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Wietz, J. K.
Sitten, Gebräuche und Trachten der Bewohner des osmanischen und türkischen Reiches. Prague, Bohmann, 1828.
8vo. 181, (3) pp., final blank f. With 20 engraved plates in original hand colour. Contemporary boards. First edition, issued in ten separate instalments. An entire chapter is dedicated to the Wahhabi Bedouin Arabs, their customs and costumes. The charming engravings in vibrant original hand colour are based on Castellan's 1812 "Moeurs", each plate containing several meticulous costume illustrations. - Spine sunned. Contemporary ownership "S. M. Mayer zu Klagenfurt" on title page; additional (partly deleted) ownership on flyleaf. Very clean altogether. Rare. Formerly in the Ottoman collection of the Swiss industrialist Herry W. Schaefer. Atabey 1333. OCLC 255511974. Not in Lipperheide, Colas, or Hiler.
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Wüstenfeld, Ferdinand.
Geschichte der Arabischen Ärzte und Naturforscher. Göttingen, (Friedrich Ernst Huth for) Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1840.
8vo. XVI, 167, (17) pp. Contemporary half calf with handwritten spine label. First edition. Selections from Arabic works on medicine and natural science in the original language appended with separate title page (in Arabic): extracts from the "Kitab tahdib al-asma", by Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Nawawi, "Kitab 'uyun alanba' fi tabaqat al-atibba'", by Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, and "Tabaqat as-safiiyya", by Ibn Suhba. - The German orientalist H. F. Wüstenfeld (1808-99), considered one of the greatest literary historians of Arabic, studied theology and oriental languages at Göttingen and Berlin. He taught at Göttingen, becoming a professor there (1842-90), and published many important Arabic texts and valuable works on Arabic history. - Binding somewhat rubbed; some foxing. Old handwritten pencil notes to flyleaf; handwritten ownership to title. A good copy. Macro 2345. Ibrahim-Hilmy II, 342.
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Zaher, Ameen.
Arabian Horse Breeding and the Arabians of America. Cairo, Cairo University Press, 1961.
VII, 169, (1) pp. Profusely illustrated throughout with 104 photo plates. Contemporary green cloth with giltstamped cover title. Second edition. Amin Sahid Zaher (b. 1908) served as Arabian horse breeder in the stud of the Royal Agricultural Society of Egypt and head of lifestock breeding programmes in Egypt. - A good copy. Cf. Boyd/P. 144.
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Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste.
(Nouvelle relation de l'interieur du Serail du Grand Seigneur). Recueil de plusieurs relations et traitez singuliers & curieux. [Amsterdam], suivant la copie imprimée à Paris, 1679.
Small 8vo. (8), 564, (4) pp. With 2 folding engraved maps and 8 folding engr. plates; several woodcuts in the text. Wants the portrait found in some copies. Contemporary dark brown full calf with traces of oxydized giltstamping to spine and gilt leading edges. First Amsterdam reprint: Taviernier's description of the Ottoman Imperial Seraglio - his first published work, which had appeared separately as early as 1675 - here forms the final part of his "Recueil de plusieurs relations et traitez singuliers & curieux", an independent publication which was, from 1679 onwards, appended to the author's "Six voyages en Turquie, en Perse, et aux Indes" (thus ultimately forming that collection's third and final volume). It was this volume, containing Tavernier's studies in commercial politics, that made the author's travels widely known. The fine maps show Japan and Tonquin, the plates depict costumes, a theatre performance, temples, and various processions. A woodcut in the Seraglio section gives the Islamic profession of faith, the Shahada, in Arabic script. "Tavernier spent eleven months in Constantinople before setting out on his first journey. He joined a caravan for Persia in 1638 and, between 1643 and 1668, made six voyages to Persia, India, the East Indies and Japan. During his travels he amassed a large collection of diamonds and jewels. His successful commercial enterprise was recognised by Louis XIV and he was granted a patent of nobility for his contribution to the establishment of French trade in Asia. It was Tavernier who indicated the trade routes to the East and made it possible for others to follow him. According to Brunet, the 'Recueil' appears with all editions of the 'Six Voyages' printed after 1679" (Atabey). "It appears that much of his information on the Seraglio was obtained from two former employees of the Sultan, one a Frenchman, the other an Italian" (Blackmer). - Binding rubbed but tight; a tear to one map repaired. Slight browning throughout due to paper. A good copy. Graesse VI/2, 43. Goldsmiths' 2283. Willems 1937. Atabey 1201. Cf. Cordier, BJ 393. Laures 525.
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Usamah ibn Munqidh / Derenbourg, Hartwig (ed.).
[Kitab al-I'tibar, French]. Souvenirs historiques et récits de chasse par un émir syrien du douzieme siècle. Autobiographie d'Ousâma ibn Mounkidh intitulée: L'Instruction par les exemples. Traduction francaise d'après le texte arabe par Hartwig Derenbourg. Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1895.
VI, 238 pp. 8vo. Modern boards using the original printed upper cover. First edition. - The autobiography of Usamah ibn Murshid ibn Munqidh (1095-1188), who introduced this genre of writing to Arabic literature (cf. GAL I, 319). Born in Shaizar in northern Syria, where his family ruled a small Emirate, he was banished by his uncle and for a time entered the services of Atabeg Sihabaddin ibn Buri, where he got to know members of the Knights Templar. After spending several years in seclusion as a hunter in Egypt, he returned to Damaskus in 1154, joining the campaign against the European crusaders. The editor H. Derenbourg was the first to discover the sole surviving manuscript of the "Kitab al-I'tibar" (in the Escorial in Madrid) and produced this first translation, afterwards the first Arabic edition (1886) and a biography of Usamah (1889). - A few repaired paper defects; well-preserved altogether. OCLC 7045652.
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Laborde, Léon de.
Commentaire géographique sur l'exode et les nombres. Paris und Leipzig, Renouard (Firmin Didot), 1841.
Folio. LXI, (1), 146; 48 SS. Anhang. Mit 13 (davon 3 gefalt. und 8 ganzseitigen) Tafeln mit insges. 19 Karten, wovon 8 als Lithographien ausgeführt. Halblederband der Zeit auf fünf falschen Bünden mit goldgepr., ornamentalen Rückentitel, marmorierten Decken und mehrfarbigen Vorsätzen aus lackiertem Kamm-Marmorpapier sowie grünem Lesebändchen. Erste und einzige Ausgabe dieses für die moderne christliche Bibelwissenschaft bahnbrechenden geographischen und soziologischen Kommentars zum im AT geschilderten Auszug der Israeliten aus Ägypten. Das Werk des französischen Archäologen und Reisenden Léon Emmanuel Simon Joseph Laborde (1807-69) besticht vor allem durch die nach seinen detailreichen Zeichnungen von den Pariser Firmen Formentin, Kaeppelin und Thierry kräftig und sauber lithografierten Tafeln, welche folgende, damals auch neue kartographische Erkenntnisse enthaltende Aufnahmen zeigen: eine Übersichtskarte der Wegstrecke des Exodus, Teile der ehemals römischen Provinz Arabia Petraea (in etwa die Sinai-Halbinsel und den Westen des heutigen Jordanien umfassend), den westlichen Teil des heutigen Ägypten und die Gegend der Stadt Suez, den Golf von Sues, den Wadi Feiran auf der Halbinsel Sinai, das Gebirgsmassiv rund um Horeb und Katharinenberg im Süden des Sinai, die Gegend rund um Dahab am Roten Meer und den Golf von Akaba. Bemerkenswert ist auch Labordes kenntnisreiche Analyse der Bibeltexte, die zudem in altgriechischen und lateinischen Versionen abgedruckt sind. "On aimera lire, par exemple, les observations sur la magie effectuées à propos de plaies d'Egpyte, ou tout ce que Laborde écrit sur les animaux, les maladies ou les coutumes d'Orient" (François Laplanche). - Eingebunden: "Discours du Roi. Séance Royale du 9 janvier 1843." Gr.-8vo. 4 SS. bzw. ein reichlich, mit Holzstichen illustriertes Ankündigungsblatt für zwei weitere Werte von Laborde: "Voyage en Orient" und "Voyage de l'Arabie pétrée." Gr.-4to. 4 SS. - Einband an den Ecken und Kanten berieben und bestoßen, innen durchgehend stockfleckig, fliegender Vorsatz mit hs. Besitzervermerk, insgesamt kompaktes, hübsch gebundenes Exemplar mit den gut erhaltenen, nur wenig fleckigen Karten. Mayeur/Hilaire, zit. in WBIS/ABF 3.0266.378.
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(Astley, John).
The Art of Riding, set foorth in a breefe Treatise, with a due interpretation out of certeine places alledged out of Xenophon, and Gryson, verie expert and excellent Horssemen: wherein also the true use of the hand by the said Grysons rules and precepts is speciallie touched: and how the Author of this present worke hath put the same in practice, also what profit men may reape thereby [...] Lastlie, is added a short discourse of the Chaine or Cavezzan, the Trench, and the Martingale: written by a Gentleman of great skill and long experience in the said Art. London, Henry Denham, 1584.
4to. (8), 79, (1) pp. With woodcut headpiece on t. p. and initials. 19th century orange-red crushed morocco by Riviere with leading edges gilt and elaborate gilt inner dentelle, rebacked. All edges gilt. The exceedingly rare first edition of one of the earliest English treatises on horsemanship, derived in part from Xenophon, Federico Grisone's "Ordini di cavalcare", and other authors, and in part from Astley's own experience. This is, in fact, the first translation into English of Xenophon's treatise "Peri hippikes" ("On horsemanship"). - The publication of Astley's "Art of Riding", perhaps his single most lasting achievement, came late in his life as an Elizabethan courtier. Here, he relays the doctrine of the Italian riding schools as he and other Gentleman Pensioners understood it, particularly on training the horse to respond to the hand. Astley was on friendly terms with Thomas Blundeville, whose Grisone translation two decades earlier counts as the first treatise on horsemanship to be published in English. - First three leaves slightly browned, with the upper right corner of each leaf imperceptibly restored from another copy; a closed tear to f. A4. Altogether a remarkable clean and crisp copy in an English master binding. The Fitzwilliam-Gloucester copy, bound with a common companion piece, Claudio Corte's "Art of Riding" (also published by Denham in the same year) commanded £14,400 at Christie's in 2006. The catalogue notes that the scarcity of these two work "at auction varies markedly; ABPC records some 5 copies of Corte's work at auction since 1975, but none of Astley's". Huth p. 11. STC 884. Mellon/Podeschi 12. Hoffmann III, 609 (s. v. Xenophon).
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[Biblia arabico-latina - Evangelium].
[Evangelium Sanctum Domini nostri Jesu Christi conscriptum a quatuor evangelistis sanctis. Rome, Typographia Medicea, 1591].
Folio (242 x 342 mm). 19-442, 447-450 and 455-456 pp., with pp. 9-18, 443-446 and 451-454, 457-462 and the final leaf supplied in 18th-century manuscript. With 138 (instead of 149) text woodcuts by Leonardo Parassole after Antonio Tempesta. 19th-century half cloth with marbled covers. The first Gospel printing in the interlinear Arabic and Latin version, prepared at the same time and printed by the same press as the first Arabic-only Gospel. These were the first works ever produced by Ferdinando de' Medici's "Medicea" press, founded by Pope Gregory XIII to spread the word of Christ in the Orient. Supervised by the able scholar Giovambattista Raimondi (1536-1614), its strength lay in oriental, especially Arabic, printing. After Raimondi's death, the press relocated to Florence. - The Arabic text is printed in Robert Granjon's famous large fount, generally considered the first satisfactory Arabic printing type; as all early printed editions of the Arabic Gospels, it is based on the Alexandrian Vulgate (cf. Darlow/M. 1636). The Latin version is by Leonardo Sionita. The work begins with page 9, without a title page or any preliminary matter at all: "the intended prefatory matter was apparently never published" (Darlow/M.); these first eight pages were not supplied until the 1619 re-issue. The present copy lacks the first five leaves and eight leaves at the end, all of which have been supplied in Latin and Arabic manuscript by an 18th century hand. Occasional browning; some worming to gutter (occasionally touching text as well as woodcuts); severe edge defects to the first few printed leaves; final printed leaves remargined; several severely duststained. Darlow/Moule 1637. Mortimer 64 (note). Streit XVI, p. 866, no. 5138.
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[Illustrated broadsheet - Mecca].
The draperies at the "Makam Ibrahim" (Abraham's Station) in Mecca. [Weißenburg, Burckardt, c. 1880/88].
Colour lithograph. 43 x 33.3 cm. One of the very rare Weißenburg illustrated broadsheets showing oriental motifs. These were published under the fictitious address of Hassan Uwais (Auvès) in Cairo. The actual publisher, Camille Burckardt, was head of the Weißenburg company from 1880 until 1888. - Slight crease, minor edge damage and browning. All of these prints are very rare; a different print commanded £21,250 at Sotheby's in 2012. Des Mondes de Papier p. 66, no. 2.
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Bonne, Rigobert
Arabie. Mer Rouge, et Golfe Persique. (Paris, ca. 1780).
Hand-coloured engraved map (365 x 260 mm). Detailed map of Saudi Arabia, the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, etc. Rigobert Bonne was the Official Hydrographer to the French Depot De La Marine. - In good condition. Not in Tibbetts, Al Ankary and Al-Qasimi.
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Chatelain, Henri.
Carte de la Turquie, de L'Arabie et de la Perse avec leurs dependances dressée sur les observations les plus nouvelles & les Memoires les plus recens. Amsterdam, ca. 1720.
Copper-plate engraving (515 x 415 mm). Superbly engraved map of region from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, based upon Guillaume de l'Isles map of the same title. The scientific information for this map was taken from the maps of Guillaume de l'Isle. It shows a detailed diagram of the caravan routes to Mecca and Medina from across the Ottoman Empire. A note on the lower left corner gives a description of Turkey, Arabia and Persia. Tibbetts 221. Al-Qasimi 124. Al Ankary 287.
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Collingwood, William.
Trigonometrical Survey of a part of Mesopotamia. From Hillah to the Ruins of Niffer with the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. London, J. & C. Walker, 1862.
101 x 71 cm. Constant ratio linear horizontal scale, ca. 1:150,000. Signed by Collingwood. Impressive, early, large-scale map of central Iraq, showing the area between Al Hillah (100 km south of Baghdad) to the ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur. Indicates sand hills, canals, old river beds, tracks, cultivated areas. Includes inset plans and views of Tel Ibrahim, Zibbleyeh, Nejmi, Niffer, and the Niffer Mounds. - Some paper defects and edge damage restored. Rare; copies are known in no more than two public collections (Bodleian; British Library). Personal copy of the cartographer William Collingwood, signed by himself as well as by Cdr. W. B. Selby, R.I.N. - Selby began his distinguished surveying career in 1837 when, as a midshipman, he embarked on the expedition first to lay navigation buoys in the mouths of the Indus River and then to chart some coastal areas in the Horn of Africa. By 1846 he was back working off the mouth of the Indus, having made his reputation in Mesopotamia (in 1840-41), and thereafter achieved considerable acclaim for his numerous other surveys, including those during the military expedition to Persia in 1856, before returning to England at the end of 1862. He was succeeded as Surveyor of Mesopotamia by his protégé, Lt. William Collingwood (a distant cousin of the Admiral), who had already done much valuable work in the region, including the large-scale, though surreptitious, mapping of Baghdad in 1855, described by him as follows: "The survey of the city of Baghdad was completed entirely by myself and under very unpleasant restrictions [...] The Turkish Government were not to know anything about it [...] and I was left to survey the town as best I could, and under such difficulties that at times I had to note bearings and paces all over my white shirt, where best I could get the pencil at the time [...]". During this same expedition, Collingwood also surveyed the Shatt-ul-Arab, the city of Bussorah (also by stealth) and much of the country between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and he was undoubtedly one of the most gifted and productive R.I.N. surveyors of his day. OCLC 863254646.
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Creswell, Sir Keppel Archibald Cameron.
The Muslim Architecture of Egypt. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1952-1959.
Royal folio. 2 vols. XXVI, 290 pp. XXIV, 300 pp. With 251 plates and numerous text illustrations. Publisher's original green cloth. First edition, printed in 550 copies only. Principal work of the great architectural historian of Muslim Egypt. Beginning where his "Early Muslim Architecture" left off, this monumental two-volume set traces the history of Egyptian Islamic architecture from the dynasty of the Ikhshids and Fatimids (A.D. 939-1171) to that of the Ayyubids and early Bahrite Mamluks (A.D. 1171-1326). Creswell had begun his work in 1920 with a generous grant of King Fuad I; the present publication is dedicated to Fuad's son, Farouk I. - The publisher's voucher copies: numbers 4 and 2 of 550 copies printed, removed from Printer's Library of Oxford's famous Clarendon Press. In perfect condition. - Rare, the last complete copy sold in 1999 (Sotheby's, Oct 14, lot 185). OCLC 1105072.
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Frischmuth, Johann (praes.) / Baumann, Andreas (resp.).
Exercitium academicum, ad locae quaedam scriptuae illustranda, [...] quibus Turcarum Persarumque doctores Muhammedem veri nominis, et a Deo promissum, fuisse prophetam probare satagunt. Jena, Samuel Krebs' Wwe., 1685.
4to. (24) pp. Numerous passages interspersed in Arabic and Hebrew characters. Papered spine. First edition. - Philosophical dissertation by the German theologian, linguist and oriental scholar Johann Frischmuth (1619-87) about various passages in the Christian Bible which are interpreted by Islam to contain references to the Prophet Muhammad: Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 50:2; Isaiah 21:7; Malachi 4:5-6; and John 16:7. - Slightly browned. VD 17, 3:009831S. Chauvin XII, 590. Arnold 277. Bibl. de Sacy I, 86f.
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Grohmann, Adolf / Arnold, Thomas W.
Denkmäler islamischer Buchkunst. Leipzig, H. Schmidt & C. Günther / Pantheon, (1929).
Folio (240:320 mm). XII, (4), 142, (4) pp., 104 plates. With numerous printed and photographic illustrations in the text. Contemp. green marbled half leather with giltstamped title to spine. Upper edge gilt. First edition; unnumbered copy. Meticulously produced standard work on Islamic book art, of which 375 numbered copies were issued. Part one by Adolf Grohmann, based on the famous collection of Archeduke Rainer (today in the Austrian National Library), covers the early Islamic period from the 7th to the 12th century. Part two by Thomas W. Arnold covers the 13th to the 18th century, arranged by regions. - Occasional slight brownstaining and foxing to lower edge; spine insignificantly scuffed. Altogether a fine copy. The English edition, published simultaneously with the German, sold for £2,600 at Sotheby's (Oct 14, 1999, lot 53: Burrell copy). OCLC 13055751.
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L'Isle, Guillaume de.
Carte de l'Egypte de la Nubie de l'Abissinie &c. Amsterdam, Jean Covens & Corneille Mortier, (1730).
Hand-coloured engraved map (645 x 540 mm). Guillaume de l'Isle used the three classic divisions in this map, but it also contains other divisions and subdivisions based on geographical and political considerations. - Well preserved. Tibbetts 199. Cf. Al-Qasimi 268 (Paris ed. 1707).
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L'Isle, Guillaume de / Buache, Philippe.
Carte de l'Egypte de la Nubie de l'Abissinie &c. Paris, Philippe Buache, 1745.
Hand-coloured engraved map (635 x 505 mm). A fine example of Philippe Buache's edition of Guillaume de l'Isles highly detailed map of the region centered on the Red Sea. The map extends west to include Sicily, the Southeastern Mediterreanean, Barbaria, Nigritie, and a Guinea on the West Coast of Africa. To the east, the map includes the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf of Aden and the Kingdom of Ajan and Dadel. De l'Isle's maps provided the first truly scientific mapping of the regions covered, showing the flamboyant Dutch style of illustrations and adopting a highly detailed and decorative approach to the printed map. The result is a combination of spectacular detail and accuracy, not approached by the Dutch or any other 17th Century map makers. The detail in this map reflects this Renaissance of style and accuracy. Tibbetts 199. Cf. Al-Qasimi 268 (1707 ed.).
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[La Haye, Jean de].
Peristromata Turcica, sive dissertatio emblematica, praesentem Europae statum ingeniosis coloribus repraesentans. [Nürnberg, Wolfgang Endter] (ad 1 with a false colophon: Paris, Toussaint du Bray), 1641-1642.
(2) [Harsdörffer, Georg Philipp]. Germania deplorata, sive relatio, qua pragmatica momenta belli pacisque expenduntur. (3) [Milag, Martin]. Aulaea Romana, contra Peristromata Turcica expansa: sive dissertatio emblematica, concordiae Christianae omen repraesentans. (4) [Anonymous French critic of Cardinal Richelieu]. Gallia deplorata, sive relatio, de luctuoso bello, quod rex Christianissimus contra vicinos populos molitur. 4 editions published together in 1 volume. 4to. With 2 engraved title-plates plus 12 full-page engraved emblematic illustrations, all on integral leaves, each with a small plate nested in a larger plate (7 in the Peristromata with a varying plate black and the same outer plate of a Persian carpet in orange). Gold-tooled light brown calf (ca. 1820?) by Charles Murton in London. Rare first and only Latin editions (probably the first and only early editions in any language) of four closely related polemical pamphlets on European policy toward the Ottoman Empire. The publication was instigated by the prominent Nuremberg poet and jurist Georg Philipp Harsdörffer (1607-58), who somehow found access to the French manuscripts of the pro-Richelieu "Peristromata Turcica" (Turkish carpets), and the anti-Richelieu "Gallia deplorata", translated them into Latin, edited them for publication and added what is believed to be his own anti-French Latin rebuttal of the former, "Germania deplorata". On 26 November 1641 he sent all three to the Calvinist Prince Ludwig of Anhalt-Köthen, founding president of the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft in Weimar, who found the "Peristromata Turcica" shocking and dangerous, not only for its content but also because its remarkable and "seductive" graphic form. At a spring 1642 meeting of the society Ludwig initiated the writing and production of an emblematic rebuttal, the "Aulaea Romana" (Roman tapestries). Besides the political importance of these pamphlets as records of differing European attitudes toward the Ottoman Empire, they are remarkable graphic and typographic artefacts, early examples of colour printing and important emblemata. In 1536 Francois I had formed an alliance with the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent, and for a century Franco-Ottoman relations swung between extremes. Around 1626 Cardinal Richelieu began to encourage noblemen to strengthen France's economy by expanding its maritime trade in the Middle East, Near East and beyond. But with its great maritime power, the Ottoman Empire was not only a potentially valuable trading partner but also a fierce competitor and even a military threat to Europe's trade in those regions. Richelieu therefore attempted to form a Catholic union with the Holy Roman Empire and others to fight against the Ottomans. With owner's inscription of the lawyer and diplomat Georg Achatz Heher (1601-67) and bookplate of Robert Hoe (1839-1909), one of the greatest book collectors of all time. With the last quires (E-H) of the "Aulaea Romana" misbound following the last quire (G) of Gallia. A small marginal worm hole in the first work and the first leaves of the second, and an occasional small marginal chip or tear, but still in good condition. The binding with cracks in the hinges and some wear at the extremities, but otherwise good. Although these four editions were clearly designed to be published together, only about a dozen complete sets are known to survive, nearly all in Germany, Austria and Poland. Faber de Faur 497-500. Praz 448f. M. Reinhart, "Georg Philipp Harsdörffer and the Emblematic Pamphlets of 1641-42", in: Emblemata XX (2013), pp. 313-376 & XXI (2014), pp. 277-375. Stijnman & Savage, p. 46 (ad 1). Not in Atabey or Blackmer.
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Lacoste, Pierre-Eugène, painter (1818-1907).
Oriental scene. No place, 1892.
Watercolour on paper, 290 x 460 mm, matted (600 x 398 mm). Beautiful orientalist watercolour, inscribed by the artist "à Monsieur Coullon, souvenir affectueux". Lacoste, a genre painter equally adept at landscapes and architecture, was a student of Rouillet, Cambon, and Cogniet. He exhibited at the Salon from 1839 to 1907, also drawing costumes for the various Parisian scenes, including for the Opéra from 1876 to 1885. His series of watercolours painted for Verdi's "Aida" in 1880 is remarkable; a design for "Ramses" is now kept at the Getty Museum. The present orientalist scene is typical of its age but distinguished by its large format and masterly quality. It shows a Middle Eastern oasis with Moorish-type buildings near a palm grove reflected in a waterhole, surrounded by eight characters in local costumes going about their lives: a man is perched on his camel; two men are wearing red hats; two women, possibly slaves, carry jugs on their heads. In the foreground, cargo unloaded from a camel suggests a Bedouin desert stopover. - Slight foxing and waterstaining to matte, not concerning the painting.
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Lauthier, [Pierre-Jean-Baptiste], French lawyer (fl. 1694-1718).
Autograph letter signed ("Lauthier"). Paris, 16. II. 1715.
4to. 3½ pp. on bifolium with integral address panel. A first-hand account of the sensational entry of Mohamed Reza Bey, the Persian ambassador who visited Paris for six months beginning 7 February 1715. Adressed to Monsieur de Gallice, councillor of the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence, for delivery to the Parliament's Advocate General, Gaspard de Gueidan (1688-1767), the letter describes the ambassador's arrival, his reception (which is likened to that of a Pope), and the craze he creates among the onlookers, who sing, dance, and stare at him as at a strange animal: "Souffrez, mon charmans magistrats, que je vous presente une morale que je ne sais guere [...] Vous sçavrez, mon cher seigneur, que tout Paris est devenu mamamouchi depuis l'arrivée du seigneur Mehemet Rizabeek en ce pays cy. Cet ambassadeur de Sophi s'est réjouï comme un Pape à nos dépens. Il y avait toujours cinq ou six cent carrosses du monde qui l'allaient voir, comme un animal rare; et Son Excellence Persanne a fait chanter et danser nos dames devant luy, comme des marionnettes qui ne venoient là que pour le divertir. Maintenant il occupe la cour aprez avoir amusé la ville et s'en être amusé. Car on veut le recevoir à son audience avec une magnificence extraordinaire. Le Roy a fait dresser un trone au bout de la grande gallerie. Sa Majesté aura pour huit millions de pierreries sur ses habits [...]; et toute la cour à proportion sera habillée de ce joly coup là. Jamais les marchands d'étoffes d'or et de galons ni les brodeurs n'ont été si occupés [...] Il est vray que le tout se fait à crédit. Mais les gens de qualité sçavent trop bien leurs privileges, pour s'aviser de déroger en payant leurs dettes; cela est du dernier bourgeois. Aussy je vous assure que jamais la cour n'a été autant de qualité [...] Il faut espérer qu'aprèz ce bel oiseau de Perse, il viendra quelque autre amusette au peuple de Paris [...] Je vous avoueray bonnement que j'ay eu la curiosité de voir son entrée dans Paris, afin de l'étudier. Heureusement, il fit une pluye continuelle ce jour là! De sorte que Son Excellence se mit presque en negligé et que Sa Magnificence fut des plus minces, et je trouvay que cela ne valoit pas la façon de ma curiosité. Je ne fut pas le seul pris pour dupes tout Paris y fut trompé [...]". - The ambassador Mohamed Reza Bey (Mehmet Riza Beg) had been chosen for the mission by the Shah of Persia, Sultan Husayn, and travelled with a grand entourage, as befitted the diplomat of a mighty empire. He was solemnly received in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles on 19 February 1715 with one of the most lavish ceremonies of the final months of the reign of Louis XIV. During his stay he conducted negotiations towards establishing trade treaties between Persia and France, and conferred with the French on possible joint military operations against the Ottoman Empire. The ambassador's exotic personage inspired the French imagination to create a whole artistic and literary current, the most lasting product of which are Montesquieu's "Lettres Persanes" (1725). - The lawyer Pierre Lauthier, a celebrated orator in his day, was the son of the Aix-based medical writer Honoré Maria Lauthier. Although most bibliographies credit the latter with the biographical preface to Joseph de Tournefort's posthumously published "Voyage into the Levant" (simply signed "Lauthier"), it is not unlikely that Pierre, with his penchant for the exotic, is the actual author of the Life of that famous Aix-born botanist and Middle East traveller (cf. Wellcome III, 458). - Removed from a registry, with traces of mounting along the left edge of p. 1. Traces of oribial folds; slight edge defects, some from removal of the seal, but well preserved on the whole.
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[Niebuhr Expedition.] Ödmann, Samuel.
Sammandrag af Justitiae-Radets Herr Casten [!] Niebuhrs Resa i Levanten och Beskrifning om Arabien. Stockholm, Kongl. Ordens-Tryckeriet, 1787.
8vo. (24), 455, (23) pp. With 4 engr. plates. Contemporary half calf with gilt title label on spine. Extremely rare sole edition of this account of the Niebuhr expedition to Arabia in the 1760s. Produced as a cheaper alternative to the hefty 3-volume sets which appeared in German, Danish, French, and other languages, the present work was printed by the Royal press and gives a summary of the journey intended for a popular audience. Swedish interest in the expedition was elicited by the presence of the Swedish botanist and explorer Peter Forsskål in Niebuhr's caravan. After studying Arabic dialects, Forsskål was the first to scientifically describe many plants of the Arabian Peninsula, before dying in Yemen of malaria in 1763. - The plates, modeled after those of the German edition of 1772, depict a Turkish Pilgrim to Mecca; an Arab woman in a hijab, with an inset detail of a burkha; an Arab farm-girl from the 'Coffee Mountains' of southern Arabia; and an Arab nobleman of Yemen. - Binding rather rubbed; some chipping to spine; blank margin of first few leaves a little toned, otherwise a very good copy, clean and fresh. OCLC shows just 3 copies worldwide: the University of Texas, the Swedish National Library, and the Danish National Library. No copy seen at Anglo-American auction since 1999. OCLC 156793368. James Ford Bell 340.
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[Persia].
Persia. N. p., Menzies, ca. 1820.
Hand-coloured engraved map (531 x 480 mm).
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Plinius Secundus, Gaius (Pliny the Elder).
Opus divinum, cui titulus naturalis historiae, multoquam antehac unquam prodiit in lucem castigatius, una cum annotationibus Hermanolai barbari. Paris, (Nicolaus Sauetier) for Jean Petit, 1526.
Folio. (188), (34), CCCCCXXXVI [= CCCCCXXXVIII; 538] pp. Title-page in red and black and separate title-page to index, both with woodcut border. Elaborately decorated calf, with image of the crucifixion on both panels. Blinrd-tooled spine. First and only Paris edition of "Historiae naturalis", with the annotations by Hermolaus Barbarus (1454-94), an Italian Renaissance scholar. His discussions of Pliny's "Naturalis Historia" was first published as "Castigationes Plinianae" in 1492, in which he made over 5000 corrections to the original text. Due to this work and other classical works he translated or edited he was considered a leader authority on Latin and Greek work on antiquity. The present copy was published by Jean Petit, in his days a leading bookseller in Paris, whose name and device are shown on the title-page with decorative woodcut border. The title-page to the index, here bound before the text, has the initials of the printer Nicolaus Sauetier. - The original text was by Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23-79), better known as Pliny the Elder. He was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian. - The "Naturalis Historia" is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. He claims to be the only Roman ever to have undertaken such a work. It comprised 37 books in 10 volumes and covered over 20,000 facts on topics including the fields of botany, zoology, astronomy, geology and mineralogy as well as the exploitation of those resources. It remains a standard work for the Roman period and the advances in technology and understanding of natural phenomena at the time. Some technical advances he discusses are the only sources for those inventions, such as hushing in mining technology or the use of water mills for crushing or grinding corn. Much of what he wrote about has been confirmed by archaeology. ''We know from Pliny that there were important pearl fisheries in the Gulf [...] Pliny identifies Tylos (Bahrain) as a place famous for its pearls [... He] attests that pearls were the most highly rated valuable in Roman society, and that those from the Gulf were specially praised [...] The pearl related finds at the site of El-Dur indicate the site was integrated into the maritime trade routes linking the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, India and South Arabia'' (Carter). Book 6 holds a chapter that gives the first detailed account of the regions around the Gulf, including what are now Qatar, the Emirates and Oman. - Not only is it virtually the only work which describes the work of artists of the time, and has it become an important reference work for the history of art, due to the wide range of topics, the referencing system and index it became a model for later encyclopaedias. - Panels shaved, affecting the decoration, spine cracked on the hinges. With manuscript ownership on title-page of the index. A good copy. Bird 1910. USTC (2 copies). Not in Adams, BMC French, Durling, Hunt, Wellcome.
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Plinius Secundus, Gaius (Pliny the Elder).
The Historie of the World, commonly called the Naturall Historie. London, Adam Islip, 1601.
Folio (32 x 20 cm). 2 vols. in one. (58), 614, (42) pp. (12), 632, (86) pp. Elaborate woodcut device on title-page; woodcut initials, head and tailpieces. 19th century half morocco & marbled boards, spine tooled in blind, lettered in gilt, raised bands. Pliny the Elder's renowned Natural History in its first publication in English, translated by Philemon Holland, the greatest translator of the Elizabethan age. The "Naturalis Historia" is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. He claims to be the only Roman ever to have undertaken such a work. It comprised 37 books in 10 volumes and covered over 20.000 facts on topics including the fields of botany, zoology, astronomy, geology and mineralogy as well as the exploitation of those resources. It remains a standard work for the Roman period and the advances in technology and understanding of natural phenomena at the time. Some technical advances he discusses are the only sources for those inventions, such as hushing in mining technology or the use of water mills for crushing or grinding corn. Much of what he wrote about has been confirmed by archaeology. "We know from Pliny that there were important pearl fisheries in the Gulf [...] Pliny identifies Tylos (Bahrain) as a place famous for its pearls [... He] attests that pearls were the most highly rated valuable in Roman society, and that those from the Gulf were specially praised [...] The pearl related finds at the site of El-Dur indicate the site was integrated into the maritime trade routes linking the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, India and South Arabia" (Carter). Book 6 holds a chapter that gives the first detailed account of the regions around the Gulf, including what are now Qatar, the Emirates and Oman. - Includes the final printed leaf in vol. 2, containing the errata and printer's colophon. In this copy, the title-page was evidently cut horizontally, above the device, then pieced back together, backed with early laid paper, with the lower half slightly darkened. STC 20029. Pforzheimer 496.
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[Sixtus V, Pope (1521-1590)].
Manuscript draft for an Apostolic constitution regarding his third bull. Rome, 27. IV. 1588.
Large 4to (274 x 210 mm). 6 pp. on 4 leaves (final leaf blank), sewn. Latin chancery manuscript, ink on paper. Variously revised draft for a Papal decree, asking the cardinals and others to raise monies for the Church to fight the Turks as well as other heretics: "Sixtus V, in order to better govern the Church and safely protect it from all dangers, judges that the Church needs a larger amount of money. The first year the pontificate had 100,000 gold coins, as did the second, to make 1,000,000 gold coins to be guarded in the safe of the Castel Sant'Angelo. In order that they be safely guarded, two constitutions have been issued and an enormous fleet is to be prepared, as the Tyrant of the Turks as well as heretics and schismatics are a threat to the bark of Saint Peter, and large numbers of people are eager in both France and Germany to defend against the enemy. Sixtus V orders his dear brothers, the Cardinals of the Catholic Church, to bring the Holy See another 1,000,000 golden coins, and advises them how to collect the money and the divisions to be made among them for doing so, how often to pay, etc. [...]". As comparison with the final version shows, the present text underwent further editing, and not all changes here drafted made it into the final text. - Occasional slight browning and ink-bleeding, but very well preserved altogether. Cf. Bullarum diplomatum et privilegiorum Sanctorum Romanorum Pontificum. Taurinensis editio, vol. IX (1865), p. 1-4.
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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. 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. Smitskamp, PO 113d. Schnurrer 17 & 25. Besterman 152. Warmholtz 9270.
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Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste.
Collections of travels through Turky into Persia, and the East-Indies. Giving an account of the present state of those countries. London, Moses Pitt, 1684.
Folio (200 x 305 mm). 6 parts in one vol. (18), 264 pp. (2), 214 pp. (8), 154, (2) pp. (6), 113, (1) pp. (14), 87, (1), 66, (2) pp. Modern half calf over marbled boards using remains of 18th-c. calf spine with modern gilt red morocco label. The first collected edition in English, translated by John Phillips and Henry Oldenburg: an account of Tavernier's travels to Turkey, Persia, India, and Japan (with large map of Japan), containing reports about the Japanese persecution of the Christians and the Dutch settlements in the Far East. Book Two, chapter Nine of the Persian Travels is of particular interest, as it contains an account of Tavernier's voyage through the Arabian Gulf, mentioning Bahrain, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Hormuz and making observations on the people and navigation of the Gulf. There is also a bird's-eye map of the Strait of Hormuz showing the Musandam Peninsula (peppered with palm trees and captioned "A promontorie of Arabia the happey"), Hormuz, Larak, and Qeshm island, as well as Bandar Abbas and Bandar Kong on the Persian side. Intriguingly, this engraved map also includes depth soundings throughout the Gulf, making it useful as an early "Persian Gulf Pilot". A separate, illustrated chapter discusses extensively the invaluable pearl in the collection of the Imam of Muscat. Another illustrated chapter discusses "The Money of Arabia". In general, the plates depict festivals, processions, costumes, views, and images of the Eastern flora and fauna as well as coins and gems. - Occasional browning, but well-preserved on the whole. Blackmer 1632. Wing T251A, T252, T253. Campbell (Japan) 28. OCLC 6071990. Not in Atabey or Weber.
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Tirion, Isaak.
Nieuwe Kaart van Arabia. Amsterdam, J. Keizer, 1731.
Hand-coloured engraved map (355 x 290 mm). Matted. Striking full color example of Tirion's detailed map. The map is highly detailed, including a number of the major roads and caravan routes, including those leading to Mekka and Medina. Two monument-style cartouches contain the title at upper right and three distance scales opposite. "This map shows a great advance on the others by showing the true extent of Turkish power. It has a curious mountain system, dividing the Peninsula into smaller regions" (Tibbets). Although it is mainly based on Delisle's map through de Fer, the map contains much original data. - Very well preserved. Tibbetts 250. Al Ankary p. 330. Al-Qasimi 160.
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Tirion, Isaak.
Nieuwe Kaart van het Turksche Ryk gelegen in Europa, Asia en Africa. Amsterdam, ca. 1750.
Hand-coloured engraved map (350 x 285 mm). "The Arabian Peninsula appears a smaller version of Tirion's 1731 map with fewer details and no information on roads" (Al Ankary). Two monument-style cartouches contain title and three distance scales. - Very well preserved. Tibbetts 253. Al Ankary p. 340. Al-Qasimi 164. McMinn 48.
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Tirion, Isaak.
Nieuwe Kaart van t'Ryk van Persie. Amsterdam, ca. 1750.
Hand-coloured engraved map (365 x 290 mm). A detailed map of Persia and its adjoining countries. - Well preserved. Not in Tibbetts.
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Tirion, Isaak.
Nuova Carta del Regno di Persia. Amsterdam, Albrizzi, 1740.
Hand-coloured engraved map (370 x 300 mm). Detailed map of the Kingdom of Persia, extending from the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. Not in Tibbetts.
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Vaugondy, Robert de.
Etats du Grand-Seigneur en Asie, Empire de Perse, Pays des Usbecs, Arabie et Egypte. [Paris], 1753.
Hand-coloured engraved map (560 x 490 mm). Matted. Robert de Vaugondy’s spectacular 1753 map of the Ottoman Empire. Vaugondy maps the empire at its height, with territory spanning from the Black Sea to the southernmost extension of Arabia and west, inclusive of Persia, as far as the Mogol Empire of India. Includes the modern day nations of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, and Greece. Vaugondy employs all of the latest geographical information of the time incorporating both French and transliterations Arabic place names. This map offers splendid detail throughout inclusive of undersea shoals and reefs in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, mountain ranges, lakes, rivers, and historical sites. A highly decorative title cartouche showing an Ottoman prince appears in the lower left quadrant. Five distance scales are in the lower right. Drawn by Robert de Vaugondy in 1753 and published in the 1757 issue of his Atlas Universal. Al-Qasimi 168. Al Ankary 353. McMinn 49. Not in Tibbetts.
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Weigel, Christopher.
Arabiae Veteris Typus. Nuremberg, ca. 1720.
Hand-coloured engraved map (380 x 320 mm). Striking map of the Arabian Peninusla featuring the geographical features known to the ancients. Decorated with a vignette and 9 medallions depicting camels in the upper right corner. An interesting and highly decorative map. Al Ankary 293. Al-Qasimi 129. Not in Tibbetts.
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[Zanzibar].
Panoramic view of Zanzibar. Zanzibar, c. 1900.
In 5 parts, ca. 39 x 13.5 cms each. Silver gelatin prints, mounted on cardboard. Rare set of original vintage photographs, taken from an elevation, showing the coastline of Zanzibar with various steamers as well as dock facilities. - Occasional slight fading, but very well preserved on the whole.
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Tughra'i, al Husayn ibn 'Ali.
L'elegie du Tograi, avec quelques sentences tirées des poetes Arabes, l'hymne d'Avicenne, & les proverbes du Chalife Gali. Paris, R. Soubret, 1660.
8vo. 80 pp. 18th-century blind-ruled brown calf, blindstamped arms of William Stirling Maxwell on the upper cover and his blind cipher on the lower cover. Spine and vertical title label gilt; turn-ins gilt. Marbled flyleaves. All edges red. Green silk marker. First edition in a Western language of the celebrated autobiographical lament of the poet, royal secretary, and soldier Al-Tughra'i, who rose to Vizier only to be beheaded. His elegy, "Lamiyyat al-'Adjam", is probably the first major work of Arabic poetry published in the west. The other significant early Arabic work here contains an offering of proverbs selected from the "Exalted Aphorisms" of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib (601-661), the only person born in Mecca's sacred Kaaba sanctuary, cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad. - The editor and Royal Interpreter for Arabic, Pierre Vattier (1623-47), translated these pieces into French for their stylistic elegance and textual importance. He held the Chair of Arabic at the Collège de France from 1658 until his death and contributed an extended opening essay on Arabic prosody, here in its only edition. - Front joint cracked, extremeties slightly bumped; title remargined at lower edge. Altogether a fine copy. - Provenance: from the collection of the proverb bibliographer P. A. Gratet-Duplessis (1792-1853), recording on the final flyleaf the date of his acquisition (Lyon, 1828) and the price paid. In the sale of his library in 1856, the volume was described as a "joli exemplaire de ce curieux et rare petit volume" (p. 156, no. 969). A slightly later owner has quoted from Duplessis' bibliography on the second front flyleaf. Later bookplates of William Stirling Maxwell, Keir House, and Lt. Col. V. S. M. de Guinzbourg on pastedowns and flyleaf. Schnurrer 196. Zenker, BO 403. Cioranescu 65583. Gratet-Duplessis, Bibliographie parémiologique, 70. Moll, Sprichwörterbibliographie, 7624 ("1640" in error).
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Albonesi, Teseo Ambrogio degli.
Introductio in Chaldaicam lingua[m], Syriaca[m], atq[ue] Armenica[m], & dece[m] alias linguas. [Pavia, G. M. Simonetta], 1539.
4to. 212 (instead of 215) ff. (lacking ff. 209, 212-213 and final blank). Title printed in red and black. With woodcut title border and two nearly full-page woodcuts in the text. Contemporary limp vellum with ms. spine title. Traces of ties. First edition. "The earliest Syrian and Armenian grammar printed" (IA). Extremely rare and early work of oriental studies, also important for the history of music due to the first illustrated description of the bassoon, which the author's uncle, Afranio degli Albonesi, had invented early in the century and had first demonstrated in 1532. - The canon regular Teseo Ambrogio degli Albonesi (often simply referred to as Ambrogio or Ambrosius; 1469-1540) taught the Syriac language. This introduction to the oriental languages - his only publication - is a mixture of lingustic treatise and a collection of exotic alphabets. If Albonesi's results are not in every case correct, they remain of great importance to the history of linguistic scholarship: the "Introductio" constitutes one of those works which inspired the budding discipline of comparative philology to undertake further research. "His work offers a detailed survey of the Syriac and Armenian languages from various points of view, and a short notice about the other exotic languages (Samaritan, Arabic, Coptic, Cyrillic, Ethiopic) - these languages are all discussed with examples written by hand in the earlier chapters, and throughout the work we find blank spaces where such words had still to be filled in" (Smitskamp). In this copy, these blank spaces have been filled in in ink by a contemporary hand. - Near-contemporary ownership, in Hebrew cursive, to title page. Minor edge tear to fol. 191. Binding loosened; lacks four pages in the final quire (including the colophon). Edit 16, CNCE 816. Adams A 957. Mortimer 20. BM-STC Italian 16. Eitner I, 91. MGG III, 1721. Smitskamp 240. IA 104.625. Brunet I, 229. Graesse I, 59.
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[Biblia arabico-latina - NT].
Evangelium Sanctum Domini nostri Jesu Christi conscriptum a quatuor evangelistis sanctis, id est Matthaeo, Marco, Luca et Johanne. (Florence & Rome, Typographeum Linguarum / Typographia Medicea, 1591-1774).
Folio (242 x 346 mm). (8), 9-462, (2) pp. With 149 text woodcuts by L. N. Parassole after Antonio Tempesta. Half vellum binding (c. 1900) with marbled boards. Re-issue, with new preliminary matter only, of the first Gospel printing in the interlinear Arabic and Latin version: the first work ever produced by the Typographia Medicea, founded by Pope Gregory XIII for spreading the word of Christ in the Orient and supervised by the oriental scholar G. B. Raimondi. The Arabic text is printed in Robert Granjon's famous large fount, generally considered the first satisfactory Arabic printing type. An Arabic-only version was produced at the same time. - Binding somewhat bumped; hinges beginning to split; interior variously browned in places. Removed from the library of the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia with their stamps and ms. dedication by the Roman Congregatio de Propaganda on front pastedown. Darlow/Moule 1637 & 1643. Mortimer 64 (note). Streit XVI, p. 866, no. 5138.
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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 [...]. Amsterdam, Jacob Meurs, 1680.
2 parts in 1 volume. Folio. (8), 357, (3), 324, (4) pp. With engraved frontispiece, title-page printed in red and black, 16 engraved views and maps (2 folding, 14 double-page; 4 drawn by Charles Vasteau), and 22 engraved illustrations in the text (3 signed by Johannes Kip), further with 5 woodcut decorated initials (3 series) plus repeats and a woodcut headpiece and tailpiece. Contemporary blind-tooled vellum, manuscript spine title, red sprinkled edges. First edition of Olfert Dapper's important description of the Middle East. The first part is devoted to Mesopotamia or Algizira, Babylonia, Assyria and Anatolia, while the second is entirely devoted to Arabia. The work is especially important for the original and new information on Islam, Arabic science, astronomy, philosophy and historiography. Besides a map of Arabia, the fine plates include views of Mount Sinai, Bagdad, Basra, Nineveh, Abydos, Smyrna, Aden, Muscat, Mocha the Tower of Babel. The second part includes a description of coffee: "In Arabia Felix alone, and in no other place of the whole world, there grows a seed or corn or bean shrub which the Arabs call 'Bon' or 'Ban', of which they prepare a drink by cooking it in water over the fire ..." (part 2, pp. 61f.). The present copy includes a plate showing the plants "Abelmosch", "Semsen" and "Sambak", not called for in the binder's instructions, but included in some copies. - A German translation of Dapper's account appeared in 1681. - Front hinge cracked, otherwise in very good condition. Atabey 322; Hage Chahine 1206; Hünersdorff, Coffee, p. 386; Tiele, Bibl. 300; cf. Blackmer 450 (German ed.); Slot, The Arabs of the Gulf, p. 412.
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Guadagnoli, Filippo.
Breves arabicae lingua institutiones. Rome, Propaganda Fide, Joseph David Luna, 1642.
Folio (220 x 316 mm). (12), 349, (1) pp., final blank f. With the Propaganda Fide's woodcut rectangular Jesus and Apostles device on the title-page, their round Jesus and Apostles device above the colophon, 1 woodcut tailpiece, 2 woodcut decorated initials (2 series), and numerous decorations built up from cast arabesque fleurons. Set in roman, italic and Arabic type with incidental Hebrew. Contemporary limp vellum with ms. spine title. First and only edition of Guadagnoli's Latin grammar of the Arabic language, in a luxurious folio format. In 1632 the Propaganda Fide had begun work on an Arabic Bible that was not to be completed until 1671. Guadagnoli (1596-1656) was one of the correctors for the Bible and in the present grammar, set in the same type, he notes that they have taken special care with their Arabic setting and with the metre to suit them to the desires of native Arabic speakers, though the fact that the text was in Latin and the fact that it must have been an expensive book would have limited the audience: it is not the sort of book that missionaries would give away to common people. Erpenius's 1613 grammar, revised and reprinted several times, was aimed primarily at European scholars. The main text opens with a table of the letters, showing (from left to right!) the stand-alone, initial, medial and final forms, along with the name of each letter and its pronunciation. This gives an overview of the new Arabic Bible type. The texts used as examples include the first printing of two poems taken from manuscripts in the oriental library collected by Pietro della Valle (1586-1652) in Rome: the "Carmen Chazregiacum" and the "Carmen de invocationibus". The Arabic type may have been cut by the Propaganda Fide's in-house punchcutters for their Arabic folio Bible, whose Pentateuch was printed from 1632 to 1635 but distributed only in proof copies until the complete Bible was published in 1671. Occasional lines appear in their other books from 1636, but the present book uses it for the main Arabic text. It was to become the staple of their Arabic printing. The book also provides a synopsis of the Propaganda Fide's large Hebrew type (6 mm mem-height). - Some browning throughout; a few old ink markings to the margins; contemp. ownership "J. Venturi" on t. p. An important Arabic grammar intended for native speakers. Schnurrer 72. Smitskamp 220. Amaduzzi 11.
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Isaacs, Rev. A. A.
Four views of the mosques and other objects of interest occupying the site of the temple at Jerusalem. London, Day & Son, 1857.
Folio. 4 tinted lithographs drawn and lithographed from photographs taken by A. A. Isaacs. Original printed wrappers. First edition. A very scarce depiction of the great mosques of Jerusalem. The views are: "General View of the Great Mosque of the Sakara", "The Mosque of the Sakara and Judgement-Seat of David", "Facade of the Mosque El Aksa", and "The Marble Pulpit and Colonnades". The wrapper states that these are the first published views of the Mosques. - Lithographs lightly foxed, spine repaired. An excellent copy. Not in Abbey or Tobler.
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Le Coq, Albert von.
Die buddhistische Spätantike in Mittelasien. Ergebnisse der Kgl. Preussischen Turfan-Expeditionen. Berlin, Dietrich Reimer, 1922-1933 [facsimile: Graz, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 1973-1975].
6 text volumes and 1 atlas. 35,5 x 26 cm; atlas 54 x 36,5 cm. 29; 62; 53; 29; 32; 89; 80 pp. With a total of 185 plates in the text volumes, 22 plates in the atlas volume, mostly in black and white, some in colour, and numerous illustrations in text. Uniform decorated brown cloth. Reprint of a work on archeology in China, published in the years 1922-1933, written by the German orientalist and archaeologist Albert von Le Coq (1860-1930). From 1902 to 1914, Le Coq led three of the four German expeditions to the Turfan (or Turpan) area, in Xingjian, China. The expeditions were initiated by the German archaeologist Albert Grünwedel. "The principal spoils of these expeditions were literary. Vast numbers of Chinese manuscripts were obtained from every center, both secular and religious. … Besides securing manuscripts, these expeditions examined caves decorated with stucco figures and with frescoes…" (Couling). The text gives a brief history of the expeditions, the different sites they excavated, including grottoes and temples, which are also shown on some of the smaller illustrations, followed by descriptions of the objects shown on the plates. "The civilization thus revealed is a mixture of Persian, Indian, Chinese, Hellenic etc." (Couling). Both Grünwedel and Le Coq went back to Berlin with thousands of artefacts, of which many are shown in the plates. The second volume, titled Die Manichaeischen Miniaturen, deals with fragments of illuminated manuscripts, the other volumes deal mainly with either sculpture, mural paintings or frescoes and their techniques. The fourth expedition ended early due to the outbreak of the First World War, but compared to the earlier expeditions they collected the most artefacts during this short stay. - All volumes in very good condition. Cf. Couling, pp. 32, 578.
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Mannerheim, Carl Gustav.
Across Asia from West to East in 1906-1908. Helsinki, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 1940.
2 volumes. (30,5x22cm). IV, 741; IV, 54, 16, 48, 36, 36, 12, 6, 30, 12 pp. With numerous illustrations in text, one small map after the preface, and 15 folding maps in the second volume. Half sheepskin, cloth sides. First edition of a travelogue through Asia, written by Carl Gustav Mannerheim (1867-1951), future president of Finland, 1944-1946. In 1906, Mannerheim, then a colonel, was sent on an expedition to Asia. "The object of this expedition was to study conditions in the interior of Northern China, collect statistical materials and perform various tasks of a military nature", says Mannerheim in the preface. Russia wanted to know the state of affairs in China due to the reforms and modernization undertaken by the Qing Dynasty. Besides that, Mannerheim wanted to collect items of scientific interest for the National Museum in Helsinki and to study the little-known peoples living in Northern China. This makes the work, with its numerous illustrations by photographs, an interesting anthropological account as well. The first volume contains Mannerheim's journal with many photographs. The second describes the scientific results the artefacts Mannerheim took with him to Helsinki and, including sculptures, costumes and utensils. - Number 33 out of limited edition of 100 and signed by the author. With owner's inscription of Ewald Henttu on flyleaf, dated 1940. Very good copy; binding slightly rubbed along the extremities.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. Correspondence with British Ministers and Agents in Foreign Countries, and with Foreign Ministers in England, relating to the Slave Trade. From April 1, 1855 to March 31, 1856. London, Harrison & Sons, 1856.
Folio. XXII, 466 pp. Modern blue wrappers with cover label. British papers and correspondence with local agents on the international slave trade, including missives exchanged between Mr. Murray and the Earl of Clarendon respecting the slave trade in the Arabian Gulf. - Well-preserved.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. Correspondence with British Ministers and Agents in Foreign Countries, and with Foreign Ministers in England, relating to the Slave Trade. From April 1, 1858, to March 31, 1859. London, Harrison & Sons, 1859.
Folio. XVIII, 276 pp. Modern blue wrappers with cover label. Top edge gilt. British papers and correspondence with local agents on the international slave trade, including missives exchanged with the Governor of Jeddah, and further details about the possible appointment of a Pasha of Jeddah who might labour to suppress the slave trade. - Well-preserved.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. Correspondence with British Ministers and Agents in Foreign Countries, and with Foreign Ministers in England, relating to the Slave Trade. From April 1, 1859, to March 31, 1860. London, Harrison & Sons, 1860.
Folio. XVI, 268 pp. Modern blue wrappers with cover label. British papers and correspondence with local agents on the international slave trade, including missives exchanged between Mr. Doria, Mr. C. Wood, and Sir G. Clerk on the continued importation of slaves by the Sheikh of Bandar Lengeh, discussing steps of "signal reprehension" (p. 85) against such conduct, and further intelligence forwarded by Captain Jones from Bushire relative to the trade of slaves throughout the Arabian Gulf. - Well-preserved.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. Correspondence with British Ministers and Agents in Foreign Countries, and with Foreign Ministers in England, relating to the Slave Trade. From April 1, 1857, to March 31, 1858. London, Harrison & Sons, 1858.
Folio. XXVIII, 467, (1) pp. Modern blue wrappers with cover label. British papers and correspondence with local agents on the international slave trade, including a Vizirial letter to the Governor of Jeddah to abolish the slave trade in his territories. - Well-preserved.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. Correspondence with British ministers and agents in foreign countries, and with foreign ministers in England, relating to the Slave Trade. From January 1 to December 31, 1868. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. 1869. [4131-I]. London, Harrison and Sons, 1869.
Folio. VI, 86 pp. Top edge gilt. Sewn. Rare British parliamentary papers and correspondence with local agents on the slave trade, including accounts of the extent to which many Arabs of the Gulf involved themselves in slavery in spite of their rulers having entered into agreements prohibiting such an activity: "[T]he Northern Arabs repair to the East Coast of Africa with no other motive than that of running slaves to the Persian Gulf [...] It is a known fact, that not one out of a hundred dhows that come here from the Persian Gulf, comes for any other purpose than to carry a cargo of slaves stolen from the inhabitants of Zanzibar" (p. 75). "These Sheikhs [on the Arabian coast line], who are all, more or less, bound to observe the Treaties, [...] allow the dhows to land the slaves they have succeeded in smuggling out of the Sultan's dominions [...] Could not the Sultan of Oman and the other Chiefs of the Persian Gulf be induced to issue orders calculated to prevent their subjects from carrying on this Trade?" (p. 73f.). - Disbound from a volume of parliamentary papers. Some leaves loosened, but on the whole a good copy. Wilson p. 210.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. East Coast of Africa. Correspondence respecting the Slave Trade and other matters. From January 1 to December 31, 1870. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. 1871. [C.-340]. London, Harrison and Sons, 1871.
Folio. V, (1), 70 pp. Sewn. Rare British parliamentary papers and correspondence with local agents and officers on the slave trade, including material on the abuse of the French flag by Arab slave-dhows and on Zanzibar's Sultan Majid bin Said's attempts to exploit Anglo-French political and strategic rivalries in the region. The relevant sections are: firstly, under the heading "Correspondence with British Representatives and Agents abroad", "France" (pp. 1-3) and "Zanzibar" (pp. 12-43); and secondly, under the heading "Reports from Naval Officers", "East Coast of Africa Station" (pp. 44-70). - A good copy.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. East Coast of Africa. Correspondence respecting the Slave Trade and other matters. From January 1 to December 31, 1869. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. 1870. [C.-141]. London, Harrison & Sons, 1870.
Folio. VI, 103, (1) pp. Sewn. Rare British parliamentary papers and correspondence with local agents and officers on the slave trade, including the account of a dhow seized near Jebel Yarid, on the Persian side of the Arabian Gulf, carrying a single slave, the captain of which hailed from "Debai and Shargeh" (Dubai and Sharjah; p. 76), Zanzibar slave traffic to Mecca and Muscat, etc. The relevant sections are: firstly, under the heading "Correspondence with British Representatives and Agents abroad", "Muscat" (pp. 31f.), & "Zanzibar" (pp. 33-63); and secondly, under the heading "Reports from Naval Officers", "East Coast of Africa Station" (pp. 64-102). - Neat old stamps; a very good copy.
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[Slave Trade].
Class B. East Coast of Africa. Correspondence respecting the Slave Trade and other matters. From January 1 to December 31, 1871. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. 1872. [C.-657]. London, Harrison and Sons, 1872.
Folio. V, (1), 86 pp. Top edge gilt. Sewn, with remains of spine. Rare British parliamentary papers and correspondence with local agents and officers on the slave trade, including material on slavery in Zanzibar, Yemen and Oman "carried on by and for the northern Arabs" (p. 37). The relevant sections are: firstly, under the heading "Correspondence with British Representatives and Agents abroad", "France" (pp. 1-5), "Zanzibar" (pp. 7-70); and secondly, under the heading "Reports from Naval Officers. - East Coast of Africa Station" (pp. 71-86). - Removed from the Public Record Office with their stamp. A good copy. Bennett 493.
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