‎Moyen orient‎

‎[FitzGerald, Edward (transl.)].‎

‎Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia. Rendered into English Verse. London, (John Childs & Son for) Bernard Quaritch, 1868.‎

‎8vo (206 x 162 mm). XVIII, 30 pp. Original printed paper wrappers. Housed in a full black morocco case with cloth chemise. Second edition of FitzGerald's translation, substantially expanded and revised. Omar Khayyám was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet, famous in his own country and time chiefly for his scientific achievements. He is known to English-speaking readers mostly due to FitzGerald's translations, which were quite free and liberal in their paraphrasing and would prove to be the "most popular verse translation into English ever made" (Decker, p. xiv). - Five hundred copies of the second edition were printed, with Quaritch selling each at a price of 1s. 6d.; when a copy re-appeared in their catalogue in 1929, it had already reached a price of £52 10s. (Potter, p. 12). Fitzgerald substantially revised the text of the Rubáiyát four times, with none of these five versions seen as truly definitive. The first edition had 75 quatrains, while the present second edition, which has 110 quatrains, is the longest of the five. - Some light foxing throughout. Some soiling and creasing to wrappers; contemporary ownership inscription, dated 1869, to upper cover. Potter 129.‎

‎Morris, Louis-Michel.‎

‎Essai sur l'extérieur du cheval. Paris, L. Baudoin, 1890.‎

‎4to. (4), VI, 7-100 pp. With lithographed frontispiece and 3 lithographed plates. Original printed wrappers. Third edition. Rare treatise on equine appearance by a prominent figure of the French cavalry. Unlike the first edition, which included only two illustrations, the present third edition features 4 lithographed plates, including an Arabian horse and the horse's skeleton. Frequently cited by later works on hippology, Morris's essay discusses all aspects of the horse's physique, including proportions and the angular structure of the skeleton, which "can rather be applied to the Arabian horse than to European breeds" (de la Lance). - Wrappers slightly browned near margins. A fine, uncut copy of an equestrian classic. Mennessier de La Lance II, 227. Not in Boyd/P.‎

‎Sarre, Friedrich (ed.).‎

‎Islamische Bucheinbände (Buchkunst des Orients I). Berlin, Scarabaeus, (1923).‎

‎Folio (270 x 360 mm). 167 pp., final blank page. With 4 illustrations in the text, and 36 numbered plates with mounted full-color reproductions of Islamic book bindings, included in pagination. Text and plates with gilt borders. Contemporary cardboard with 6 gilt ornaments, 3 each to upper and lower cover. Edition "B" of this sumptuous work on Islamic bookbinding. Exhibits some of the finest and most valuable tomes from Berlin's Bode Museum as well as examples from a private collection. Bound in the original adorned binding, the giltstamped ornaments featuring floral motifs as well as a hunting scene of a lion attacking a bull. - A total of 36 bindings are here reproduced in excellent colour facsimiles, impressively demonstrating the high quality of Egyptian, Persian, and Turkish book production from the 14th to 19th centuries. Each specimen is accompanied by a page of descriptive text. - Edited by the German orientalist and art historian Sarre (1865-1945), who amassed a great collection of Islamic art during his lifetime. - Extremities somewhat rubbed. Interior in excellent condition. Mejer 554. OCLC 905430423.‎

‎[Persia and Iraq Force - Paiforce - Women].‎

‎Confidential - 154th Yeomanry Field Regiment R.A. London, Park West, Marble Arch, March 1945.‎

‎11 pp. Re-stapled paper. A detailed war-time newsletter from the Middle East, relaying through the soldier's wives at home the regiment's movements at the front for family members back in the UK. Covering August 1942 to March 1943, it focuses on general updates of the regiment's position and provides lists of soldiers, facts which would give some comfort to their families. Whilst there are humorous bits on the trivialities of warfare, the confidential nature and redacted passages remind the reader that this was an internal communication with the bare minimum of information allowed. - The letter starts with addresses which a reader would need to write to for inquiries as to whether family members had been wounded or captured as prisoners. It then proceeds into "regimental letter number 1", which describes the regiment boarding a steamer and at sea; the typical routine is portrayed as a "wild rush to get the mess deck clean, hammocks and mattress stacked, blankets rolled and so on before breakfast" (p. 3). - The 2nd letter commences with 8 Dec. 1942, making reference to landing in Egypt and preparations for fighting Germany. In the same format as the first letter, it is followed by a battery notes section, listing ill or other soldiers who had to remain at HQ, promotions, soldiers injured and casualties sustained from the fighting. - A humorous note concerns an incident involving poisonous creatures of the desert, where "Battery Commander was dragged from his bed to take L/Bdr. Tait to the M.O. for treatment for scorpion sting. The scorpion, later in the night, was captured alive [...] and severely dealt with. Bdr. Hood G's scorpion sting turned out to be a piece of sardine tin, and it's thought that the piece of hand grenade alleged to have fallen on Gnr. Elliot's truck may have been the remainder of the tin" (p. 10). As discussed at the end of the letter, the paper rationing introduced in the UK meant that "it will be impossible to make the future circulation of these letters as wide as it has been" and that in the future a lady in each area of the UK would pass a single letter around for the families eager to find out about the loved ones on distant shores. - Some spotting and staining with a 3 cm tear along the central hold line to some pages. In good condition for a fragile letter.‎

‎Qaysari, 'Abd al-Muhsin al-.‎

‎Sharh al-'Arud al-Andalusi. [Medina, Nejd, Ottoman Empire], [Sept. 1734 CE =] Rabi' al-Thani 1147 H.‎

‎4to (165 x 213 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished oriental paper. 53 pp. on 28 ff. 19 lines, per extensum, written in a Naskhi script in black ink, some words in red, some marginal notes. Contemporary half leather binding over marbled boards with fore-edge flap. A manuscript on Arabic prosody and metrics, forming a commentary on the well-known prosodic manual "Kitab al-'Arud al-Andalusi" by Abu al-Jaysh al-Ansari al-Qisti al-Andalusi (d. 626 H / 1229 CE). - The commentator Al-Qaysari, who flourished in Anatolia in the 14th century CE, both condensed and expanded on the work of Al-Jaysh, with the aim of providing a summary for students as well as adding his own perspective on the study of poetic metre and verse. He dedicated his effort to Emir Süleyman bin Tashun, an important political figure in Anatolia, who had commissioned the book. After a traditional introduction and long foreword, Al-Qaysari's work contains quotations from the original text, which he then juxtaposes with his own opinions. For his commentary, Al-Qaysari also drawn upon the standard works of Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (who first systematized the art of Arabic prosody) and Al-Khalil's student Al-Akhfash al-Avsat. - By tradition, Arabic prosody ('Arud) scans poetry not in terms of syllables (as in most Western languages), but in terms of vowelled and unvowelled letters, which are combined into larger units, which in turn make up feet. Sixteen types of metre are distinguished, some very common, others exceedingly rare. - The present copy was written in the early 18th century CE by a scribe who names himself as Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ez-Zuhri es-Shirvani al Madani, a scholar who is known to have resided in Medina all his life. On the recto of the first leaf are a few later pencil notes which erroneously attribute the work's authorship to Al-Madani himself, though the copyist did indeed add several notes of his own supercommentary in the margins. - Binding a little rubbed; hinges chipped and weakened in places, interior very well preserved with minimal staining or smudging. A fine example. GAL I 310, 8 & S I 544, 9. Cf. Joan Maling, The Theory of Classical Arabic Metrics (1973). Ernest N. McCarus, "Identifying the Meters of Arabic Poetry", in: Al-’Arabiyya 16.1/2 (1983), pp. 57-83.‎

‎Hermalin, D[avid] M[oyshe].‎

‎Muhamad. A shtudium fun dem ershaynen, leben und thetigkayt fun dem Musulmanishen gezets-geber un die rezultaten fun zayn religyon. New York, Hebrew Publishing Co., [early 1900s].‎

‎8vo. 64 pp. Contemporary half cloth. Very rare second edition of this Yiddish-language study of the Prophet Muhammad, essentially a reissue of the Meir Chinsky edition of 1898. It includes not only a biography of the Prophet and a discussion of the Qur'an and of Islam, but also chapters with a specifically Jewish perspective, such as on the Jewish population of Arabia (especially in Mecca and Medina), on Muhammad's "dreadful revenge on the Jews", etc. The author published similar accounts on Jesus of Nazareth ("Yeyshu Hanoytsri: zayn ersheynen, leben und toydt: algemeyner iberblik vegen der entshtehung fun kristenthum") and Sabbatai Zevi ("Der Terkisher Meshieh: a historish romantishe shilderung iber dem leben und virken fun Shabtay Tsvi"). The highly versatile journalist, novelist, and playwright D. M. Hermalin (1865-1921) was born and educated in Bucharest, where he worked for various newspapers before being compelled to leave Romania and emigrating to the United States at the age of twenty. Here, he taught French and Hebrew and achieved distinction as a much-admired family page editor for Yiddish newspapers such as the "Folks Advokat", the "Yiddisher Herold", and the "Wahrheit". He wrote thrillers, but also translated Tolstoy, Maupassant, Zola, Bocaccio, and Shakespeare into Yiddish; his 1901 translation of Goethe's "Faust" was the first complete Yiddish version. - Stamps of ownership of the Jewish Socialist Branch of Chelsea as well as the Chelsea Labor Lyceum Association Library to lower pastedown and several pages, including the title-page. Shelfmarks to front pastedown and title-page. Extremities slightly rubbed, paper browned and brittle. - No copy in trade records; online library catalogues list copies at the British Library, Brandeis University Library (Waltham, MA), Yivo Institute for Jewish Research (New York), and the Hebrew Union College (Cincinnati). OCLC 122983891.‎

‎Marty, Claude.‎

‎Est-il vrai de dire que la membrure du cheval anglo-arabe est légère et insuffisante? (Un chapitre de contribution à l'étude de l'anglo-arabe). Toulouse, (Saint-Cyprien), 1909.‎

‎4to. XII, 127, (8) pp., final blank page. Front flyleaf included in the pagination. Original printed wrappers. With dust jacket. Only edition, very scarce. - Noted essay on the physique of the Anglo-Arabian horse, challenging the theory of its over-lightness and insufficiency - the "gravest and most unjust" criticism levelled against the breed. Prepared by the vice-president of the prominent Toulouse stables "Écurie coopérative du Midi", Claude Marty. Of the utmost rarity: a single library copy traceable internationally (French National Library). - The main part of this work is made up of highly informative tables, displaying the distribution of the various breeds in the French, Algerian, Spanish, and Prussian cavalry forces, specifying their origins, as well as weights and body measures, and occasionally even stating their given names. Several other tables show the use of the Anglo-Arabian for public transportation in Toulouse. The work concludes with remarks on the Anglo-Arabian's high bone density and their physical ability to set vehicles in motion. - Ownership stamp of the Bibliothèque de Trélissac to half-title. Dust jacket somewhat worn, minor tears. A few pages loosened. A good copy of this important work rarely seen in the trade. OCLC 457358123.‎

‎Taymur Mirza (Husam ud-Dawlah) / Phillott, Douglas Craven (transl.).‎

‎The Baz-Nama-yi Nasiri. A Persian treatise on falconry [...]. London, Bernard Quaritch, 1908.‎

‎8vo. XXIV, 195 pp., final blank page. With 25 numbered illustrations mainly depicting falcons and hunting and hawking scenes, including frontispiece and of which several full-page. Contemporary full cloth with giltstamped spine-title and illustration of a hunt to front cover. First edition. One of 500 copies of this rare Persian treatise on falconry, giving a detailed account of falcons as well as hunting-birds in general, translated by Douglas Craven Phillott. The translator's introduction gives an account of the author, a prince of Persia (d. 1874), and his book. "An excellent translation [...] A valuable addition to a falconer's library, whether or not he be interested in hawking in the East" (Barber). - Corners and spine ends lightly bumped; small tears to cloth in the upper part of the spine. Bookplate of G. J. B. Barry, depicting a falcon, to pastedown. A rare and very important work by a falconer who flourished in the middle of the 19th century. Schwerdt IV, 92. Barber 14.‎

‎Aa, Pieter van der (ed.) / Gottfried, Johann Ludwig (falsely attributed to).‎

‎De aanmerkenswaardigste en alomberoemde zee- en landreizen der Portugeezen, Spanjaarden, Engelsen en allerhande natiën: zoo van Fransen, Italiaanen, Deenen, Hoogh- en Nederduitsen als van veele andere volkeren. Voornaamenlyk ondernomen tot ontdekking van de Oost- en Westindiën, midsgaders andere verafgelegene gewesten des aardryks. The Hague and Leiden, widow of Engelbrecht Boucquet and sons, Jan van der Deyster, and Boudewijn and Pieter van der Aa, 1727.‎

‎8 vols. 1mo and folio. With 7 (of 8) engraved frontispieces (lacking that of volume 4), 4 engraved dedications, 117 engraved maps on 61 leaves, 7 engraved plates and 502 engravings in text. Further with 127 (of 128) title-pages (including a general title-page, a title-page to 7 (of 8) volumes, lacking that of volume 4, and 118 for the separate works). Volume 1-3 & 5-8: contemporary mottled calf, gold-tooled spine and board edges; volume 4: modern calf. Large paper copy of the so-called "folio-edition" (although here mostly printed as 1mo) of Van der Aa's voluminous collection of important voyages to the East and West Indies and other countries, undertaken by all European countries, other than the Dutch. Including voyages by Acosta, Balbi, Cabot, Cavendish, Chester, Columbus, Cortes, Coutinho, Da Cunha, Drake, Evesko, Frobisher, Gallonye, Da Gama, Garay, Garcia, Gilbert, Jenkinson, Harcourt, Herberer, Magallanes, Mildenhal and Cartwright, Mouette, Petelin and Andrasko, Raleigh, Saris, De Soto, etc. - The work is falsely attributed on the title-page to Johan Lodewijk Gottfried, by Van der Aa, most likely because he made good money publishing Gottfried's "Chronicle" in 1702. In reality Gottfried had nothing to do with the present work. The work was edited and co-published by Pieter van der Aa, known for his ambitious projects. Where other publishers were primarily concerned about the profits, Van der Aa wanted to publish outstanding books. For the present series of travels he either reused and revised older Dutch translations or had the original accounts translated for the first time into Dutch. In 1706 he already started publishing the translated voyages both in small (8vo) and large instalments (folio or 1mo), and a year later he published a 28-volume set of the 8vo editions. The folio editions were afterwards issued and divided in four large collections of two volumes each. The present issue, is a reissue of these four collections with their own independent title-pages and frontispieces, and ads a new general title-page and list of subscribers. - While all sets seem to be described as "folio" the present set is printed mainly as 1mo, with some occasional quires in folio. And as the large editions of the two volume sets were available on normal paper (80 guilders) and on large paper (100 guilders; Hoftijzer, p. 43), it seems very likely the present set is one printed on large paper. All leaves are unwatermarked and the 1mo leaves are only slightly trimmed (measuring 396 x 238 mm with the tranchefiles often still visible) the folio leaves are trimmed more and don't have visible tranchefiles. The fourth volume is from a different set which is trimmed down much more, but also combines both 1mo and folio leaves. - Some occasional spots, a couple minor restorations and a few wormholes; a very good set, but with the fourth volume from a different and heavily trimmed set (though printed on the same large paper), in a modern binding and lacking the frontispiece and the title-page to the volume. The seven volumes with contemporary bindings slightly worn along the extremities and with some minor wear on the sides, but otherwise very good. Cordier (Sinica) 1942f. Muller, America 1889. Sabin 3 (note). Tiele, Bibl. 10. For Van der Aa: P.G. Hoftijzer, Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733), Leids drukker en boekverkoper (1999).‎

‎Abd-al-Halim al Qaysari (Suwaylim-Zadah).‎

‎Bahghat al-albab fi 'l-asturlab (and other works). No place, [1733/34 CE =] 1146 H.‎

‎4to (170 x 225 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished paper. 77 ff. Black and occasional red ink, 21 lines, per extensum, extensive marginalia throughout, a few smaller interleaved sheets of commentary. Contemporary brown papered boards with rebacked leather spine. An extensive Arabic astronomical manuscript in seven parts, comprising: - 1. (fols. 1-18) a rare treatise on the astrolabe, providing the names of its various parts and segments and instructions as to its use, by Abd al-Hakim al-Qaysari (Sweilam Zadeh, Abdalhalim al-Qaysari Söylemzade). - 2. (fols. 19-33) Muhammad Abi Bakr (Sajjili Zadeh), Taeliqat ealaa risalat al-adab 'l-i-Tash Kabry Zadeh (a commentary on Tashkoprizadeh). - 3. (fols. 34-42) Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Arabshah al-Isfara'ini (d. 944 H/1537 CE), Sawf ealaa risalat alayjy. - 4. (fols. 43-62) Ahmed bin Omar bin Ali, Hashiat ealaa Tash Kabry Zadeh (brief remarks on Tashkoprizadeh). - 5. (fols. 63-66) Ejalat kfayyt liwasayil alssayilin liwazayif alkalam (Sufficient urgency for the questioners' means for speech functions). - 6. (fols. 67-71) Sharah alshamsya (Explanation of the sun). - 7. (fols. 71-77) Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qaz Abadi, Sharah risalat al-adab li-'l-Barkawi (Explanation of the commentary on manners by al-Barkawi). - Binding a little stained; paper slightly brittle along the edges, but clean. Cf. GAL S II, 1017.‎

‎Abu Bakr al-Hasan ibn al-Hasib al Harasi (Albubater).‎

‎[Kitab al mughni fi 'l-mawalid, latine]. Liber genethliacus, sive De nativitatibus, non solum ingenti rerum scitu dignarum copia, verum etiam iucundissimo illarum ordine conspicuus. Nuremberg, Johann Petreius, 1540.‎

‎4to. (148) pp. With a small floral vignette on the title-page and two woodcut initials. 18th century full vellum with gilt title label on spine. First edition under this title, and the definitive edition of the Renaissance. Al-Hasan is "often quoted in astrological works of the Christian middle ages under the name Albubather. He flourished about the middle of the third century A.H., for Ahmad b. Abi Tahir Taifur (died 280 = 893) mentions him in his Kitab Baghdad as a contemporary" (Suter). Notable is the scholar-printer responsible for the work: Johannes Petraeus was soon to cement his historical reputation by printing Copernicus's "De Revolutionibus" (1543). In the present work, Petraeus offers his own justification for printing the work of Al-Hasan alongside such luminaries, for "true majestic Astronomy is on a higher level than the things intelligible to students. However this should not dissuade them from its handmaiden, Astrology, as its fruits and rewards are adjudged to be pure, and itself offering many advantages" (preface to the reader). Astronomy was properly regarded as being essential for deriving accurate figures needed for the sciences of Astrology and Prognostication; a heavily annotated copy of this edition of Al-Hasan is known from Tycho Brahe’s library (cf. Prandtl, Die Bibliothek des Tycho Brahe), and Robert Westman has argued that Copernicus not only embraced astrology but sought to defend it in his "De Revolutionibus" ("Copernicus and the Astrologers", Dibner Library Lecture, 2013). - The important 9th century astrologer and physician Abu Bakr al-Hasan is best known for this work on casting nativities, or divination as to the destinies of newborns, which was "translated by Salio of Padua in or around 1218. The work is extant in a least seven manuscripts and four early printed editions from 1492 to 1540. A treatise in 206 chapters on nativities (birth horoscopes) providing answers to a wide number of questions pertaining to the twelve houses" (The Warburg Institute, Bibliotheca Astrologica Latina). The questions range from correct aspects of insemination and conception to the effects of delayed birth; the effects of the moon and planets on the pregnancy; the feeding of the newborn; and even whether the birth will take place "modestly" or "immodestly". According to Al-Hasan, if Mars and Mercury align, the newborn will unfortunately be a liar; he also gives guidelines for how to determine whether the offspring will be pious; whether they will be a "hypocrite"; intelligent; gifted with a keen memory; foolish; faithful; generous; greedy; jealous; beautiful; argumentative; a fornicator; a thief; a sodomist (chapters 37 & 38); and prone to chastity or prone to sins against nature. - OCLC shows one copy in US libraries, at Brown. - Minor dampstaining to blank margin of a handful of leaves, more pronounced on fol. b4, otherwise only very light browning. Contemporary annotation to fol. h1r, a few modern pencil underlinings and marginal marks. 20th century bookplate of the Italian writer Enrico Gaetani to pastedown. VD 16, A 59. Zinner 1732. Houzeau/Lancaster II, 3941. Lalande p. 60. Sarton I.603. Aboussouan 6. Rosenthal 3352. Graesse I, 60. Suter, H., "al-Hasan", in: First Encyclopaedia of Islam III, p. 274f. Carmody, Arabic Astronomical and Astrological Sciences in Latin Translation (Berkeley, 1956), pp. 136f., no. 1. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums VII, p. 123, no. 1.3. Cf. GAL S I, 394.‎

‎Abu Ma'shar Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Balkhi (Albumasar).‎

‎Introductorium in astronomiam Albumasaris abalachi octo continens libros partiales. (Venice, Giacopo Penzio de Leucho for Melchiorre Sessa, 5 Sept. 1506).‎

‎4to (165 x 224 mm). (64) ff.; complete with final blank. With woodcut illustration on title, woodcut initials, 43 small woodcuts in the text (22 repeats), 2 diagrams, and printer's device on final leaf verso. - (Bound with) II: Albumasar de magnis coniunctionibus annorum revolutionibus ac eorum profectionibus octo continens tractatus. (Ibid., 31 May 1515). (94) ff. With woodcut illustration on title, woodcut initials, 270 woodcuts in the text, 2 diagrams, and printer's device on final leaf recto. Contemporary French full calf on four raised double bands. A humanist sammelband comprising two attractive, finely illustrated Venetian editions of key astrological works by the great Arab astronomer Abu Ma'shar, who furnished the West with Aristotelian thinking. These 12th-century Latin versions of Abu Ma'shar's immense introduction to astrology, "Kitab al-madkhal al-kabir 'ala 'ilm ahkam al-nujum" (translated by Hermann of Carintha), and of his book on planetary conjunctions, "Kitab al-qiranat" (translated by John of Seville; for both cf. GAL I, 221f.), were previously published only by Erhard Ratdolt at Augsburg in 1489. Both of Penzio's Venetian editions are rare; of the first, a single copy is known in the trade since 1952 (sold through us in 2017). - Of all the Arabic writers on astrology, the most imposing is Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abû Ma'shar (c. 787-886), known in the West as Albumasar. Born in Balkh (now Afghanistan), he travelled to Baghdad during the caliphate of al-Ma'mum (813-33) and there became the main rival of al-Kindi, the father of Arab philosophy, though principally he "devoted himself to the account and justification of astrology [...] He drew together into one great synthesis many ancient traditions Indian, Greek, and Iranian. The Greek influence consisted of the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Theon. Yet he also drew on Syriac Neoplatonic sources and on al-Kindi for a general metaphysics" (Hackett, "Albumasar", in Gracia & Noone, eds., A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages, p. 102). Abu Ma'shar was an important influence on such thinkers as Albert the Great and Roger Bacon, who commonly referred to him as the "auctor in astronomia", granting him the same status in astronomy that Aristotle enjoyed in philosophy. - Binding somewhat rubbed; extremities and spine professionally restored. From the library of the French theologian and scholar Nicolas Maillard (documented 1508-65), an admirer of Erasmus of Rotterdam, whom he knew and with whom he corresponded, with his autograph humanist ownership "Mallarii kai ton philon" at the top of the first title-page. 17th century ownership of the Barnabites of Annecy ("Collegii Annessiatensis congregationis Sancti Pauli") below the woodcut; a few 18th century bibliographical notes on the pastedowns. Later in the collection of Arthur Brölemann (1826-1904), bibliophile and president of the Tribunal de Commerce de Lyon, with his engraved bookplate on front pastedown. His library was dispersed by his great-granddaughter Blanche Bontoux (Mme. Étienne Mallet) in 1926. I: Edit 16, CNCE 822. Adams A 567. Gaselee, Early printed books in Corpus Christi Cambridge, 166. Essling I, 525. Isaac 12913. BM-STC Italian 345. DSB I, 35. Graesse I, 60. Caillet I, 154. The Heritage Library, Scientific Treasures, p. S, no. 31, and p. 30. Panzer VIII, 380, 344. - II: Edit 16, CNCE 823. Adams A 566. Isaac 12926. BM-STC Italian 345. DSB I, 36. Graesse I, 60. Houzeau/L. 3821. IA 102.834. Sander 215. Essling I, 449. Caillet I, 154. Honeyman Coll. 57. The Heritage Library, Scientific Treasures, p. S, no. 32 ("Augsburg" in error). OCLC 31479499.‎

‎Abul Hasan Ali ibn abi Rijal, al-Shaibani (Albohazen Hall).‎

‎De iudiciis astrorum libri octo [Kitab al-bari' fi ahkam an-nujum]. Basel, Sebastian Henricpetri, (March 1571).‎

‎Folio (250 x 310 mm). (28), 586, (2) pp. Contemporary blindstamped full calf; spine rebacked. Second Henricpetri edition of this elaborate system of astrology, edited by Antonius Stupa. Abul Hasan Ali ibn abi Rijal (also known as Haly or Hali, and by the Latinized versions of his name, Haly Albohazen and Haly Abenragel), probably born in Cordoba, flourished in Tunis from ca 1020 to 1040, where he served as court astrologer to Prince Al-Muizz Ibn Badis. His "Distinguished Book on Horoscopes from the Constellations" enjoyed a great reputation, and he was celebrated as "Ptolemaeus Alter" and "summus astrologus". The work was translated from Arabic into Castilian by Judah ben Moses, upon orders of King Alfonso X of Spain, and - in 1485 - from the Castilian into Latin, by Aegidius de Tebaldis and Petrus de Regio. A manuscript copy containing five of the eight books of a translation into Old Castilian by Yehuda ben Moshe Cohen survives in the National Library of Spain. "De Judiciis Astrorum", a Latin translation of the Old Castilian manuscript, was first published in Venice in 1485 and became an important source in Renaissance Europe for the understanding of medieval astrology. - Spine and binding repaired; some duststaining to the first pages. Entirely complete: VD 16 cites 20 ff. of prelims in error; all digitized copies entirely agree with the present specimen. Removed from the Ampleforth Abbey library in North Yorkshire with their bookplate to pastedown. A good copy. VD 16, A 1884. Cf. BM-STC German (1551 ed.). M. H. Fikri, Treasures fron the Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe, Bibliography, no. 26 (1551 ed.). Honeyman I, 54 (editio princeps). Not in Adams.‎

‎[Air Services - United Arab Emirates].‎

‎Treaty Series No. 94 (1972). Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United Arab Emirates for Air Services between and beyond their respective Territories. London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1972.‎

‎8vo. 11 pp. Original wrapperless covers. Agreement between the UK and the Government of the United Arab Emirates regarding the operation of airlines between the two countries. Such an agreement had become necessary following the Emirates' independence in 1971, when the British-Trucial Sheikhdoms treaty expired.‎

‎Haddad al-'Abbadi, Abu Bakr bin Ali al-.‎

‎Al-siraj al-wahhaj. Mecca, [1636-1661 CE =] 1046-1071 H.‎

‎Folio (210 x 290 mm). 2 volumes bound in one. Arabic manuscript on polished oriental paper. 166 ff; 273 ff. (foliated in a later hand), 40 lines, per extensum. Black ink with red emphases. Contemporary blindstamped full calf, restored and spine rebacked. Fiqh commentary on the famous and much-glossed Hanafi manual "Mukhtasar al-Qudurii" (known among Hanafi scholars simply as "al-Kitab") of Abu al-Husayn Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Quduri al-Baghdadi (362-428 H). The author of this commentary, Abu Bakr bin Ali bin Muhammad al-Haddad al-Zubaidi al-Yamani (d. 800 H / 1397 CE), was a Hanafi jurist and exegete. He hailed from the people of Abadieh, from the villages (Wadi Zabid) in Tihama, historically in Yemen but today mostly in Saudi Arabia. - The first volume, copied in 1046 H (1636 CE), has an ownership inscription of Abdullah bin Hassan Al-Afif Al-Kazaruni, a Hanafi jurist from Mecca, dated 1063 H (1653 CE). The second volume has an inscription stating this was commissioned by him in 1071 H (1661 CE). - Handwritten table of contents on the preserved original flyleaves. Some light browning and brownstaining throughout; a few repairs; old waqf stamps and inscription to first page of both parts; marginal annotations throughout. The restored binding uses the prettily stamped original cover material. Removed from the Kutub Khana-i-Sultani (Sultani Library), one of the libraries the Nawabs of Bahawalpur, established in 1926 at Dera Nawab Sahib in south Punjab. GAL I, 175; II, 189; II S, 250.‎

‎Al-Qabisi, Abu Al-Saqr 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Uthman Ibn 'Ali (Alchabitius).‎

‎[Libellus Isagogicus - Al-madkhal]. Preclarum su[m]mi in astroru[m] scientia principis Alchabitii opus ad scrutanda stellaru[m] [...]. Venice, Petrus Liechtenstein, 1521.‎

‎4to. 64 ff. With several diagrams and woodcut initials in the text and the printer's full-page woodcut device on the final page, printed in red and black. Modern limp vellum with ties. "Early edition of Alchabitius' 'Introduction to the Mystery of Judgments from the Stars', with the 'modern' version by Antonius de Fantis. Sessa issued the same work at the same time, but Liechtenstein's edition is superior and especially esteemed for the fine woodcut in black and red (printer's mark) at the end" (Weil). Translated by Joannes Hispalensis (in 1144), with the commentary of Joannes de Saxonia. "Although al-Qabisi's education was primarily in geometry and astronomy, his principal surviving treatise, 'Al-madkhal ila sina'at ahkam al-nujum' ('Introduction into the Art of Astrology') in five sections [...], is on astrology. The book, as the title indicates, is an introductory exposition of some of the fundamental principles of genethlialogy; its present usefulness lies primarily in its quotations from the Sassanian Andarzghar literature and from al-Kindi, the Indians, Ptolemy, Dorotheus of Sidon, Masha'allah, Hermes Trismegistus, and Valens. Although completely lacking in originality, it was highly valued as a textbook [... The] Latin version was commented on by Joannes de Saxonia at Paris in 1331" (DSB). - Title slightly smudged; occasional light waterstaining. From the library of Curt Wallin with his armorial bookplate on the pastedown. Rare; a single copy in auction records since 1975. Edit 16, CNCE 834. Adams A 24. BM-STC 1. BM I, 307. IA 102.864. Essling 301. Sander 223. Houzeau/Lancaster I, 3848. DSB XI, 226. Weil, Cat. VI, 29. OCLC 46413115. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from The Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe (Qatar 2009), nos. 9f.‎

‎Al-Razi, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya (Rhazes) / Alexander Trallianus.‎

‎[Kitab al-Gadari wa 'l-Hasbah - latine.] Libri duodecim; Razae de pestilentia libellus. Strasbourg, Rémy Guédon, 1549.‎

‎8vo. (48), 662, (2) pp. With woodcut printer's device on title-page, repeated on verso of final leaf. 18th century half calf with marbled boards and title giltstamped to spine. First Latin edition of this collection, published in Greek by Stephanus in Paris the previous year (itself a translation from Syriac): the twelve books on medicine by Alexander of Tralles, the first parasitologist in medical history (and the younger brother of Anthemius, architect of the Hagia Sophia), issued with al-Razi's classic treatise on smallpox and measles ("Kitab fi al-Jadari wa al-Hasaba"), also known as "Peri loimikes" or "De pestilentia": the first book ever published on smallpox. Indeed, al-Razi was the first physician in the history of medicine to differentiate between smallpox and measles, and consider them as two different diseases. The influence of his diagnostic concepts on Muslim medicine was very clear, especially on Ibn Sina. This work gained great popularity in Europe and was also translated into French, English and German; Brockelmann states it saw some 40 Latin editions between 1498 and 1866. - Al-Razi (also known as Rhazes; 850-923 or 932) is considered the greatest mediaeval physician next to Avicenna; he also conducted alchemical experiments. According to his biographer al-Gildaki, he was blinded for refusing to share his secrets of chemistry. - Binding lightly rubbed. Light brownstaining throughout, with a waterstain to the upper edge. A misprint has been overpasted with replacement text on pp. 40f. ("imo interdum mors talium potionem comitatur"). Rare; only two copies in auction records internationally since 1950. VD 16, A 1786. Muller III, 448, 7. Ritter 36. BM-STC German 20. Wellcome I, 209. Durling 148. GAL S I, 419, no. 3. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from the Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe, No. 44 (Venice 1555 ed.). Not in Adams.‎

‎Ali Akbar Khitai.‎

‎[Ketay-Nama]. Tercüme-i târih-i nevâdir-i Çin Mâçîn [Translation of the rare history and descriptions of China]. Istanbul, Tophâne-i Âmire Litografya Destigâhi, [1854 CE =] 1270 H.‎

‎8vo (145 x 215 mm). 70 pp. In Ottoman script within rules, lithographed throughout. The heading (serlevha) and borders of the first double page are printed in gilt. Bound in contemporary wrappers, taken from a volume, and stored loosely within protective giltstamped cloth boards (modern spine). First and only printed edition of one of the earliest Islamic travel accounts of China and the first description of the Silk Road in the Islamic world, pre-dating even Ibn Battuta's Rihla. - The present work, one of the most complete descriptions of Ming Dynasty China in the 16th century, was originally written in Persian in 1516. Completed and issued soon after Khitai reached Istanbul in 1520, it was later translated into Turkish by Hezârfen Huseyin (d. 1691) and became influential also in the Turkish-speaking Muslim world. According to the colophon, the book was finished on the last day or days of Rabî I 922 (3 May 1516), while the preface contains a panegyric on Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520-66). - Based on the author's personal observations, the book's 20 chapters discuss roads, cities and castles, stores, brothels and prostitutes, eunuchs, legislation, administration, jails, law and law-abidance, the military, agriculture, magazines, the imperial throne, the various religions, celebrations, entertainments, wonderful arts and strange cures, schools, persons from the West, Qalmaqs, gold, silver and currency, as well as Chinese temples and other matters. Thus Ali Akbar's book conveyed to a reader of the 16th century a fair impression of China: as a guidebook it could serve as a companion especially for Muslim merchants travelling along the Silk Road. - The Chinese scholar Lin Yih-Min describes Ali Akbar as a "Turkish businessman" (58) who probably journeyed only to Central Asia, where he gathered the information for his book before returning then to Turkey. The book was dedicated to Sultan Suleiman, and as the author's name suggests a Shi'ite background, it is possible that Ali Akbar may have wished to impress on the Ottoman court the difficult conditions of the Shi'ite community living in Istanbul, among a dominant Sunnite community. - Also known as the "Khataynameh" ("Book on China"), the work aroused considerable interest not only in the Ottoman Empire but also in Europe in the 19th century. The book's immediate impact is difficult to estimate, but astonishingly the Ottoman Empire, here referred to as "Lumi", would figure quite prominently in Chinese sources after a first embassy arrived in Beijing in 1524, four years after the book was first issued; other embassies followed until 1618. Thus, it is entirely possible that Ali Akbar's book had a direct influence on Ottoman diplomacy and commerce in China and Central Asia. - A few holes in the last leaf (minor loss of a few letters); some browning. A few contemporary pencil marginalia and calligraphic examples on the last blank page. Overall a good copy. Özege 20686. Cf. Ralph Kauz, "One of the Last Documents of the Silk Road: The Khataynameh of Ali Akbar", The Silk Road 1 (2005), p. 59f. Lin Yih-Min, "A comparative and critical study of Ali Akbar’s Khitây-nâma with reference to Chinese sources", Central Asiatic Journal 27 (1983), pp. 58-78.‎

‎[Alphabetum arabicum].‎

‎Alphabetum arabicum. Rome, typographia Medicea, 1592.‎

‎Small 4to (146 x 206 mm). 64 pp. With printer's woodcut device on title-page. 19th century red boards. Only edition of this early milestone of Arabic typography from the Roman Medici Press, including a Latin treatise on Arabic script. The Medici Oriental Press, the first printing press in Europe dedicated to printing books in an Arabic typeface, was founded in Rome under the direction of Giovanni Battista Raimondi and the patronage of Pope Gregory XIII. For the Arabic types, Raimondi commissioned the famous typefounder Robert Granjon: "In a few years Granjon had cut a large number of oriental characters, following superb calligraphic designs provided by Raimondi. On September 6, 1586, he completed the small Arabic typeface [...] Because cutting the Arabic typefaces took such a long time, establishment of the Medici Press went slowly. Though the contracts formally setting up the press were signed on March 6, 1584, the first book to bear its imprint did not appear until 1591. Legible and much more 'oriental' in feel than those of de Gregorii, Postel or Spey, this face was not improved upon until the time of Ibrahim Müteferrika in the early 18th century [...] Once underway, however, the Medici Press was very productive. In 1592 it issued a prospectus of its Arabic type faces under the title 'Alphabetum arabicum' - a 64-page masterpiece of design which not only displays Granjon's beautiful types, but contains a careful Latin Essay on the Arabic writing system" (Lunde). Until 1610 Raimondi printed a mere eight works with Granjon's types, "all equally rare" (Smitskamp 29b), before a long hiatus ensued - probably due to the sluggish distribution of the works in the Orient, where everything produced in the West, and especially any printed specimen of Arabic script, was received with the utmost caution (cf. Fück 55). Even Smitskamp cites only four other productions of the Medici Press, but not this exceptionally rare one. One of the only three other copies known to have appeared in the trade was even thought to be incomplete by Sotheby's, since Adams's collation - based on the Trinity College copy - cites a 24-page appendix that is, in fact, an independent Medici Press grammar bound with the Trinity 'Alphabetum'. - Binding worn and rubbed; spine rebacked. Interior somewhat dust-soiled throughout with occasional light dampstaining; a few marginal annotations on the verso of the title cropped by binder. Title-page with minute wormhole affecting one word on verso; a small hole to the last leaf with loss of a few letters; stamp of a monk to margin of final page. Front pastedown has 1880s bookseller ticket by G. A. Young & Co. of Edinburgh pasted in. An entirely complete copy of an important and excessively rare publication. Adams A 780. BM-STC Italian 36. Schnurrer 41. Edit 16, CNCE 1227. OCLC 47816774. Lunde, Paul, "Arabic and the Art of Printing", in: Aramco World 32/2 (1981) (with illustration). J. Balagna, L'imprimerie arabe en occident (Paris 1984), p. 135. Le Livre et le Liban (mentioned on p. 190; no copy in the catalogue). Not in Smitskamp or Fück.‎

‎Alpini, Prosper.‎

‎De plantis exoticis libri duo. Venice, Giovanni Guerilio, 1656.‎

‎4to. (16), 344 pp. Engraved architectural title with portraits of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, 145 finely etched and engraved botanical plates in the text, ornamental initials. Contemporary blind-tooled calf with gilt spine. Edges sprinkled red. Third edition (in fact, a re-issue with changed title page date only) of Alpini's further observations on exotic plants. The specimens here presented were collected primarily in Crete and the Eastern Mediterranean, including many xerophilous plants from Egypt and scores of plants not mentioned in earlier works. The first edition was published posthumously in 1627 and was edited by the author's son, Alpini Alpini. The work (in all its editions) is much rarer than the author's better-known "De plantis Aegyptii". "Date altered by hand [from 1629] to MDCLVI" (Krivatsy). - Prospero Alpini (1553-1617), an Italian physician and botanist, travelled through Greece, Crete, and Egypt from 1580 to 1583 with the Venetian Consul Giorgio Eno. He worked as a medical advisor and took the opportunity to carry out botanical investigations. His work includes the first European recognition of the medicinal value of coffee and introduced banana and baobab. "Alpini became professor of botany at Padua after having spent three years in Egypt" (Garrison/M., p. 992). - Binding rebacked, showing some light wear to extremeties, but a good, clean copy. Provenance: removed from the Large Library at Goodwood House (Chichester, West Sussex) with bookplate on front pastedown; latterly in the collection of Cornelius J. Hauck (his tree bookplate dated 15 March 1944). Nissen BBI 21. Krivatsy 241 (copy 2). Cf. Pritzel 112. Not in Wellcome, Waller, or Osler.‎

‎Anthony, John Duke.‎

‎Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum. Washington D.C., The Middle East Institute, 1975.‎

‎8vo. X, 273, (1 blank) pp. With two black and white maps on the endpapers. Brown cloth with publisher's illustrated dust jacket. First and only edition of a thorough description of the history of the nine Arab states of the Lower Gulf, that gained independence in 1971, just four years before the publication of this book. The author has managed to discuss the individual politics of each state and that of the bigger picture, making this a handbook for all who wish to learn more about Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain). The several infographics that are used to explain the political structures are very helpful in this respect. Oil plays a key role in the relationship between the individual states and this is intricately laid out by the American author. Because this book was written in such a key moment in the history of the region, it has gained much importance. The author Dr. John Duke Anthony is a leading figure in United States-Arab relations and has held many influential government positions in this field. Amongst others, he is the founder and president of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and he is part of the United States Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy's Subcommittee on Sanctions. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies. In the years leading up to this publication the author has conducted first-hand research on the Lower Gulf region's political and socio-economic structures, obviously with oil playing a major role. The fruits of this research are presented in this book, offering the reader a comprehensive overview of a complex subject. This book was published in The James Terry Duce Memorial Series, which started in 1966. The first and second volumes were on North Africa and Jerusalem respectively, this is the final volume of the series. - Ink annotations in the margins throughout. A good copy with the original dustjacket well preserved. OCLC 1700964.‎

‎Arabian Peninsula. - Brown, Glen F[rancis].‎

‎[United States Geological Survey of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]. Arabian Peninsula. Map I-270 B-1. Washington, D.C., The Survey (U.S. Geological Society), 1958.‎

‎1380 × 1216 mm. Lambert conformal conic projection, constant ratio linear horizontal scale 1:2,000,000. Relief shown by hachures and spot heights. Framed and glazed. A highly detailed map of the complete Peninsula, the first modern map in 1:2,000,000 scale: the rare preliminary edition, issued five years before the officical release. Based on the groundbreaking series prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Arabian American Oil Company under the joint sponsorship of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. State Department, "a unique experiment in geological cooperation among several governments, petroleum companies, and individuals" (Seager/Johnston). Also includes the territories of today's Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. "The plan for a cooperative mapping project was originally conceived in July 1953 [... By 1955] there was established a cooperative agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Department of State, and the Arabian-American Oil Co. to make available the basic areal geology as mapped by Aramco and the U.S. Geological Survey" (ibid.). The plan provided for 21 maps on a 1:500,000 scale in both geologic and geographic versions; "a peninsular geologic map on a scale of 1:2,000,000 was to conclude the project [...] The first geographic quadrangle was published in July 1956 and the last in September 1962. While preparation of the geographic sheets was in progress, a need arose for early publication of a 1:2,000,000-scale peninsular geographic map. Consequently, a preliminary edition was compiled and published in both English and Arabic in 1958" (ibid.). While the revised, final version that appeared in 1963 ("I-270 B-2") would incorporate some additional photographic, topographic and cultural data, the exceedingly uncommon present, preliminary edition is surprisingly complete in virtually all respects - a testament to the precision with which Aramco's cartographers proceeded from the very first. Includes a key with symbols for water pipelines, desert watering points, oil fields, pumping stations, refineries, and a glossary of Arabic names. - "Although the search for oil, gas and minerals was ultimately to drive geological survey work across the region [...], in its early years it was the need for water that was the catalyst for Saudi Arabia's resource exploration. In 1944 King 'Abd al-'Aziz approached the United States for a technical expert who could assist with the identification and plotting of the kingdom's natural resources, particularly its groundwater reserves. The individual who arrived, Glen F. Brown, was one of the pioneers of a partnership between the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the government of Saudi Arabia that was to span the next five decades and play an important role in the development of the kingdom [...] By 1954 the Saudi Ministry of Finance, USGS and Aramco were working together to produce the first full series of geographic and geologic maps of the country. The first of their type in the Peninsula, these were published [...] in both Arabic and English versions, and the information they contained formed the basis of subsequent Saudi national development plans. To this day, all modern maps of the kingdom trace their roots back to these first publications" (Parry). - Some insignificant browning; a few slight edge defects professionally repaired. Altogether in fine condition. James V. Parry, "Mapping Arabia", in: Saudi Aramco World 2004/1, p. 20ff. OCLC 30099393. O. A. Seager/W. D. Johnston, Foreword to the Geology of the Arabian Peninsula series (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 560-A-D, 1966).‎

‎[ARAMCO].‎

‎Arabian American Oil Company. Dental Assistance Plan. [San Francisco], (Aramco, 1983).‎

‎8vo. (2), V, (1), 18, (6) pp. Original printed wrappers. Rare information booklet for Aramco workers, outlining the dental care expense benefits extended to the company's full-time salaried or retired employees and their dependents under Aramco's dental insurance plan. - Well preserved.‎

‎[ARAMCO].‎

‎Saudi Arabian road map. Dammam, Al-Mutawa press company, 1973.‎

‎Large folding map (60 × 90.5 cm), printed in light orange with darker purple, depicting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its main roads. With on the right the title in both Arabic and English and a table with the distances from one city to another. Large folding map, published by the Arabian American Oil Company, depicting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It depicts the country’s roads, trails, railroads, roads that are still under construction and proposed roads, as well as cities, villages, airports and deserts. The table on the right shows the distance in kilometres from several towns and cities to some of the major cities: Buraidah, Dhahran, Dammam, Hofuf, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Ta’if. - Slightly discoloured along the folds, with only some very minor tears along the folds. Otherwise in very good condition‎

‎[Aramco - Map of Saudi Arabia].‎

‎Western Area. Scale 1:1,000,000. [Dhahran, Aramco / USGS, 1953].‎

‎760 x 750 mm. Scale 1:1,000,000. Relief shown by hachures, spot heights, submarine contours, airports and airstrips, mining activity, and land routes. Key in English. Printed on cloth. Blueprint map of Saudi Arabia covering 20-26° N and 38-45° E, extending from the Nejd to the Red Sea coast including Jeddah and Yanbu al-Nakhal. It pays particular attention to geological features, showing the lava fields of Harrat Rahat, Harrat Kishb, Harrat Khaybar, Harrat Nawasif, Harrat Buqum and Harrat Hadan, as well as the Uruq Subay dunes and the tribal areas of Bilad Zahran and Bilad Ghamid. Among the most prominent labelled cities are Mecca with its environs (Muna, Shumaysi), Medina, Jeddah and Taif; the Darb al-Hijaz (Riyad-Jeddah Road) is named. - The sheet was prepared as a working document by Aramco and the US Geological Survey to help them in the early stages of comprehensive nationwide mapping and exploration work for the Saudi Government. - Slightly toned along folding lines and right margin.‎