IRAN, AFGHANISTAN - THE GREAT GAMEBiblio.com
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Best.-Nr. PF48Fourteen loose original albumen photographs ca. 171x123 cm 6 ¾ x 4 ¾ in mounted on ornamented cardboards. All photos with period Russian captions on the verso. Photos housed in a folder. Light soiling of the cardboards photos age-toned several photographs with small stains but overall a very good collection of strong interesting photos. Historically important collection of professional albumen photographs mostly documenting Mashhad Iran in the late 19th century and before the 1912 bombardment of the city. At the time Mashhad was a major political and commercial center under the Qajar dynasty. Owing to its proximity to Afghanistan and Russian Central Asia the city became a focal point of the Great Game between Britain and Russia. Following the establishment of the Russian consulate in Mashhad 1889 Russian consular guards Cossack escorts and military advisers appeared in the city to protect Russian subjects. In 1912 amid anti-Russian protests Russian Cossack forces heavily bombarded the city heavily damaging the Imam Reza Holy shrine complex and surrounding areas. As follows from the captions the photographer was of Russian origin and was likely on assignment related to the military interests of the empire in the region. The stiff ornamental mounts suggest that the photos were produced for official or presentation purposes possibly intended for consular archives a government report or as a gift to a high-ranking official. The collection contains 14 photographs of mostly Mashhad including four well-executed early views of the pre-bombarded Imam Reza Holy Shrine. The images show a general view of the crowded shrine the arch and courtyard with horses and an archway guarded by armed soldiers. Another important photo depicts the interior of the nearby Gawhar-Shad Mosque with three Russian soldiers posing on the pulpit. Especially interesting is an image of the British Consulate entrance established in the city in 1889 The consulate was closed in 1911 following the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 which divided Persia into spheres of influence. Despite thorough research no other photographs of the consulate have been found online. Other identified photographs from Mashhad include the Persian artillery barracks with cannons in the yard and the entrance to the governor’s palace showing a dozen militaries and civilians posing for the photo. The collection also includes at least two photographs from Afghanistan depicting the crowded “Tehran Gate” with locals in traditional attire passing through and the “New Afghan Gate” with armed soldiers facing the camera. Among four unidentified photographs are “Igda” possibly “Eedgah” Kandahar Aghanistan “Kochan” possibly Kashan Iran the “Ergov” gates and the “Bank Gates” with Kazak soldiers guarding the entrance. Overall historically important collection of professional albumen photographs mostly documenting Mashhad Iran in the late 19th century and before the 1912 bombardment of the city. hardcover
1897Best.-Nr. 2210164Comprising two coloured map board 66 x 99 cm folding down to 32.5 x 49.5 cm one cloth hinge broken; 14 route cards; a barometer dial 19 x 19 cm with gilt metal spinning arrow some abrading from use; eight painted white metal playing pieces in the form of ships contained in the original small box one piece not original; 16pp booklet of instructions bound in original light green printed wrappers; all contained in the original box 35 x 52 x 5 cm; the hinged lid with a large coloured lithograph title label showing the 'Normandie' leaving port at full steam some minor abrasions but overall in good condition. Jue des Paquebots was something new to games when it was published in 1897 as each player moves their boats on large maps exactly replicating the routes taken by two major French shipping lines. The game includes two large folding boards designated 'Carte A' which illustrates the Atlantic shipping lines the other 'Carte B' with the shipping lines leaving Marseilles in the direction of the Black Sea the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Rather pointedly the instructions state that the two maps include only the French shipping lines of the Messageries Maritimes and the Cie Générale Transatlantique the United Kingdom then the leading maritime nation is neither shown on the maps nor mentioned. The players first decide which map they are going use and then select or bid one of the Itinerary cards 8 for map A and 6 for map B. The aim of each player is to complete the journey indicated by their itinerary and then make the return voyage; the first player to complete this double crossing wins. However the number of stopovers is not equal for each different itinerary in play. In order to equalise the chances of winning the players with the fewer ports of call have to repeat their journey a second or even a third time if necessary until the number of ports visited or passed by them in these different routes equates to the number of ports of the busiest route. The routes all follow those which the two major French shipping companies plied. These include final destinations at Yokohama Australia New Zealand Zanzibar Odessa Buenos Ayres New York and the Antilles. Each player places a ship playing piece at port at the beginning of their route. The first player now spins the Barometer Dial which has outer and inner instructions that allows them to advance out of port when their turn come around again the arrow is again spun and the player can read the inner line of instructions and so advance 1 2 or 3 ports along their route. However there are also stops on the Barometer Dial that include Damage - where you go back to the previous port and pay a token to the bank; Heavy Fog - where you are left stranded until the next round; Collision - this allows another turn of the dial but it the result is 50/50 chance of being sunk and thrown out of the game - you can pay for another ships so all is not lost; Call for Distress - also misses a turn; Shipwreck - something like collision although you can start out again with a new ship and no fine; Rescue - also causes the player to miss a turn; lastly and somewhat topical there is Quarantine - here the player misses a turn and also has a second spin of the arrow to determine if you can go into port or not. The lid of the box illustrates the Cie Général Transatlantique liner La Normandie that plied the North Atlantic to New York in the summer and the south Atlantic in the winter - the ship sports a US flag on the foremast and the makers initials on the aft mast. Built in 1886 it was the largest and fastest liner of the company and was originally named 'Ville de New York.' It was also lit by electricity and could carry 1000 passengers and became the model for several sister ships built to the same plan. The maker Charles Watilliaux succeeded the games manufacturer Coqueret in 1874 and for the next 35 years became a major publisher and manufacturer of board games and toys until their acquisition by Revenaz & Tabernat. His registered initials were 'W.X.' which is slightly modified for the flag on the box lid as C.W.X. Watilliaux, éditeur.
2019Together 10 vols., 8vo., and Cased Map, text in gold and black, with colour plates (a number double-page), pedigrees in the text and endpaper charts, pictorial cloth, gilt backs, black tops, a near fine set to date in publishers blocked board slip-cases with interior illustration. Books 1-4 of A Song of Ice and Fire. The set to date [2022] comprises A Game of Thrones (2019); A Clash of Kings (2020); A Storm of Swords (2020); A Feast for Crows (2021); A Dance with Dragons (2022). WINNER OF THE BRAND/SERIES IDENTITY CATEGORY, BRITISH BOOK DESIGN AND PRODUCTION AWARDS, LONDON, 18 JANUIARY 2023. 'Rarely does a set of books encapsulate a story so perfectly, with such attention to detail in every aspect of production (British Book Design and Production Awards judging panel). ALL FIRST PRINTINGS AND NOW SCARCE AS SUCH.
Best.-Nr. 05401France: 1900. Les Trois Chats" A Delightfully Grotesque French Belle Époque Passé-Boules Carnival Game PASSÉ-BOULES GAME. Les Trois Chats. French hand-painted polychrome papier-mâché ball-toss carnival game. France ca. 1900. A remarkable surviving French passé-boules fairground game modeled as three wonderfully expressive cats arranged side by side each with a wide-open mouth forming the target through which the player was required to throw a ball. Hand-modelled and painted in polychrome papier-mâché over a wooden-supported structure measuring approximately 24 1/2 inches high × 23 5/8 inches wide × 5 7/8 inches deep 630 × 600 × 150 mm. The three feline heads are individually characterized with wonderfully exaggerated green eyes whiskers and large open mouths each approximately 2 1/2 inches 63 mm. across. The particularly splendid central gray cat wears a jaunty orange-and-blue striped hat prominently lettered "TOTO." The cats rest above three projecting differently colored receptacles - blue orange and yellow - with the respective scores "30" "50" and "20" painted beneath them. The higher-scoring central target is therefore appropriately occupied by the magnificently hatted Toto. The whole is reinforced by a simple wooden structure including boards at the base and upper portion while the projecting lower section forms the ball-catching receptacle. The reverse revealing the utilitarian construction of what was intended as a working fairground amusement survives substantially intact. The photographs also reveal the wonderfully irregular hand-modeled surfaces and surviving original polychrome decoration that give the three cats their extraordinary personalities. A remarkable survival of a French passé-boules carnival game from the Belle Époque. Passé-boules - literally games in which a ball was passed or thrown through an opening - were a familiar feature of French fêtes foraines and popular entertainments during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Targets frequently took the form of grotesque or comic human and animal heads their exaggerated open mouths providing the aperture through which the player attempted to propel a small ball. Points were awarded according to the successful target as demonstrated here by the painted scores beneath the three cats. The present example is particularly appealing for its three anthropomorphic feline characters. Their exaggerated expressions brilliant green eyes and distinctly individual personalities inevitably recall the celebrated comic cats of Louis Wain 1860-1939. No attribution to Wain is intended but the comparison places the game delightfully within the wider late-Victorian and Edwardian fascination with humorous humanized cats. Unlike printed or manufactured toys intended for domestic use fairground games were working objects subjected to repeated handling impact transportation and exposure. Consequently early papier-mâché examples surviving substantially complete are inherently scarce. The survival here of the three original sculptural targets their painted decoration numbered scoring system and integral ball receptacle makes Les Trois Chats an unusually evocative piece of French popular entertainment. Its appeal lies equally as a folk-art sculpture fairground artifact and piece of feline whimsy: three gloriously eccentric cats who have apparently spent more than a century waiting for someone to throw a ball into their mouths. Provenance: Acquired in Paris directly from the family of the former owner by whom it was said to have descended from a grandparent who acquired the game around the turn of the twentieth century. France: , 1900 unknown books
Best.-Nr. 171865Los Angeles: Antler Productions 1987. Shooting Script for the 1987 hybrid VHS board game copy belonging to screenwriter Stephen Sustarsic with manuscript pencil and ink annotations of his name and an address on the title page. An internally duplicated copy with the majority of pages with copied punch holes with occasional manuscript pencil annotations checking characters or scenes. A unique and important example of video game construction from the heart of its era one that pulled Sherlockiana into its concept. Deluxe 304-page script housed in a large generic pink three-ring binder with ten-page dividers nine labeled for each of the game's ten mysteries. Each mystery includes a title page noting screenwriters and draft date a one or two page Short Rundown and a cast page followed by the segment's script. Three "Promo" segments are interspersed throughout the script to assist and instruct players through gameplay. Bound in following the script is a six-page Staff List two copies of a 15-page Shooting Schedule dated 8/3/87 and a 15-page Shooting Schedule dated 8/7/87. Laid in the binder's pockets are two copies of a four-page Shooting Schedule dated 8/9/87 and a copy of directions to "The Complex" in West Los Angeles. "221B Baker Street" was a popular board game developed by Jay Moriarty and produced by Antler Productions in 1975 in which players solve up to 75 mysteries with Sherlock Holmes and his associate Dr. Watson by using clues provided by visiting locations on the game board and using Scotland Yard Badges and Skeleton Keys cards to control opponents' access to locations. In 1987 on the centennial anniversary of Arthur Conan Doyle's first published Sherlock story Moriarty and Antler released two new adaptations of the board game: a video game produced by Datasoft and a VCR board game the latter featuring ten new mysteries and a videocassette of dramatized briefings and reenactments-represented by the script on offer here. VCR board games were a short-lived fad in the mid-to-late-1980s in which board games would include a VHS tape to be played at certain points in the game to act as a timer reveal clues or advance a plot. The concept was an attempt by the game developers to remain relevant by incorporating the latest technological innovations prior to the ascension of modern video game consoles. Screenwriter and producer Sustarsic is best known as an Emmy Award winning screenwriter for the 1988-1991 animated Disney series "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" the 2004 Independent Comedy Horror film "Lucky" and the 2017 animated Disney XD series "Xiaolin Chronicles - Special Edition." Other screenwriting credits from Sustarsic's 35 year career in television and film include episodes for "The Jeffersons" 1981 "One Day at a Time" 1982 "Alice" 1985 "Newhart" 1989 "Alf" 1990 and "Dilbert" 2000 among many others. Front wrapper integral with first uncredited title page dated 1987 noted as SHOOTING SCRIPT. Second title page dated 1987 with credits for screenwriters Mark Chambers Jay Moriarty and Stephen Sustarsic. 304 leaves with last page of text numbered 13. Xerographic duplication rectos only. Pages Near Fine overall with first title page separated housed in a Near Fine generic pink three-ring binder. Staff List and Shooting Schedules saddle-stapled with a single staple to the top left corner. Near Fine. Antler Productions unknown
Best.-Nr. 171865Los Angeles: Antler Productions 1987. Shooting Script for the 1987 hybrid VHS board game copy belonging to screenwriter Stephen Sustarsic with manuscript pencil and ink annotations of his name and an address on the title page. An internally duplicated copy with the majority of pages with copied punch holes with occasional manuscript pencil annotations checking characters or scenes. A unique and important example of video game construction from the heart of its era one that pulled Sherlockiana into its concept. Deluxe 304-page script housed in a large generic pink three-ring binder with ten-page dividers nine labeled for each of the game's ten mysteries. Each mystery includes a title page noting screenwriters and draft date a one or two page Short Rundown and a cast page followed by the segment's script. Three "Promo" segments are interspersed throughout the script to assist and instruct players through gameplay. Bound in following the script is a six-page Staff List two copies of a 15-page Shooting Schedule dated 8/3/87 and a 15-page Shooting Schedule dated 8/7/87. Laid in the binder's pockets are two copies of a four-page Shooting Schedule dated 8/9/87 and a copy of directions to "The Complex" in West Los Angeles. "221B Baker Street" was a popular board game developed by Jay Moriarty and produced by Antler Productions in 1975 in which players solve up to 75 mysteries with Sherlock Holmes and his associate Dr. Watson by using clues provided by visiting locations on the game board and using Scotland Yard Badges and Skeleton Keys cards to control opponents' access to locations. In 1987 on the centennial anniversary of Arthur Conan Doyle's first published Sherlock story Moriarty and Antler released two new adaptations of the board game: a video game produced by Datasoft and a VCR board game the latter featuring ten new mysteries and a videocassette of dramatized briefings and reenactments-represented by the script on offer here. VCR board games were a short-lived fad in the mid-to-late-1980s in which board games would include a VHS tape to be played at certain points in the game to act as a timer reveal clues or advance a plot. The concept was an attempt by the game developers to remain relevant by incorporating the latest technological innovations prior to the ascension of modern video game consoles. Screenwriter and producer Sustarsic is best known as an Emmy Award winning screenwriter for the 1988-1991 animated Disney series "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" the 2004 Independent Comedy Horror film "Lucky" and the 2017 animated Disney XD series "Xiaolin Chronicles - Special Edition." Other screenwriting credits from Sustarsic's 35 year career in television and film include episodes for "The Jeffersons" 1981 "One Day at a Time" 1982 "Alice" 1985 "Newhart" 1989 "Alf" 1990 and "Dilbert" 2000 among many others. Front wrapper integral with first uncredited title page dated 1987 noted as SHOOTING SCRIPT. Second title page dated 1987 with credits for screenwriters Mark Chambers Jay Moriarty and Stephen Sustarsic. 304 leaves with last page of text numbered 13. Xerographic duplication rectos only. Pages Near Fine overall with first title page separated housed in a Near Fine generic pink three-ring binder. Staff List and Shooting Schedules saddle-stapled with a single staple to the top left corner. Near Fine. Antler Productions unknown books
Sevilla, Andrea Pescioni, 1582, 28,5 x 20,5 cm., pergamino, 6 h. + 91 folios + 1 h. blanca + (Discurso sobre el Libro de la Montería:) 23 folios (mal numerado 25) + 1 h. con la marca del impresor. Con 35 grabados en madera representado escenas de caza (Nuestro ejemplar tiene en facsímil con una gran precisión un total de 31 folios, incluyendo la portada y el colofón, 13 de la primera parte y los restantes del Discurso, con tan alta calidad, tanto en el papel como en la tinta, que hace muy difícil diferenciar los folios originales de los que no lo son).
1876Best.-Nr. 0041461876 Paris, J. Rothschild, 1876. Petit in-folio (288 X 362) demi-chagrin vert lierre, dos cinq nerfs, fleuron doré dans les compartiments, auteur et titre dorés, nom de l'éditeur en queue, tranches dorées (reliure de l'époque); (1) f. blanc, (2) ff. de faux-titre et titre imprimé en rouge et noir, frontispice, 140 pages, 45 planches couleurs hors-texte sous serpente, (1) f. blanc. Quelques rares rousseurs, principalement aux serpentes, trois taches sur le cuir du plat supérieur, sans gravité.
1920Very Good Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928) Original manuscript. 16mo. (16 x 10 cm). In Ottoman script. [22] p. This is a very unique and collectible satyric manuscript includes adaptation of classic and modern poems from Turkish / Ottoman literature into poker by an unknown poet (Âsik Menem). Probably Âsik (Minstrel) Menem was a nick name of the poet. Manuscript contains 10 poems of Yunus Emre, Mehmed Emin Bey which adapted into poker by this unknown poet such: "El-Hu!" by Yunus Emre. Its well-known refrains "Allah deyu deyu" are adapted like "Karo çikdi flosa sekli Allah deyu deyu". Poet changed the original verses and refrains like sometimes a loser poker player, sometimes like a winner. It's extremely rare. No copy in Turkey and libraries worldwide.
1840Best.-Nr. 17799Paris 1840. 19.5 x 13 cm. R. Lacouchin With 3 finely lithographed plates mounted on 3 thick green paperboard cards. The lithographs are framed with a gold-coloured ornamental border. The images on the cards are all beautifully hand coloured and the 3 cards depict respectively a crowned king in ornate robes a beautiful young lady in a green dress and a young man or possibly a court jester in an extravagant yellow and green outfit. Each card has 6 large circular movable pieces to be removed or inserted as the game demands in various circumstances. 3 puzzles. Three beautiful and complete puzzle cards with round movable pieces for example for a game of metamorphosis or lotto. While no rules are present or other specific indications given the cards with their beautiful coloured illustrations are quite intriguing by themselves.The illustration of the young man in the yellow and green outfit is signed "R. Lacouchin". Slightly foxed otherwise in very good condition. EDUCATION & LEARNING HORSES HUNTING SPORTS & GAMES Children's Books Games & Sports unknown
1960Best.-Nr. 4455DBKleve, ca. 1960/1980. & 61 Positionen (Mappen) mit über 300 Originalzeichnungen und vielen Druckvorlagen. Dazu ein sich bewegender Schaufenster-Animationselefanten und ein Wummy-Plüschelefanten. + Wichtig: Für unsere Kunden in der EU erfolgt der Versand alle 14 Tage verzollt ab Deutschland / Postbank-Konto in Deutschland vorhanden +
1960Best.-Nr. 4455DBKleve, ca. 1960/1980. & 61 Positionen (Mappen) mit über 300 Originalzeichnungen und vielen Druckvorlagen. Dazu ein sich bewegender Schaufenster-Animationselefanten und ein Wummy-Plüschelefanten.
1929Best.-Nr. 302295Los Angeles 1929. 100 pp of typed documents and an additional 50 album leaves mounted with approximately 50 photographs various sizes and processes and various documents. Folio. Limp leatherette with title and recipient name stamped in gilt to upper cover. Large black quarter morocco clamshell box gilt. 100 pp of typed documents and an additional 50 album leaves mounted with approximately 50 photographs various sizes and processes and various documents. Folio. "It is proposed that a COMPLETE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS be opened to the public on a fifty cent admission basis which is to be properly laid out as an attractive Zoological and Botanical Garden with the finest and largest private collection of animals birds and reptiles to be seen anywhere on the continent." The advent of the motion picture industry in California had many wide-ranging ramifications on the business world and one was that it created a new market for firms who traditionally supplied animals to circuses and zoos both public and private owned by the likes of William Randolph Hearst. This archive is a report by the Investment Auditors of California for the Horne Corporation that was looking to expand by establishing a zoological garden in the environs of Los Angeles. The Horne Corporation was the largest and most successful of its type at the time apparently the only company in the US that could completely outfit a circus with both animals and show equipment. They were to purchase the Los Angeles Zoological Garden and Jungle Studio for $250000 and thereby sought to provide a similarly complete service to the film studios with both animals and suitable locations for film sets. The head of the company I.S. Horne for whom this report was compiled commenced trading in animals from Kansas City MO around 1914. The range of animals at the their disposal included big game birds reptiles and many of the documents concern the prospect of importing reindeer from Alaska. The material is held in a presentation album and includes the certificate of incorporation in Wilmington Delaware May 13 1929 as well as the by-laws of the corporation minutes of the first meeting the proposal for Los Angeles Zoological Garden and Jungle Studio and a balance sheet. At this stage the company had total assets of $57700 & liabilities of $625388.46; an enumeration of the various animals in inventory including wildebeest sables leopard lynx Rhodesian baboons bushbaby and a large aardvark. Of real interest are the plans for the park including artist's impressions which would be furnished with circus attractions "Monkey Island" jungle setting for motion pictures and an acknowledgment that "before the introduction of the motion picture industry the art of showmanship was not quite so highly developed as it is today." In fact one of the first pictures they supplied animals for was - appropriately enough - Trader Horn which was nominated for the 1931 Academy Award for Best Picture. On a more practical level there is a "Descriptive Classification of Principal Commercial Wild Animals" which lists 340 different animals in some details. There is also an account of hunting wild animals in East Africa as well as a section on animals that have been trained to hunt by man. Furthermore there is also much correspondence which provides much insight into the game industry its clients and the prospects for its future. Horne's venture subsequently became known as the World Jungle Compound in Thousand Oaks California eventually being acquired by 20th Century Fox studios. This archive is a record of a new phase of the entertainment industry. unknown
1929Best.-Nr. 302295Los Angeles 1929. 100 pp of typed documents and an additional 50 album leaves mounted with approximately 50 photographs various sizes and processes and various documents. Folio. Limp leatherette with title and recipient name stamped in gilt to upper cover. Large black quarter morocco clamshell box gilt. 100 pp of typed documents and an additional 50 album leaves mounted with approximately 50 photographs various sizes and processes and various documents. Folio. "It is proposed that a COMPLETE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS be opened to the public on a fifty cent admission basis which is to be properly laid out as an attractive Zoological and Botanical Garden with the finest and largest private collection of animals birds and reptiles to be seen anywhere on the continent." The advent of the motion picture industry in California had many wide-ranging ramifications on the business world and one was that it created a new market for firms who traditionally supplied animals to circuses and zoos both public and private owned by the likes of William Randolph Hearst. This archive is a report by the Investment Auditors of California for the Horne Corporation that was looking to expand by establishing a zoological garden in the environs of Los Angeles. The Horne Corporation was the largest and most successful of its type at the time apparently the only company in the US that could completely outfit a circus with both animals and show equipment. They were to purchase the Los Angeles Zoological Garden and Jungle Studio for $250000 and thereby sought to provide a similarly complete service to the film studios with both animals and suitable locations for film sets. The head of the company I.S. Horne for whom this report was compiled commenced trading in animals from Kansas City MO around 1914. The range of animals at the their disposal included big game birds reptiles and many of the documents concern the prospect of importing reindeer from Alaska. The material is held in a presentation album and includes the certificate of incorporation in Wilmington Delaware May 13 1929 as well as the by-laws of the corporation minutes of the first meeting the proposal for Los Angeles Zoological Garden and Jungle Studio and a balance sheet. At this stage the company had total assets of $57700 & liabilities of $625388.46; an enumeration of the various animals in inventory including wildebeest sables leopard lynx Rhodesian baboons bushbaby and a large aardvark. Of real interest are the plans for the park including artist's impressions which would be furnished with circus attractions "Monkey Island" jungle setting for motion pictures and an acknowledgment that "before the introduction of the motion picture industry the art of showmanship was not quite so highly developed as it is today." In fact one of the first pictures they supplied animals for was - appropriately enough - Trader Horn which was nominated for the 1931 Academy Award for Best Picture. On a more practical level there is a "Descriptive Classification of Principal Commercial Wild Animals" which lists 340 different animals in some details. There is also an account of hunting wild animals in East Africa as well as a section on animals that have been trained to hunt by man. Furthermore there is also much correspondence which provides much insight into the game industry its clients and the prospects for its future. Horne's venture subsequently became known as the World Jungle Compound in Thousand Oaks California eventually being acquired by 20th Century Fox studios. This archive is a record of a new phase of the entertainment industry. unknown books
1837Best.-Nr. 156409Kabul and elsewhere: 1837-41 & 1859. Correspondence chess A carefully assembled collection of material connected to players in the "great game" including Colonel Stoddart and Captain Arthur Conolly both famously beheaded at Bukhara Major Henry Rawlinson the political agent at Kandahar and Captain Sir Alexander "Bukhara" Burns. The material mounted on album leaves with accompanying newspaper clippings and other ephemera is tied together by Connolly and Stoddart's dramatic death. Sent on a mission to secure an agreement of friendship between Britain and the Emir of Bukhara in 1838 Stoddart was arrested by the emir on charges of spying and imprisoned. Conolly the intelligence agent credited with coining the term "great game" in an 1840 letter to Rawlinson arrived in Bukhara in late 1841 to negotiate his compatriot's release. Both men were killed in June 1842 and became household names back home. In the first two letters Burns writing about a year before he was killed by a mob in Kabul shares his views with Rawlinson on the latest moves in the "great game". He writes of Stoddart's short-lived release from prison and of the importance of Conolly's current intelligence-gathering in Central Asia. Shah Shuja "is surrounded by a parcel of harpies" and Burns advises caution about the use of British troops to prop up the Shah's rule: "Nothing contributes so much to lower the King's power as the employment of our troops against Afghans & I would avoid it if possible." As for Lord Auckland the governor-general "does not have great faith in the sincerity of Russia in abandoning her Khiva designs but it gives us time." The third letter from Conolly to Rawlinson discusses local news and offers a lighter-hearted window onto the life of a political agent far from home. He has swapped the diplomatic chessboard for the card table: "We miss you very much - especially at whist" the previous night's rubber being "stale and flat but not unprofitable for I won 9 rupees." This letter is mounted with a page of Stoddart's notes on taking navigational bearings which Stoddart gave to Rawlinson before departing for Central Asia in 1837. The final piece touches on the wider appeal of the Stoddart-Conolly story. Writing to the Cornish baronet Sir Hugh Molesworth almost two decades later Dr Joseph Wolff mentions his second expedition to Bokhara mounted to ascertain the fate of the two men and how the profits from the two editions of his best-selling Narrative of a mission to Bokhara 1845 were sufficient to finance a parsonage and schoolhouse in his living. a Sir Alexander Burns to Major Henry Rawlinson 21 December 1840 Kabul. ALS bifolium written across all sides. b Sir Alexander Burns to Major Henry Rawlinson 20 January 1841 Kabul. ALS bifolium written across all sides. c Captain Arthur Conolly to Major Henry Rawlinson 1840 Kabul. ALS bifolium and single sheet written across 5 sides addressed on final side remains of wax seal. d Colonel Stoddart's autograph notes on taking navigational bearings single sheet written one side. Endorsed on verso by Rawlinson "Given to me by Col. Stoddart on his departure for Bokhara in 1837. H. Rawlinson"; later note to the same effect but in a different hand below. e Revd Dr Joseph Wolff to Revd Sir Hugh H. Molesworth 31 August 1859 Taunton Somerset. ALS bifolium written across 3 sides. 4 autograph letters and single sheet of notes totalling 17 sides of manuscript tipped to or mounted on stubs to card album leaves 370 x 265 mm with laid-down material 11 newspaper clippings 2 printed illustrations sheet of manuscript later brief captions in manuscript. Letters and sheet of notes generally well preserved staining and creasing as expected stubs occasionally just touching text but no loss to sense: a very good collection. unknown
1899Best.-Nr. 155664Dehra Dún India & Berlin: Photozincographed at the Office of the Trigonometrical Branch Survey of India & Dietrich Reimer 1899-1904. Remarkable assemblage of three important and superbly detailed maps A rare opportunity to acquire three exceptionally impressive and uncommon maps together forming the finest contemporary cartographic overview of the Great Game's central theatre. Spanning from the Mediterranean to Afghanistan and from the Caspian to Sir Baniyas Island they present a striking synoptic view of the region at a moment of intense strategic interest. All three share the same provenance each bearing the distinguished bookplate of the officers' mess library of the 85th Foot later part of The King's Light Infantry. Likely acquired as a group by an officer attuned to imperial affairs in the run-up to or immediate aftermath of the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention they reflect the period's effort as Hopkirk notes to resolve regional rivalries and curb Germany's eastward ambitions. The Persia map is a landmark Survey of India production and the most comprehensive rendering of the region then available incorporating the latest British and Russian surveys and reconnoitres. Only 300 copies of this August 1904 issue were printed and institutional locations are limited to the British Library Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and Sächsische Landesbibliothek. The impressive wall map of Afghanistan June 1901 produced under Strahan and Gore and executed at the Frontier Drawing Office under Colonel R. A. Wahab is equally rare with copies recorded only at the British Library Wisconsin and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Its authority rests on extensive British and Russian sources including work by Robertson Trotter Sykes Ney Elias and the Afghan Boundary Commission. These maps exemplify the Survey of India's exacting standards during the era of photozincographic production when officers were required to vet every detail under magnification. Kiepert's map of the Ottoman Empire complements the two Survey of India sheets representing the best contemporary mapping of a region Britain could not itself survey. Kiepert one of the foremost scholarly cartographers of the 19th century travelled widely in Ottoman territories producing clear and remarkably accurate maps that remain valuable records of the period. This map is comparatively well represented institutionally with around 17 holdings recorded in Europe the US and the UK. Persia: scale 1:1013760 six-sheet coloured map divided into four linen-backed quadrants each measuring approx. 976 x 963 mm when assembled measuring 1952 x 1926 mm North West North East South West South East each backed with Nonpareil pattern marbled paper each section dissected into 20; Afghanistan: scale 1:1013760 coloured map dissected into 45 sections linen backed measuring approx. 1035 x 1640 mm; Turkey: scale 1:1500000 coloured map dissected into 65 sections linen backed measuring approx. 1016 x 1700 mm; together with the "Apercu general" measuring 412 x 570 mm showing the administrative division of the same area intended to accompany the map; dissected into 10 sections linen backed. Each map housed in the original dull purple morocco-grain cloth case Stanford's printed label to front. Cases a little worn with some loss of fabric light toning to maps otherwise in excellent condition. Cases a little worn with some loss of fabric occasional light toning to maps otherwise in excellent condition. Kourosh Ahmadi Islands and International Politics in the Persian Gulf: Abu Musa and the Tunbs in Strategic Perspective 2008; Kyle J. Gardner The Frontier Complex: Geopolitics and the Making of the Indo-China Border 1846-1962 2021; Peter Hopkirk The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia 1992. hardcover
1881Best.-Nr. 149774St Petersburg: Cartographic Institute of the Military-Topographic Department of the General Staff 1881. The cartographic climax of the "great game" Second edition significantly improved from the first edition 1877 to incorporate the latest military intelligence from field surveys. This magisterial work of "great game" cartography was presented at Russia's Tashkent military headquarters to the daring French explorer Stanislas Benoist-Méchin during his epic 1881-3 overland journey from Beijing to Europe. We have traced no other copies. A presentation inscription on the verso of the map reads in French "To Mr Baron Benoist-Méchin from Generals Kouropatkine and Levaschew October 1882 Tashkent." Benoist-Méchin 1854-1923 began travelling the world as a young man and then served as the French cultural attaché in Tokyo 1880-1. In 1881 he decided to return to Europe via the daring route through Central Asia. Leaving Beijing on 15 September with his regular travelling companion Comte Humbert Adrien de Mailly-Chalon 1853-1921 he journeyed through Manchuria and across Russian Siberia. In 1882 having reached Kashgar they received permission to cross Russian Turkestan spending six weeks in Tashkent as the honoured guests of General Mikhail Tchernayev the architect of Russian's expansion across Central Asia General Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin 1848-1925 and the aforementioned General Levaschov likely the artillery officer Vladimir Levaschov 1834-1898. After reaching Samarkand they travelled in extreme cold through Bukhara and via Khiva to Tehran reaching Moscow in October 1883 where they were accorded a hero's welcome. Their descriptions of this feat of exploration were published in 1885 in the Bulletin de la Société de géographie. This map was made for the use of the Russian military high command in St Petersburg and in the Turkestan Military District which had been established in the 1860s amid the occupation of Tashkent and Bokhara and dates from a period following the Second Anglo-Afghan War and the Battle of Geok Tepe when tensions were at their height. It encompasses almost the entire playing surface of the "great game" extending east-west from Xinjiang and Tibet to the Caspian Sea and Afghanistan and north-south from Siberia to northern India. Unparalleled in terms of accuracy and detail it names every city town and village and the legend has entries for such features as fortifications railways mail and caravan roads and mines. Spot heights are given in feet and deserts are marked with a light red pattern. It is much improved on the first edition which had only 48 panels and did not extend as far south. Chromolithograph map 195 x 200 cm dissected onto 64 sections and mounted on linen as issued laid-down printed slip stating "corrected up to 1881" small folding tab at right edge. Folding away to 28.5 x 28 cm. Housed in green quarter morocco solander box with chemise by the Chelsea Bindery. Map surface generally clean and brighta few stains toning and soiling at edges small repair at top-left edge verso foxed and with couple of areas of linen reinforcement: very good. unknown
