(Astley, John).MareMagnum
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4to. (8), 79, (1) pp. With woodcut headpiece on t. p. and initials. 19th century orange-red crushed morocco by Riviere with leading edges gilt and elaborate gilt inner dentelle, rebacked. All edges gilt. The exceedingly rare first edition of one of the earliest English treatises on horsemanship, derived in part from Xenophon, Federico Grisone's "Ordini di cavalcare", and other authors, and in part from Astley's own experience. This is, in fact, the first translation into English of Xenophon's treatise "Peri hippikes" ("On horsemanship"). - The publication of Astley's "Art of Riding", perhaps his single most lasting achievement, came late in his life as an Elizabethan courtier. Here, he relays the doctrine of the Italian riding schools as he and other Gentleman Pensioners understood it, particularly on training the horse to respond to the hand. Astley was on friendly terms with Thomas Blundeville, whose Grisone translation two decades earlier counts as the first treatise on horsemanship to be published in English. - First three leaves slightly browned, with the upper right corner of each leaf imperceptibly restored from another copy; a closed tear to f. A4. Altogether a remarkable clean and crisp copy in an English master binding. The Fitzwilliam-Gloucester copy, bound with a common companion piece, Claudio Corte's "Art of Riding" (also published by Denham in the same year) commanded £14,400 at Christie's in 2006. The catalogue notes that the scarcity of these two work "at auction varies markedly; ABPC records some 5 copies of Corte's work at auction since 1975, but none of Astley's". Huth p. 11. STC 884. Mellon/Podeschi 12. Hoffmann III, 609 (s. v. Xenophon).
Small 4to (146 x 206 mm). 64 pp. With printer's woodcut device on title-page. 19th century red boards. Only edition of this early milestone of Arabic typography from the Roman Medici Press, including a Latin treatise on Arabic script. The Medici Oriental Press, the first printing press in Europe dedicated to printing books in an Arabic typeface, was founded in Rome under the direction of Giovanni Battista Raimondi and the patronage of Pope Gregory XIII. For the Arabic types, Raimondi commissioned the famous typefounder Robert Granjon: "In a few years Granjon had cut a large number of oriental characters, following superb calligraphic designs provided by Raimondi. On September 6, 1586, he completed the small Arabic typeface [...] Because cutting the Arabic typefaces took such a long time, establishment of the Medici Press went slowly. Though the contracts formally setting up the press were signed on March 6, 1584, the first book to bear its imprint did not appear until 1591. Legible and much more 'oriental' in feel than those of de Gregorii, Postel or Spey, this face was not improved upon until the time of Ibrahim Müteferrika in the early 18th century [...] Once underway, however, the Medici Press was very productive. In 1592 it issued a prospectus of its Arabic type faces under the title 'Alphabetum arabicum' - a 64-page masterpiece of design which not only displays Granjon's beautiful types, but contains a careful Latin Essay on the Arabic writing system" (Lunde). Until 1610 Raimondi printed a mere eight works with Granjon's types, "all equally rare" (Smitskamp 29b), before a long hiatus ensued - probably due to the sluggish distribution of the works in the Orient, where everything produced in the West, and especially any printed specimen of Arabic script, was received with the utmost caution (cf. Fück 55). Even Smitskamp cites only four other productions of the Medici Press, but not this exceptionally rare one. One of the only three other copies known to have appeared in the trade was even thought to be incomplete by Sotheby's, since Adams's collation - based on the Trinity College copy - cites a 24-page appendix that is, in fact, an independent Medici Press grammar bound with the Trinity 'Alphabetum'. - Binding worn and rubbed; spine rebacked. Interior somewhat dust-soiled throughout with occasional light dampstaining; a few marginal annotations on the verso of the title cropped by binder. Title-page with minute wormhole affecting one word on verso; a small hole to the last leaf with loss of a few letters; stamp of a monk to margin of final page. Front pastedown has 1880s bookseller ticket by G. A. Young & Co. of Edinburgh pasted in. An entirely complete copy of an important and excessively rare publication. Adams A 780. BM-STC Italian 36. Schnurrer 41. Edit 16, CNCE 1227. OCLC 47816774. Lunde, Paul, "Arabic and the Art of Printing", in: Aramco World 32/2 (1981) (with illustration). J. Balagna, L'imprimerie arabe en occident (Paris 1984), p. 135. Le Livre et le Liban (mentioned on p. 190; no copy in the catalogue). Not in Smitskamp or Fück.
Hand-drawn military map and organizational flowchart, 1.37 x 1.45 m. Coloured ink and watercolour on paper. Accompanied by 9 original photos. Unique hand-drawn chart of Bahrain's naval force as it was projected in the early and mid-1970s, including two large maps: firstly, of the island's location in the Gulf showing the Navy's planned 200-mile range as well as strategic points throughout the Gulf, and secondly, a smaller scale map showing the defensive coastal artillery firing range and radar ranges reaching out to the north and east of Qal'at al-Bahrain, Galali, and East Sitra bases around Manamah. An inset flowchart shows in detail the organization of Bahrain's Navy, to be headed by the Commander of Naval Forces, presiding over the branches of Supplies and Exercises (Engineers, Supplies, Medical Office), of Operations, Planning, and Signals (all commanded by the Chief of Staff), as well as the Naval Armed Forces proper (Fleet, Special Forces, and Coastal Artillery). The extensive annotation describes the maritime theatre of war around Bahrain, identifies vital targets (Port Sulayman, oil terminal, national airport, oil wells and storage tanks, refinery) and crucial points to be observed, and sketches the projected scope of the navy: initially a small fleet of armoured motor vessels with radar-guided automatic ordnance, later to be upgraded with surface-to-surface rocket launchers with a tactical range of ca. 180 nautical miles. The planning stage is to encompass some 2 to 3 months, followed by a development stage of about 3 years and an implementation phase of another year. - The chart is accompanied by a set of nine original mid-1970s photographs of members of the Egyptian General Staff who assumedly were closely involved in advising the government of Bahrain on the structure and implementation of their new Naval Forces, which became fully operational in 1979. - A fine survival, undocumented and at the time undoubtedly a closely guarded military secret.
Folio (214 x 342 mm). 3 vols. bound in one. (4), 120 (instead of 124) pp. (2), 142 pp. 172, (4) pp. Two title pages printed in red and black. With a total of 97 (instead of 98) half-page woodcuts in the text. Period style dark brown calf, elaborately gilt decorated spine and boards, red morocco spine label, raised bands, marbled endpapers. First editions of three separately issued parts of the very scarce "newly-opened amphitheatre", comprising the America, Asia, and Turkey volumes. The exceptional large woodcuts show the native inhabitants of the various parts of the world. Of special interest is the rare volume dedicated only to Ottoman society, as well as that on Asia: together, they cover the Islamic countries of the early modern period, including details on the Arabian Peninsula. Among the illustrations are various Muslim clerics, Northern Arabians and desert Arabians in Bedouin costume, coffee salesmen, sweetmeats salesmen, and a Turkish gentleman carrying the Qur'an on his head, as well as Persians, the Sultan, Janissaries, archers, dancers, etc. The Asia volume, produced later, repeats a single illustration but contains much new matter on Arabia, including a discussion of the Muslim religion, the Qur'an, ablutions performed with sand, and the trade in incense, coffee, and spices, as well as pearl fishing in Bahrain (p. 54). The America volume covers the discovery and exploration of America, with woodcut illustrations including portraits of Columbus, Vespucci, Magellan, and 30 depictions of Native Americans from throughout the New World, including Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, etc. - This present set omits the parts on Europe and Africa, which were published first, and thus contains parts 3 (America) and 4 (Asia) of the four-part "Neu-eröffnetes Amphitheatrum" (the final part of which was produced only after a five-year hiatus), along with the "Neu-eröffnetes Amphitheatrum Turcicum", separately issued in 1723, from which the 1728 volume on Asia drew freely. Severely browned throughout due to paper. Title page of "America" vol. remargined; edge-wear to first and last few leaves only; wants quire G (pp. 25-28, including one illustration). Quire K in "Turkey" vol. (pp. 37-40) with expert paper repairs. In a highly appealing modern binding. Lipperheide Ac 5. Colas 2187. Hiler 652. Sabin 52360. Palmer 364. Not in Atabey or Blackmer. Not in Hünersdorff (Coffee).
Mostly folio (315 x 210 mm). A manuscript compilation of loose leaves and bifolia, with about 104 drawings (some in ink; some in coloured gouaches, many including gold, silver and other metallic colours) and about 53 engravings (some black on white; some white on black), each drawing and engraving showing the obverse and reverse of an Islamic coin or medal (except for about 3 that show only one side). Most of the drawings and engravings are on slips attached to leaves with notes in Arabic and French. An extensive study of Islamic coins, medals, and seals prepared on loose leaves and bifolia, with about 104 drawings (in ink or coloured gouaches, many with gold and/or silver and occasionally copper or metallic blue) and about 53 engravings, most drawings and engravings with manuscript notes in Arabic and French. Nearly every drawing and engraving shows both the obverse and the reverse of the coin or medal, some shown at the original size and some enlarged, so the diameter of the coins in the drawings ranges from about 1½ cms to about 10 cms, though even some of the larger ones note that they are drawn at the original size. Some of the ink drawings were made directly on the leaves, but nearly all of the colour drawings and engravings are on separate slips mounted on the leaves (some pasted, some with sealing wax, some with pins). The notes on these leaves usually give the dates of the coins (whether or not the coins themselves are dated) following the Islamic Hijri calendar and sometimes also following the Christian calendar. They often give a transcription of the inscriptions in a naskh Arabic hand (though they appear on the coins in several styles of Arabic script, including Kufic). A few include longer notes in French. The coins come from Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, Morocco, Algeria, Tunesia, Tripoli and elsewhere. - The dates given for the coins range from at least AH 93 to at least AH 1203 and probably to AH 1219 (712-1788 CE and probably to 1804/05 CE). The compilation of these drawings, engravings and notes probably began in the 1790s and may have spanned two or three decades. A few of the leaves (including some with drawings made directly on the leaves) show a paper stock with a watermark date "1791", and many leaves show a distinctive kind of watermark that was used in 1805. They frequently include abbreviated references to Jacob Georg Christian Adler, Museum Cuficum Borgianum velitris, Rome, 1782; Denis Samuel-Bernard, Mémoire sur les monnaies d'Egypte, Paris, 1809; and Description de l'Égypte ... État moderne, plates vol. II, Paris, 1817 (plates h-k show 127, 123 and 178 coins and medals), the last giving the earliest possible date for the completion of the compilation. Many of the engravings in the present compilation are taken from these three sources, and there is even what may be a proof of an unfinished plate from Bernard. One leaf has a mounted letterpress fragment with a biography of Ahmed ben Mohammed Khan, clipped from p. 67 of the 1776 Maastricht edition of Barthelemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, Bibliotheque orientale. - Although the manuscript nowhere names its compiler(s), Jean Joseph Marcel (1776-1854), grandnephew of the Consul Général in Egypt, was a brilliant student at the University of Paris, where he received many prizes in 1790 and 1791 and began his study of oriental languages. He came into contact with the orientalist Louis-Mathieu Langlés, who arranged for him to accompany Napoleon on his 1798 Egyptian Campaign (1798-1801), where he took charge of the Campaign's printing office (printing an Arabic type specimen in 1798), made the first steps toward deciphering the Rosetta Stone, and collected medals, manuscripts and inscriptions. Back in Paris he became director of the Imprimerie Impérial, a post he held until 1815. He wrote, compiled or translated numerous works concerning Arabic and other oriental languages. He may have planned to produce a publication based on the present compilation, but no such publication appeared. The compilation in any case shows Europe's new interest in Islamic studies after Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, with Paris as its most important centre. - About 3 small drawings appear to have been made on oiled paper, probably in order to trace coins or engravings of coins, and a few are drawn on tissue paper. Many of the larger drawings are in colour, and a few are enlarged copies of the smaller drawings or engravings. Some leaves are tattered along the edges and a few have had their corners cut off, none of this affecting the illustrations or text. In a very small number the ink has corroded in the paper, more severely in 2 leaves, and one of the drawings on oiled paper has been cut up with 3 (of 4?) pieces surviving, but most of the leaves remain in good condition. A remarkable record of Islamic coins and medals, compiled ca. 1791-1817, with about 157 illustrations. For Marcel: Alain Messaoudi, Les Arabisants et la France coloniale (2015), pp. 239-240.
Large folio (620 x 508 mm). A total of 31 albumen prints (of an average size of 390 x 280 mm), individually mounted on card. Contemporary red half morocco and pebbled red cloth, titled in gilt on spine. A fine album of large-format photographs mainly of Egypt and Palestine, including numerous fine and early views of mosques, all by the most famous 19th century photographer of the Arab world, Félix Bonfils (1831-85). Among the famous locations captured in his high-quality albumen prints are the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, the newly-built Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali (one image showing the fountain of ablution), the Sultan Qaytbay Mosque and funerary complex, as well as the Tombs of the Caliphs, the Fountain of the Valide Sultan, and the so-called Chair of Omar (Membar) in the Temple Square. Ancient Egypt is well represented, as well. In Jerusalem, the collection includes views of the Mosque of Omar (that is the Dome of the Rock, or Qubbat al-Sakhrah), the Church of Saint Anne with the Dome of the Rock, as well as Zion Gate and several street scenes in the older districts of the city, but also the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Kanisatu al-Qiyamah), with Christian priests posing on a balcony, some standing on a ladder which is famously permanent - by rumour due to the Status Quo agreement between the numerous Christian sects which use the church. In Istanbul (Constantinople), the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque is pictured. A few additional images show the tidewater at Jaffa and two sites in Athens. All photographs are signed and titled in plate by Bonfils. - Some exterior wear; the large-sized photographs are well preserved.
4to. (90), 560 [but p. 255f. repeated], (10) pp. Latin title printed in red and black; one Latin and two Arabic (woodcut) half-titles. Preface in Latin, text in vocalized Arabic throughout. Contemporary half calf with marbled covers and giltstamped label to sparsely gilt spine. The famous "Hamburg Koran": while not actually (as it was long considered) the first printed Qur'an ever, the first accessible printed edition of the Arabic text. Only in 1987 was a unique copy of Paganino de Paganinis's Venetian edition (c. 1538) rediscovered, a work whose press run either was destroyed immediately or was limited to the sole surviving specimen, apparently a proof copy (cf. A. Nuovo, "Il Corano arabo ritrovato", in: Bibliofilia LXXX, IX, 1987). Four years after the present edition, in 1698, Lodovico Marracci produced his own Qur'an, but its two big tomes were anything but easy to consult - hence, the Hamburg Koran remained "the only available and handleable" (Smitskamp) edition until the early 19th century. - Abraham Hinckelmann (1652-95), a Hamburg theologian, studied at Wittenberg and collected many Oriental manuscripts. He compiled a Quranic lexicon in manuscript and planned a Latin translation of the Koran, but this was never realised. - Some browning throughout, as common due to paper; slight waterstaining near end. Ms. ownership of Joseph Venturi in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin ("emit Romae An. 1789") on Latin title (his quotation from Brunet on first Arabic title), with early 19th c. ownership of Blasius Milani. This is the uncommon variant with two different woodcut Arabic titles. Schnurrer 376. Smitskamp, PO 360. Fück 94. Le Livre et le Liban 135f. Woolworth 279. Hamilton, Europe and the Arab World 33. Brunet III, 1306. H. Bobzin, From Venice to Cairo, in: Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution (2002), p. 151-176, at p.160f., with 2 illustrations (figs. VI and 74). The Heritage Library: Treasures of Islamic and Arabic Heritage (Qatar 2006), s. v. "Religion", with illustration.
Folio (205 x 312 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 53 ff., 33 lines to the page written in minute ghubar script in black ink, verse separated by a gold roundel, surah heading in red thuluth on gold background, margins illuminated with gilt discs or lozenges inscribed in red and enclosed within ornamental borders dotted in blue; fols. 1b-2a with a double-page illuminated frontispiece, lavishly coloured and gilt. Contemporary blindstamped and gilt black leather binding; spine rebacked. Marbled pastedowns. A fine, complete Qur'an manuscript, written in meticulous ghubar script and with pretty illumination, originating from the Kashmir region in the late 18th century. The characteristic calligraphy is known as "ghubar", or "dust script", for the minuscule size of its rounded letter forms. Created around the 10th century, it was first used for information and commands conveyed by carrier pigeon. Even the present, more generous form fits the entire Holy Qur'an into a slim folio of only fifty-odd pages. - Edges occasionally very slightly chipped but generally very fine. Binding well preserved with modern spine. The central compartment of the pretty binding shows a Qur'anic verse (Surah 56, verse 79: "to be touched only by the purified") stamped in blind three times on both covers.
4to (165 x 125 mm). (6), 129 ff. Early 19th century half calf with floral moirée paper covers. Yellow paper pastedowns. The sixth book printed by Ibrahim Müteferrika: an important eyewitness account of the life of Tamerlane (Timur), the successful and barbaric 14th-century Turkish conqueror. Translated into in Ottoman Turkish by Nazemi Zadeh from the original Arabic manuscript completed in 1437/38 by the Syrian author Ahmad lbn 'Arabshah (1392-1450), secretary to Sultan Ahmad of Baghdad. - Binding a little rubbed at extremeties. Occasional browning, depending on paper stock, but mostly a very good, clean copy on crisp paper. Özege 19929. GAL S II, p. 25. Ebert 292 (note). Brunet I, 117 (note). Toderini III, p. 75, no. V.
4to. 64 ff. With several diagrams and woodcut initials in the text and the printer's full-page woodcut device on the final page, printed in red and black. Modern limp vellum with ties. "Early edition of Alchabitius' 'Introduction to the Mystery of Judgments from the Stars', with the 'modern' version by Antonius de Fantis. Sessa issued the same work at the same time, but Liechtenstein's edition is superior and especially esteemed for the fine woodcut in black and red (printer's mark) at the end" (Weil). Translated by Joannes Hispalensis (in 1144), with the commentary of Joannes de Saxonia. "Although al-Qabisi's education was primarily in geometry and astronomy, his principal surviving treatise, 'Al-madkhal ila sina'at ahkam al-nujum' ('Introduction into the Art of Astrology') in five sections [...], is on astrology. The book, as the title indicates, is an introductory exposition of some of the fundamental principles of genethlialogy; its present usefulness lies primarily in its quotations from the Sassanian Andarzghar literature and from al-Kindi, the Indians, Ptolemy, Dorotheus of Sidon, Masha'allah, Hermes Trismegistus, and Valens. Although completely lacking in originality, it was highly valued as a textbook [... The] Latin version was commented on by Joannes de Saxonia at Paris in 1331" (DSB). - Title slightly smudged; occasional light waterstaining. From the library of Curt Wallin with his armorial bookplate on the pastedown. Rare; a single copy in auction records since 1975. Edit 16, CNCE 834. Adams A 24. BM-STC 1. BM I, 307. IA 102.864. Essling 301. Sander 223. Houzeau/Lancaster I, 3848. DSB XI, 226. Weil, Cat. VI, 29. OCLC 46413115. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from The Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe (Qatar 2009), nos. 9f.
4to. 64 ff. With several diagrams and woodcut initials in the text and the printer's full-page woodcut device on the final page, printed in red and black. Near-contemporary limp vellum with 19th century spine label. "Early edition of Alchabitius' 'Introduction to the Mystery of Judgments from the Stars', with the 'modern' version by Antonius de Fantis. Sessa issued the same work at the same time, but Liechtenstein's edition is superior and especially esteemed for the fine woodcut in black and red (printer's mark) at the end" (Weil). Translated by Joannes Hispalensis (in 1144), with the commentary of Joannes de Saxonia. "Although al-Qabisi's education was primarily in geometry and astronomy, his principal surviving treatise, 'Al-madkhal ila sina'at ahkam al-nujum' ('Introduction into the Art of Astrology') in five sections [...], is on astrology. The book, as the title indicates, is an introductory exposition of some of the fundamental principles of genethlialogy; its present usefulness lies primarily in its quotations from the Sassanian Andarzghar literature and from al-Kindi, the Indians, Ptolemy, Dorotheus of Sidon, Masha'allah, Hermes Trismegistus, and Valens. Although completely lacking in originality, it was highly valued as a textbook [... The] Latin version was commented on by Joannes de Saxonia at Paris in 1331" (DSB). - Some traces of worming throughout, mainly confined to margins and expertly repaired. 17th century ownership "Francois Claret" to title page. Rare; a single copy in auction records since 1975. Edit 16, CNCE 834. Adams A 24. BM-STC 1. BM I, 307. IA 102.864. Essling 301. Sander 223. Houzeau/Lancaster I, 3848. DSB XI, 226. Weil, Cat. VI, 29. OCLC 46413115. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from The Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe (Qatar 2009), nos. 9f.
Small folio (216 x 294 mm). (16), CCXIX, (9) pp. With 3 large folding engraved plates. Contemporary green half calf with gilt spine and marbled covers. Only edition of this rare study decribing a celestial globe with Cufic lettering in the Borgia Museum at Velletri. The book also contains a dissertation on the astronomy of the Arabs, with Arabic excerpts from the works of Ahmed al-Farghani (Alfraganus; cf. GAL I, 221), one of the most famous mediaeval Muslim astronomers. Simone Assemani (1752-1821), a great-nephew of Joseph Assemani, the cataloguer of the oriental manuscripts in the Vatican library, is best known for his catalogue of the manuscripts and Cufic coins in the Naniana in Venice (cf. Fück 125). - Calf somewhat worn at spine-ends and hinges. Old library shelfmark label pasted on inside of upper cover. A fine copy. Brunet VI, 8185. DG 7.9265. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from the Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe, no. 13 (with full-page illustration).
Folio (222 x 346 mm). (9) pp. of text with an engraved headpiece, (27) pp. of engraved astrological charts, (32) pp. of tables with 37 engraved diagrams, 80 pp. of text with 4 engravings in the text, 1 folding engraved plate. Title-page printed in red and black. Marbled boards. Only edition of this rare treatise on the astronomy, astrology and allied sciences of the Arabs, Persians and Turks. Once "said to be the first book printed with Persian characters" (Anderson, The library of the late George H. Hart of New York City, Part II [1922], no. 471), it remains an impressive achievement, even if the oriental languages are here in fact rendered in Hebrew letters, while the Persian specimens are engraved. (The first book in Persian characters was produced at Leiden more than a half-century earlier.) - The Swabian theologian Beck (1649-1701) studied history and oriental literature at Jena, soon surpassing his teachers. "The principal object of his studies always remained the oriental languages; and his great knowledge of Hebrew, Samaritan, Chaldaic, Syriac, Ethiopian, Persian, Arabic, and Turkish gained him such renown that he even drew a pension from the Prussian crown for them" (ADB II, 218). - Somewhat browned and stained throughout; edges untrimmed, paper somewhat limp. Includes the frequently lacking 12 double-page tables with additional engraved diagrams. - Provenance: from the library of the French oriental scholar Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (1731-1805), the founder of Persian studies in Europe, with his handwritten ownership on the title-page. VD 17, 39:125183T. Caillet 901. Lalande p. 330. Gardner II, 102.
4to. (8), 152 pp. With engr. portrait frontispiece of Anne Marie Louise d'Orleans and numerous pretty woodcut initials and tailpieces. Contemporary richly gilt calf, gilt dentelle central cover decoration showing the Sacred Heart of Jesus, gilt spine on five raised bands (upper spine-end and corners repaired). Marbled pastedowns. Second, enlarged edition of this rare work on precious stones and pearls found in the East and West Indies, written by a Parisian "marchand orphèvre" in Paris and first published in 1661. Both editions are dedicated to "La Grande Mademoiselle" Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier and niece of Louis XIII, with her finely engraved portrait, which is here more delicately executed (by Nicolas de Larmessin, in 1664). The large chapter devoted to pearls and pearl fishing cites the Gulf and several specific places there as among the main locations of pearl fishing: "on pesche les perles en divers endroits du monde. Dans le Golfe Persique, principalement aux environs de l'Isle d'Ormus & Bassora: aupres de Baroyn [i.e., Bahrain], Catiffa, Iuffa, Camaron, & autres lieux de ce Golfe [...]" (p. 68). This chapter is here "augmented with an appendix which recounts the history of the Spanish conquest in the New World and additionally gives remarks on pearl fisheries, natural history, and production [...] New chapters comprise Ch. 17, on the pricing of diamonds according to size and quality, and Ch. 18 on pricing of pearls. In tems of substance, this edition [the second one, here offered] is considerably superior to the first; both are rare" (Sinkankas p. 97f.). It is these new, additional chapters in particular for which this second edition is sought after: "Du prix des Diamans" and "Du prix des Perles", as well as one entitled "Raisons contre les chercheurs de la Pierre Philosophale & souffleurs d'Alquemie. Et ne sera pas mal à propos de parler de Nicolas Flamel sur ce sujet". - Lower spine-end and corners somewhat bumped, otherwise fine. A good copy in an appealingly decorated contemporary French binding. Sinkankas 593. Duveen 71. Sabin 4957. Brunet VI, 4780. Graesse I, 348.
4to (215 x 165 mm). 6 vols. 252 pp. (2), 440 pp. (2), 613 pp. 475 pp. (1), 332 pp. (8), 132 ff. With 322 pencil illustrations after the original engraved plates. Contemporary boards with original ties. An unusual manuscript rendition of parts of Buffon's monumental "Histoire naturelle", containing many fine pencil drawings after Buffon's plates, the subjects almost all mammals, including monkeys, hoofed quadrupeds, bats, seals, stoats and shrews, etc. The volume concerning working animals also features an extensive description of horses (pp. 109-235), including 4 drawings (showing a hunter, anatomic details and the skeleton of a horse) as well as a report on horse breeding in the Arab World: "[…] les arabes du desert et les peoples de libye élevent une grande quantité de les cheveaux pour la chatte; ils ne s'en servent ni pour voyager ni pour combattre, ils les font paître lorsqu'il y a de l'herbe; et lorsque l'herbe manqué, ils ne les nourissent que de dattes et de lait de chameaux, ce qui leur rend nerveux, légers et maigres […]" (p. 181). - Some dampstaining, mainly to the text.
Original outline colour. Dissected and laid on linen in two sections, together 940 x 1540 mm. A two-sheet wall map showing Prussia, Turkey, Egypt and Abyssinia in the west, and the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, Persia, Arabia and Somalia in the east. Two inset maps show the routes from Siré to Gondar and from Gondar to the sources of the Nile. According to the inscription, the map is based on that of "the late J. B. Laborde" (Jean-Benjamin de Laborde [1734-94], a traveller and musician), with amendments; however we have been unable to trace a map of the region by him. - The vast map was published to satisfy French interest when their seemingly-unstoppable General Bonaparte turned his attention to the conquest of Egypt in 1798. Napoleon had captured Malta en route to Egypt, and the oval title vignette shows him overseeing the burial of the French dead under Pompey's Pillar after the capture of the important port city of Alexandria (July 1798). - After the defeat of the Mameluk army at the Battle of the Pyramids it was Napoleon's intention to subdue the rest of the Ottoman Empire before moving to threaten British interests in India. However, as the political situation in Paris was deteriorating, Napoleon decided to leave his army in Egypt in 1799, returning to France to become First Consul. His army was less fortunate, surrendering to the British at Alexandria in 1801. - This map is very scarce: the French citizens' interest in maps of the Orient evaporated as quickly as Napoleon's.
Folio (325 × 200 mm). With the letterpress title within an engraved architectural border, an individual letterpress title-page for the Icones, an engraved coat of arms on the dedication leaf, 20 engravings in text and 2 double-page engraved plates. 20th-century green half morocco. First edition of the Latin translation of book seven of Théodore de Bry's Petits voyages, the greatest single collection of material on early voyages to the East Indies, which is considered unique in its extraordinary wealth of cartographical and visual material. Crucially, this much-sought volume includes Gasparo Balbi's groundbreaking account of the Middle East, first published in 1590 as Viaggio dell' Indie Orientali - a mere 16 years before this present issue, making this the second appearance in print altogether and the first Latin translation. Balbi, a Venetian jewel merchant, travelled extensively in the Arabian Peninsula in search of precious stones. From Venice he sailed for Aleppo, proceeding to Bir and from there overland to Baghdad, descending the Tigris to Basra, where he embarked for India. While in the Gulf, he studied the pearl industry, noting that the best pearls were to be found at Bahrain and Julfar. He refers to islands in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (including Sir Bani Yas and Das) and to several coastal settlements that were to become permanently established, such as Dubai and Ras al Khaima. Balbi was the first to record the place names along the coast of modern Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Practically "none of the names of places on the coast between Qatar and Ras al Khaima occur in other sources before the end of the eighteenth century" (Slot). The volume also comprises the account of Joris von Spilbergen's voyage to Ceylon in 1601-1604 (with excellent plates). - A note with red pencil on the second leaf, browned, some small spots, otherwise in good condition. Brunet I, col. 1334. Cf. Carter, Sea of pearls, p. 79. Howgego, to 1800, B7. Slot, The Arabs of the Gulf, 1602-1784. United Arab Emirates yearbook 2006, p. 20.
Small folio (185 x 246 mm). (7), 75, (2) ff. With 2 (instead of 4) double-page-sized engraved maps and a double-page-sized compass rose plate, all in contemporary hand colour. Early 20th century half calf over marbled covers with title gilt to spine. The first illustrated printed Turkish book and the second work from the press of Ibrahim Müteferrika. Composed in 1656, this is a compilation containing in its main section a history of the Ottoman navy and naval wars, from the conquest of Constantinople down to the author's own lifetime. It includes an introductory geographical summary of the conditions around the Balkans and the Black Sea, a chronological list of all Ottoman admirals, a description of the administrative organisation of the navy and dockyards, regulations on sea battles, ships in the Ottoman navy, their equipment and maintenance, together with suggestions for improvement. - The maps show the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea (some edge flaws; rebacked; lacks the map of the Black Sea and the world map). Some browning and waterstaining throughout; ff. 17-18 transposed between ff. 4 and 5, ff. 25-28 between ff. 22 and 23. Watson 2. Atabey 898. Özege 21273. Babinger 12. Blackmer 1176. De Sacy III, 5017. Toderini III, p. 25, no. II.
Small 8vo. 2 parts in one volume. (34), 176; (24), 144, (8) pp. With woodcut frontispiece of "The Haggard Faulcon" instead of the additional engraved title-page found in some copies. Second title with woodcut vignette of a gentleman riding his horse with his hawk on his arm. Second part with woodcuts in text, woodcut head-pieces and decorative initials. 19th century calf, prettily gilt. Marbled endpapers. Pocket-sized reissue of Latham's books on falconry, the former of which had first appeared in 1614. "Latham dedicated this, his first book of Falconry, to Sir Thomas Monson (or Munson, as he phonetically spells the name), Baronet, Master of his Maiestie's Armory, and Master of the Hawkes to his Highnesse" (Harting, p. 15). The second part is Latham's "New and Second Book of Faulconry", first published in 1618 and "usually bound up with the first" (Harting, p. 16). "Ordering and training of all hawks in general and especially the haggard falcon gentle. Approved medicines for the cure of all their difficulties. A very rare and valuable work" (USAF Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series No. 38: Falconry, p. 14). The frontispiece depicts tools of the falconer's trade. - Some spotting and staining throughout; lacking final blank. Lower corner of fol. A2 in the first part torn with slight loss of text (professionally remargined). From the personal collection of the gentleman and Knightsbridge manuscript dealer Myles Colbeck Radford (1897-1963) with his armorial bookplate to front pastedown. Harting 20 (note). Souhart 285 (note). Wing L568 & L569. OCLC 228729034. Cf. Schwerdt I, 302.
8vo. 2 pp. and 2 lines on bifolium. "Dear Lady Young I wonder if you (and His Ex.) are still there? Your letter to me sat at 2 Smith Square (Sir H. B. not knowing my whereabouts) till last night, when I called and collected it. I am sorry. Most of my addresses are like that. Would you be so good as to register / T. E. Shaw / Clouds Hill / Moreton / Dorset / as my likeliest spot, in future? It represents my cottage on the heath, which will be home after March when the RAF bring themselves, not reluctantly, to dispense with my help? I'm sorry not to have seen you. I wanted, while you were yet in Nyasa-land, to beg of His Ex. The rectangular skin of a small (1 sq. yard) lion, for my hearth-rug. But Ronald Storrs whom I saw at Southampton about a month ago told me you had been promoted to his province, and that there were no lions. Ronald was physically a very sick man. Mentally he was fighting hard to keep brisk… too hard for his health, I fear. The wreck of an old companion is too near a sight for sorrow, even. I hope Africa suits, after your trial of Asia and Europe. My respects to the Governor! Tell him I saw the fraudulent Abdulla, the other day. Exactly as he was, body & mind. Now, that's the way. / Yours sincerely TE Shaw / A poor letter: but I picture you again in Africa, and my squib spluttering in the void". - Between 1916 to 1918, Abdullah I of Jordan worked with the British guerrilla leader T. E. Lawrence (with whom he had actually never jarred), and played a key role as architect and planner of the Great Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule, leading guerrilla raids on garrisons. From 1921 until his assassination in 1951, Abdullah ruled Jordan, first as Emir under a British Mandate from 1921 to 1946, then as King of an independent nation from 1946 onwards.
Folio (305 x 200 mm). Vol. 1 (of 2) only. (40), 495, (23) pp. Wood-engraved title border, double-page woodcut map of Africa, including Arabia, and 26 illustrations, all but one coloured by a contemporary hand. 18th c. mottled calf with giltstamped red label to fully gilt spine. Marbled endpapers. Scarce first French edition of the famous description of Islamic Africa and Arabia, with the illustrations coloured by a contemporary hand; the first collection of voyages printed in France. The book was originally written in Arabic around 1526 by the Berber Andalusi geographer and traveller al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi (ca. 1494-ca. 1554), known in the West as Johannes Leo Africanus, translated into Italian by the author and first published in Venice in 1550. The Arabian Peninsula is depicted nearly complete on the double-page woodcut map and is treated extensively in the first chapter, which contains information on its people, cities, geography, religion, customs, costumes, etc. Illustrations include Arabian camels and veiled women. - Johannes Leo took his Christian name from his sponsor Pope Leo X when he converted to Christianity after his capture in 1520. While still very young he began to travel widely in the Barbary States; in 1513 he appears to have started on his famous Sudan and Sahara journeys (1513-15). In 1516-17 he travelled to Constantinople, probably visiting Egypt on the way; it is more uncertain when he visited Arabias, Armenia and Tartary. His three Egyptian journeys, immediately after the Turkish conquest, all probably fell between 1517 and 1520; on one of these he ascended the Nile from Cairo to Aswan. - Binding somewhat rubbed; spine head and hinges professionally repaired. Repairs to lower margin of first two leaves (very slight loss of title border), some toning and soiling, water- and inkstains. Very occasional marginal tears or worming. Early marginalia and ink ownerships on title page ("Pacauld" and "Ex Bibliotheca Joh. Huyseri", i. e. Johann Huyser). No other auction record of a coloured copy in RBH or ABPC. Adams L 482. Howgego A17. Gay 258. USTC 1136. Sabin 40044.
Folio (305 x 210 mm). 77, (2), (1 blank) ff. With 13 woodcut decorated initials (6 series?) plus 8 repeats, 4-line typographic "Lombarbic" initials. Set in rotunda gothic types in 2 columns, with a preliminary note in roman type. With contemporary pen decorations in brown ink added to about half of the initials and occasional similar pen decorations in the margins, an occasional manuscript paragraph mark, some rubrications in brown ink and some initials coloured with a transparent ochre wash. Early 20th-century vellum, possibly incorporating older materials, sewn on 3 recessed supports, red spine label. Seventh known copy of an early edition of an important treatise on pharmacology and medical botany, by Giovanni Giacomo Manlio di Bosco (fl. 1490-post 1500), first published in Venice 1490 or Pavia 1494 (Sordano records an edition by Octavius Scotus in 1490, but the ISTC records no edition by him until 1496). It is a commentary on ancient Arabic and Greek pharmacological works, especially the Arabic treatises of Yuhanna Ibn Masawayh (ca. 777-857), a Nestorian Christian physician from Assyria who taught at the academy in Gundeshapur, Iran, and was personal physician to four caliphs. It gives instructions for preparing numerous medicines, indicating the quantities of the ingredients (simples, each derived from a single plant) and describing each ingredient. The present edition includes Manlio's preliminary note addressed to Bernardinus Niger, included in the 1494, 1496 and 1499 editions but omitted in many later editions. - The title-page indicates that the book also contains "Lumen apothecariorum", a work by Quirico de Augustis de Tortona of Milan (fl. 1486-97), first published in 1492. But it is not present here or in any of the other seven copies we have traced. The two works were combined in the Venice editions of 1504, ca. 1502/05 and 1506. De Gregori apparently followed one of these editions but did not include the second work. Hieronymus Surianus (fl. 1458?, d. 1522?) edited the first two. - With contemporary and later marginal manuscript notes. With the text area of B2.7 somewhat browned, an occasional small and unobtrusive stain, and a few small worm holes in the last few leaves, but generally in very good condition. Some of the manuscript notes have been shaved. The binding is slightly dirty and the boards slightly bowed, but the binding is still good. A rare early edition of an important work of pharmacology. Durling 2938. EDIT 16 29621 (1 copy). ICCU 29621 (same copy). KVK & WorldCat (5 copies). Emiliano Sordano, Il Luminare maius di Manlio del Bosco, thesis, University of Torino, 2010, p. 41. USTC 840112 (2 copies). Cf. Adams M 370 (1506 ed.). BM-STC Italian 410 (1504 and other eds.). Schelenz, Geschichte der Pharmazie, p. 414 (1529 ed.). Wellcome 4017 (1628 Lyon ed.). Not in Garrison & Morton; Honeyman; Norman Lib.
Tall folio (150 x 372 mm). Ottoman Turkish manuscript on polished cream paper. 56 leaves (including some blank separators), ca. 31 lines, written in a mixed script of Naskh and Taliq. First part composed in free form with notes in black ink, second part in regular black ink captioned in red. Contemporary full calf binding decorated in gilt and red (professionally restored). A rare document of Ottoman state administration during the early Modern period: the official chronological record-book kept by the Kazasker (chief judge) of Anatolia, Mehmed Sâlim, during the year 1731. - Within the Ottoman administrational structure, the Kazasker (or Qadi'asker) had jurisdiction over all judicial and educational officials such as Kadi (judge) and Müderris (Madrasa professor), suggested candidates for these offices to the Grand Vizier, to whom he was directly responsible, and handled appeals to lower-court decisions. Since the late 15th century, the enormous size of the Ottoman Empire had necessitated the appointment of two Kazaskers, usually for the period of one year: the Kazasker of Rumelia, with jurisdiction over the European part of the Empire, and the Kazasker of Anatolia, responsible for the Asian part, comprising Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula. - The Kasazker would record all business in a book of original entry such as this one, known as the "Kazasker Ruznamçesi" (Kazasker daybook register). The present Ruznamçe concerns an impressively wide and diverse geography, from Anatolia to the Caucasus, the Arabian lands, the Nile and Northern Africa. Places in Anatolia include Üsküdar (Scutari), Marzvan (Merzifon), Bergama (Pergamon), and Antakya (Antioch); in the South Caucasus the book mentions Tblisi, Ganja, Igdir, Yerevan, and Javanshir. Places covered in the Levant, Arabia and Mesopotamia include Safed, Idlib, Jericho, Beirut, Homs, Hama, Baalbek, Latakia, Kirkuk, Basra, and Jeddah. From the Mediterranean to the regions south of the Nile, the book records matters pertaining to Cairo, Gharbia, Dakahlia, Alexandria, Damietta, Qalyubiyya, Faiyum, Minya (Hermopolis), Beni Suef, Monufia, Asyut, and Beheira; also the Kazasker's counselor for Egypt is mentioned. In Northern Africa, the book covers Algeria, Tunisia, Tripoli, and Djerba. Further, even Tirhala (Thessaly) is included, which normally would fall within the remit of the Kazasker of Rumelia. - Among these records, the high volume of official missions back and forth within the vast borders of the empire is hard to miss. Every year, hundreds of posts are filled throughout the country: in 1731, for example, one Sayyid Nureddin from Seferihisar (Izmir) was appointed to fill a position in Basra, 2500 kilometres away. There is also a steady stream of civil servants between Istanbul and Jeddah, more than 3000 kilometres distant. Entries in the daybook include a record for a Mevlana Ahmed, who, after having studied at the Molla Gürani Madrasah in Constantinople, is appointed Kadi (Judge) at Jeddah, salaried at 150 coins per day (cf. p. 828f.). Soon after, Ahmed is in turn replaced by Suleyman: "Ahmed, serving as the Kadi of Jeddah, relinquished his post, which he would have held until the first day of Rabi ath-Thani next year. In Ahmed's place, Mevlana Suleyman, who studied with forty akces per day at the Tuti Latif Madrasah in Istanbul and passed the exam successfully by completing the waiting period, was appointed as a Kadi to Jeddah with one hundred and fifty akces per day" (p. 835, transl.). This continuity gives evidence of the close relationship between the capital Istanbul and the Hejaz. Civil servants who were successful at the leading madrasahs of Istanbul could be appointed as Kadi in Jeddah, with a salary almost four times the pocket money they received in Istanbul - circumstances which also reveal the sensitivity of this region for the Ottoman Empire. - Of particular interest is also the appointment of a Kadi for Yerevan, as the Causacus region was long contested throughout the Ottoman-Safavid wars and the city changed hands frequently. In 1731 Yerevan came under Ottoman rule, and the Porte immediately appointed a Kadi there to ensure administrative and legal sovereignty at a time of ongoing political and military instability. Since Yerevan was mostly under Safavid-Persian rule throughout these centuries, appointments concerning Yerevan are very rare in Ottoman records. - Mirzâzâde Mehmed Sâlim Efendi (1688-1743), the Kazasker of Anatolia for 1730/31, was a noted scholar, poet and writer; he took the pen name "Sâlim" in the Tulip Era and was also a master calligrapher. Highly educated and remembered as a versatile and colourful personality, he served in various senior civil service positions. He was a connoisseur of science, law and art, and composed numerous works; also a talented linguist, he knew Turkish, Arabic and Persian well enough to compile a dictionary. - Binding restored to style with original covers laid down, 20th century bookbinder stamp of Rafet Güngör, Istanbul, to lower flyleaf. Occasional light edge flaws; upper part of last 4 leaves torn away with substantial loss, otherwise complete. Several old waqf stamps. At the end of the volume are numerous elaborate seals of Mehmed Sâlim, certified by a civil servant named as Abdurrahman. Their official character is underlined by having been prepared separately and pasted into the completed daybook, with a crescent-shaped cut in the paper creating a flap that conceals the stamped seal. Cf. Abdurrahman Atcil, "The Route to the Top in the Ottoman Ilmiye Hierarchy of the Sixteenth Century", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 72.3 (2009), 489-512.
Folio (220 x 315 mm). 8 issues printed in French and Arabic in two columns, each between 2 and 16 pages. All with the woodcut vignette of the French Republic showing Marianne and the motto "Liberté Egalité". A unique ensemble of these exceedingly rare regulations documenting the first months of the administration of the newly appointed commander-in-chief "Abdallah" Menou, who succeeded Kleber after his assassination in June. - In contrast to his predecessor, who intended to rule Egypt as an occupied territory, General Menou had colonial aims and even considered granting French citizenship to all Egyptians. Soon after his arrival in 1798 he married a woman from a noble Cairo family, converted to Islam and took the name of Abdallah. - Covering a wide range of topics such as tax and fiscal matters, fishing and hunting rights, duties of local dignitaries ("cheyks el-beled"), customs and border regulations, rules for navigation on the Nile, taxation of merchants, craftsmen and workers, as well as the rights of various religious minorities (Jews and Copts among others), the present documents offer a vastly more detailed insight into the French administration of Egypt than the more widely distributed single-page broadsides of daily orders with which they were originally issued ("Inséré dans l'ordre du jour ..."). Printed by first printing press in the Arab world, all issues of these bilingual regulations and orders are of the utmost rarity: four of the eight publications contained in the present collection are not recorded in OCLC. - Unbound as issued. Well preserved throughout. Detailed list and collations of the individual publications available upon request. Cf. D. Glass/G. Roper, The Printing of Arabic Books in the Arab World, in: Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution (Gutenberg Museum Mainz 2002), p. 177-225, at 182.
Manuscript diplomatic letter in Arabic (total sheet approx. 430 x 575 mm), recto with 8 lines of text framed by ruled compartments incorporating penned decoration of stylised foliage and calligraphic seal in green and blue ink heightened with gold, fraying along two old folds with small losses to border, some negligible foxing and light wear to extremities. Decorated in blue and green ink heightened in gold, this diplomatic letter was sent in December 1720 by the fearsome ruler of Morocco Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif to Charles Stewart, the English ambassador at the head of a mission sent by King George I to negotiate a peace with Morocco. The small squadron sailed from England on 24 September 1720, commanded by Commodore Stewart, who was authorised with the powers of a minister plenipotentiary to negotiate with Moulay Ismail. A treaty of peace between the two countries was signed on January 1721 at Ceuta, the terms securing the release of 296 British slaves, the free movement of British ships in Moroccan waters, and unhindered access for Moroccan ships wishing to trade with Britain. Before the embassy returned to London a conference was held in May 1721 with Pasha Hamet Ben Ali Ben Abdallah. Stewart was accompanied by John Windus, whose important account of the adventure was published as "A Journey to Mequinez" (London, 1725). - Addressed to "the Christian ambassador of the English" (i. e., Stewart), this letter in Arabic offers greetings from Moulay Ismail, followed by a statement acknowledging the English desire for a truce, close friendship and communication with Morocco, and that the potentate of the English (King George I) has despatched the embassy with this in view. Note is made of previous communications through Pasha Hamet Ben Ali Ben Abdallah and Ibn al Attar and that the content has already been ratified and agreed. He hopes that the agreement will be in accord with the expectations of the ambassador and notes the history of friendly diplomatic relations between the English and the kings of Morocco, citing the relationship between his cousin Ahmad Al Mansour (1549-1603) and Queen Elizabeth I. He continues by advising that if it is the ambassador's wish to renew that covenant and treaty and to encourage the relationship between the two countries then he shall in no way oppose it. The layout of the letter with subdivided frames is characteristic of Moroccan chancellery letters of this period (cf. J. F. P. Hopkins, Letters from Barbary 1576-1774: Arabic documents in the Public Record Office, OUP 1982).
