, 1209 H (= 1794 CE). 8vo. Ottoman ms. in red and black ink on smoothed paper. Contemp. calf (warped). |
| € 850 | |
| A collection of Ottoman Turkish poetry. The writer states his name as Sheikh Mustafa Efendi. - First leaved rather strongly damaged by moisture; waterstained throughout. (more) | |
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| 149 | Musil, Alois. In the Arabian Desert. New York, Horace Liveright, 1930. Illustrated with 40 photographs and a map at rear. Original publisher's black cloth boards with gilt titles to spine and cover. |
| € 300 | |
| First edition of this popular account of Musil's experiences in Arabia Deserta. An excellent copy. (more) | |
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| 150 | Musil, Alois. The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York, American Geographical Society, 1928. XIV, 712 pp. With portrait frontispiece with tissue guard and 59 illustrations in the text. Original publisher's grey cloth boards. |
| € 750 | |
| Very scarce original edition of Musil's ethnographic work on northern Arabia. Reprints are common. Corners slightly bumped. (more) | |
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| 151 | Mustafa Ali. Kunhu'l-ahbar. [Istanbul], H 1277 (= 1860 CE). Large 8vo. 3 vols. (instead of 5). I: (4), 328 pp. II: (4), 245, (1) pp., last bl. f. IV.1: (8), 218 pp. 58 pp. 78 pp. Contemp. half calf. |
| € 200 | |
| Islamic history of the world from creation to the Ottoman Empire. - Wants vols. III and IV.2. (more) | |
| ¶ Babinger, p. 124. | |
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| 152 | Nagm al-Din ´Umar al-Nasafi. Al-´Aqaid al-Nasafiyyah. No place, 18th or early 19th c. 4to (20 x 15 cm). 17 lines. Naskh script in black and red ink on smoothed paper. 264 pp., 2 bl. ff., 86 pp. (incomplete; wants final quire). Lines for main text and written space for commentaries and super-commentaries prepared by rules rubbed into the paper. 19th-c. half cloth binding with fore-edge flap (spine repaired). |
| € 950 | |
| Arabic manuscript on Islamic dogmatics; probably an abridged version (muhtasar). This ms., written in a very small and close, scholarly Naskh hand, shows signs of strong use and contains a large number of diagonal and horizontal comments in the margins, as well as numerous interlinear word glosses. The theologian Nagm al-Din ´Umar al-Nasafi died in Samarqand in 537 AH (1142 AD). The final endpaper bears the note: "This is the book of Sa´d al-Din Hayali (1), and Hayali ´Ali (2), and the glosses (qaul) of Ahmad (3)." The final "Ahmad" is to be identified with Ahmad ben Musà al-Hayali (d. 863/1349), who wrote a Hasiyyah ´alà sharh al-´Aqa´id (cf. Brockelmann, Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur, Suppl. II, 318). The meaning of the numbers is unclear, as is the relationship of the other Hayalis mentioned, as Brockelmann does not city any other authors of the name. Binding loosened (more) | |
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| 153 | Nallino, Carlo Alfonso. Raccolta di Scritti editi e inediti. Vol. I. L'Arabia Sa'udiana. Rome, Istituto per l'oriente, 1939. Large 8vo. 303 pp. With 47 photo illustrations and 3 maps. Oritinal printed wrappers. |
| € 450 | |
| Vol. 1 of the collected works of the Italian orientalist C. A. Nallino (1872-1938), who published his first treatise on Arab geography and astronomy at the age of 21. This was followed by a work on Al-Battani (1899-1907) which gained him international recognition. In 1938 he travelled in the Arabic Peninsula for two months, but died in Rome shortly afterwards. The present volume on Saudi Arabia, with which the series (published 1939-48) was inaugurated, was his last work. - Binding brownstained; front cover loose. (more) | |
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| 154 | [Napoleon]. Aufgefangene Originalbriefe von der Armee des Generals Bonaparte in Aegypten, nebst der Einleitung und den Anmerkungen des englischen Herausgebers. Nebst einer Charte von Aegypten. No pl. or pr. 8vo. Pt. 1 (of 2) only. XXIV, 170 pp. With folding, engr. map. Contemp. blue temporary wrappers. |
| € 150 | |
| Probably a pirated version of the first German edition (Hamburg, Villaume); translated from the English "Copies of original letters from the Army of General Bonaparte in Egypt". Also published in French ("Correspondence interceptée de Bonaparte et de son armée en Egypte"). The map shows the Nile delta from Giza to the Mediterranean estuary. - Untrimmed copy; some defects to spine. (more) | |
| ¶ Hilmy 245. Cf. Gay 1990. Not in Kainbacher. | |
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| 155 | Nerval, Gérard de / Gautier, Théophile. Voyage en Orient. Édition revue, corrigée et augmentée d'une Préface nouvelle par Théophile Gautier. Paris, Charpentier, 1889. 8vo. 2 vols. (4), XXXV, LXXXIII, 85-384 pp. (4), 387 pp. Bound in contemporary half pebbled black calf on marbled boards, gilt titles to spines. |
| € 350 | |
| Later edition of this landmark of the French Romantic view of the Orient, and the second edition to bear a preface by Théophile Gautier. "The Orient was for Gautier and his friends, Nerval, Baudelaire, Villiers de L'Isle Adam, Barbey D'Aurevilly, Arsène Houssaye, and many others, that elsewhere where they could find beauty and escape from the ugliness of their society" (Dahab). Like his contemporaries Flaubert and Baudelaire, Gérard de Nerval felt drawn to the East, making his voyage in the 1840s and immersing himself in Arab culture; in Cairo his travelling companion even bought a slave-girl. Gautier's preface in the present edition notes that by the 1870s Nerval's account of the Orient could be found on the shelves of any "well-composed" library. Gautier also praises Nerval's perceptive rendering of the "respect which Islam accords to those souls visited by God" (p. I). Gautier himself had also visited the Middle East in the 1850s, although his account of these travels was not published until 1877. As Dahab describes it, "Gautier partook in the tendency of a whole generation around the 1840s who made of exotism a dream come true"; the influence of the Orient on the French imagination in the late 19th century cannot be underestimated. - Extremities slightly rubbed. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. Wilson 157. F. Elizabeth Dahab, "Théophile Gautier and the Orient", Comparative Literature and Culture 1.4 (1999). | |
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| 156 | Newman, John P[hilip]. The Thrones and Palaces of Babylon and Nineveh. From Sea to Sea a Thousand Miles on Horseback. New York, Harper & Bros., 1876. 8vo. 455, (1), 11, (1) pp. With wood-engraved frontispiece, 77 wood-engraved plates and numerous text illustrations. Original illustrated giltstamped burnt-red cloth. |
| € 500 | |
| First edition. - The American Methodist clergyman (and later Bishop) J. P. Newman (1826-99) travelled extensively and reported his careful observations abroad to the US Congress and Department of State. Includes an early report of pearl-fishing in Bahrain (p. 44 ff., with text illustration). - Binding slightly rubbed at corners, otherwise fine copy. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 1547367. | |
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| 157 | Niebuhr, Carsten. Beschreibung von Arabien. Aus eigenen Beobachtungen und im Lande selbst gesammelten Nachrichten abgefasset. Copenhagen, Nikolaus Möller, 1772. 4to. XLVII, (1), 431, (1) pp. With 24 engr. plates (several folding and with touches of colour) and large engr. map of Yemen. Original boards with. ms. title spine. |
| € 3,500 | |
| First edition. Includes Niebuhr's famous map of the Yemen and Arabic specimens from the Qur'an, with added hand colouring to indicate vowel sounds. "L'on voit [...] sur la IV et V planche, une feuille copiée d'un Korân, qui est écrit sur du parchemin et conservé comme un grand thresor dans la collection de livres faites par l'Académie Dsjamea el ashar à Kahira, parce qu'on croit, que le Calife Omar l'a écrit de sa propre main. Mais quand Omar ne l'auroit pas écrit, cette feuille est toujours très ancienne et par là-même remarquable" (Chauvin). The famous account of the Royal Danish Expedition (1761-67) to the Middle East, Egypt, Persia and India, the first scientific expedition to this area. Niebuhr's "work on Arabia was the first European attempt at a complete account of Arabia, its people and their way of life. He amassed a vast quantity of factual information which he relates in a simple unrhetorical fashion, distinguishing clearly between things observed personally and things learned from others. The expedition, which lasted six years, was sponsored by the Danish king, and included the brilliant Swedish scientist, Peter Forsskal, who died while in Yemen" (Cat. Sotheby‘s, 13 Oct 98, lot 1010). Of the five scientists, Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) was the sole survivor, and his work represents an important contribution to the study of the Middle East. His map of the Yemen, the first exact map of the area ever, remained the standard for the next 200 years. "Niebuhr's comprehensive description [...] was the best and most authentic of the day. Many subsequent travellers have acknowledged their debt to him, and only on a few minor points have they shown him to be in error. He was scientifically and philosophically minded, cautious and steady, and hardly the man to masquerade in Mekkah or wander with the Bedouins, but few contributed more solidly to the study of Arabia" (Atabey cat., 1st French ed.: Copenhagen, 1773). - Insignificant edge tear to final map. A fine, untrimmed copy with broad margins, spotless throughout. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1699. Howgego I, N25 (p. 752). Cf. Gay 3589. Chauvin X, 128. Not in Atabey. | |
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| Niebuhr's description of Arabia: an important contribution to the study of the Middle East | |
| 158 | Niebuhr, Carsten. Beschryving van Arabie, uit eigene waarnemingen en in 't land zelf verzamelde narigten opgesteld. Amsterdam & Utrecht, (Joannes Joseph Besseling for) S. J. Baalde & J. van Schoonhoven & Comp., 1774. 4to. (1 blank f.), (6), XXXXI, (1), 408, (14) pp., final blank f. (Bound with:) Michaelis, Johann David. Vragen aan een gezelschap van geleerde mannen, die op bevel zyner majesteit des Konings van Deenmarken naar Arabie reizen. Ibid., 1774. (1 blank f.), XLVI, 270, (2) pp. With engraved title page (including a vignette with allegorical figures, globe, etc.) for the first work and letterpress title page for the second work, 25 engraved plates (maps, plans, views, etc., 10 folding including 2 showing Arabic text with vowel points and decorations hand coloured) and 1 folding letterpress genealogical table. Dutch text set in roman type with passages in Arabic type. Contemp. red half sheepskin with marbled paper sides. |
| € 6,000 | |
| Dutch translation of an important and famous account of the Danish royal expedition to the Middle East, Egypt, Persia and India (1761-67), the first scientific expedition to this area. The original German edition was published two years earlier, in Copenhagen. Niebuhr's account is here bound with the Dutch translation of Michaëlis's work, containing a review of the first. "The expedition had been proposed by the Hebrew scholar Johann David Michäelis of Göttingen for the purpose of illustrating certain passages of the Old Testament, and initially envisaged only a single traveller, possible an Arabic scholar. However, the idea rapidly blossomed into a fully-fledged scientfiic expedition. The team eventually assembled, for which there was no appointed leader, included Niebuhr as surveyor, along with Friedrich Christian von Haven, Peter Forskall, Christian Carl Kramer, Georg Bauernfeind, and a Swedish ex-soldier named Berggren" (Howgego). - Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) was the sole survivor, and his work represents an important contribution to the study of the Middle East. His map of Yemen, the first exact map of the area ever, remained the standard for the next 200 years. The plates include views of the mosques of Mecca and Medina, and 6 maps including the map of Yemen and of the Gulf of Suez. Furthermore it contains Arabic specimens from the Qur'an, with vowel points and decorations hand coloured. Niebuhr's "accounts are probably the best and most authentic of their day" (Cox). - In fine condition; only minor foxing in a couple of plates. Wholly untrimmed, with all deckles intact. Binding rubbed and with some abrasions, but structurally sound. Important contribution to the study of the Middle East. (more) | |
| ¶ Howgego (to 1800) N24. Tiele, Bibl. 795. Cf. Atabey 873-874. Cox I, pp. 237-238. Gay, Bibl. de l'Afrique et Arabe 3589. | |
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| 159 | Norberg, Matthias (praes.) / Leffler, Sven Peter (resp.). Dissertatio de medicina Arabum. Lund, Berling, 1791. 4to. (2), 13 (not: 12), (1) pp. Marbled red boards. |
| € 650 | |
| First edition. - One of the earliest treatises ever about medicine in Arabia, written by the important Swedish orientalist Matthias Norberg (1747-1826). Also treats the pre-Mohammedian age. The Göteborg physician Sven Peter Leffler (1776-1850) was also active as a publisher and printer; he edited the "Bibliothek deutscher Classiker" for Bruzelius in Uppsala. - Several passages in Arabic and Greek. Very rare; not in auction records of the last three decades. Library catalogues show holdings for the British Library, Bibliothéque Nationale, National Library of Medicine, New York Public Library, Stabi Berlin, SUB Göttingen, and UB Greifswald. (more) | |
| ¶ Waller 14437. OCLC 14862938 and 257255159. Not in Wellcome or Blake (though held at NLM). Not in Macro. | |
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| First edition of two important works on twilight, including one written by the greatest Islamic physicist | |
| 160 | Nunes, Pedro. Salacie[n]sis, de crepusculis liber unus, nu[n]c rece[n]s & natus et editus. Including: Alhazen (Al-Haytham), Ibn. De causis crepusculorum liber unus, à Gerardo Cremonensi iam olim Latinita te donatus, nunc vero omniu[m] primum in lucem editus. Lisbon, Ludovicus Rodericus, January 1542. 4to. With woodcut allegorical and architectural title-page with putti and mythological women holding drapes hanging from an arch and the Royal Portuguese coat of arms at the foot, 40 woodcut figures in text (several half-page), Rodericus's large full-page emblematic woodcut printer's device (a dragon with the motto "Salus vitae" on a banderole), and many beautiful woodcut initials. Modern marbled boards. |
| € 67,500 | |
| First edition of one of the most important and rarest scientific works on twilight and optics from Portuguese soil, written by the greatest Portuguese mathematician Pedro Nuñez, Nunes or Nonius (1492-1577). The present De crepusculis discusses several problems concerning twilight and the refraction of light, and announces his new instrument for measuring exceedingly small angles, now called a nonius. Containing another work on twilight written by Ibn Al-Haytham (965-1039), the greatest Islamic physicist, whose seminal work in optics broke with ancient Greek theories. It appears here 30 years before it appeared in the first edition of his collected works, translated by the most famous and brilliant translator of the twelfth century, Gherardo da Cremona, who brought Arabic science to the West. It discusses the density of the atmosphere and establishes a relationship between atmosphere and height. It also notes that twilight only ceases or begins when the sun reaches 19 degrees below the horizon. With owner's inscription on title: "W.C. Parisus, 1603." Small natural hole in paper of leaf S5, slightly affecting the printer's device. Very good copy, complete with the half-page correction slip for the "Tabula arcuum crepusculorum ...". (more) | |
| ¶ Adams N 375. DSB X, 160-161. Honeyman 2353. Houzeau/Lancaster 1188 & 2473. Palau 196748. Poggendorff II, 305. Stilwell 781 & 863. Not in Vagnetti. | |
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| 161 | Ockley, Simon. The Conquest of Syria, Persia, and Aegypt, by the Saracens: containing the lives of Abubeker, Omar, and Othman, the immediate successors of Mahomet, giving an account of their most remarkable battles, sieges, &c. [...]. London, for R. Knaplock, J. Sprint, R. Smith, and J. Round, 1708. 8vo. XX, III-VIII, XI-XIV, (4), 391, (21) pp. Contemp panelled calf with giltstamped red label to gilt spine; leading edges gilt. Edges sprinkled in red. |
| € 1,800 | |
| First edition of the author's most famous work. The orientalist Simon Ockley (1678-1720) was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. He became fellow of Jesus College and vicar of Swavesey, and in 1711 was chosen Arabic professor of the university. His "'History of the Saracens' long enjoyed a great reputation; unfortunately Ockley took as his main authority a MS. in the Bodleian of Pseudo-Wakidi's 'Futúh al-Shám', which is rather historical romance than history. He also translated from the Arabic the Second Book of Esdras" (Enc. Brit.). A second volume appeared in 1718. - This copy includes 2 slightly different versions of the dedication to Henry Aldrich: the second, omitting his designation as 'One of Her Majesty's Chaplain in Ordinary', and containing other changes, is inserted in the preface. - Old ms. dates on t. p. Binding rubbed; hinges tender; extremeties worn. (more) | |
| ¶ Blackmer 1216. Gay 98. OCLC 13745389. | |
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| 162 | [Oman]. - U.S. Treaties with Siam and Muscat. Documents accompanying the Message of the President [...] Treaty between the United States of America and the King of Siam [...] Treaty between the United States of America and the Sultan of Muscat. [Washington, DC, 1837]. pp. 23-28. Disbound. |
| € 650 | |
| First Congressional printing of the first U.S. treaty with Siam, which was also the first American treaty with an Asian power. The two countries agree to "hold commercial intercourse in the ports of their respective nations as long as Heaven and Earth shall endure". In fact, most of the treaty concerns commerce. The first three pages are taken up with the Siamese treaty, the final three print the text of a similar treaty with Muscat, the first also with that Sultanate, now part of Oman. - Final leaf loose. Exceedingly rare. (more) | |
| ¶ Malloy, p. 1628 & 1228. | |
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| First printing of the most authentic history of Oman | |
| 163 | [Oman / Wahhabis]. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, edited by the Honorary Secretaries. [Vol. 43.] Part I [History, antiquities]. Calcutta, G. H. Rouse, Baptist Mission Press, 1874. 8vo. 3 vols. 98 pp. (99)-196 pp. (197)-309, (1) pp. With XIII plates (some folding, includes maps). Original illustrated printed wrappers. |
| € 2,500 | |
| Complete vol. 43 of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (JASB), "history and antiquities" section. Generally devoted to the Bengal region, which was under Muslim rule for much of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period, the Journal also published articles of Middle Eastern interest. The present set includes the "Annals of ´Omán, from early times to the year 1728 A.D. From an Arabic MS. by Sheykh Sirha´n bin Sa´i´d bin Sirha´n bin Muhammad, of the Benú ´Ali tribe of ´Omán, translated and annotated, by E. C. Ross, Political Agent at Muscat" (pp. 111-196). This chronicle, taken from the larger "Keshf-ul-Ghummeh" ("Dispeller of Grief"), forms "the most authentic and coherent account of the history of ´Omán that has emanated from native sources" (p. 112). Of similar interest is a contribution by J. O'Kinealy, the "Translation of an Arabic Pamphlet on the History and Doctrines of the Wahhábís, written by `Abdullah, grandson of `Abdul Wahháb, the founder of Wahhábism" (pp. 68-82). This pamphlet contains "a complete description of the taking of Makkah, and shews that the Wahhábís [...] entered the holy city not as warriors, but as pilgrims" (p. 68). - Spine defects; otherwise fine. Uncut, untrimmed copy. (more) | |
| ¶ ZDB-ID 436475-2. | |
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| 164 | Osman Bey. Les Imams et les Derviches. Pratiques, Superstitions, et Moeurs des Turcs. Paris, E. Dentu, 1881. 12mo. (4), 265, (1) pp. Dark blue cloth with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 150 | |
| Rare discussion of Muslim customs, beliefs, traditions, and superstitions. The Ottoman soldier Major Osman Bey (who also used the names Vladimir Andrejevich and Frederick Millingen) was an eccentric adventurer, stepson of Grand Vizier Kibrisli Mehmed Pasha and aide-de-camp to Müsir Mustafa Pasha. - Foxed throughout; stamps of the Bibliothéque Populaire of Nantes. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 17663456. | |
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| 165 | Osorius, Hieronymus. De rebus Emmanuelis, regis Lusitaniae invictissimi virtute et auspicio, annis sex ac viginti, domi forisque gestis, libri duodecim. Cologne, heirs of Arnold Birckmann, 1576. 8vo. (44), 374, (24) ff. Later brown calf; spine rebacked with giltstamped red spine label. All edges red. |
| € 3,500 | |
| Only German-printed edition. - Fundamental source for the history of the reign of King Manuel I, "the Fortunate", under whom Portugal discovered the sea route to India and built a colonial empire in the Indian Ocean. Bishop Jerónimo Osório (1506-80), the "Portuguese Cicero", first published his work (based on the chronicle by Damio de Goes) in 1571. It includes an account of the voyages of Vasco da Gama as well as sections on "Arabicae expeditiones fructus", the Arabs' navigational skill, the various sieges of Aden, etc. Also recounts how Mochrin, son-in-law to the prince of Mecca, wrested the island Bahrain ("large, adorned with many magnificent buildings, and very populous, as great numbers of merchants resorted there in matters of business") from the Kingdom of Hormuz, the dominant regional power of the time, and the Portuguese under Sequeire were persuaded to win the island back for the latter. - Title page dust-soiled and relaid; some underscoring in text. Cancelled library bookplate of University College, Oxford, as well as that of Edward John Payne, MA. Ms. ownership (1819) at end of text (William Walsh, "I bought this book at Bath"). Overall a very good tight copy of this book on Portuguese exploration in the Middle East. (more) | |
| ¶ VD 16, O 1357. BNHCat O 225. | |
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| 166 | Palgrave, William Gifford. Une Anée de Voyage dans l'Arabie Centrale (1862-1863). Paris, Librairie Hachette Large 8vo. 2 vols. (6), XVI, 346 pp. (4), 429, (1) pp. With engr. portrait, double-page-sized lithogr. maps, and 4 lithogr. plans. Contemp. cloth with giltstamped spine title. All edges gilt. |
| € 950 | |
| First French edition; published in 1865 as "Narrative of a Year's Journey Through Central and Eastern Arabia". This travelogue, recounting a journey across the Arabian Peninsula from Ryadh to the Arabian Gulf, was highly esteemed at the time of its publication, though is now known to contains fictional passages. - Hinges worn; front covers loosened. (more) | |
| ¶ Henze III, 693. Cf. Macro 1731. | |
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| Rare 16th-century German edition of the ancient Sanskrit Bidpai fables which became known in Europe through Hebrew translations of Arabic versions | |
| 167 | [Panchatantra/Bidpai (Johannes de Capua and Anton von Pforr, transl.)]. Der alten Weisenn exempel sprüch, mit vil schönen Beyspilen und Figuren erleüchtet. (Strasbourg, Jacob Frölich, 1539). Folio. With half-page woodcut illustration on title-page, further 1 full-page and 112 smaller (ca. 9 x 14 cm) woodcut illustrations in the text (including a small number of repeats), a woodcut royal procession above and woodcut device of a swan playing a viol below the colophon, numerous woodcut pictorial and decorative strips. Modern blind-tooled calf in 16th-century style. |
| € 60,000 | |
| Rare early 16th-century German edition of the ancient Sanskrit Panchatantra fables, a classic of the genre, thought to have been assembled ca. 200 BC out of stories from an even older oral tradition. The title means "five books" and the stories became known in Europe through Hebrew translations of Arabic versions under the name Bidpai. Composed as a series of fables in a frame story (sometimes several layers of frame stories), it contains about 140 fables featuring animals as a mirror for human behaviour and was intended to educate people, especially young rulers. The various sections are designed to teach wisdom, courtesy correct conduct for princes and other virtuous and practical traits. The fables were translated into Greek and Hebrew in the Middle Ages from Arabic versions that were derived from Persian translations of the Sanskrit. Johannes de Capua translated the Hebrew into Latin around 1200, setting the standard for most European versions, which took on a life of their own. His Latin version first appeared in print in 1480 and Anton von Pforr's German translation of the Latin followed it in 1483. - With a tear in the title-page and a few other minor defects skillfully repaired, and some unobtrusive water stains, but generally in good condition. (more) | |
| ¶ Metzner & Raabe, Kat. ill. Fabelausg. 1461-1990 (Frankfurt, 1998), no. 20, 3. VD 16, J 381 (6 copies). Cf. BMC-STC German 908 (1545 ed.). Fabula Docet 29 (1st Pforr ed., c. 1481/82). Fairfax Murray, German, 70-71 (1483 & 1490 eds.). | |
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| 168 | Pardoe, [Julia]. The Beauties of the Bosphorus. London, Virtue & Co., [1840]. Small folio. (4), XII, (3)-172 pp. With engr. portrait frontispiece, engr. title page, 85 steel engravings (after William H. Bartlett) and 1 map. Splendid contemp. giltstamped green morocco with fillets, dentelle border, and a central pointillé ornament adorned with flowerbuds. Spine, leading edges and inner dentelle attractively gilt. All edges gilt. |
| € 1,200 | |
| Third edition. - The British travel writer Julia S. H. Pardoe (1806-62), who, suffering from consumption, had been taken South early in her youth, accompanied her father to Constantinople in 1835 and was famous for her literary reports on Portugal and the Near East even as a child. "Since Lady Mary Wortley Montagu probably no woman has acquired so intimate a knowledge of Turkey [...] [Her] works, written [...] in a pleasant and graceful style, attracted a large share of notice, and, as popular history, may still be read with pleasure" (DNB). - First published in 1838 with only 78 plates; later editions were published under the title "Picturesque Europe" (1854 and 1874). The pretty views are engraved after William Henry Bartlett (1809-54), who series of oriental and American topography were then very popular (cf. Thieme/B. II, 554). - Occasionally slightly browned or foxed (stronger in four plates). Binding insignificantly rubbed at corners and raised bands, otherwise very nicely preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ DNB 15, 201, 5. BLC 246, 438. | |
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| 169 | [Pashtu-Hindustani dictionary]. Irtiza Khan Farhang i Irtiza. No place, 1226 H (= 1810 CE). Folio. 383 ff. Ms. in red and black. Contemp. boards (damaged). |
| € 2,500 | |
| Pashtu-Hindustani dictionary. - First 23 pages with contemp. ms. foliation (skipping a leaf between 15 and 16). Upper corner waterstained throughout. Binding loosened near end; a few loose leaves. (more) | |
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| The Venetian Merchant's Pocketbook | |
| 170 | Pasi, Bartolomeo di. Tariffa de i pesi, e misure corrispondenti dal Levante al Ponente: e da una terra, e luogo allaltro, quasi p tutte le parti dil mondo: con la dichiaratione, e notificatione di tutte le robbe: che si tragono di uno paese per laltro con la sua tavola copiosissima, e facilissima a trovare ogni cosa per ordine. Venice, P. de Sabbio, 1540. 8vo. (12), 200 ff. Title with architectural woodcut border. Brown morocco (signed Masson-Debonelle) with gilt title to spine, leading edges and inner dentelle gilt. All edges gilt. |
| € 12,000 | |
| An early merchants' guide to the measurements of the Mediterranean and Near East, this pocketbook for sixteenth-century Italian traders is one of the foremost sources for the study of the metrologies of Venice and her trading partners in the early sixteenth century. It enabled conversion between Venetian currency, weights and measures and units of other Italian city-states, European neighbours and more exotic locations in the Levant, North Africa, the Near and Middle East, including Constantinople, Aleppo, Tripoli, Damascus, Cyprus, Corfu, Rhodes, and Crete. Pasi's manual is invaluable as a record of the panoply of commodities traded in the Mediterranean at the start of the sixteenth century, including pearls, silks, wool, saffron, chestnuts, figs, galangal, vegetable oils, gold and silver. On fols. 3, 11, and 12, Pasi recorded the tariffs on pearls in Damascus, Aleppo, Cairo, Alexandria, Constantinople and Venice. Most likely the famous merchant Balbi carried a copy of this classic on his travels. - First printed in Venice in 1503, and again in 1521, this 1540 edition appears to be the third and was followed by another in 1557. - An excellent clean copy in a charming French binding. Very rare: the only copy of any edition to surface at auction within the last thirty years appears to be the Honeyman copy of the 1503 edition. (more) | |
| ¶ Kress 51. Adams P 374. Smith, Rara Arithmetica, 79. Cf. Goldsmiths' 7 (1503 edition). R. A. Donkin, Beyond price. Pearls and pearl fishing: origins to the age of discoveries (Philadelphia, 1998), p. 138. | |
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| 171 | Perkins, Justice. A Residence of Eight Years in Persia, Among the Nestorian Christians; with Notices of the Muhammedans. Andover & New York, Allen, Morrill & Wardwell, 1843. 8vo. XVIII, (2), 512 pp. With lithogr. frontispiece, large folding lithogr. map, and 26 lithogr. plates (23 in hand-colour: mostly costumes, but including views and a portrait). Contemp. blindstamped cloth with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 2,500 | |
| First edition. - Some foxing throughout; occasional waterstaining. Inscribed on flyleaf by the author: "Library of the British Embassy at Tehrán, Presented by the Author", with later inscription added by another hand: "To T. S. Thomson on the occasion of another invasion by the Assyrian. 8. XI. 33" and note "Pehawar 8 - 11 - 33". (more) | |
| ¶ Ghani 300. Smith P57. Schwab 440. Hiler. | |
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| 172 | [Persian Telegraph]. East India (Persian Telegraph). Return showing the outlay by the Government of India on the lines of telegraph in Persia, in the Persian Gulf, and in the Arabian Sea; and, showing the revenue and expenditure of these lines since their opening in February 1868. [London], 1868. Folio. (4) pp. Disbound. |
| € 250 | |
| From the House of Commons parliamentary papers, vol. 50 (1867-68), no. 343. Answer to a parliamentary enquiry into the expenditure and revenue of the recently opened telegraph lines which connected Britain with the Indian Empire via Egypt. (more) | |
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| 173 | Philby, Harry St John Bridger. Arabia of the Wahhabis. London, Constable, 1928. 8vo. XV, 422 pp. With frontispiece, 24 plates, numerous diagrams, and a large folding map, original brown cloth. |
| € 850 | |
| First edition. - St. John Philby (1885-1960), also known by his Arabian name "Sheikh Abdullah", was an Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence officer. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he studied oriental languages and was a friend and classmate of Jawaharlal Nehru, later prime Minister of India. In late 1917 Philby, who had been posted to Mesopotamia in 1915, led a small British diplomatic mission to confer with Ibn Saud, the Wahhabi ruler of Najd in central Asia. The text illustrations are based on sketches by the author's son, "Kim" Philby, later notorious as the Soviet mole in the British Secret Service. - An excellent copy, with very insignificant foxing to first and last pages. Signature of "Andrew Morrison, Aberdeen" on front flyleaf. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1774. | |
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| 174 | Philby, Harry St John Bridger. Collection of Nine of H. St John Philby's Works in their First Editions, 1928-64. London & New York, Constable, Holt, Hale, etc., 1928-1964. Nine 8vo volumes in good to very good condition, four with original dustjackets. Many plates, folding maps, etc. |
| € 3,000 | |
| Arabia of the Wahabis (London: Constable, 1928), with large and detailed coloured folding map of Riyadh and its surroundings. The Empty Quarter (New York: Holt, 1933) with large coloured folding maps. Sheba's Daughters: Being A Record of Travel in Southern Arabia (London: Methuen, 1939) with maps and plates. A Pilgrim in Arabia (London: Hale, 1946), first edition for popular circulation in original dustjcaket. Arabian Days: An Autobiography (London: Hale, 1948), second impression of the first edition. Arabian Highlands (Cornell University Press, 1952), with dustjacket in very good condition. Arabian Jubille (London: Hale, 1952), dedicated to Ibn Sa'ud with frontispiece portrait the ruler. Sa'udi Arabia (London: Benn, 1955), Philby's history of the formation of the Arabian state. Original dustjacket in poor condition. Arabian Oil Ventures (Washington: The Middle East Institute, 1964), "the story of how the oil concession of Saudi Arabia was made, from [the author's] own intimate view as participant in the negotiations". - St. John Philby (1885-1960), also known by his Arabian name "Sheikh Abdullah", was an Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence officer. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he studied oriental languages and was a friend and classmate of Jawaharlal Nehru, later prime Minister of India. Philby settled in Jeddah and became famous as an international writer and explorer. He personally mapped on camelback what is now the Saudi-Yemeni border on the Rub' al Khali; in 1932, while searching for the lost city of Ubar, he was the first Westerner to visit and describe the Wabar craters. At this time, Philby also became Ibn Saud's chief adviser in dealing with the British Empire and Western powers. He converted to Islam in 1930. The personal contacts between the United States and Saudi Arabia were largely channeled through the person of Philby. (more) | |
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| 175 | [Philippus a Sanctissima Trinitate]. Orientalische Räisebeschreibung. Frankfurt, Joh. Georg Schiele, 1671. With engraved frontispiece by P. Troschel showing two scenes: natives butchering victims and cooking their limbs in a cauldron (above) and two natives holding a cartouche with title and author's initials (below), woodcut decoration on title-page. With: (2) Frick, Christoph. Ost-Indianische Räysen und Krieges-Dienste, oder eine außführliche Beschreibung, was sich zeit solcher, nemlich von A. 1680. biß A. 1685. Ulm, Matthaeus Wagner, 1692. With title-page in red and black, an engraved frontispiece portrait of the author by Kilian, dated 1692, 8 engraved plates (2 folding). Map lacking. (3) Benaglia, Giovanni. Außführliche Reiß-Beschreibung, von Wien nach Constantinopel, und wieder zurück in Teutschland. Frankfurt, Matthaeus Wagner, 1687. With title-page in red and black. Frontispiece lacking. (4) Schreyer, Johann. Neue Ost-Indianische Reiß-Beschreibung, von anno 1669. biß 1677. handelnde von unterschiedenen Africanischen und Barbarischen Völkern, sonderlich derer an dem Vor-Gebürge, Caput Bonae Spei sich enthaltenden so genannten Hottentoten. Leipzig, Johann Christian Wohlfart, 1681. With title-page in red and black. (5) J.Y.Z. Offener Wechsel-Brief eines klugen Vaters zu Ausführung der Welt-Reise vor seine Söhne. Aus dem Frantzösischen ins Teutsche gebracht, ... [Saxony?], 1697. 5 works in 1 volume. 8vo. Contemporary vellum. |
| € 12,500 | |
| Four rare German accounts of travels to and through the Middle and Near East (including Constantinople), India, the East Indies and Africa, plus a father's advice to his sons as they set out on a world tour, bound together in one volume. - Ad 1: First German edition of a description of voyages to the Near East (Palestine, Syria, Arabia), Persia, India and Sumatra by Philippus a Sanctissima Trinitate (1603-1671). The book is full of remarkable observations on Islam, martyrdom of Christians, the position of the colonial powers, Mount Carmel in Palestine, etc. - Ad 2: First edition of an extensive and important account of the travels and experiences of the German surgeon Christoph Frick or Frike (1659-post 1717) from Ulm via Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the years 1680-1685. Of special note is his eye-witness account of the Bantam war and his own role in the expedition against the Sultan of Bantam in 1681. - Ad 3: First German edition of an interesting account of the Embassy of the Extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador Alberto Caprara (1627-1691) from the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna to Constantinople to treat respecting a continuation of the truce with the Ottoman authorities. - Ad 4: Rare second edition of surgeon John Schreyer's narrative of his recent journey to the East Indies, dealing with various "barbarous" African peoples, but especially those residing at the Cape of Good Hope, called "Hottentots" (Khoikhoi), describing their mode of living, clothes, households, marriage customs, education, death and burial, etc. - Ad 5: Extremely rare words of advice in the form of an open letter from a wise father to his sons as they set of on a "Welt-Reise". It is a short moral treatise offering a whole series of do's and don'ts for leading a good life and behaving well as a travelling young man. Two other copies were known, but one was probably destroyed in a 2004 fire. - Although some of the works had been previously bound, the present binding is contemporary with the most recent work (1697). With bookplate of the Macclesfield library on front paste-down. The second work lacking a map, the third a frontispiece, and worm holes at the foot of the first leaves of the first work, and the title-pages of the second and third works are slightly shaved, the former with the loss of 1 letter. Still generally in good condition, slightly browned. Spine slightly damaged. (more) | |
| ¶ Ad 1: VD 17, 23:313525H (5 copies). Ad 2: VD 17, 39:120450V (7 copies). R. van Gelder, Het Oost-Indisch avontuur: Duitsers in dienst van de VOC (1997), 290. Landwehr, VOC 319. Tiele II, 364. Ad 3: VD 17, 23:233670N (7 copies). Hausmann, O 122. Diz. biogr. degli Italiani XIX, 167f. Ad 4: VD 17, 14:656715V (4 copies). Mendelssohn, 289. Ad 5: VD 17, 3:304641X (1 copy). | |
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| Finely bound set from an Irish noble library | |
| 176 | Pococke, Richard. A Description of the East, and Some other Countries. London, W. Bowyer for the author, 1743-1745. Royal folio (416 x 253 mm). 3 pts. in 2 vols. With 3 engr. title vignettes, engr. dedication in vol. 2, and 178 engr. plates, views, and maps (some folding). Somewhat later red calf with giltstamped label to elaborately gilt spine. Leading edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. |
| € 25,000 | |
| First edition; very rare. "[A work of] superior learning and dignity" (Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. 11, n. 69). The first German translation appeared at Erlangen in 1754/55; soon French and Dutch translations followed. "Pococke travelled extensively in Europe from 1733-36 and continued on to the Levant, reaching Alexandria in September 1737. He remained three years in the Eastern Mediterranean, visiting Egypt, Palestine, Asia Minor and Greece. His book describes these journeys but not necessarily in chronological order. The plates of antiquities are after drawings by Pococke himself [...] Pococke achieved a great reputation with this publication; the work was very popular during his lifetime and was praised by Gibbon" (Blackmer). "The quality and particularly the earliness of his observations and their record in prose, maps, and diagrams make him one of the most important near eastern travellers, ranking with Frederik Ludvig Norden and Carsten Niebuhr, in stimulating an Egyptian revival in European art and architecture, and recording much that has subsequently been lost" (DNB). - Finely bound set showing very little rubbing; hinges beginning to split or very slightly loosened. One plate shows a large tear; otherwise immaculate. From the library of the Irish nobleman Edward Garth-Turnour, 1st Earl Winterton (1734-88), with his autogr. ownership to flyleaf (dated 1778). Later in the collection of the country squire Charles Benjamin Caldwell (1809-96) of New Grange, County Meath (his bookplate on front pastedown). (more) | |
| ¶ Blackmer 1323. Tobler 127f. Nissen (ZBI) 3206. | |
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| Collection of Arabic manuscripts owned by the first European in modern times to visit the ancient city of Petra | |
| 177 | Preston, Theodore. Catalogus Bibliothecae Burckhardtianae cum appendice librorum aliorum orientalium in Bibliotheca Academiae Cantabrigiensis asservatorum [...]. Cambridge, (University Press), 1853. 4to. (4), 64 pp. Original wrappers. Text in Latin and Arabic. |
| € 1,500 | |
| Rare library catalogue containing the large collection of Arabic manuscripts and oriental books formerly owned by John Lewis (Johann Ludwig or Jean Louis) Burckhardt, also known as Ibrahim Ibn 'abd Allah (1784-1817), "the first European in modern times to visit the ancient city of Petra and to arrive at the great Egyptian temple at Abu Simbel. Burckhardt went to England in 1806 and studied in London and at Cambridge University. In 1809, under the auspices of the Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa, he visited Syria to learn Arabic and to accustom himself to Muslim life. According to instructions from the London association, he was then to journey to the regions south of the Sahara, via Fezzan, now the southwestern sector of Libya. In 1812, en route from Syria to Cairo, he discovered the important archaeological site at Petra, in modern Jordan. Upon his arrival in Cairo he found no immediate prospect for a reliable caravan to Fezzan; hence he decided to travel up the Nile. In so doing he discovered the temple at Abu Simbel, generally considered one of the most imposing of all rock temples. Next he traveled through Arabia, visiting Mecca. He then returned to Cairo where he died, still waiting for a chance to cross the Sahara. Burckhardt, who took a Muslim name and often wore Muslim dress, left his large collection of Arabic manuscripts to Cambridge University. His writings include 'Travels in Nubia' (1819), 'Travels in Syria and the Holy Land' (1822), and 'Travels in Arabia' (1829)" (Encyclopædia Britannica, s. v. ). - Spine repaired; some occasional soiling and spotting. A fine copy with contemporary ink manuscript entry on title page, dated June 1859. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf. Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (2012), in: Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/84956/Johann-Ludwig-Burckhardt>. Cf. Atabey 166 (Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, 1822); Blackmer 237-41 (Burckardt's travels in Syria, Nubia, Arabia and his Arabic proverbs in various editions and translations). K. Sim, Desert Traveller: The Life of Jean Louis Burckhardt (1969). KVK (9 copies). | |
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| 178 | Quran. Al-Koranum Mahumedanum. Das ist, Der Türcken Religion, Gesetz, und Gottslästerliche Lehr. Mit einer schrifftmässigen Widerlegung der Jüdischen Fabeln, Mahumedischen Träumen; närrischen und verführischen Menschentands. Dabey zum Eingang deß Mahumeds Ankunfft, erdichte Lehr, und Ausbreitung derselben. Darnach die Gesetz und Ceremonien deß Alkorans; samt dem erdichteten Paradeiß. Endlich ein Anhang von der jetzigen Christen in Griechenland Leben, Religion und Wandel. Benebenst einem nothwendigen Register, zufinden. Nuremberg, Endter, 1659. 4to. (8), 928, (56) pp. With title page in red and black and a woodcut vignette. Contemp. marbled half vellum (wants spine). |
| € 2,500 | |
| Third edition of the first German Qur'an translation (first published in 1616). "An Italian version was published in Venice in 1547, shortly after the publication of Theodor Bibliander's 'Mother of all Qur'an editions' [...] It was this edition which Schweigger consulted and translated as early as 1578 during his three-year stay in Istanbul [...] His very cumbersome translation is accompanied by a most polemical section on the life and doctrine of Muhammad" (Enay). - One leaf with a large corner defect (some loss to text on pp. 215/216). Autogr. ownership note "Johann Jacob Striffler Wertheim, Pfarrer in Haßloch 1789" on t. p. (more) | |
| ¶ Graesse IV, 43. Cf. Schnurrer 427; Fück 9; Smitskamp 144; Enay 177 (all citing the 1616 first edition). | |
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| 179 | Quran. L’Alcoran de Mahomet. Traduit de l’Arabe, par André du Ryer, sieur de la Garde Malezair. Nouvelle edition, revue, corrigée & augmentée des observations historiques & critiques sur le Mahometisme, ou traduction du discours préliminaire mis à la tête de la version angloise de l’Alcoran, publiée par George Sale. Amsterdam & Leipzig, Arkstée & Merkus, 1770. 8vo. 2 vols. XVIII, 472 pp. (2), 476 pp. Both title pages printed in red and black, with woodcut vignette. With folding engr. map, 4 folding engr. plates and engraved frontispiece. Contemp. calf. Edges red. |
| € 500 | |
| Pretty French Qur'an edition in du Ryer's (1580-1658) translation. The historical introduction which encompasses the majority of vol. 1 is translated from the English introduction to the edition by George Sales (1697-1736). The plates show the Kaaba in Mecca, genealogical tables, and a map of the Arabian peninsula. - Tiny tear in map (not touching image). Slight defect to front flyleaves. Binding slightly rubbed; spine-ends with small defects; altogether a fine copy with only occasional browning. Rare. (more) | |
| ¶ BM-Arabic I, 890. Binark-Eren 677. Chauvin 128. | |
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| First printed translation of the Quran | |
| 180 | [Quran.] Bibliander, Theodor. Machumetis Saracenorum principis, eiusque successorum vitae, doctrina, ac ipse Alcoran, quo velut authen[t]ico legum divinarum codice Agareni & Turcae, alijque Christo adversantes reguntur...His adiunctae sunt confutationes multorum [...] authorum, Arabum, Graecorum, & Latinoru[m], una cum doctiss. viri Philippi Melanchthonis praemonitione [...] Adiuncti sunt etiam de Turcum, [...] ac rebus gestis, à DCCCC annis ad nostra usque tempora [...] Haec omnia in unum volumen redacta sunt, opera & studio Theodori Bibliandri, Ecclesiae Tigurinae ministri [...], qui [...] Alcorani textum emendavit, & marginibus opposuit Annatationes [...]. [Basel, Johann Oporinus], March 1550. Folio (220 x 318 mm). 3 pts. in 1 vol. (24), 227, (1) pp. - II: Confutationes legis Mahumeticae, quam vocant Alcoranum [...] Accessit item Ioannis Kantakuzeni constantinopolitani regis, contra Mahometicam fidem Christiana & orthodoxa assertio [...]. (4) ff., 358 cols., (1 bl. p.). - III: Historiae de Saracenorum sive de Turcarum origine, moribus, nequitia, religione, rebus gestis: itemque de ordinatine politiae eorundem domi & foris, & disciplina ac ordine militiae Turcicae, deque itineribus in Turciam [...]. 235, (1) pp. With several woodcut initials. Contemp. blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards (front cover monogrammed and dated "MMA [Magister Mathusalen Arnoldi] 1565"). Spine rebacked. Remains of clasps. |
| € 8,500 | |
| The first printed translation of the Quran, including a collection of the most important anti-Islamic treatises of the middle ages. The first printed edition of the Arabic text, produced by Alessandro Paganini in Venice in 1537/38, was banned by the Catholic church and was long considered completely lost to the flames. A printed translation was not undertaken until 1543; the present edition of the 1550 reprint of that version (the original 1543 edition is not listed in auction records of the last decades and is considered unobtainable). - Covers rubbed; corners bumped; spine rebacked around 1900 with new material; modern endpapers. Interior browned throughout; occasional slight edge defects (wants lower corner of t. p.). Contemp. marginalia throughout. From the library of the Hessian theologian Mathusalen (Methusalem) Arnoldi (1530-1601; cf. Strieder), who preached at St. Mary's in Marburg from 1555 to 1563 (t. p. shows his autogr. ownership, dated 1565, and motto). (more) | |
| ¶ VD 16, K 2586. Adams M 1890 (collation agreeing with ours). Göllner 889 (different collation for pt. III: (4) ff., 235 pp.; while all quoted incipits agree with our copy). Cf. Göllner 792/793 (note). Benzing, Luther 2766-68. | |
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| 181 | Quran. Illuminated Quran manuscript. No place [probably Ottoman Empire, Persia, Central Asia/Buchara], Radshab 960 AH (June/July 1553). 8vo (184 x 130 mm). Naskhi calligraphy, 14 lines. Black ink on polished paper. Borders in blue and gold; sura headings with verse number and place or revelation in gilt ink, surrounded by red hatching. First two pages show elaborate ornamentation with gilt cartouches on lapislazuli background; 1st and 2nd sura flanked by narrow vertical rectangles with an intricate tendril-and-blossom design. Gilt spaces show palmettes in blue and pink; contrasting blue spaces contain arabesque buds in red, pink, green, and white. Contemporary blind- and giltstamped dark brown morocco binding with fore-edge flap, decorated with a gilt central medaillon (Shamsîya), borders and corner stamps. |
| € 18,000 | |
| Complete Quran ms. showing outstanding illumination and calligraphy, dated 960 AH (1553 AD) and written by Darwîsh Muhammad ibn Shams al-Dîn al-Mud[...] (illegible). The design of the elaborately decorated first two pages is typical for the 16th century, but does not permit us to deduce the place of origin. Most illumination is executed in various shades of gold. The high quality of the calligraphy is equalled by that of the illumination: the gilt sura divisions show finely drawn blue outlines; recitation notes are in red ink. Curiously, the end of the Quran text is followed by an acclamation: "Sadaqa 'llâh al-azîm wa-sadaqa rasûluhu 'l-karîm [...] ("The almightly God has spoken well, and so has his noble prophet, and we are witnesses thereof") before the colophone with the name of the calligrapher and the date: "written in the month Radshab of the year 960" [i.e., 13 June 1553 through 12 July 1553). - At the end of the volume a long Arabic prayer has been added in the late 18th or early 19th century. While the scribe was not a trained calligrapher, it does feature a very attractive heading in gilt ink: "Wa-tammat kalimâtu rabbika sidqan wa-'adlan [...]" ("And the words of the Lord have ended truthfully and well [...] He is the All-Hearer, the Omniscient"). Final flyleaves show a table listing different canonic readings of the Quran (in black, red, and gilt ink) as well as a genealogy of the Mekkan Quraysh tribe, of which the Prophet Muhammad was a member. Names of significant men are in black ink; honorifics (hadrat) and eulogies are added in red. - Slight rubbing to opening double page. Trimmed as early as the 16th century (a frequent practise to delete earlier ownerships or dedications) with loss to margins of title illumination; the binding, while not the original first one, is still contemporary. (more) | |
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| The original Polish edition | |
| 182 | Raczynski, Edward. Dziennik podrózy do Turcyi odbytey w roku MDCCCXIV. Breslau, Grass, Barth & Co., 1821. Royal folio (c. 390 x 530 mm). (2), VII, (1), 204, VIII pp. With 63 full-page, 2 folding and 16 half-page plates (mostly engraved after Ludwig Christian Fuhrmann, some after drawings by the author). Nos. 20 and 45 not published; number 28 repeated. Contemp. boards with printed title label on spine. |
| € 25,000 | |
| First edition. - The very rare original edition of this important account of a journey through Turkey and Asia Minor. According to Brunet the finest publication ever to leave a Polish press, it was soon translated into German as "Malerische Reise in einigen Provinzen des Osmanischen Reichs" (last sold for £20,400 at Sotheby's 2004 Natural History and Travel Sale; no copy of the present original edition has appeared at German auctions during the last decades). The Polish statesman Count Edward Raczynski (1786-1845), a patron of the arts and founder of the Raczynski Library in Poznan, travelled to Constantinople by way of Odessa during the months of July through November 1814. He was accompanied by Ludwig Christian Fuhrmann (1783-1829) as draughtsman, and most if the plates are engraved after his drawings. Raczynski also visited the Troad, the peninsula containing the ruins of Troy, of which a detailed description is given. This beautifully illustrated work is highly sought-after for its many detailed engravings, including a folding map of Istanbul, illustrations of the ruins of Troy and Assos, the bay of Lesbos, a portrait of Sultan Muhammad IV, the mosque of the Sultan, etc. Brunet praises it as "l'ouvrage le plus magnifique qui ait encore paru en Pologne". Binding somewhat rubbed; edges, corners and hinges showing some wear. Interior rather browned throughout due to paper. Only 5 copies of this original edition listed in library catalogues internationally (BL, BnF, LoC, Stabi Berlin, NL Sweden). (more) | |
| ¶ Brunet IV, 20412. Weber 133 (note). Not in Atabey or Blackmer. | |
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| 183 | Raunkiaer, Barclay. Gennem Wahhabiternes Land par Kamelryg: Beretning om den af det Kongelige Danske Geografiske Selskab planlagte og bekostede forskningsrejse i Ost- og Centralarabien, 1912. Copenhagen, Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag, 1913. 304 pp. With 88 illustrations and a large folding map. Original wrappers. 8vo. |
| € 650 | |
| First edition of this account of exploration in Eastern and Central Arabia in 1912. Text in Danish. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1867. | |
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| First exploration of the flora of the Near East | |
| 184 | Rauwolf, Leonhard. Aigentliche beschreibung der Raiß, so er inn die Morgenländer selbs volbracht. Augsburg, G. Willer, 1583. 4to. 4 parts in one volume. (16), 487, (55) pp. Modern vellum using a leaf from an earlier antiphonary. 4 ties. |
| € 12,000 | |
| First complete edition, including the fourth part which contains 42 woodcuts of oriental plants unknown till then, among them the Rauwolfia (important to pharmaceutics). Rauwolf, an Augsburg physician, travelled to the Near East to collect and describe the flora of the region. His account of the three-year journey provides details not only of the plants he encountered but also of the people and customs and of the difficulties of travel, containing many authentic and reliable observations. His reports also include the first printed account of coffee as a social drink (cf. Hünersdorff/H. II, 1221). "He was the first modern botanist to collect and describe the flora of the regions east of the Levantine coast" (Norman). The Burrell copy of the 1582 edition - still without the fourth part with the illustrations - fetched GBP 16,200 (Sothebys, 5 Oct 99, lot 677). - Washed throughout and heavily restored in places. (more) | |
| ¶ VD 16, R 431. Norman 1782. Bucher 129 & 130. Mueller 173. Hünersdorff/H. 1221. Röhricht 758. Wellcome I, 5347. Tobler 80. | |
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| 185 | Richard, Charles. Les mystères du peuple Arabe. Paris, Challamel ainé, 1860. Small 8vo. XXIII, (1), 242 pp. Contemp. half cloth with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 350 | |
| Rare first edition. - About Arabian customs and ways of thinking about politics, war, oppression, freedom etc. Commandant Charles-Louis-Florentin Richard, former "Chef des affaires Arabes", chose for his essay the setting of an Algerian marketplace. After extensive descriptions of the surroundings, the market, the colours, etc., several characters expound their various ideas and opinions in dialogue form. - Strong foxing throughout; slight inkstain to several quires. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 457853224. Not in Gay or Chadenat. | |
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| 186 | Roberts, David. The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. London, Day & Son, 1855-1856. 6 vols. bound as 3. Large 4to (29 x 20 cm). With tinted lithogr. portrait, 6 titles, 2 maps & 241 plates, totalling 250 tissue-guarded plates of the Holy Land and the Middle East, with accompanying text. Three-quarters morocco with pebbled cloth sides, marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. |
| € 18,000 | |
| First quarto edition. The monumental series of views of ancient sites in the Near and Middle East created by British artist David Roberts work is today regarded as one of the most important and elaborate ventures of nineteenth-century publishing, and the apotheosis of the tinted lithograph. - With a small David Roberts autograph note laid in: "My dear Sir James, your note came all right, and which I answered this morning in the affirmative - the delay arose from the precarious state of my [...] health. Yours always [...]". - Light wear, remains of bookplates on front pastedown, but a clean, sound set. (more) | |
| ¶ Abbey Travel 272 & 385 & 388; 341. Aboussouan 790. Röhricht 405. | |
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| 187 | Robinson, Arthur E. The Mahmal of the Moslem Pilgrimage. [London], Royal Asiatic Society, 1931. 8vo. (117)-127, (1) pp. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 250 | |
| Offprint from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. About the Mahmal, the closed rectangular pyramidal canopy taken along on camelback on Egyptian and Syrian pilgrimages to Mecca before Ibn Saud's conquest of the Hejaz in 1925 - a "very curious custom in Islam", the origin and purport of which the present essay undertakes to investigate. "It is very improbable that the Mahmal [...] will be seen in the Hejaz again [...] The Mahmal is heretical to Islam, and the Wahhabis [...] have declined to admit the Mahmal into the Hejaz" (p. 117). - Wrapper shows insignificant ruststains from staples, otherwise in perfect condition. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 47931240. Not in Macro. | |
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| 188 | Roches, Léon. Trente-deux ans a travers l'Islam. (1832-1864). Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1884-1885. 8vo. 2 vols. 508 pp. 503 pp. With portrait frontispiece. Contemp. green marbled half cloth with gilstatmped labels to spine. |
| € 800 | |
| First edition. - Born in Grenoble to a Franco-Algerian emigrant, Roches (1809-1901) became an officer in the National Guard created by the Duc de Rovigo, Governor General of Algeria. He learned Arabic and joined the camp of Abdul Kader, leader of Algerian resistance to France. Roches converted to Islam and travelled to Tunisia and Cairo, where he met Mohammed Ali. He also visited Hijaz, Madinah and Mecca. He describes the pilgrimage, the two cities and the arrival of the Syrian and Egyptian Mahmal. Roches returned to Algeria via Cairo and Rome, but was later driven out of the country and took refuge in Morocco. After the defeat of Prince Abdul Kader in 1848, Roches held official positions in Tripoli and Tunis. The first volume of his memoir deals with his travels in Algeria and his relations with Prince Abdul Kadir. The second volume deals with his mission to Mecca. - Fine copy from the library of Baron J. de Jessé-Levas with his bookplate to pastedowns and his autogr. signature and note "Rare" to flyleaves. (more) | |
| ¶ Playfair, Bibliography of Algeria, 1575. OCLC 10589735. Not in Macro. | |
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| 189 | Rosellini, Ippolito. I monumenti dell'Egitto e della Nubia. Disegnati dalla spedizione scientifico-letteraria Toscana in Egitto. Pisa, Nicolo Capurro, 1832-1844. Royal folio (723 x 520 mm). 3 atlas vols. (without text vols.). Half-title, 395 engr. plates (of which 137 are in original hand colour). Contemp. green half morocco on seven raised bands with giltstamped cover borders, double giltstamped spine labels and elaborately gilt spine. Marbled endpapers. |
| € 185,000 | |
| The monumental, extremely rare atlas volumes of the "Monumenti" of Ippolito Rosellini (1800-43), the father of Italian Egyptology and one of the field's leading scholars of his age. The plates, many of which are splendidly coloured, depict Egyptian murals, architectural views, and plans of tombs. The massive set, divided into antique, profane, and religious monuments, was the result of an Egyptian expedition undertaken in 1828 with his teacher and friend Jean François Champollion, jointly funded by King Charles X of France and Leopold II of Tuscany (to which latter ruler the entire work is dedicated). Together with the works of Champollion and Lepsius, this is one of the pre-eminent coloured-plate publications of the 19th century. - Bindings rubbed; interiors a little browned in places (more pronounced near end of 3rd vol.); two plates creased in the blank margins. Embossed library stamp of the Wigan Free Public Library on title page: one of the many luxury publications acquired by the mining town of Wigan in Lancashire in the late 1870s after the local surgeon Joseph Taylor Winnard (d. 1873) had bequeathed the sum of £12,000 to the municipal library. The library's most prominent visitor is probably George Orwell, who researched his "Road to Wigan Pier" there in 1936. - Extremely rare; a single complete copy with all plates in auction records of the last decades (Sotheby's, 10 May 2011: £169,250). (more) | |
| ¶ Gay 2218. Hilmy II, 182. Not in Atabey or Blackmer. | |
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| Notice sur les Wahabis | |
| 190 | [Rousseau, Jean Baptiste Louis Jacques]. Description du Pachalik de Bagdad. Suivie d'une notice historique sur les Wahabis, et de quelques autres pièces relatives à l'Histoire et à la Littérature de l'Orient. Paris, Treuttel & Würtz, 1809. 8vo. VII, (1), 261 pp. Original boards with giltstamped spine fillets and traces of a stamped spine label. All edges sprinkled in red. |
| € 2,500 | |
| Extremely rare description of the province of Baghdad (treating geography, economy, politics), anonymously edited and annotated by the great orientalist Sylvestre de Sacy. The appendix contains Rousseau's groundbreaking "Notice sur les Wahabis", as well as a "Notice sur les Yézidis" by Maurizio Garzoni, who had spent 18 years in Kurdistan, translated into French by de Sacy. The volume is concluded by a series of "Poésies Persanes", translated by Rousseau (1780-1831). The French orientalist knew the region intimately due to having served there as French consul. - Binding rubbed; extremities bumped. Front flyleaf trimmed closely; half-title and title page wrinkled; some brownstaining but altogether clean. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1962. Wilson 194. Quérard VIII, 233. OCLC 7034932. Cf. Henze IV, 685. | |
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| History, geography and customs of Arabia | |
| 191 | Rumpf, J. D. F./Bartholdy, G. W. [ed.]. Gallerie der Welt [...]. Berlin, Oehmigke, (1803)-1804. 4to. Vol. 4 (out of 5) only. (10), 96, (2), 97-192, (2), 193-400 pp. With 15 coloured engr. plates and folding engr. map, all in original colour. Modern half calf, using contemp. material. |
| € 2,500 | |
| The complete Middle East volume from Rumpf's four-volume gallery of the world. Treats the Levant, Persia and Arabia (the last fifty pages of the volume giving an overview of history, geography, and customs of the Arabian Peninsula). The fine engravings show costumes as well as views of Baalbek, Palmyra, Rhodes, Samos, Shiraz, Yemen etc. The folding plates show maps of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and views of the Dardanelles castles. - Ownership stamp "Keyserling, Malgutzen" on first half-title. Insignificant browning; a very appealing copy. (more) | |
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| 192 | Rutter, Eldon. The Holy Cities of Arabia. London & New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, Ltd., (1928). 8vo. 2 vols. XV, (1), 302, (2) pp. VII, (1), 287, (1) pp. With 2 photogr. frontispieces and 8 maps and plans. Original green giltstamped cloth. Top edge gilt. |
| € 850 | |
| First edition. Rutter describes his pilgrimage from Suez by sea to Massowa and El Gahm, and thence by land through Birk, Halli, El Gunfida, El Lith, and Wadi Yelamlam to the Holy City of Mekka where he stayed for nine months. Volume II describes an excursion from Mekka to Es-Sayl and to Et-Taif, his final departure from Mekka and his journey through Rabigh to El Medina, and concludes with his passage from El Medina to El Yanbua. - A good, clean und unbrowned copy with insignificant wear to spine-ends. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1971. Ghani 586. | |
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| 193 | Sabbagh, Michel. La colombe, messagère plus rapide que l'éclair, plus prompte que la nue. Paris, Imprimerie Impériale (J. J. Marcel), an XIV = 1805. 8vo. 95, (1) pp. Contemp. wrappers. |
| € 1,500 | |
| First French edition, with the translation (by Silvestre de Sacy) and the Arabic text printed in parallel. The Syrian linguist Michel Sabbagh (1784-1816) served as interpreter to the Imperial Army during Napoléon's Egyptian Campaign. He emigrated to France when the army left Egypt and attached himself to Silvestre de Sacy and the Imperial Library and Printshop. His original work on carrier pigeons remains a classic. - A well-preserved, untrimmed and wide-margined copy. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 11618486. | |
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| Extensively annotated and illustrated copy of a classic treatise on astronomy, based on Ptolemy and his Arabic commentators | |
| 194 | Sacrobosco, Johannes de (John of Holywood). Opus sphericum magistri Joa[n]nis de Sacro Busco natione angli figuris verissime exculptis et i[n]terp[re]tatione familiari ad co[m]moditatem desiderantiu[m] iucundissima Artis Astronomice callere principia pulcherrime et iterata recognitione illustratum. (Cologne, sons of Heinrich Quentell, "Anno supra Jubileum Magnum Quinto ad finem Januarij" [= January 1505]). Small 4to (21 x 14.5 cm). With a 6-line woodcut initial on title-page showing a teacher with his pupil, a full-page woodcut of a armillary globe held by angels above and below, with the zodiac and a small view of a walled small town in centre on the verso of the title-page, 27 half-page astronomical and cosmological woodcuts in text, and 2 other 6-line woodcut initials. Modern grey boards. |
| € 7,500 | |
| Fourth extensively illustrated Quentell edition of Sacrobosco's classic 13th-century treatise on astronomy De sphaera mundi ("On the sphere of the world"), with extensive commentary by the Czech astronomer Wenceslaus Fabri de Budweis (1455-1518). The present copy is heavily annotated by a (near) contemporary hand. "Sacrobosco's fame rest firmly on his De sphaera, a small work based on Ptolemy and his Arabic commentators, published about 1220 […] It was quite generally adopted as the fundamental astronomy text, for often it was so clear that it needed little or no explanation." (DSB). - Some minor wormholes throughout, sometimes slightly affecting the text. Good copy, including the last blank leaf. (more) | |
| ¶ Alden & Landis 505/8. BMC-STC German 772. JCB I, 40-41. Proctor, German Books 1501-1520, 10386. VD 16, J 712 (4 copies). Cf. Adams H 714 (1501 Quentell edition). DSB XII, 60-63. | |
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| An astronomical classic, with 3 working "volvelle" dials, written by the first scholar to use Arabic sources for his astronomical studies | |
| 195 | Sacrobosco, Johannes de (John of Holywood). Libellus de sphaera. Accessit eiusdem autoris computus ecclesiasticus, et alia quaedam in studiosorum gratiam edita. Cum praefatione Phi: Melanthonis. (Wittenberg, Johann Krafft, 11 May 1553). With a woodcut armillary sphere on the title-page, 2 folded tables and 61 woodcut diagrams and illustrations in the text, including 3 with movable parts. With the main text and preliminaries in Aldine-style italic types with occasional roman. With: Hesiod. Opera et Dies una cum duabus praefationibus ac luculentissimis enarrationibus Phil. Melanth. iam recens conscriptis. Frankfurt am Main, Peter Brubach, 1553. With charming woodcut decorative initials. With the main text in Greek type and the commentary in an Aldine-style italic. 8vo. 2 works in 1 volume. Contemporary pigskin sewn on 3 double cords, elaborately blind-tooled in a panel design. Two small panels on the front board were left blank for the owner, who had his initials "I B B" (Joahannes Brunus Beylingenssiensis) stamped in the upper one and inked in, and the year 1588 written in the lower one. The binding may possibly be attributable to the Stuttgart bindery serviced by the Master NP. |
| € 12,500 | |
| Ad 1: A 1553 Wittenberg edition, with the prefaces dated 1538 and 1540, and annotations by the well-known humanist and reformer Philipp Melanchthon of a classic of Mediaeval astronomy, remarkable for its advanced views. Sacrobosco was the first scholar to use Arabic sources for his astronomical studies, making the Arabic knowledge known in the Western world. The work has had a great impact on the science of astronomy in the following centuries. Manuscripts of it circulated through all the main European centres of learning. First published in 1472 at Ferrara, it went through dozens and dozens of editions up to the mid-17th century. - Ad 2: Hesiod's great poem with the title 'Works and days', also with two prefaces and annotations by Philippus Melanchton. It is the third edition printed by Peter Brubach in Frankfurt, preceded by editions in 1541 and 1549. - With an interesting provenance. The initials on the front cover, 'I. B. B.' are undoubtedly of Joahannes Brunus Beylingenssiensis (= from Bey(ch)lingium, Bey(ch)lingen, or Bei(ch)linga arx, a town in Sachsen, Germany), who wrote his name on the title-page, extensively annotated the book and added also the price of the book on the same title. Further ownership's entries on the title: 'Collegii Societatis Jesu Ambergae 1632' and 'J.G. Brand 1881'. (more) | |
| ¶ Ad 1: VD 16, J 729 (2 copies). Honeyman 2734. Zinner 2074. Cf. Adams H 730. BM-STC German 771. Ad 2: VD 16, H 2704 (1 copy, with damaged title-page). Cf. Hoffmann II, 253. For the binding: Haebler I, 345. | |
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| The history of Oman | |
| 196 | Salîl-ibn-Razîk. History of the Imâms and Seyyids of ´Omân [...]. Translated from the original Arabic, and edited, with notes, appendices, and an introduction, [...] by George Percy Badger, F.R.G.S. London, Hakluyt Society, 1871. (16), CXXVIII, 435, (1) pp. With folding map. Original blue cloth with giltstamped cover vignette and spine title. |
| € 4,500 | |
| First edition. - Salil ibn Ruzayq was the author of a manuscript given to George Percy Badger (1815-88), a member of the Bombay Commission reporting on the secession of Zanzibar, by the ruler of Oman, Seyyid Thuwayni. The manuscript chronicles the history of Oman from the adoption of Islam c. 661 CE until 1856. This volume, providing the first indigenous account of the history of Oman in English, contains the translation of the manuscript together with an analysis by Badger. The large folding map shows the north-eastern Arabian coastline from Basrah to Oman, including the regions occupied by the modern-day states of Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a view of Muscat (with a more detailed inset map). - Paper brittle as usual; some tears to edges (occasionally concerning entire page). Discharged from the Library of St. Paul's School (bookplate on front pastedown); previously in the library of president of the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art, Henry Gurdon Marquand (1819-1902; his bookplate on front flyleaf), whose art collection and library were sold in 1903. (more) | |
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| 197 | [Saudi Arabia]. Congressional Record. Proceedings and Debates of the 84th Congress, Second Session. The Saudi Arabian Policy of Discrimination Against Americans of Jewish Faith. [Washington, DC], U.S. Government Printing Office, 1956. 4to. 4 pp. |
| € 250 | |
| Speech of Herbert H. Lehman in the Senate of the United States, March 1, 1956, on "The Saudi Arabian Policy of Discrimination Against Americans of Jewish Faith", including subsequent correspondence. - Folded. (more) | |
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| 198 | [Saudi Arabia]. Memorandum on the Radio Telecommunication Scheme on the Occasion of the Project Inauguration by His Majesty the King. Mecca, Ministry of Communications, 1956. Large 4to (255 x 303 mm). (36) pp. With 6 mounted colour prints after watercolour drawings and numerous black-and-white illustrations. Original giltstamped green cloth. |
| € 2,500 | |
| Exceedingly rare "memorandum", printed in Arabic and English throughout, documenting the telecommunication network scheme that was to modernize wireless telecommunication in Saudi Arabia, based on equipment manufactured and installed by the German engineering company Siemens & Halske. Also contains photoportraits of King Saud, Crown Prince Faisal (then Prime Minister, later to establish the first television braodcasting station in 1963), Prince Sultan (Minister of Communications), Sheikh Abdullah Al-Saad, Sheikh Ibrahim Silisilah, and Sheikh Abdullah Kazim, as well as maps, diagrams, and pictures of radio equipment in operation. - In perfect state of preservation. No copy listed in online library catalogues worldwide. (more) | |
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| 199 | [Saudi Arabia - Treaty of Jeddah]. Treaty Series No. 10 (1937). Exchange of Notes between His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and the Government of Saudi Arabia for the Modification of the Treaty of Jedda of the 20th May, 1927. Mecca/Jedda, October 3, 1936. London, His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1937. 8vo. 5, (3) pp. Original wrapper-less brochure. |
| € 250 | |
| The Treaty of Jeddah, signed in 1927, between King Abdul Aziz and the United Kingdom, recognized the sovereignty of King Abdul Aziz over what was then known as the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (these regions were unified into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932). In return, King Abdul Aziz would hold back his forces from attacking and harassing neighbouring British Protectorates. This treaty was renewed with modifications in 1936, the changes pertaining to the disposal of the effects of deceased pilgrims, the purchase of war materials by Saudi Arabia from UK manufacturers, etc. In English and Arabic. - Well-preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 12414112. | |
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| 200 | Schmettau, Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Gf. Historia arcana belli Turcici anni 1737, 38 et 39. Cum animadversionibus criticis [...]. E Gallico sermone in Latinum traduxit Michael Horvath. Tyrnau, typis Tyrnaviensibus, 1776. XX, 324 SS. Mit Holzschnittvignette am Titel. Lederband der Zeit mit goldgepr. Rückenschildchen und hübscher Rückenvergoldung. Dreiseitiger Rotschnitt. Buntpapiervorsätze. Lesebändchen. 8vo. |
| € 600 | |
| Zweite lateinische Ausgabe der "Memoires secrets de la guerre de Hongrie" (1771). Bereits 1771 waren die "Memoriae secretae belli hungarici annis 1737, 38, 39" erschienen; 1772 erschien eine deutsche Ausgabe ("Geheime Nachrichten von dem Kriege in Ungarn in denen Feldzügen 1737, 1738 und 1739"). - Der preußische Militär F. W. K. Gf. von Schmettau (1742-1806), der dem engeren militärischen Stab Friedrichs des Großen angehörte, machte sich durch seine topographischen Karten einen Namen. "Wegen seiner kritischen Veröffentlichungen über den Bayerischen Erbfolgekrieg fiel er beim König in Ungnade und nahm 1790 seinen Abschied. 1804 kaufte Schmettau Schloß Köpenick, übernahm nach Ausbruch des Kriegs von 1806 als Generalmajor eine Division und fiel bei Auerstedt" (DBE). Zum Übersetzer, dem Tyrnauer Theologen und Lehrer der Beredsamkeit Michael Horvath (1728-1810), vgl. de Backer/S. IV, 470. - Hübsches Exemplar. (more) | |
| ¶ Petrik 1712-1860, III. Vgl. Atabey 1099 (2. frz. Ausg.). Nicht bei Apponyi oder de Backer/Sommervogel. | |
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| 201 | Seetzen, [Ulrich Jasper]. Voyage sur les confins de l'Arabie et de la Palestine. [Paris, Buisson, 1809]. 8vo. 137-190 pp. (With:) Mémoire pour servier a la conoissance des tribus Arabes en Syrie et dans l'Arabie Déserte et Pétrée. 281-324 pp. Modern marbled wrappers. |
| € 850 | |
| Excerpts from vols. VII and VIII of the "Annales des voyages, de la géographie et de l'histoire". In these early 1806 reports, printed during Seetzen's ongoing expedition, Seetzen describes his travels in Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Arabia. The Frisian-born naturalist and explorer U. J. Seetzen departed in 1802 on a thoroughly planned expedition through Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. His last report is dated November 1810; he was killed near Tais in the Yemen on Sept. 8, 1811. - Clean and untrimmed. (more) | |
| ¶ Cf Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 2056. | |
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| 202 | Serjeant, R[obert] B[ertram]. Two Tribal Law Cases (Documents). (Wahadi Sultanate, South-West Arabia). London, Royal Asiatic Society, 1951. 8vo. (156)-169 pp. Original wrappers. |
| € 150 | |
| Offprint from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October 1951. Part 2 only, recounting the legal "Dispute over the Runaway Wife". Part 1 (pp. 33-47) had appeared in the April 1951 issue. - Slight ruststains from original staple binding, otherwise fine. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 77797713. | |
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| 203 | Shams al-Din Isfahani. Matali al-anzar. No place, 26th Sha'ban 858 AH [21 August 1454 AD]. Large 4to (260 x 165 mm). Arabic ms. on oriental paper. 198 ff., written area 165 x 95 mm, 22 lines. Black ink in naskh script; words marking citations in red ink or overlined in red; marginalia written in clockwise direction. Recently restored gilt-tooled leather binding with fore-edge flap. |
| € 9,500 | |
| Mid-15th-century glosses on a commentary on mediaeval Arabic philosophy and logic. The text is a product of Ash'arite philosophy, a school which arose mainly as a response to the 'mutazila' school of thought and some of their views which to many Muslims seemed strange and appeared to conflict with commonly held opinion. The influence of the Asharites is still hotly debated today. It was widely believed that the Asharites put an end to philosophy as such in the Muslim world. Others, however, argue that the Asharites not only did not reject scientific methods, but indeed promoted them. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who was very interested in Arabic logic, persuaded the Mamluk sultan to send one of the most distinguished Islamic philosophers to his court in Palermo, Siraj ad-Din al-Urmawi, where 'he wrote a book on logic for him'. Siraj al-Din's "Matali'al-anwar", his great treatise on Ash'arite philosophy and logic, was soon provided with an important commentary by Qutb al-Din Razi, known as "Lawami'al-asrar". This, in turn, was glossed by Qadi Baydawi (d. 685/1286) as "Tawali'al-anwar", which again was provided with the present commentary by Shams al-Din Isfahani (d. 749/1348, cf. GAL S II, 137). All four writers were from Persia. - Margins occasionally browned, brittle or reinforced. The calligrapher names himself as Mahmud bin Salah al-Din bin 'Ayn-Allah. (more) | |
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| 204 | Shukairy, Ahmad. Statements made during the 16th Session of The United Nations General Assembly. Palestine, Oman, Disarmament, Colonialism, Algeria. New York, Saudi Arabian Mission, 1962. 8vo. 185 pp. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 450 | |
| Statements made between April and December 1961 by the Saudi Minister of State for United Nations Affairs Ahmad Shukairy, on contemporary political (especially Near-Eastern) conflicts, including his Opening Statement before the 16th U.N. Session, A Statement of Reply on the Palestine Question, Suspension of Nuclear and Thermo-Nuclear Tests, The Question of Colonialism, The Question of Oman, The Problem of the Palestinian Refugees, and The Question of Algeria. Soon after, the eloquent al-Shukairi (1908-80) became the first Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, serving in 1964-67. - Rare; OCLC lists a single copy of this publication (in the National Library of Israel). (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 233922098. | |
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| First edition of the Arabic Infancy Gospel, with text in Latin and Arabic | |
| 205 | Si(ec)ke, Heinrich (ed.). Evangelium infantiae. Vel liber apocryphus de infantia servatoris. Ex manuscripto edidit, ac latina versione & notis illustravit. Utrecht, François Halma, Willem vande Water, 1697. 8vo. With title-page printed in red and black and decorated with Halma's engraved Athena and Demeter/Ceres device, a woodcut tailpiece, 3 woodcut decorative initials (3 different series) and a factotum built up from cast fleurons. With the main text in Arabic with a parallel Latin translation on the facing pages, and occasional words or lines in Greek, Hebrew and Syriac. Early 19th-century boards covered with blue paper. |
| € 1,250 | |
| First edition of the apocryphal Arabic Infancy Gospel, with the Arabic text on the versos and the Latin translation on the facing rectos. Sike (or Siecke), a noted orientalist from Bremen, based his edition on a manuscript that was formerly owned by Jacobus Golius, and the many notes include exerpts from the Quran and other works. The work narrates miracle stories from the first 12 years of Jesus's life, and probably originated in the fourth or fifth century. Although scholars refer to the text as the "Arabic Infancy Gospel", it was most likely originally written in Syriac. First quires with some water stains, the title-page slightly worn and the head margin of a couple pages trimmed to (but not shaving) the running head, but still in good condition. (more) | |
| ¶ Schnurrer, Bibliotheca Arabica 412. STCN (8 copies). Zenker, Bibliotheca Orientalis 1239. For the device: Van Huisstede & Brandhorst 618. | |
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| The first Hajj narrative published by a woman | |
| 206 | Sikandar Begam, Nawab of Bhopal. A pilgrimage to Mecca. Translated from the original Urdu, and edited by Mrs. Willoughby-Osborne. Followed by historical sketch of the reigning family of Bhopal, by Lieut.-Col. Willoughby-Osborne [...] And an appendix translated by the Rev. William Wilkinson. London, William H. Allen & Co., 1870. 8vo. XII, 241, (1) pp. With 13 original photos mounted on plates (one a portrait frontispiece). Contemp. half calf with giltstamped spine title and seal of the New South Wales Library of Parliament stamped on front cover. All edges and endpapers marbled. |
| € 8,500 | |
| First edition of the first Hajj narrative by a woman. Definitely the rarest of the 19th-century pilgrimage accounts: no copy recorded at auction within the last decades. The author's unpublished Urdu manuscript was translated by the wife of a British colonial officer, printed in a very small press run and illustrated by original photographs. Sikandar Begam, who ruled the Indian state of Bhopal as Nawab Begum from 1860 to 1868, was the first Muslim woman to publish an account of her pilgrimage to Mecca (undertaken in 1864). Her critical and often surprising description of Arabia provides unique insight into the factors that went into writing this quintessentially Muslim journey in a colonial environment. At the dinner hosted by the Sharif of Mecca, the Begum criticised the corruption of the Ottoman Hajj administration and the unsafe roads on which roaming bandits would attack pilgrims. Her granddaughter Sultan Jahan Begam also wrote a book about her own pilgrimage experience, which was published in 1909 and is much more common. Contains a dozen historic photographs of Bhopal and the ruling family. A second edition was published at Calcutta in 1906. - Variously browned and brownstained throughout, but still a nice copy from the New South Wales parliament library. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro 1302. Hajj Travel Narratives, 282. In: Hajj. Journey to the heart of Islam. London, British Museum 2012. | |
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| 207 | Sionita, Gabriel. Arabia, seu Arabum vicinarumque gentium Orientalium leges, ritus, sacri et profani mores, instituta et historia: accedunt praeterea varia per Arabiam itinera, in quibus multa notatu digna enarrantur [...]. Amsterdam, Johann Jansson, 1633. 12mo. 297 (but: 287) pp. With engr., illustrated title page. Contemp. vellum. |
| € 750 | |
| First edition of the collection. Contains: 1. Sionita & Hesronita. De nonnullis orientalibus urbium. "This important work contains early descriptions of Baghdad, Bokhara, Damascus, Medina, Mecca, and Aleppo" (Blackmer). 2. "De moribus atque institutis Turcarum" by the French diplomat C. Richier. 3. W. Drechsler's "Historia Arabum". - From the library of the Vorarlberg lawyer Dr. Karl J. Steger. Waterstaining throughout. (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 2084 (year mis-stated as "1653"). Gay 3452 (misdated "1653"). Hage Chahine 4533. Blackmer 1544 (note). | |
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| 208 | Sionita, Gabriel. Arabia, seu Arabum vicinarumque gentium Orientalium leges, ritus, sacri et profani mores, instituta et historia: accedunt praeterea varia per Arabiam itinera, in quibus multa notatu digna enarrantur [...]. Amsterdam, Willem & Jan Blaeu, 1635. 12mo. 247, (1) pp. With engr., illustrated title page. Contemp. vellum. |
| € 600 | |
| Second edition of this collection; a reprint of the 1633 Jansson edition. Contains: 1. Sionita & Hesronita. De nonnullis orientalibus urbium. "This important work contains early descriptions of Baghdad, Bokhara, Damascus, Medina, Mecca, and Aleppo" (Blackmer). 2. "De moribus atque institutis Turcarum" by the French diplomat C. Richier. 3. W. Drechsler's "Historia Arabum". - Slightly browned throughout. (more) | |
| ¶ Gay 3452 (year mis-stated as "1653"). Cf. Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 2084. Hage Chahine 4533. Blackmer 1544 (note). | |
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| 209 | Skinner, [Thomas]. Adventures During a Journey Overland to India, by Way of Egypt, Syria, and the Holy Land. London, Richard Bentley, 1836. 8vo. 2 vols. XI, (1), 324 pp. XI, (1), 291, (1) pp. With 2 engr. frontispieces (portrait and view of the Lake of Tiberias). Contemp. calf with triple giltstamped cover fillets and blindstamped ornamental borders, leading edges gilt, inner dentelle gilt, spines rebacked to style with giltstamped label. Marbled endpapers; all edges marbled. |
| € 1,500 | |
| First edition. - An account of a journey made in 1833 through Egypt, the Holy Land, Syria, Mesopotamia (Baghdad, Babylon and Basrah), Persia, down the Arabian Gulf (stopping at Muscat, "the hottest place on earth") and thence to India. - Corners bumped; frontispieces foxed. Attractively bound copy; armorial bookplates ("Gadsden", motto "decrevi") to pastedowns; contemp. ownership "C. J. Wilton" to flyleaf. (more) | |
| ¶ Röhricht 1808. Blackmer 1547. OCLC 4255403. Cf. Atabey 1142 (1837 second ed.). | |
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| 210 | Smith, W. Robertson. Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia. Cambridge, University Press, 1885. 8vo. XIV, 322, (2) pp. Original brown cloth with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 1,000 | |
| First edition of the standard work by W. Robertson Smith, Lord Almoner's Professor of Arabic at Cambridge. - Removed from the Harvard College Library (with duplicate stamp). One ink marking in the margin, otherwise fine. Binding somewhat rubbed; spine-ends damaged. Remains of shelfmark labels. Sold for £1,500 at Sotheby's (Oct 14, 1998, lot 1125: some underlining of text & marks in margins). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1921. | |
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| 211 | Snouck Hurgronje, C[hristian]. Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century. Daily Life, Customs and Learning. Leyden & London, E. J. Brill & Luzac, 1931. Large 8vo. VI, 309, (3) pp. With 20 half-tone plates, folding plan of Mecca, and plan of the Haram. Original blue cloth. |
| € 750 | |
| First English edition of the 2-volume German work published in 1888-89. The Dutch orientalist Snouck spent a year in Mecca and Jeddah during 1884/85 and was married to a Mecca woman. He was the first non-muslim to visit the city outside the annual pilgrimage. The photographs, taken by himself and an Arabic physician, are among the earliest to show Mecca and its pilgrims. - Slight wear to spine-ends; interior slightly browned, but clean and well-preserved. (more) | |
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| The first person ever to photograph the Holy Cities | |
| 212 | Soubhy, Saleh. Pèlerinage à la Mecque et à Médine. Précédé d'un aperçu sur l'islamisme et suivi de considérations générales au point de vue sanitaire et d'un appendice sur la circoncision. Cairo, Imprimerie nationale, 1894. Large 8vo. 129, (2) pp. With 19 plates. Marbled half calf with giltstamped title to spine. |
| € 7,500 | |
| A complete copy with appendix and all plates, includes 4 photographic views of Mecca, 3 of Medina and 3 of Jeddah (after Sadiq Bey and others). - Salih Subhi, an Egyptian public health official, was commissioned by his government to undertake the Hajj in 1888 and 1894. Here he describes the eight-month journey in great detail. Muhammed Sadiq Bey was a major pioneer in the history of Arabian photography and the first person ever to photograph the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. - Browned throughout due to paper. - Rare, the last copy on the market fetched £27,500 (Christie's, April 13 2010, lot 276, with author's inscription), the Burrell copy fetched £8,000 in 1999 (complete, but in modern cloth). (more) | |
| ¶ Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 2096. OCLC 7055812. | |
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| 213 | Sparvenfeld, Johann Gabriel. Catalogus centuriae librorum rarissimorum manuscript. & partim impressorum, Arabicorum, Persicorum, Turcicorum, Graecorum, Latinorum, &c. Qua anno MDCCV Bibliothecam Publicam Academiae Upsalensis auxit & exornavit [...] Ioan. Gabr. Sparvenfeldius. Uppsala, Johan Henrik Werner, 1706. 4to. (6), 74 pp. With woodcut title vignette. modern boards. |
| € 1,500 | |
| Extensively annotated catalogue of 115 Arabic, Persian and Turkish works, mostly manuscripts which Sparvenveldt had acquired in Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia in 1691. Edited with the help of Erik Benzelius and Olof Celsius. The titles are rendered in the original languages in Kirsten's fine Arabic types, brought with him to Sweden from Breslau in 1636. - Insignificant edge staining to title page; reverse shows old library stamp of Upsala College, East Orange, NJ, dissolved in 1995. Untrimmed copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Schnurrer 17 & 25. Besterman 152. Warmholtz 9270. Smitskamp, PO 113d. | |
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| 214 | Spencer-Smith, J[ohn]. Précis d'une dissertation sur un monument arabe du moyen age en Normandie. Seconde édition. Caen, Chalopin fils, [1827]. 8vo. 27, (1) pp. With 5 engraved plates by F. Berthout, Caen, and woodcut vignette of the Académie de Caen on reverse of t. p. Original printed wrappers. |
| € 350 | |
| Second edition (first printed in 1820), with several illustrations published here for the first time. No. 237 of 300 copies. Rare treatise by John Spencer Smith (1769-1845), an "extrait du procès-verbal de la séance du 14 avril 1820", about the famous Chasuble of Saint-Regnobert preserved at the Cathedral of Bayeux, and about the Cufic-inscribed ivory chest, supposedly part of the Saracen spoils taken by Charles Martel, in which it is stored. The engravings show the chasuble as well as the chest and many details of the inscriptions. The original edition, published by Le Roy in 1820, contained merely a frontispiece and a single text illustration. - Wrapper torn at upper spine end. Binding loosened; significant browning to final quires. With the errata slip bound at the end. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 27973008. | |
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| 215 | [Syrian.] Oberleitner, [Franz Xaver] Andreas. Chrestomathia Syriaca una cum glossario Syriaco-Latino, huic chrestomathiae adcommodato. Vienna, Anton Edler von Schmid, 1826-1827. Large 8vo. 2 vols. in 1. Prior pars, chrestomathiam continens: X, (2), 292 pp. Posterior pars, glossarium continens: 246 pp., 1 bl. f. Contemp. half calf with giltstamped label to spine. |
| € 290 | |
| Chrestomathy of Syriac literature, including history (about Plato and Aristotle, the Tatars, Genghis Khan, etc.), Biblical texts (Psalms, Minor Prophets, chapters from teh New Testament), poetry (hymns), etc.; with an appendic on Syrian poetics. Syriac glossary contains definitions in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin. - Oberleitner, an orientalist and theologian at the Benedictine "Schottenstift", was Professor of Arabic, Syriac, and Chaldaic Languages and Exegesis at the University of Vienna. "Oberleitner's independent editing of the 'Fundamenta' constitutes an important achievement" (cf. ÖBL). The Viennese printer Schmid specialized in Arabic, Persian, and Syrian works, and his was the only printing shop in Austria that could handle such texts. (Durstmüller I, 219f.). - Corners slightly bumped; covers rubbed. Printed in Syriac, Hebrew (and Aramiac), Greek, and Latin. (more) | |
| ¶ Wurzbach 20 (DBA I 908, 361). Neuer Nekrolog der Deutschen 1832 (ibid., 359). | |
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| 216 | Tadjbakhche, Gholam-Reza. La question des Iles Bahrein. Paris, (A. Boisseau in Toulouse for) A. Pedone, 1960. Large 8vo. XVI, 389, (1) pp. With 2 folding maps. Original printed boards with half cloth library spine. |
| € 500 | |
| (= Publications de la Revue générale de droit international public, nouv, sér., no 1). History of Bahrain, with special attention to the international legal, political, and diplomatic problems which haunted the region in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Contains "documents-annexes", including treaties and diplomatic correspondence. Based on the author's thesis. - Withdrawn from the National Library of New Zealand with usual cancellation stamps. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 7627011. Not in Macro. | |
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| 217 | Tegnér, Esaias. De nunnatione Arabica. Disputatio academica [...]. Lund, Berling, 1865. 8vo. 46 pp. Contemp. yellow wrappers (wanting front cover). |
| € 90 | |
| First edition of this inaugural dissertation in Arabic linguistics, concerning 'nunnation', or the addition of a final 'n' to a word, in the declension of certain Arabic nouns. The author, grandson of the great Swedish writer of the same name, later was professor in oriental languages at Lund from 1878 to 1908. - Somewhat foxed throughout. (more) | |
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| 218 | Teonge, Henry. The Diary of Henry Teonge, chaplain on board His Majesty's ships Assistance, Bristol, and Royal Oak, anno 1675 to 1679. London, Charles Knight, 1825. 8vo. XVIII, (2), 327, (1) pp. With engr. t. p. and lithogr. folding facsimile. Modern half calf (by Bayntun's, Bath) with giltstamped red spine label and marbled boards. Edges sprinkled in red. |
| € 500 | |
| First edition. - The fame of the English clergyman Teonge (1621-90) rests on his present work. Due to financial difficulties, he enlisted in the Navy and became a chaplain on the ships Assistance, Bristol and Royal Oak, completing three voyages to the Mediterranean, where he searched for pirates, landed in Syria and visited Malta, Zante, Cephalonia, and Aleppo. - "The interest of Teonge's life is concentrated in the diary of the few years he spent at sea, which gives an amusing and precious picture of life in the navy at that time. This journal, from 20 May 1675 to 28 June 1679, having lain in manuscript for over a century, was purchased from a Warwickshire family by Charles Knight, who edited it in 1825 as ‘The Diary of Henry Teonge,’ with a facsimile of the first folio of the manuscript (London, 8vo). The narrative reveals the diarist as a pleasant, lively, easy-going man, not so strict as to prevent his falling in with the humours of his surroundings" (DNB). The diary contains accounts of cruises in the Channel, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, leavened with occasional songs, sonnets, acrostics, etc. "The nature of Teonge's diary, and the disappearance of the manuscript for almost a century after its first publication in 1825, led to persistent suggestions that it might have been a forgery. Confirmation both of Teonge's existence and of the sequence of events which he recorded came from the Admiralty records in the Public Record Office, and the re-emergence of the manuscript itself at a Sotheby’s sale in 1918 put the matter conclusively to rest" (ODNB). - Occasional insignificant brownstaining; altogether a well-preserved copy. (more) | |
| ¶ Lowndes 2605. Allibone 2375. DNB 56, 76. | |
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| 219 | [Theological ms.]. Ridshal al-ghayb. [Probably 19th c.]. 8vo. Ottoman ms. in black and red ink on smoothed paper. 148 ff. Contemp. giltstamped auburn calf. Pink floral endpapers. |
| € 800 | |
| Collective ms. of several theological Sunni treatises. The first treatise about the mystical "Men of Concealment" is followed by investigations concerning Islamic prayer, etc. (92 sections altogether). - Clean and well-preserved; defects to foredge flap. (more) | |
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| 15th-century manuscript, uniting the philosophical traditions of two cultures, Arab and Western, written in France for a Spanish noble family | |
| 220 | Thomas Aquinas, St. Summa contra gentiles. (And:) Al-Kindi. De unitate, De intellectu, and De somnio et visione ad imperatorum dolium. Prob. Burgundy, 1464. Folio (395 x 255 mm). Latin ms. on paper. 221 ff. (instead of 222: wants fol. 1, otherwise complete). Two cols., 60 lines. With 8 large gilt initials and numerous four-line lombardic initials in red and blue with penwork flourishes. Early 17th-c. blindstamped calf. |
| € 95,000 | |
| Likely unique compilation, signed and dated by the scribe himself ("Ego Anthonius le bysse de N. gallicus scripsique complevi hec presens opus Anno domini 1464. Vive Bourgogne", fol. 220v), and presenting a remarkable and incongruous juxtaposition of Aquinas's 'Summa de veritate catholicae fidei contra gentiles' (ten years before the first printed edition appeared at Strasbourg in 1474) alongside three extremely rare Arabic texts composed by the Muslim philosopher Al Kindi. - Thomas's 'Treatise on the Truth of the Catholic Faith, against the Unbelievers', written as a philosophical exposition and defence of the Christian Faith, was originally intended as a closely-reasoned treatise persuading intellectual Muslims of the truth of Christianity but has since become one of the principal works of mediaeval Christian philosophy. Al Kindi, known as "the Philosopher of the Arabs", was a Muslim Arab scientist, philosopher, mathematician and physician. He was the first of the Muslim peripatetic philosophers, and is unanimously hailed as the "father of Islamic or Arabic philosophy" for his synthesis, adaptation, and promotion of Greek and Hellenistic philosophy in the Muslim world. In the present copy we find Al-Kindi's main works 'De Intellectu' (fol. 218v) and 'De somnio et visione ad imperatorem dolium' (fol. 219r), which are known in no more than four or five ms. copies, all in institutional possession (Oxford, Venice, and Paris). For his work devoted to the question of God's nature "De unitate" (fol. 217v), or 'On the unity of Allah and the limited nature of the body of the universe', no textual witness is found in the In Principio database. - Al-Kindi was one of a small group of Muslim learned men who made their own contribution to the heritage received from the Greeks. Although he was primarily interested in the natural sciences, he has been called the "philosopher of the Arabs" since unlike later Islamic philosophers he was of Arab descent. He wrote 265 treatises, most of them now lost. He asserted "one of the most marked features of Islamic thought - the belief that there was only one active intellect for all humanity, and that every human soul was moved and informed by this separated active intellect" (Leff 1958). In perhaps his best known work "De intellectu" (fol. 218v), Al-Kindi followed Aristotle in distinguishing between two different intellects comprising man’s faculties of knowledge. His treatise on sleep and dreaming ("De somnio et visione ad imperatorem dolium", fol. 219r) is a key work in the Early Medieval understanding of the psyche and of human thought. More of al-Kindi's work survives in Latin than in Arabic, but Mediaeval Europe knew only of a few fragments of his work, which had been translated into Latin in the twelfth century by Gerard of Cremona. (more) | |
| ¶ Lexikon des Mittelalters V, 1155-1156. P. Adamson, "Al-Kindi", in: Albino Nagy (ed.), Die philosophischen Abhandlungen des Ja'qu-b ben Ishaq al-Kindi, BGPhMA (Münster 1897) 2-5. W. P. Stoneman, A summary guide to the medieval and later manuscripts in the Bergendal Collection (Toronto 1997) 173-174. | |
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| 221 | Valle, Pietro della. Viaggi di Pietro della Valle il pellegrino descritti da lui medesimo in lettere familiari all' erudito suo amico Mario Schipano. La Persia. Parte prima. Rome, (Vitale Mascardi for) Biagio Deversin, 1658. 4to. (12), 492, (24) pp. With woodcut device to t. p. Contemp. Italian boards. |
| € 950 | |
| Published within the first complete and reliable edition of della Valle's "Viaggi", the present volume constitutes the first part of the author's Persian travels (March 1617-May 1619), spent in Isfahan and at Ferhabad. Pietro della Valle (1586-1652) left Venice in 1614 on a pilgrimage to Palestine, proceeding to Baghdad and then into Persia, where he married and sojourned in the court of Shah Abbas. He continued his travels east to the coast of India, Goa and Muscat, and thence back to Aleppo by way of Basra. He reached Rome in 1626, where the original Italian text of his letters written to the Neapolitan physician Mario Schipano was published. Only the first volume, dealing with Turkey, saw print during his lifetime. The two-part volume II on Persia was released in 1658, four years after his death; in 1662 the Turkey volume saw a second edition, and the set was concluded in 1663 with the volume discussing India. A one-volume English translation of the Indian travels appeared in 1665. - Binding rubbed; inner hinges rather crudely reinforced. Somewhat brownstained throughout; a few pencil marginalia. From the collection of the Modena-born abbot Giacomo Crispi (1693-1774), a member of Muratori's circle, with his ms. ownership (dated 1737) to t. p. (more) | |
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| The first recorded visit of a non-Muslim to Mecca | |
| 222 | Varthema, Ludvico di. De uytnemende en seer vvonderlijcke zee-en-landt-reyse van de heer Ludovvyck di Barthema, van Bononien, Ridder &c. Gedaen inde Morgenlanden, Syrien, vrughtbaer en woest Arabien, Perssen, Indien, Egypten, Ethiopien en andere. Utrecht, Nieuwenhuysen & Snellaert, 1654. 4to. (8), 56 pp, 56 [but: 60], 24, (2) pp., last blank f. With engraved title page and 4 additional engraved plates. Bound in contemporary blind-stamped vellum with manuscript title to spine, pages closely cropped but no loss to text or plates, a crisp copy. |
| € 25,000 | |
| Rare second Dutch translation of this highly important and adventurous narrative containing the first recorded visit of a non-Muslim to Mecca. This edition includes for the first time several full-page engravings - one depicting a 15th-century battle against camel-riding Arabs. - Ludovico di Varthema or Barthema (ca. 1468-1517) sailed from Venice to Egypt in 1502 and travelled through Alexandria, Beirut, Tripoli, and Aleppo, arriving in Damascus in April 1503. Here he enrolled in the Mameluke garrison and proceeded overland to Khaybar, Medina and Mekka, thereby becoming the first European to enter the two holiest cities of Islam. His travels furthermore took him to South Arabia, Shiraz (Persia), India, Goa, Cochin, and supposedly the Malay isthmus, Sumatra, Banda, the Moluccas, the Spice Islands, Borneo, Java and Malacca. He finally returned to Lisbon in 1508. - "Varthema's Itinerario, first published in 1510, had an enormous impact at the time, and in some respects determined the course of European expansion towards the Orient" (Howgego). His account, moreover, contains a detailed description of Mecca and the Islamic pilgrimage, and four evocative plates (including an illustration of a Sati ritual). - Contrary to the statement on the title-page, this is de second Dutch translation; an earlier and rather elusive rendering had already been published at Antwerp in 1544 (recorded in just one institutional copy worldwide!). The present translation was made by Felix van Sambix de Jonge after Megiser's German translation of the Italian. With a poem by Simon de Vries. (more) | |
| ¶ Tiele, Bibl., 1128. Cf. Howgego, to 1800, V15. Lach I, pp. 164-6. | |
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| 223 | Viollet, H[enri]. Description du palais de Al-Moutasim, fils d'Haroun-al-Raschid, à Samara, et de quelques monuments arabes peu connus de la Mésopotamie. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale / C. Klincksieck, 1909. Folio (232 x 284 mm). (4), 28 pp. With 21 plates and 1 maps. Printed original wrappers. |
| € 600 | |
| Description of the palace of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tasim in Samarra (Iraq). Dedication copy with the author's 5-line autogr. signed inscription to the art historian Charles Bayet (1849-1919): "A Monsieur C. Bayet Directeur de l'Enseignement Supérieur Hommage respectueux" (dated 1910). - Untrimmed, wide-margined copy. (more) | |
| ¶ OCLC 27242342. | |
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| Splendidly bound first edition | |
| 224 | [Wageman, Thomas Charles]. The Military Costume of Turkey; Illustrated by a Series of Engravings, from Drawings Made on the Spot. London, Thomas McLean, 1818. Folio. (3) ff., VIII pp., (30) ff. With engr., colored frontispiece, engr., colored title page and 29 engr., colored plates. Splendid contemp. red morocco binding with giltstamped cover fillets; leading edges and inner dentelle gilt; giltstamped title to richly gilt spine. All edges gilt. |
| € 5,000 | |
| First edition. - "All but the frontispiece [are] aquatints [...] Although the artist is unknown the Preface states that 'the subjects which compose this selection have been furnished by the liberality of a gentleman who had stored his portfolio during his residence at Constantinople'" (Blackmer). The artist is usually stated as the engraver of the frontispiece, the London painter Th. Ch. Wageman (c. 1787-1863), court portrait painter to the Dutch King (cf. Thieme/Becker 35, 22). The aquatints, however, are mostly signed by the Scotch painter and engraver John Heaviside Clark (c. 1771-1863), known as "Waterloo Clark" by his popular 1815 series of the battlefield of Waterloo (cf. Th./B. 7, 48). - Splendid binding slightly bumped at corners; edges slightly rubbed; back cover scuffed. Rear pastedown bears engraved bookplate of John Sweetland from Teignmouth, Devon; front pastedown shows ms. note of ownership of his daughter Matilda Grenfell, wife of the English rear admiral Sidney Grenfell (1806-84), and engraved bookplate "Mark Dineley". (more) | |
| ¶ Colas 2059. Lipperheide 2388. Abbey, Travel 373. Atabey 812. Cf. Blackmer 1125. Not in Auboyneau/Fevret. | |
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| 225 | Wagner, Johann Christoph. Delineatio provinciarum Pannoniae et Imperii Turcici in oriente: Oder grundrichtigen Beschreibung deß gantzen Aufgangs, sonderlich aber deß Hochlöblichen Königreichs Ungarn und der gantzen Türckey, etc. Anderer Theil. Augsburg, Jacob Koppmayer, 1687. Folio (210:322 mm). (4), 140, (4) pp. T. p. printed in red and black. With 38 instead of 39 engr. plates; probably wants an engr. t. p. (Bound with:) The same. Interiora orientis detecta, oder grundrichtige und eigentliche Beschreibung aller heut zu Tag bekandten grossen und herrlichen Reiche des Orients [...]. Ibid., 1687. T. p. printed in red and black. With engr. t. p., 33 mostly double-page-sized engr. plates, as well as 13 engravings and 12 woodcuts in the text (wants the engr. portrait). (8), 12, 228, (8) pp. Contemp. blindstamped vellum over wooden boards on five raised bands. 2 clasps. |
| € 8,500 | |
| Second edition. - Second and third part of Wagner's "Delineatio provinciarum Pannoniae et Imperii Turcici", a topographical and historical work devised under the impression of the Turkish retreat from Vienna and Northen Hungary, describing the geography and politics of the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire. Contains views of Cairo, Aden, Damascus, Sissek, Nauplia, Kotor, etc. The third part is compiled from other contemporary works and treats Persia, India, and Indochina (with illustrations and interesting maps). The 12-page appendix ("Fortsetzung der Ungar- und Türckischen Chronik") is bound after the preface. - The first two parts of the work are uncommon, and the third is of great rarity; no complete copy containing of all three parts is recorded at German or international auctions since 1950 (cf. Sotheby's, Nov 13, 2008, lot 125 [all three parts, but incomplete]: 20,000 GBP). - Rather brownstained throughout due to paper; several restored tears. T. p. and several engravings of pt. 2 have remargined edge defects; wants plate 23. Binding somewhat rubbed, but the appealing blind-tooled covers are well preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ VD 17, 547:683004Q (cf.) & 23:322820L. Nebehay/Wagner 794. Lipperheide Lb 22. Not in Blackmer. Not in Atabey. | |
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| 226 | Wallin, George August. Notes taken during a journey through part of Northern Arabia. [London, The Royal Geographic Society, 1851]. 293-344 pp. Blue printed wrappers. 8vo. |
| € 350 | |
| These notes taken by George Wallin, a Finnish orientalist and explorer who is remembered for his journey through the Arabian countries during the first half of the 19th century, provide a detailed overview of the political and religious movements and the role of the different tribes in Palestine and especially in Saudi Arabia. His notes were published in the "Journal of the Royal Geographic Society" after his return in 1950. The Founder's Medal was given to him in recognition of his ground-breaking research. - In good condition throughout. (more) | |
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| 227 | Waring, Edward Scott. A Tour to Sheeraz, by the Route of Kazroon and Feerozabad; with various remarks on the manners, customs, laws, language, and literature of the Persians. London, W. Bulmer for T. Cadell & W. Davies, 1807. Folio. XIII, (3), 329, (1) pp. With engraved frontispiece (Fat'h-Ali Shah Qajar, King of Persia) and engr. portrait plate (Shaknubat, mistress of Kurim Khan), both after Persian originals. Later blue cloth with giltstamped spine title. |
| € 3,500 | |
| First European-printed edition, following an error-ridden edition published at Bombay in 1804. Includes a chapter on Arabian horses and several passages on pearl fishing in the Arabian gulf. Early attempt at an encompassing description of Persia, by the Bengal civil servant Edward W. H. Scott-Waring (1783-1821). "Very rare" (Allibone). - Bound without the half-title; bookplate and blindstamps of the City of Leeds Public Library. (more) | |
| ¶ Diba Collection p. 139. Wilson p. 240. | |
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| 228 | Whitelock, Lieutnant. Descriptive Sketch of the Islands and Coast situated in the Entrance of the Persian Gulf. [London, Geographical Journal], 1838). 169-184 pp. Modern blue wrappers with cover label. |
| € 280 | |
| Extract from the Journal of The Royal Geographic Society, Vol. VIII, 1838. Mainly confined to the Strait of Hormuz, with extensive descriptions of the islands of Hormuz and Qeshm, as well as the Tunb Islands, Lárek, etc. - Clean and well-preserved. (more) | |
| ¶ Wilson 243. Not in Diba Collection. | |
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| 229 | Wollaston, Arthur N. The Sword of Islam. London, John Murray, 1905. 8vo. VIII, (4), 523, (1) pp. With folding map and 16 printed plates. Contemp. red smoothed goatskin morrocco binding, elaborately giltstamped for the Royal Asiatic Society with their monogram and motto on covers and (slightly faded) spine. All edges gilt. |
| € 350 | |
| First and only edition. The fine illustrations show the approach to Mecca, Damascus, Gibraltar from the East, a nook in Algiers, the Tomb of the Khalifs in Cairo, the Gate of Blood in Toledo, a mosque in Cordova, the Alhambra in Granada, a reproduced double-page from the Qur'an, the mosque at Mecca, Medina, pilgrims' dress, Meccan chiefs with camel and attendant, etc. - This copy awarded in 1912 to the later journalist, political theoretician and British Communist Rajani Palme Dutt (1896-1974) as school prize for Essays by William Henry Denham Rouse, headmaster at Perse Grammar School, Cambridge. - Dutt's father, Upendra Dutt, was an Indian surgeon; his mother Anna Palme Dutt was Swedish and related to the future Prime Minister of Sweden, Olof Palme. Dutt was educated at The Perse School, Cambridge and Balliol College, Oxford, where he obtained a first class degree in classics after having been suspended for a time due to his status as a conscientious objector in World War I. Dutt married an Estonian, Salme Murrik, in 1922. His wife had come to Great Britain in 1920 as a representative of the Communist International. That same year, he joined the newly formed Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and remained one of its most conservative members all his life. In 1921 Dutt founded a monthly magazine called 'Labour Monthly', a publication which he edited until his death. - Spine slightly rubbed; front hinge split; otherwise a nicely preserved presentation copy in a fine RAS binding. (more) | |
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| 230 | [Women in the Arab World]. Women in the Arab World, 1886-2003. A Collection of 60 Works Detailing both Western and Arab Women's Experiences of the Middle East and Arab World. London, New York, Cairo, etc., various publishers, 1907-2003. 60 works in 61 volumes, many with original dustjackets. Generally very good condition, a few ex-library markings. |
| € 3,500 | |
| Fascinating collection of 60 works capturing women's experiences of the Arab world, ranging in perspective from a 19th-century Princess of Zanzibar to modern Arab feminist writers such as Nawal El Saadawi. Nearly half the works date from the early 20th century and represent the often quaint and misguided but surprisingly tender first-hand accounts of Western female travellers to the region such as Gertrude Bell. The remaining literature attempts to penetrate 'beyond the veil' of Arab women's daily life today, with contributions including Queen Noor of Jordan's autobiography; 'Desert Flower', a biography of the supermodel Waris Dirie; and Nayra Atiya's remarkable stories of housekeepers and fisherwomen in underprivileged quarters of Cairo. - Further details available upon request. (more) |