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[Photos] - Middle Eastern Diplomacy.
A trove of more than 600 photographs. Kuwait City, Manama, Muscat, Beirut, Tunis, Khartoum, London, Seattle, Washington D.C., and other places, 1950s to early 2000s.
Ca. 620 original photographs (ca. 460 in black-and-white and ca. 160 in colour), 1 portrait reproduced from a painting, and 2 small portrait drawings. Various sizes (ca. 39 x 40 to 202 x 300 mm). Most photographs with handwritten Arabic captions in ballpoint on versos, some of which with official stamps, some with pasted mimeograph typescript captions in English. Stored in 11 display books. A handsome trove of photographs, apparently assembled by a Middle Eastern political scientist or journalist, illustrating the evolving history of various countries of the Arabian Peninsula and their political leaders during the second half of 20th century, with an emphasis on the Sheikhs of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. - Some volumes focus on one or two politicians, with their portrait photographs and their various official appearances while welcoming foreign dignitaries, attending summits, military parades, celebrations, and competitions or award ceremonies. A large section of the archive shows King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, including a photograph of him with his brother Turki Bin Abdul-Aziz (vol. 1), depicting him in London on the occasion of a lunch given by Margaret Thatcher, at a diplomatic meeting with Ronald Reagan, and at the "10th Arabian summit" in Tunis (vol. 6). Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz is seen meeting political leaders and ministers (among them Yasuhiro Nakasone and François Mitterrand, vol. 3), and the diplomat and Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud meeting Bill Clinton, then Gouverneur of Arkansas, and Vice President George Bush Sr. (Oval Office) for the AWACS plane contract (vol. 10). Another part is dedicated to the OPEC summits under Saudi oil minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, meeting Bruno Kreisky in Vienna, as well as at venues in Algiers, Kuwait, Yugoslavia, Caracas, Geneva, Oslo, and other places (vol. 4). King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud is given a splendid state visit in Britain, where he is welcomed by Prince Charles and shares a carriage with Queen Elisabeth (vol. 5). Other photos show Prince Mashour bin Saud bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, King Fahd's nephew, in London after being freed on bail for smuggling cocaine, and King Faisal during a stay in Khartoum (vol. 8). Another part of the collection shows Kuwaiti leader Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah receiving Yemeni representatives, as well as his successor Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah and his predecessor Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah (vols. 2, 5, 8). Furthermore, Bahrain's royal family is shown: Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa is depicted at a young age practising riding and falconry, and Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khlaifa (vols. 7, 10, 11) meeting Oman's royals, such as Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Saudi minister Ghazi al-Gosaibi, and the Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Dubai's ruler Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum is depicted at the opening of "Asry dry dock", pouring holy water (vol. 11). - Two original photographs of well-known views of Mecca's Masjid al-Haram with the Kaaba from ca. 1885 and 1920 are added. The photographs are partly stamped and mostly annotated in Arabic (some in English and French), often with mounted labels on the versos for possible use by the press, some with small labels bearing Arabic captions. One photograph has a portion whited out for reproduction, a few photographs with studio imprint ("Zamani"), others with more detailed information, such as the name of the photographer ("Alain Nogue") or agency ("Sygma") on versos. - A wide-ranging, hitherto untapped archive which allows for various perspectives toward an analysis of international, global political diplomacy by Middle Eastern rulers and members of the Arab League, including numerous candid, personal images of the actors involved.
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[Pirates of the Caribbean].
The Historical Register, Containing an Impartial Relation of all Transactions, Foreign and Domestick. With a Chronological Diary of all the Remarkable Occurrences [...] That Happen'd in This Year. Volume VI. For the Year 1721. London, H. M. for T. Norris, R. Gosling and H. Meere, [1722].
8vo. (2), 348, (6), 44 pp. Contemporary full mottled calf with gilt spine (hinges weakened, binding professionally restored and lacquered). All edges sprinkled red. Rare news journal containing the lengthiest entry on pirates known in any contemporary periodical, spanning eleven closely printed pages (pp. 246-256) that went on to be cited in numerous piracy studies. The relevant section begins with a report from Jamaica that the pirates have been so active that they now number about 1500. There is a letter from Andrew Kingston detailing the loss of his ship to John Roberts (also known as Bartholomew Roberts, and later "Black Bart") about four miles from Antigua, followed by proclamations and speeches of Nicholas Lawes, Governor of Jamaica, and an attempt by him to collect recompense from the alcaldes of Trinidad in Cuba ("I find the Port of Trinidado a Receptacle to Villains of all Nations"). The English governor also demanded that the two pirates Nicholas Brown and Christopher Winter be handed over, which was refused - on the grounds that they had been baptized in the Catholic faith. Pages 253-256 contain an account by Captain Mackra who lost his ship Cassandra to pirates in the East Indies "between the coasts of Arabia and Malabar", and the unfortunate seaman's negotiations with the pirates' "chief Captain", the notorious Edward England. - The "Historical Register" was a quarterly news periodical originally issued to the clients of London's Sun Fire insurance. First printed in 1716, it ceased publication with no. 92 in 1738. This is the complete 1721 volume, comprising numbers 21 through 24 of the Register as well as the Chronological Diary for 1721. Complete year-volumes are rare: Bonhams NY (11 April 2016, lot 30) estimated a disbound copy of issue no. 23 only at $2500-$3500. ESTC T154297. OCLC 642461330.
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[Pius VI, Pope].
Acta Consistorii Secreti habiti die XXV Iunii MDCCLXXXI. Rome, Typographia Sac. Congr. de Prop. Fide, (1781).
Large 4to (206 x 275 mm). XXVI pp., final blank leaf. With engraved armorial vignette to title-page and a woodcut tailpiece. Contemporary bronze-varnished wrappers. Report from the Papal consistory for the Syrian Catholic Church in Aleppo, printed in Latin and Arabic throughout, confirming the newly-elected Archbishop Basilius of the Catholic Armenian rite. With the engraved arms of Pope Pius VI on the title-page. - Some light foxing, otherwise an excellent copy. Very rare; no copy in OCLC. Canon Law Collection of the Library of Congress, p. 17, no. 189. Zenker, BO I, p. 72 ("Jan." in error for "Jun.").
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[Plague].
Papers relating to the modern history and recent progress of Levantine plague; prepared from time to time by direction of the president to the local government board, with other papers. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty, 1879. C.-2262. London, George Edward Eyre & William Spottiswoode, 1879.
Folio. With two folding lithographed maps, one centered on the Middle East and the other detailing the seats of the plague in Mesopotamia and south-west Persia. Original publisher’s blue printed paper wrappers. Compilation of observational governmental reports on various outbreaks of the bubonic plague in the Middle East, Persia and Egypt between 1853 and 1877. As stated in the introduction, this publication was compiled to study the epidemic in detail, in hopes that such knowledge might benefit Great Britain in the event of an outbreak of the plague in its own territories. The information in these reports proved to be of value during the intensive study of the plague in the 1890s, which led to the identification of the origin of the disease in 1894. - The compilation comprises three parts: the first contains extracts from reports of the medical officers of the local government board, the second is a memorandum by Mr. Netten Radcliffe, and the last contains a few papers considering the medical aspects of quarantine. - Binding worn at the edges and the paper spine damaged at the head and foot. Upper corner of the first few pages slightly soiled, but still in good condition. Creighton, A history of epidemics in Britain (1965) I, 162. Ethnographic Plague: Configuring Disease on the Chinese-Russian Frontier, p. 166. Histories of Post-Mortem Contagion: Infectious Corpses and Contested Burials, p. 25.
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[Polo].
11 photographs. Probably Britain, ca. 1900.
11 photographs (135 x 87 mm), individually numbered in the negative and mounted on cardboard (170 x 120 mm). Showing polo teams during a match, portraits of athletes with their horses, etc. - A well-preserved, uncommon set.
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[Polo].
Photograph album. Probably Germany, ca. 1900.
126 prints mounted in album, two to a page. Ca. 17 x 12 cms each. 4to. Showing horses, riders and the audience at a Polo tournament at an unidentified, though apparently German, track. In the background, the names of several players (of Anglo-Saxon, German and even Hungarian background) are visible on the boards marked "Blau" and "Weiss": W. Sommerhoff, H. V. Scott, Capt. T. Melvill, Gildemeister, G. Heye, Graf A. Sigray, etc. - First quire detached, occasional slight fading, but well preserved altogether.
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[Prayer book].
Manuscript Arabic prayer book. No place, [1830/31 CE] = 1246 H.
8vo (135 x 90 mm). 11 pp. Ink on paper, written space 110 x 65 text area approx. Text in black with "points" in gold within the framework of various colours. Pages mounted within coloured rules. Title page in red, purple and gold (worn with some losses). Contemporary leporello binding. Devotional manuscript, bound as a leporello. Begins with "bi-hawli llah wa-quwwatihi" ("with God's power and strength"); text has been separated and continues on a previous page. Elaborately decorated title and chapter heading within ornamental borders, gilt and coloured. The name of the scribe, Muhammad Ja'far al-Lahijani (from Lâhîjân in northern Iran on the Caspian Sea), as well as the date 1246, are stated on the final page. - Partially worn and damaged; front cover shows a floral design on cloth (rubbed and chafed); the back cover is missing. Some brownstaining and chipping; a few leaves show old repairs and marginal defects.
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[Pritius, Johann Georg].
Constantinopolitan- oder Türkischer Kirchen-Staat, in welchem die vornemste[n] Glaubens-Puncten des Alcorans, wie nicht weniger der gantze Mahometanische Gottesdienst nebst des falschen Propheteu [!] Mahomets Leben, in einer kurtz-gefaßeten doch gewissen und deutlichen Erzehlung vorgestellet wird. Leipzig, Friedrich Groschuff, 1699.
12mo. (20), 168 pp., including a folding genealogy of Mohammed as *10, bound here before *2. With a woodcut vignette of the Blue Mosque (?) on title-page as well as an engraved frontispiece of Mohammed presenting the Qur'an to the world, along with Zulfiqar (his legendary double-bladed sword), and a dove on his shoulder. - Bound with (II): Orientalischer Kirchen-Staat. Gotha, Jakob Mevius, 1699. (2), 155, (1) pp. (and 2 other works). Contemporary vellum. Very rare sole edition of this detailed exposition of the Qur'an for German readers, replete with a frontispiece depicting Mohammed giving the 'Alcoran' to the world as well as a folding genealogy of the Prophet. The preface discusses the threat which Islam poses to the West; and yet Pritius remarks that "meanwhile no-one will be hurt by learning a little more precisely about the opinions of these people, against whom Christendom has so long struggled" (*2v). - Chapter I covers the tenets of Islamic faith, rituals, customs, and pilgrimage. This includes numerous excerpts from the Qur'an and a lengthy discussion of the entire process of the Hajj, as well as the rituals the pilgrims take part in once they arrive in Mecca (pp. 89-113). Chapter II concerns the role of "muftis, priests, monks, and hermits" in Islam; and Chapter III recounts the life and death of Mohammed, taken from the usual European sources. - The inner workings of Islam had long fascinated the German Protestants, who saw an ally in their struggle against the common enemy of the Habsburgs / Roman Catholic Church. The present work is exceptionally detailed, however, and offers far more than the usual brief discussions of Mohammed's life; indeed, it is evident that Pritius had access to one of the Qur'an translations available in Europe at the time. - Extremely rare: OCLC shows no copies in American or UK libraries; VD 17 shows holdings in six German libraries. - Bound at the end of the volume is a manual of the various faiths of the orient, which includes a chapter on Islam and a discussion of the schism between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Two other theological works bound first: (III) Spener, Philipp Jakob. Die Seligkeit der Kinder Gottes [...]. Frankfurt, Johann David Zunner, 1692. (138), 427, (25) pp. - (IV) Schmidt, Sebastian. Regenten-Predigten, welche zu gewissen Zeiten des Jahrs der christlichen Gemeine in Straßburg aus dem Alten Testament erkläret und vorgetragen worden. Braunschweig, Caspar Gruber, 1694. (2), 308 pp. - Some browning and occasional waterstaining throughout; binding darkened. Some edge chipping to the genealogical plate. VD 17, 39:144883H. Chauvin XI, p. 186, no. 667. Imaginationen des Islam: Bildliche Darstellungen des Propheten Mohammed, no. 20. Cf. also Fischer, Bildung durch Reisen? Deutsche Aufklärung und Islam II, p. 85 (note); on Pritius cf. ADB XXVI, 602ff. - (II): VD 17, 39:144877G. BL (German books) O224.
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[Punjab-British Secretariat].
Press lists of old records in the Punjab Secretariat. Volume VII. North-West Frontier Agency. Correspondence with Government, 1840-1845. Lahore, Superintendent, Government Printing, Punjab, 1915.
Folio. 2 vols. (2 [instead of 4?]), 993 pp. With an addendum slip facing p. 197. Brown calf, with "Book 1" and "Book 2" in gilt on the spines. A rare and extraordinary snapshot of the North-West Frontier of British India (now comprising parts of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan) between 1840 and 1845, the time of the First Anglo-Afghan War. It contains abstracts of official correspondence written during the period and preserved at the Punjab Secretariat, including documents on the 1842 retreat from Kabul, British relations with Dost Mohammed Khan, and the Sino-Sikh War of 1841-42. While the focus is military and political, there is also much of interest on legal and financial matters, public health, policing, and other matters. The North-West Frontier States Agency was one of the colonial agencies of British India exercising indirect rule. - Lacking the title-page and pp. 3-4 as noted, with pp. 1-2 loose and damaged (with the loss of almost half of their text); repairs to the upper outside corners of pp. 983-993 with some loss of text. Slight browning. Charles Allen, Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier (2012).
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[Qatar].
"Lunch in Honour of Mr. Ali A. Ansari Personal Representative of the Ruler of Qatar". Pakistan, early 1970s.
Ca. 25 x 30 cm. Black-and-white gelatin silver print (vintage). A letterboard in a Karachi hotel lobby, announcing a "Lunch in Honour of Mr. Ali A. Ansari, Personal Representative of the Ruler of Qatar". Ali ibn Ahmed Al-Ansari served as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs unter HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Ruler of Qatar. - Provenance: collection of Azhar Abbas Hashmi (1940-2016), Pakistani financial manager and eminent literary patron with close ties to Karachi University. Long with United Bank Limited, Hashmi would serve as the bank's Vice President of Gulf Operations before founding several important cultural organisations and becoming known as a man of letters in his own right.
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[Qatar].
Three photographs of Qatari sheikhs. (Karachi), Eveready Studio, early 1970s.
3 black-and-white photographs, ca. 15 x 12 cm each. Vintage gelatin silver prints. Photographed during an early 1970s state visit to Pakistan. All printed by Karachi's Eveready Studio with their name in the lower margin.
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[Quadrant].
Paper-covered wood showing coloured scales. Ottoman Empire, 19th century.
18.9 x 19.8 cm. Gouache with some gilt dots and ink on paper. Quadrants were simple measuring devices used in astronomy, field measurements, and navigation. Based on the position of the sun or the polar star, the user is able to determine his position without difficulty. - The papered covers show occasional defects and slight waviness in places. While functional, the present instrument is probably a simpler copy of an older model, not actually intended for use but rather for representational purposes. Some of the Arabic lettering is missing or illegible, and the highlights are not executed with genuine gilding but in gold paint. Cf. Heritage Library, Islamic Treasures, s. v. "Instruments" (illustration).
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[Qur'an - English].
The Koran, Commonly Called the Alcoran of Mahomet. First American edition. Springfield, MA, Henry Brewer for Isaiah Thomas, Jun., October 1806.
8vo. VIII, 524 pp. Contemporary full sheepskin with giltstamped spine title. First American edition of the Qur'an, produced by Isaiah Thomas, founder of the American Antiquarian Society and the largest and most important Massachusetts publishing house during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Thomas adapted a translation of the French orientalist André Du Ryer for the American market, with occasional notes, including Turkish traditions. Du Ryer had been the envoy of the French king at Alexandria and Constantinople in the 17th century. His translation was the best available, and was frequently reprinted and translated into other European languages throughout the 18th century. - Some browning and light foxing throughout. Small hole slightly affecting text to leaf Aa6; quires Ff and Gg transposed; a tear in leaf O4 professionally repaired. Provenance: From the collection of the Massachusetts businessman Henry E. Call (fl. 1860s) with his ink ownership to title-page and oval stamps to flyleaf; front pastedown has mid-19th century note of acquisition for $2.00 from E. P. Dutton's Boston bookshop, founded in 1852. Shaw & Shoemaker 10684. Europe and the Arab World 32. OCLC 3548445. Not in Chauvin.
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[Qur'an - English].
The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English [...] by George Sale. London, C. Ackers for J. Wilcox, 1734.
Large 4to. (4), IX, (3), 187, (1), 508, (16) pp. With folding engr. map, folding engr. plate, and 3 (2 folding) engr. genealogical tables. Modern half calf with marbled covers, gilt. First printing of this important translation. "Showered with praise from the start" (cf. Enay). "The classic translation of the Quran [...] Sale worked from the original Arabic, but also used Marracci's Latin version, about which he said it was very precise, but too literal [...] Sale's translation is marked by a rather sober tidiness. Sale himself saw his work as a sort of defence of a much-maligned book [...] The translation's dispassionate, dry objectivity was an enormous step forward for western Quranic studies. Its deserved success was based to no little extent on the 'Preliminary Discourse', which provides a general introduction to the Quran as well as an overview of the most important Muslim denominations [...] For a century this account remained one of the principal sources from which the European educated elite drew its knowledge of all matters Quranic" (cf. Fück). - Title page slightly wrinkled and dusty. A good, very unobtrusively browned copy in an appealing modern binding. Chauvin X, 146. Schnurrer 429. Fück 104f. Enay 169. Graesse IV, 44. Ebert 11524.
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[Qur'an - German]. Boysen, Friedrich Eberhard (ed.).
Der Koran, oder das Gesetz für die Moslemer, durch Muhammed den Sohn Abdall. Nebst einigen feyerlichen koranischen Gebeten, unmittelbar aus dem Arabischen übersetzt, mit Anmerkungen und einigen Denkwürdigkeiten aus der Geschichte des Propheten und seiner Reformation [...]. Zweyte verbesserte Ausgabe. Halle, J. J. Gebauers Wittwe & Johann Jakob Gebauer, 1775.
8vo. 42 (but: 40), 678 pp. With engraved frontispiece. Contemporary unsophisticated wrappers. Second edition of Boysen's German translation of the Qur'an, first published in 1773. This is the second German Qur'an translation based on the original Arabic text, following that of Megerlin in 1772. While Boysen's version is considered more scholarly, more reliable and more readable that Megerlin's, it suffers from a lack of Sura markings, a fact which rendered it a tedious companion for studying the original. The translation was republished, with corrections, in 1828 by S. F. G. Wahl. - Pagination of preliminaries agrees with NUC, with pp. 15f. skipped. Binding a little duststained; spine professionally rebacked. Some browning and foxing, with light waterstaining near the end. Includes the frequently lacking engraved frontispiece depicting a Muslim in prayer (stamp of the Vicariate Apostolic of Oslo to verso); title-page has contemporary handwritten ownership "Kath. Bibliothek". An untrimmed, partly uncut and wide-margined copy. Zenker I, 1400. Schnurrer, p. 431. Graesse IV, 44. Woolworth 285. VD 18, 90017838. Not in Enay.
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[Qur'an - Latin].
Mohammedia filii Abdallae pseudo-prophetae Fides Islamitica, i.e. Al-Coranus. Ex idiomate Arabico, quo primum a Mohammede conscriptus est, latine versus per Ludovicum Marraccium [...]. Cura et opera M. Christiani Reineccii. Leipzig, Lanckisch, 1721.
8vo. (12), 114, (2), 558, (34) pp. Title-page printed in red and black. Contemporary full vellum with ms. title to spine. First printing thus. - The edition of Christian Reineccius (1668-1752) contains the Latin text of Luigi Marracci (1612-1700), to which are added a history of the Qur'an and an account of the Muslim faith. Marracci's text, published in 1698, constituted the first accurate Latin translation, the first scholarly printed Qur'an (including a much more accurate Arabic text than any previously printed). "It was a considerable progress that the Qur'an, much maligned by so many in the West possessing no familiarity at all with its content, now was made generally available" (cf. Fück). - Some browning throughout, as common; old ownership "Steph. Manno" stamped to title page. Altogether very well-preserved in an immaculate contemporary full vellum binding. Schnurrer p. 413f. Fück 95, n. 251. BM Arabic I, 896. Enay 164. Zenker I, 1396. Woolworth p. 286.
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[Qur'an - Surah 36, Ya-Sin].
Illuminated devotional manuscript. Probably Anatolia, late 18th or early 19th century [ca. 1800].
12mo. 139 pp. on 70 ff. of smooth wove paper. Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. With a double-page 'unwan headpiece in colours and gilt. Text enclosed throughout within gilt borders and blue rules; 9 full-page colour illuminations with circular text compartments. Blue marbled pastedowns. Contemporary blindstamped dark brown calf with inlaid light brown borders and centrepiece and fore-edge flap. Prettily bound pocket-sized Ottoman devotional manuscript on the 36th surah of the Qur'an, "Ya-Sin", written in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. The splendidly illumnated first double-page (containing verses 1 to 6) is written in an exquisitely refined variety of Turkish naskh calligraphy, typical for Quranic manuscripts. The surah "Ya-Sin" is considered the heart of the Qur'an by many pious Muslims, as it presents the core tenets of Muslim religion.
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[Qur'an - Swedish].
Koran öfversatt från arabiska originalet, jemte en historisk inledning af Fredrik Crusenstolpe, konsulat-sekreterare vid kongl. konsulatet i Marocko. Stockholm, P. A. Norstedt & söner, 1843.
8vo. V, (1), 158, 783, (1), 26, (2) pp. Near contemporary green half calf over marbled boards, flat spine elaborately gilt. First Swedish edition: the pioneering, first complete version of the Holy Qur'an in any Scandinavian language. The translator Fredrik Crusenstolpe (1801-82) was secretary to the Swedish consul in Tanger and a philhellene who had fought against the Ottomans in the Greek War of Independence. - The publication was privately funded by the translator himself: Crusenstolpe, who detected in the Swedish mentality an ignorance and tendency toward superstition which he resented, "felt personally compelled to furnish the Swedish audience with material to rectify some of the misconceptions about the Prophet Muhammad in Swedish popular imagination [...] He described the Prophet as a rational 'Arabic founder of law' (p. iii), in compliance with a common imagery of the Prophet which emerged in the European Enlightenment" (N. S. Eggen, "On the Periphery: Translations of the Our'an in Sweden, Denmark and Norway", in: The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Translation, ed. Sameh Hanna et al.). - Covers a little rubbed, corners slightly bumped. Some browning and occasional foxing throughout. From the library of Swedish linguist Hans Hultqvist (1943-2019) with his discrete shelf mark in pencil to title-page. Very rare: OCLC lists only four holding libraries (NY Public Library, Library of Congress, Cleveland Public Library, Ohio State University). Chauvin X, 238. OCLC 2011410.
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[Qur'an Juz'].
An illuminated Qur'an, Juz' X. China, [ca. 1790 - later 18th century CE].
8vo (200 x 288 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 50 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within red double rules, punctuation in red, gold rosette verse markers outlined in black, surah headers in gold, gold and polychrome marginal decoration, opening bifolium with red, blue and black and gold illuminated panels around three lines of text. Restored 18th century red leather with fore-edge flap, elaborately ruled and stamped in blind. Beautifully illuminated Qur'an Juz' (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in 18th century China. Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. The section of the Qu'ran copied here is the tenth Juz', which comprises surah 8, al-Anfal ("The Spoils") and surah 9, al-Tawbah ("The Repentance"). These two surahs form a set, and are best read as a pair. Both give an account of battles: al-Anfal describes the Battle of Badr, while al-Tawbah describes the Battle of Tabuk. - Covers fully rebacked, with some mild warping; some paper repair and reinforcement. Altogether a fine example of the Chinese Muslim manuscript tradition. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
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[Qur'an Juz'].
An illuminated Qur'an, Juz' XII. China, ca. 1800 CE.
Small folio (230 x 295 mm). Arabic manuscript on cream-coloured paper. 58 ff. (plus 2 flyleaves), 5 lines per extensum, written in crisp Sini script in black ink. Text within red double rules, verses separated by gilt roundels, surah heading in gold outlined in red. Opening bifolio with brightly coloured and gilt quasi-geometric illumination, final bifolio with gold and polychrome Central Asian floral and tendril motifs in the borders. Contemporary blind-tooled brown leather binding with fore-edge flap. Indigo blue cotton endpapers. Prettily illuminated Qur'an Juz' (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in late 18th or early 19th century China. Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. The section of the Qu'ran copied here is the twelfth Juz', which comprises surah 11 (Hud), aya 6, to surah 12 (Yusuf), aya 52, named after the prophets Hud and Joseph. - Fingerstaining to lower corner and margin; a few leaves loose. An attractively illuminated example of the Chinese Muslim manuscript tradition.
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[Qur'an Juz'].
An illuminated Qur'an, Juz' XIX. China, [April 1546 CE =] Safar 953 H.
4to (188 x 254 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 51 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within red rules, vowel markers in black and corrections in red, surah headers in red, illuminated double-page frontispiece 'Unwan decorated with geometrical and floral designs in gold and colours in a typical Yunnan style of mainly gold on a red ground highlighted with green and blue. 16th century full brown leather with fore-edge flap, prettily ruled and stamped in blind with Islamic and Chinese-influenced designs. Very early Qur'an Juz (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in 16th century China. - Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing, boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. Juz' 19 begins with surah 25, al-Furqan (The Criterion), contains in full surah 26, ash-Shu'ara (The Poets), and closes with the beginning of surah 27, an-Naml (The Ant). - The colophon in red script on the recto of the last leaf states that the manuscript was "copied by Shams al-Din ibn Musa al-Sini in the month of Safar of the year 953 AH in the city of Yunnan, one of the Chinese cities which has been honoured and blessed by Islam". - Binding rebacked and spine and endpapers professionally replaced; subtle paper repairs. An excellent example of the Islamic Chinese style of Qur'anic calligraphy and illumination. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
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[Qur'an Juz'].
An illuminated Qur'an, Juz' XXIX. China, [ca. 1780 - 18th century CE].
8vo (180 x 252 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 58 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within double red rules, punctuation in red, black outlined gold rosettes between verses, headers in gold text on red ground, opening bifolium with red, blue and black and gold illuminated panels around three lines of text. 18th century full red leather with fore-edge flap, elaborately ruled and stamped in blind. Handsomely illuminated Qur'an Juz (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in 18th century China. - Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing, boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. Juz' 29, the penultimate Juz' of the Qu'ran shown here, begins with surah 67, al-Mulk (The Sovereignty), and closes with the fifty lines of surah 77, al-Mursalat (The Emissaries). - Binding rebacked and spine and endpapers professionally replaced; subtle paper repairs; some later pagination marks. Altogether a beautiful example of the Chinese Muslim manuscript tradition. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
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[Qur'an Juz'].
An illuminated Qur'an, Juz' XXX. Xi'an, China, [Oct/Nov. 1594 CE =] Safar 1003 H.
4to (163 x 220 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 56 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within double red rules, punctuation in red, surah heading in red, opening and closing bifolio with red, blue and black and gold illuminated panels around three lines of text. Early full calf with fore-edge flap, elaborately ruled and stamped in gilt. A finely illuminated Qur'an Juz', written in China in the 16th century by Abd Allah bin Yunus al-Sini, in the city of Xi'an. - Xi'an has a long history of Muslim culture, stretching back to the Tang dynasty. Indeed, Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Xi'an itself boasts a well-known Muslim quarter; by the time this Juz' was written in the Ming Dynasty, Da Xuexi Street and the Huajue Great Mosque were well-established parts of the thriving Muslim district. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show the Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. - This thirtieth and final Juz' is also the most commonly memorized. It begins with surah 78, al-Naba’ (The Tidings), and concludes with the 114th and final surah of the Qu'ran, al-Nas (Mankind). The themes are generally apocalyptic, contrasting the moment of judgment with the beauty of Allah's creation. The Surah al-Nas, a brief six lines, is one of the most famous and best beloved. - Binding professionally rebacked, some subtle paper repairs; altogether a striking manuscript. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
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[Qur'an studies]. Happel, Justus Helfrich / May, Johann Heinrich (praes.).
Brevis institutio linguae Arabicae. D. Joh. Henr. Maji Hebraicae, Chaldaicae, Syriacae, Samaritanae ac Aethiopicae harmonica. Accedit glossarium arabicum cum reliquis orientis linguis harmonicum, in IV Geneseos capita priora et tres praecipuas Alcorani suratas. Frankfurt, Johann Philipp Andreae, 1707.
4to. (2), (8), (3)-75, (1) pp. With 1 folding table. Contemporary marbled brown boards, spine reinforced with later brown cloth. An orientalist dissertation by the Hessian scholar Happel, incorporating a grammar of the Arabic language and a glossary harmonising Hebrew terms from the first four books of Genesis with Arabic words from three Qur'an suras, namely sura 1 (Al-Fatiha), 12 (Yusuf), and 64 (At-Taghabun), previously edited by Erpenius. - Some browning throughout due to paper. Lacks free endpapers; front hinge reinforced. 19th and 20th century ownerships to pastedown. Schnurrer 87. GV (1700) 56, 6. OCLC 31311242. Not in Fück.
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[Qur'an].
A fine illuminated Qur'an manuscript. Probably modern Afghanistan or Pakistan, ca. 1830s (first half of the 19th century CE).
8vo (ca. 110 x 160 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 260 ff. with 3 double-page 'Unwan headpieces in colours and gilt. 17 lines in meticulous black ink Naskhi, text within black, blue and gilt rules, verse divisions marked by black-bordered gold discs, red orthoepic markers and diacritics, sura beginnings in red on gilt background, line separators in black and gilt, marginal medallions (Juz' and Hizb markers) in colours and gilt, marginalia in red. Contemporary lacquer binding, covers elaborately painted with floral designs on outsides and insides. Later black morocco spine with stamped title. Stored in contemporary giltstamped leather slipcase with flap. An exceptionally pretty early 19th century Qur'an manuscript probably written in the Pashtunistan or Balochistan region of British India. Occasional insignificant edge flaws or various instances of light browning, but generally a very clean and well-preserved example in a pretty floral lacquer binding (corners bumped, spine repaired in more recent times). Slipcase a little rubbed and worn along extremeties.
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[Qur'an].
A splendid illuminated Qur'an manuscript. Iran, [1783 CE] = 1204 H.
8vo (148 x 90 mm). Illuminated Arabic manuscript on paper, 243 leaves plus 2 fly-leaves, complete. 19 lines per page, written in a neat Naskhi script in black ink with diacritics in red, margins ruled in gold and colours. Gold discs or florets between verses, sura headings written in white within gilt cartouches flanked by panels with alternating floral motifs in gold and various colours. Brown morocco with flap and giltstamped borders and central ornaments. Splendid pocket-size Qur'an. Marginal section markers in white naskh on gold ground within polychrome flower blossom, opening double-page frontispiece richly illuminated in lapis lazuli blue, green, red, pink, and gold, the text within cloud bands in gold. - Hinge tender between the first two pages, some light marginal fingering, otherwise in perfect condition. From the library of the scientists and collectors Crawford Fairbanks Failey (1900-81) and Gertrude Van Wagenen (1893-1978), who performed research at Yale and Johns Hopkins in the fields of medical chemistry and biology.
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[Qur'an].
Al-Coranus s. lex islamitica Muhammedis, filii Abdallae pseudoprophetae [...]. Hamburg, Gottfried Schultze & Benjamin Schiller, 1694.
4to. (90), 560 [but p. 255f. repeated], (10) pp. Latin title printed in red and black; one Latin and two Arabic (woodcut) half-titles. Preface in Latin, text in vocalized Arabic throughout. Contemporary half calf with marbled covers and giltstamped label to sparsely gilt spine. The famous "Hamburg Koran": while not actually (as it was long considered) the first printed Qur'an ever, the first accessible printed edition of the Arabic text. Only in 1987 was a unique copy of Paganino de Paganinis's Venetian edition (c. 1538) rediscovered, a work whose press run either was destroyed immediately or was limited to the sole surviving specimen, apparently a proof copy (cf. A. Nuovo, "Il Corano arabo ritrovato", in: Bibliofilia LXXX, IX, 1987). Four years after the present edition, in 1698, Lodovico Marracci produced his own Qur'an, but its two big tomes were anything but easy to consult - hence, the Hamburg Koran remained "the only available and handleable" (Smitskamp) edition until the early 19th century. - Abraham Hinckelmann (1652-95), a Hamburg theologian, studied at Wittenberg and collected many Oriental manuscripts. He compiled a Quranic lexicon in manuscript and planned a Latin translation of the Koran, but this was never realised. - Some browning throughout, as common due to paper; slight waterstaining near end. Ms. ownership of Joseph Venturi in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin ("emit Romae An. 1789") on Latin title (his quotation from Brunet on first Arabic title), with early 19th c. ownership of Blasius Milani. This is the uncommon variant with two different woodcut Arabic titles. Schnurrer 376. Smitskamp, PO 360. Fück 94. Le Livre et le Liban 135f. Woolworth 279. Hamilton, Europe and the Arab World 33. Brunet III, 1306. H. Bobzin, From Venice to Cairo, in: Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution (2002), p. 151-176, at p.160f., with 2 illustrations (figs. VI and 74). The Heritage Library: Treasures of Islamic and Arabic Heritage (Qatar 2006), s. v. "Religion", with illustration.
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[Qur'an].
An Ottoman Qur'an manuscript. [Ottoman Empire, [1810 CE =] 1225 H.
8vo (105 x 149 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished paper. 306 ff., 2 flyleaves, 15 lines to the page. Written in fine Naskh script in black ink, verses separated by small gold roundels pointed in red, illuminated floral marginal devices throughout surah headings written in white thuluth script within gold-ground floral panels. Double-page illuminated 'unwan frontispiece elaborately decorated with interlacing polychrome flowers against a punched gold ground. Contemporary full gilt leather with fore-edge flap and gilt floral designs to covers. Endpapers covered with cornflower-blue, relief-stamped floral paper. Edges mottled in red. Stored in matching leather slipcase with flap and bellows-style cloth sides. A beautiful Qur'an manuscript from the early years of the era of Sultan Mahmud II, written in modern-day Turkey by Omar Al-Shawqi, student of Ismael Shawqi. - A small hole in the text of the second leaf, sewing a little loosened in places, otherwise a very attractively preserved example of a pocket-sized Qur'an.
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[Qur'an].
Illuminated Qur'an manuscript. [Ottoman Empire], [1807 CE] = 1222 H.
8vo (165 x 105 mm). Illuminated Arabic ms. on paper. 312 ff., 15 lines, Naskh script. Black ink on polished paper. Double-page 'unwan on first two pages shows elaborate gilt ornamentation; ornamental colophon. Borders in red, black and gold. Gold discs between verses, sura headings written in gold. Blindstamped and gilt calf. Signed by a copyist named Hafez 'Ahmad ibn Ahmad al-ma'ruf, "Ahmad the Hafez" (respect title bestowed on those who have proved to know the entire Quran by heart), son of the renowned ‘Ahmad’, as quoted (underlined) in the colophon: Kataba hada-l mushaf as-sarif adafu ibad-‘Allah al-Kabir al-Mutaal Hafez ‘Ahmad, ibn ‘Ahmad almaruf,ba-yawwab-e (?) halifa-zade Hamidu-llah Taala [...] (literally, ‘he who wrote this noble Qur'an is a very foolish slave of God the Greatest, the Exalted, named Hafez ‘Ahmad, son of the renowned Ahmad, servant (?) of Hamidu-llah Taala, offspring of the Caliph […]’), etc. - Binding partially restored, in good condition.
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[Qur'an].
Illuminated, complete Qur'an manuscript. [Ottoman Empire], ca. 1770 / 18th century.
8vo (208 x 150 mm). Contemporary blind- and goldstamped calf with fore-edge flap, decorated with corner stamps. Illuminated Arabic ms. on paper, 305 ff., single 15-line column, Naskh script on polished paper. Double-page 'unwan on first two pages shows elaborate gilt and coloured ornamentation. Text framed by three parallel golden and black lines. Gold discs between verses, sura headings written in gold.
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[Qur'an].
Kashmiri Qur'an manuscript. [Kashmir, ca. 1800].
Folio (205 x 312 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 53 ff., 33 lines to the page written in minute ghubar script in black ink, verse separated by a gold roundel, surah heading in red thuluth on gold background, margins illuminated with gilt discs or lozenges inscribed in red and enclosed within ornamental borders dotted in blue; fols. 1b-2a with a double-page illuminated frontispiece, lavishly coloured and gilt. Contemporary blindstamped and gilt black leather binding; spine rebacked. Marbled pastedowns. A fine, complete Qur'an manuscript, written in meticulous ghubar script and with pretty illumination, originating from the Kashmir region in the late 18th century. The characteristic calligraphy is known as "ghubar", or "dust script", for the minuscule size of its rounded letter forms. Created around the 10th century, it was first used for information and commands conveyed by carrier pigeon. Even the present, more generous form fits the entire Holy Qur'an into a slim folio of only fifty-odd pages. - Edges occasionally very slightly chipped but generally very fine. Binding well preserved with modern spine. The central compartment of the pretty binding shows a Qur'anic verse (Surah 56, verse 79: "to be touched only by the purified") stamped in blind three times on both covers.
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[Qur'an].
Manuscript Qur'an commentary. Sultanate of Delhi, [ca. 1490 CE, or 15th century].
Folio (244 x 345 mm). Arabic manuscript, Bihari script on paper. 287 (instead of 292) ff., foliated 364-655 (lacking 550-551 and 622-624). Surah headings in gilt and colours, verse divisions marked by gold and black ink rosettes, numerous circular and tear-shaped markers in the margins, elaborately ornamented in gold and colours. Bound in modern oriental-style full leather with fore-edge flap and recessed cover decorations. Part four of a pre-Mughal Qur'an commentary, treating the text from Surah XXI, Al-Anbya (The Prophets) to Surah LXXV, Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection). - Lacks five leaves according to the foliation; some dampstaining; several edge flaws (more severe near the end of the volume), often remargined. Traces of dust in the gutter throughout. In all a fine example of an early Qur'anic manuscript. - Provenance: 1950s private ownership stamp of the "Mohd. Halim Salimi Library", Kandahar, Afghanistan, on fol. 490v. Mohammed Halim Salimi of Kandahar worked in an administrative capacity for the USA's International Cooperation Administration (ICA) Mission to Afghanistan in 1959. In 1960 Salimi applied to the ICA for reimbursement of a lost sum of $123.88; the application was refused on the grounds that Salimi was not in fact an ICA employee but was sub-contracted by the agent Herman Klee (see report B-144148-O.M., 1 Nov 1960). Acquired from Hampel Auctions, Munich. Cf. S. A. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh 2006), pp. 386-390; Qur‘an, exhibition catalogue (Istanbul 2010), pp. 350f., no. 92.
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[Qur'an].
Separate leaf from a Kufic manuscript on vellum. Abbasidic (Near East), ca. 850 CE / 9th century.
187 x 276 mm. With a rosette gilt and in gouache colour. Diacritical marks added later in black ink, vocalization marks in red (as well as one in green and one in blue). 5 lines. Well-preserved leaf in monumental Kufic script (line height c. 30 mm), written in dark brown ink. The text is from the middle part of verse 109 of the second Quran sura. The script style belongs to group D (according to Déroche's classification, subtype D.III). Similar examples are usually dated to the 9th century C.E. (cf. François Déroche, The Abbasid Tradition, London 1992. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Vol. I, nos. 25 [p. 76] and 34/35 [p. 84]). The polychromatic rosette shows an inscribed number: The red dots are vocalisation marks; the diacritics (in the form of small slashes) were added later in black ink. - Some browning and staining. Brittle in places due to ink corrosion (minor defects to vellum). Verso rubbed, but still legible. Cf. Fingernagel (ÖNB 2010), p. 33.
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[Qur'an].
Separate leaf from a Kufic manuscript on vellum. Abbasidic (Near East or Northern Africa), ca. 850 CE / 9th century.
170 x 263 mm. With gilt rosette and numerous gilt floral ornaments between the letters and in the margins. Vocalisation marks (dots) in red. 5 lines. Illuminated leaf from a once-magnificent Quran manuscript with fine gilt flower and leaf illustrations as space fillers and ornamental border around the large Kufic script written in black ink (line height ca. 25-30 mm). The ornamentation mainly consists in leaf designs with the occasional blossom. Illumination of this type is exceedingly rarely encountered among the preserved Abbasid Kufic manuscripts pre-dating the year 1000. The script style belongs to subgroup D.I, according to Déroche's classification. Manuscripts in this style are normally dated to the 9th century CE (cf. François Déroche, The Abbasid Tradition, London 1992. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Vol. I, nos. 19-23, pp. 67-71). The red dots are vocalisation marks: diacritic marks were not used until later. - Some browning and staining. Brittle in places due to ink corrosion (slight loss to individual letters). Verso rubbed, but still legible. Cf. Fingernagel (ÖNB 2010), p. 33.
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[Qur'an]. Beck, Matthias Friedrich.
Specimen arabicum, hoc est, Bina capitula Alcorani XXX de Roma & XLIIX de Victoria [...]. Augsburg, Jakob Koppmayer for Lorenz Kroniger & Gottlieb Goebel's heirs, 1688.
4to. (12), 66, 41, (1) pp. Title-page printed in red and black. With a coin engraving in the text. 19th c. wrappers. Only edition thus: the 30th and the 48th sura (Ar-Rum and Al-Fath) in the original Arabic and with Latin parallel translation. An early and scholarly specimen of Qur'an translation in the West, with extensive commentary. The Arabic text is rendered in Hebrew letters, as Arabic types were unavailable to the printer. M. F. Beck (1649-1701) had studied history and oriental literature at Jena. In 1677 he settled in Ausgburg as a preacher, but kept his focus on the oriental languages. His linguistic proficiency ultimately earned him a pension from the King of Prussia (cf. ADB II, 218). - Some browning; title insignificantly dust- and waterstained, but altogether well preserved. VD 17, 12:128711C. Schnurrer 374. OCLC 13610797.
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[Qur'an]. Lydis, Mariette.
42 Miniaturen zum Koran. Berlin, Brandussche Verlagsbuchhandlung, (1924).
Oblong 8vo. (4), 42 mounted colour printed plates, some of which heightened in gold, (4) pp. Each plate matted with the corresponding letterpress Qur'an verse with red border to versos opposite. Title-page printed in red and black. Contemporary green full calf with giltstamped title to cover and spine. Top edge gilt. Original stapled plain card slipcase. Only edition. A collection of 42 exquisite illustrations for selected suras from the Qur'an inspired by Persian miniatures. One of the earliest works by the Austrian-born painter and illustrator Lydis (1887-1970), a self-taught artist influenced by Islamic art as well as by the Japanese artist Tsuguharu Foujita. Lydis settled in Paris in 1926 and escaped the Nazis during the occupation, living briefly in England before emigrating to Buenos Aires. Today she is best known for her illustrations in de luxe editions of Boccaccio, Louÿs, Baudelaire, Mirbeau and Valéry. - The plates, in colours and gold, were printed by Ganymed in Berlin, the text by Proeschel & Trepte in Leipzig. - Extremities slightly rubbed. Interior in mint condition. Vollmer III, 278. OCLC 187048571.
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[Quran - Dutch]. Ryer, André du.
Mahomets Alkoran, door du Ryer uit d'Arabische in de Fransche en door I. H. Glazemaker in de Nederlantsche taal vertaalt. Amsterdam, Timotheus ten Hoorn, 1696.
8vo. (10), 547, (1) pp. With additional engraved title page and 6 engraved plates. Contemporary vellum with handwritten spine title. Uncommon Dutch edition of du Ryer's version, in a translation by J. H. Glasemaker (previously published in 1658), with a Life of the Prophet and numerous engravings by Caspar Luyken (1672-1708). Du Ryer's 1647 French version served as the basis for further translations of the Qur'an (including English, German, and Russian), and was instrumental in introducing Europeans to the tenets of the Muslim faith. - Block somewhat loosened, but still a good copy. Chauvin X, p. 129 (phi). Cf. Schnurrer 428.
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[Quran - French]. Ryer, André du.
L'Alcoran de Mahomet. Translaté d'Arabe en François. Paris, Antoine de Sommaville, 1647.
4to. (10), 648 [but: 598], (4) pp. Contemporary half calf with giltstamped spine. Rare first edition of "the oldest complete translation of the Qur'an into a European vernacular" (Encylopedia of the Qur'an). Du Ryer's work served as the basis for further translations of the Qur'an into English, German, Dutch, and Russian, and was instrumental in introducing Europeans to the tenets of the Muslim faith. Du Ryer was a celebrated linguist and had lived in Egypt and Turkey, where he studied classical Arabic. His introduction briefly summarizes the Muslim religion for Christian readers, noting customs such as Ramadan, circumcision, the practice of having as many as four wives, the significance of Mecca and Medina, Sufi brotherhoods and wandering ascetics, and finally the Islamic recognition of Jesus as a prophet but not the son of God. A prayer printed in Arabic is included on the verso of leaf e2. - "Du Ryer's translation of the Qur'an [...] became an unparalleled literary success [...] The easy availability of the Qur'an accompanied a newfound interest in the Orient; additionally, du Ryer's translation lacked the polemical tone of previous editions, an orientation which arose mainly in ecclesiastical contexts. Du Ryer used Islamic commentaries such as al-Bayawi's Anwar al-tanzil, the Tafsir al-Jalalayan by al-Mahalli (d. 864/1459) and al-Suyu i (d. 911/1505), or an excerpt from al-Razi's (d. 606/1210) great commentary made by al-Raghi al-Tunisi (d. 715/1315) entitled al-Tanwir fi l-tafsir, quite casually in his translation, merely noting them in the margins. The deprecatory tone present in the introductory chapter, 'Sommaire de la religion des Turcs,' can be understood as an attempt at camouflage (cf. Hamilton and Richard, André du Ryer, 94f)" (Encyclopedia of the Qur'an). - Some waterstaining throughout; occasional worming; more pronounced edge damage near end. Provenance: 1714 ms. ownership (partly stricken out) of the Castelnaudary Capuchins, dissolved in 1789; acquired by the notary J. L. E. Bauzit of Castelnaudary (his ownership on title and flyleaf). Chauvin X, p. 126. Schnurrer 427. Fück 74. Brunet III, 1309. Encyclopedia of the Qur'an V, 347.
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[Quran - German]. Boysen, Friedrich Eberhard (ed.).
Der Koran, oder Das Gesetz für die Moslemer, durch Muhammed den Sohn Abdall. Nebst einigen feyerlichen koranischen Gebeten, unmittelbar aus dem Arabischen übersetzt [...]. Halle, J. J. Gebauers Wwe. und Johann Jakob Gebauer, 1775.
8vo. 42 (but: 40), 678 pp. With engraved frontispiece. Near-contemporary half calf with giltstamped red spine label. All edges red. Second edition of this German Qur'an translation, previously issued in 1773. Following Megerlin's ill-received effort of 1772, this is the second German translation to have been based immediately on the Arabic original. - Pagination of preliminaries agrees with NUC, with pp. 15f. skipped. Includes the frequently lacking engraved frontispiece depicting a Muslim in prayer. Contemporary ownership to flyleaf. Slightly browned as usual; a good, tighly bound copy. Zenker I, 1400. Schnurrer, p. 431. Graesse IV, 44. Woolworth 285. VD 18, 90017838. Not in Enay.
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[R.G.S.].
Rub' al Khali from Dhufar to Doha. London, 1931.
Colour-printed map (56 x 40 cm). The route of Bertram Thomas’s epic traverse of the Empty Quarter from Dhufar to Doha. Al-Qasimi 286.
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[RAF - Middle East Force].
Air Route books for pilots flying from Cairo to Karachi. Navigation Branch H.Q. 216 Group. No place, 1944.
Two 4to files of ca. 30 leaves each, including distress signal code tables, tips for forced landings, colour-printed route maps, radio beacon maps, emergency airfield maps (folded), and double-sided airfield leaves dedicated to single airfields along the designated route. Original printed wrappers. Perforated and handbound with cords. Two air route books for pilots of the Royal Air Force flying from Cairo to Karachi during World War II, "designed to help [them] to execute flights vital to our fronts in all theatres of war. The information which [they] contain is therefore also of use to the enemy, and must be safeguarded at all times" (p. 1). - The books are in fact useful guides to airports along the way, the plans depicting airfields in Egypt (Cairo West, Almaza, Payne, Heliopolis, Lydda and Luxor), as well as in Bahrein, Sharjah, Jiwani, Karachi, Wadi Halfa, Khartoum, Sheikh Othman, Khormaksar, Riyan and other places. For each airfield general information like coordinates, the length of the runways, the nature of ground signals, existing hangars, repair and fuel facilities, expectable weather conditions, distances to other places, radio aids, and local currency, as well as timetables of morning and evening twilight are given. The folding plans show emergency airfields in Egypt, Palestine and Syria, Iraq, Persia, and the Arabian Gulf area, as well as the routes between the Middle East and India. - Further, the booklets include instructions on what to do after a forced landing in unknown territory, advising to ration water and attract attention of rescue aircraft through a spread-out parachute or fires, including the order: "Don't drink the compass alcohol". - There is no standard collation for the books, as they were added to with monthly supplements. With the handwritten note "Compiled 21.2.45" as well as a signature to inner covers. The "from" and "to" fields on the title-pages (i.e., the front covers) are filled out by the same hand. - Covers show some small creases and edge tears; a few small ruststains, but on the whole well-preserved specimens from wartime Royal Air Force use.
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[Ras Tanura - Protestant Fellowship].
4 typed programmes. Ras Tanura, 1957-1961.
Small 4to. Together 15 pp. In stapled wrappers with handdrawn cover designs showing two angels, a shepherd with a lamb, and Bethlehem's star. Programmes of the Ras Tanura Protestant Fellowship, an organisation frequented by Aramco employees. The set includes schedules of the Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Christmas service. - Occasional small marginal flaws to wrappers.
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[Ras Tanura - Thomas, Velma].
5 membership cards for country clubs and women's groups, one golf score card, and a programme of the Aramco Golf Banquet. Ras Tanura and Abqaiq, 1949-1962.
(Oblong) 12mo to small 4to. Together 14 pp. on 6 bifolia and 2 single sheets. The programme of the golf banquet stapled. Small archive of Velma Thomas, a golf enthusiast and wife of the Aramco engineer Orlin Orace Thomas, based at Ras Tanura. The programme of the 1953 golf banquet lists the members of the Aramco golf team of Ras Tanura, including team captain and Aramco administrator Karl Deloian. The other items document Velma Thomas's membership in the Rahimah Hollow Country Club of the Ras Tanura Golf Association, the Ras Tanura Women's Group of the Federation of American Women's Clubs overseas, and the Ain Nakhl country club in Abqaiq. - Small marginal flaws; occasional light brownstaining. Interesting collection documenting the thriving expat golf scene of Saudi Arabia.
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[Razi, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al- (Rhazes)] / Giachini, Leonardo.
In nonum librum Rasis Arabis medici ad Almansorem regem, de partium morbis eruditißima commentaria. Basel, Peter Perna, 1563 - (1 Feb.) 1564.
4to. 2 parts in 1 volume. (24), 454, 134 pp., (1 blank leaf), (72) pp. Woodcut initials; printer's woodcut device in two sizes to title and last page. Contemporary limp vellum (spine and edges renewed). Author's name inked on lower edge of text block. First edition of this detailed commentary on the famous ninth book of the "Kitab al-tibb al-Mansuri", a treatise dedicated by al-Razi (also known as Rhazes; 850-923 or 932) to Almansor, the Prince of Chorosan. "The manual, known as 'Nonus Almansoris', was popular among mediaeval physicians" (cf. GAL S I, p. 419). The work discusses special pathology but excludes pyrology and was one of the most popular textbooks at medical schools and faculties well into the Middle Ages (cf. Hirsch/H. I, 171). Rhazes is considered the greatest mediaeval physician next to Avicenna; he also conducted alchemical experiments. According to his biographer al-Gildaki, he was blinded for refusing to share his secrets of chemistry. - The Italian physician Leonardo Giacchini (1501-47), who composed this commentary, practised at Lucca until 1543 and later taught at the University of Pisa. His other works are collected in part two of the volume, with its own title-page, dated 1563. - Vellum rippled, spine replaced, edges rebacked. Some light dampstaining, inkstains, and general soiling to interior; edges of some marginal notes have been trimmed. - From the library of the Italian physician Giambattista Giovanetto Morello from Tavagnasco (Piedmont), whose doctoral dissertation was published at Turin in 1779 (a single copy known, in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria Torino); his autograph ownership inscription on the front free endpaper, "Joanettus medicus a Tavagnasco", is dated 10 February 1780. Numerous marginal notes throughout in two hands, one belonging to the 17th century, the other apparently that of Giovanetto. VD 16, G 1940. BM-STC German 359. Adams G 581 (part 2 only). Wellcome 2823. Durling 2094.
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[Red Sea - Hunter, Frederick Fraser].
Arabia and the Persian Gulf. N.W. Section, S.W. Section. [Map of Arabia and the Persian Gulf with additions and corrections to 1916]. Dehra Dun, Survey of India Offices, published under the direction of Colonel Sir S. G. Burrard, Surveyor General of India, 1916.
Large folding heliozincographed colour map, 2 (of 4) sheets, each measuring 940 x 700 mm (lacking the eastern sections). Both sections with original printed covers. Two sections of Hunter's large and extremely detailed map of the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf, showing the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia with the 'Asir, Hejaz and Nejd regions, as well as most of Yemen, with Kuwait and Southern Iraq. The two eastern sections, which covered Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and part of eastern Saudi Arabia, are not present. - The Canadian-born Hunter later became a major figure in British India's Intelligence Service. He initially compiled the map between 1905 and 1908, to accompany J. G. Lorimer's "Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf". As the author recalls in his 1919 "Reminiscences", "a great deal of the information on the map was from sources considered secret at the time" (p. 357). Special surveys of the country's interior areas were carried out to achieve a hitherto unprecedented degree of accuracy: "The map was a distinct advance on anything which existed, as in 1908 no general map of Arabia on such a large scale existed" (p. 360). The "Hunter" map was used (and praised) by St John Philby during his journey across Arabia. - Such was the detail of Hunter's map that the Survey of India reissued it, with corrections, several times during the First World War and interwar period. As the maps were issued in parts and used on active service it is not unusual for sections to be missing. Many of the surviving copies show signs of official use; this issue bears a flight route, sketched out in red ink, along the southern Gulf coast to Baghdad. - Some light browning, several small tears to folds, otherwise very good. - Scarce. OCLC locates complete copies at the Library of Congress, University of Wisconsin, National Library of Israel and the BNF. Cf. Macro 1228.
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[Red Sea Algae Specimen Album]. Husson, Anne Henry, French naturalist (1814-1855).
Algae from the Red Sea. [Red Sea, ca. 1844-1845].
Album of 18 well-preserved algal specimens carefully mounted on individual sheets of white wove paper, each approximately 330 x 155 mm. Loosely laid in to folding portfolio, housed in a marble clamshell box. A rare and early ensemble of algae specimens collected from the Red Sea, from different areas between Suez and Yemen, including one specimen from Alexandria. All items identified with the Latin name and details of the location around the Red Sea and date of collection written in French on the mounts, e.g., "Caulerpa prolifera: très commune dans toute la mèr rouge á la prodondeur de 1½ mètre à 2 [...] Avril 1844", or "Mer rouge dans le Golfe de l'Acaba, Juillet 1844". - The French botanist A. H. Husson, a native of Nancy, was also a pioneer of early photography. He lived in Egypt, where he worked as the director of the botanical garden and conservator for the Museum of Natural History for the Qasr Al-Ainy, the Cairo University's Faculty of Medicine. - "The Red sea has been a region of natural history exploration by European scientists from about 240 years. The first record of marine algae in the Red Sea was by Strand (a pupil of Linnaeus's), who in his thesis on the flora of Palestine listed three species. The first person to collect marine algae from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast was the Danish botanist and explorer Forsskal in the 18th century who, in the month of November 1762, made a collection of seaweeds from the Sea of Jeddah [...] In the early years of the 19th century a British admiral Viscount Valentia made collections of algae from the Red Sea [...] Several other workers, including medical doctors and amateurs, collected marine algae from the Red Sea during the rest of the 19th century" (Beni-Suef Univ. Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, Vol. 3/4 [Dec. 2014], pp. 278-285). - Includes the offprint of a short biography of Husson: Christian Debize, "L'album photographique d'Anne-Henry Husson. Regards d'un colon nancéien dur l'Egypte moderne", Annales de l'Est (1985), no. 4, pp. 261-299. Stab-sewn in wrappers. - A most exceptional and scarce collection of preserved algal specimens from the Red Sea. Provenance: from the property of the botanist Dr. Eugene L. Vigil (b. 1941), of Lynden, Washington, USA.
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[Red Sea] - British Admiralty.
Perim Island (or Meyún) and Bab-El-Mandeb Small Strait Surveyed by Lieutt. F. J. Gray, R.N., and the Officers of H.M.S. Nassau, 1874. London, Admiralty, 1874 (1919).
Engraved map. 860 x 690 mm. Extremely detailed chart of Perim Island (also called Mayyun in Arabic) in the Strait of Mandeb, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. - Perim is a small but geopolitically important island at the entrance to the Red Sea. With the beginning of the French-backed Suez Canal project in the 1850s, the United Kingdom became convinced of the need to offset French power along the route. A number of options were undertaken to counter the French, including the occupation of Perim in 1856. The island was occupied by the Governor of Bombay, under the justification that it had been claimed by the East India Company in 1799 and was therefore already a dependency of India. Perim's inner harbour, as illustrated on the map, could accommodate very large vessels. It was consequently thought a good place for a coaling station, which was established in the 1880s. Water for the steam engine condensers was also provided on Perim (as labeled on the map). Shortly before this map was printed, during World War I, Ottoman forces landed on the island from Aden to attempt to take it and cut British communication through the Red Sea. The invasion was fought back and troops landed by the Royal Navy at Aden ended any future threat to the island. In 1967, the British attempted to have the island internationalized, to ensure the long-term security of the Red Sea-Suez route, but this was refused. In that year the island was handed over to the People's Republic of South Yemen. In 2008 the island was to be a component in the so-called Bridge of Horns, which was to link Yemen and Djibouti and be the largest bridge in the world. The Dubai-backed project did not proceed beyond the planning stage. The island was the site of a battle during the Yemeni Civil War, in which previously displaced Perim natives took the island back from Houthis with the aid of UAE forces.
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[Reflections on Mohammedism].
Reflections on Mohammedism, and the conduct of Mohammed. Occasioned by a late learned translation and exposition of the Koran or Al Koran. London, J. Roberts, 1735.
8vo. (2), 54 pp. (wanting half title). - (Bound with) II: Henley, John. The Lord, He is God: or, The Atheist Tormented, by Sure Prognosticks of Hell Fire [...]. London, J. Roberts, 1730. 29, (1) pp. - (Bound with) III: [Lewis, Thomas. The nature of hell, the reality of hell-fire, and the eternity of hell-torments, explain'd and vindicated. London, J. Hooke & T. Bickerton, 1720]. 38 pp., (2 pp. of ads), wanting 4 pp. of prelimns including the title. - (Bound with) IV: [Oakes, Abraham]. The doctrine of hell-torments distinctly and impartially discussed. London, J. Noon, 1738. 72 pp. - (Bound with) V: [Fludger, John]. The absolute and proper eternity of hell torments fully proved from scripture, from reason, and from the natural attributes of God. London, T. Gardner, 1739. (2), 36 pp. - (Bound with) VI: Phileleutherus Dubliniensis [i.e., Patrick Delany]. Reflections upon polygamy, and the encouragement given to that practice in the scriptures of the Old Testament. London, J. Roberts, 1737. (2), 188 pp. - (Bound with) VII: [Booth, George, Earl of Warrington]. Considerations upon the institution of marriage. With some thoughts concerning the force and obligation of the matrimonial contract. Wherein is considered, how far divorces may, or ought to be allowed. London, John Whiston, 1739. VI, 154 pp. - (Bound with) VIII: [Clarke, Alured]. An essay towards the character of her late majesty Caroline, queen-consort of Great Britain, &c. London, J. & P. Knapton, 1738. (2), 46 pp. - (Bound with) IX: [Hildrop, John]. A letter to a member of Parliament, containing a proposal for bringing in a bill to revise, amend or repeal certain obsolete statutes, commonly called the ten commandments. London, R. Minors, 1738. (2), 61, (1) pp. Contemporary full calf, gilt. Only edition; rare: an apology of Islam and its Prophet, influenced by the writings of Pococke and Reland, and published a year after George Sale's "Koran", the first English Quran to be translated directly from the Arabic. The anonymous author counts among those "interested in revising 'imposture' theories by recasting Mahomet in a positive, Greco-Roman republican mold - a wise 'Arabian legislator' [...]. [This work,] occasioned by Sale's translation of the Qur'an, suggests that Islam anticipates the Protestant Reformation: Mahomet 'laid the foundations of a general and thorough Reformation, Conversion, and Re-Union in ages to come'" (H. Garcia, Islam and the English Enlightenment, 1670-1840 [2011], p. 256). From the beginning the author cautions that "no disputes ought to be conducted with more temper and moderation than those about religion, but, unluckily, none have been managed with such warmth, bitterness, and inequality" (p. 1); he defends the Prophet against unjust accusations levelled against him by his Christian detractors and closes with the admonition that young British scholars of theology would do well "to apply themselves, among their other exercises, to the study of the oriental tongues, which, upon an impartial survey of the present state of religion, seems to claim much of their attention" (p. 53f.). - Bound with this are eight other English theological works (all first or only editions) concerned with hell-fire and heresies, several written with a decidedly free-thinking slant. Binding severely rubbed and bumped; hinges cracked. Variously browned throughout with occasional staining; contemporary handwritten table of contents on loose flyleaf; second flyleaf clipped with a handwritten title "A Vol. of scarce & curious Tracts" on verso; first title page has 19th century ownership stamp "R. Blackwell". ESTC T91614. Chauvin XI, 680 (note).
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[Reinaud, (Joseph-Toussaint)].
Extraits des historiens arabes, relatifs aux guerres des croisades, ouvrage formant, d'après les écrivains musulmans, un récit suivi des guerres saintes, nouvelle édition, entièrement refondue et considérablement augmentée. [Paris], Imprimerie royale, 1829.
8vo. XLVIII, 582 pp. Contemporary dark green half sheepskin, gold-tooled spine, marbled endpapers. First edition of a work on Islamic texts about the Christian crusades, by the French orientalist Joseph Toussaint Reinaud (1795-1867). It gives a French translation of numerous texts and extracts relating to the crusades originally written in Arabic from the 11th to the 15th century by Arab historians, with occasionally some passages in Arabic in the notes. Most of the texts deal with major battles and sieges, Saladin, and victories and deaths of important leaders. The preliminaries include brief biographies of some of the major authors, including Ali ibn al-Athir, Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, Ibn al-Adim and many more. The texts are arranged into different chapters, each devoted to a different stage of the crusades. - The book is in fact the publication of a part of the extensive manuscript by Georges-François Berthereau (1732-94), who collected numerous Arab texts on the crusades, but the publication was prohibited during years following the French Revolution. The book was published as a part of the Biblithèque des croisades, as an addition to the well-known Histoire des croisades, written by Joseph François Michaud (1767-1839). - With a stain on the half-title and some staining throughout, otherwise in very good condition. Hage Chahine 3963. Not in Blackmer.
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[RELIGIONS, MOYEN ORIENT] - ANDRÉ (Frère), JANSSEN (Al) -
Les forces de la lumière-Un espoir pour le Moyen Orient.
Valence, Editions LLB, 2005; in-8, 335 pp., br. Broché très bon état.
Bookseller reference : 201801320
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