4409 risultati
18968vo. (2), 236 pp. With frontispiece, large folding panorama, and 30 text illustrations. Original illustrated wrappers. Rare first edition. Jules Gervais-Courtellemont (1863-1931), a convert to Islam, was one of the very few Western visitors to Mecca during his time. The classic account of his pilgrimage is of special interest due to the numerous illustrations drawn after photographs by the author and documenting buildings that have survived only greatly changed or which have disappeared altogether. - An untrimmed, well-preserved copy with very slight browning. Uncommon; auction records list the 2nd edition only (published in the same year), fetching as much as £950 (Sotheby's, Oct 14, 1998, lot 740); last sold for £750 (Sotheby's, Oct 15, 2003, lot 638). Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1016. Howgego III, G10. OCLC 23429140.
8vo. XXI, (3), 319, (1) pp. Contemporary calf with giltstamped cover borders, gilt spine, giltstamped red spine label; leading edges gilt; all edges gilt. First edition. - Hammer's German translations of the Indian pastoral play "Dewajani", the Persian musical play "Anahid", and the Turkish comedy "Sophia". - From the library of the Swedish diplomat Ulf Torsten Undén (1877-1962) with his ownership "U. T. Undén" signed twice to endpapers. Goedeke VII, 764, 64. Wurzbach VII, 276, 43. WG² 29. OCLC 19226414.
8vo. 64 pp. Contemporary half cloth. Very rare second edition of this Yiddish-language study of the Prophet Muhammad, essentially a reissue of the Meir Chinsky edition of 1898. It includes not only a biography of the Prophet and a discussion of the Qur'an and of Islam, but also chapters with a specifically Jewish perspective, such as on the Jewish population of Arabia (especially in Mecca and Medina), on Muhammad's "dreadful revenge on the Jews", etc. The author published similar accounts on Jesus of Nazareth ("Yeyshu Hanoytsri: zayn ersheynen, leben und toydt: algemeyner iberblik vegen der entshtehung fun kristenthum") and Sabbatai Zevi ("Der Terkisher Meshieh: a historish romantishe shilderung iber dem leben und virken fun Shabtay Tsvi"). The highly versatile journalist, novelist, and playwright D. M. Hermalin (1865-1921) was born and educated in Bucharest, where he worked for various newspapers before being compelled to leave Romania and emigrating to the United States at the age of twenty. Here, he taught French and Hebrew and achieved distinction as a much-admired family page editor for Yiddish newspapers such as the "Folks Advokat", the "Yiddisher Herold", and the "Wahrheit". He wrote thrillers, but also translated Tolstoy, Maupassant, Zola, Bocaccio, and Shakespeare into Yiddish; his 1901 translation of Goethe's "Faust" was the first complete Yiddish version. - Stamps of ownership of the Jewish Socialist Branch of Chelsea as well as the Chelsea Labor Lyceum Association Library to lower pastedown and several pages, including the title-page. Shelfmarks to front pastedown and title-page. Extremities slightly rubbed, paper browned and brittle. - No copy in trade records; online library catalogues list copies at the British Library, Brandeis University Library (Waltham, MA), Yivo Institute for Jewish Research (New York), and the Hebrew Union College (Cincinnati). OCLC 122983891.
Small folio (205 x 282 mm). Turkish manuscript on paper. 113 pp., per extensum, with half-page illustrated headpiece and numerous tables. Black and occasional red ink on paper, text ruled in red and green ink throughout. Contemporary black half calf over cloth boards. Decorated paper pastedowns. A "brief account of knowledge of some constants" by Hussein bin Ibrahim Al-Kitbi Al-Falak, written in accurate penmanship and containing numerous astronomical tables in black and red ink. - Paper a little browned and brownstained. Bookplate on front flyleaf with printed portrait, dated 1342.
8vo. (8), XXXXV, (1), 104 pp. With engraved dedicatory headpiece and 8 (instead of 10) engraved plates (some depicting cuts of diamonds) and tables. Contemporary smooth calf with gilt cover borders and red spine label. First edition in French of this early book describing "how diamonds and pearls can be evaluated on the basis of the factors of size (or weight) and style of cut" (Sinkankas). The London jeweller Jeffries is the first author to provide "a clear statement of the principle that the value of pearls should be calculated to the square of their weight [...] This principle is implicit in the valuation tables given by earlier authors, including Tavernier and others, but Jeffries is the first to state it explicitly. At the back of his book, he provides tables allowing the calculation of the value of individual and batches of pearls of different size or quality. This is effectively a 'chau' book, as used by merchants in the Gulf and India until the mid-20th century, and fulfils exactly the same function" (Carter). - "The text explains the [diamond] cutting procedure, how the evaluation rules were derived, the importance of imperfections and flaws as affecting price, notes on rough diamonds [...] and finally, a somewhat similar procedure for the valuation of pearls, with highest values accorded to pearls of closest approach to spherical perfection, luster, etc. The mathematical rule used for the pearl is known as the 'square of the weight' multiplied by a per-carat base price" (Sinkankas). - This French edition is much scarcer than the expanded second English edition, on which it is based. It is dedicated by the translator (the Royal librarian Chappotin S. Laurent) to the sixteen-year-old Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé, on the occasion of his marriage to Charlotte de Rohan. - Hinges weak, corners and spine-ends bumped and chipped. Lacks the final two plates (showing the cuts of the largest diamonds). Provenance: 20th century handwritten ownership to title-page. Removed from the Library of the Birmingham Assay Office, one of the four assay offices in the United Kingdom, with their library stamp to the flyleaf. Sinkankas 3198. Cf. Carter, Sea of Pearls, p. 83, 125f., 251. Goldsmiths' 8500. Hoover 453. Roller/G. II, 10.
8vo. 2 parts in one vol. (16), 435, (13) pp. (16) , 208, (14) pp., final blank f. With woodcut vignettes to both title pages (the first showing an Ottoman warrior, after J. Amman) and two (repeated) printer's devices at the end. Contemporary vellum. Remains of ties. First octavo edition of Lonicer's collection of Turkish history, previously published in 1578 as a hefty three-volume folio set with woodcuts attributed to Jost Amman. The present issue is a pretty, handily pocket-sized edition minus the illustrations, incorporating several important changes to the text. Book 2 of the first part still comprises Menavino's "Mahometicae leges, religio, vita" in Lonicer's translation, while Aventin's appendix at the end of part 1 is omitted, as is the entire third volume of the folio edition (Barletius's "Scanderbeg"). The beginning of part 2 includes an important new addition: Contarini's "De bello Turcico", with the description of the Battle of Lepanto. - Binding rubbed; large defects to spine. Interior somewhat browned as common with occasional insignificant waterstains to margins. A few contemporary censorship marks in ink; title page shows contemporary ownership "Ex libris fratris Constantini Cruseni Augustiniani" (obliterated) and of the Augustinians' monastery of St Thomas (Kostel sv. Tomáše) in Prague. VD 16, L 2464. BNHCat L 379. BM-STC German 525. Adams L 1456. Göllner 1773. Atabey 729. Graesse IV, 265. Pétrovitch 48. Hammer 1090. Chauvin XII, 248, 1019 (& cf. 266, 1107). Yerasimos 126. Not in Blackmer (cf. 1030 note).
4 pp. on folded bifolium. On blue paper. 4to. Long, interesting and unpublished letter, closely written over four pages, to the French minister Gustav Armand Henri, Comte de Reiset (1821-1905). The twenty-five-year-old missionary, writing from the south-western tip of the Arabian peninsula, describes himself as "perdu au milieu des déserts et dont toute l'imagination est absorbée par l'étude des langues". The capucin friar travelled along the coast of the Red Sea, visiting Tor, Yambo, Medina and Jeddah; the settlements he encounters are wretched hamlets on the edge of the desert. "À Gedda les musulmans font voir le tombeau de notre grande mère Ève. Selon eux, nos premiers parens après leurs chutes vinrent faire pénitence de leurs fautes à La Mecque. Ève mourut à Gedda. La tête de notre première mère repose sur une montagne et ses deux pieds sur deux autres collines voisines et sur son nombril ils ont élevé une pyramide [...]". Léon writes that he feared he would end up eaten by the fish, but finally did arrive in Abyssinia after a 20-day voyage. He continues to describe a beautiful mountaineous landscape peopled by a few Bedouin tribes and evokes their hard life, the cry of the jackals, and the devastation of crops by soldiers and by apes. He states the price of wheat, horses, and farming animals, describes the mining of gold, silver and iron and summarizes the situation in Abyssinia, since the former empire was overthrown by "la lance du farouche Gallas". He describes the savage manners of a country at war: the enslavement of women and children, the emasculation of men, and the rampant diseases. He also explains how the country first seized by the Turks passed to France, and provides his minister with first-hand geopolitical intelligence: "L'Anglais travaille ce pays. Un consul britannique y rôde en tout sens. Mais les Anglais y sont détestés à cause de leur religion. Mais cependant que l'on y fasse attention. L'Abyssinie plutôt que de vouloir subir le joug turke se mettra à la disposition de la première puissance qui voudra l'exploiter. La Sardaigne a envoyé ici un ancien missionnaire pour déterminer Oubié ou un roi de l'Abyssinie à lui donner une partie de la côte pour y colliniser fiat lux [...]". - Léon des Avanchers, friend of the French explorer Antoine d'Abadie, was a missionary in Abyssinia, a geographer, cartographer and explorer of East Africa, and a correspondent of the Società Geografica Italiana. He is known to have bought many slaves to free them and was the founder of the first Catholic church in the Seychelles. - Some original corrections and insertions. Traces of original folds. Well-preserved.
188 pp. With 2 (out of 3) lithographed plates ("annexures"), of which 1 folding table showing the movements of all army units from the landing in Suez "up to the present state". Original blue printed wrappers. Official report of the Mesopotamia Commission appointed in August 1916 to investigate the events connected with the Siege of Kut Al-Amara, the worst Allied defeat of the Great War. The Commission's remit was to enquire "into the origin, inception, and conduct of operations of war in Mesopotamia, including the supply of drafts, reinforcements, ammunition, and equipment of the troops and fleet, the provision for the sick and wounded, and the responsibility of those departments of Government whose duty it has been to minister to the wants of the forces employed in that theatre of war" (p. 3). In the spring of 1916, T. E. Lawrence had been dispatched to Mesopotamia to assist in relieving Kut by either starting an Arab uprising or negotiating a secret deal with Enver Pasha, offering £2 million for the free retreat of the troops; the mission produced no useful result, and General Townshend surrendered on 29 April after a siege of 147 days. Some 13,000 Allied soldiers survived to be made prisoners. - Contents include: Origin of Mesopotamia expedition; Advance from Basra to Kurna; The advance from Amara and Kut; Correspondence and telegrams as to advance on Baghdad; The advance from Kut to Ctesiphon; Operations for relief of Kut; Armament, equipment, reinforcements; Transport; Medical breakdown; Causes contributing to the errors of judgment and shortcomings of responsible authorities; Findings and conclusions; Separate report by Commander J. Wedgwood; Vincent-Bingley report; Memorandum by Sir Beauchamp Duff; Colonel Hekir's account of the siege of Kut-el-Amara. - Waterstained throughout; edges and corners severely wrinkled, bumped and frayed; traces of dod-earing. Binding soiled; spine chipped. OCLC 3303415. Cd. 8610.
4to (182 x 275 mm). (6), VIII, 40 pp. Publisher's original illustrated printed wrappers. First edition of this study on the origins of the Wahhabis, published from the archives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With a preface by the French historian Édouard Driault (1864-1947). An Arabic translation ("al-Tadhkirah fi asl al-Wahhabiyin wa-dawlatihim") appeared at Riyadh as recently as 2004. - Binding somewhat frayed and chipped. Uncut, untrimmed copy from the library of the respected Cairo-based Egyptologist and dealer in antiquities, Roger Khawam (1922-2016), who dispersed his library four years before his death (his Scarab bookplate to the front free endpaper). Macro 1874. OCLC 5277329.
Folio (198 x 310 mm). (8), 218 pp. With 19 text engravings and two plates (29 costume illustrations in all); wants the frontispiece. Later half calf on five raised bands, gilt, with giltstamped spine label. Marbled endpapers. Edges sprinkled in red. Second printed edition of Sir Paul Rycaut‘s famous Turkish chronicle (the first available), drawn from various authentic sources and from the author‘s own observations. "His most important work [...] presents an animated and, on the whole, faithful picture of Turkish manners" (DNB). "Provides an account of the society and political system of the Ottoman Empire with unprecedented thoroughness" (cf. Osterhammel, Die Entzauberung Asiens, 32). "An extremely important and influential work, which provides the fullest account of Ottoman affairs during the 17th century" (Blackmer). The 1666 first edition, which this replaces, was almost entirely destroyed by the Great Fire of London. The attractive engravings depict dignitaries and persons of various ranks in their costumes, also including the illustration of a turban. The loss of the frontispiece is to some degree extenuated by the fact that it merely showed a repeat of the engraving on fol. B2v (Sultan Mehmed IV on his throne). - Corners bumped. Some foxing, but still a good, prettily bound copy. Provenance: bookplate of Stefanos Karatheodoris, a Greek Phanariote diplomat in Ottoman service and father of the mathematician Constantin Carathéodory. Blackmer 1463. Wing R2413. Weber II, 326. Lipperheide Lb 19 (= 1408), note. Howgego R92. Cf. Atabey 1067 (third ed. only).
Large 4to. (20), 424, (22) pp. With 20 (4 folding) engr. plates and 12 (8 folding) engr. maps. Later marbled half vellum with ms. title to spine. First German edition, translated by J. H. Merck. "Has been praised by Dibdin and others. It is especially esteemed for its botanical and zoological plates, in addition to the information Shaw imparts on the antiquities, geology and geography of the areas he visited" (Navari, Blackmer). "Cet ouvrage est estimé tant pour ses observations relatives à l'histoire naturelle, que pour son exactitude. L'auteur visita pendant douze ans l'Afrique septentrionale" (Gay). "During the period of his chaplaincy to the English factory at Algiers from 1720 to 1733, Shaw travelled in Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus and through much of North Africa. His work is valuable for its accurate descriptions of antiquities, geography and the natural history specimens he observed" (Aboussouan). Shaw (1694-1751) was professor of Greek at Oxford. The maps show parts of Arabia, the Mediterranean, and the environs of Algiers and Tunis. - Binding somewhat rubbed; some browning throughout due to paper; a large tear to one plate repaired. 1840 ownership "A. Lutz" to flyleaf; armorial bookplate "S. G. Koenig, V.D.M." to pastedown. Later in the Ottoman collection of the Swiss industrialist Herry W. Schaefer. Howgego I, S92. Weber II, 501. Gay 391. Röhricht 1352. Tobler 124. Nissen, ZBI 3840. Chatzipanagioti-S. 1028. Cf. Blackmer 1533-1535. Aboussouan 842. Graesse V, 362.
Large folding map (64 x 86 cm), hand-coloured and mounted on linen. Scale 1:6,969,000. Alai, General maps E.323. Not in Al Ankary; Al-Qasimi.
8vo. 323, (1) pp. With one folding map. In the publisher's grey printed wrappers. First French edition of Stoddard's "New World of Islam" of 1921. An important text by the American racial theorist Lothrop Stoddard (1883-1950), "Le nouveau monde de l'Islam" explores the state of Islam in the early 20th century, shortly after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, but remains staunchly critical of the Islamic world and the declining power of colonial empires. - From the library of Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Italy, with his bookplate and shelfmark to flyleaf, ink underlining, marginal marks, and a correction in his hand on 18 pages. The present copy has marks of Vittorio Emanuele's engagement with the text, revealing an interest principally in the subject of nationalism. - A little toned, otherwise a very good copy.
8vo. XXIV, 195 pp., final blank page. With 25 numbered illustrations mainly depicting falcons and hunting and hawking scenes, including frontispiece and of which several full-page. Contemporary full cloth with giltstamped spine-title and illustration of a hunt to front cover. First edition. One of 500 copies of this rare Persian treatise on falconry, giving a detailed account of falcons as well as hunting-birds in general, translated by Douglas Craven Phillott. The translator's introduction gives an account of the author, a prince of Persia (d. 1874), and his book. "An excellent translation [...] A valuable addition to a falconer's library, whether or not he be interested in hawking in the East" (Barber). - Corners and spine ends lightly bumped; small tears to cloth in the upper part of the spine. Bookplate of G. J. B. Barry, depicting a falcon, to pastedown. A rare and very important work by a falconer who flourished in the middle of the 19th century. Schwerdt IV, 92. Barber 14.
Watercolour over pencil, matted. Signed and dated by the artist lower left. 460 x 363 mm. An impressive watercolour of the famous Arabian mare, dedicated by the artist "to Rachel".
Aquatint print (image size: 485 x 390 mm, not including title and imprint; paper size: 55 x 45 cm), engraved by Jean Pierre Jazet after Vernet. Striking aquatint of a Mamluk leader by the acclaimed French artist Carle Vernet (1758-1836), best known for his depiction of horses and war scenes. The Mamluk leader is depicted in traditional garb with a scimitar dangling from a robe in his hand, on a horse, with a fighting scene in the background in front of a Middle Eastern town. The engraver, Jean Pierre Jazet (1788-1871), must have been a skilled artist himself. - A lithographed copy, retaining some of the original splendour, was published in Vienna by Joseph Trentsensky a few years later. - A fine copy in a crisp impression. Dayot, Carle Vernet (1925), no. 102. Nagler XXII, p. 440. Cf. Mennessier de la Lance II, p. 617.
1900rif. 664unknown: unknown 1900. 9 1/2 x 8 inches 8 x 8 inches 8 x 8 inches. Very good condition. This is a set of three very rare etchings of golf. The first is a layout of the first tee and closing hole at St. Andrews Old Course. The second is of a golfer finishing his swing with. golfers in the background. The third is a golfer loonig at a difficult shoe if not impossible. These are very old and quite rare. They have been in my possession for 40 years and are new to the market. At one time I had the name of the artist but have misplaced my fact sheet. See pics. unknown unknown
1842Large 4to. 216, (2) pp. With lithogr. portrait frontispiece, map and 47 plates (46 of which are costume lithographs in original colour). Original illustrated wrappers bound within contemporary brown cloth with giltstamped front cover illustration (spine rebacked with giltstamped label). First edition. - When Count Loevenhjelm was appointed Swedish ambassador to the Porte, the naturalist Hedenborg (1787-1865) accompanied him as his medical attendant. He published another work on Egypt and died in Rhodes. The attractive plates in this present work depict the costumes of a wide range of the inhabitants of Constantinople. - Binding rubbed; interior browned, showing the occasional fingerstain. Rare. Atabey 567. Blackmer 800. Howgego II, E5 (p. 195). Göllner 40. OCLC 34458777. Not in Lipperheide, Colas or Hiler.
Hand-coloured engraved map (645 x 540 mm). Guillaume de l'Isle used the three classic divisions in this map, but it also contains other divisions and subdivisions based on geographical and political considerations. - Well preserved. Tibbetts 199. Cf. Al-Qasimi 268 (Paris ed. 1707).
Engraved map (61 x 51 cm), hand-coloured in outline. Shows east to west Caravan routes. Marked with various well locations. Al-Qasimi 221.
Oblong folio (590 x 500 mm). Engraved map in contemporary hand colour. Decorative cartouche, compass rose. Beautiful example of Cornelis Danckerts’ map showing the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, and the eastern part of the Mediterranean. Slightly brownstained; otherwise in fine condition. Al Ankary 77.
1963rif. 153757London: Geographical Section General Staff 1963. Scarce charts of Bahrain and the Straits of Hormuz A rare and historically interesting pair of adjacent maps of the Arabian Gulf covering six degrees of longitude each the geographical area encompassing the whole of Qatar Bahrain and part of what was to become the United Arab Emirates Al-Hofuf being the major city in the Al-Ahsa Oasis Eastern Province Saudi Arabia; sixth and fifth editions respectively. Maps of the period issued by the GSGS Geographical Section General Staff use a 7-colour tint scale to distinguish altitude and a glossary that highlights towns of significance and other standout features which provided steady references for army personnel to aid navigation in the challenging conditions of the region. The Bander Abbas map was compiled by the US Army Map Service Corps of Engineers from a number of sources including USAF Aeronautical Approach Charts of 1951-55 and the US Geological Survey of the Arabian Peninsula 1958. The Hofuf chart is based inter alia on 512 Field Survey Royal Engineers charts 1942-4. WorldCat lists just three individual copies for Hofuf NG39 SUNY at Buffalo University of Notre Dame and Eastern Illinois University alongside four copies of Bandar Abbas NG40 University of Exeter University of Notre Dame Eastern Illinois University and University of South Florida. It should be noted that major national institutions - BL for example - will have holdings of these maps within the complete GSGS series. Most copies would be discarded on supersession making these an important record of cartographic progress in the region. Two two-colour printed maps 1:1000000 scale 690 x 610 & 750 x 610 mm respectively. Ex- libris stamp of Arizona State Library both stamped "superseded" in blank margin and "withdrawn" on verso some pencilled marginalia; both in excellent condition. unknown
1956rif. 153759London: Geographical Section General Staff 1956 & 1957. Scarce maps of Oman and south-east Arabia dating to the Jebel Akhdar War A pair of decidedly uncommon and impressively sized regional maps both second editions Muscat-Musira following the first of 1945 S. E. Arabia first published in 1956. The Muscat-Masira map drawn up by D Survey of the Ministry of Defence reaches as far north as Khaburah Oman on the coast south beyond Masirah Island and westward reaching beyond Lahus and Hadhi. It is based on several mappings including Bertram Thomas's map of Rub' al Khali the "Empty Quarter" 1931 the sand desert covering most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula Samuel Barrett Miles 1910 map of Oman and Captain F. F. Hunter's map of Arabia 1935 revision. The aeronautical chart goes into greater detail reaching beyond Sur in the North South to Masirah Island and Manadhif and West to Uruq ash Shaybah UAE; this was drawn up by No. 1 SPC.RE i.e. Survey Production Centre Royal Engineers and is based largely on the USAF Aeronautical Approach Charts 1956 and World Aeronautical Chart 563 1951. During the mid to late-1950s Britain was involved in a number of disputes in Oman perhaps the most serious involving the Imam Ghalib al-Hinai and his brother Talib bin Ali who led the Imamate's revolt against Sultan Said bin Taimur which resulted in the Jebel Akhdar or Oman War 1954-1959. In this the RAF played a leading role not least because aircraft could at the same time expedite oil exploration operations in the interior of Oman. Pembrokes light transport aircraft and heavier Avro Ansons from 1417 Communication Flight RAF carried out reconnaissance "and other tasks during this operation against the Imamate and were the first aircraft ever to land at Nizwa marked "Nazwa" on the chart on a roughly cleared strip which proved extremely hazardous for the pilots but which was later transformed into a passable airfield" Lee p. 22. The present chart has two pencilled lines radiating from Masira airfield one of which passes through Nizwa near which is marked the "approx. position" of an airstrip. The chart bear the proviso that they should "not be taken as an authority on names" and that "the alignment of all tracks is approximate". Users were also directed to update information and highlight errors which were to be directly sent to the Director of the Military Survey in the War Office. There are noticeable graphical variations between the chart and map as fitting their usage. Before the Second World War pilots flew using landmarks - such as train tracks or roads - as pointers which meant that they relied on perfect weather conditions. However technological advances in aviation alongside the use of radio for more accurate navigation meant that to a degree pilots could work in more challenging conditions. This meant that maps with their focus on terrain and details relevant from the perspective of ground troops would become irrelevant when observed from a plane's altitude. Therefore a number of countries started to produce charts highlighting key information by reducing the contour structure and focusing on key landmarks necessary for aviators. The Muscat-Masira map uses a five-colour tint scale to distinguish altitude includes a glossary and key the latter identifying towns given four categories of importance significant ruins geographical features such as mountains hills marshes saddles and passes rivers water holes and man-made features such as railways roads tracks telegraph lines pipelines and pumping stations mosques and temples; tribal and regional names are also given. However reflecting the simplification required by pilots the S. E. Arabia chart only uses fives tones to highlight land mountains paths and the sea. These maps intended for use in the field would have had a high rate of attrition; WorldCat locates just a handful of copies of the Muscat-Masira map whilst S.E. Arabia 4802 is well represented institutionally but decidedly uncommon on the market. Two colour printed maps the first 1: 1000000 scale 860 x 640 mm the second 1:500000 scale 1100 x 825 mm. Both with creases from old folds and some minor marginal splits and spots the second with pencil lines marking a flight route from Masira Island and a notation in the margin; both remain very good. Sir David Lee The RAF in the Mediterranean and Middle East 1945-71 1978. unknown
8vo. (16) pp. Modern marbled wrappers. Extremely rare German slavery account by the Prussian clockmaker F. G. Albertus. Born in Potsdam in 1770, he visited Amsterdam in 1797, was press-ganged into joining an East India Company ship bound for Batavia, but fell into the hands of Tunisian pirates off the coast of Gibraltar. He details the horrors of his eight-year slavery in North Africa and mentions several of his fellow sufferers by name, including a Spanish Countess named Carolina who was captured at age 16 and was finally ransomed after nine years of slavery. Ultimately, Albertus is ransomed by a Dutch jeweller named Birkenthal and returns to Germany, physically broken but full of praise for the workings of God. - Trimmed rather closely (slight loss to text). Title page bears contemporary censorship stamp of the Delitzsch police. Of the utmost rarity: a single other copy is known (bound within sammelband A/31581:9 in the State and University Library of Hamburg). OCLC 837821535 (SUB Hamburg).
Folio (262 x 358 mm). 35, (1) pp. With 9 plates. Original wrappers printed in red, stored loosely within original dedicatory giltstamped cloth portfolio with white moirée endpapers. Handsome facsimile publication produced on the occasion of the centenary of the University of Turin (27 October 1906), under the editorship of the professor of philosophy Ettore Stampini (1855-1930) for the Academic Council. Dedication copy for Sultan Abdülhamid II (1842-1918), the 99th caliph of Islam and the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan was to be deposed in 1909; but two years later, Italy and the Ottoman Empire would go to war over Libya. - Rather strongly browned throughout, as usual; still a good copy with fine provenance. OCLC 16164614.