Guer, Jean-Antoine.MareMagnum
4 080 résultats
4to. 2 vols. (4), XXIV, 453, (19) pp. (2), VIII, 537, (2) pp. With engr. title vignette, 10 engr. initials, 20 engr. text vignettes, 2 engr. frontispieces, and 28 engr. plates. Contemp. calf gilt with giltstamped spine labels. First edition (vol. 2: second ed.). "This work is especially valued for its engravings of Turkish costume figures and genre scences by Duflos after Boucher and Hallé" (Navari Greek), as well as for "its fine folding panorama of Constantinople" (Atabey). "The French writer and jurist Guer (1713-64) had not travelled. His work is based on a wide knowledge of historiography and travel literature. It is singled out by the high quality of its wealth of illustrations" (cf. Chatzipanagioti-Sangmeister). The first edition was published by Coustelier in Paris, 1746-47; the same year saw the second edition (Merigot & Piget in Paris) as well as the third (Mortier in Amsterdam). Nearly all sets in the trade are mixed copies. - A good, nearly unbrowned copy from the library of Baron Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz with his autograph ownership to titles. Atabey 534. Auboyneau 301. Blackmer 762. Weber II, 761. Chatzipanagioti-S. 382. Cohen/R. 465. Colas 1348. Hiler 401. Hage Chahine 2000. Navari (Greek) 308. Sander 872. Brunet II, 1783. Cf. Aboussouan 308. Lipperheide Lb 31 (Mortier).
4to (230 x 165 mm). With a woodcut illustration of a hunt using falcons on the titlepage (90 x 95 mm), 7 nearly full-page woodcut illustrations of birds of prey on integral leaves. 38, [2 blank] pp. Half red goatskin morocco (1930s?). Rare fifth edition, the first published outside of Paris, of a concise practical handbook on the choosing, training, care and feeding of birds of prey for hunting, by the falconer to Louis XIII, first published in 1620. "Copies of this work [in any edition] are very difficult to procure" (Harting). The hunting scene on the title-page, which has no related illustration in the first edition or in d'Arcussia, shows two men in the foreground, one blowing a horn and with a dog on a leash, the other holding a falcon and with hawking paraphernalia. It shows falcons attacking birds in the sky, and a hunting scene with dogs and men on horseback chasing a stag in the background. - With the modern armorial bookplate of the Verne d'Orcet family, whose great library on the subject of hunting was begun ca. 1900. With a few minor stains and faint offsetting, but still in good condition, the binding with very slight wear to the fore-edge corners, but otherwise fine. A rare and important practical hondbook on falconry, illustrated with the woodcuts of the second (1634) edition, including a hunting scene not in the first edition. Bibl. Mun. Rouen, Histoires de chasses (exhib. cat. 1992–93), 79; Harting, Bibl. accipitraria 156 note; Souhart, col. 238; Thiébaud, col. 493; USTC 6814292 (1 copy); cf. Schwerdt, pp. 230–231 (1620 ed.); for the binder: Fléty, p. 159.
8vo. (8), XXXXV, (1), 104 pp. With engraved dedicatory headpiece and 10 engraved plates (some depicting cuts of diamonds) and tables. Contemporary French mottled calf with red giltstamped label to prettily gilt spine. Marbled endpapers. All edges red. 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. - Professional repairs to hinges and corners; in all a fine copy. Provenance: Handwritten ownership of the Brussels jeweller Emanuel Meyer, dated 1788, to title-page. 19th century engraved bookplate of Thomas Westwood to pastedown. Latterly 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 second flyleaf. Sinkankas 3198. Cf. Carter, Sea of Pearls, p. 83, 125f., 251. Goldsmiths' 8500. Hoover 453. Roller/G. II, 10.
Large folding chromolithographed map (map size 65.5 × 88 cm). Original publisher's printed paper wrappers. Large folding map of the world, completely in colour, showing the areas containing oil and where oil/gas wells are located. Inserted around the margins of the map are several more detailed inset maps of Europe, Poland, California, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Mexico, Venezuela, Trinidad, Apsheron (Azerbeidzjan), Sumatra, Japan, Egypt and Borneo. Also included is a large diagram illustrating the world's oil production, from 1860 to 1924. - Only very slightly worn along a few folds. Paper wrappers slightly damaged, otherwise in very good condition.
4to. XIII, (1), 15-242, (2) pp. With a folding family tree. Near-contemporary full vellum with giltstamped borders and spine title, original 1860 upper wrapper cover bound within. Endpapers with floral pattern. The first (and only early) edition of this detailed study of Arabic inscriptions found in Granada, with the texts of the inscriptions set in naskh Arabic type and also translated into Spanish. It includes many poems, notably those of Ibn Zamrak (1333-93), as well as Lafuente's overview of the history and genealogy of the Moorish Nasrid dynasty (1230-1492) that ruled the Emirate of Granada, the last Islamic realm in Spain. Emilio Lafuente y Alcantara (1825-68), a disciple of Don Pascual de Gayangos and José Moreno Nieto, includes much information from documents he had newly discovered himself. He was "gifted with great erudition and love of scholarship" and condemned mediaeval Christian intolerance of Islam, the destruction of Arabic manuscripts during the Inquisition and the damage done to the Alhambra by rebuilding under Charles V. In his present first major publication, Lafuente attempts to document surviving Arabic inscriptions in Spain before anyone could destroy or incompetently restore them. This quickly established him as one of the leading oriental scholars of the Iberian peninsula, but his work was cut short by his premature death nine years later. The book, reissued in 1860 with no change except for the date on the new wrappers, inspired a new interest in Iberian Arabic poetry, but was largely forgotten by bibliographers of Arabic studies. It was reprinted without revisions in 2000 and remains an important source for Islamic Granada. - Vellum covers slightly warped. Paper evenly browned throughout; slightly foxed in places. Near-contemporary handwritten English annotations in ink and pencil to p. 169, correcting Lafuente's claim that a large vase had disappeared from the Alhambra and probably is to be found "ornamenting the cabinet of some Englishman, passionate for our things": "This is a mistake entirely. The great 2nd jar is in the Museum at Madrid [...]". James T. Monroe, Islam and the Arabs in Spanish scholarship (1970), pp. 119-122. Palau 129800. Harrassowitz, Arabien und der Islam 1932, 2414 ("Rare"). Petzholdt, Neuer Anzeiger für Bibliographie und Bibliothekswissenschaft 1862,140. Abascal/Cebrián, Manuscritos sobre Antigüedades de la Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid 2005, 309. Dodds, Al-Andalus, 404.
4to. 60, (2) pp. Woodcut vignette to title. Text in Latin and Arabic. Early 19th century boards covered with blue brocade paper. Second edition, following Erpenius's 1615 editio princeps. - Lokman was a legendary sage of the pre-Muhammedanian era, occasionally said to have been king of Yemen, a prophet, or an Abessinian slave. This late 13th-c. adaptation of a Syrian translation of Aesop's Fables was attached to his name. Since their first publication in Europe in 1615, the "Fables" constitute an obligatory passage for learning Arabic, which explains the proliferation of versions (including those for school use). The collection was edited by Thomas Erpenius (1584-1624), professor of oriental languages at Leiden. In 1613, after his return from Paris, he set up a private press with types cut specially for him. - Some fingerstaining, waterstaining and duststaining; lower corner of t. p. torn off (no loss to text); an early student's pen scribblings on title page, and a later owner's pencil notes in Arabic in margins and on final flyleaf. Zenker I, 627. Schnurrer 220. Landwehr F137. OCLC 85371352. Cf. Fück 65f.
8vo. 19, (1), 22, (2) pp. Contemporary grey wrappers. First Arabic edition. "Silvestre de Sacy translated the Last Will and Testament of Louis XVI into Arabic and had the translation printed together with the French original in 1820, in hopes that it might prove a comfort and encouragement to the Christians of the Orient, while giving Muslim readers a demonstration of Christian submission and evangelical meekness" (cf. Fück). Three years previously, de Sacy had published the late King's Testament (together with the last letter of Marie Antoinette) in a luxurious folio edition. "Sacy never let his Christian convictions hamper his work as a scholar, for he saw religion as a personal matter. Although he revealed his faith at times, it was never to pose it as the strongest model against which to judge other religions. He was nevertheless very pious. There is no other way to explain his translation of the guillotined king, Louis XVI, into Arabic [...]. He apparently wished to show how devout, simple and charitable his beloved monarch had been" (Kamal as-Salibi, The Druze [London 2005], p. 20). - The orientalist de Sacy, a monumental figure in the development of oriental studies in France, began his career as professor of Arabic at the École des Langues Orientales Vivantes in 1796. In 1806 he was offered the chair of Persian at the College of France and in 1824 was appointed director of the school of oriental languages. He also acted as advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, translating political propaganda into Arabic, including the "Bulletins of the Grande Armée" (cf. Atabey 1134). - An excellent, untrimmed and wide-margined copy in mint condition, printed on strong paper, the central counter-leaf remaining uncut. Fück 144 (note 377). Bibliothèque de Sacy III, 4781f. OCLC 25217438.
Folio (225 x 332 mm). 2 parts in one vol. (12), 143, (1) pp. (6) pp., 1 blank f., 96 pp. With printer's woodcut device to both title-pages. Contemporary half vellum over papered boards with faded handwritten spine title. Second edition of this "at least linguistically rather unusual combination of a Georgian and a Turkish grammar, using the Georgian types first displayed in 1629" (Smitskamp). This is "an almost line for line reprint of the 1643 edition, only distinguishable by the 'Iterum imprimatur' [...] The work is set in mkhedruli type that has no upper case, but upper and lower case khutsuri type (the sacred script) is also displayed, absent in the 1629 'Alphabetum'. In the second part, containing a Turkish grammar (the third of its kind, after those by Megiser [1612] and du Ryer [1630]), the Hebrew and Syriac scripts [...] are also discussed as vehicles of the Arabic or Turkish language. Maggio mentions della Valle as his instructor in Turkish [...] At the end of the second part a Turkish translation is printed of the 'Corolla B.M. Virginis', a widely used devotional prayer" (ibid.). - Binding lightly rubbed. Some browning throughout; occasional worming in the margins. A few contemporary ink corrections in Georgian script. Removed from the library of the Capuchin mission to Trabzon, Turkey (Missione dei Cappuccini di Trebisonda) with their stamp to the title-page. Smitskamp, PO 227. Lang 167. Vater/Jülg 140.
4to. (8), 9-44, 332 pp. - (Bound with) II: Ibn 'Arabshah, Ahmad ibn Muhammad / Vattier, Pierre (transl.). L'histoire du grand Tamerlan divisée en sept livres. Ibid., 1658. (24), 248, (4) pp. - (And) III: The same. Portrait du grand Tamerlan, avec la suite de son histoire iusques à l'establissement de l'Empire du Mogol. Paris, Vattier, Augustin Courbé & Jean Huart, 1658. (8), 146, (2). Contemporary vellum. All edges sprinkled in red. A milestone of French Arabist scholarship in the 17th century. I: First French edition of the "General History of the World" ("Kitab al-Magmu' al-mubarak") by Girgis al-Makin ibn al-'Amid, known in the Latin tradition as Georgius Elmacinus. Born in Cairo in 602 AH (1205 AD) to a Coptic civil servant in the War Ministry, he later served in a similar function in Syria. His chronicle had previously been translated into Latin (by Erpenius) and English (by Purchas); the work "for the first time provided wider circles in the west with an overview of Islamic history from its beginnings to the Crusades and acquainted them with the prime of the Baghdad Califate, previously almost unreceived, through an account ultimately based on Tabari" (cf. Fück). - II/III: First French translation (issued in two parts) of this important critical, at times even satirical eyewitness account of the life of Tamerlane (Timur Lenk), the great Turkish conqueror of the 14th century. "A frequently malicious account, in spite of the panegyrical form in which it is couched" (cf. GAL). Based on the original Arabic text written in 1437-38 by the Syrian author Ahmad lbn 'Arabshah who was secretary to Sultan Ahmad of Baghdad. In the late 16th century Timur was made famous in Europe through Christopher Marlowe's play "Tamburlaine" (published in 1590). The 17th century Western translations of Ibn Arabshah's work "for the first time acquainted the occident with a model of Arabic rhyming prose which also had the power to captivate the reader by its subject, as well as with the elaborate rhetorical style so characteristic of the literary taste of the Orient" (cf. Fück). Pierre Vattier (1623-67), physician to the Duke of Orleans, was the author of several treatises and translations on various aspects of Middle Eastern or Muslim culture. - Some browning and occasional inkstaining throughout. Top spine-end repaired. A good copy. The Macclesfield copy commanded £3,400 at Sotheby's in 2008. I: GAL I, 348. Schnurrer, p. 115, no. 155. Gay 3568. Fück 73. Aboussouan 449 ("1558" in error). OCLC 1811219. - II/III: GAL II, 29. Schnurrer, p. 137, no. 167. Fück 82. OCLC 29069177/29069426.
Folio (245 x 326 mm). 202 pp. Arabic manuscript written in Ruq'ah script. Single column, 11 lines, with extensive glosses above, outside, and interlinear. Black ink, emphases (name of Allah) in red. An annotated sketch of the Kaaba on one page; occasional small ornaments. Contemporary blind-stamped decorated binding. An early 19th century summary of the principles and tenets of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam, as laid down by Al-Shafi'i in the 9th century, with extensive examples, written in six parts (with a total of 44 chapters) on Taharah (purity), Salah (prayer), Funeral, Zakat (alms), Fasting, and the Hajj. The glosses comprise verses from the Qur'an, hadiths, prayers, instructional matter, and brief naratives. - Contents: the book of Taharah (purity) discusses the rules of cleanliness, with chapters on water (cleansing, ablution, washing the dead, tayammum), miswak (how and when to use water), wudu (detailed obligations), masah (wiping), how to use the toilet, recommended times for performing ghusl (full ablution), tayammum, najis (unclean foods), etc. - The book of Salah discusses the duty of prayer, prayer times, details of how to perform prayer, the duties of the Imam, the differences in prayer for men and women, how to dress, difference in private parts for men and women; circumstances that invalidate a prayer, etc. - The book of Funeral discusses how to treat the dead and dying, bathing and shrouding the deceased, the requirements and procedures of funeral prayer, burial, condolences and lamentations. - The book of Zakat (obligatory alms) discusses to whom and how zakat should be given, with the various types of zakat: money, land property, precious metals; but also zakat al-fitr (Breaking the Fast of Ramadan) and sadaqah (voluntary charity). - The book of Fasting discusses the duties of fasting, what those should do who cannot fast, and circumstances that invalidate the fast. - The book of Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) distinguishes hajj (the major pilgrimage: fard, obligatory) and umrah (the minor pilgrimage: sunnah, traditional). Various chapters discuss the time of the hajj, Ihram (the sacred state into which a Muslim must enter in order to perform the pilgrimage), and a pilgrim's duties on the hajj. This part, perhaps the most striking point of the study, includes an annotated sketch of the Kaaba that indicates "The gate of the Kaaba", "The Rukn al-Yamani" (Yemeni Corner), "The Rukn al-'Iraqi" (Iraqi Corner), "The Hajar al-Aswad" (Black Stone), "Al Multazam" (a place where prayer is acceptable), "Maqam Ibrahim" (the station of the Prophet Abraham), "The Rukn ush-Shami" (Levantine Corner), and " The Shadherwaan" (a structure built to protect the foundation of the Kaaba from rain water). - Various notes on the first and last page of the manuscript: verses from the Qur'an at the beginning, according to tradition, and expressions of reverence for the Shafi'i scholar Imam al Haramayn (the master of the holy cities Mecca and Medina) at the end, also indicating the author of the work. Some leaves loosened; some edge flaws and brownstaining, mainly confined to the edges as margins; altogether very well preserved. Cf. Muhammad ibn Idris Shafi'i & Majid Khadduri. Islamic Jurisprudence: Shafi'i's Risala (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1961).
Large 4to. 2 vols in one. (6), 56, 252 pp. (4), 315, (5) pp. (pages 153-216 of part 2 transposed after p. 88). With 1 folding genealogical table and 25 engraved plates (6 folding), including maps, plans, costumes, views, and 2 showing Arabic text with vowel points, as well as 2 engraved headpieces. Contemporary full calf with giltstamped red spine label. Marbled endpapers. All edges sprinkled red. Third French edition (first published in German in Copenhagen, 1772). "Édition revue par de Guignes" (Gay). "Niebuhr (1713-1815) participated as astronomer and naturalist to the royal Danish expedition to Arabia in 1763-1767. Together with the naturalist Forskal, the philologist Van Haven and two others, he travelled up the Nile to Suez and Mount Sinai, and from there to Jeddah and Mocha. By the end of their stay in Mocha, all the memebers of the expedition but Niebuhr had died, and Niebuhr travelled on alone to India, returning via Persia, Syria, Cyprus, and Constantinople. The only surviving member of the hazardous expedition, he returned to an indifferent reception in Copenhagen [...] Niebuhr's comprehensive description, particularly of the Yemen region, was the best and most authentic of the day. Many subsequent travellers have acknowledged their debt to him, and only on a few minor points have they shown him to be in error. He was scientifically and philosophically minded, cautious and steady, and hardly the man to masquerade in Mekkah or wander with the Bedouins, but few contributed more solidly to the study of Arabia" (Atabey). - Extremeties a little bumped, hinges repaired. Occasional light browning or staining, more pronounced near beginning. Contemporary handwritten "Avis au Lecteur" bound before title-page, alerting the reader to the transposed quires in part 2. - Rare. Gay 3589. Howgego I, N24 (p. 752). Brunet IV, 74 (note). Cf. Atabey 873. Macro 1699. Not in Blackmer.
Large 4to (205 x 262 mm). 2 volumes. (6), 56, 252 pp. (4), 315, (5) pp. With 1 folding genealogical table and 25 engraved plates (many folding), including maps, plans, costumes, and views, 2 showing Arabic text with vowel points, as well as 2 engraved headpieces. Contemporary full marbled calf with giltstamped spines and red spine labels. Blue coloured endpapers. All edges red. Third French edition (first published in German in Copenhagen, 1772). "Édition revue par de Guignes" (Gay). "Niebuhr (1713-1815) participated as astronomer and naturalist to the royal Danish expedition to Arabia in 1763-1767. Together with the naturalist Forskal, the philologist Van Haven and two others, he travelled up the Nile to Suez and Mount Sinai, and from there to Jeddah and Mocha. By the end of their stay in Mocha, all the memebers of the expedition but Niebuhr had died, and Niebuhr travelled on alone to India, returning via Persia, Syria, Cyprus, and Constantinople. The only surviving member of the hazardous expedition, he returned to an indifferent reception in Copenhagen [...] Niebuhr's comprehensive description, particularly of the Yemen region, was the best and most authentic of the day. Many subsequent travellers have acknowledged their debt to him, and only on a few minor points have they shown him to be in error. He was scientifically and philosophically minded, cautious and steady, and hardly the man to masquerade in Mekkah or wander with the Bedouins, but few contributed more solidly to the study of Arabia" (Atabey). - Noticeable worming to gutter, sometimes touching text but loss to legibility (more extensive in vol. I), much of which professionally repaired. A few handwritten pencil annotations in the margin. Bindings professionally restored. Gay 3589. Howgego I, N24 (p. 752). Brunet IV, 74 (note). Cf. Atabey 873. Macro 1699. Not in Blackmer.
Oblong folio (450 x 336 mm). Letterpress title page (with extensive description on the reverse) and 4 engraved plates. Contemporary blank wrappers, stored in custom-made cardboard portfolio with giltstamped cover label. First edition. A fine series of four elaborately decorated Turkish horses, based on drawings prepared in Constantinople and sent to Ridinger by Baron Gudenus. As stated in the letter from Constantinople, dated 7 March 1741 and printed on the reverse of the title page, the Ottoman dignitaries could be distinguished by the various kinds of luxurious cloths, jewels, and finery they applied to their stables. The officials would vie with each other for the most splendid equestrian adornments, often showering their animals with gold and silver, diamonds, silk, and delicate embroideries. At a state reception in 1740, the Sultan was reported to have shown a parade of 30 horses, each covered in a different kind of precious stone. Such a horse laden with ornament, led into the seraglio by a Janissary, is pictured in plate I: four ostrich feathers adorn the head (a distinction afforded only to the Sultan's personal stable), while the chest bears a splendid rosette belt. Plate II shows a rising "Divani", such as is ridden by the Grand Vizier when dressed in state, with silver chains jingling from its halter and an embroidered blanket under the saddle. Plate III shows another Divani (titled "du coté gauche", but a rare variant imprint from front right), with different bridle and blanket; an elaborately tooled gilt thong is strapped across the chest. The final plate IV shows the "cheval de main d'un Pacha" besides a large kiosk, with a long blanket, rich silver and gemstone decoration and two leopard skins. - Some fingerstaining in the margins, but well preserved. Thienemann 594-597.
8vo. 36 ff., printed on rectos only. Original printed wrappers with oval portrait of the author in Arabic costume. Stapled. First edition, very rare. Extraordinary guide to the Kingdom of Hejaz, "the most frequented pilgrim country in the world" (f. 36). It comprises accounts of Jeddah and Mecca and includes a chapter on King Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud (1875-1953), "undoubtedly the strongest and ablest ruler Arabia has produced for many many years" (f. 29). - Describing the journey from Egypt across the Red Sea, the booklet discusses the travel documents required to enter Hejaz, as well as the enormous economic benefit of the pilgrimage to the Kingdom, and gives a report of the crossing from Suez to Jeddah including stops at El Tor, "the most attractive and beautiful of the Red Sea towns" (f. 11), Wedja and Yambo. It includes a description of the Mount Sinai monastery as well as the wrecked pilgrim ship "Asia", which caught fire in the Jeddah port in 1929. On the one hand deeming Jeddah "a place for work and no play" (p. 24), the guide laments the prohibition of alcohol, cigarettes and gramophones, as well as the lack of hotels, cafés, restaurants, cinemas, and fresh water, and criticises the general state of many houses in the city. On the other hand, the booklet admires the low crime rate of Hejaz as well as recent improvements in public transportation. An uncommonly frank account of a Westerner's stay in Hejaz, not hesitating to speak out on the hardships of pilgrimage. - Covers loosened; somewhat soiled. A few pages slightly wrinkled. Contemporary ownership inscribed to title-page in blue ballpoint. Not a single copy traceable in libraries worldwide.
4to. 2 vols. XXIV, 446, XXIII, (3) pp. VII, (1), 430, XXXIV, (26) pp. With engraved frontispiece and 20 numbered engraved plates (5 of which folded) on 19 sheets. Contemporary full calf with giltstamped spine labels. All edges red. Second edition of this authoritative account of Aleppo and Ottoman life and manners, based on Russell's experience as physician to the British factory in Aleppo from 1740 to 1753. Enlarged with 3 additional plates compared to the 1756 first edition. Includes an engraved frontispiece with a view of the city, a plan by Carsten Niebuhr (vol. I, plate I), and an additional plate showing fish (vol. II, plate VI). Apart from the Syrian flora and fauna as well as the local climate, Russell's monograph discusses the everyday life of the local population, including that of European merchants living in Aleppo, the organisation of their trade activity, and their social life. Also includes a section on the plague and other epidemic diseases in the 1740s. The descriptions of the education system, of the production of manuscripts, and of the commercial activity in Syria are unusually detailed and can be considered unique in contemporary travel literature on the Ottoman Empire (cf. Chatzipanagioti-Sangmeister). The botanical plates were produced by G. D. Ehret, and one plate of fish bears the name of W. Skelton, while the remainder of plates, including the ones depicting birds and domestic life, are unsigned, but were probably produced by Russell himself. - Binding lightly scuffed; interior fresh and extremely well preserved. A charmingly bound set documenting an era of scientific and economic prosperity in Syria. Blackmer 1458. Nissen BBI 3534. Navari 1458. Cox I, 227. Chatzipanagioti-Sangmeister 893. ESTC T149605. Cf. Atabey 1064 (1762 Dutch edition).
4to. XII, 536 pp. With a French and a Latin title-page and 2 woodcut title-vignettes. Arabic types. Later red half calf with giltstamped spine and spine-title. First edition. - Early Arabic grammar by the orientalist Savary (1750-88), published posthumously and edited by Louis-Mathieu Langlès (1763-1824), the conservator of the oriental manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Napoleonic France. Langlès enriched the work with several Oriental fairy tales, including the legend of Sindbad in French and Arabic, making this the first Arabic printing of a tale from the Thousand and One Nights. Savary was also the author of the second translation of the Qur'an, published in 1783, which replaced Du Ryer's translation from 1647 and saw reissues as late as 1970. - Upper cover pierced in one place. Paper with occasional light brownstaining; small flaw to lower corner of p. 519, not affecting text. A fine volume in an appealing binding. Brunet V, 154. Schnurrer 429 (note). OCLC 234128786. Not in Graesse or Fück. For Savary cf. Dictionnaire des orientalistes de langue française 927ff.
4to (295 x 235 mm). 50 photographs of Egypt (albumen prints and cyanotypes), and approximately 40 albumen prints of Switzerland. Impressively presented series of original photographs taken at various important sites and cities in Egypt, including Giza, Thebes, Karnak, Luxor, Abydos, Esna etc. The photographs show archaeological sites like the temple of Seti I at Abydos, the precinct of Ahmen-Rah near Luxor, the avenue of Sphinxes at Karnak, the Ramesseum and the Colossi at Thebes, the temple of Khnum at Esna, the Sphinx and pyramids of Giza and many more. Other photographs show the local population, doing a wide variety of activities, such as catching crocodiles on the nile, a Luxor barber shaving the head of a sailor, or a Bedouin camp in the Libyan Desert. - The Istanbul-based Sebah studio catered to the Western European interest in the exotic "Orient" and the growing numbers of tourists visiting the Muslim world who wished to take home images of the city, ancient ruins in the surrounding area, portraits, and local people in traditional costumes. "Sebah rose to prominence because of his well-organized compositions, careful lighting, effective posing, attractive models, great attention to detail, and for the excellent print quality" (Gary Saretzky, Photo history). Jean Sebah (1876-1947) took over the studio from his father Pascal after his death and signed his productions "J. P. Sebah" on the negative, putting his initial in front of his father's. - Some spotting and fading.
1 text volume (4to) and 2 atlas volumes (38.5 x 28 cm). (6), 304 pp. XI, (5) pp. 4 ff. With 121 illustrations in text and 144 collotype plates in atlas. Text volume in original printed paper wrappers. Atlas in original half cloth, printed paper sides. First edition of an art-historical work on Chinese funeral monuments, dating mainly from the Han dynasty. The work is compiled and written by the French archaeologists Gilbert de Voisins (1877-1939), Jean Lartigue (1886-1940) and Victor Segalen (1878-1919), who was in charge of the expedition. The expedition was cut off early due to the First World War. The two atlasses contain 144 loose collotype plates, showing statues, tombs, mausolea, reliefs and monuments as well as some of the sites, covering the area's of Nanjing, Shanxi, and Sichuan. Scientific descriptions of the plates are given in the text volume, along with small maps of the area, plans of the excavation sites and tombs and schematical reproductions of the artefacts. - Binding slightly rubbed along the extremities. Text volume and plates browned. Overall a very good copy. Couling, p.501.
8vo. Half-title and title, (4), 123, (1) pp. With 4 lithographed plates. Contemporary red morocco-backed cloth. One of 150 copies, rare. "A neat summary of nearly all that is necessary to be known in order to tame, train, and fly a hawk successfully" (Harting). - Cloth rubbed, a very good copy. Harting 217. Schwerdt II, 168.
Copper engraving with full original colour, in 3 unjoined sheets. Each sheet 47 × 71 cm. Very good condition, lovely original colour, mild toning, small nicks in blank margins and light stains in lower area. A very rare edition of Strass's large and resplendently coloured time chart depicting the inter-connecting streams of the histories of different World civilizations and nations from 3984 BC up to 1830. This large and colourful time chart employs ingenious visual methods to graphically illustrate historical events. The history of the world is presented as interwoven streams featuring the stories of its great civilizations/nations weave their way down the time chart like the paths of streams. History is shown to commence with Genesis, which is shown here to have occurred in 3984 BC, a date close to that asserted by the Ussher Chronology. This theory as to the timing of Genesis (which was said to have occurred in 4004 BC) was devised by James Ussher (1581-1656), the Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland (in office 1625-56), and is based on his "literal reading" of the Bible. The Ussher Chronology gained widespread popularity in certain Protestant circles during the 19th century. The time line starts at the top of the composition with the great ancient civilizations, namely, the Italians; Greeks; Asia Minor; Assyrians; Syrians; Phoenicians; Jews; Egyptians and the Chinese. Down the various streams are plotted the names and dates of different eras and rulers. The stream on the furthest right details major world events. Part way down, the civilizations in the Western and Mediterranean world converge into the 'Roman Empire' before splintering again into various new entities. The streams then continue to weave, combine and separate, mitigated by the interconnecting streams of major events and characters, towards the bottom of the time line, where the individual streams are represented by the nations and regions of Denmark; Sweden; Russia; the German States; Austria; Holland; Switzerland; France; the Italian States; States of the Church (Papal States); Spain; Great Britain; Greece; Persia; and China. William Bell, who issued his own version of the time chart in London in 1849, described the merits of Strass's conception to the study of history: "However natural it may be to assist the perspective faculty, in its assumption of abstract time, by the idea of a line [...] it is astonishing that [...] the image of a Stream should not have presented itself to any one [...] The expressions of gliding, and rolling on; or of a rapid current, applied to time, are equally familiar to us with those of long and short. Neither does it require any great discernment to trace [...] in the rise and fall of empire, an allusion to the source of a river, and to the increasing rapidity of a current, in proportion with the declivity of their channels towards the engulfing ocean. Nay, the metaphor [...] gives greater liveliness to the ideas, and impresses events more forcibly upon the mind, than the stiff regularity of the straight line. Its diversified power likewise of separating the various currents into subordinate branches, or of uniting them into one vast ocean of power [...] tends to render the idea by its beauty more attractive, by its simplicity more perspicuous, and by its resemblance more consistent" (Rosenberg & Grafton, pp.143 & 147). The present time chart is derived from Strass's exceedingly rare "Strom der Zeiten" ("Stream of Time", 1804). Strass's work proved to be highly influential and was widely copied in both Europe and America, and translated into several languages, including Russian. All of the large German editions are very rare, and the present example, in unjoined sheets with resplendent original colour, is an especially fine example. Cf. OCLC (Re: 1818 Zanna ed.) 165398011. (derivative 1849 London ed.). Daniel Rosenberg & Anthony Grafton, Cartographies of Time, pp. 143f. & 147, fig. 4:45.
2 vols. 18mo. (6), CLXX, 154 pp. 105, (1), 202 pp. With Arabic title-page printed in red and black. Contemporary tanned half sheepskin, gold-tooled spine. First edition in French of two Arabic travels to China and India. The text was translated from the Arabic by the French orientalist and professor Joseph Toussaint Reinaud (1795-1867). The Arabic text was first printed in 1811, under supervision of the French linguist and orientalist Louis-Mathieu Langlès. - The first volume starts with an introduction to the text, followed by the translation. The main text can be divided into two sections. The first account is based on statement from a merchant called Suleyman, who is said to have travelled to India and China in the years 851-852 (237), however, the actual author of the text is unknown. The following account is written down by Abu Zayd al-Hasan al-Sirafi. Al-Mas'udi, "the Herodotus of the Arabs", mentions al-Sirafi in one of his works, stating that he met him in the year 915-916 (303) in Basra, Iraq. Al-Sirafi tells us he was commanded to verify and extend the earlier account. The date of the second account is unclear, but it was probably written in the first half of the 10th century. The text gives a lively account of the life in China and India, with "… the first foreign descriptions of tea and porcelain, and a whole panorama of Chinese society, from the Son of Heaven and Confucian ethics down to toilet paper and bamboo urinals" (Mackintosh-Smith). The second volume gives notes to the translation, followed by the Arabic text. Added to the Arabic text are two extracts from works by Al-Mas'udi, including his "Muruj al-dhahab". - With owner's inscription on title-page. Sides slightly rubbed. A very good copy: only some minor browning. Cordier (Sinica) 1924f. Hage Chahine 3965. T. Mackintosh-Smith & J. Montgomery (eds.), Two Arabic travel books (2014), pp. 4-17.
490 x 725 mm. Various editions, 16 coloured sheets. Scale 1:100,000. Reliefs shown by contours, hachures and spot heights. Publisher's pictorial wrappers. Rarely found in such a complete group, these topographical maps document an important phase of the Survey of Palestine which was a direct result of the 1917 Balfour Declaration. - "The cadastral survey proceeded in fits and starts, through the Great Revolt of 1936-1939 and World War II. By the end of the mandate, the land was settled in less than 20 percent of Palestine, primarily in areas where Jewish colonies were established, such as the coastal plain, the Marj Ibn Amer valley, and north of Lake Tiberias by the Jordan River. The topographical maps were completed for all of Palestine, excluding the lower Negev. These were very valuable for military purposes during World War II" (Sitta). - Showing the district and sub-district boundaries, plus roads, notable buildings, police stations, minarets, in some cases Sheikh's tombs etc. The maps are as follows: 1. Metulla; 2. Haifa; 3. Safad; 4. Zikhron; 5. Nazareth; 6. Jaffa, Tel Aviv; 7. Nablus; 8. Yibna; 9. Ramle; 10 Jerusalem; 11. Gaza; 12. Hebron; 13. Dead Sea; 14. Rafah; 15. Beersheba; 16. Jebel Usdum. - A little edgewear and toning to wrappers; ownership inscription to each upper wrapper. Sitta, Salman Abu, [review] "A Survey of Palestine under the British Mandate, 1920-1948", in: Journal of Palestine Studies 35.2 (Winter 2006), p. 102.
Folio (368 x 292 mm). Containing 50 albumen prints of Constantinople (ca. 270 x 21 cm each). Red half morocco album with original giltstamped cloth covers; spine blindstamped. Fine period views of the city of Constantinople, by the respected photographic studio of Sébah and Joaillier, showing landscapes as well as monuments, street scenes with merchants, etc. Pascal Sébah (1823-86), a leading Constantinople photographer, was renowned for his well-judged compositions and for the excellent print quality achieved by his technician A. Laroche. His studio, founded in 1857, was continued under his brother Cosimi and his son Jean, later in partnership with Policarpe Joaillier. The studio continued to operate as long as the year 1952. - A representative and fine example of a high-quality album aimed at the 19th century's developing Middle Eastern tourist market.
Small 4to (140 x 188 mm). 115, (1) pp. With 7 lithographed folding plates. Contemporary marbled boards with leather spine and edges. First edition of this Ottoman Turkish treatise on geometry, published by the Imperial Engineering School in Scutari (Istanbul): the official examination coursebook for the engineers of Sultan Sultan Selim III. Contains 88 problems with their practical applications and solutions; the folding plates at the end of the volume boast a total of 180 diagrams. Published just before the famous "Cedid Atlas", by the same press, and re-issued in 1844. - Binding rubbed, extremeties bumped, paper a little stained in places, but generally very good. OCLC lists only two copies, in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Staatsbibliothek Berlin. Özege 9109. OCLC 255316387.
1974Watercolour heightened with white. 681 x 520 mm. Signed and dated by the artist. Matted.
