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[Yemen & Egypt].
Two glass paintings for a laterna magica, showing Aden and Alexandria. No place, mid-19th century.
Ca. 8 cms diamater each, encased in wooden frame (ca. 18 x 10 cms).
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Azzam, 'Abd al-Wahhab.
Rihlat. Cairo, Matba'at al-Risala, 1939.
8vo. 368 pp. With numerous illustrations in the text. Modern green half calf. First edition of this account of the author's pilgrimage to Mecca. The writer and Islamic scholar Abd al-Wahhab Azzam (1895-1959), nephew of the Pan-Arabist statesman Abd al-Rahman Azzam, was educated at London's School of Oriental Studies and at Cairo University, then taught at the latter institution, where he became dean in 1945. "Appointed Egypt's ambassador to Pakistan in 1950 and to Saudi Arabia in 1954, he founded King Saud University in Riyadh and in 1957 became its first director [...] Azzam was Egypt's foremost pan-Arab intellectual" (Goldschmidt, Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt, p. 29f.). - An excellent copy. Rare; OCLC lists only nine copies in libraries worldwide. OCLC 23512537.
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Bazelaire de Ruppierre, Marie Léonie de.
Chevauchée en Palestine. Illustrations par l'auteur. Saint-Dié, L. Humbert, 1891.
4o. 294, (1) pp., final blank page. With a full-page map of Palestine not included in pagination, 2 full-page plans of Jerusalem included in pagination, and several small print illustrations in the text. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine and spine-title. Marbled endpapers. Fourth edition of this description of a journey through Palestine by the French painter and writer Bazelaire (1857-1926), first published in 1889. In April 1888 she boarded a ship with a group of pilgrims, which, after a stop in Civitavecchia, from where she visited Rome, dropped anchor in Haifa. Accompanied by her brother Maurice (1840-1909) and her sister Isabelle (1847-89) she departed on horseback to tour the country for a month. Her emotional account describes the places they visited, including Mount Carmel, Nazareth, Tibériade, Jerusalem ("Am I really in Jerusalem, or is it but a dream about to fade away?", p. 129), Mount Olivet, Jericho, the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Hebron, and the Valley of Josaphat. Among other adventures, a night spent locked in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre near Jesus's empty tomb inspired a particular sense of awe: "It is a night as long as a century, and as short as all joys in the world! [...] All those who have seen Jerusalem know and understand these things, I invoke all pilgrims!" (pp. 253f.). - The initials and illustrations accompanying the text were created by Bazelaire herself. The plans show the old and new towns of Jerusalem. - Extremities insignificantly rubbed; small flaw to spine. Paper somewhat browned and brownstained throughout. A pressed palm leaf is inserted between pp. 124 and 125. Hage Chahine, Guide du livre orientaliste 359. OCLC 1083265900. Cf. Ueckmann, Frauen und Orientalismus 359 (1899 ed.). Kuhn, Orientalische Bibliographie VI, 4225 (1892 ed.). Not in Weber, Cox, Graesse.
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Belvallette, Alfred.
Traité d'Autourserie. Paris, Librairie Pairault, 1887.
Small 4to. (3)-137, (5) pp. (without first blank leaf). With 12 numbered plates. Contemporary green cloth with giltstampes spine title; original illustrated wrappers bound at the end of the volume. First edition of this standard work on hawking with the goshawk. Unnumbered copy of a press-run of only 400, signed and inscribed by the author on the half-title: "à ma chère Marguerite Gorrée". - "In this country we use the term falconry in a somewhat wider sense than is the case in France, including thereby every kind of flight with a hawk, whatever may be its species. French falconers apply the term 'fauconnerie' only to flights with the longwinged hawks (Peregrine, Merlin, Hobby, and Jerfalcon), flights with the short-winged Goshawk (autour) and Sparrow-hawk (épervier) coming under the expressive and very convenient term 'autourserie'. To this branch of sport M. Belvallette has devoted an entire volume, albeit a small one, nicely printed, and illustrated with a dozen full-page plates and some pretty text cuts, which, if not always original (we recognise the work of both English and Japanese artists), are appropriate and fairly accurate. M. Belvallette is well known in France as a skilful falconer, and he writes with a thorough knowledge of his subject. On this account his little book commends itself at once as being thoroughly practical" (Harting). - Free endpapers noticeably browned, otherwise very good. Handwritten ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Kingswood, 1942, to front pastedown. Thiebaud 66. Harting 219. Schwerdt I, 59.
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Berners, Juliana.
The Boke of Saint Albans [...] Containing Treatises on Hawking, Hunting, and Cote Armour [...]. London, Elliot Stock, 1881.
4to. 32 pp., 1 blank leaf, (54) ff., 1 blank leaf, (34) ff. Contemporary full vellum with blindstamped covers, giltstamped spine and spine-title. First and only edition. An "excellent facsimile publication" (cf. Souhart) of the famous Book of St Albans, the last of eight books printed in England by the St Albans Press in 1486, containing three essays on hawking, hunting, and heraldry. Prefaced to this is an introduction by the English printer and bibliographer William Blades (1824-90) discussing the authorship and printing of the work, which saw numerous editions between 1486 and 1810. The arms illustrating the treatise on heraldry are reproduced in black and white. - Only three perfect copies of the 1486 first edition of the Book of St Albans are known to exist. The original edition credits the book, or at least the part on hunting, to Juliana Berners, who is believed to have been the prioress of Sopwell Priory near Saint Albans, an attribution at the end of the work reading: "Explicit Dam Julyans Barnes in her boke of huntyng". The Book of St Albans is, however, not an original composition, but a compilation from earlier manuscripts. The hawking treatise is considered to be adapted from the "Booke of Hawkyng after Prince Edwarde Kyng of Englande", a manuscript of the reign of Edward IV of England (BL Harley Collection 2340). It is not intended as a full practical treatise on falconry, but introduces technical terms and describes feeding and illnesses. The essay on hunting, in particular, is attributed to Dame Juliana Berners. It is in fact a metrical form of much older matter, going back to a manuscript from the reign of King Edward II, and written in French: "Le Art de Venerie" by the huntsman Guillaume Twici. - Small portion of spine chipped. Occasional foxing to interior. Provenance: handwritten ownerships of the English cleric and author Morgan George Watkins (1835-1911, dated Barnoldby le Beck, 1881), of Humphrey B. Watkins (gift from Watkins, dated April 1906), and of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920, dated Kingswood, Medmenham, Bucks., 12 Sept. 1942) to flyleaf. Loosely inserted: a clipping from the "Athenaeum" (11 Sept. 1880); a publisher's advertisement for a facsimile edition of the fishing treatise added to the Book in 1496; and a five-page typescript catalogue of a private collection of falconry literature. Two newspaper clippings on the Book of St Albans are mounted to pastedown. - A good copy of this celebrated facsimile edition of what is considered "the earliest English printed book" (Harting). Huth 379. Souhart 48ff. Schwerdt I, 63. Harting 1. OCLC 841882817.
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Blaine, Gilbert.
Falconry (The Sportsman's Library, volume XV). London, Philip Allan, 1936.
8vo. VIII, 9-253, (1) pp., final blank. With 8 photographic plates and several illustrations in the text. Contemporary full blindstamped cloth with silver-stamped title to cover and spine. First edition, rare. A classic of falconry describing the training and care of hawks, by the renowned falconer Blaine, drawing on more than 40 years of experience in the field. When the book was reprinted in 1970, the publisher's blurb noted that the book was "extremely scarce and second-hand copies are making as much as eight guineas in the sales rooms". - Blaine, a longtime member of the Old Hawking Club, "was one of those legendary figures who seems to come along in falconry every so often, raising the standards of the sport as well as pushing the envelope of what can be accomplished" (Gallagher). His useful handbook provides an introduction to the sport, and includes a glossary of falconry terms as well as a short bibliography on the subject, mentioning an English edition of the famous Persian falconry treatise "Baz-Nama-Yi Nasiri". - The plates show a greenland falcon, a falcon eyass, a passage falcon, a falcon pluming a grouse, two eyass tiercels, a goshawk, and a team of passage hawks weathering. The smaller illustrations in the text display falconer's equipment, the beaks of falcons and hawks, and the technique of repairing damaged feathers. - Handwritten ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Kingswood 1946, to front pastedown. Two black and white photographic illustrations clipped from a magazine, showing tiercels, are loosely inserted. - Somewhat browned and brownstained throughout. A single copy in auction records. Gallagher, Falcon Fever 177. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 3, 2. OCLC 603525547.
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Briffardière, Antoine Gaffet de la.
Petit traité de fauconnerie ou se trouvent les termes de cette espèce de chasse [...]. Paris, Librarie Pairault, 1885.
8vo. 26, (1) pp., final blank page. Original printed wrappers. Only edition. One of only 150 copies of this treatise on falconry, which is in fact a reprint of the same treatise included in Briffardière's 1742 "Nouveau Traité de Vénerie" (pp. 383-401), which Pierre Clément de Chappeville published after the author's death. Apparently, the editor of the present edition confounded Chappeville with Briffardière, as it was the latter, not the former, who was appointed "Gentilhomme de la Vénerie du Roy", a title mistakenly given to Chappeville on the title-page. - Covers somewhat browned and brownstained; spine chafed; binding loosened. Margins slightly worn. Contemporary ownership of B. C. R. Langford, as well as a later ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Kingswood, September 1943, to front pastedown. Handwritten note on title-page regarding the confusion of authorship, likely by Garton. Schwerdt I, 103. Thiébaud 166. Harting 171. Souhart 367. OCLC 54185123.
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[British Falconers' Club].
The Falconer. December. Volume III. No. 1. (Arbroath, T. Buncle & Co.), 1954.
4to. 36 pp. With 5 black and white photographic plates in the text. Original printed wrappers. Rare issue of the periodical of the British Falconers' Club, the first issue of which appeared in 1937, including tributes to the late Vice-Presidents George Edward Lodge (1860-1954) and Guy Aylmer (1887-1954), as well as several book reviews. The contributors make observations on the Ovampo sparrowhawk, the African goshawk, and the red-headed merlin, as well as on partridge hawking, hacking, and the Dutch Falconers' Hut in "De Hoge Veluwe" National Park. The editorial discusses the 1954 Protection of Birds Act, which established the necessity of a licence when taking, selling, or importing live birds of prey for the purposes of falconry, stating that "it is most satisfactory that falconry has been recognised in this way, which gives it, potentially, a very much more favourable status than it has enjoyed for many years" (p. 10). The illustrations show the two former vice-presidents, G. E. Lodge painting, G. Aylmer with his hawk, hawks and merlins, and the Dutch Falconers' Hut surrounded by several hooded birds on perches. - Upper right corner of front cover slightly creased. A good copy. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 81, p. 91, 2. OCLC 52319876.
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[Burgermeister, Johann Stephan].
Compendium bibliothecae equestris continentis ex consortio & ministerio equestri praecipuos [...]. [Probably Ulm, ca. 1720].
4to. (4), 68, 60 pp. (without 16 pages of preliminaries). - (Bound with) II: Manuale equestre, oder Compendium der Reichs-Ritterschafftlichen alt-hergebrachten Rechten [...]. Ulm, Johann Gassenmeyer, 1720. (8), 120, 144, 48, (18) pp. - (Bound with) III: Harpprecht zu Harpprechtstein, Stephan Christoph. Speculi Suevici et praesertim iuris feudalis Amamannici [...]. Kiel, Johann Christoph Reuther, 1723. (10), 240, (2), 154, (6) pp. Contemporary full vellum with handwritten spine label. All edges coloured. Collection of three 1720s manuals on the Holy Roman Empire's legal foundations of the Imperial Knightage and Swabian feudal law. The second part of the first work contains a condensement of Georg Rüxner's famous tournament book, first published in 1530. Burgermeister (1663-1722), who compiled the first two works, was the legal counsel of the Swabian free knights in the Neckar-Schwarzwald district and later served as Imperial councillor in Ulm. "He was the most fervent apologist for the privileges of the free baronetage, and this is the subject of almost all his writings, composed in German. While conceived without plan or discrimination, they do contain valuable source material for the history of the lower nobility of the Empire" (cf. ADB). - The German jurist Harpprecht (1676-1735), a native of Sindelfingen near Stuttgart, taught at the University of Tübingen, later serving in Vienna and then as professor in Kiel in Northern Germany, where he published the present study of his native Swabia's feudal law. - Occasional light browning, but altogether a good, tight copy. VD 18, 1050284X. Pütter (Staatsrecht) I, 320. ADB III, 601. VD 18, 12892033.
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Burton, Sir Richard Francis.
Falconry in the Valley of the Indus. London, Van Voorst, 1852.
8vo. (16), 107, (1) pp. Tinted lithographed frontispiece and 3 plates, 8 pp. publisher's catalogue at end. Original cloth. First edition, "well written" (Harting). - Half-title inscribed by the author in Arabic: "To the accursed captain from his friend Mirza Abdullah" (as Burton styled himself during his travels). Below the inscription is a pencil drawing (not by Burton) of the author's head imposed onto the body of a cat walking across a roof, captioned beneath in English, in a different hand in ink: "a faithful sketch of the Author". - Spine-ends professionally repaired. Light foxing to plate margins, occasional spotting elsewhere. Harting 66. Schwerdt I, 90. Penzer p. 41.
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Chenu, Jean Charles / Des Murs, Marc Athanase Parfait Oeillet.
La fauconnerie ancienne et moderne. Paris, L. Hachette, 1862.
8vo. (4), 176 pp. With woodcut title-vignette, 45 numbered and several unnumbered woodcut illustrations in the text. With the original printed wrappers bound in at the end. Later half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine-title. First edition. - A classic of falconry, this pocket-sized manual is a supplement to the second volume of the ornithological textbook "Leçons élémentaires sur l'histoire naturelle des oiseaux" (1862-63) by the French zoologist Chenu (1808-79) and the ornithologist Des Murs (1804-94). The illustrations show various kinds of falcons, as well as their training and typical flight paths, sometimes displaying specific parts of the birds' bodies like wings and claws in detail. Figure no. 5 ("Faucon sur une Gazelle") is copied from the plate of "Goshawk and Gazelle" by Joseph Wolf, which forms the frontispiece to Richard F. Burton's 1852 work "Falconry in the Valley of the Indus". - Ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Kingswood, 13 October 1943, to front pastedown. Occasional light spotting; traces of the title-page being glued to the first page near the gutter. Harting 200. Schwerdt I, 109. Thiébaud 192. Souhart 100. OCLC 944664144.
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Chenu, Jean Charles / Des Murs, Marc Athanase Parfait Oeillet.
La fauconnerie ancienne et moderne. Paris, L. Hachette, 1862.
8vo. (4), 176 pp. With woodcut title-vignette, 45 numbered and several unnumbered woodcut illustrations in the text. Later half calf with giltstamped spine and spine-title. First edition. - A classic of falconry, this pocket-sized manual is a supplement to the second volume of the ornithological textbook "Leçons élémentaires sur l'histoire naturelle des oiseaux" (1862-63) by the French zoologist Chenu (1808-79) and the ornithologist Des Murs (1804-94). The illustrations show various kinds of falcons, as well as their training and typical flight paths, sometimes displaying specific parts of the birds' bodies like wings and claws in detail. Figure no. 5 ("Faucon sur une Gazelle") is copied from the plate of "Goshawk and Gazelle" by Joseph Wolf, which forms the frontispiece to Richard F. Burton's 1852 work "Falconry in the Valley of the Indus". - Ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Kingswood, 24 February 1942, to front pastedown. Paper evenly browned throughout; tiny marginal tear to p. 29f. Partly uncut copy. Harting 200. Schwerdt I, 109. Thiébaud 192. Souhart 100. OCLC 944664144.
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[Egyptian Coptic and Muslim textile fragments].
A collection of 22 pieces of embroidery fragments and hand-printed linen, assembled by the Swedish archaeologist Carl Johan Lamm (1902-1981). Egypt, from 5th to 6th centuries, 11th century and ca. 1300 AD.
22 pieces of 19 different fabrics, mounted on thin paper (the last piece loose), mostly ca. 10-15 x 12-15 cm, some larger. Within a 1930s cloth binder (220 x 280 mm). - (Includes): Lamm, Carl Johan. Jordfundne tekstiler fra Aegypten. Særtryk af "Tilskueren" 1938. (Copenhagen, 1938). 333-350 pp. With 7 text illustrations. Contemporary cloth with title label to spine. A fine collection of Egyptian Coptic textile fragments compiled in the 1930s, comprising samples of multi-coloured embroidery and hand-printed linen. Most are of Coptic origin: hand-woven embroideries on linen wraps dated to the 5th and 6th centuries, originally used in tunics or other clothing. The fragments are decorated with human figures, animals and birds, mythical creatures, and floral designs, as well as with geometrical patterns. There are also six scarce blue "Arabic" samples, beautifully hand-printed on linen, from ca 1300 CE, and one woven silk tissue with an arabesque pattern from the 11th century. Four of the Arabic specimens are larger. - Carl Johan Lamm studied archaeology at the University of Stockholm. He wrote about the glass excavated at Samarra in 1928 and became a leading scholar on Islamic arts and crafts, notably in glass and carpets. He was on the staff of the Stockholm Museum and taught at Uppsala University. - Ancient Coptic material of this kind was typically removed from Egyptian graves around the turn of the twentieth century. Lamm may have acquired these specimens while living in Cairo in 1934-37 while assembling a large collection of ancient Coptic textiles, and it would appear that the binder containing the fragments dates from those years. Parts of Lamm's Coptic textile collection are now housed in two Swedish museums; Kulturen museet in Lund and Röhsska museet in Göteborg. - Stored in a worn craft binder, the samples are sewn on paper with hand-written ink annotations and typed descriptions and dates. Several fragments show small losses, but overall most are in fairly good condition. - Includes a printed article by Lamm on "excavated textiles from Egypt", an offprint from the Danish journal "Tilskueren" ("Spectator"). With a few changes, this text was delivered as a speech at the Copenhagen Kunstindustrimuseet in connection with an exhibition arranged by Lamm. The textiles exhibited belonged to Lamm himself, the National Museum in Stockholm, and the Danish Kunstindustrimuseet. This is Lamm's personal copy with his bookplate to front pastedown.
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[Falconry]. - Bree, Charles Robert.
Falco Eleonorae. [London, George Bell and Sons, 1875].
Hand-coloured steel engraving. 250 x 147 mm. Plate from "A History of the Birds of Europe, Not Observed in the British Isles" by Charles Robert Bree, published by George Bell and Sons in 1875.
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[Falconry]. - Bree, Charles Robert.
Levant Sparrow-Hawk. Young Male and Female. [London, George Bell and Sons, 1875].
Hand-coloured steel engraving. 247 x 150 mm. Plate from "A History of the Birds of Europe, Not Observed in the British Isles" by Charles Robert Bree, published by George Bell and Sons in 1875.
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[Falconry]. - Jardine, William.
Sparrow Hawk. Male & Female. [London, 1838].
Hand-coloured steel engraving. 158 x 96 mm. Matted. Plate from "The Naturalist’s Library Vol. IX Part I. Birds of Prey" by William Jardine published in 1838.
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Fleming, John Arnold.
Falconry and Falcons. The Sport of Flight [...]. London, Country Life Limited, (1934).
4to. XV, (1), 114, (2) pp. With photographic frontispiece and 48 photographic illustrations on 19 plates. Contemporary full green cloth with giltstamped hawk to front cover and giltstamped spine-title. First edition, one of 350 copies signed by the author (this is number 277). - A practical guide to falconry by the industrial chemist, journalist, author, politician, and keen amateur falconer and golfer Fleming (1871-1966), including a glossary of falconry terms as well as observations on the relationship between hawk and falconer. It features "some excellent photographs of the birds in natural settings" (US Air Force Academy), including a hooded merlin, the author with his kestrel, falcons, hawks, merlins, and buzzards attending to their young, as well as birds in flight, and falconers with their animals, including a group of men from Tiwana in Pakistan. - Somewhat brownstained throughout. Handwritten ownership by Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Eton 1934, to front pastedown. Clipped publisher's advertising is loosely enclosed. US Air Force Academy Library Catalogue 27, 4. Barber 22. OCLC 561016854.
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Freytag, Carl.
Die Pferde-Racen des Orients und der südeuropäischen Staaten. Halle (Saale), Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, 1880.
Folio (260 x 330 mm). 156 pp. With 40 lithographed plates by H. Schenck. Original giltstamped green cloth. Marbled endpapers. Extensive, fully illustrated study of the horse breeds of the Orient and southern Europe. Separate chapters are dedicated to the Barb and the Arabian horse, praising the latter as "the noblest and most beautiful, possibly also the cleverest of all animals of its species". - Some foxing throughout; hinges repaired. OCLC 245766508. Cf. Huth 280 (series "Die Haustierracen"). Not in Boyd/P.
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Glasier, Phillip.
As the Falcon Her Bells. London, Heinemann, (1963).
Small 4to. 223 pp., final blank page. With coloured photographic frontispiece and numerous black and white photographic illustrations in the text. Original full cloth with giltstamped spine-title. Printed pastedowns. First edition, rare. "Excellent memoir" (Gallagher) of one of Britain's leading experts on hawking and falconry, Glasier (1915-2000), who spent much of his life involved with the conservation and breeding of raptors and bringing them to public attention through the foundation of the Falconry Centre, Newent, Gloucestershire. - In his autobiography he recalls his early life and his influential uncle, the falconer and photographer Charles Knight, who introduced him to the sport. The photographs show key moments in the author's life, including his first attempts at falconry with his uncle, introducing his own children to hawking later on, activities of the Hawking Club, and the training of an eagle in the Scottish winter, as well as impressive photographs showing birds in mid-flight or landing. Includes observations on his encounter with the American actor Robert Taylor (1911-69) on the set of the 1953 British-American historical film "Knights of the Round Table", where he was responsible for the flying of falcons. - Autograph inscription to "dear Uncle Charles" by Tara, dated "Christmas 1963". Lower boards slightly stained; occasional light foxing. A good copy of this intriguing account never seen at auction. Gallagher, Falcon Fever 324. OCLC 561197538.
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Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph von.
Falknerklee, bestehend in drey ungedruckten Werken über die Falknerey [...] aus dem Türkischen und Griechischen verdeutscht. Pest, C. A. Hartleben, 1840.
8vo. With lithogr. frontispiece, (8), XXXII, (2), 115 pp.; 49 ff. (Turkish text). Original pictorial wrappers bound in, 20th century speckled calf, gilt. First and only edition, one of 300 copies. - "A book particularly important to lovers of falconry, its origin and history" (Schwerdt). Includes a list of books and manuscripts in many languages on falconry. - Foxed (as often), cloth rubbed. Harting 112. Schwerdt I, p. 228.
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Harting, James Edmund.
Hints on the Management of Hawks. London, Horace Cox, 1898.
8vo. With 11 full-page black and white plates and 42 numbered black and white illustrations in text. VII, 268 pp. Including errata-slip tipped-in at end. Original pictorial cloth, gilt. The second, best edition of Harting's manual on the management of hawks and a historical and descriptive explanation on practical falconry. For this edition, the author has not merely revised the original text, but has made considerable additions to it, as well as to the illustrations. With plates and illustrations showing a hooded falcon on block, heron hawking, kite hawking with jerfalcons, the falconer's knot, a falcon in flight, etc. The first edition of this work appeared in 1884 with the same publisher. "Not recommended for the beginner [...] Much interesting material collected from various sources, particularly the instructions for hawk catching" (Barber). - Binding rubbed. Barber 7. OCLC 23929448. Cf. Harting 80 (first edition). Schwerdt I, 233 (first edition).
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[Holy Carpet].
Original photograph. No place or date (but c. 1920s).
132 x 102 mm. Captioned on the reverse: "Holy Carpet + Tailors Who made it". - Traces of former mounting, but well preserved altogether.
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Illingworth, Frank.
Falcons and Falconry. London, Blandford Press, [1946].
8vo. 111 pp., final blank page. With 31 photographic illustrations in the text. Original full cloth with stamped title to cover and spine. First edition of this brief introduction to falconry, re-issued in 1964 and 1978. It features impressive photographs of trained falcons with their prey, as well as hawks on perches or falconers' hands, some hooded. In addition, the illustrations display wild animals, including a sparrow-hawk at its nest, young hawks about to leave the nest, a lemming in Lapland, and an eagle owl. - Handwritten ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), who received this book as a gift from John Osmaston, dated "Christmas 1946". - In near mint condition. Not seen at auction since 1960. Oelgart 25A. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 81, 289. OCLC 774638616.
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Le Couteulx de Canteleu, [Emmanuel Jean Hector].
Étude sur l'histoire du cheval arabe. Son origine, les lieux où l'on peut le trouver, son emploi en Europe, son rôle dans la formation de la race de pur sang, son influence sur d'autres races. Paris, Librairie Pairault, 1885.
Small 8vo. 51, (1) pp. With a frontispiece. Publisher's yellow printed and illustrated wrappers. Only early edition of this very rare study of the history of the Arabian horse, its origins, use in Europe, its role in thoroughbred breeding, and its influence on other breeds. A facsimile reprint was issued in 2010. "Travail interessant et bien étudié" (Menessier de La Lance). Hector Le Couteulx de Canteleu (1827-1910) was an officer of the French cavalry and a specialist in par force hunting. - Light foxing, but still a very well preserved specimen. Only six copies in libraries internationally. Mennessier de La Lance II, 80f. OCLC 561269526. Not in Huth or Boyd/Paul.
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Letellier, L.-Victor.
Vocabulaire Oriental. Français-Italien, Arabe, Turc et Grec. Composé pour la conversation usuelle, et dans lequel se trouve figurée la prononciation a l'aide des lettres françaises. Paris, chez l’auteur, 1838.
Oblong 8vo. LVI, 236 pp. Full brown calf, richly giltstamped on both covers. All edges gilt. White moirée endpapers. Splendidly bound dictionary of French and Italian words with their counterparts in Arabic, Turkish, and Modern Greek, all in Roman transliteration. Contains brief introductions to the grammar of the various languages. Written for the use of the French army in Northern Africa and the Levant as well as for travellers and tradesmen throughout the eastern Mediterranean. - Pencil note "Relie au Caire" to flyleaf. Some browning throughout, title page and preface as well as final leaves show more pronounced foxing. Bookplate of Gaetano Querci on pastedown; old collection stamps on half-title and title page. Not in Zaunmüller or Vater/Jülg.
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Mascis, Antonio.
Vocabolario Toscano, e Turchesco. Arricchito di molte voci Arabe, Persane, Tartare, e Greche, necessarie alla perfetta cognizione della stessa lingua Turchesca. Florence, Niccolò Navesi, 1677.
8vo. (32), "290" (but: 288; omitting 257f.), 38 pp. With engraved frontispiece (portrait of Cosimo Medici III) and woodcut Medici coat of arms on title page. Contemporary limp vellum with handwritten spine title. Only edition of this uncommon Italian-Turkish dictionary by the Neapolitan linguist Mascis, interpreter to the Grand Duke of Tuscany (to whom his effort is dedicated). In Roman type throughout, even the table of Arabic letters consists only of the letters' transliterated names. The alphabetical word list is followed by quick-reference sections on the parts of the human body as well as on numbers and the names of the Islamic months, and lists of the languagues spoken throughout the Ottoman Empire (no fewer than 33), of the kingdoms and principalities ruled by the Ottomans, and of the names of all the Ottoman sultans to Mehmed IV, reigning at the date of publication. A final part with separate page numbering contains a basic grammar of Turkish to facilitate translation from Italian into the Turkish language. - Occasional brownstaining. Wants endpapers; contemporary ownership on front pastedown. A little loosened, but complete. A rare little vocabulary. The Macclesfield copy, which wanted the portrait frontispiece, commanded £1060. Zaunmüller 389. Vater/Jülg 414. BM-STC Italian XVII, 554.
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Mavrogordato, John George "Jack".
A Hawk for the Bush. A Treatise on the Training of the Sparrow-Hawk and Other Short-Winged Hawks. London, H. F. & G. Witherby, 1960.
4to. XVI, 144 pp. With 7 numbered plates (4 of which coloured) and several black and white illustrations in the text. Original full cloth with stamped falcon to front cover and stamped spine-title. First edition. - A standard work of modern falconry literature by one of the most renowned falconers of the 20th century, the British lawyer Mavrogordato (1905-87). This "excellent book" (Gallagher) is directed at a new generation of falconers choosing to work with the previously frowned-upon sparrowhawks instead of falcons, but also addresses experienced hawkers. It includes observations on the choice of a suitable bird, the treatment of eyasses, the falconer's equipment, and the calling-off of a bird, as well as the animals' diet and health. - The charming illustrations were carried out by the British artist George Edward Lodge (1860-1954), himself an authority on falconry. The plates show muskets and goshawks sitting or in flight; the text illustrations mainly display tools used by the falconer, including hoods, knots, and perches. - Title-page slightly foxed, otherwise in excellent condition. Gallagher, Falcon Fever 85. Oelgart 29B. OCLC 6399849.
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Mellor, James Eric Moulsdale.
Notes on Falconry [...]. (Cambridge, University Press), 1949.
8vo. XII, 83 pp., final blank page. With one photographic plate and 6 numbered illustrations in the text. Contemporary full cloth. The first and only edition of this "extremely interesting little book" (Jameson) on falconry by the British entomologist and member of the British Falconer's Club, J. E. M. Mellor (1890-1984). Enriched "with many historical comments not to be found in other works" (Jameson), it includes information on all relevant aspects of falconry, such as training, feeding, ailments, and parasites, as well as a glossary of falconry terms. The plate shows a neo-Hittite bas-relief in the Louvre displaying a child standing on his mothers knees holding the leash of a falcon. The text illustrations exhibit a falcon block, hoods, bells, jesses and swivels, how to prepare a dead bird to be fed to hawks, a bow-perch for a goshawk, and instructions for fixing damaged feathers. - Occasional light foxing. A very good copy of this rare work never seen at auction. Jameson, American Hawking 138. Chamerlat, La fauconnerie et l'art 251. OCLC 12438224. Not in Harting.
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Messmer, Joseph Anton.
Das Heilige Land und die heiligen Stätten. Ein Pilgerbuch in ausgewählten Bildern mit erläuterndem Text [...]. Munich, Vogel'sche Verlagshandlung, 1860.
4to. IX, (1), 356 pp. With steel-engraved title-page, 79 engraved plates (of which 24 are coloured steel-engravings, 54 tinted woodcuts, and one a tinted lithograph), and one steel-engraved folding map of Palestine in original hand colour. Contemporary giltstamped and blindstamped full cloth with title to cover and spine. All edges gilt. First edition. - Lavishly illustrated work on the Holy Land by the professor of archaeology and later conservator at the Bavarian National Museum, Messmer (1829-79), featuring the same illustrations as Friedrich Adolph Strauss in his 1861 work "Die Länder und Stätten der heiligen Schrift". However, Messmer's work greatly differs in the text, which is "preferable [to that of Strauss] as it discusses the element of architecture much more thoroughly" (cf. Tobler). It is sometimes inaccurately described as an extract or abbridgement of another publication by Strauss, entitled "Sinai und Golgatha", first published in 1847. The steel-engraved illustrations include views of Jaffa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Damascus, the interior and exterior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, views of Mount Olivet, the Temple Mount, the Jericho desert, and Mount Sinai, as well as archaeological sites like Abu Simbel, and a violent scene showing the assassination of a Maronite priest and the kidnapping of women by Druzes and Bedouins. The woodcut plates include views of Beirut, Gaza, Hebron, Jericho and Sidon. - Hinges somewhat chafed. Several pages show traces of one or two horizontal folds starting from right margin (most prominent in pp. 151-175); occasional light brownstaining; small flaw to lower corner of p. 221f., no loss to text. Otherwise very well preserved. Tobler 171f. (note). Röhricht 2093 (note). OCLC 174874595.
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Nelson, William.
The Laws Concerning Game. Of Hunting, Hawking, Fishing and Fowling [...]. London, F. Richardson and C. Lintot, 1762.
8vo. XVII, (1 blank), 255, (27), VIII pp. Contemporary blindstamped full calf. Sixth and final edition of this manual of English hunting law, first published in 1727, deemed "still more useful and satisfactory" (p. 3 of the preface) than its predecessors. Opening with an introduction describing the history of English game law from the time Britain was under Saxon rule, when there "was such plenty of game, that there was no occasion for restraining laws to preserve them" (p. IX), until the reissue of the 1217 "Charter of the Forest" in 1225, the treatise explains key terms of hunting law in alphabetical order, describes exemplary law cases, and discusses when, where and by whom which animals can be chased, and in what manner offenders are proceeded against. The present copy includes the 8-page appendix, giving two acts relating to doves and fish that were passed shortly after the book was printed, which is lacking in some copies of this edition. - Extremities slightly rubbed; hinges cracked. Paper evenly browned throughout. Contemporary ownership of J. Kilsby, dated 1775, to title-page; later in the collection of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), his ownership, dated Kingswood, May 1946, to front pastedown. This edition not seen at auction since 1962. Westwood/Satchell 155. Cf. Schwerdt II, 40 (1732 ed.). ESTC T82611. OCLC 837605604. Not in Souhart, Harting.
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Powys, Thomas Littleton, 4th Baron Lilford / Trevor-Battye, Aubyn (ed.).
Lord Lilford on birds. Being a collection of informal and unpublished writings by the late President of the British Ornithologists' Union [...]. London, Hutchinson & Co., 1903.
4to. XVII, (1), 312 pp. Title-page printed in red and black. With engraved frontispiece and 12 plates. Contemporary full cloth with gilt hawk on front cover, giltstamped title to cover and spine. First edition. - Posthumously published work of natural history by the distinguished British ornithologist Lord Lilford (1833-96), whose aviaries at Lilford Hall, installed in the 1890s, aroused the envy of field ornithologists of the day and were especially noted for the collection of birds of prey. Edited by his friend, the traveller, naturalist and writer Aubyn Bernard Rochfort Trevor-Battye (1855-1922), it includes descriptions of the Lilford Hall premises, its ponds, paddocks, and aviaries, as well as notes on otter hunting, and an introduction to falconry written by Reverend Gage Earle Freeman, which, in matters of introducing the sport, is regarded "the best short essay ever written" (Barber). It features quotations from Lilford's earlier publications, as well as private letters, and a speech he gave in his role as President of the British Ornithologists' Union in February 1894, as well as some sections from the journal Lilford kept during his travels in the Mediterranean in 1874, 1878-79, and 1882. In addition, the work comprises an appendix drawing from Lilford's notes on everyday events in his aviaries, stating for example that his "English raven rolls and enjoys himself in the snow" (p. 272), as well as a complete list of his publications. The illustrations, carried out by the Scottish painter Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935), are studies of individual birds in the Lilford aviaries, showing, inter alia, Lämmergeier, cranes, a golden eagle in its nest, a trained goshawk sitting on a falconer's hand, two ruffs fighting, flamingoes, and a Greenland falcon. The frontispiece depicts Lilford in his study with a dead falcon lying on his desk as well as a live song bird sitting on his backrest. - Small tears to spine; two small holes in the hinges; corners slightly bumped. Interior with occasional light brownstaining. Handwritten ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Kingswood, 16 January 1942, to front pastedown. Barber 10. Ballance, Birds in Counties 233. OCLC 314718094. Not in Harting, Schwerdt.
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Ruttledge, William.
Falconry for Beginners. [London, British Falconers' Club], 1949.
4to. (4), 22, (2), V pp. With 3 plates of drawings. Original printed wrappers, stapled. First edition, rare. - Practical beginner's guide to falconry by a member of the British Falconers' Club, reissued in the 1950s and 1960s. It recommends the kestrel as a suitable hawk for beginners due to the "ease with which young kestrels may be obtained, their amenability to training and their relative hardiness" (p. 3), and describes the preparations required before taking up an eyass, including the acquisition of suitable perches, blocks, jesses, swivels, leashes and gloves. Includes notes on the kestrel's feeding an training, as well as on the bird's health and common diseases, including damaged feathers, and gives instructions on how to hood a falcon. Originally hand-drawn, then printed, the illustrations show the main tools used by a falconer, including a block, perch, and jess, as well as a step-by-step guide to tying the falconer's knot. - A sheet of advertisements by the Bate and Slice Society for their 1976 reprint of Joseph Wolf's famous portrait of a hooded white gyrfalcon from Schlegel and Wulverhorst's 1844 "Traité de Fauconnerie", as well as a handwritten note ("Is this your permanent address?") signed "G. A.", are loosely enclosed. - Covers slightly creased. Interior with light brownstaining; traces of a fold to top right corner of first page. Two small annotations with ballpoint pen on pp. 19 and 22. Only three institutions holding copies of this treatise are traceable internationally (the British Library, the University of Oxford, and the US Air Force Academy). Never seen at auction. Oelgart 27A. OCLC 19755003.
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[Sporting magazine].
Field Sports. Idle, Bradford, Yorkshire, Watmoughs, (1947).
8vo. 104 pp. With several black and white photographic illustrations in the text. Original printed wrappers. First edition. - The first 1947 issue of the "Field Sports" magazine, including essays on hawking, salmon fishing, hunting, rabbiting, and the study of footprints. Stunning wildlife photography shows eagles, mallards, seagulls, badgers, hounds, and salmons. The essay on falconry was prepared by the British author and broadcaster James Wentworth Day (1899-1983), who gives an atmospheric description of the tradition of hawking in England: "To see a party of falconers, some mounted and some on foot, hawks on fist [...] silhouetted against the sky-line of a Wilshire down, with all the green and noble emptiness of stubble, chalk down and misty hollow falling away at their feet in seemingly limitless immensity, is to see a page of English history reborn, to recapture something of the romance and colour of an earlier England [...]" (p. 33f.). - Advertisement on pastedowns. Extremities lightly bumped.
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[Stereo views].
A unique collection of 350 glass stereoviews recording private travels around the Mediterranean and the West Indies. Various places, 1930s.
350 glass diapositive stereoviews (58 x 129 mm each), the majority with a metal strip along the top edge, preserved in 18 wooden cradles (each cradle with 20 slots); housed in a wooden [mahogany?] box. Includes a wooden stereoviewer. A unique collection of 350 glass stereo views by an unidentified photographer, showing the West Indies, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Greece, Turkey, Madeira, and Italy.
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Stevens, Ronald.
Observations on Modern Falconry. No place, Pilot Publishing, 1987.
Small 4to. (2), 112 pp., final blank leaf. Slightly later full cloth with giltstamped title to cover and spine. Re-issue of this important guide to falconry by the "grand old man of British falconry" (Gallagher), Ronald Stevens (d. 1994), first published in 1956. The book questions several age-old concepts of the sport, such as the attempt of teaching falcons to wait on through flying to the lure, and introduces methods of teaching the birds to home to the falconer's house, which "caused a great deal of rethinking among falconers" (Gallagher). - Stevens settled in the remote Fermoyle Lodge in Connemara in Ireland in the early 1960s, the place quickly turning into something of a Mecca for falconers from all across the world, his treatises inspiring generations of aspired falconers. - Handwritten ownership of Charles Garton, dated Wadeford House, December 1987, to front pastedown. A typescript letter signed by John Cox from The Clock House bookshop to Garton is loosely enclosed, regarding his order of "A Falcon in the Field" by Jack Mavrogordato (London, Knightly Vernon Ltd., 1966), which could not be fulfilled as the work was not to be reprinted due to the author's recent death, offering to send him Stevens's work instead. With Garton's autograph reply on the same sheet, accepting the offer, and asking Cox to refund him the difference. The Clock House's advertisement for "A Falcon in the Field", with handwritten notes by Garton, is stapled to the letter. - Occasional light foxing. A very good copy of this influential work. Gallagher, Falcon Fever 74. OCLC 974238561.
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Upton, Roger D.
Newmarket & Arabia. An Examination of the Descent of Racers and Coursers. London, Henry S. King & Co., 1873.
8vo. XI, (1), 211, (1) pp. With a hand-coloured wood-engraved frontispiece and 4 large folding lithographed pedigree tables. Original burnt red cloth binding with giltstamped title to spine and upper cover. First edition. - Upton was one of the early experts on the bloodlines of British thoroughbreds. His book describes both the influence of the Arabian horse on the development of the English thoroughbred as well as many interesting aspects of the Arabian horse. Shortly after the publication of this work - intended to "point out errors that have been committed in the breeding of our horse" (p. iii) - he travelled in Arabia to obtain purebred horses and so improve the quality of British cavalry remounts. Upton served with the 9th Lancers. - Binding somewhat bumped and rubbed with traces of moisture to covers. Lightly browned throughout, paper brittle with occasional edge or corner flaws, frontispiece and title-page rather foxed. Rare. Boyd/P. 130. Huth 273. OCLC 12795478.
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Volney, C[onstantin] F[rançois Chasseboeuf, Comte de].
Simplification des langues orientales, ou méthode nouvelle et facile d'apprendre les langues arabe, persane et turque, avec des caractères européens [...]. Paris, Imprimerie de la République, an III [= 1794/95].
8vo. (4), 135, (3) pp. With 3 folding tables and 1 engraved plate. Later blue wrappers. Only edition of this introduction to Arabic, written by the Comte de Volney (1757-1820) as history professor at the newly-founded École normale, immediately after the end of the Terreur and his release from prison following the fall of Robespierre. In spite of its wide-ranging title, the book comprises essentially an Arabic grammar and a collection of Arabic proverbs; the long introductory chapter has been hailed a model of style. Volney had learned Arabic in 1782 in preparation of a long journey through Egypt and Syria. The work displays his ingenious method of simplifying the study of Arabic, Persian and Turkish by transliterating the alphabets into European characters. The tables give the Arabic alphabet, the conjugation of regular verbs, and instructions on how to write Arabic letters by hand, as well as the Arabic alphabet in European characters intended for merchants travelling to Asia and Africa. With a section of Arabian proverbs included as samples. - Pages 30-31 unopened. A good copy of this important work, untrimmed as issued. Gay 3429. Brunet V, 1351. Cioranescu 663767. Monglond III, 481. OCLC 21978700.
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Willyams, Cooper.
[A Voyage up the Mediterranean in His Majesty's Ship the Swiftsure. With a description of the Battle of the Nile on the first of August 1798]. [London, J. White, 1802].
Folio (ca. 350 x 493 mm). 17 aquatint plates in original hand colour and one double-page-sized aquatint map of the Mediterranean in original hand colour, all with captions in English. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped title and 2 floral ornaments to spine. Marbled endpapers. Collection of 18 of the 43 illustrations from the account of the voyage of HMS Swiftsure and the Battle of the Nile by the British clergyman and artist Willyams (1762-1816), who served as chaplain aboard the ship, a vessel of Admiral Nelson's squadron captained by Benjamin Hallowell Carew. The 17 plates in the present volume show views of the caves of Gibraltar and the Spanish Church in the city, the Bay of Fournelles, Ischia, a street in Caiffe at the foot of Mount Carmel featuring two dromedars, Aboukir castle, caverns near Syracuse and the Temple of Minerva, the Palermo Capuchin catacombs, and a view of Scylla on the coast of Calabria, as well as an attack on the French camp near Aboukir, an attack of Turkish gun boats on the castle of Aboukir, and a group of three Arabs aboard the Swiftsure. The aquatint map shows the Mediterranean Sea with the courses of the British and French fleets up to their encounter in the Bay of Aboukir in August 1798. Designed by Willyams, the illustrations were engraved by Joseph Constantine Stadler. - Binding somewhat rubbed near extremities. Right margins of several plates brownstained or a little worn (not touching image); map brownstained on left and right margins and near the gutter (hardly touching image); the plate with the entrance into the Ear of Dionysius with traces of 2 folds near lower right corner (not touching image). An appealing compilation of decorative images documenting the route of the British fleet leading up to the Battle of the Nile. For the original publication cf. Abbey 196. Blackmer 1813. Atabey (2nd ed.) 1339. Graesse VII, 456.
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Wood, Casey Albert / Fyfe, Florence Marjorie.
The art of falconry being the De arte venandi cum avibus of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen [...]. Boston, C. T. Branford, 1955.
4to. (2), CX, 637, (1) pp. With 2 coloured plates (including a portrait frontispiece) and 184 black and white plates (1 of which not included in pagination). Original full cloth with giltstamped spine and spine-title. Second edition of this important English translation of the famous Latin treatise on ornithology and falconry written in the 1240s by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. It was prepared by the Canadian ophthalmologist and comparative zoologist C. A. Wood (1856-1942), who studied animal vision, especially that of birds, and was first published in 1943 by Stanford University Press. The plentiful illustrations include a portrait frontispiece of Frederick II, photographs of various decorative manuscript pages from "De arte venandi cum avibus", falconer's equipment, and landmarks associated with the Emperor, including Castel del Monte and his tomb in Palermo, as well as drawings and photographs of various species of falcons and hawks, and a map of southern Italy and Sicily showing the Emperor's castles and hunting lodges. - Giltstamping somewhat faded; edges very slightly foxed. A very good copy of this second edition, never seen at auction. Oelgart 24B. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 81, 192. OCLC 459570612.
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Woodford, Michael.
A Manual of Falconry [...]. London, Adam & Charles Black, (1960).
Small 4to. XVI, 192 pp. With photographic frontispiece, 11 photographic plates, and 9 illustrations in the text. Original full cloth with giltstamped falcon to cover and giltstamped spine-title. First edition. An authoritative textbook, one of two classics on falconry to appear in 1960 (the other being Jack Mavrogordato's "A Hawk for the Bush"). It discusses the choice of hawk for training with the necessary furniture and appliances, individual species used in falconry, their particular challenges in training and management, their handling when flown at quarry in the field, falcons' home life, their health and disease, as well as how to deal with lost hawks, and the moult. - With contributions by S. E. Allen and Jack Mavrogordato on game hawking and rook hawking. The impressive illustrations display various birds of prey, including lanners, sakers and peregrines, as well as merlins, kestrels, and goshawks, sometimes hooded or on perches. One photograph shows a young boy working with a kestrel. The other illustrations show the equipment typically used in the sport, including the falconers' knot, hoods, jesses, and bells. - Edges and endpapers slightly foxed. A single copy in auction records. Oelgart 31A. Cf. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 81, 590 (U.S. edition). OCLC 1079355522.
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[French Algeria].
Tales of a Razzia. 1842. (Barbazan), 1845-1846.
4to. English manuscript on paper. (4), 306 pp. With mounted engraved frontispiece in original hand colour and 21 mounted engraved plates, 13 of which in original hand colour. Contemporary half calf over patterned boards with giltstamped spine and spine-title. Marbled endpapers. All edges red. Intriguing manuscript comprising five Arabian tales allegedly recounted by officers at a Spahi camp in Algeria in the context of an imminent raid against the Haschemu tribe loyal to Emir Abdelkader in 1842, commanded by the French general Louis Juchault de Lamoricière (1806-65). The compiler, who gives his initals as "E. H. S. de R." on the title-page, states that he transcribed the tales from another book, but gives no clear indication whether or not the account is purely fictitious. He does, however, criticize the "cruel system of warfare which the French have hitherto employed in Africa" (p. 1). - Prefaced to the tales is an introduction describing the events leading up to the frame narrative, involving the rescue of a Douair chieftain by a member of the Spahi regiment, and the officers spending the evening together at the campfire. Five of them are prompted to tell stories, some autobiographical, which the editor has titled "The Unfortunate", "The Dervish of Anatolia", "The Renegade", "The Arab's Faith", "Love and Hate", and "The Fugitive of Armenya". The last tale is followed by an account of the fate of the two Douair and Spahi officers, who became close friends after the latter saved the life of the former. - The hand-coloured engravings which illustrate the volume depict characters and scenes from the tales; the frontispiece shows a lavishly decorated room in a palace with an Arab leader smoking a long pipe, surrounded by servants and followers. Continuously paginated, but with additional pagination for each tale. The additional heading "First series" on the title-page suggests that the present manuscript was conceived as part of a larger set. - Extremities slightly rubbed; interior very clean. A very well preserved volume providing an unusual look at French rule in Algeria during its early years.
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[Hippology manuscript]. - (Decullant, ...).
Comptément d'Extérieur. No place, [ca. 1800].
8vo. French manuscript on paper. 216 pp. Text in brown ink with some word highlighted in red, enclosed within red and brown borders. With 5 hand-drawn plates, one of which folding, one in original hand colour. Contemporary full calf with gilt spine and green morocco label; name "Mr Decullant" gilt to upper cover within florally gilt borders; leading edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. All edges lightly sprinkled red. Unpublished hippological manuscript in neat French calligraphy, discussing horse breeds, proportions, balance, paces, coats, horseshoes, and warranty issues. A separate section on Arabian horses discusses the breeders' practice of issuing certificates of authenticity for each individual animal, as well as that of branding: "L'origine des individus [...] est attestée par des Certificats à l'authenticité des quels ils tiennent avec une Extrème Rigeur, ils les marquent de plus au feu sur nombre d'endroits du Corps" (p. 109f.). The Arabian horse is singled out for its speed and praised for its boldness, as are the riders' impressive skills, envied by many a European army: "Nos armées ont admiré [...] et deploré souvent, cette petulance des chevaux, aussi bien que la Bravour de leurs Cavaliers pour qu'il soit Bésoin d'en faire un éloge plus pompeux" (p. 111). Furthermore, the author collects useful advice for buying horses and on distinguishing features to appreciate, including various deformities to be considered. The drawings illustrate the horse's proportions, displaying the animal in profile, from front and from behind; they also show the effects of leverage and equilibrium, and illustrate basic concepts of geometry. Throughout the text, the author repeatedly refers to hippiatric authorities such as the veterinarians Charles Bourgelat (1712-79), François Alexandre de Garsault (1691-1778), and Philippe-Étienne Lafosse (1738-1820). The wording "cette troisième section du cours" (p. 1) suggests that the present manuscript was conceived as part of a series of hippological textbooks, but no publication could be traced, nor could the author be identified. - Early 20th century handwritten notes on the treatment of a riding horse, probably transcribed from another work, loosely inserted. Extremities slightly rubbed, interior crisp and clean. A unique survival.
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Ibn Abi Zar` al-Fasi, `Ali ibn `Abd Allah / Tornberg, Carl Johan.
Annales regum Mauritaniae a condito Idrisidarum imperio ad annum fugae 726. Uppsala, Litteris Academicis, 1843-1846.
Large 4to (230 x 280 mm). 2 parts in 4 volumes. (2), 144, (2) pp. (2), 145-281 pp. 360 pp. (8), XIV, 361-446 pp. Original printed blue wrappers. Arabic text with Latin translation and commentary of this chronicle of mediaeval Moroccan dynasties, including the Idrisids, Zanata, Almoravids, Almohads, and Merinids, by Zar al-Fasi (d. after 726/1326). - Somewhat wrinkled and dust-stained; untrimmed. GAL II, 240f. OCLC 682184610.
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[Bahrain].
Original photographs of Manama, Bahrain. Manama, [ca. 1952-1954].
17 original gelatin silver photographs (14 small format and three postcard sized). All but three captioned on the versos in pencil. An excellent group of snapshots of Bahrain, chiefly focusing on the Bahrain International Airport and the capital, Manama. - The photographer is unidentified but was probably a serviceman based at RAF Bahrain, a military installation attached to the Bahrain International Airport from 1943 to 1971. Several photographs show the airfield, training base and the inside of some billets. Only one is aerial, a vertiginous bird’s-eye view of Muharraq Island, where the airfield was located. - In addition to the expected images of military life are glimpses of Manama, where the servicemen spent their time off. There are interesting views of commercial streets, the Al-Fadhel Mosque and the Bab Al-Bahrain. Some provide lively period detail, such as the film poster for Nau Bahar (an Indian drama released in 1952), a dealership advertising Ford cars, and a street lined with flags in preparation for the state visit of King Saud Ibn Abdulaziz in April 1954. That visit, undertaken shorty after Saud became King, was witness to the first suggestion of a bridge linking Eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, an idea that eventually came into being with the construction of the King Fahd Causeway in the 1980s. - Some staining and spotting to the versos, a few printed from damaged negatives, otherwise very clean and clear with little fading.
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[Dow, Alexander / Bergier, Claude François (transl.)].
Dissertation sur les moeurs, les usages, le langage, la religion et la philosophie des Hindous, suivie d'une exposition generale et succincte du Gouvernement & de l'etat actuel de l'Hindostan. Paris, Noel-Jacques Pissot, 1769.
8vo. XXIV, 213, (1) pp. With 2 folding engraved plates. Contemporary full mottled calf with giltstamped red morocco label to prettily gilt spine. Marbled endpapers. All edges red. First edition thus. Very rare French translation of two essays by the Scottish-born East India Company officer and orientalist Alexander Dow (1735-79), first published within his "History of Hindostan, translated from the Persian of Ferishta" (1768). The present edition omits the text of the world history of Firishta that Dow had presented in his book, giving only his "dissertation concerning the religion and philosophy of the Brahmins" as well as an outline of the then-current state of India, partly taken from Dow's preface. Contains two folding plates, engraved by P. L. Charpentier, showing the Sanskrit alphabet and the metre employed in the Vedas. Re-issued in 1780. - Early 19th century bookseller label of A. Claudin, Paris, pasted head-over-heels to lower pastedown. Binding very attractively preserved. Excepting the Sir Thomas Phillipps copy, sold at Sotheby's in 1977, this is the second copy known in trade records. Lanson III, 8161. OCLC 34570575.
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Ibn Tufail, Muhammad Ibn-'Abd-al-Malik / Eichhorn, Johann Gottfried (transl.).
[Risalat Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan - German]. Der Naturmensch oder Geschichte des Hai Ebn Joktan. Ein morgenländischer Roman des Abu Dschafar Ebn Tofailby. Berlin & Stettin, Friedrich Nicolai, 1783.
8vo. (3)-245, (3) pp. Contemporary sprinkled boards. Second German translation of "Hayy ibn Yaqzan" by the 12th-century physician Ibn Tufail, widely considered the first philosophical novel and tremendously influential on Eastern and Western intellectual traditions alike. The Arabic tale (not to be confused with Avicenna's earlier like-named romance) was known in Europe as early as the 15th century through Pico della Mirandola's 1493 unpublished Latin translation, and scholars have since asserted its influence on Francis Bacon, Baruch Spinoza, Robert Boyle, the modern novel, Enlightenment thought, and even Robinson Crusoe. A bilingual Arabic and Latin edition appeared at Oxford in 1671, marking its first publication in Europe, and this was soon followed by English and Dutch translations. "A medieval philosophical treatise in literary form, written by the Andalusian philosopher Abu Bakr Ibn-Tufayl in the 1160s, it relates the story of human knowledge as it rises from a blank slate, through practical exploration of nature, to a mystical or direct experience of God. Its central argument is that human reason can independently access scientific knowledge unaided by religion or society and its conventions, leading not only to the tenets of natural philosophy but also to the attainment of mystical insight, the highest form of human knowledge" (Ben-Zaken, p. 2). Following the life of a young man stranded on an otherwise uninhabited island, it is easy to appreciate comparisons to Robinson Crusoe; given the protagonist's flair as an autodidact and faith in empiricism, it is similarly not difficult to understand the story's appeal to Enlightenment thinkers, whom this German edition would have served well. The work's Western influence is hardly to obscure its importance within the Arabic and Persian literary traditions, nor its influence on Islamic philosophy. The author was well placed to leave an enduring legacy. "He was the caliph's friend and confidant as well as his physician. The two could talk freely about the burning issues of the day, even including creation and whether the world had always been as we know it" (Goodman). - Unchanged re-issue of Eichhorn's new translation, styled "The Natural Man", which had first appeared the previous year. An earlier German translation, by J. G. Pritsius, had been published in 1726. - Ownership signature of the theologian Martin Hößler (b. 1877), dated 2 November 1919, written in indelible pencil on front flyleaf. Light dampstain to lower pastedown and moderate wear to the binding extremities. Complete, pagination notwithstanding, matching all digitized copies available for comparison. An appealing copy. VD 18, 11177462. OCLC 247720469. Avner Ben-Zaken, Reading Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan: A Cross-Cultural History of Autodidacticism (Baltimore, 2011), p. 10. Cf. GAL S I, p. 831 f. Schnurrer p. 472.
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Kara Çelebi-zade Abdülaziz Efendi.
Ravzatü'l-ebrar. Bulaq, Matba`at Bulaq, [1832 CE] = 1248 H.
Folio. 6 pp., 1 bl. f., 637, (1) pp. Contemp. calf binding with fore-edge flap, blindstamped cover ornament and cloth spine. First edition of this Islamic chronicle by the Ottoman religious scholar and historian Kara Çelebi-zâde Abdul Aziz Efendi (1591-1658). The Bulaq press, established in 1235 (1819/20), "'wrote' printing history. This is the first Muslim printing press in the Arab world" (Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution. A Cross-Cultural Encounter, Westhofen 2002, p. 183). - Professionally restored. OCLC 462409245 (only the BnF copy).
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Robinson, Arthur E.
The Mahmal of the Moslem Pilgrimage. [London], Royal Asiatic Society, 1931.
8vo. (117)-127, (1) pp. Original printed wrappers. Offprint from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. About the Mahmal, the closed rectangular pyramidal canopy taken along on camelback on Egyptian and Syrian pilgrimages to Mecca before Ibn Saud's conquest of the Hejaz in 1925 - a "very curious custom in Islam", the origin and purport of which the present essay undertakes to investigate. "It is very improbable that the Mahmal [...] will be seen in the Hejaz again [...] The Mahmal is heretical to Islam, and the Wahhabis [...] have declined to admit the Mahmal into the Hejaz" (p. 117). - Wrapper shows insignificant ruststains from staples, otherwise in perfect condition. OCLC 47931240. Not in Macro.
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[Syria and Lebanon - French military cartography].
[Levant. 1:200,000]. Paris, Service Geographique de l'Armee & Bureau Topographique des Troupes Francaises du Levant, 1920-1937.
5 colour-printed topographic maps, sheets ca. 77 x 63 cm each or smaller. Constant ratio linear horizontal scale 1:200,000. A rare set of 5 maps from the French military's cartography of the Levant, produced from the mid-1920s until the Second World War. The maps comprise: Antioche (Antakya and Iskenderun), Palmyre (Tadmur, Palmyra), Haiffa (Haifa, Acre, and Tyre), and Homs (2 different sheets). Considered products of military intelligence by the French government, the maps fell into German hands when Germany invaded France in 1940. The present maps were subsequently accessioned by the Geographical Institute of the University of Berlin and bear the Institute's stamps and pencil shelfmarks. - Two maps folded. Occasional edge and corner flaws, some wrinkling, duststaining and minor chips and tears to margins, but altogether well preserved. OCLC 904341885.
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Zetterstéen, Karl Vilhelm.
Beiträge zur Geschichte der Mamlukensultane in den Jahren 690-741 der Higra nach arabischen Handschriften [...]. Leiden, vormals E. J. Brill, 1919.
4to. XVI, 120, 330 pp. Near-contemporary library binding by the Lund "Semitiska Seminariet": half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine-title. Bound with the original printed wrappers. Important critical edition of a 14th century Arabic manuscript held at the Königliche Hof- und Staatsbibliothek in Munich, the "Cod[ex] arab[icus] Quatremère 37", produced by the Swedish orientalist Zetterstéen in Arabic type. The edited text is preceded by a German foreword and a philological introduction by the editor. The Codex Quatremère 37 contains a compilation of two chronicles of the Mamluk Sultanate, the first anonymous, the second by Badr al-Din Baktash al-Fakhiri (d. 1334). The first part begins with the Mamluk conquest of Acre, wrested from the Crusaders in 1291, and ends with the beginning of the third reign of Sultan An-Nasir Muhamad, who returned to Egypt from Al Kark in 1309; the second part picks up at the Sultan's return and describes events up to his death in 1341. The German orientalist Gustav Weil considered the manuscript to be part of a larger series, as there is a reference of a subsequent 8th volume of the chronicle at the end of the codex. - Pink label on the inside of the front wrapper, indicating that the book was presented by the author ("Ueberreicht vom Verfasser"). - Contemporary ownership to front wrapper. Stamp of the Lund Semitiska Seminariet to front pastedown and to verso of title-page; their bookplate overpasted by that of the Lund University Library. Later in the collection of the Swedish numismatist Bengt E. Hovén (his handwritten ownership, dated 23 Sept. 2014), to flyleaf. Extremities very slightly rubbed; interior crisp and clean. Never seen at auction. Weil, Geschichte der Chalifen IV, XIff.
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