[Egypt - Suez].MareMagnum
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Folio (354 x 526 mm). (2) pp., 5 engraved folding maps and plans. In the publisher's original blue marbled wrappers. (Includes:) Le Père, [Jacques-Marie]. Mémoire sur la communication de la Mer des Indes à la Méditerranée, par la Mer Rouge et l'Isthme de Soueys. [Paris, l'Imprimerie Imperiale, 1809]. 21-186 pp. (With:) Bois-Aymé, [Aimé] du. Mémoire sur les anciennes limites de la Mer Rouge. 187-192 pp. Modern white boards with giltstamped black spine label. Folio (290 x 442 mm). The five-plate atlas to accompany the mémoire regarding the possibility of constructing a modern canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea via the Isthmus of Suez, which J.-M. Le Père, chief engineer of the Ponts et Chaussées, would submit to Napoleon in 1803. The plates include a hydrographical map of Lower Egypt and the Isthmus, a plan of the port of Suez, a plan and view of the "Fontaine de Moïse", a synoptic chart of the (supposed) various water levels along the Isthmus, and a plan of the city and ports of Alexandria. Even here, in their earliest publication, dated 1802 on the title page, the plates already bear the numbers under which they would be published in 1809 and 1817 within the monumental "Description de l'Égypte", bearing witness to the accuracy with which the editors had planned their famous work. Indeed, the commission to distil into a publication the enormous amount of data accumulated in Egypt by Napoleon's savants had only been established in February 1802, and the table of contents (on the reverse of the title page) specifies that "ces planches font partie du grand Atlas de l'ouvrage de la Commission d'Égypte, état moderne". - Le Père's mémoire itself was not published at all before it formed part of the "Description": a copy of this first publication, removed from part II: État Moderne, volume 1, is included with this set (it would be published independently, with the atlas, in 1815). - During the 1798 campaign in Egypt, Napoleon's officers had discovered remnants of the ancient "Canal of the Pharaohs", a west-east waterway built under Darius I of Persia that linked the Nile and the Red Sea. Napoleon contemplated the construction of a north-south canal to connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, and Le Père was commissioned to investigate the possibility of building such a canal. While the plan was abandoned because it wrongly concluded that the sea levels were different and the waterway would require locks, the report was important as a basis for Ferdinand de Lesseps' successful plans for the Suez Canal many decades later. - Occasional foxing to margins of plates, binding somewhat loosened in places, but in excellent condition altogether. Very rare. Ibrahim-Hilmy I, 374. OCLC 492528366. Gay 1999.
8vo. French manuscript on paper. 216 pp. Text in brown ink with some word highlighted in red, enclosed within red and brown borders. With 5 hand-drawn plates, one of which folding, one in original hand colour. Contemporary full calf with gilt spine and green morocco label; name "Mr Decullant" gilt to upper cover within florally gilt borders; leading edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. All edges lightly sprinkled red. Unpublished hippological manuscript in neat French calligraphy, discussing horse breeds, proportions, balance, paces, coats, horseshoes, and warranty issues. A separate section on Arabian horses discusses the breeders' practice of issuing certificates of authenticity for each individual animal, as well as that of branding: "L'origine des individus [...] est attestée par des Certificats à l'authenticité des quels ils tiennent avec une Extrème Rigeur, ils les marquent de plus au feu sur nombre d'endroits du Corps" (p. 109f.). The Arabian horse is singled out for its speed and praised for its boldness, as are the riders' impressive skills, envied by many a European army: "Nos armées ont admiré [...] et deploré souvent, cette petulance des chevaux, aussi bien que la Bravour de leurs Cavaliers pour qu'il soit Bésoin d'en faire un éloge plus pompeux" (p. 111). Furthermore, the author collects useful advice for buying horses and on distinguishing features to appreciate, including various deformities to be considered. The drawings illustrate the horse's proportions, displaying the animal in profile, from front and from behind; they also show the effects of leverage and equilibrium, and illustrate basic concepts of geometry. Throughout the text, the author repeatedly refers to hippiatric authorities such as the veterinarians Charles Bourgelat (1712-79), François Alexandre de Garsault (1691-1778), and Philippe-Étienne Lafosse (1738-1820). The wording "cette troisième section du cours" (p. 1) suggests that the present manuscript was conceived as part of a series of hippological textbooks, but no publication could be traced, nor could the author be identified. - Early 20th century handwritten notes on the treatment of a riding horse, probably transcribed from another work, loosely inserted. Extremities slightly rubbed, interior crisp and clean. A unique survival.
8vo. (3)-708, (2) pp., XV pp. of plates. With four folding maps within pouch inside lower cover. 519, (3) pp., IX pp. of plates. Lacks the map, but with a different, supernumerary map within pouch inside lower cover. Modern (vol. 1) and original (vol. 2) blue cloth with giltstamped cover and spine titles (vol. 2 with closing fore-edge flap). Only edition of this rare, secret Naval Intelligence Handbook, compiled by D. G. Hogarth, Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (and close friend of T. E. Lawrence) for the British Admiralty's new Naval Intelligence Division, intended for the exclusive use of British officers operating on the Arabian Peninsula during the Great War. Although the information contained was classified as confidential, it could "in certain cases be communicated to persons in H.M. Service below the rank of commissioned officer", though officers exercising this power were warned to impart such data only with "due caution and reserve". As the introductory "Note" informs the reader, "The sources from which this work has been compiled include native information obtained since the outbreak of the war [...] Separate chapters are devoted to each of the great districts of Arabia [...] After the area of the territory under review has been defined, its physical character is described unter the subsections of Relief and Climate. Then follow social and political surveys of the district, the former usually arranged under the sub-headings of Population, Life and Appliances, Products and Trade, Currency, and Weights and Measurements, the latter describing the system of Government, Recent History, and Present Politics. The last section of such a chapter is purely geographical and is devoted to the Districts of the territory [...] In a composite chapter, such as that on the Gulf Coast, dealing with several independent territories, the same general arrangement, when practicable, has been followed for each area [...] The plates at the end of each volume have been chosen to illustrate the varieties of country which are characteristic of Arabia". The second volume is devoted "mainly to detailed routes, preceded by two chapters on methods of transport and lines of communication [...] Chapters have been incorporated on Meteorological Observations, Hygiene and Disease, and Vocabularies". All four maps of the first volume (Districts and Town; Orographical Features; Land Surface Features; Tribal Map) are present as called for; the "Key Map of Routes" in the second volume has been replaced by an orographical map of Palestine and Trans-Jordan (1933). While the first volume (I. D. 1128) has been rebound to style (lacking the half-title noting the confidential character of all information contained), the second volume (C. B. 405) is preserved in its original binding as issued, bearing also the copy number "Copy 117" in gilt on the upper cover. A Note of Confidentiality calls attention to "the penalties attaching to any infraction of the Offical Secrets Act". Stamps on flyleaf and pastedown trace its provenance to the Royal Central Asian Society, founded in 1901, and the book remained on the shelf of that Society's secretary when it was renamed the "Royal Society for Asian Affairs" in 1975. This ownership is cancelled in ballpoint, with a note "Sold to Mr. M. Graham" (i.e., Murray Graham, British collector and exploration agent in Arabia, d. 2008). Acquired from UK trade. OCLC 29922535, 775016994. Not in Macro.
350 x 240 mm standard notebook and typewriter sheets. 7 vols., plus loose typewritten and notepad paper. Those bound are in original wrappers. Extensive archive relating to surveying work conducted by A. L. Holt for the Cairo-Baghdad air route in 1921, likely from Holt's own collection. This trove of original documents sheds light on British efforts to establish control over the post-Ottoman Middle East in the aftermath of WWI and the 1920 Iraqi Revolt. Plans for an air route between Cairo and Baghdad were originally drawn up in 1919 by Winston Churchill as Secretary of State for Air in collaboration with Hugh Trenchard, marshal of the Royal Air Force. Major A. L. Holt (1896-1971) was a decorated former Royal Engineers officer who during the 1920s was employed by Iraq Railways and the Turkish Petroleum Company, and pioneered mechanized exploration in the region. Holt additionally authored "Some Journeys in the Syrian Desert" (1923) and "The Future of the North Arabian Desert" (1923). - Another notable presence in this collection is that of Nuri ibn Sha'lan, leader of the Ruwallah tribe and the last major Arab leader to join the Arab Revolt. He was courted assiduously by T. E. Lawrence and the British military establishment, but only an intervention and payment by King Faisal prevailed (Tauber). - The archive comprises: - 1. [Report on two Cairo-Baghdad air route reconnaissance missions], 1921. Typescript with manuscript annotations, 34 pp. (rectos and versos), describing "The expedition to Ma' Dak Han" (oasis near Ramadi) and the "First Ford expedition" ("The ostensible purpose was a political mission to Nuri ibn Shalan of the Rowallah tribe", p. 11), incidents include an encounter with Arab chieftain "Faad ul Duchaim" ("He seemed to think that he ... should receive the same consideration and subsidy as his cousin Fahad Beg ibn Hadhal whose son had taken an active part against the Turks during the war", p. 30), 2 leaves of related manuscript notes attached. - 2. "2nd Ford Reconnaissance on the Baghdad-Cairo Air Route, June 6th-16th", ca. 1921. Manuscript, 79 ff., begins "Purposes of the Expedition. 1. To establish by ground and air No 4 landing ground at 200 miles from Ramadi, 2. To meet the Cairo reconnaissance party at L.G. 4 and pilot them to Baghdad", describes numerous encounters with locals, e.g., "Met a crowd of Arabs on the move. These proved to be the people of Jiza ibn Bahr. Consulted Jiza ibn Bahr himself about a guide and he produced one Zumaitan ibn Matar who proved himself excellently acquainted with the country" (f. 23), "Met a raiding party of Arabs about 100 strong under Mutlaq ibn Thamir going to raid the Beni Sabbar people" (f. 32), "Arrived Al Mat. Found camped there one Sheikh Mishrif al Awagi (Suwailmat) with about fifty tents but no camels. The camels had been sent away to better grazing while he remained there to retain the right to the water" (f. 35), and the airlifting of wounded sheikh Murthi al Rifadi ("an excellent piece of propaganda", f. 61). - 3. "Short Diary of Instructions & Action Taken in Connection with the Aerial Route to be Constructed between Amman and Ramadi. From 13.3.21 to [30.6.21]", 7 September 1921. Typescript, 16 ff., marked "confidential" on title-page. - 4. "Report on Desert Journey to Establish L[anding] G[round] 4", from the Assistant Divisional Adviser, Ramadi, to Major Holt, 22 June 1921. Carbon typescript, 4 ff., typescript covering note attached. - 5. "Names of Places". Carbon typescript, 3 ff., containing names and description of topographical landmarks apparently in Iraq. - 6. Holt, A.L. Baghdad-Amman Air Route. Report on Proposed Trans-Desert Highway for Mechanical Transport. Baghdad: printed by the Superintendent, Railway Press, 1922. 3 copies, folio, each in original wrappers, 9 pp., "Confidential. Report No. 1" printed on front covers. - Together with similar items relating to Holt's work on other projects, including several large maps. These include: "Iraq Railways. Proposed Baghdad Haifa Railway. Notes on Estimates Drawn up from Reconnaisance [sic] Surveys with Map of Proposed Route. District Engineer, Construction and Surveys, Baghdad" [cover title], 24th April 1930. Carbon typescript, 8 [1] ff., folding cyanotype map printed on linen (330 x 1200 mm); hand-coloured lithographic map of proposed oil pipelines from Naft Khaneh, Iraq, to Tripoli and Haifa (345 x 635 mm), and the "Port d'Alexandrette. Projet", folding lithographic map of Iskenderun, modern Turkey (650 x 750 mm). - Altogether a quite complete and engrossing collection with relevance to interwar politics, the early development of aircraft-based infrastructure, and 1920s Iraq. Some light wear and a few rust stains from paperclips and pins; altogether well preserved. Omissi, Air Power and Colonial Control: The Royal Air Force, 1919-1939, pp. 135f. Tauber, The Arab Movements in World War I, pp. 148f.
4to (150 x 210 mm). 137 ff. Arabic manuscript on polished laid paper. 17 lines per extensum, text in black ink with marks in red. Text in black ink in a neat commentary naskh style, influenced by the widespread Persian nastaliq hand. Limp tan goatskin binding with red goatskin spine. Late 18th century Arabic manuscript apparently written in Western Persia, containing a commentary on several theological propositions taken from various parts of Ibn Sina's encyclopedical Kitab al-Shifa’, the author's major work on science and philosophy, intended to "cure" or "heal" ignorance of the soul. Thus, despite its title, it is not concerned with medicine, in contrast to his earlier "Qanun". The book is divided into four parts: logic, natural sciences, mathematics (a quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music), and metaphysics. It was influenced by ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, Hellenistic thinkers such as Ptolemy, and earlier Muslim scientists and philosophers such as Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, and Al-Biruni. - The author of this commentary was the Shiite Iranian polymath and scholar Mohammed Mahdi ibn Abi Zarr Naraqi (1716-95). Praised by Henry Corbin in his "Histoire de la philosophie islamique", Naraqi was a significant figure on the verge of the early Qagar era of Shiite philosophy. Here, each Avicennian proposition is highlighted by the rubrication of the Arabic expression "qawl-hu" ("his saying [is … etc.]"). In some contrast to Ibn Sina's own Neo-Platonically informed interpretation of Islam, Naraqi's commentary belongs to a deeply Shiite mystical tradition. - Some paper repairs. With a Persian bequest statement (waqfiya), elegantly penned in tawqi hand, stating: "This [leather-]bound (mugallad) manuscript had been donated for the study of the religious sciences (ulum diniya) on the part of the residents of the Dar as-Saltanat in Esfahan, Persia, at the month of Rabi at-Tani 1292 H (= May 1875 CE)". Cf. GAL I, 454, 18.
44 albumen prints and 1 picture postcard. Various sizes (58 x 85 mm - 160 x 212 mm). Inserted in protective sleeves. Stored in a black calf binder. A substantial collection of rare images of Kings Faisal I and Faisal II of Iraq, showing the monarchs greeting international delegations, attending banquets and meetings, or inspecting the troops. Includes a photograph of the Arab delegation in the Blue House Hotel during a finance conference in 1944. - In addition, the set includes a portrait of Iraqi president Abdul Salam Arif. The postcard shows a group picture including the Ottoman Pasha and Mohamed Al Sheheri around 1925, after the Arab Revolt. - Finally, three small photographs of a group of white-dressed girls dancing also form part of this collection. - Many photos with stamps of the corresponding studio on verso; the bulk prepared by Elias Jamoua, several other photos produced by A. Abbosh and Arshak in Baghdad. - Some pictures with Arabic or English captions. Not traced in the Keystone or Hulton/Getty press photo archives. Very well preserved.
Original watercolour drawing over ink. 267 x 196 mm. On thick oriental wove paper. Original ink drawing of the armillary sphere (Zâtü'l-Kürsü, "instrument on pedestal") published in 1732 in the famous universal Islamic geography "Kitab-i Cihânnümâ" of Katib Chelebi (1609-57). The present watercolour by Ahmed Al-Qirimi, who also contributed the maps to Ibrahim Müteferrika's famous publication of Katip's atlas, probably served as the direct model for the engraved plate. Müteferrika, a Hungarian convert to Islam, completed Katip's unfinished work, which had hitherto circulated in manuscripts only. He had the maps specially drawn and cut for it, and printed it at his own press, the first printshop in Turkey. - While extremely close in design and size to the present drawing, the published plate differs from it in several respects, lacking numerous details as well as - most conspicuously - the four additional instruments which here decorate the corners; on the other hand, the print shows the pedestal placed upon an additional short plinth not seen in the sketch. - Evenly browned and with a few small edge flaws, but well preserved.
Latin ms. on vellum. 372 x 295 mm. Secretarial letter of safe conduct for the merchant and diplomat Anselm Adornes (1424-83) for a Burgundian embassy to Persia, issued in the name of Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland. - From March to June 1474, Adornes, Lord of Cortachy, led an embassy in the name of Charles the Bold to the Shah of Persia Uzun Hassan (1423-78), whom the Duke of Burgundy sought to persuade to engage in a new military expedition against the Ottomans, following a campaign in the previous year which had ended in Uzun Hassan's defeat by Mehmed II. Adornes was chosen for this mission due to his knowledge of Muslim territories; he had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 1470/71 (the account of his journey written by his son Jan is still preserved). - One of the most illustrious members of the Adornes-Adorno family, of Genoese origin, and a wealthy patron, Anselm was closely involved in international trade (mainly in alum and cloth from Tournai and England). He maintained commercial relations with Genoa as well as Spain and played an important role in Burgundian diplomacy. - Seal missing; a large tear touching the last lines of the text. Folded. Cf. Nationaal biografisch woordenboek XII, 2/25. C. van Hoorebeeck, Livres et lectures des fonctionnaires bourguignons (Turnhout, 2014), passim.
180 x 305 mm. 48 chromogenic and 49 silver gelatin photographs, ranging from 80 x 80 mm to 19 x 126 mm, and housed in photo sleeves. Contemporary spiral-bound illustrated boards. An album of 97 vintage photographs and photographic postcards showing the construction works for the Kuwait oil industry, likely at the famous Burgan and Al Bahrah oil fields and refineries. During the early decades of oil production, the Kuwait Oil Company worked to develop the flowering industry, sometimes partnered with British oil company BP. Several photographs were likely taken by European engineers who moved to Kuwait to work in the oil industry; some of the early silver gelatin photographs were printed in Germany, while several other silver gelatin prints have the stamp of the Armenian-Syrian photographer Vartan Derounian (1888-1954) and/or the stamp K.E.W., that is of the Kuwait Engineering Works Ltd. Since oil was discovered in Kuwait at Burgan oil field in 1938, the petroleum industry has become the largest in the country, responsible for roughly half of Kuwait's GDP. This series of photographs, beginning in roughly the 1950s and with the latest photograph dated 1978, illustrates three decades of infrastructure development and expansion in the industry, including numerous detailed scenes of tanks, wells, and pipelines. - A few light signs of wear, altogether very well preserved.
Varying sizes (ca. 60 x 55 mm to 20 x 14 mm). Engraved bronze. Set within a modern frame (36,4 x 30,4 cm). Rare document of the Roman presence on the Arabian Peninsula, comprising 15 fragments in good condition. The diploma was issued for an equestrian named Bithus of the ala praetoria singularium, an auxiliary cavalry unit stationed in Syria, under the command of Aulus Furius Saturninus during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96). It can be dated with a high degree of certainty, as Aulus Furius Saturninus is only traceable to military diplomas issued as part of an imperial military constitution for 5 alae and 2 cohorts in Syria from 8 November 88. The name Bithus is probably of Thracian origin. - The ala praetoria singularium was one of 14 alae and 33 cohorts stationed in the province of Syria between 88 and 157. These troops built and defended the almost 1500 kilometre Limes Arabicus, a system of streets, watchtowers, and forts that had its origin in the Roman conquest of Syria in 64 BCE and reached its greatest extent in the second century. Palmyra and Damascus were among the fortified cities along the Limes Arabicus. - From the German collection of Peter Weiß, acquired before 1980. Published: P. Holder, Roman Military Diplomas V (London: University of London, Institute of Classical Studies, 2006), p. 771 f., no. 330. P. Weiß, Neue Militärdiplome, in: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 117 (1997), pp. 229-231.
Oblong 4to (287 x 195 mm). 23 leaves with 17 watercolours and 4 pencil drawings (1 watercolour having been removed); a few blanks. Contemporary marbled half calf. A fine watercolour album composed by a member of the British Army stationed in Pakistan, shortly after the Battle of Hyderabad in March 1843. The unknown artist (whose name may be indicated by the initials "WME" on the flyleaf) followed the Indus river from Karachi to the northern parts of the Sindh province. Most drawings have pencilled place names; only a few are untitled. The album begins with a watercolour of the tomb of the British officer Bowen, of the 86th regiment, who drowned in an attempt to swim his horse across the river, followed by a watercolour of the spot where the accident occurred. Furthermore, the album contains views of Karachi (3, including a "captured pirate vessel"), Hyderabad (4), Jerruk (Jhirk), Bhaker Fort (3), Sukkur, Soonda (between Makli and Jerruck), and eight unidentified cities and landscapes. A sketch of the "Mess Verandah" at Fort Hyderabad has been removed. - A rare and very interesting manuscript album with fresh and unfaded colours, dating from the early years of the British presence of Pakistan: the British East India Company began its invasion of Sindh in 1839; Karachi was the first area in the province to be occupied. By 1843 most of the province (excepting the State of Khairpur) was added to the Company's territory after victories at Miani, Dubba and Hyderabad.
8vo (200 x 288 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 50 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within red double rules, punctuation in red, gold rosette verse markers outlined in black, surah headers in gold, gold and polychrome marginal decoration, opening bifolium with red, blue and black and gold illuminated panels around three lines of text. Restored 18th century red leather with fore-edge flap, elaborately ruled and stamped in blind. Beautifully illuminated Qur'an Juz' (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in 18th century China. Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. The section of the Qu'ran copied here is the tenth Juz', which comprises surah 8, al-Anfal ("The Spoils") and surah 9, al-Tawbah ("The Repentance"). These two surahs form a set, and are best read as a pair. Both give an account of battles: al-Anfal describes the Battle of Badr, while al-Tawbah describes the Battle of Tabuk. - Covers fully rebacked, with some mild warping; some paper repair and reinforcement. Altogether a fine example of the Chinese Muslim manuscript tradition. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
8vo (ca. 110 x 160 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 260 ff. with 3 double-page 'Unwan headpieces in colours and gilt. 17 lines in meticulous black ink Naskhi, text within black, blue and gilt rules, verse divisions marked by black-bordered gold discs, red orthoepic markers and diacritics, sura beginnings in red on gilt background, line separators in black and gilt, marginal medallions (Juz' and Hizb markers) in colours and gilt, marginalia in red. Contemporary lacquer binding, covers elaborately painted with floral designs on outsides and insides. Later black morocco spine with stamped title. Stored in contemporary giltstamped leather slipcase with flap. An exceptionally pretty early 19th century Qur'an manuscript probably written in the Pashtunistan or Balochistan region of British India. Occasional insignificant edge flaws or various instances of light browning, but generally a very clean and well-preserved example in a pretty floral lacquer binding (corners bumped, spine repaired in more recent times). Slipcase a little rubbed and worn along extremeties.
8vo (105 x 149 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished paper. 306 ff., 2 flyleaves, 15 lines to the page. Written in fine Naskh script in black ink, verses separated by small gold roundels pointed in red, illuminated floral marginal devices throughout surah headings written in white thuluth script within gold-ground floral panels. Double-page illuminated 'unwan frontispiece elaborately decorated with interlacing polychrome flowers against a punched gold ground. Contemporary full gilt leather with fore-edge flap and gilt floral designs to covers. Endpapers covered with cornflower-blue, relief-stamped floral paper. Edges mottled in red. Stored in matching leather slipcase with flap and bellows-style cloth sides. A beautiful Qur'an manuscript from the early years of the era of Sultan Mahmud II, written in modern-day Turkey by Omar Al-Shawqi, student of Ismael Shawqi. - A small hole in the text of the second leaf, sewing a little loosened in places, otherwise a very attractively preserved example of a pocket-sized Qur'an.
4to. 2 parts in 1 volume. (24), 454, 134 pp., (1 blank leaf), (72) pp. Woodcut initials; printer's woodcut device in two sizes to title and last page. Contemporary limp vellum (spine and edges renewed). Author's name inked on lower edge of text block. First edition of this detailed commentary on the famous ninth book of the "Kitab al-tibb al-Mansuri", a treatise dedicated by al-Razi (also known as Rhazes; 850-923 or 932) to Almansor, the Prince of Chorosan. "The manual, known as 'Nonus Almansoris', was popular among mediaeval physicians" (cf. GAL S I, p. 419). The work discusses special pathology but excludes pyrology and was one of the most popular textbooks at medical schools and faculties well into the Middle Ages (cf. Hirsch/H. I, 171). Rhazes is considered the greatest mediaeval physician next to Avicenna; he also conducted alchemical experiments. According to his biographer al-Gildaki, he was blinded for refusing to share his secrets of chemistry. - The Italian physician Leonardo Giacchini (1501-47), who composed this commentary, practised at Lucca until 1543 and later taught at the University of Pisa. His other works are collected in part two of the volume, with its own title-page, dated 1563. - Vellum rippled, spine replaced, edges rebacked. Some light dampstaining, inkstains, and general soiling to interior; edges of some marginal notes have been trimmed. - From the library of the Italian physician Giambattista Giovanetto Morello from Tavagnasco (Piedmont), whose doctoral dissertation was published at Turin in 1779 (a single copy known, in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria Torino); his autograph ownership inscription on the front free endpaper, "Joanettus medicus a Tavagnasco", is dated 10 February 1780. Numerous marginal notes throughout in two hands, one belonging to the 17th century, the other apparently that of Giovanetto. VD 16, G 1940. BM-STC German 359. Adams G 581 (part 2 only). Wellcome 2823. Durling 2094.
Oblong 4to (240 x 168 mm). Photo album with 9 original black-and-white silver gelatin prints, mostly 125 x 180 mm. With English captions mounted on verso of the photographs as well as on the opposite pages. 8 blank ff. Contemporary half cloth over cardboard with title label mounted to front cover. Notable collection of historic images of the Mahd Al Thahab gold mine in the province of Al-Madinah, in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. Photographs show the mining complex including the crushing plants, mills and storage tanks, as well as the camp with warehouses, shops, schools, hospital buildings, a mosque, and the living quarters of the Emir of Mahad. The last picture depicts the staff and office buildings at Jeddah. - Mining activities in the area date back to 961 BC, and the Mahd adh Dhahab deposit was rediscovered in 1932 by K. S. Twitchell. The Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate (SAMS), a joint venture between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the American Smelting and Refining Company, started production in 1939, treating at first mainly the ancient tailings. SAMS produced 22 tonnes of gold and 28 tonnes of silver up to 1954. - Extremities slightly rubbed.
A total of 49 topographic maps, colour-printed, ca. 70 x 60 cm. Constant ratio linear horizontal scale. In Russian (Cyrillic). The Soviet Union's 1:500,000 General Staff map quadrangles showing Iran, Iraq and the countries of the Levant: Palestine and Israel, southern Lebanon, parts of Syria and Jordan. From the Russian series of maps produced during the Cold War, based on high-quality satellite imagery, but usually also ground reconnaissance. Nearly complete, with only a few lacunae at Iran's easternmost fringes and at Bandar Abbas. Assembled continuously, the quadrangles would form an enormous map spanning roughly 6 x 3.5 metres!. - Products of a massive, clandestine cartographic project begun under Stalin and ultimately encompassing the entire globe, the Soviet General Staff maps are today noted for their extreme precision. Indeed, even in post-Soviet times they provide the most reliable mapping for many remoter parts of the world: "Soviet-era military maps were so good that when the United States first invaded Afghanistan in late 2001, American pilots relied on old Russian maps of Afghanistan. For almost a month after the United States began a bombing campaign to help oust the Taliban government, American pilots were guided by Russian maps dating back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s" (Davies/Kent, p. xi). - Although the details of the cartographic programme evolved over the decades, its overall system and plan remained remarkably constant. "The basic quadrangle is the 1:1,000,000 sheet spanning 4° latitude by 6° longitude. The quadrangles are identified by lettered bands north from the equator and by numbered zones east from longitude 180° [...] Each 1:1,000,000 sheet is subdivided into four 1:500,000 sheets (from northwest to southeast), labeled [by] the first four letters of the Russian alphabet" (ibid., p. 19-21). "Printing such large-format plans in so many colors with near-perfect print registration itself testifies to the skill of the printers in the military map printing factories across the former Soviet Union. The quality of printing reflects the level of training and the reliability of humidity-control equipment and the electricity supply at the time" (ibid., p. 6f.). - Two of the maps carry the Russian air defense grid ("setka PVO") printed in pink. Although the general terrain evaluation maps and operational maps produced at the smaller scales of 1:1,000,000 and 1:500,000 were not usually marked as classified (larger-scale maps were routinely labelled "Secret" or "For Offical Use"), all General Staff maps de facto constituted closely guarded military material, none of which became available in the West before the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. - Light traces of folds and occasional wrinkles and small edge flaws, but altogether in excellent condition. Cf. J. Davies / A. J. Kent, The Red Atlas (Chicago/London, 2017).
350 glass diapositive stereoviews (58 x 129 mm each), the majority with a metal strip along the top edge, preserved in 18 wooden cradles (each cradle with 20 slots); housed in a wooden [mahogany?] box. Includes a wooden stereoviewer. A unique collection of 350 glass stereo views by an unidentified photographer, showing the West Indies, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Greece, Turkey, Madeira, and Italy.
Folio (222 x 324 mm). Italian ms. on paper (incipit "S'io mi persuadessi"; explicit "debbo servir per sempre alla patria mia. Dixi"). 134 pp., final blank leaf. Modern unsophisticated paper wrappers. Near-contemporary manuscript copy of the 1554 relation to the Doge of Venice, by Domenico Trevisan, the returning bailo (resident ambassador) to Constantinople, about the Ottoman Empire and the duration of his station there. Much in the manner of present-day diplomatic cables and station reports, Trevisan gives an account of the ruling dynasty and the background of the various living or recently deceased family members to be reckoned with. He discusses the structure and hierarchy of the Ottoman administration, relations with foreign powers, events of foreign policy such as the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars in Hungary, the weaponry of the army and navy (providing many new and vital details on the strength of the Ottoman galleys and their armaments, at a time when the Spanish-Italian fleet of Charles V under the command of Andrea Doria was suffering a series of successive defeats against the Turks), the tributes exacted from the various provinces of the Empire (departing in some details from the figures given by Alberi's edition), etc. - "The bailo's appointment usually lasted two years [... He] was obliged to send Venice information not only about politics and colonial affairs but also about the prices and quantity of the goods sold in local markets. A bailo was more important than a consul [...] The bailo in Istanbul began to deal more and more with the highest Ottoman authorities, even if extraordinary ambassadors or lower-ranking diplomatic envoys were also assigned to the city. When a bailo came back to Venice he had to deliver a detailed report or country study (Relazione). The office of bailo in Istanbul was usually much desired by Venetian noblemen because it was the only important position abroad that was profitable, not expensive. It was given to experienced diplomats who often went on to become doges" (Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, p. 73). - Well preserved. Some browning and ink bleeding to other side of leaf, but in all well legible. Other manuscript copies of the same relation are known in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Bertoliana in Vicenza. - Watermark: circle with star; counter-mark: clover and letters SF (or ST?). Briquet lists very similar examples in his first volume under nos. 3089 and 3092 (the first, a specimen in the Venetian state archives, dated Vicenza, 1559, with similar examples from Graz [1557], Vicenza [1573], Salo [1574] and Udine [1574-87]; the other, a specimen in the Venetian state archives, dated Salo, 1565-70). Piccard Online shows similar specimens from the Tyrolean State Archive dating from Vienna, 1562 (AT3800-PO-160995) and Innsbruck (as early as 1514: PO-160878). E. Alberi, Relazioni degli Ambasciatori Veneti al Senato, ser. III, vol. I (1840), pp. 111-192.
2 sheets (A, combined map of geography and geology; and B, geography only) in full colour, both covering the same section the Arabian Peninsula. Ca. 103 x 103 and 83 x 100 cm, folded. In original printed envelope. English and Arabic. Scale 1:500,000; relief shown by hachures and spot heights. The only two sheets of the groundbreaking series covering today's UAE - the remaining parts of the Emirates were skipped in the survey prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey and Aramco and were therefore never published. The first to produce a full series of geological and geographical maps of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the venture was instrumental in establishing the country as a major global force in the production of natural resources and must count as "a unique experiment in geological cooperation among several governments, petroleum companies, and individuals" (Seager/Johnston). - The area here covered is the eastern portion of Qatar and the westernmost area of Abu Dhabi, including the island of Sir Bani Yas and the adjoining border territory of Saudi Arabia. Indeed, this is the only map in the series to show any portion of today's United Arab Emirates: the land to the eastward was still beyond the focus of oil exploration in the mid-1950s and was omitted from the mapping project. - The importance of the present map within the series is underscored by the fact that its joint authors, R. A. Bramkamp and L. F. Ramirez, were Aramco's foremost geologists. Together with Glen F. Brown, a veteran of the industry who also had been in the region since the 1940s and who would oversee the venture, Bramkamp had in February 1955 planned the entire programme, laying down everything from the scales of maps, the areas of responsibility, and types of terrain representation to the bilingual names. As Aramco's chief geologist, Bramkamp was responsible for the compilation of the areas within Arabia where the sediments crop out. This responsibility fell to Ramirez following Bramkamp's early death in September 1958. - The surveyors divided the Peninsula into 21 quadrangular sections (numbered I-200 through I-220), each to cover an area 3 degrees of longitude and 4 degrees of latitude. All maps were produced on a 1:500,000 scale and issued in two series: a combined map of geography and geology (marked by the appendix 'A') and a map of geography only ('B'). "High altitude photography [...] was [...] completed in 1959 [...] This controlled photography resulted in highly accurate geographic maps at the publication scale which then served as a base for the geologic overlay. The topography of the sedimentary areas was depicted by hachuring and that of the shield region by shaded relief utilizing the airbrush technique. The first geographic quadrangle was published in July 1956 and the last in September 1962 [...] The first of the geologic map series was published in July 1956 and the final sheet in early 1964" (Seager/J.). - Although it was the search for oil, gas and minerals that "was ultimately to drive geological survey work across the region [...], in its early years it was the need for water that was the catalyst for Saudi Arabia's resource exploration. In 1944 King 'Abd al-'Aziz approached the United States for a technical expert who could assist with the identification and plotting of the kingdom's natural resources, particularly its groundwater reserves [...] By 1954 the Saudi Ministry of Finance, USGS and Aramco were working together to produce the first full series of geographic and geologic maps of the country. The first of their type in the Peninsula, these were published [...] in both Arabic and English versions, and the information they contained formed the basis of subsequent Saudi national development plans" (Parry). The project was considered highly important by Ibn Saud, and its aims encompassed all aspects of cartography. It was to enable not only the search for natural resources but also aid in advances for agriculture, civil and military engineering and general infrastructure projects. The results were seminal for the mapping of the region: "To this day, all modern maps of the kingdom trace their roots back to these first publications" (ibid.). - Lower left corner of 'B' map chipped (no loss to text or image); printed sleeve somewhat rubbed with a 1960s few pencil annotations, otherwise a very clean set in excellent state of preservation. A single map of the quadrangle to the immediate west of this, I-208 (the 1958 'A' sheet only), showing Dhahran and Ras Tanura, is currently being offered on the market at £25,000. James V. Parry, "Mapping Arabia", in: Saudi Aramco World 2004/1, p. 20ff. O. A. Seager/W. D. Johnston, Foreword to the Geology of the Arabian Peninsula series (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 560-A-D, 1966).
4to. (148) pp. With a small floral vignette on the title-page and two woodcut initials. 18th century full vellum with gilt title label on spine. First edition under this title, and the definitive edition of the Renaissance. Al-Hasan is "often quoted in astrological works of the Christian middle ages under the name Albubather. He flourished about the middle of the third century A.H., for Ahmad b. Abi Tahir Taifur (died 280 = 893) mentions him in his Kitab Baghdad as a contemporary" (Suter). Notable is the scholar-printer responsible for the work: Johannes Petraeus was soon to cement his historical reputation by printing Copernicus's "De Revolutionibus" (1543). In the present work, Petraeus offers his own justification for printing the work of Al-Hasan alongside such luminaries, for "true majestic Astronomy is on a higher level than the things intelligible to students. However this should not dissuade them from its handmaiden, Astrology, as its fruits and rewards are adjudged to be pure, and itself offering many advantages" (preface to the reader). Astronomy was properly regarded as being essential for deriving accurate figures needed for the sciences of Astrology and Prognostication; a heavily annotated copy of this edition of Al-Hasan is known from Tycho Brahe’s library (cf. Prandtl, Die Bibliothek des Tycho Brahe), and Robert Westman has argued that Copernicus not only embraced astrology but sought to defend it in his "De Revolutionibus" ("Copernicus and the Astrologers", Dibner Library Lecture, 2013). - The important 9th century astrologer and physician Abu Bakr al-Hasan is best known for this work on casting nativities, or divination as to the destinies of newborns, which was "translated by Salio of Padua in or around 1218. The work is extant in a least seven manuscripts and four early printed editions from 1492 to 1540. A treatise in 206 chapters on nativities (birth horoscopes) providing answers to a wide number of questions pertaining to the twelve houses" (The Warburg Institute, Bibliotheca Astrologica Latina). The questions range from correct aspects of insemination and conception to the effects of delayed birth; the effects of the moon and planets on the pregnancy; the feeding of the newborn; and even whether the birth will take place "modestly" or "immodestly". According to Al-Hasan, if Mars and Mercury align, the newborn will unfortunately be a liar; he also gives guidelines for how to determine whether the offspring will be pious; whether they will be a "hypocrite"; intelligent; gifted with a keen memory; foolish; faithful; generous; greedy; jealous; beautiful; argumentative; a fornicator; a thief; a sodomist (chapters 37 & 38); and prone to chastity or prone to sins against nature. - OCLC shows one copy in US libraries, at Brown. - Minor dampstaining to blank margin of a handful of leaves, more pronounced on fol. b4, otherwise only very light browning. Contemporary annotation to fol. h1r, a few modern pencil underlinings and marginal marks. 20th century bookplate of the Italian writer Enrico Gaetani to pastedown. VD 16, A 59. Zinner 1732. Houzeau/Lancaster II, 3941. Lalande p. 60. Sarton I.603. Aboussouan 6. Rosenthal 3352. Graesse I, 60. Suter, H., "al-Hasan", in: First Encyclopaedia of Islam III, p. 274f. Carmody, Arabic Astronomical and Astrological Sciences in Latin Translation (Berkeley, 1956), pp. 136f., no. 1. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums VII, p. 123, no. 1.3. Cf. GAL S I, 394.
8vo (140 x 222 mm). (10), XIV, (5)-342 pp. With 3 folding lithographed plates. Contemporary half calf over marbled covers with florally gilt spine. Marbled endpapers. First and only edition of this important French translation of the surgical section of the author's "Al-Tasrif", "the first rational, complete and illustrated treatise on surgery and surgical instruments" (Garrison/M.). Abu-l-Qasim Khalaf al-Zahrawi, a 10th-century physician from Cordoba, was the author of a voluminous medico-surgical encyclopedia gathered in a set of thirty treatises under the title of "Kitab at-tasrif liman agiza 'an it-ta'alif", but his fame rests on the section on surgery, which forms the 30th and final treatise in the book. "During the Middle Ages it was the leading textbook on surgery until superseded by Saliceto" (ibid.). The illustrations of the instruments, numbering between 150 and 200 in the various the manuscripts, contributed to the success of the work. - Al-Zahrawi designed several devices used during surgery, for purposes such as inspection of the interior of the urethra, applying and removing foreign bodies from the throat, inspection of the ear, etc. He described how to ligature blood vessels almost 600 years before Ambroise Paré and was also the first to describe a surgical procedure for ligating the temporal artery for migraine, also almost 600 years before Pare recorded that he had ligated his own temporal artery for headache that conforms to current descriptions of migraine. His use of catgut for internal stitching is still practised in modern surgery. - Leclerc based his version on the Oxford edition of the text, improved by comparison with the Paris manuscript. "The French translation by Lucien Leclerc, with a useful introduction, was very influential in making al-Zahrawi's surgery better known to modern historians of science" (DSB). - Spine a little rubbed, occasional browning, but still an appealing copy. Campbell, Arabian Medicine 90. GAL I, 239 (276), 24, no. 1. DSB XIV, 585. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from the Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe, p. 25. OCLC 876228425. Cf. Garrison/M. 5550.
4to. (32), "171" (recte: 471), (1) pp. With printer's woodcut device to title page, two initials and 19 woodcut diagrams in the text. Slightly later vellum. First edition of this important commentary on al-Qabisi's most influential work, "al-Madkhal" (the text of which is included in the Latin translation of Joannes Hispalensis prepared in 1144): an introductory exposition of some of the fundamental principles of genethlialogy, the astrological science of casting nativities, or divination as to the destinies of newborns. The author, known as "Alchabitius" in the Latin tradition, flourished in Aleppo, Syria, in the middle of the 10th century. "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" (DSB). "Together with the writings of Abu Ma'shar and Sacrobosco's 'Sphaera mundi', 'al-Madkhal' became Europe's authoritative introduction to astrology between the 13th and the 16th century [...] In 1560 the commentary of Naibod (also known as Nabod or Naiboda) appeared in Cologne. This professor of mathematics had previously published the first book of Euclid's 'Elementa' and his own treatise on arithmetics. For his commentary he relies mainly on Ptolemy, Bonatti and Regiomontanus. Its wide circulation bears evidence to the vivid interest which al-Qabisi's astrology engendered as late as the early 17th century A.D." (cf. Arnzen, p. 96 & 106f.). Naibod (1523-93) taught at the universities of Cologne and Erfurt, adhering to the Ptolemaic principles. His commentary on al-Qabisi was banned by the Catholic church. Naibod is said to have discovered a new method to prognosticate a man's fate, but was unable to avert his own murder in spite of his having presaged it (cf. Jöcher III, 806). - Slightly browned but a good copy. Provenance: 1) Contemporary handwritten ownership "Joannis Roberti Aurelii" on the title page, probably by Jean Robert of Orléans who in 1557 published "Sententiarum juris libri quatuor". 2) Later in the famous collection of the Polish theologian Józef Andrzej Zaluski (1702-74), with his stamp on the title page. With his brother, Zaluski founded the Bibliotheca Zalusciana, the first Polish public library, dispersed in 1795. 3) The book was subsequently acquired by the Warsaw industrialist Jan Henryk Geysmer (1780-1835) (his stamp on the foot of the title). 4) Bookplate of the composer Robert Curt von Gorrissen (1887-1978) on front pastedown. VD 16, N 14. Adams N 3. BM-STC German 642 Houzeau/Lancaster 4882. Zinner 2239. Thorndike VI, 119f. BNHCat N 2. Grassi p. 483. Dewhirst I.1, 781. Hamel II, 187f. Cantamessa 5437. DSB XI, 226. R. Arnzen, "Vergessene Pflichtlektüre: Al-Qabisis astrologische Lehrschrift im europäischen Mittelalter", in: Zft. für Geschichte der arab.-islam. Wiss. 13 (2000), pp. 93-128, at p. 112 no. 6. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from The Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe (Qatar 2009), nos. 9f.
8vo (145 x 215 mm). 70 pp. In Ottoman script within rules, lithographed throughout. The heading (serlevha) and borders of the first double page are printed in gilt. Bound in contemporary wrappers, taken from a volume, and stored loosely within protective giltstamped cloth boards (modern spine). First and only printed edition of one of the earliest Islamic travel accounts of China and the first description of the Silk Road in the Islamic world, pre-dating even Ibn Battuta's Rihla. - The present work, one of the most complete descriptions of Ming Dynasty China in the 16th century, was originally written in Persian in 1516. Completed and issued soon after Khitai reached Istanbul in 1520, it was later translated into Turkish by Hezârfen Huseyin (d. 1691) and became influential also in the Turkish-speaking Muslim world. According to the colophon, the book was finished on the last day or days of Rabî I 922 (3 May 1516), while the preface contains a panegyric on Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520-66). - Based on the author's personal observations, the book's 20 chapters discuss roads, cities and castles, stores, brothels and prostitutes, eunuchs, legislation, administration, jails, law and law-abidance, the military, agriculture, magazines, the imperial throne, the various religions, celebrations, entertainments, wonderful arts and strange cures, schools, persons from the West, Qalmaqs, gold, silver and currency, as well as Chinese temples and other matters. Thus Ali Akbar's book conveyed to a reader of the 16th century a fair impression of China: as a guidebook it could serve as a companion especially for Muslim merchants travelling along the Silk Road. - The Chinese scholar Lin Yih-Min describes Ali Akbar as a "Turkish businessman" (58) who probably journeyed only to Central Asia, where he gathered the information for his book before returning then to Turkey. The book was dedicated to Sultan Suleiman, and as the author's name suggests a Shi'ite background, it is possible that Ali Akbar may have wished to impress on the Ottoman court the difficult conditions of the Shi'ite community living in Istanbul, among a dominant Sunnite community. - Also known as the "Khataynameh" ("Book on China"), the work aroused considerable interest not only in the Ottoman Empire but also in Europe in the 19th century. The book's immediate impact is difficult to estimate, but astonishingly the Ottoman Empire, here referred to as "Lumi", would figure quite prominently in Chinese sources after a first embassy arrived in Beijing in 1524, four years after the book was first issued; other embassies followed until 1618. Thus, it is entirely possible that Ali Akbar's book had a direct influence on Ottoman diplomacy and commerce in China and Central Asia. - A few holes in the last leaf (minor loss of a few letters); some browning. A few contemporary pencil marginalia and calligraphic examples on the last blank page. Overall a good copy. Özege 20686. Cf. Ralph Kauz, "One of the Last Documents of the Silk Road: The Khataynameh of Ali Akbar", The Silk Road 1 (2005), p. 59f. Lin Yih-Min, "A comparative and critical study of Ali Akbar’s Khitây-nâma with reference to Chinese sources", Central Asiatic Journal 27 (1983), pp. 58-78.
8vo. (37)-84 pp. Contemporary half calf with giltstamped title to upper cover and spine. Endpapers marbled. All edges gilt. Only edition. - Rare account, by the French physician Paul Aubry, of Turkish military and civil hospitals, describing in detail their design and medical capacities, including accurate numbers of beds. An exceptional documentation of health care infrastructure in the Ottoman Empire, mentioning the Yildiz Ambulance, the Haider Pacha military hospital and the Haseki Hospital in Istanbul. The present offprint also contains a medical bibliography of works in German, Danish and Swedish published in 1886-87 as well as several abstracts, including an article on gonorrhoea by the Ottowa physician Coyteux Prévost, published in the "Union Médicale du Canada" in the same year. - Inscribed and signed by Aubry to Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918) on the front flyleaf. Binding slightly rubbed. Small marginal tears to pp. 39-42; last few pages somewhat creased. Library stamps erased from flyleaf and first page. From the library of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to exert effective contol over the fracturing state and also remembered as a poet, translator and one of the dynasty's greatest bibliophiles. While his passion for books is memorialized by the many precious donations he gave to libraries all over the world and which mostly have remained intact to this day (including the 400-volume "Abdul-Hamid II Collection of Books and Serials" gifted to the Library of Congress), his own library was dispersed in the years following his deposition in 1909: books were removed to other palaces and even sold to Western collectors, the greatest part of his collection is today preserved in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin. U.S. Army, Index-catalogue of the library of the surgeon-general's office VII, 393. Wohnlich-Despaigne, Les Historiens Français de la Médecine au XIXe Siècle 59.