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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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[Soviet General Staff Maps] - Arabian Gulf (1:1,000,000).
General'nyí shtab. Abadan, Jel'-Kuvejt, Manama. 14-01-43. (And:) Bender-Abbas, Maskat. 14-01-44. [Moscow, General Staff], 1974-1985.
2 topographic maps, colour-printed. Lambert conformal conic projection, scale 1:1,000,000. In Russian (Cyrillic). Ca. 86 x 107 cm each. Extremely rare: the two massively-sized synoptic 1:1,000,000 maps covering the Arabian Gulf in its entirety, as published by the Soviet Union's General Staff of the army. Not to be confused with the Soviet Union's vastly smaller General Staff map quadrangles of the same scale which are aligned along the graticules, spanning 4° latitude by 6° longitude and covering only roughly half the area shown by each of the present sheets. - Edited from information sourced during the years 1972-1983 by D. D. Trushin and I. A. Medvedev. Although not specifically marked as classified, all General Staff maps de facto constituted closely guarded military material, none of which became available in the West before the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. - A few insignificant edge flaws, but generally in perfect condition.
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[War Office - General Staff].
Persian Gulf. Sheet 32. London, Field Survey Company, 1941.
990 x 760 mm. Scale 1 : 4000000. Third edition. Topographical map of the Arabian Gulf and surrounding area showing international boundaries, main cities and towns, roads, railways, islands, rivers, lakes, wetlands and other vegetation and terrain features. Extends from the Caspian Sea south to Mecca and from Cairo east to Meshed. Relief shown by contours, altitude tints and spot heights. Includes legend, index to adjoining sheets, administrative index, and bibliographical references. - Slightly creased.
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[Compagnie des Indes].
État actuel de l'Inde, et considérations sur les établissemens & le commerce de la France dans cette partie du monde, sur les ameliorations don't ils sont susceptibles, & sur la meillure manière d'y faire le commerce. London & Paris, chez Madame veuve Laurent Prault, 1787.
8vo. IV, 224 pp. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards. Very rare sole edition of this defense of the newly-reformed Compagnie des Indes and its commercial activities in the Far East, apparently written by a shareholder, with chapters ranging from West Africa to the Arabian Gulf, India, China, Japan, and even Australia (cf. Ferguson). Spectacularly unsuccessful compared to its European rivals, the French East India Company was suppressed in 1769 but a new charter was granted in 1785 to a "Nouvelle Compagnie des Indes". The avant-propos identifies the anonymous author as an "investor, not a speculator" in this newly-founded Compagnie, and aside from his observations on commercial trade with each nation, he also offers broad arguments supporting the monopoly of the Compagnie and even state-sponsored aid for its activities. The French Revolution brought a swift end to the Compagnie in 1790, and its liquidation in 1793 caused a scandal which involved many deputies of the revolutionary government. - In the author's chapter concerning the west coast of Africa, we find a typically pragmatic Enlightenment approach to the atrocities of slavery: "At the present moment, the slave trade on this coast is a very interesting object for our commerce, due to the abundance and the cheapness of these unfortunate victims of the barbarism of these climes, the need for them in our Ile de France [Mauritius] & Bourbon [Réunion] for the development of agriculture, and due to the ease of selling the excess slaves beyond the needs of those two islands to our colonies of America, & even to those of the Spanish. They [the Spanish] have been forced to depend on the English to provide them with blacks. We could enjoy a preferential treatment [...]". - Again on pp. 22f., in a discussion of Madagascar, he makes his position clear: "The slave trade requires a great deal of caution in its conduct, so as not to alienate the goodwill of the natives. If we buy the prisoners taken in wars from the small nations that share control of this island; and if the advantage of fetching a price from the sale of these unfortunate prisoners spares them the cruel death to which, without this resource, the barbarian victors would subject them, then the expectation of fetching a price from [their sale] need not ever be the cause of war between these small nations [...]". - Elsewhere the author discusses trade with Japan (p. 133), the Philippines (pp. 121f.); China (pp. 134-139); Macao (pp. 140f.), and even Australia ('Nouvelle Hollande", pp. 142-146: "dans nul pays de la terre les hommes ne sont moins avancés en civilization [...]"). - Spine extremely worn and rubbed, but holding perfectly; contents clean and fresh. Very rare: OCLC shows three US copies at Harvard, the Cleveland Public Library, and Minnesota. No copies are recorded at Anglo-American auctions. Goldsmiths'/Kress 13332.3. Ferguson IV, 466 ("pp.142-6 contains a description of New Holland, and of the sailing of the First Fleet").
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[Ibn Saud in Egypt].
Collection of printed photos. No place or date, [before 1953].
11 photographs printed as black and white halftone screen cards. Ca. 161 x 115 mm or the reverse. An official diplomatic Saudi visit to Egypt in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Two images show HRH King Ibn Saud, the others show Egyptian officers. - A few nicks or lightly bumped edges, but on the whole well preserved.
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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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Ahlwardt, W[ilhelm].
Bemerkungen über die Aechtheit der alten Arabischen Gedichte mit besonderer Beziehung auf die sechs Dichter nebst Beiträgen zum richtigen Verständnisse Ennabiga's und 'Alqama's. Greifswald, L. Bamberg, 1872.
8vo. VII, (1), 168 pp. Original printed yellow wrappers (spine repaired). First edition of an important study of the "six poets", as some of the earliest known writers of Arabic poetry are collectively known, probably simply because they were the earliest for whom compilers were able to assemble complete Divans: Ennabiga, Antara, Tharafa, Zuhair, Alqama, and Imruulqais. - Ahlwardt (1828-1909) was engaged as cataloguer of Arabian manuscripts at the Berlin Royal Library. For most of his working life he classified, collated, described and excerpted some 12,000 works in ca. 6000 volumes, including current accessions. - Inside edge of upper wrapper cover reinforced. Removed from the "Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des Nahen Orients an der Universität München" with their stamp on the title-page. An untrimmed copy. GAL I, p. 22. OCLC 18208722.
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Al-Razi, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya (Rhazes).
A Treatise on the Small-Pox and Measles. Translated from the original Arabic by William Alexander Greenhill, M.D. London, for the Sydenham Society, 1848.
8vo. VII, (1), 212, (40) pp. Contemporary blindstamped green cloth with gilt arms to covers and gilt title to spine. Top edge gilt. Early English translation of this treatise differentiating measles from small pox. "The first medical description of small pox was written by Rhazes about the year 910" (Garrison/M. 5404). He is considered the greatest mediaeval physician next to Avicenna. Published by the Sydenham Society, during its short existence between 1843 and 1857 a "powerhouse in disseminating medical literature in the age of the empire" (K. Gotman). - Binding a little rubbed and bumped at extremeties; spine professionally restored. Ownership (dated 1848) of George Edward Wilmot Wood, MD (1806-64) of Winchester, member of the Society, on the flyleaf. Garrison/Morton 5441.
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[Alf layla wa-layla]. Clermont-Ganneau, Charles (ed.).
Histoire de Calife le pêcheur et du Calife Haroun Er-Rechid. Conte inédit des Mille et une Nuits. Jerusalem, typographie de Terre Sainte, 1869.
8vo. 128 pp. Original printed yellow wrappers (spine repaired). First separate edition of this tale from the Thousand and One Nights. The Arabic text, printed here in its entirety with a French translation by the editor, is taken from the six-volume Constantinople edition. - Lower corner a little buckled, still a good, sound copy. Removed from the "Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des Nahen Orients an der Universität München" with their stamp on the title-page. Rare. Chauvin VI, p. 18. OCLC 4447422.
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[Bolizza, Mariano (Marijan Bolic), Serbian-Venetian nobleman (fl. 1614)].
Relazione e descrizione del sangiacato di Scutari [...]. Venice, October 1856.
Folio. Italian manuscript on paper. 51, (1) pp. Sewn. Authentic 19th century copy of the manuscript in the Biblioteca Marciana. A public servant of the Republic of Venice, Bolic was assigned to provide information on the Ottoman Sanjak of Scutari (Shkodra), established after the Sultan acquired Shkodra in 1478/79. Bolic's work, delivered in 1614, contains the earliest description of the people and geography of modern Montenegro. - Wrappers slightly dustsoiled; a few small edge tears (no loss of text).
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Chauvin, Victor.
Bibliographie des ouvrages arabes ou relatifs aux arabes publiés dans l'Europe chrétienne de 1810 à 1885. Liège, H. Vaillant-Carmanne, 1892-1922.
Large 8vo. 12 vols. Original printed wrappers. Monumental, exceedingly useful bibliography of Arabic literature and works relating to Arabia published in the West in the 19th century. Arranged by subject covering the Quran and its tradition (an entire volume), the Proverbs, Kalîlah, Loqmân, Barlaam, ´Antar, Syntipas, Oriental Tales, Mahomet, etc. Four volumes are dedicated to the 1001 Nights alone. - Edges slightly brittle as always, but very well preserved. Untrimmed, uncut copy in the publisher's original wrappers. Besterman 455.
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Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus.
Markou Antoninou Autokratoros ton eis heauton biblioi 12. Guftar-i Marqus Antunin Padishah dar hal-i nafs-i hud-i 'ali-gah. (Ed. Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall). Vienna, Anton Strauß (Witwe), 1831.
Large 4to (210 x 267 mm). (2), 168, (2) ff. Publisher's original printed and illustrated boards with an oriental design in three colours and Persian letterpress on both covers. First and only edition of the "Meditations" of Emperor Marcus Aurelius both in the original Greek and in Persian, edited and translated by Joseph Hammer-Purgstall and printed in parallel on opposite pages throughout. "A meticulous typographical production" (Durstmüller). "The 1831 publication of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations in Persian comprises one of the 19th century's most intriguing cross-cultural and inter-religious texts. Produced by the Austrian Orientalist Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, and addressed to the reigning Shah of Persia, this translation negotiates a wide diversity of concerns, including political diplomacy, literary aesthetics and religious difference" (J. Einboden, Stoicism or Sufism? Hammer-Purgstall's Persian Meditations, Middle Eastern Literatures 13.1 (2010), pp. 49-68. - Corners bumped, edges a little rubbed. Clean and uncut as issued in the publisher's charming original printed boards, a rare and early example of such a binding. Hoffmann I, 187. Engelmann/Preuss I, 148. Goedeke VII, 766, 80. Durstmüller I, 263. Graesse I, 329. OCLC 257616436.
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Nakhla, Raphael, SJ.
Grammaire du dialecte Libano-Syrien (phonétique, morphologie et syntaxe). Première partie: Exposé des règles. Beirut, Imprimérie Catholique, 1937.
8vo. VII, (1), 266 pp., final blank leaf. Grey wrappers. First part only of the Jesuit Nakhla's grammar of the Lebanese dialect of Syrian Arabic. A second part ("Mots à apprendre versions et thàmes; morceaux de lecture en prose et en vers") appeared in 1938. - Title-page professionally repaired. Old ownership in red pencil to foreword. Removed from the "Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des Nahen Orients an der Universität München" with their stamp on the title-page and throughout. OCLC 163048910.
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Ross, E[dward] Denison.
Islám. London, Ernest Benn Ltd., 1927.
12mo. 79, (1) pp. Publisher's original orange printer wrappers (spine repaired). A pocket-sized introduction to Islam and the Muslim world; "its object is to brief a brief survey of the rise of the Arabian religion in the seventh century; of the conquests of the outer world by the newly converted Arabs; of the foundation of the Arab Caliphate, and of the subsequent establishment of non-Arab Islamic states" (Introductory Note). - The orientalist and linguist Sir Edward Denison Ross (1871-1940) was the first director of the University of London’s School of Oriental Studies (now SOAS) from 1916 to 1937. - Published as Benn's Sixpenny Library, No. 19. Removed from the "Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des Nahen Orients an der Universität München" with their stamp on the title-page and additional note "Sheikh, Bagdad" (dated 1928), with additional bibliographical information added at the end. OCLC 6130391.
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Sen, Ramdhun.
A Dictionary, in English and Persian. Calcutta, Baptist Mission Press, 1833.
8vo. (6), 276, (2) pp. Early 20th century half leather with green buckram covers. First edition of Sen's English-Farsi dictionary, following a Farsi-English volume published in 1829. In 1841 Sen would produce a new edition, adding the pronunciation of the Persian words in transliteration. - Lightly browned throughout due to paper; a few edges reinforced. Old ownership "D. H. Crawley" (?) on title-page, and later ownership, dated 1957, of the linguist, National Socialist politician, and translator Martin Löpelmann (1891-1981). A good copy of a rare work. OCLC 85263053. Cf. Vater/Jülg 280.
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Wüstenfeld, Ferdinand / Ibn Qadi Shuhba.
Die Academien der Araber und ihre Lehrer. Nach Auszügen aus Ibn Schohba's Klassen der Schafeïten [...]. Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (colophon: printed by Friedrich Ernst Huth), 1837.
8vo. VIII, 136; 22 pp. (appendix in a nashk Arabic type). Publisher's original printed wrappers (spine repaired). First and only early edition, in German, of an extraordinarily thorough documentation of scholarly academies in the early Islamic world, containing a biographical dictionary of early Arabic scholars and lists of their writings. This is one of the earliest and most important publications of the Göttingen orientalist Ferdinand Wüstenfeld, who based much of it on the ancient biographical dictionaries compiled by Abu-Bakr Ibn Qadi Shuhba and Ibn Khallikan. It covers the 5th to the 9th centuries AH (11th to 15th centuries CE), with accounts of 37 academies in Bagdad, Nishabur, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Cairo, and brief biographies of 254 scholars, 187 listed under the academies where they taught and 67 in a separate section at the end. For most he includes a list of their writings. The German text ends with a 2-page extract, in German translation, from the works of Ibn Khallikan. A 22-page appendix gives the original Arabic text of an extract from Ibn Shuhba, "Tabaqat al-shafi 'iyya", published here for the first time, with an Arabic title-page. - Ibn Qadi Shuhba (1377-1448 CE) was a leading jurist and chief Qadi in his native Damascus, best known for his biographical dictionary, completed ca. 1407. Ibn Khallikan (1211-82 CE), born in what is now Iraq, studied in Aleppo, Damascus, and Mosul before settling in Cairo, where he became a leading jurist in the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic law. He is best known for his biographical dictionary, completed ca. 1274. - The German orientalist and historian of Arabic literature H. F. Wüstenfeld (1808-99) studied theology and oriental languages at Göttingen and Berlin. He settled in Göttingen, taking a post at the University Library the year after the present publication, and taught at the University there from 1842, becoming professor of oriental languages in 1856. From 1835 to his death almost 65 years later, he published many important contributions to the study of early Arabic texts, covering the fields of medicine, language, topography and geography, often including the original Arabic texts of important works not previously published. - The Arabic type used for the excerpt from Ibn Qadi Shuhba is smaller than that of the Nies foundry, often used in Germany around this time, and quite different stylistically. It may have been produced for Wüstenfeld's works. - Minor browning, but altogether in very good condition, only slightly tattered at the edges. Original publisher's wrappers a little damaged along spine (professionally repaired; modern spine). Untrimmed copy, removed from the "Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des Nahen Orients an der Universität München" with their stamp on the title-page. Neue Jahrbücher für Philologie und Paedagogik VIII (1838), pp. 355f. Not in Blackmer or Gay.
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Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad.
Minhaj al-'Abidin [Methodology for the Worshippers]. Probably Persia (Qazvin province?), [3 April 1741 CE] = 16 Muharram 1154 H.
8vo (127 x 212 mm). (226) pp. Persian manuscript in black ink, with catchwords in red. Nas'taliq calligraphy, bordered in gilt, with 'unwan in colours, gilt, on first page of text. 19th century green morocco with gilt borders and red spine label. Marbled endpapers. Persian translation of this Sufi guide to the devout life, also known as "The High Road of Worshippers" or "The Path of the Worshipful Servants". The 11-century Persian theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic Al-Ghazali has been called the single most influential Muslim after the prophet Muhammad, and a "Mujaddid", or Renewer of the Faith. His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" ("Hujjat al-Islam"). - Numerous marginal annotations throughout. Binding rubbed and bumped at extremeties; upper hinges starting. Some waterstaining to margins; occasional paper flaws and traces of worming repaired; a few edges folded in to preserve marginalia from further trimming. Later inscription in Arabic on final page, and inscribed in English "to Prince Jehandoor" (27 Nov. 1836) under the colophon. Cf. GAL I, 423, no. 38 (& Suppl. I, 751).
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Barros, João de / Couto, Diego de.
Da Asia. Nova ediçâo. Lisbon, na Regia Officina Typografica, 1777-1788.
Large 12mo. 24 vols. With engraved portraits of Barros, Couto, Henry the Navigator, and Afonso de Albuquerque and 3 (instead of 5) folding maps. Uniformly bound in contemporary half calf over marbled boards, spines with giltstamped titles and volume numbers. Edges lightly sprinkled red. A fundamental travel work: the best and most complete edition of what is considered the most comprehensive publication on Portuguese exploration and colonial history by João de Barros (decades I-IV) and Diego de Couto; the first edition to include decades X and XI. Books 2 and 3 of the "Decada Segunda" offer a detailed narrative of Afonso de Albuquerque's expedition to the Arabian Gulf and his conquest of Ormuz in 1507; the island remained under Portuguese occupation from 1515 to 1622. As vassals of the Portuguese state, the Kingdom of Ormuz jointly participated in the 1521 invasion of Bahrain that ended Jabrid rule of the Arabian archipelago. - This is "the best edition of this famous work on Portuguese colonial history. The first edition appeared at Lisbon, Madrid and Paris from 1552 to 1645. It consists of 12 "Decadas" (decades), comprising the history of the years 1420-1600. Only Decadas I, II, III and a part of IV are by J. de Barros, the rest is by D. de Couto, who begins his part also with Decada IV, so that there are two Decadas IV" (Laures). De Barros (1496-1570), head agent for the Portuguese overseas trade authority "Casa da Índia", managed to persuade King João III to commission from him a history of the Portuguese in India (including Asia and southeast Africa). The result earned him renown as one of the first great Portuguese historians, and the the title of a "Portuguese Livy". The 'Decades' contain "the early history of the Portuguese in India and Asia and reveal careful study of Eastern historians and geographers, as well as of the records of his own country. They are distinguished by clearness of exposition and orderly arrangement. They are also lively accounts" (Enc. Britannica). Cordier, BJ, 34 and BS, 2309. Innocencio III, 322. Laures 642. Streit IV, 667 (with extensive list of contents) & VI, 630. This edition not in Borba de Moraes. For the maps cf. Gole, India, 8.
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[Biblia arabica - NT].
Kitab al-Injil as-sharif at-tahir wa-al-misbah al-munir al-zahir. Al-Shuwayr, Kisrawan, Lebanon, Kloster des Heiligen Johannes des Täufers, [1776].
Folio (213 x 322 mm). (4), 316 pp. Parts printed in red and black. With numerous ornamental lines and several woodcut tailpieces. Modern half calf. "The Evangelion of the Greek Church, containing the Gospels arranged for liturgical reading throughout the year" (Darlow/M.). From the printing office of the monastery of St. John the Baptist at Shuwair in the Lebanon, which was operative between 1734 and 1899 (cf. Silvestre de Sacy I, pp. 412-414; Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution. A Cross-Cultural Encounter, Westhofen 2002, pp. 179-181). Particularly remarkable in this present publication is the typographic decor: all pages are framed by double rules; new sections of text are headed with an ornamental line of floral elements across the entire page width, and numerous pages show smaller figural endpieces (roses, baskets, crosses, as well as the Virgin with the Child Jesus) - a charming juxtaposition of simple woodcuts showing floral and geometrical decor familiar from the Hebrew prints produced in 19th-century Palestine with the more elaborate products "à la italienne". - Some occasional worming, browning and brownstaining. Schnurrer 360. Darlow/Moule 1661.
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[Biblia turcica].
Kitab al-Ahd al-Atiq. [Paris, British and Foreign Bible Society], 1827.
Large 4to (220 x 266 mm). 2 parts in one vol. (4), 7, (1), 984, (4), 3, (1), 318 pp. Contemporary brown calf with ornamental blind-tooling; gilt title to spine. Well-preserved copy of the first complete edition of the Bible in Ottoman Turkish, printed in a vocalized Arabic typeface. Based on the manuscript of Ali Ufki Bey (Albert Bobovius), this version became the basis for further Turkish translations used by Armenian and Greek Christians. The New Testament had appeared separately in 1819. "In 1820 J. D. Kieffer [...] began a thorough revision of Ali Bey's translation of the Bible by comparing it with the original texts, as well as with the standard English, French, and German versions. He also collated it with W. Seaman's Nogai NT of 1666, with T. Erpenius' Arabic version, with H. Martyn's Persian version, with H. Brunton's Nogai NT of 1813, and with the London Polyglot. The translation of the NT was also carefully revised in view of the criticisms passed on the first edition. On crucial questions he had the advice of Baron Silvestre de Sacy. The complete Bible (without the Apocrypha) appeared in 1827, printed in Arabic character with full vocalization. The edition consisted of 5,000 copies of the Bible, and 2,000 copies of the NT issued separately" (Darlow/M.). - Binding insignificantly rubbed at extremities, very slight brownstaining due to paper. An excellent copy. Darlow/Moule 9456. Bruce Privratsky, A History of Turkish Bible Translations, v. S (2014), pp. 43ff. OCLC 61141750.
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[Egyptology]. Al-Mathaf al-Misri.
Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire. Cairo & Vienna, Imprimerie de l'Institut Français & Adolf Holzhausen, 1901-1932.
4to. 20 volumes: 14 bound in original wrappers, 4 in half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine title, and 2 in half calf with giltstamped spine title. Illustrated throughout. Extensive set, comprising 20 of the first 32 issues of the still-published series that catalogues and describes in detail the treasures of the famous Egyptian Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities. - Printed in Cairo: W. E. Crum, Nos. 8001-8741 Coptic Monuments (1902); M. Quibell, Nos. 11001-1200 & 14001-14754 Archaic objects t. II (1904); M. Quibell. Nos. 11001-12000 & 14001-14754 Archaic objects t. I (1905); Gaillard & Daressy, Nos. 29501-29733 & 29751-29834 La faune momifiée (1905); Ahmed Bey Kamal, Nos. 23001-23246 Tables d'offrandes t. II (1906); C. C. Edgar, Nos. 33301-33506 Sculptors' studies (1906); Arthur E. P. Weigall, Nos. 31271-31670 Weights and Balances (1908); Ahmed Bey Kamal, Nos. 23001-23256 Tables d'offrandes t. I (1909); Georges Daressy, Nos. 61001-61044 Cercueils des cachettes royales (1909); Georges Bénédite, Nos. 44301-44638 Objets de toilette Iere partie peignes etc. (1911); Henri Gauthier, Nos. 41042-41048 Cercueils anthropoides, premier fascicule (1912); Henri Gauthier, Nos. 41048-41072 Cercueils anthropoides, second fascicule (1913); G. A. Reisner, Nos. 4798-4976 & 5034-5200 Models of ships and boats (1913); Charles T. Currelly, Nos. 63001-64906 Stone implements (1913); Henri Munier, Nos. 9201-9304 Manuscrits Coptes (1916); Charles Kuentz, Nos. 1308-1315 & 17001-17036 Obélisques (1932). - Printed in Vienna: W. von Bissing, Nos. 3426-3587 Metallgefäße (1901); W. von Bissing, Nos. 3618-4000, 18001-18037, 18600, 18603 Fayencegefässe (1902); Josef Strzygowski, Nos. 7001-7394 & 8742-9200 Koptische Kunst (1904); W. von Bissing, Tongefäße. 1. Teil: Bis zum Beginn des Alten Reiches (1913). - Some browning throughout as common. Wrappers rubbed but professionally repaired. Rare. ZDB-ID 441756-2.
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Geber (Jabir Ibn Hayyan).
(De alchemia). In hoc volumine de alchemia continentur haec. Gebri Arabis, philosophi solertissimi, rerumq[ue] naturalium, praecipue metallicarum peritissimi [...]. Nuremberg, Johann Petreius, 1541.
4to (165 x 213 mm). (20), 373 (but: 371), (5) pp. With 16 woodcut illustrations in the text. Contemporary full vellum with handwritten spine title. The rare first edition of this extremely important and early collection of alchemical writings, which unites several first printings of works previously circulated only as manuscripts. This is first edition to call Geber an "Arab", the first to use "Summa perfectionis magisterii" on the title-page, and also the first printing of the famous "Smaragdine Table" of Hermes Trismegistus. - "De Alchemia and the other works of the Geber corpus were of the greatest influence on Western chemistry, and whether they be translations or elaborations, they represent the amount of Arabic chemical knowledge made available to Latin reading people toward the end of the thirteenth century [...] they represent the best Latin knowledge on chemistry in that period" (Sarton). - The present collection, arranged by Chrysogonus Polydorus, contains four treatises by Geber: 1. Summa perfectionis; 2. Liber de investigatione perfectionis (the earliest description of the preparation of nitric acid and aqua regia); 3. Liber de inventione veritatis sive perfectionis; 4. Liber fornacum (a practical text on chemical operations). It also contains the following texts, of which at least four are printed for the first time: 5. Roger Bacon's Speculum Alchemiae (the original text from which the 1597 English "Mirror of Alchemy" edition was made); 6. Richard of Wendover's Correctorium Alchemiae; 7. Rosarius minor, de Alchemia, by an unknown author; 8. Khalid ibn Yazid's Liber Secretorum Alchemiae; 9. Hermes Trismegistus' Tabula Smaragdina; 10. Hortolanus' commentary on the Tabula. Illustrated with 16 fine woodcuts of alchemical apparatus and alchemists at work. - A complete copy in good condition showing light browning to paper, with wide margins containing extremely extensive early marginal annotations throughout. Stains to outer margin of last several leaves. A tear to the gutter of leaf c2 professionally repaired; old vellum repair to upper cover. A good copy. While the second edition of 1545, also very rare, has made a few appearances on the market, this first edition is extremely scarce. VD 16, J 15. Ferguson I, 18 & 301. Sarton II, 1044. Lamoen, Hermes Trismegistus (Amsterdam 1990), no. 70. Brüning I, 220. Darmstaedter, Geber 7. Duveen 11. Mellon Collection (Alchemy and the Occult, Yale 1968) I, 10 (note). Cf. Hoover 445 (1545 edition only). Not in Caillet or Rosenthal.
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Humbert, Jean (ed.).
[Iltiqat al-az'har fi mahasin al-ash'ar]. Anthologie arabe, ou choix de poésies arabes inédites [...]. Paris, Treuttel & Würtz, 1819.
8vo. IX, (1) pp., 1 blank leaf, 300 pp. Contemporary red half leather over marbled boards with giltstamped spine title. Marbled endpapers. Rare anthology of Arabic poetry with Arabic text and French translations printed on opposite pages as well as literal Latin translations and notes. Jean Humbert (1792-1851), a Geneva clergyman, learned Arabic in Paris under the auspices of Silvestre de Sacy and later pioneered the Arabic curriculum at the University of Geneva. - Binding rubbed, extremeties bumped and chipped, upper spine-end defective, front hinge starting. From the library of the oriental scholar Edouard Montet (1856-1934), professor at Geneva, with his bookplate on the front pastdown (with a fine quotation from Al-Zamakhshari in Arabic). Additional handwritten ownership "Edward Cooper" to flyleaf. OCLC 29298262. GAL II, 479 (for the writings of Michel Sabbagh, pp. 291ff. in the Anthology). Cf. Fück 156 (for Humbert).
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[Masud, Ahmad ibn Ali ibn / Taftazani].
Anthological manuscript on Arabic morphology. (Ottoman Turkey), [1621 AD] = 1031 H.
8vo. Arabic manuscript on paper. 86 ff. 13 lines, per extensum, written in clear and thick Turkish naskh in black ink; single words marking the various textual sections are marked in red. Modern green half calf. A miscellany of works belonging to the genre of "nahw", or essays on grammatical topics, mainly focusing on the nominal and verbal morphology of Arabic. Contains parts of the "Marah al-Arwah" ("Abode of the Spirits") by the 14th century grammarian Ahmad Ibn Ali Ibn Masud (ff. 1-31) as well as "Sharh az Zanjani" (or "Serh ul Izzi fi't-Tasrîf", ff. 32-43) by Taftazani, a grammatical treatise (ff. 43-56); further, a treatise on the conjugation of the verb (ff. 56-66), and various forms of the verb with explanations, beginning with perfect, imperfect and infinitive of Nasara (ff. 66-86). - A detailed list of grammatical contents is given throughout, subdivided into seven sections (aqsam), each dealing extensively with (mostly) verbal morphology and derivation. The first work is dated AH [10]31 (= AD 1621/22) in the first colophon. Both on the front endpaper and immediately after this first colophon, respectively, are a short introduction and several notes in Ottoman Turkish, suggesting the manuscript’s provenance. - Some worming, browning and brownstaining. Cf. GAL II, 21 (for Masud); GAL I, 283 (for Taftazani).
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[Nasir bin 'Abd al-Sayyid al-Mutarrizi].
[Kitab al-Misbah fil-Nahw - commentary]. Probably Yemen, [1545 CE =] 952 H.
8vo (129 x 195 mm). 146 pp., 1 blank leaf. Arabic manuscript on European laid paper (f. 6 coloured light green). South Arabian Naskh script with Ta'liq features, 19 lines, black ink with rubrication. Colophon on f. 73v with copyist verse. Entire text set within a single red frame, simple illumination over the beginning (f. 1v). Full leather binding with remnants of blind-tooled and coloured ornamentation. A commentary (or supercommentary) on the "dibacha", the introduction of the "Kitab al-Misbah fil-Nahw" on Arabic syntax by Nasir b. 'Abd al-Sayyid al-Mutarrizi (d. 610/1213). This appears to be a commentary which is closely related to - but not identical with - MS Berlin SBPK, Lbg. 841 (= Ahlwardt 6547) and MS Berlin, SBPK, Springer 1015 (= Ahlwardt 6545). The latter commentary is by Sa'd al-Din Mas'ud bin 'Umar al-Taftazani (d. 791/1389). - The Sharh is distinguished from the Matn by overlining (black and sometimes also red). The calligraphy is marked by nervous, short and quick strokes as well as some uncommon ligatures. A note on the final page below the colophon reads: "Kafa' al-katib mahrum fi'l-turab, tarikh itna-wa khamsin wa tisa-mi'a", i.e.: "The deprived scribe did enough of the required on the earth (literally, "dust"), [in the] year two and fifty and nine hundred" (= 952 H). The paleographical and ornamental evidence fully agrees with such a date. - Provenance: Christie's South Kensington, London, 11 October 2013, lot 765. Cf. GAL I, 293.
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Silvestre de Sacy, [Antoine Isaac].
[Al-Anis al-mufid lil-talib al-mustafid]. Chrestomathie arabe, ou extraits de divers écrivains arabes, tant en prose qu'en vers, a l'usage de élèves de l'École spéciale des Langues Orientales vivantes. Paris, (J. J. Marcel), l'Imprimerie Imperiale, 1806.
8vo. 3 vols. (8), 15, (1), 587, (1) pp. (6), XII, 543, (3) pp., final blank leaf. (4), IV, 565, (1) pp., final blank leaf. Contemporary brown boards with giltstamped red spine label. First edition, printed with the beautiful Arabic types of the Imprimerie Imperiale by J. J. Marcel, who in 1798 had brought printing to the Arabic world when he set up the first press in Cairo. - "Opus maximopere, nec vero ultra quam fas erat, laudatum et celebratum ab omnibus qui de eo referrent" (Schnurrer). "Like his Grammar, de Sacy's Chrestomathy was first compiled for his students. In the early 19th century there was a very limited body of reading matter for academic learners of Arabic [...] The Chrestomathy was intended to remedy this fault. But de Sacy immediately combined with this practical aim the scholarly task to use and make known valuable texts from the manuscript troves of the Royal Library in Paris, and so his Chrestomathy contains extensive extracts from late historians (Maqrizi) and geographers, from Hariri's Maqamat, from the Druze canon and from Qazwini's cosmography, as well as several poems from Nabiga to Ibn Farid, and, finally, keeping in mind the practical needs of future interpreters, a collection of state documents, all of this in the original Arabic with French translation and a wealth of annotations [...] It is a credit to de Sacy's interpretative mastery that the Chrestomathy [...] enjoyed a much longer life than similar works usually do, which tend soon to show their age due to the progress of scholarship: for nearly a century his work introduced learners to the masterpieces of Arabic literature" (cf. Fück). - Bindings rubbed and bumped at extremeties; interior well preserved. Scarce on the market. Schnurrer 153. Fück p. 146-148. OCLC 3822297.
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[World War I - Baghdad and Mesopotamia].
Archive relating to the British transport corps ("Remount Depot", and "Mule Column") based at Baghdad. Baghdad, ca. 1917-1922].
Comprising Lt. Ralph Smith's diary for 1918; his manuscript account fund book for "No. 3 Mule Column" (1917-20); his letterbook (Mesopotamia, May 1919 - June, 1920), with related telegrams, photographs, and ephemera; small group of official correspondence relating to Gunner Harry Dryburgh of the Remount Depot, Baghdad (mostly relating to travel permissions), ca. 1918-19; three programmes for theatrical performances held at the M.T. Depot Theatre (1918-19), and cinema programme for the Olympia Cinema, 31 May - 4 June 1919. Diary disbound, others in original bindings. Ephemera loose, the theatrical programmes printed on coloured paper, various sizes. Archive relating to the British transport corps ("Remount Depot", and "Mule Column") centred at Baghdad. An evocative diary kept by Lt. Smith captures both the horror and beauty of his daily life: "Never shall I forget the pain & terror in that poor little thing's face. I had nothing to help it & they were miles from any habitation [...] without food and medicine" (13 May, near Qara Tappah). The diary was written whilst he was serving with the No. 3 Mule Column, a section of the Transport Corps stationed in Mesopotamia, to which he was assigned in June 1917. It includes mentions of Qara Tappah, Baguba, Abu Jisra, Hillah (March 3, visiting "the house built by the German excavators who have done so much here" and the Babylonian remains, which Gertrude Bell had visited in January), Abu Saida (31 March, "I killed 1000 flies in my tent"; April 5, "Changed into my light underwear"; April 17, "Saw streams of Kurds & Arabs on the road [...] on the trek with camels"; April 23, "held a court martial [...] of Hazzat Shah [...] for theft from a mail bag, found him guilty & sentenced him to 30 lashes"), Table Mountain (trip with his orderly, Mohammed Qasim, whose photograph is included), Kifri and environs of Baghdad (29 April, "Tuz Khurmatli [Khurma] was taken today and nearly the whole of the Turkish force killed or taken prisoners"; 2 May, "Passed the 2 lots of Turkish prisoners [...] one prisoner of the first lot died on the way [...] they are evidently hungry and tired"). - The majority of Smith's letter book correspondence relates to his ordering books on India from Mudie's Select Library, Higginbotham in Madras (from where he purchased his Lett's Diary) and elsewhere, or selling others (12 April 1920, placing an advert in the Baghdad Times, "For Sale. Palmer's Arabic Grammar"). Smith's record of the No. 3 Mule Column Fund records Receipts ("Sale of a consignment of cigarettes for the column", "Proceeds of the sale of parts of two Turkish carts") and Expenditure ("Football, 2 bladders & one tube cement", "Sweets for the the Peace celebrations"). The entertainment programmes include pantomimes ("Red Riding Hood", "A Gipsy Romance" by the Advaxeliers at the Baghdad Depot Theatre), and an Olympia Cinema listing printed by the Dangor Press, Baghdad. - A unique ensemble, well preserved.
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[Dubai].
1960s postcard of Dubai. Dubai, C. Green, [ca. 1960s].
Colour print, 138 x 90 mm. "Dhow Builders" in "Dubai, Trucial States". - Well preserved commercial image of Dubai shortly before the oil era and its development into what is today the largest city in the United Arab Emirates.
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Ibn Ghanim al-Maqdisi al-Wa'iz, 'Izzadin 'Abdassalam ibn Ahmad.
Kashf al-asrar 'an il-hikam al-muda'a fi t-tuyur wal-azhar (The secrets of the realm of the birds and flowers revealed). [Probably Morocco], [1878/79 CE =] 1296 H.
4to (180 x 225 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 47 pp. 23-25 lines, per extensum, in black and occasional red and yellow ink. Bound in modern blue cloth with marbled covers. A mystical contemplation of animate and inanimate creatures, in particular of birds and flowers, whose various qualities proclaim the existence and wisdom of their creator. A popular and much-copied work by the Muslim mystic Ibn Ghanim al-Maqdisi (d. 678 H/1279 CE?). A French translation was published in Paris in 1821; an edition of the Arabic text appeared in Cairo in 1280 H. - Written in an elegant northern African, very probably Moroccan calligraphy. A few edge flaws due to brittleness of paper, but on the whole well preserved. Cf. GAL I, 451 & II, 808f.
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[Mathematical manuscript].
A collection of six treatises. No place, probably 19th century.
4to (150 x 206 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 102 (but: 99) numbered pages (pp. 75-77 skipped). Black and red ink, 15 lines, per extensum, with a few ink diagrams in the margins. Half leather over papered boards. A collection of six treatises on sections, chronology, and astronomy, indexed on a cover label and, in pencil, on the inside front cover. Text in black ink with extensive commentary in red throughout the margins. - Binding loosened, gutters reinforced. Paper browned and brittle, but on the whole well-preserved with only very minor edge chipping.
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Chesney, [Francis Rawdon].
The Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, Carried on by Order of the British Government, in the Years 1835, 1836 and 1837. London, Longman, 1850.
Large 8vo (175 x 260 mm). 2 vols. XXIII (instead of XXVII, lacking pp. XVII-XX), (3), 795 (instead of 799, lacking pp. 705-708), (1) pp. XVI, 778 pp. With all 49 tinted lithographic plates as well as numerous wood-engraved text illustrations. Contemporary full blue cloth with blindstamped covers and gilt spine titles. Wants the boxed 14 maps. First edition. Chesney (1789-1872), the explorer of the Euphrates and founder of the overland route to India, intended the work to be complete in four volumes, but half the manuscript was lost and only these two volumes were published. The book describes the exploration trip through the Euphrates and Tiber valleys, to the Arabian Gulf, in search of a shorter route to India. "He explored the Euphrates twice, at first alone, on a raft, in secret and at great risk (he frequently came under fire from hostile Arabs) and later by steamer, although the second attempt was no less fraught with difficulty than the first (the 'Tigris' was wrecked and there were numerous physical obstacles to overcome). Chesney was clearly an explorer of the first order and his courage and perseverance were matched only by his attention to detail and thoroughness in the surveys he produced" (Atabey). - Lacking four leaves in the first volume and (as often) the 14 slip-cased maps. Provenance: removed from the library of Hawkesyard Priory, Staffordshire (dispersed in 2008) with their stamps. Latterly in the collection of Roberto Gulbenkian (1923-2009). Atabey I, 234 Blackmer 337. Howgego II, p. 124, C26.
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Jeffries, David.
Traité des diamants et des perles, où l'on considère leur importance, on établit des règles certaines pour en connoître la juste valeur. Paris, Debure & N. Tillard, 1753.
8vo. (8), XXXXV, (1), 104 pp. With engraved dedicatory headpiece and 8 (instead of 10) engraved plates (some depicting cuts of diamonds) and tables. Contemporary smooth calf with gilt cover borders and red spine label. First edition in French of this early book describing "how diamonds and pearls can be evaluated on the basis of the factors of size (or weight) and style of cut" (Sinkankas). The London jeweller Jeffries is the first author to provide "a clear statement of the principle that the value of pearls should be calculated to the square of their weight [...] This principle is implicit in the valuation tables given by earlier authors, including Tavernier and others, but Jeffries is the first to state it explicitly. At the back of his book, he provides tables allowing the calculation of the value of individual and batches of pearls of different size or quality. This is effectively a 'chau' book, as used by merchants in the Gulf and India until the mid-20th century, and fulfils exactly the same function" (Carter). - "The text explains the [diamond] cutting procedure, how the evaluation rules were derived, the importance of imperfections and flaws as affecting price, notes on rough diamonds [...] and finally, a somewhat similar procedure for the valuation of pearls, with highest values accorded to pearls of closest approach to spherical perfection, luster, etc. The mathematical rule used for the pearl is known as the 'square of the weight' multiplied by a per-carat base price" (Sinkankas). - This French edition is much scarcer than the expanded second English edition, on which it is based. It is dedicated by the translator (the Royal librarian Chappotin S. Laurent) to the sixteen-year-old Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé, on the occasion of his marriage to Charlotte de Rohan. - Hinges weak, corners and spine-ends bumped and chipped. Lacks the final two plates (showing the cuts of the largest diamonds). Provenance: 20th century handwritten ownership to title-page. Removed from the Library of the Birmingham Assay Office, one of the four assay offices in the United Kingdom, with their library stamp to the flyleaf. Sinkankas 3198. Cf. Carter, Sea of Pearls, p. 83, 125f., 251. Goldsmiths' 8500. Hoover 453. Roller/G. II, 10.
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[Dubai].
Eight original 1960s photographs of Dubai. Dubai, Studio Al-Andalus, [ca. 1963].
6 original gelatin silver photographs, the smallest measuring 90 x 139 mm and the largest 106 x 148 mm. - (Includes): 2 gelatin silver postcards of Dubai (Noor Ali, Photo-Press International, Dubai), ca. 90 x 139 mm, [ca. 1960s]. Framed and glazed. Rare photographs of Dubai in the early 1960s, showing Al Fahidi Fort, Dubai Old Town, Dubai Creek, Al Maktoum Bridge and the British Bank of the Middle East. They were published by "Studio Andalus", a photographic studio which (according to the stamp) was based on "New Street, near the National Library". Four are captioned in blue ink (another has an unfinished caption) and two have an Arabic studio stamp to their versos. Includes two contemporaneous postcards of Dubai, both also original photographic prints, showing principal views of the town. - A few corners bumped and creased, otherwise very good. A fine ensemble of rare photographs showing Dubai as a "Trucial State", shortly before the oil era and its development into what is today the largest city in the United Arab Emirates.
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(Kwiatkowski, Wojciech).
Polish Arabian Horses before the year 1940. No place, [ca. 1995].
Oblong 4to. 5 cloth-bound volumes with stamped titles, containing 253 original photographs mounted on cardboard with accompanying text. Extensive photo documentation of Polish Arabian horses, recording year of birth, ancestors, racing results, descendants, etc. - No copy in any library recorded in WorldCat or KVK. A fine, clean copy.
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Miles, Samuel Barrett.
The Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf. London, Harrison and Sons, 1920.
4to. 2 vols. (12), 264 pp. (4), 265-643 pp., final blank. With frontispiece portrait and 8 photographic plates. Contemporary stamped cloth with cover and spine titles. Second printing of the equally scarce 1919 first edition of this notable work of travel literature by the British Army officer S. B. Miles, who served as a diplomat in various Arabic-speaking countries, notably Oman, which he came to know better than any other European of the time. His intent to revise the notes he had "jotted down on odd bits of paper as he rode through the desert on his camel" (Preface) was rendered impossible due to his failing eyesight. Five years after his death his widow decided to publish the manuscript as she found it, enriching it with Miles's travelogue of Mesopotamia as well as an index. The work includes the political and economic history of Oman and the Gulf as well as the history and geography of Dhofar, Arab tribes, and pearl fishing. The plates show the forts at Bahila, Yabreen, and Rostak, as well as the house of Seyyid Hamed Bin Azzar at Rostak, a group of locals, and date palms, while the frontispiece depicts Miles resting in a chair wearing his sunglasses. - Binding slightly rubbed and soiled, cockling to upper cover of vol. 2, rebacked. A good copy of this popular work that saw re-issues in 1966 and 1994. Cf. Ghani 250 (1966 reprint only).
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Mohammed Ali Tewfik, Prince of Egypt.
Breeding of Purebred Arab Horses. Cairo, Paul Barbey's Printing Office, 1935-1936.
8vo. 2 vols. 45, (1) pp. 94 pp. With photograph illustrations and reproductions of paintings. Original wrappers. First edition of this two-volume set published by High Highness Prince Mohamed Ali under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society, to which the heir presumptive of Egypt and Sudan had presented his manuscript. Mohammed Ali describes the care and breeding of Arab horses as practiced by the Arabs, especially in Egypt, and "gives the reader a picture of the Arabian horse, his treatment and presence in the Middle East" (Boyd/Paul). Reprinted in America in 1975. - Covers show moderate wear and soil; somewhat rubbed and bumped with light corner creasing. A small stain and some partial ink stamps (Brighton and Hove) to the cover of vol. 2. Below the photo of Nimr in vol. I is an inscription reportedly in the hand of the American oil magnate, philanthropist and collector Robert Orville Anderson (1917-2007), founder of the Atlantic Richfield Oil Co.: "Saoud's sire cost me £1750. He was a magnificent Brown Seqlauri Jedran 15.1" (the word "hands" has been added at the end in a different ink). A few additional marginal annotations; altogether a fine copy of a book very hard to find in any edition. Boyd/Paul 85.
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Zehil, Abdallah.
Petit Guide Historique de la Syrie, la Palestine et l'Egypte. Marseille, E. Maurin & M. Pages, 1929.
Small 4to. 60, (6) pp. With 13 black and white photographic plates, 2 of which full-page, as well as a folding coloured map of Syria, Palestine and Egypt. First edition. - A compact guide to Syria, Palestine and Egypt before the inter-war period, written by the agent general of the French steamship company in the Middle East. Outlining the countries' history and recommending places to visit, it is illustrated with views of Beirut, Tripolis, Aleppo, Nazareth, and Cairo, as well as important landmarks, including the Great Mosque of Damascus, temples at Baalbek, Palmyra, the Sphinx and the pyramids, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Wailing Wall. - Label of the Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner in Paris to front cover. Upper wrapper somewhat foxed, spine and margins slightly worn. OCLC 7201775.
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Lobo Huerta, Eugénio Gerardo.
Rasgo epico, de la conquista de Oran, que à la diversion de los oficiales de los regimientos de guardias espanolas, y walonas, dedica el afecto de Don Eugenio Gerardo Lobo [...]. Lisbon, Imprenta de Musica, [1738].
4to. 36 pp. Wrapperless pamphlet, disbound from a larger volume with near-contemporary handwritten foliation 21-38. Rare Lisbon edition of the epic poem about the 1732 capture of Oran by the Spanish army, written by the soldier and poet Eugenio Gerardo Lobo Huerta (1679-1750), first published in Spain in 1732. After having held the city since 1509 but losing it to Moorish forces in 1708, the Spanish recaptured it from the Deylik of Algiers in 1732 and managed to control the town for the next six decades. Lobo, who himself participated in the battle and was severely wounded, dedicated this work in 170 numbered octavas to his comrades; his practice of poetry earned him the nickname "Capitán Coplero" ("captain of couplets"). - Only 8 copies traced in libraries internationally. Aguilar Piñal V, 967. BGUC Misc., 78. OCLC 858632525.
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[Monterroyo Mascarenhas, José Freire de].
Noticia da destruiçam da armada argelina, que foy a Turquia buscar soccorro para sitiar Oran por mar, e terra [...]. Lisbon, Pedro Ferreira, 1733.
4to. 8 pp. With woodcut title vignette and armorial headpiece. Wrapperless pamphlet. Very rare report about one of several unsuccessful attempts by Muslim forces to recapture Oran, causing the loss of five Algerian and two Ottoman battle ships. Published anonymously by José Freire de Monterroyo Mascarenhas (1670-1760), the polyglot editor of numerous travel accounts and topical pamphlets. - In Spanish hands since 1509, Oran had been captured by the Turks in 1708 while Spain was preoccupied with the War of the Spanish Succession. Spanish rule was re-established in Oran in July 1732, after which the fleet and the soldiers sent by Philip V returned to Spain, leaving a garrison of six thousand men in the city. In August of the same year, Hassan Bey intended to retake Oran, having asked for help from the Bey of Algiers. Hassan Bey repeatedly attacked the city for several months, allying himself with the Turks and the Algerians, but the city would remain under Spanish rule until 1792, when it suffered a massively destructive earthquake and King Charles IV handed the city back to the Ottoman Empire. - Rare; only 5 copies traceable in libraries worldwide. Barbosa Machado II, 856. Inocêncio V, 348. BGUC Misc., 81. Fonseca, Pseudonymos, 236. OCLC 27862273.
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[United Arab Emirates - HRH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan].
A trove of photographs. Mostly Abu Dhabi and Dubai, 1970s to early 2000s.
229 original photographs, 1 portrait reproduced from a painting, and 2 portraits printed on thin cardboard (one round-shaped). Various sizes (ca. 74 x 110 to 201 x 282 mm), printed both in colour and black-and-white. Some photographs with handwritten Arabic captions in pen on verso; a few with pasted mimeograph typescript captions in English. Stored in 5 display books. A large private photo archive, apparently assembled by a professional Middle Eastern journalist or press photographer, illustrating the reign of HRH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918-2004), Father of the Nation and the ruler of Abu Dhabi for more than 30 years. Some pictures show HRH Sheikh Zayed welcoming foreign dignitaries such as the Syrian president Hafez Al Assad, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing; others display industrial and cultural aspects of the Emirates, ranging from oil production in the desert to camel races and falconry. Another part of the set shows off prominent landmarks, including the Al Badiyah mosque, the oldest mosque of the Emirates, the forts of Al Hayl, Al Bithnah, and Al Jahili, the Blue Souq market hall in Sharjah, as well as Earth Park and the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. In addition, several images record National Day celebrations at the foot of Volcano Fountain in Abu Dhabi, demolished in 2004, but also show the Dubai skyline, military parades, and sailing vessels. A picture of an Iranian Phantom fighter-bomber flying over the Tunb islands shortly before Iranian forces occupied them in 1971 is a rare asset to this archive. - Mostly stamped and/or annotated in Arabic (and some in English) on versos for possibly use by the press, but not traced in the UAEhistory, Keystone or Hulton/Getty press photo archives. A few images have marginal tears or creases; one with a portion whited out for reproduction. Impressive in its extent and its wide variety of motifs, this uncommon set of not widely circulated photographs documents Abu Dhabi's transformation into a modern metropolis since the early 1970s.
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Weiland, C[arl] F[erdinand].
[Allgemeiner Hand-Atlas der ganzen Erde]. The Near and Middle Eastern Maps. Weimar, Verlag des geographischen Instituts, 1827-1834.
Six engraved maps, all in four segments on orange cloth with title labels. All ca. 68 x 54 cm. Stored in a contemporary marbled slipcase. A fine set of six maps, comprising all the Near East and Middle East maps from Weiland's great "Allgemeiner Hand-Atlas" (general hand atlas) published by the Geographical Institute in Weimar. - Includes: Turkey and Levant ("Das osmanische Asien", 1829); the Arabian Peninsula ("Arabien", 1834); Persia ("Iran, Afghanistan und Beludschistan", 1828); Africa (1831); Northern Africa ("Das nordwestliche Africa oder die Staaten Fez und Marokko, Algier, Tunis und Tripoli, nebst der Wüste Sahara", 1827); and the Nile Valley with the south-western coast of Arabia ("Das nordöstliche Africa oder Aegypten, Nubien, Habesch, Kordofan und Darfur", 1829). - All with engraved labels of the Paris map dealer and publisher Charles Simonneau with titles inscribed in French. Some mild foxing throughout, but altogether fine. Slipcase worn but professionally repaired. Cf. Espenhorst p. 24; Le Gear 6107 (1848 ed.); Al-Qasimi (2nd ed.), p. 281 (Weiland's map of Arabia, 1839 edition).
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[Australian Second Light Horse Brigade].
Duplicate typescript copies of confidential reports from HQ. [Palestine], November/December 1917.
Foolscap folio (ca. 205 x 330 mm). (30) and (31) ff. (rectos only) of duplicate typescript with occasional manuscript corrigenda and addenda. Split-pin fastener in the top left-hand corner of each month. Unpublished confidential daily field reports from the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, fought by the Arab Revolt and the British Empire against the Ottoman Empire and its Imperial German allies. The reports include the critical period between the Battle of Beersheba in late October and the fall of Jerusalem at the end of 1917. - Usually comprising one leaf for each day of the month, the individual reports commence with an overview of the brigade's activities, followed by further details for each regiment. The account of 9 November, e.g., records the strategically highly important advance on Burayr, one of the first places to be captured by the Allied Forces from the Ottoman Empire, consolidating the British hold on positions controlling the approaches to Jaffa and Jerusalem: "A great day for the Brigade 5th and 7th Regts. moving parallel on left and right respectively and 6th in support were heavily shelled from right flank; but made Bureir and Huleikat without opposition from those places, but had number of casualties from this shell fire. Great quantities of stores waggons and material of all sorts taken 7th Regt took a convoy of about 150 waggons 350 prisoners and many animals most of latter in a wretched condition at Kaukabah. Very many abandoned waggons on the road and stores being looted by Arabs. In afternoon moved on again and 5th Regt supported by one Sqdn of 7th most dashingly rushed another convoy of over 100 wagons and took over 350 prisoners. This convoy subjected to heavy shell fire from enemy on friend and foe alike. Squadron of 7th attached to 5th cleverly took 231 more prisoners in the dark [...]". - The 2nd Light Horse Brigade, a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force consisting of the 5th, 6th and 7th Light Horse Regiments, formed a very distinctive national force within the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, the British and allied army that drove the Ottoman Turks and their German allies back across the Sinai desert in 1916, into Palestine in 1917, and went on to capture Damascus on the first day of October 1918, shortly before the armistice. - Lacks the sheet for the first day of each month; reports of 9 November and 14 December comprising two leaves. Both first leaves (2 November and 2 December) detached, with some marginal loss, as well as slight loss of text to 2 November. Occasional marginal chips and creases throughout, early leaves tanned. - From the Paul Lucas Collection of Australian military history. A unique survival.
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Cadoz, François.
Le secrétaire de l'Algérie ou Le secrétaire Français-Arabe, contenant des modèles de lettres et d'actes sur toutes sortes de sujets, un recueil de proverbes, des explications grammaticales etc. Algier, F. Bernard (Lithographie de Mad.e Philippe), 1850.
12mo. 180 pp. Near-contemporary half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine title. First edition; one of the earliest Middle-Eastern lithographed publications: an Arabic letter-writing guide for the use of secretaries and scribes in Algeria. Reprinted in 1904. - Publisher's signature stamped to verso of title as copyright protection. Stamped ownership of the private oriental scholar Carl Mayreder of Vienna, member of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, to the title-page, with ticket of the Viennese bookbinder Georg Mayer (dated 1876) to the lower pastedown. OCLC 493647399.
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[Conquest of Izmail].
Relaçao do sanguinozo combate, que derao os Russianos contra os Turcos na tomada da praça de Ismail. Lisbon, Antonio Gomes, [1791].
4to. 15 pp., final blank. Unsewn pamphlet. Rare Portuguese report of the 1790 Siege of Izmail during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-92, which resulted in the sacking of the fortress of Izmail (in the region of Budjak, now Ukraine). The capture of this stronghold, considered impregnable, was seen as a catastrophe in the Ottoman Empire, while in Russia it was glorified in the country's first national anthem "Let the thunder of victory sound!". The Russians began besieging the city in March 1790 and started attacking in December, leading to a bloody battle of 22 December. Ottoman forces suffered more than 26,000 killed, and many others were wounded or captured. The account mentions prominent historical figures, including the Russian general Alexander Suvorov (1730-1800) and the Spanish admiral José de Ribas (1749-1800). - With small marginal flaws not affecting text. Rare; only two copies traced in library catalogues internationally (Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal; New York University). Dupuy & Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military History (2nd ed.), 698. BGUC Misc., 514.
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[Conquest of Oran].
Relaçao da batalha alcançada pelos hespanhoes contra os mouros. Diario do avance, que derao os turcos á praça de Orao [...]. Lisbon, Ignacio Nogueira Xisto, 1759.
4to. 8 pp. With woodcut title vignette. Printed sheet folded into a pamphlet, unsewn and unbound. Rare Portuguese account of one of several unsuccessful 18th century attempts by Muslim forces to recapture Oran. This operation took place in March and April of 1759, nearly three decades after the Spanish conquest of the city in 1732. Oran was repeatedly attacked by Algerian and Ottoman forces, but remained under Spanish rule until 1792. The report concludes with a table showing the numbers of cannonballs, shells and bullets fired in the battle. - Light browning; folds weakeend; uncut and untrimmed. Only seven copies traced in library catalogues internationally. A rare historical source on an otherwise poorly documented military campaign. BGUC Misc., 7835. OCLC 504039661.
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[Haifa-Baghdad railway].
Collection of twelve maps of the Middle East relating to the proposed construction of a railway between Haifa and Baghdad. Various places, ca. 1930.
12 maps, various sizes and scales. Rare collection of maps relating to the proposed construction of a railway between Haifa and Baghdad. In the 1920s the British contemplated building such a railway that would have connected the Mediterranean with the capital of Iraq, ostensibly to shore up their imperial rule, support the British-backed Arab government of Iraq, and secure the oil pipeline already running from the Mosul oilfields to Haifa. They were also aware that developments of aerial warfare made the Suez Canal susceptible to aerial attacks in wartime, and alternative military routes across the Middle East to India were sought. However, a series of economic difficulties trumped political and military expediency, and with the outbreak of the Second World War, the dream of a trans-Middle Eastern rail service evaporated. - The present collection includes: 1) Baghdad (Valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris from Kirkuk (N-S) and Ramadi to Kermanshah (E-W), Baghdad at the centre. Scale 1:1,000,000. 2) Untitled French map, showing Baghdad to Deir-ez-Zor (E-W) and Mosul to Baghdad (N-S). Bureau Topographique des Troupes françaises du Levant, May 1933. Colour-printed. 850 x 630 mm. 3) Untitled map showing the area between Abu Kemal on the Euphrates and Tikrit on the Tigris. 4) Jaffa-Nablous. Jaffa-Amman (E-W). Reproduction of a "carte de reconnaissance" by E. L. Ottoman. Scale 1:200,000. Paris, Service Geographique de l'Armee, 1930. Colour-printed. 690 x 540 mm. 5) Four air photo maps showing Holt's Zerka Valley Alignment (thus titled by hand, referring to Major A. L. Holt, R.E.). Haifa-Baghdad rly. survey. Trans-Jordan. Surveyed at War Office from photographs by the R.A.F. ground control under the direction of Major R. L. Brown, R. E. Showing a section of the Jordan river and the country east to Jerash. Colour-printed, with the proposed rail route marked in crayon with annotations. Scale 1:24,000. Each map 940 x 730 mm. 6) Four manuscript maps maps, coloured: a) Haifa-Baghdad Railway. Geological Map of Zerka Route, by G. S. Blake, B.Sc., F.G.S. 1934. 1350 x 530 mm. b) Haifa-Baghdad Railway, Geological Plan and Section, by G. S. Blake. 1380 x 880 mm. c) Map of Zerka Route. Haifa-Baghdad Railway. 1500 x 750 mm. d) Geological Section from Damascus to Rutba to show westerly inclination of strata. 1200 x 340 mm. Geological section along proposed route of Haifa Baghdad railway from the Jordan to the Euphrates. - Some edge tears with occasional loss to paper but not to the map. A rare survival.
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Hoogvliet, Marinus (resp.) / Weijers, Henrik Engelin (praes.).
Specimen e litteris orientalibus, exhibens diversorum scriptorum locos de regia Aphtasidarum familia et de Ibn-Abduno poeta [...]. Leiden, S. & J. Luchtmans, 1839.
Large 4to (235 x 272 mm). (8), 164 pp. Contemporary paper wrappers. Inaugural dissertation by the orientalist Martin Hoogvliet (b. 1814), containing an extract edition and translation of this important history of Muslim Spain, entitled "Al-mo'ajeb fi talkhíss akhbári-l-maghreb" ("The Promoter of Admiration, or a compendious History of the West"), written by the Moroccan historian Al-Marrakishi (b. 1185). Based on the ms. in the library of Leyden (No. 546). Treats the Aftasid dynasty and the work of Abdul Majid ibn 'Abdun Al-Yaburi (from today's Évora in Portugal). - Untrimmed, uncut copy. OCLC 187471341.
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[Krusinski, Tadeusz Judasz?] / Lisasueta, Jacinto de (transl.).
Historia de Thamas Kouli-Kan, Sophi de Persia. Traducida del Frances en Castellano. Madrid, en la Officina de los Herederos de Juan de Ariztia, 1740.
Small 8vo. 2 vols. (16), 286 pp. (8), 195, (1) pp. Contemporary limp vellum (modern endpapers). Very rare first Spanish translation of this sensational account, which spurred numerous re-printings, piracies, and abridgements. A perfect ideal of the 'Oriental despot', the recent exploits of Nadir Shah (Tahmasp Quli Khan, 1698-1747) fascinated his European contemporaries as much as the shocking overthrow of the Ming Dynasty by the barbarian Manchus a century earlier. From humble beginnings as a shepherd-boy, Nadir's rapid conquest of much of Western Asia and his prowess as a military leader earned him (later) comparisons to Napoleon. - The present work, translated by Jacinto de Lisasueta, was based on the "Histoire de Thamas Kouli-Kan, Sophi De Perse" published at Amsterdam earlier that year. - Barbier mistakenly supposed the French original to have been authored by J. A. du Cerceau, but “this attribution is clearly incorrect, because the book deals with events up to 1739, while du Cerceau died on the 4th of July, 1730" (Lockhart, Nadir Shah, p. 315). Today, it is supposed that the Histoire was based instead on the accounts of the Jesuit missionary Kruzinski (1675-1756) who was active in the Safavid Empire between 1707 and 1728. - Light browning; occasional repaired edge flaws. Recently rebound in slightly differing vellum, with new endpapers. Vol. 2 bears the collection drystamp of Victor Arce Blanchard. Aguilar Piñal, 6, 684. OCLC 807763638. Not in Palau.
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Maggio, Francesco Maria.
Syntagmaton linguarum orientalium quae in Georgiae regionibus audiuntur. Liber Primus. Rome, Propaganda Fide, 1670.
Folio (225 x 332 mm). 2 parts in one vol. (12), 143, (1) pp. (6) pp., 1 blank f., 96 pp. With printer's woodcut device to both title-pages. Contemporary half vellum over papered boards with faded handwritten spine title. Second edition of this "at least linguistically rather unusual combination of a Georgian and a Turkish grammar, using the Georgian types first displayed in 1629" (Smitskamp). This is "an almost line for line reprint of the 1643 edition, only distinguishable by the 'Iterum imprimatur' [...] The work is set in mkhedruli type that has no upper case, but upper and lower case khutsuri type (the sacred script) is also displayed, absent in the 1629 'Alphabetum'. In the second part, containing a Turkish grammar (the third of its kind, after those by Megiser [1612] and du Ryer [1630]), the Hebrew and Syriac scripts [...] are also discussed as vehicles of the Arabic or Turkish language. Maggio mentions della Valle as his instructor in Turkish [...] At the end of the second part a Turkish translation is printed of the 'Corolla B.M. Virginis', a widely used devotional prayer" (ibid.). - Binding lightly rubbed. Some browning throughout; occasional worming in the margins. A few contemporary ink corrections in Georgian script. Removed from the library of the Capuchin mission to Trabzon, Turkey (Missione dei Cappuccini di Trebisonda) with their stamp to the title-page. Smitskamp, PO 227. Lang 167. Vater/Jülg 140.
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Mahmud II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1785-1839, ruled 1808-1839).
Signed document (Berat) in Ottoman Turkish. Constantinople, [August 1818 CE =] first days of Shawwal 1233 H.
80 x 27 cm. Ink and gold dust on paper. With large Tughra. Concerns an order of horses. The document was given to a British sailor whose family preserved it until recently.
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