Jaussen, Antonin / Savignac, Raphael.MareMagnum
4 355 résultats
Small folio (210 x 297 mm). 2 volumes (text and atlas). Text vol.: (6), 134, (2) pp. with 21 text illustrations. Atlas vol.: 58 loose black-and-white plates and plans as issued. Text vol. in modern cloth-backed boards with original upper wrapper preserved and mounted on front cover; fitted together with the plates in modern cloth-backed board folder with velcro fasteners, preserving original upper board. Third and final instalment of the "Archaeological Mission to Arabia" series published by the "Societé des Fouilles Archéologiques" between 1909 and 1922, this issue dedicated entirely to the famous Umayyad desert castles Quseir Amra, Qasr Al-Kharanah, and Qasr Tuba in present-day eastern Jordan. "The authors found the description of Qasr Haraneh and Qasr Tuba to be faulty and unreliable and re-described them completely. They give numbers of views of Qeseir Amra and a briefer description. The text also includes itineraries and historical and epigraphical notes. It is well arranged, and seems to provide all the information that can possibly be wanted" (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 57.1 [1925], p. 161). - Slight traces of worming in lower margin (no loss to text). Folder lightly rubbed around the edges, otherwise in good general condition. OCLC 490111584.
4to (214 x 250 mm). 2 parts in one volume. XXI, (3), 328, 242, (10) pp. Title-page printed in red and black. With engraved portrait frontispiece, 7 engraved plates (2 of which folding), and 1 engraved folding map of Egypt. Contemporary full calf with traces of gilt spine (oxydized) and remnants of a spine-label. Marbled endpapers. Edges sprinkled red. First edition. - Prominent compendium of all that was known about Egypt at the time, taking the form of a series of letters written by the French consul and inspector of the French institutions in the Levante, Benoît de Maillet (1656-1738), stationed in Cairo from 1692 to 1708, edited and compiled for publication by the cleric Jean-Baptiste le Mascrier (1697-1760). During his time in Egypt, Maillet developed a great interest in Arabic and Egyptian life, as well as in Egyptian antiquities and Arabic architecture. With his work he greatly expanded European knowledge about the country, its antiquities and the manners and costums of its inhabitants. The frontispiece shows a portrait of the author, while the plates depict tombs, sarcophagi, obelisks, and animals. The two folding plates exhibit the Mikias, or Nilometer, in Cairo, and a cross section of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The final chapter discusses the annual Hajj to Mecca and describes the cities of Mecca and Medina, as well as Mahomet's tomb. - Title-page a little duststained, with traces of a removed stamp of ownership. Somewhat foxed and brownstained throughout, more pronounced among first and last leaves. Upper margins slightly waterstained near the end. The map of Egypt shows small marginal flaws. Upper joints and extremities professionally restored. A near-contemporary note on the estimated price of the volume by a former owner on front flyleaf. A good copy. Atabey 748. Blackmer 1061. Gay 2105. Ibrahim-Hilmy I, 170. Paulitschke 717. Not in Weber.
Small folio (230 x 286 mm). XVI, 280, (2) pp. Contemporary boards with printed spine label. First edition of the History of the Ghasnevids by the Persian historian Mir Khwand (ca. 1434-98), part of the author's famous "Rawzat al-Safa". Persian text followed by a Latin translation by Friedrich Wilken, professor at Heidelberg. The Turkoman dynasty of the Ghasnevids ruled in Afghanistan and northern India between 975 and 1186 CE, when they were conquered by the Persian Ghurids. - Fairly strong foxing throughout; some buckling to lower spine-end. Untrimmed, wide-margined copy from the collection of the Protestant bishop of Bavaria, Friedrich Veit (1861-1948), with his ownership stamp to the front flyleaf. Old stamps of the Strasbourg National and University Library (deaccessioned as a duplicate). Rare; no other copy in auction records. Zenker I, 877. Schwab 387. Strout 206. OCLC 6906577.
Small folio (238 x 303 mm). (2), 638, (2) pp. Modern half calf with red and green gilt spine labels, bound in 19th century style. First printed edition of the celebrated Islamic biography of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) by the Persian poet Nizami, completed ca. 599/1202. Published under the auspices of Sir Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the First Earl of Minto (1751-1814), and printed in Persian throughout but for the English title. - "The Alexander of the Persian romances is much more colorful than his Western counterpart [...] Nizami celebrates him first as a king and conqueror, then as a sage and a prophet. In 'Iskandarnamah', in addition to being a zealous Moslem, Alexander becomes an ardent lover with numerous wives and concubines" (Southgate, "Portraits of Alexander in Persian Alexander-Romances of the Islamic Era"). - Islamic myths about Alexander the Great are thought to have derived in part from Qur'anic references to the "Dhu'l-Qarnayn" ("He of the Two Horns") as well as from the Greek sources in translation. "The principal episodes of the legend of Alexander, as known to the Muslim tradition, are elaborated in the [Eskander-nama]: the birth of Alexander, his succession to the Macedonian throne, his war against the Negroes who had invaded Egypt, the war with the Persians, ending with the defeat and death of Dara and Alexander's marriage to Dara's daughter, his pilgrimage to Mecca. Nezami then dwells at some length on Alexander's stay in the Caucasus and his visit to Queen Nushaba of Barda'a and her court of Amazons; this lady takes over the role of Candace in earlier versions of the Alexander saga. Alexander then goes to India and China. During his absence the Rus (i.e., the Russian Vikings) invade the Caucasus and capture Barda'a (as they in fact did some two centuries before Nezami's time) and take Nushaba prisoner. Alexander's wars with the Rus, which are depicted at considerable length, end with his victory and his magnanimous treatment of the defeated army. The [Eskander-nama] concludes with the account of Alexander's unsuccessful search for the water of immortal life" (Encylopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, pp. 612-614). Along the way Alexander's conquests of much of Central Asia and the pre-Islamic world are described: Dara (Syria), Ajam (near Kuwait), Kayan (Afghanistan), the Arabian Peninsula, Khorasan (Northern Iran), and so on. - Ca. 20 pages with wormholes affecting some text, wide margins. Some browning throughout. Discarded and sold from the Library of Haverford College, Pennsylvania, with their drystamp to the title-page. Later in the Alexander the Great Collection of Julio Berzunza (1896-1952), Professor of Languages at the University of New Hampshire. Graesse IV, 680. Brunet IV, 83; Ebert 14833 ("1811" in error). Nawabi 414. OCLC 41609907.
207 x 177 mm each, colour-printed. A set of two maps removed from an Ottoman atlas published shortly before the Great War. The first map shows the Near East, Egypt and Northern Arabia with the Hejaz Railroad's branches as completed by 1911. Diagrams in the margin depict the elevation of the railroad along its line. The second map shows the Arabian Peninsula and its railroads; an inset shows the Suez Canal (with the date of its completion given as 1869 CE and 1285 Rumi calendar). - A soft central fold and tiny edge tears. Traces of former tab-mounting within an atlas; handwritten Ottoman Turkish titles in black ink on verso.
8vo. VIII, 252, (2) pp. With 16 black-and-white photographic plates. Original green cloth, gilt lettering to spine and black lettering to front cover. First edition. - An account of missionary work in Mount Lebanon, with a description of the Druze people, their history and their faith. Parfit narrates "seven years' work amongst the secret sects of Syria", focusing on the establishment of mission schools in the mountainous lands south and east of Beirut, where many Druze communities were based. To the main narrative of school-building and teaching, he adds much on relations between the Druzes and other communities (including animosities with the Maronites), and significant events such as the dangerously severe Winter of 1911. - The book is attractively illustrated with the author's photographs and each chapter is preceded by a line from "Arabian Wisdom", a collection of Qur'anic quotes and proverbs compiled by John Wortabet. - Very light wear to extremities, corners slightly bumped, very good otherwise. Endpapers browned, a few instances of spotting, rest of interior clean and bright. Ownership inscription of Marian Parfit of Westcot, near Wantage, Berkshire, to front free endpaper and her bookplate to front pastedown. The Arab History: A Bibliographical List (Cairo, 1966), p. 132. OCLC 250774345.
8vo. VII, (1), 124, (4) pp. Printed in red and black throughout. Contemporary quarter leather with gilt spine over turquoise marbled boards. Rare Osmanli grammar, attractively printed in red and black throughout, with all words in Arabic characters given in red. - Binding a little bumped at extremeties; occasional very minor brownstaining. Still a pretty copy. OCLC lists only three copies (Hungarian Academy of Sciences; University Library of Basel; Bogaziçi University Library, Istanbul). OCLC 1015017770.
Large 4to (240 x 292 mm). (6), III, (3), 418, 4 pp. Contemporary Western quarter morocco over marbled boards, spine gilt with title. First edition. - A reader issued to supply the "English Student of the Pushto (or Pukhto) language [with] some work written in the colloquial", published "under the sanction and patronage of the Government of the Panjáb" (preface). It became the official text book for the Pashto Examination. The editor Hughes served as a missionary in Peshawar (1865-84) with the Church Missionary Society. - In lithographed Pashto throughout save for the preliminary English letterpress matter. Binding rather rubbed and scuffed, spine and extremities professionally repaired; three leaves remargined at the lower edge (not affecting text). A few small wormholes. Contemporary pencil annotations to the text and endleaves. McLachlan, Bibliography Of Afghanistan, no. 6883. OCLC 5111396.
9 original gelatin silver photographs laid down on thick cream card (likely removed from an album), each measuring approx. 92 by 138 mm. Three captioned and/or numbered in the negative. Rare photographs of Muscat depicting variously, "The Rock of Muscat", the Al-Jalali Fort, and the Al-Mirani Fort. A number of the images are of a military nature, from which it is possible to surmise that the photographer was an officer: a torpedo being fired, a significant cache of weapons and troops (bluejackets) disembarking on the shore to be greeted by a crowd of civilians. Such scenes reflect the British presence in the Gulf of Oman at the time, where they were engaged in combatting the East African slave trade, suppressing the smuggling of arms and generally attempting to exert influence whenever possible. - Some marginal fading, otherwise very good. Original photographs of Muscat from this era are exceedingly rare, especially in this condition. The best-known examples were taken by the professional photographer A. R. Fernandez, but the present set certainly represents an amateur effort, and these are likely to be the only surviving prints of the images.
4to. 2 vols. bound in one. 14 pp. (index), 210 pp., (1 blank), 7 pp. (index), 190 pp. Original full calf with later paper label; later marbled paper on the spine. An important first-hand account of relations between the Porte and central Europe as well as the wider political events during the second half of the 18th century. Written by the Baghdad-born diplomat Ahmed Vasif Effendi and also known as "Vasif Tarihi" ("Vasif's History"), it forms one of the most important works of Ottoman political history for the period between 1754 and 1774, when the author actively participated in the world of diplomacy in the Ottoman Empire, on the Balkans, in Russia and in Vienna. Vasif was known for his quick temper and was later described by the German orientalist Franz Babinger as "vain, stingy, jealous, and excessively vicious" (cf. p. 336). His text was left unfinished after a dispute with the Istanbul-based press of Rasid Efendi, which Vasif himself had helped establish, and it was completed by Sadullah Enveri (d. 1794), who himself had participated in the military events described. - At the time one of the few available printed historico-political accounts of contemporary Middle Eastern relations with the West during the age of Enlightenment, the book proved extremely popular throughout Europe and is today found in many European libraries. This is the third and last edition, the second printed at Bulaq, by the first official and governmental printing press in Egypt, after first being published in Istanbul in 1219 (1803/04). - Bulaqor Al-Amiriya Press, the first official and governmental printing press established in Egypt, was founded in 1820 by the viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali. As early as in 1815 the first delegation was sent from Egypt to Milan to learn printing. After the building for the press was finished in the autumn of 1820, it took another two years to transport the machines and train the employees, and the first book, an Arabic-Italian dictionary, was published in 1822. Viceroy Muhammad Ali started several reform programmes with a view to create a modern Egyptian society after the European model, and the press was part of this modernisation. He is remembered for establishing modern Egypt as an independent country. - Printed on thick paper. Interior clean with sporadic old staining; old pencil and ink annotations to endpapers. Binding shows larger scratches and loss of material, but still in the original Bulaq covers. Provenance: 19th century bookseller's label of Benjamin Duprat, Paris, on front pastedown; later owned by the Iraqi architect Mohamed Makiya (2015). Özege V, 22519. OCLC 949617481, 777193206, 320228577, 780208235, 165361809, 26779362 and 600848792 (some examples on microfilm). Ethan L. Menchinger, The First of the Modern Ottomans: The Intellectual History of Ahmed Vasif (2017). Franz Babinger, Die Geschichtsschreiber der Osmanen und ihre Werke (1927), pp. 335-337.
794 x 628 mm. Scale 1:4,000,000. Mounted on cloth. Folded. Rare, large-scale map of western Arabia including all but the easternmost part of the Peninsula (ending about 100 miles east of Qatar). "This map has been compiled almost entirely from published sources, of which the principal are (1) Hunter's Arabia 1:2,000,000; (2) War Office quarter inch of S.W. Arabia; (3) War Office 1:250,000 of the rest of the Turkish Empire; R.G.S. materials have also been used" (editor's note). Some slight brownstaining in places, otherwise well-preserved. Not in OCLC.
4to (24.5 × 18 cm). With title-page printed in red and black and 48 albumen prints (measuring ca. 10 × 13 cm) mounted on leaves with lithographed captions. Original publisher's goldblocked blue cloth, gilt edges. First and only edition of a collection of 48 albumen prints of photographs by the British photographer Francis Bedford (1816-94). "A significant boost to his reputation came with the commission to accompany the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, on a trip to Egypt and the Holy Land in the spring and early summer of 1862. The resulting images were exhibited in London in July 1862 [...] Selections from Bedford's Middle Eastern views were included in [...] The Holy Land, Egypt, Constantinople, Athens etc" (Hannavy). The photographs mainly show ancient and Islamic architecture, as well as some landscape views, in and around Cairo, Gizeh, Thebes, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Damascus, Baalbek, Istanbul (Constantinople), Athens and more. The photographs are accompanied by an introduction and 100 pages of descriptive text by W. M. Thompson. - With bookplate. Slightly browned with some occasional foxing, not affecting the photographs. Binding slightly rubbed along the extremities. Overall in good condition. Blackmer 1483. J. Hannavey, Encyclopedia of 19th-century photography, pp. 134-136.
4to. 13 (paginated "9" in error), (3) pp. Woodcut printer's device to title page, large woodcut initials. Contemporary orange paper wrappers with floral designs stamped in black and white. Very scarce work about Cattarina Santorovichia, a Turkish girl from the Ottoman sandjak of Clissa (Klis) north of Spalato (Split) in Dalmatia, who crossed into Venetian territory and converted to Christianity. Mihale Satorovic, as she was born, was from a respected and well-connected Turkish family, the daughter of Ahmed Aga, an officer in the local garrison of Clissa, and the affair provoked a major international incident. "Although Venice had been at peace with the Ottoman Empire for almost half a century, the Spalato border was a sensitive area where tensions occasionally flared" (Dursteler, 63). When the girl disappeared in late December 1621, her parents immediately feared that she had been kidnapped and taken to the Venetian side - a relatively frequent phenomenon on the border that occurred for a variety of reasons. Although it was soon established that the girl had not been forcibly abducted, but rather had fled her home of her own free will so as to become a Christian, Muslim sensitivities were ignited. On 23 January 1622 Mihale was baptized "Cattarina" in Spalato, and the attendant ceremonies only intensified the anger on the Ottoman side: indeed, "immediately following Mihale's flight, eight Venetian subjects from the neighboring town of Trau were taken hostage in retaliation" (67), and the threat of military violence caused the Venetians to deploy six armed ships to Spalato. "The flight of Mihale Satorovic was an extremely serious affair that dragged out over five years, and eventually engaged the Ottoman and Venetian military forces, as well as the highest officials in the region and in the respective imperial capitals" (68). - The present oration that recounts part of the girl's history is an important source about the affair. While the occasion is here termed "nozze", it is clearly not a wedding (not even one "con la chiesa"), but apparently closer to a confirmation rite celebrated for the recently converted girl. The author was the parish priest at S. Eufemia in Giudecca, Venice, and dedicates his work to Giovanni Cornaro, Procurator of S. Marco. - Remains of an old label on the title-page. An excellent copy. Extremely rare; ICCU lists a single copy in Italy (Biblioteca nazionale Marciana, Venezia). ICCU VEAE\128667. Cf. Eric Dursteler, Renegade Women (Baltimore, 2011), pp. 62ff.
74 x 48 cm. A fine example of Giacomo Gastaldi's map of Southeast Asia, China, and India, perhaps the single most influential map of the region published in the 16th century. - Gastaldi's map has a remarkable history, one that presents a microcosm of Italian mapmaking in the middle of the 16th century. It begins with the publication of a single section in 1559, which was intended as a separate map. Additional sections were added in 1561, creating the portion of the existing map which extends south to the Equator. In 1565, two additional sections were added, in order to show all of Indonesia and the neighbouring islands as far south as Java Minor. - "In its original form the map extended only to the equator, so that most of the Indonesian islands were not included. To remedy this, in about 1565, two narrow sheets were made by the great Italian engraver Paolo Forlani to supplement the main body of Gastaldi's map [...] This lower addition bears an inscription in the lower left corner which reads 'si vende...' [...] indicating the location of the shop of the publisher Bertelli" (Suarez). - Of all of Gastaldi's Asian continental maps, this one more than any other "had a major influence on the work of Ortelius and de Jode [...] In their representation of the coastlines his maps are superior to all previously known maps of Asia, either drawn by hand or printed" (Schilder, in: The Map Collector 17, p. 7). - On the right-hand side of the map, Gastaldi provides a list of about 100 place names on the map, showing both their ancient and modern names. In his excellent study of Gastaldi's maps of Asia and their relationship to the accounts of Marco Polo's travels, Nordinskold notes that while Gastaldi has clearly incorporated information from Marco Polo's travels, Gastaldi relied also upon the accounts of other contemporary travelers to the East. Most notably, the dedication to Marcus Fugger (1529-97) is strong evidence that Gastaldi had access to the Fugger family library, one of the most important libraries compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries. During the 16th century, the Fugger Library was perhaps the best private library in the world, surpassing even the Vatican Library. - Nordinskold goes on to note: "Finally, it must be remembered that Gastaldi, under the guidance of Ramusio, is supposed to have aided in repairing or repainting the famous wall-maps in Sala dello scudo in Venice [...] If such was the case, it may be considered probable that the monumental maps of Africa and Asia by Gastaldi have had some connection to [Gastaldi's map of Asia], that these copper-plate engravings are a reproduction of the originals of the wall maps in that form which was given them in the middle of the 16th century". Quirino notes that Gastaldi's map is the first appearance of the name "Philippines" ("Philippina") on a printed document. - The map is rare on the market. We note no examples of this first edition of the map on at auction or in recorded dealer catalogs in at least 15 years. Tooley, Italian Atlases 63. Karrow 30/92 (note). Woodward, Forlani 36 (note). Suarez, South East Asia, pp. 130-157 Quirino, Philippine Cart., p. XV & 95. Nordinskold, The Influence of the "Travels of Marco Polo" on Jacobo Gastaldi's Maps of Asia, in: The Geographical Journal 13, No. 4.
Large 4to (32 x 26 cm). "XVIII" [= XX], (2), 243, (1) pp. With various passages including the original Arabic text. Modern half morocco. First edition of the first substantial English translation of the travel account of Abu Abdullah Mohammed ibn Batuta (1304-68/69), known in the West as the Arabian Marco Polo, with extensive footnotes. "While on a pilgrimage to Mecca he made a decision to extend his travels throughout the whole of the Islamic world. Possibly the most remarkable of the Arab travellers, he is estimated to have covered 75,000 miles in forty years" (Howgego). His journeys included trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa and Eastern Europe in the West, and to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China. - The account known as the Rihla, is esteemed for its lively descriptions of his travels, giving notable information on the history, geography and botany of the countries and cities Ibn Batuta visited. He describes, for example, the city of Aden as follows: "From this place I went to the city of Aden, which is situated on the sea-shore. This is a large city, but without either seed, water, or tree. They have, however, reservoirs, in which they collect the rain-water for drinking. Some rich merchants reside here: and vessels from India occasionally arrive here. The inhabitants are modest and religious" (p. 55). - A very good copy, binding very good as well. Howgego, to 1800, B47.
Folio (237 x 312 mm). 2 parts in one volume. XXV, (1), 128 pp. (French and Latin text); 50 pp. (Arabic text); central blank. Contemp. half brown hard-grained morocco, raised bands on gilt fleuron spine. Marbled endpapers. First edition, with the full text in Arabic: an early effort of the Franco-Irish editor. The pre-Islamic Arab poet Imru al-Qays (497-545) from the Kinda is regarded as the greatest writer in Arabic of his time. His Diwan (complete collection of poems), written in a language of impeccable classicism, was collected from the 8th century; it includes 28 to 68 parts according to recensions. - The Irish scholar William McGuckin de Slane (1801-78), a disciple of Silvestre de Sacy, to whom the present work is dedicated, went on to serve as Principal Interpreter of Arabic of the French Army and Professor of Arabic at the École de langues orientales in Paris. It is remarkable the he chose to present a Latin version of these works: he later became known for his translations into French and English of Arab and Persian historians. - Occasional browning and foxing. GAL I, 24. OCLC 457350459.
960 x 235 mm. Three albumen prints (vintage), mounted and joined. Fine photographic view of Jerusalem from Mount Olivet, assembled from three separate, conjoining images and measuring nearly a metre in length. Various buildings and sites identified by number; dated "1889" in a shaded area at lower right. From the Beirut-based studio of Tancrède Dumas, active during the period 1860-1890, with his stamp at lower left (series no. 523).
Folio (193 x 295 mm). 11, (1) pp. With large papered seal. Contemp. marbled wrappers. An Imperial privilege establishing a five-year trade monopoly for olive oil within the Austrian hereditary principalities, to be exercised by an oil company (Bartholomew Coreis & Co.) against payment of half a florin for every hundredweight of oil, as well as tolls and fees, to the treasury. With autograph signature of the short-lived Emperor Joseph and two counter-signatures, one by the court chancellor Johann Friedrich Baron Seilern (1646-1715, previously the architect of the ill-fated marriage of Princess Palatine Elisabeth Charlotte and the Duke of Orléans, later author of the Pragmatic Sanction). The owner of this early oil company could not be traced; he may be related to the Greek scholar Adamantios Korais, born in 1748 (his father Ioannes was a native of Chios). - Evenly browned due to paper; small paper flaw in center of gutter; contemporary binding professionally repaired in the fold. Codex Austriacus III, p. 540-542. Beitraege zur Geschichte der boehmischen Laender 23 (1878), p. 422f.
8vo. 2 vols. XII, 538 pp. VI, 631, (1) pp. With engr. portrait. Contemporary red morocco gilt. All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. First edition of this first and foremost account of the life of the Scottish-born diplomat, East India Company administrator, and statesman John Malcolm (1769-1833). Having come to Madras at the age of 13 and quickly advanced himself by his knowledge of Persian and Hindustani, Malcolm was sent to Persia on a diplomatic mission in 1800; among the first agreements he brokered was that with the Imaum of Muscat, whom he pursued on both sides of the Arabian Gulf before securing Great Britain "the friendship, and, if required, the cooperation, of the principal state on the Arabian side of the [...] Gulf" (vol. I, p. 110). He would later be appointed Governor of Bombay. - A sumptuously bound red morocco set showing slight rubbing to extremeties; occasional moderate foxing and staining, but well-preserved. Wilson 115. BM XIII, 1042 (313). OCLC 1591023.
2 vols. VIII, (6), 484, (2) pp. (16), 456 pp. (6), XXXXI, (1), 408, (14) pp. With 2 engraved title-pages, each with an engraved vignette (that for volume 2 from the plate of the 1774 "Beschryving" with the lettering revised; that for volume 1 copied from it and unsigned), 125 engraved plates numbered I-LXXII, [LXXIII] (vol. 1) & I-LII (vol. 2) (38 folding), showing topographic views, watermills, people, Egyptian and Persian antiquities, Egyptian, Persian, cuneiform and other inscriptions, etc. by C. F. Fritsch, C. J. de Huyser, Th. Koning, G. H. Koning, C. Philips, O. de Vries, Baurenfeind and others. The unnumbered folding map of Yemen ("Tabula Itineraria", plate size 48.5 x 41.5 cm), with the trade routes coloured by hand, covers a smaller area at a larger scale than that in the Beschryving. - (Bound with) II: Niebuhr, Carsten. Beschrying van Arabie, uit eigene waarnemingen en in 't land zelf verzamelde narigten opgesteld. Amsterdam, Steven Jacobus Baalde; Utrecht, Johannes van Schoonhoven & Co. (colophon: printed by Johan Joseph Besseling), 1774. With engraved title-page showing an engraved vignette by N. van der Meer (2 female figures with a globe and other instruments) and 25 engraved plates numbered I-XXIV, (XXV), including 7 folding showing 1 view of military exercises, 2 Kufic inscriptions (coloured by hand) and 4 maps. The unnumbered map of Yemen (plate size 58.5 x 39 cm) is coloured by hand in outline. The full-page plates include maps, topographic views, costumes, coins, Arabic inscriptions, etc. All by C. J. de Huyser, N. van der Meer, Th. Koning and C. Philips. 2 works in 3 volumes. 4to. Contemporary half tree calf, sides covered with paste paper; rebacked, with original gold-tooled backstrip laid down. One of the very rare large paper copies of the first and only editions of the Dutch translation by Jacob van Ekers of Niebuhr's famous account of a voyage to Arabia and surrounding countries (ad 1) and his description of Arabia, Egypt and the Middle East (ad 2). Both works were originally written by the Danish traveller and surveyor Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) and published in German, in Copenhagen in 1772 under the titles, "Beschreibung von Arabien" and "Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien und anderen umliegenden Ländern". Both works were also translated in French and English. - In 1760 Niebuhr was invited to join a scientific expedition to Egypt. Other members of the expedition were Friedrich Christian von Haven (a Danish linguist and orientalist), Christian Carl Kramer (a Danish physician and zoologist), Georg Baurenfeind (an artist from southern Germany), Berggren (a Swedish ex-soldier) and Pehr Forrskal (a Swedish botanist). In January 1761, the expedition sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark to Alexandria, Egypt. The members of the expedition spent a year in Egypt, visiting Suez and Mount Sinai. They left Suez in October 1762 and sailed to Yemen. In May 1763 they reached Mocha where Von Haven and Forrskal died from malaria. In August 1763 Baurenfeind and Berggren died, followed by Kramer in February 1764. Niebuhr was the only one left to continue the expedition. In 1764, he explored India, sailing from Bombay to Muscat, as well as Shiraz, Babylon, Baghdad, Mosul, and Aleppo. He spent some time in Persepolis in 1765 where he has made very detailed drawings and maps, which were used for more than a hundred years. In 1766, he explored Palestine before finally returning to Copenhagen on 20 November 1767, after a journey of seven years. When he returned to Copenhagen the Swedish government warmly welcomed him and paid the costs of engraving the plates to illustrate his accounts of the voyage. Both works are lavishly illustrated, having together 2 large maps of Yemen and 148 beautifully engraved maps, plans and views of all the regions Niebuhr visited. - The present set has both works printed on the same large watermarked paper (Strasbourg bend above VDL) and is only slightly trimmed, measuring 296 x 242 mm with the tranchefiles still visible (regular copies are printed on unwatermarked paper measuring 275 x 217 mm). Not even Tiele mentions the existence of copies on large paper. - Binding slightly rubbed on the sides and rebacked as noted; otherwise good. With a few occasional spots, the half-titles slightly thumbed and a few mm of minor browning in the upper margins; a very good large paper copy, only slightly trimmed. Howgego, to 1800, N24. Tiele, Bibl. 795f. Cf. Atabey 873f. Cox I, 237f. Gay 3589. Hamilton, Europe and the Arab world 48.
12mo. (20), 168 pp., including a folding genealogy of Mohammed as *10, bound here before *2. With a woodcut vignette of the Blue Mosque (?) on title-page as well as an engraved frontispiece of Mohammed presenting the Qur'an to the world, along with Zulfiqar (his legendary double-bladed sword), and a dove on his shoulder. - Bound with (II): Orientalischer Kirchen-Staat. Gotha, Jakob Mevius, 1699. (2), 155, (1) pp. (and 2 other works). Contemporary vellum. Very rare sole edition of this detailed exposition of the Qur'an for German readers, replete with a frontispiece depicting Mohammed giving the 'Alcoran' to the world as well as a folding genealogy of the Prophet. The preface discusses the threat which Islam poses to the West; and yet Pritius remarks that "meanwhile no-one will be hurt by learning a little more precisely about the opinions of these people, against whom Christendom has so long struggled" (*2v). - Chapter I covers the tenets of Islamic faith, rituals, customs, and pilgrimage. This includes numerous excerpts from the Qur'an and a lengthy discussion of the entire process of the Hajj, as well as the rituals the pilgrims take part in once they arrive in Mecca (pp. 89-113). Chapter II concerns the role of "muftis, priests, monks, and hermits" in Islam; and Chapter III recounts the life and death of Mohammed, taken from the usual European sources. - The inner workings of Islam had long fascinated the German Protestants, who saw an ally in their struggle against the common enemy of the Habsburgs / Roman Catholic Church. The present work is exceptionally detailed, however, and offers far more than the usual brief discussions of Mohammed's life; indeed, it is evident that Pritius had access to one of the Qur'an translations available in Europe at the time. - Extremely rare: OCLC shows no copies in American or UK libraries; VD 17 shows holdings in six German libraries. - Bound at the end of the volume is a manual of the various faiths of the orient, which includes a chapter on Islam and a discussion of the schism between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Two other theological works bound first: (III) Spener, Philipp Jakob. Die Seligkeit der Kinder Gottes [...]. Frankfurt, Johann David Zunner, 1692. (138), 427, (25) pp. - (IV) Schmidt, Sebastian. Regenten-Predigten, welche zu gewissen Zeiten des Jahrs der christlichen Gemeine in Straßburg aus dem Alten Testament erkläret und vorgetragen worden. Braunschweig, Caspar Gruber, 1694. (2), 308 pp. - Some browning and occasional waterstaining throughout; binding darkened. Some edge chipping to the genealogical plate. VD 17, 39:144883H. Chauvin XI, p. 186, no. 667. Imaginationen des Islam: Bildliche Darstellungen des Propheten Mohammed, no. 20. Cf. also Fischer, Bildung durch Reisen? Deutsche Aufklärung und Islam II, p. 85 (note); on Pritius cf. ADB XXVI, 602ff. - (II): VD 17, 39:144877G. BL (German books) O224.
Folio (218 x 340 mm). Two parts: 1) Confidential. Survey by Major E.T. Rich, R.E., of routes between Bandar-Abbas and Kerman. General Staff, India. Simla: Government Branch Press, 1917. 9, 13, (1), 7, 16 = 46 pp. With six maps and plans (two folding), a proof plate with 2 photo views, and 13 leaves of original manuscript, typewritten and printed telegrams related to the report. Both original publisher’s wrappers bound in. - 2) Confidential. Report by Major E. T. Rich, R.E., on the Construction of Motor Roads in South Persia between Bandar Abbas and Kerman. 1917. General Staff, India. 2 vols. Delhi: Superintendent Government Printing, India, 1918. Vol. 1: (2), IV, 38 pp. With 12 leaves of plates (including one proof plate) and 8 maps and plans (3 folding). Vol. 2: 39-54 pp. With 3 folding maps. Occasional red ink notes by Rich in text and on the maps/plans; original publisher’s wrappers bound in. Occasional red ink notes by Rich in text and on the maps/plans; both original publisher’s wrappers bound in. Custom-made hardcover binding with the first publisher’s wrapper of the original report pasted to the front board. With a large folding linen backed map of Persia in the pocket at rear. Addenda (see below). Special custom-bound, historically important archive, compiled by E. T. Rich and containing confidential printed reports, 18 maps and plans, as well as original documents related to the survey of potential routes for a motor road between Bandar Abbas and Kerman in southern Persia. The survey was carried out by Rich as a part of the Persian campaign during the First World War on the special orders of the Chief of General Staff in India. As a part of WWI military operations, Bandar Abbas was occupied by British forces under command of Sir Percy Sykes in March 1916, and the survey was apparently undertaken in order to establish additional supply routes to the war’s Persian front. Rich was ordered "to report as soon as possible on the best route for a road to take motor lorry traffic from Bandar Abbas to Kerman and to frame estimates from the same and proposals as to the best way of carrying out the work." The survey was done between December 1916 and June 1917; a year later Rich was promoted a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.) for his work. Nevertheless, the road never was constructed, probably because of the cardinal changes on the Persian front after the collapse of the Russian front line as a result of the revolution in February 1917. - The volume contains: confidential reports by Rich; printed "Working notes" on the survey; maps and plans of Bandar Abbas, Kerman, and the area in between; telegrams sent to him from the Chief of General Staff (Delhi & Simla), Surveyor General’s Office in Calcutta, British Consul in Bandar Abbas; tables with distances and estimates of construction, printed views of the area et al. Several leaves slightly age-toned, but overall a very good custom-made copy. - Supplemented with Rich’s copy of a typewritten dispatch from the British Vice-Consul in Bandar Abbas to the Chief of Roodbar (South Persia) Zarghan-us-Saltaneh, dated Bandar Abbas, 2 Dec. 1916. In the dispatch the consul asks for the assistance to Rich who is going to visit the area under the chief’s control during the course of his road survey. The copy is signed by the consul and has his manuscript note "Original sent by special messenger direct to Zarghan-us-Saltaneh." - There are also two autograph signed letters by Rich, addressed to his aunt in London and written while on field service in Southern Persia. The letters are dated 10 & 25 Dec. 1916, housed in the original envelope with a postal stamp of Bandar Abbas, and contain interesting notes about Rich’s work and his observations on the native life. [Near Kerman:] "It is Xmas evening & as I have no one to talk to, the nearest white man being over 100 miles away, I am writing instead. Being high up over 5000 feet in the mountains, it is bitterly cold & proper Xmas weather, but personally I’d prefer it a bit warmer as I can’t keep warm no how at night which means continuously waking up [...] The food of the villagers about here is most strange, being dates & bread about 2 lbs of each per diem & nothing else. They feed the horses & cows on dates & even the dogs. I eat them once a day for lunch which consists of porridge, bread & cheese & dates. I often envy the meals my servants get at home when I am out on these expeditions." - E. T. Rich (1874-1937) was a British military engineer and surveyor, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He graduated from Sandhurst with the Pollock Medal and was gazetted as 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. In 1895 he went out to India and was posted to railway survey work in Burma. In 1905-1909 Rich worked as survey officer on the Indian North-West Frontier, and took part in the Bazar Valley and Mohmand Campaigns of 1908 (as a divisional and a chief survey officer respectively). During the latter he was slightly wounded and for his services was promoted brevet-major. In 1911 Rich was appointed the head of the survey office on the Burma frontier post at Myitkyina, where he carried out the survey of the border with Tibet and Yunnan. In 1916/17 he was in charge of the survey party looking for the alternative routes between Bandar Abbas and Kerman in South Persia; in 1918 he was in charge of the North West Persia Survey Detachment which accompanied British intervention in the Caspian under command of General Dunsterville. Rich carried out important surveys in Baku, Batum and Tiflis. After WWI Rich returned to Burma where he became the head of the Burma Circle of the Survey of India. In 1920-22 while surveying the unadministered territory between Burma and Assam he encountered slavery and human sacrifices still practiced there; in 1925 he took part in the Sir Harcourt Butler’s Mission to the Hukawng Valley to suppress slavery. Rich retired with the rank of Colonel and C.I.E. in 1929. "Colonel Rich was a great linguist, and besides his knowledge of Urdu, Pushtu, and Persian, he was able to converse in Yunnanese and several dialects of Burma - Kachin, Maru, and Lisaw [...] He was a keen explorer throughout his career and did much to encourage a spirit of adventure in younger officers who served under him” (Obituary, The Geographical Journal 91.1 [1938], p. 96).
4to. 231, (1) pp. With a few woodcuts in the text. Contemp. full calf, leading edges and spine sumptuously gilt. All edges red. First edition; very rare. The best known, and most controversial, of Schickard's works: a treatise, with a lengthy introduction, about various Persian ruling dynasties, especially the Sasanians - editing a total of six out of seventeen genealogical charts found on a 45-foot Turkish manuscript scroll. The genealogies aimed to legitimise the Ottoman dynasty by tracing it back to Adam. Schickard (1592-1635) was one of the most learned men of his age, astronomer, professor of Hebrew, mathematician and orientalist. The scroll was brought to Germany by Veit Marchtaler of Ulm, who found it in a mosque during the sack of Fillek (Fülek) in Hungary. Marchtaler wished that the manuscript might not be simply forgotten, consulted in vain with various dragomans (whose versions he did not trust), and finally came across Schickard, who, though he had no Turkish or Persian, knew Arabic and immediately grasped the significance of the scroll. His detailed commentary quotes from various Hebrew and Arabic writings, including several extracts from the Qur'an: sura 21 (p. 60), 38 (p. 53 & 61), 27 (p. 77), 2 (p. 97), and 4 & 5 (p. 97-100). The translation is offered as a gift to the Emperor Ferdinand II until such time as the "autographum ipsum" be lodged in the imperial library. "Schickard was also the designer of Arabic type, which he engraved himself as copper matrices; they were cast by Theodoricus Werlin, and served to illustrate his 'Tarich'" (Smitskamp). - Browned throughout due to paper (as common); trimmed rather closely; final 2 leaves cropped at outer margin with loss of letters. One of three variants, this one without the 20-page appendix (corresponding with the copy in the Bodleian Library, Oxford). Provenance: "Nathan Wright of Englefield", Berkshire (cropped signature at head of title), probably Sir Nathan Wright (1654-1721), lawyer, appointed Lord Keeper in 1700 (cf. ODNB). Later in the collection of the Earls of Macclesfield (North Library at Shirburn Castle; 1860 bookplate, shelfmark 57.B.1). VD 17, 14:646680U. Wilson 203. ADB XX, 300. Smitskamp, PO 132e (note). OCLC 13604133.
Folio (243 x 372 mm). (12), 389, (3) pp. With double-page-sized engraved frontispiece (G. Wingendorp sc., bound after p. 8), 12 engravings in the text, and 139 woodcuts in the text (wants the engraved portrait). 18th century full calf with giltstamped red label to gilt spine in seven compartments. All edges red. First edition of this description of the important natural-historical and ethnological collection assembled by the famous Danish physician and naturalist Worm (1588-1654), forming the nucleus of the museum he founded, one of the first natural history museums ever established. The double-page frontispiece (sometimes counted as an additional engraved title page) shows his natural history collection inboxes, on shelves and hanging from walls and ceiling. This plentiful text illustrations show exotic as well as Scandinavian animals, plants, fossils, ethnological trophies, archeological discoveries, etc. For many items in the mineralogical and chemical section, the Arabic names are given (such as Borax or "Baurach", Alkali, Tinkur, etc.). Among the exotic flora are many plants endemic to the Middle East and Arabia, including the "Nabuch Arabum", the "Nux indica" (with reference to Avicenna), the date palm, pistachio ("ex Persia, Arabia & Syria"), gum arabic etc. - Binding slightly scuffed in places, but well preserved. Slight browning and brownstaining to interior, mainly confined to blank margins. A few early marginalia and underlinings in ink (trimmed by binder's knife when rebound in the later 18th century). As virtually all copies available for comparison, ours lacks the portrait (to be bound after the preliminaries). Nissen, ZBI 4473. Willems 772 ("Description raisonnée du cabinet d'histoire naturelle formé par le savant danois Olaus Worm").
Ca. 25 x 30 cm. Black-and-white gelatin silver print (vintage). A letterboard in a Karachi hotel lobby, announcing a "Lunch in Honour of Mr. Ali A. Ansari, Personal Representative of the Ruler of Qatar". Ali ibn Ahmed Al-Ansari served as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs unter HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Ruler of Qatar. - Provenance: collection of Azhar Abbas Hashmi (1940-2016), Pakistani financial manager and eminent literary patron with close ties to Karachi University. Long with United Bank Limited, Hashmi would serve as the bank's Vice President of Gulf Operations before founding several important cultural organisations and becoming known as a man of letters in his own right.