‎Golf‎

‎Willmet, Johannes.‎

‎Oratio de retinenda antiqua Batavorum in literis orientalibus gloria. Publice habita die 26 Novembris a. 1804. Amsterdam, ex typographia Civitatis Amstelaedamensis, 1805.‎

‎Large 4to (210 x 250 mm). (4), VII, (1), 64 pp. Original half calf over marbled boards and giltstamped spine and title lable. Only printing of this oration on the great contributions made by Dutch scholars to the study of oriental languages, delivered by the Amsterdam professor Willmet (1750-1835) on 26 November 1804. A student of Everard Scheidius, Willmet also produced a valuable Arabic dictionary in 1784 (cf. Smitskamp, PO 317). - Old library shelfmarks to upper cover and front pastedown. A little browned and brownstained near the end, otherwise well preserved; a good, wide-margined copy. OCLC 64504237.‎

‎Abu al-Fida Isma`il ibn `Ali (Abulfeda).‎

‎[Mukhtasar tarikh al-Bashar - Latin]. Abilfedae annales moslemici [...]. Tomus primus (= all published). Leipzig, Christian Gottlob Hilscher, 1778.‎

‎4to. XXVIII, (6), 329, (1) pp. With engraved printer's device to title-page. Contemporary unsophisticated boards. All edges sprinkled blue and red. Second printing of Reiske's Latin edition of Abulfida's great historical work, the "Concise History of Humanity". Written in the form of annals extending from the creation of the world to the year 1329, it is divided into two parts, one covering the history of pre-Islamic Arabia and the other the subsequent history of Islam. This translation, first published in 1754, reaches up to the year 406 H (1015 CE). - The brilliant scholar Reiske (1716-74) is regarded as the father of Arabic studies as an independent discipline. In sharp contrast to his teacher Schultens, he was one of the first Arabists whose work was unfettered by the constraints of Biblical exegesis. - Browned throughout due to paper stock. Binding rubbed and stained, extremeties bumped. From the library of the Gregorio Speciale (1738-1820), Nicosian nobleman, canon, and director of the Stamperia Reale (Royal Printing House) of Palermo from 1791 until his death, with his engraved bookplate ("Garofalo sc.") on the verso of the title-page. GAL II, 45f. Schnurrer p. 119f. OCLC 49478817. Not in Rita Loredana Foti's catalogue of Speciale's library (Catalogo della libreria del cavaliere don Gregorio Speciale); see Libri e biblioteche in Sicilia tra tardo settecento in primo ottocento. Il caso del catalogo di Gregorio Speciale, in: Archivio di Stato di Palermo: Quaderni IX (2014), at pp. 99ff. (with an illustration of his bookplate on p. 100).‎

‎Cozzonis Effendi.‎

‎Rapport sur la manifestation pestilentielle a Djeddah en 1898 suivi d'une esquisse sur les conditions générales de la dite ville [...]. Constantinople, Imprimerie Osmanié, 1898.‎

‎4to. 29, (1) pp., final blank leaf. With a folding plan of Jeddah. Contemporary printed wrappers. Stapled. Rare contemporary account of the plague outbreak in Jeddah, written by the chief sanitary inspector, documenting disease control in the Ottoman Empire. The treatise puts forward nine suggestions on how to prevent future outbreaks, including an urgent recommendation to establish a strictly isolated hospital for plague patients only, a reminder to look out for a sufficient supply of dumpcarts to get rid of dirty laundry and rags, and an appeal to disinfect all clothes, either chemically or by means of boiling, and to burn immediately all textiles coming in from Bombay or other infected places. The plan shows the Yemen, Chami and Mazloum quarters as well as the city's sewage system. With 7 pages of general information on Jeddah, discussing its climate and population, as well as the Sambuk, a traditional wooden sailing vessel. - Spine somewhat worn; small tear to the plan. A good copy of an uncommon work, never seen at auction. OCLC 44403162.‎

‎Maxwell, William John Leigh.‎

‎Letters of an Engineer While on Service in Syria. In Connection with the Proposed Euphrates Valley Railway and the Beyrout Waterworks. London, Marcus Ward & Co., (1886).‎

‎8vo. XI, (1), (5)-343, (1) pp. With a photogravure portrait frontispiece. Publisher's stamped full cloth with gilt title to spine. Rare first and only edition: a collection of vivid letters by the Belfast-born engineer Maxwell (1838-80), written from Syria in 1870-73 to friends while he was performing surveys for a railroad through the valley of the Euphrates and planning the water supply of Beirut in Lebanon. - Maxwell travels via Brindisi and the Greek islands through Smyrna, Rhodes, Antioch, and Beilan, where he describes the difficulty of designing a railroad due to the lack of proper mapping of the area: "On many occasions I was tripped up, and sent rolling down amongst other unfriendly plants" (p. 50). He also gives an account of his visit to "the finest house of Aleppo" (p. 101) and a flood in Smyrna, describes the cities of Tripolis, Beirut, Jerusalem, and Port Said, and expresses his disappointment over the Sublime Porte interrupting his survey, which indeed was never carried out completely, on several occasions. - The second and third period of letters were prompted by Maxwell's engagement in providing the city of Beirut with a water supply. They give an account of Cairo and the pyramids as well as of Alexandria before going on to describe negotiations with the council in Beirut and the obstacles met there: "As a last hope, we determined, and I think wisely, to try and obtain by means of the Consuls and public opinion what cannot be obtained by polite asking" (p. 273). The letters from the second period include a trip to Cyprus as well as descriptions of Damascus and the ancient waterworks, while those from the third period show the works on the Nahr-al-Kalb in full swing and describe an inspection of the site by Rustem Pasha, Governor-General of the Lebanon. - The frontispiece shows a portrait of Maxwell with his reproduced signature. Binding discreetly rebacked, modern cloth hinges. Light foxing near the beginning; otherwise in excellent condition. Rare: OCLC lists only five copies internationally (2 in the US, 3 in the UK). OCLC 24929041.‎

‎[Muslim North Africa]. Dutertre, André, French painter (1753-1842), and others.‎

‎Album with orientalist and military themed drawings. No place, mid-19th century.‎

‎Oblong folio. (15) ff. With 5 ink wash drawings, 4 pencil drawings, 4 coloured pencil drawings, 1 pen drawing painted with watercolours, 1 pen drawing, 1 coloured lithograph and 1 photograph, all in various formats, on (12) pp. Contemporary green morocco binding, cover giltstamped with crowned monogram "PA". All edges gilt. Includes a loose pencil portrait of a young lady (192 x 262 mm) and a photograph of a castle pasted on the free endpaper. Charming collection of sketches and watercolours, including a pen-drawn genre piece with soldiers (ca. 222 x 174 mm) by the French painter André Dutertre, member of the Institut d'Égypte, and the portrait of a soldier in pencil (ca. 138 x 194 mm) by Claude Vaulot (1818-42), both signed. Dutertre is best known for his portraits of military men, especially in connection with Napoleon's campaign in Egypt, in which he participated. Of particular interest are four orientalist landscape drawings and four character studies of portraits from Kabylia (Algeria). These unsigned pieces are probably connected with the 1830 "Éxpédition de Médéa", part of the French conquest of Algeria. They include a pencil drawing of a road near Medea, a pencil drawing of a source near Mouzaïa, where a battle took place on 21 November 1830, an ink wash drawing of a military encampment in Kabylia, and the portrait of a Kabylian marabout, or holy man. This small portrait is arranged on one page with the other three portraits, two Kabyle women and one man, and a well-executed ink wash drawing of a landscape in Kabylia with the tombs of two marabouts. The collection is completed by a charming lithographed invitation to a puppet play "Theatre de Polichinelle", signed "Nouvian", a photo collage of political caricatures with a written legend, an ink wash of a peasant woman, signed "J. Chastenet", and a watercolour of a group of soldiers marching to war, their wives wringing their hands. - The photo collage is strongly faded, some pages with minor tears and foxing but all drawings and the lithograph well preserved. Spine and edges of binding scuffed.‎

‎[Persian Empire].‎

‎Stamp collection. Tehran, Farahbakhsh & Sons, Azizian and Apadana, 1971 and undated.‎

‎25 stamps (42 x 50 to 52 x 65 mm) mounted on 6 printed album sheets (250 x 170 mm). Loosely inserted within an envelope in a full cloth album with the name and insignia of the Persian Gulf Command. Jubilee stamps issued on the occasion of the celebration of the Persian Empire's 2,500-year anniversary, from a collector's album. Including portraits of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his father, Shah Reza Pahlavi, they also feature architectural landmarks and artefacts such as the Pahlavi crown, the Cyrus Cylinder, and a section of the Bishapur mosaic, as well as the coronation of Shahinshah Aria Mehr of the Kingdom of Yemen. The festivities were to celebrate Iran's ancient civilization and history and to showcase the country's contemporary progress under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. - Album slightly rubbed at extremities. Vertical tear to 4 sheets, not touching stamps. A few stamps with traces of postmarks; one stamp loose. An appealing set.‎

‎Russell, Alexander.‎

‎The Natural History of Aleppo. London, printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1794.‎

‎4to. 2 vols. XXIV, 446, XXIII, (3) pp. VII, (1), 430, XXXIV, (26) pp. With engraved frontispiece and 20 numbered engraved plates (5 of which folded) on 19 sheets. Contemporary full calf with giltstamped spine labels. All edges red. Second edition of this authoritative account of Aleppo and Ottoman life and manners, based on Russell's experience as physician to the British factory in Aleppo from 1740 to 1753. Enlarged with 3 additional plates compared to the 1756 first edition. Includes an engraved frontispiece with a view of the city, a plan by Carsten Niebuhr (vol. I, plate I), and an additional plate showing fish (vol. II, plate VI). Apart from the Syrian flora and fauna as well as the local climate, Russell's monograph discusses the everyday life of the local population, including that of European merchants living in Aleppo, the organisation of their trade activity, and their social life. Also includes a section on the plague and other epidemic diseases in the 1740s. The descriptions of the education system, of the production of manuscripts, and of the commercial activity in Syria are unusually detailed and can be considered unique in contemporary travel literature on the Ottoman Empire (cf. Chatzipanagioti-Sangmeister). The botanical plates were produced by G. D. Ehret, and one plate of fish bears the name of W. Skelton, while the remainder of plates, including the ones depicting birds and domestic life, are unsigned, but were probably produced by Russell himself. - Binding lightly scuffed; interior fresh and extremely well preserved. A charmingly bound set documenting an era of scientific and economic prosperity in Syria. Blackmer 1458. Nissen BBI 3534. Navari 1458. Cox I, 227. Chatzipanagioti-Sangmeister 893. ESTC T149605. Cf. Atabey 1064 (1762 Dutch edition).‎

‎Yemenite Jewry in Israel.‎

‎Collection of Yemenite documents and publications in Hebrew. Israel, first half of the 20th century to the 1970s.‎

‎A total of some 50 items, in all over 300 handwritten, typescript and printed pages. Various sizes, but mostly 4to. Extraordinary corpus of Hebrew records reflecting the struggle of the Yemenite Jews to emigrate and settle in Israel following Operation Magic Carpet in 1949/50. Includes several letters from the early 1960s written to Eretz Israel by members of the Yemeni community in Aden, regarding the arrangement of their emigration, as well as an important document related to protests by Yemenite Jews living in the Nordia neighborhood of Tel Aviv against the construction of the Dizengoff Center and the demolition of their homes. Additional documents relate to the slum organization in Israel, as well as to author Zvi Medina, giving the names and addresses of Medina family members and recording the 1960 construction of the synagogue in the Hatikva neighborhood for the Jews of Aden. - Printed publications include a Passover Haggadah according to the text of the Yemenite Jews, with ink stamp of "Ein Shemer Camps", as well as the version approved by Saadia Gaon and Maimonides (Jerusalem 1951), its title-page designed by Haim Ben Shalom Mahbbub. Also, a donation printed for Hanukkah 1944 by the Yemenite Jewish Unity Committee, titled "Raising your candles remember your brother's darkness", compiled by Rabbi Shalom, son of Rabbi Yichya Yitzchak Levi, as well as New Year's songs and two Kol Koreh texts regarding the election of the new Yemeni commission committee, as well as the strengthening of the independent educational institutions for the Yemenite Community. - A well-preserved survival.‎

‎[India & Burma - Sketchbook]. Blackwell, Thomas Eden.‎

‎"Indian, Burmese and Swiss Sketches" A sketchbook containing numerous sketches of India, Burma and Switzerland, with an emphasis on their cultures. [Various places, ca. 1826-1830].‎

‎Oblong 4to. [70] gray, white and blue album ff., containing 67 sketches with accompanying manuscript captions and descriptions. 66 sketches in pen & ink and pencil, mostly signed by Blackwell, depicting Swiss, Burmese and Indian panoramas and domestic scenes, buildings, events, animals and inhabitants, mounted and bound in, most accompanied by manuscript captions and descriptions by Blackwell and sometimes by a later hand. There is also 1 print (ca. 1795/1800?) showing a "rhahan" (priest) drawn by Singey Bey and engraved by Thomas Medland. Half black morocco, black decorated paper sides, gold-tooled ornaments on spine. Sketchbook by the English lieutenant Thomas Eden Blackwell (1803?-45), showing views of India, Burma, and Switzerland, made in the years 1826-30, when India, which is the subject of about 30 of the sketches, and parts of Burma (now Myanmar) were British colonies. The sketches, mostly signed and dated by Blackwell, are mounted on album leaves and accompanied by manuscript captions and descriptions, also by Blackwell and sometimes by a later hand. Some of these remarks are general or contain interesting facts, while others are very personal or describe an event that happened during Blackwell's time as officer. - Blackwell drew some panoramic views and buildings (for example an Indian mosque or a narrow street in Calcutta), but he pays particular attention to Indian culture in his sketches of India and the accompanying explanations. He sketches the Indian population, animals, and scenes representing the everyday life of Indian people. Several animal sketches are exceptionally beautiful, including that of a horse (with notes about Arabian horses). He also draws a camel, compares camels to dromedaries, and outlines the habitat of both species in India. Also included are many sketches of Indian cattle, such as bullocks, which were used as water-carriers, and Bengal cows (whose milk is said to be "inferior" to that of English cows). - Blackwell also drew the inhabitants of the Indian places he visited, including a priest ("rhahan") and an Indian watchman ("chokedar"), but also a "Musselman" and an Indian woman, with remarks concerning the attitude of Indian men towards women. Of particular interest are the Indian "sceneries", as Blackwell calls them, showing the everyday life of Indian people: native cooking, but also how Indian people bathe in Hooghly river, how they wash their clothes, and men smoking a so-called "hubble bubble" (a hookah or water pipe). Blackwell annotatioins to nearly all these sketches provide the reader with rare insights into Indian culture. - of Burma (now Myanmar) fewer sketches were made, and they focus mostly on the coasts and the city of Rangoon's wharfs. These include the royal wharf at Rangoon, with a whole page of explanatory text on the facing page, and a sketch showing a stockade in Burma, where, according to Blackwell's caption, the British killed the Burman general Maha Bundoola (1782-1825) in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Yet there is also a sketch of the so-called Great Bell in Rangoon, which is representative of Burmese bells, which are often located near celestial buildings. The album also includes two views of Tobago in the West Indies: a large two-page panoramic view and a sketch of the government house in Tobago with a garrison in the background; Blackwell's note states that his daughter Eliza was born there on 25 January 1833. - Another part of the sketchbook comprises sketches of Swiss landscapes and panoramas, especially of the region surrounding Basel (of which Blackwell also includes a two-page panoramic view). - With owner's inscription on the front pastedown: "Lieut. Blackwell 13th Light Infantry. Indian, Burmese and Swiss Sketches". Binding a little worn, one quire loose, some occasional spots and somewhat browned, but not affecting the drawings. In good condition.‎

‎Camoes (Luís de) & João Franco Barreto.‎

‎Obras de Luis de Camoes Principe dos Poetas Portugueses. Com os argumentos do Lencenceado João Franco Barreto, & por elle eme[n]dadas em esta nova impressão, que comprehende todas as Obras, que deste insigne Autor se achàrão impressas, & manuscritas, com o Index dos nomes proprios. Lisbon, Antonio Craesbeeck de Mello, 1666-1669.‎

‎8vo. With 8 woodcut tailpieces. Later mottled calf, red spine labels, red edges. Rare edition of the collected works of Luis de Camões, including Os Lusiadas and three Rimas. In the same year, Antonio Craesbeeck published another edition with the same title but with less content and with a different frontispiece. This collection of works is made up of separate publications. - Os Lusiadas is the great epic poem of Portuguese exploration, in the original Portuguese, a monument of Portuguese literature that gave a Homeric aura to Renaissance voyages of discovery and colonial conquests, here together with the other works of Camões. Camões's work was first published in Portuguese at Lisbon in 1572. - In the early 1530s the great Portuguese historian, João de Barros, most famous for his Decadas de Asia, had called for an epic poem of Portuguese exploration and discovery. Luis de Camões (1524-80) answered that call four decades later. Camões was educated in a monastic school in Coimbra, and produced poetry and plays at an early age. In his early twenties he was banished from Lisbon after producing a play considered disparaging to the royal family. He served as a soldier in the Portuguese forces besieging Ceuta in North Africa, where he lost an eye. Camões returned to Lisbon in 1550, but found himself in more trouble, and was pardoned by the King on condition that he serve the Crown in India for five years. He arrived at Goa in late 1553 and stayed there briefly before joining an expedition to the Malabar Coast. Later he participated in a campaign against pirates on the shores of Arabia. In 1556 he left Goa again for the East Indies, taking part in the military occupation of Macao, where he remained for many months. On his return trip to India, he was shipwrecked off the Mekong and wandered in Cambodia before reaching Malacca and eventually returning to Goa. He did not return to Lisbon until 1570. The Lusiads gives a fine description not only of Portuguese exploits in the East, but also of the flora and fauna of Asia and India, the ethnographic details of the peoples there, and the geography of the region, informed by Camões's own experiences as well as his familiarity with Ptolemy and Barros. - With the bookplate of "Aulo-Gélio", 1961, with a view of Lisbon. The first few pages slightly worn with some repairs. Stained throughout. Some contemporary annotations in ink in the margins. Bibliotheca Lusitana p. 62. Inocêncio XIV, 78. José de Canto, 37.‎

‎Iraq Petroleum Co. Ltd.‎

‎Iraq Oil in 1951 / Iraq Oil in 1953. London, Iraq Petroleum Co. Ltd., 1952-[1954].‎

‎4to. 2 vols. 32 pp. 30 pp. Illustrated throughout with photo illustrations and sketch maps. Original pictorial wrappers, second volume ring-bound. Issued in tandem with the Basrah Petroleum Co. Ltd. and the Mosul Iraq Petroleum Co. Ltd., these volumes, which seem to have appeared yearly from 1951, offer information on the development of the industry over the year. Both volumes contain a Foreword by the Managing Director H. S. Gibson, followed by illustrations and information concerning the oil produced. The books are nicely produced, and in very good condition.‎

‎Michaelis, Christian Benedikt (praes.) / Schleunitz, Joachim Daniel (resp.).‎

‎Philologemata medica, sive ad medicinam et res medicas pertinentia, ex Ebraea et huic adfinibus orientalibus linguis decerpta [...]. Halle, Johann Friedrich Grunert, 1758.‎

‎4to. (8), 54, (2) pp. All edges red. Modern blue boards. Only edition of this dissertation on oriental medical terminology. "The author is the theologian Michaelis [the father of Johann David Michaelis], who attempts to elucidate Hebrew terms by comparison with the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopian languages. He also discusses the medical knowledge of the oriental peoples, as well as Ecclesiastes 12:3-6" (cf. Choulant). - Trimmed a little closely at the lower edge with slight loss to printer's name, otherwise very well preserved. Choulant 102. Meusel IX, 137f. Fürst II, 374. Lockot, Bibliographia Aethiopica 7660. OCLC 14330491.‎

‎Schieferdecker, Johann David (praes.) / Schmid, Johann Martin (resp.).‎

‎[Timar al-`arabija]. Fructus linguae arabicae, inclutae facultatis philosophicae indultu, dissertatione philologica in alma Lipsiensi [...]. (Leipzig), Christian Götze, 1692.‎

‎4to. (24) pp. Early 19th century marbled wrappers. First edition of this rare and prettily produced philological dissertation on the Arabic language, on Arab scholarship and the use of Arabic studies, written by the Saxon professor of theology and oriental studies J. D. Schieferdecker (1672-1721). Numerous passages are printed in Arabic type (in imitation of those of Erpenius). Separate chapters discuss the influence of Arabic in jurisprudence, medicine, philosophy, astronomy, optics, arithmetics, geography, geometry, and music, as well as in history and literature. A set of subjects for discussion by the doctoral candidate, printed at the end of the volume, includes theses about Muhammad and the Qur'an, on the role of the Messiah in Islam, on the difference between Turkish and Arabic (said to be comparable to that between French and Latin), and on the special regard given in Islam to the first sura of the Qur'an, which is likened to the Lord's Prayer in Christianity. "The 'Fructus' was first defended in 1692 and opens with a calligraphical basmala in bird shape [... It has] a woodcut Arabic title on the title-page" (Smitskamp). - Well preserved. VD 17, 12:142720G. OCLC 930345148. Cf. Smitskamp, PO 361b (1695 edition).‎

‎Vayssettes, [Eugène] / Antoine d'Alger (transl.).‎

‎[Al-Awzan wa-al-akyal]. Système légal des poids et mesures, traduit en arabe. Algiers & Constantine, Bastide & Amavet, 1858.‎

‎Small 8vo. (2), 30 pp. Lithographed and illustrated throughout. Original yellow printed wrappers. Lithographed in Arabic throughout (save for the French wrapper-title): a rare official manual of the legal system of weights and measures used in French Algeria, intended for Arab-French schools. The booklet was drawn up by the school principal Eugène Vayssettes and translated by an Arab known only as Antoine, after an earlier effort by the military interpreter Ahmed ben Lefgoun had been condemned by the board as too complicated and linguistically obscure. The illustrations show various receptacles and measuring units. - In excellent condition. OCLC 493647389.‎

‎Al-Jasim, Mohammed Ali Redha.‎

‎Muqadimat a'iqtisadiyat al-mamlakat al-'arabiat al-Sa'udia [An Introduction to the Economics of Saudi Arabia]. Cairo, The Arab League, 1972.‎

‎Small 4to (235 x 170 mm). 246 pp., including 3 maps. Bound in original printed buff wrappers. First and only edition. - A scarce and important analysis of the Saudi Arabian oil economy, featuring authoritative data and illustrated by three maps, published on the eve of the 1973 Oil Crisis and the Saudi government's takeover of ARAMCO. Mohammed Ali Redha Al-Jasim was a Saudi academic who authored several pioneering studies on Saudi economy during the 1960s and 1970s. Entirely in Arabic, the work employs the latest official data, combined with Dr. Al-Jasim's skilled analysis, to provide an authoritative insight into the nature of the world's most dynamic petroleum industry and its effects upon Saudi Arabia's national ambitions. Illustrated with numerous tables and three intriguing maps, the work is an invaluable source for anyone interested in the modern development of the global petroleum industry and the economic history of Saudi Arabia in particular. - Slight wear to spine and edges of covers; internally clean and crisp. A very good copy. OCLC 4771175724 / 235989266.‎

‎`Alwaji, Abd al-Hamid.‎

‎[Al-Shaykh Dari qatil al-Kulunil Lichman fi Khan al-Nuqtah]. Sheik Dhari, Assassin of Lieut-Col. G. E. Leachman at Khan El-Nuqta. Baghdad, Maktab al-`Alwaji wa-al-Hijjiyah, 1968.‎

‎8vo. 158, (2) pp., with bibliographical references on pp. 141-143. With 16 black and white photographic illustrations on 5 leaves. Original lime green printed wrappers. First edition. A fascinating apology of Sheikh Dhari, who killed the British intelligence officer Gerard Leachman on 12 August 1920. It includes brief but detailed biographies of both men (that of Leachman includes his travels to Arabia and Iraq), an exposition of the acts leading up to the event, and an account of the day itself. Though the book links Sheikh Dhari's act to the Iraqi revolt of 1920, records of his trial signal that the killing was not politically motivated in the wider sense, but was instead committed in response to abuse suffered at the hands of Leachman (see Abbas Kadhim, Reclaiming Iraq, University of Texas Press [2012], p. 80). Leachman's legacy, like those of so many British Officials operating in the Middle East at the time, is complicated: multiple descriptions tend toward painting "a courageous and devoted servant of empire" (ODNB), whereas recent assessments rightly factor in the evidence of his abuses. - Arabic text throughout save for English title to recto of final leaf and lower wrapper. Occasional tiny edge chips; wrappers a little dusty and fingerstained showing minor wear to head and tail of spine, otherwise very good. Rare: Copac/Jisc locates a single copy in the UK (Oxford); WorldCat adds two further holdings at the Bavarian State Library and the University of Haifa. No copies in North American institutions (Harvard and Princeton have microfilm copies in their Arabic collections). OCLC 24963037.‎

‎[Biblia syriaca - NT].‎

‎Diyatheke hdatta. London, British and Foreign Bible Society, 1816.‎

‎4to. (4), 552, (2) pp. Contemporary half calf. The first complete New Testament printed by the BFBS entirely in Syriac, edited by Samuel Lee. "The editor based his text upon Schaaf's edition; but he collated an ancient Syriac MS. belonging to Adam Clarke, a MS. from the Lebanon, dated 1523, now at Cambridge, and a third MS. (without vowel-points) brought by Claudius Buchanan from Travancore, as well as the Commentaries of Ephrem Syrus, and also made some use of the collations of R. Jones. The printing of this edition was completed in 1816" (Darlow/M.). This copy has the "extensive obliterations [...] in the section headings, made by means of a stamp and violet ink", which were "made by order of the BFBS Committee, on the ground that the headings contravened the rules of the Society" (ibid.). - Binding rubbed and bumped; occasional marginal scribblings in red crayon (more extensive on p. 5). Traces of worming in the upper margin of the final two leaves overpasted with brown paper. In all a good copy of a rarely seen edition. Darlow/Moule 8979. NUC LVI, 13. BM XVIII, 1449. OCLC 921205405.‎

‎Dawson, Llewellyn Styles.‎

‎Memoirs of Hydrography Including Brief Biographies of the Principal Officers Who Have Served in H.M. Naval Surveying Service between the Years 1750 and 1885. Vol. II: 1830 to 1885. Eastbourne, Henry W. Keay, 1885.‎

‎4to. (4), 209, (3) pp. Original green cloth with giltstamped spine and cover titles. Published as a description of the careers of Royal Navy officers in the mid and latter part of the 19th century, this also constitutes an important source book for the activity of the UK forces in the Arabian Gulf during a crucial period of British activity in the region. Contains plentifold references to places along the Gulf coast, Bahrein and Mascat, discussing in particular the survey of the Gulf undertaken by Captain Haines (p. 38f.), Captain Ethersey & Commodore Charles deployment in the Gulf (pp. 54f.), work performed by captain Felix Jones (p. 88ff.), publications of maps by Lieut. Whitelock on the Gulf and Oman (p. 90), map making (p. 100), Marine surveys in the Gulf and mapping (pp. 109f.), list of charts made for the "Persian Gulf Pilot" (p. 128), survey of the reefs near Bahrein (p. 153), Lieut. Wish's map of Bahrein (p. 158) and map making (p. 195). - Extremeties slightly rubbed and bumped; binding a little loosened. Chapters 1 and 2 have photographic portraits mounted at the head of the page; the article of Admiral Sir Edward Belcher has a photographic reproduction of an oil portrait from the National Portrait Gallery loosely inserted. Numerous handwritten annotations. From the library of J. A. Edgell, 1940s editor of the "Persian Gulf Pilot", with his bookplate to pastedown and handwritten ownership to flyleaf; also with bookplate of Allan Carruthers of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. OCLC 1117176057.‎

‎[Holdermann, Jean-Baptiste Daniel].‎

‎Grammaire turque ou méthode courte et facile pour apprendre la langue turque [...]. Constantinople, [Ibrahim Müteferrika & Zaïd Aga Effendi], 1730.‎

‎4to. (16), 194, (6) pp. With a double-page engraved table of Arabic characters. Contemporary full blindstamped calf. First edition of the first book printed with Roman letters in Turkey. Holdermann's "Grammaire turque" is the first French-Turkish grammar, printed on behalf of the French embassy to the Porte, at the first printing press established in 1726 by Zaid Aga Effendi, son of the Turkish ambassador to France, and Ibrahim Müteferrika. The type apparently was sent out from France especially for this work. Words and phrases are given both in Arabic-script Osmanli and in Roman transliteration. The engraved alphabetic table displays the names and shapes of letter forms for French and Turkish alphabets, including the letter forms used in various styles of Turkish writing for different uses: Nesghi for the Qur'an, Divani for business, Tealik for law and poetry, Kyrma for public registers; Sulus, like capitals, is used for book titles and imperial patents, Jakuti, and Rejani. - Since 1719 the French embassy had been calling for improved instruction and grammatical texts, and the present work was compiled by Holdermann "aprés avoir consulté, & conferé avec les plus habils maîtres, sur tout avec le sçavant Ibrahim [Müteferrika] Effendi, sur cet langue" (preface) for the use of the school of the "Enfants des Langues" (the school of the dragomans, or official interpreters) at Constantinople. Holdermann's book was also adopted as a teaching text by the Jesuit College at Paris, which had received a number of copies from the librarian at the Bibliothèque du Roi, abbé Bignon, in 1731 and 1732. - Holdermann, a Jesuit from Strasbourg, spent some four years as a missionary in Constantinople, dying there in 1730. He had projected also a French-Armenian grammar, which was unfinished at the time of his death. - Binding a little rubbed; corners bumped. Insignificant traces of worming to lower gutter near the beginning; dampstain to margin of first quire and diffuse dampstains to pp. 131-138. The first leaf of the index is bound after the title-page, the remaining two at the end. Complete with the final errata leaf. - Provenance: contemporary ownership of a Vlach nobleman in French service on the lower flyleaf ("Mr Pierre Rhetorides Grand Vornike de Valachie et Michmandare de Sa Hautesse le Grand Marechale de Frence"). The principality of Wallachia was then vassal state of the Ottoman Empire supported by France between 1730 and 1769. Blackmer 824. Atabey 586. Zenker 304. De Backer/Sommervogel IV, 431, 1. Toderini III, p. 89, no. VIII. Watson, "Ibrahim Müteferrika and Turkish incunabula", Journal of the American Oriental Society 88.3 (1968), 435-441 at p. 437, no. 8. Brunet II, 1693 ("volume peu commun et assez recherché").‎

‎Hornby, Emily.‎

‎Sinai and Petra. The Journals of Emily Hornby, in 1899 and 1901. London & Liverpool, James Nisbet & J. A. Thompson, [1907].‎

‎8vo. 244 pp. With a colour frontispiece and 9 colour plates, all drawn after Hornby's original watercolour sketches. Contemporary giltstamped full cloth, spine and front edge repaired with green cloth in the 1990s, with 2 giltstamped spine labels taken over form the original spine. First edition. - Intriguing account by a woman traveller visiting the Sinai Peninsula in 1899 and Petra in 1901, her stops including Gaza, Jaffa, Jericho, Jerusalem, Port Said, and Suez. Hornby, who was not only a pioneer among woman travellers but also an ambitious mountaineer, created lovely watercolour sketches of her impressions during the journey, some of which are printed here. They show her tent in Ayn Musa, palm trees in Wady Ghurundel, Mount Serbal, Ras Sufsafeh, St. Catherine's monastery in Sinai, the Urn Tombs of Petra, the Siq passage leading up to the Al-Kazneh, Ad Deir, and Mount Hor from Bidebda. - Browned throughout with some foxing, more pronounced among first and last leaves. Bookplate of Peter Ward (d. 2004) of Purlieu in Upper Colwall, former intelligence officer in the Middle East and North Africa and fluent speaker of Arabic, to front pastedown; flyleaf shows remains of an earlier, removed bookplate and a pencil note regarding repairs to the book done in 1995. - No copy in auction records. A rare example of Arabian travel literature from the early 20th century featuring a female protagonist. OCLC 560058182.‎

‎[Iraq / Kuwait / Saudi Arabia / Bahrain / Qatar].‎

‎Manuscript map of Baghdad Vilayet and Basra Vilayet. [Probably Istanbul, ca. 1915].‎

‎Ca. 235 x 190 mm. Original hand-coloured map on tissue paper. In Ottoman script and Arabic. Two hand-drawn maps on a single sheet, made in the Ottoman Empire, likely in Istanbul, near the beginning of the 20th century. The map to the left depicts the Baghdad Vilayet, embracing Central Iraq. The map on the right features the Basra Vilayet, extending from Southern Iraq down the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf to include Kuwait, what is now the Dhahran area of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar. By the late 19th century the Gulf States had become de-facto British protectorates and were no longer practically subject to Ottoman rule; still, the Sublime Porte never relinquished its sovereignty. - Maps such as this, executed on thin tracing paper, were commonly made as educational tools at elite Ottoman schools and universities during the early 20th century, although few such specimens survive. - Clean and bright, with light creasing and traces of an old vertical centrefold.‎

‎Maillet, Benoît de.‎

‎Description de l'Egypte, contenant plusieurs remarques curieuses sur la Geographie ancienne et moderne de ce païs, sur les monumens anciens [...]. Paris, Louis Genneau & Jacques Rollin, 1735.‎

‎4to (214 x 250 mm). 2 parts in one volume. XXI, (3), 328, 242, (10) pp. Title-page printed in red and black. With engraved portrait frontispiece, 7 engraved plates (2 of which folding), and 1 engraved folding map of Egypt. Contemporary full calf with traces of gilt spine (oxydized) and remnants of a spine-label. Marbled endpapers. Edges sprinkled red. First edition. - Prominent compendium of all that was known about Egypt at the time, taking the form of a series of letters written by the French consul and inspector of the French institutions in the Levante, Benoît de Maillet (1656-1738), stationed in Cairo from 1692 to 1708, edited and compiled for publication by the cleric Jean-Baptiste le Mascrier (1697-1760). During his time in Egypt, Maillet developed a great interest in Arabic and Egyptian life, as well as in Egyptian antiquities and Arabic architecture. With his work he greatly expanded European knowledge about the country, its antiquities and the manners and costums of its inhabitants. The frontispiece shows a portrait of the author, while the plates depict tombs, sarcophagi, obelisks, and animals. The two folding plates exhibit the Mikias, or Nilometer, in Cairo, and a cross section of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The final chapter discusses the annual Hajj to Mecca and describes the cities of Mecca and Medina, as well as Mahomet's tomb. - Title-page a little duststained, with traces of a removed stamp of ownership. Somewhat foxed and brownstained throughout, more pronounced among first and last leaves. Upper margins slightly waterstained near the end. The map of Egypt shows small marginal flaws. Upper joints and extremities professionally restored. A near-contemporary note on the estimated price of the volume by a former owner on front flyleaf. A good copy. Atabey 748. Blackmer 1061. Gay 2105. Ibrahim-Hilmy I, 170. Paulitschke 717. Not in Weber.‎

‎Nizami, Nizam al-Din Abu Muhammad.‎

‎The Secander Nama of Nizami. With a selection from the works of the most celebrated commentators by Beder Ali & Mir Hosain Ali. Calcutta, Hindoostanee press, P. Pereira, 1812.‎

‎Small folio (238 x 303 mm). (2), 638, (2) pp. Modern half calf with red and green gilt spine labels, bound in 19th century style. First printed edition of the celebrated Islamic biography of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) by the Persian poet Nizami, completed ca. 599/1202. Published under the auspices of Sir Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the First Earl of Minto (1751-1814), and printed in Persian throughout but for the English title. - "The Alexander of the Persian romances is much more colorful than his Western counterpart [...] Nizami celebrates him first as a king and conqueror, then as a sage and a prophet. In 'Iskandarnamah', in addition to being a zealous Moslem, Alexander becomes an ardent lover with numerous wives and concubines" (Southgate, "Portraits of Alexander in Persian Alexander-Romances of the Islamic Era"). - Islamic myths about Alexander the Great are thought to have derived in part from Qur'anic references to the "Dhu'l-Qarnayn" ("He of the Two Horns") as well as from the Greek sources in translation. "The principal episodes of the legend of Alexander, as known to the Muslim tradition, are elaborated in the [Eskander-nama]: the birth of Alexander, his succession to the Macedonian throne, his war against the Negroes who had invaded Egypt, the war with the Persians, ending with the defeat and death of Dara and Alexander's marriage to Dara's daughter, his pilgrimage to Mecca. Nezami then dwells at some length on Alexander's stay in the Caucasus and his visit to Queen Nushaba of Barda'a and her court of Amazons; this lady takes over the role of Candace in earlier versions of the Alexander saga. Alexander then goes to India and China. During his absence the Rus (i.e., the Russian Vikings) invade the Caucasus and capture Barda'a (as they in fact did some two centuries before Nezami's time) and take Nushaba prisoner. Alexander's wars with the Rus, which are depicted at considerable length, end with his victory and his magnanimous treatment of the defeated army. The [Eskander-nama] concludes with the account of Alexander's unsuccessful search for the water of immortal life" (Encylopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, pp. 612-614). Along the way Alexander's conquests of much of Central Asia and the pre-Islamic world are described: Dara (Syria), Ajam (near Kuwait), Kayan (Afghanistan), the Arabian Peninsula, Khorasan (Northern Iran), and so on. - Ca. 20 pages with wormholes affecting some text, wide margins. Some browning throughout. Discarded and sold from the Library of Haverford College, Pennsylvania, with their drystamp to the title-page. Later in the Alexander the Great Collection of Julio Berzunza (1896-1952), Professor of Languages at the University of New Hampshire. Graesse IV, 680. Brunet IV, 83; Ebert 14833 ("1811" in error). Nawabi 414. OCLC 41609907.‎

‎Parfit, Joseph T[homas].‎

‎Among the Druzes of Lebanon and Bashan. London, Hunter & Longhurst, 1917.‎

‎8vo. VIII, 252, (2) pp. With 16 black-and-white photographic plates. Original green cloth, gilt lettering to spine and black lettering to front cover. First edition. - An account of missionary work in Mount Lebanon, with a description of the Druze people, their history and their faith. Parfit narrates "seven years' work amongst the secret sects of Syria", focusing on the establishment of mission schools in the mountainous lands south and east of Beirut, where many Druze communities were based. To the main narrative of school-building and teaching, he adds much on relations between the Druzes and other communities (including animosities with the Maronites), and significant events such as the dangerously severe Winter of 1911. - The book is attractively illustrated with the author's photographs and each chapter is preceded by a line from "Arabian Wisdom", a collection of Qur'anic quotes and proverbs compiled by John Wortabet. - Very light wear to extremities, corners slightly bumped, very good otherwise. Endpapers browned, a few instances of spotting, rest of interior clean and bright. Ownership inscription of Marian Parfit of Westcot, near Wantage, Berkshire, to front free endpaper and her bookplate to front pastedown. The Arab History: A Bibliographical List (Cairo, 1966), p. 132. OCLC 250774345.‎

‎Hughes, T[homas] P[atrick] (ed.).‎

‎[Ketab-e ganj-e pasto]. The Kalid-i-Afghani, being selections of Pushto prose and poetry for the use of students. Peshawar, Panjab Educational Press Lahore, 1872.‎

‎Large 4to (240 x 292 mm). (6), III, (3), 418, 4 pp. Contemporary Western quarter morocco over marbled boards, spine gilt with title. First edition. - A reader issued to supply the "English Student of the Pushto (or Pukhto) language [with] some work written in the colloquial", published "under the sanction and patronage of the Government of the Panjáb" (preface). It became the official text book for the Pashto Examination. The editor Hughes served as a missionary in Peshawar (1865-84) with the Church Missionary Society. - In lithographed Pashto throughout save for the preliminary English letterpress matter. Binding rather rubbed and scuffed, spine and extremities professionally repaired; three leaves remargined at the lower edge (not affecting text). A few small wormholes. Contemporary pencil annotations to the text and endleaves. McLachlan, Bibliography Of Afghanistan, no. 6883. OCLC 5111396.‎