Upton, Roger D.MareMagnum
4 361 résultats
8vo. XI, (1), 211, (1) pp. With a hand-coloured wood-engraved frontispiece and 4 large folding lithographed pedigree tables. Original burnt red cloth binding with giltstamped title to spine and upper cover. First edition. - Upton was one of the early experts on the bloodlines of British thoroughbreds. His book describes both the influence of the Arabian horse on the development of the English thoroughbred as well as many interesting aspects of the Arabian horse. Shortly after the publication of this work - intended to "point out errors that have been committed in the breeding of our horse" (p. iii) - he travelled in Arabia to obtain purebred horses and so improve the quality of British cavalry remounts. Upton served with the 9th Lancers. - Binding somewhat bumped and rubbed with traces of moisture to covers. Lightly browned throughout, paper brittle with occasional edge or corner flaws, frontispiece and title-page rather foxed. Rare. Boyd/P. 130. Huth 273. OCLC 12795478.
8vo. (4), 135, (3) pp. With 3 folding tables and 1 engraved plate. Later blue wrappers. Only edition of this introduction to Arabic, written by the Comte de Volney (1757-1820) as history professor at the newly-founded École normale, immediately after the end of the Terreur and his release from prison following the fall of Robespierre. In spite of its wide-ranging title, the book comprises essentially an Arabic grammar and a collection of Arabic proverbs; the long introductory chapter has been hailed a model of style. Volney had learned Arabic in 1782 in preparation of a long journey through Egypt and Syria. The work displays his ingenious method of simplifying the study of Arabic, Persian and Turkish by transliterating the alphabets into European characters. The tables give the Arabic alphabet, the conjugation of regular verbs, and instructions on how to write Arabic letters by hand, as well as the Arabic alphabet in European characters intended for merchants travelling to Asia and Africa. With a section of Arabian proverbs included as samples. - Pages 30-31 unopened. A good copy of this important work, untrimmed as issued. Gay 3429. Brunet V, 1351. Cioranescu 663767. Monglond III, 481. OCLC 21978700.
Folio (ca. 350 x 493 mm). 17 aquatint plates in original hand colour and one double-page-sized aquatint map of the Mediterranean in original hand colour, all with captions in English. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped title and 2 floral ornaments to spine. Marbled endpapers. Collection of 18 of the 43 illustrations from the account of the voyage of HMS Swiftsure and the Battle of the Nile by the British clergyman and artist Willyams (1762-1816), who served as chaplain aboard the ship, a vessel of Admiral Nelson's squadron captained by Benjamin Hallowell Carew. The 17 plates in the present volume show views of the caves of Gibraltar and the Spanish Church in the city, the Bay of Fournelles, Ischia, a street in Caiffe at the foot of Mount Carmel featuring two dromedars, Aboukir castle, caverns near Syracuse and the Temple of Minerva, the Palermo Capuchin catacombs, and a view of Scylla on the coast of Calabria, as well as an attack on the French camp near Aboukir, an attack of Turkish gun boats on the castle of Aboukir, and a group of three Arabs aboard the Swiftsure. The aquatint map shows the Mediterranean Sea with the courses of the British and French fleets up to their encounter in the Bay of Aboukir in August 1798. Designed by Willyams, the illustrations were engraved by Joseph Constantine Stadler. - Binding somewhat rubbed near extremities. Right margins of several plates brownstained or a little worn (not touching image); map brownstained on left and right margins and near the gutter (hardly touching image); the plate with the entrance into the Ear of Dionysius with traces of 2 folds near lower right corner (not touching image). An appealing compilation of decorative images documenting the route of the British fleet leading up to the Battle of the Nile. For the original publication cf. Abbey 196. Blackmer 1813. Atabey (2nd ed.) 1339. Graesse VII, 456.
4to. (2), CX, 637, (1) pp. With 2 coloured plates (including a portrait frontispiece) and 184 black and white plates (1 of which not included in pagination). Original full cloth with giltstamped spine and spine-title. Second edition of this important English translation of the famous Latin treatise on ornithology and falconry written in the 1240s by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. It was prepared by the Canadian ophthalmologist and comparative zoologist C. A. Wood (1856-1942), who studied animal vision, especially that of birds, and was first published in 1943 by Stanford University Press. The plentiful illustrations include a portrait frontispiece of Frederick II, photographs of various decorative manuscript pages from "De arte venandi cum avibus", falconer's equipment, and landmarks associated with the Emperor, including Castel del Monte and his tomb in Palermo, as well as drawings and photographs of various species of falcons and hawks, and a map of southern Italy and Sicily showing the Emperor's castles and hunting lodges. - Giltstamping somewhat faded; edges very slightly foxed. A very good copy of this second edition, never seen at auction. Oelgart 24B. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 81, 192. OCLC 459570612.
Small 4to. XVI, 192 pp. With photographic frontispiece, 11 photographic plates, and 9 illustrations in the text. Original full cloth with giltstamped falcon to cover and giltstamped spine-title. First edition. An authoritative textbook, one of two classics on falconry to appear in 1960 (the other being Jack Mavrogordato's "A Hawk for the Bush"). It discusses the choice of hawk for training with the necessary furniture and appliances, individual species used in falconry, their particular challenges in training and management, their handling when flown at quarry in the field, falcons' home life, their health and disease, as well as how to deal with lost hawks, and the moult. - With contributions by S. E. Allen and Jack Mavrogordato on game hawking and rook hawking. The impressive illustrations display various birds of prey, including lanners, sakers and peregrines, as well as merlins, kestrels, and goshawks, sometimes hooded or on perches. One photograph shows a young boy working with a kestrel. The other illustrations show the equipment typically used in the sport, including the falconers' knot, hoods, jesses, and bells. - Edges and endpapers slightly foxed. A single copy in auction records. Oelgart 31A. Cf. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 81, 590 (U.S. edition). OCLC 1079355522.
4to. English manuscript on paper. (4), 306 pp. With mounted engraved frontispiece in original hand colour and 21 mounted engraved plates, 13 of which in original hand colour. Contemporary half calf over patterned boards with giltstamped spine and spine-title. Marbled endpapers. All edges red. Intriguing manuscript comprising five Arabian tales allegedly recounted by officers at a Spahi camp in Algeria in the context of an imminent raid against the Haschemu tribe loyal to Emir Abdelkader in 1842, commanded by the French general Louis Juchault de Lamoricière (1806-65). The compiler, who gives his initals as "E. H. S. de R." on the title-page, states that he transcribed the tales from another book, but gives no clear indication whether or not the account is purely fictitious. He does, however, criticize the "cruel system of warfare which the French have hitherto employed in Africa" (p. 1). - Prefaced to the tales is an introduction describing the events leading up to the frame narrative, involving the rescue of a Douair chieftain by a member of the Spahi regiment, and the officers spending the evening together at the campfire. Five of them are prompted to tell stories, some autobiographical, which the editor has titled "The Unfortunate", "The Dervish of Anatolia", "The Renegade", "The Arab's Faith", "Love and Hate", and "The Fugitive of Armenya". The last tale is followed by an account of the fate of the two Douair and Spahi officers, who became close friends after the latter saved the life of the former. - The hand-coloured engravings which illustrate the volume depict characters and scenes from the tales; the frontispiece shows a lavishly decorated room in a palace with an Arab leader smoking a long pipe, surrounded by servants and followers. Continuously paginated, but with additional pagination for each tale. The additional heading "First series" on the title-page suggests that the present manuscript was conceived as part of a larger set. - Extremities slightly rubbed; interior very clean. A very well preserved volume providing an unusual look at French rule in Algeria during its early years.
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.
Large 4to (230 x 280 mm). 2 parts in 4 volumes. (2), 144, (2) pp. (2), 145-281 pp. 360 pp. (8), XIV, 361-446 pp. Original printed blue wrappers. Arabic text with Latin translation and commentary of this chronicle of mediaeval Moroccan dynasties, including the Idrisids, Zanata, Almoravids, Almohads, and Merinids, by Zar al-Fasi (d. after 726/1326). - Somewhat wrinkled and dust-stained; untrimmed. GAL II, 240f. OCLC 682184610.
17 original gelatin silver photographs (14 small format and three postcard sized). All but three captioned on the versos in pencil. An excellent group of snapshots of Bahrain, chiefly focusing on the Bahrain International Airport and the capital, Manama. - The photographer is unidentified but was probably a serviceman based at RAF Bahrain, a military installation attached to the Bahrain International Airport from 1943 to 1971. Several photographs show the airfield, training base and the inside of some billets. Only one is aerial, a vertiginous bird’s-eye view of Muharraq Island, where the airfield was located. - In addition to the expected images of military life are glimpses of Manama, where the servicemen spent their time off. There are interesting views of commercial streets, the Al-Fadhel Mosque and the Bab Al-Bahrain. Some provide lively period detail, such as the film poster for Nau Bahar (an Indian drama released in 1952), a dealership advertising Ford cars, and a street lined with flags in preparation for the state visit of King Saud Ibn Abdulaziz in April 1954. That visit, undertaken shorty after Saud became King, was witness to the first suggestion of a bridge linking Eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, an idea that eventually came into being with the construction of the King Fahd Causeway in the 1980s. - Some staining and spotting to the versos, a few printed from damaged negatives, otherwise very clean and clear with little fading.
8vo. XXIV, 213, (1) pp. With 2 folding engraved plates. Contemporary full mottled calf with giltstamped red morocco label to prettily gilt spine. Marbled endpapers. All edges red. First edition thus. Very rare French translation of two essays by the Scottish-born East India Company officer and orientalist Alexander Dow (1735-79), first published within his "History of Hindostan, translated from the Persian of Ferishta" (1768). The present edition omits the text of the world history of Firishta that Dow had presented in his book, giving only his "dissertation concerning the religion and philosophy of the Brahmins" as well as an outline of the then-current state of India, partly taken from Dow's preface. Contains two folding plates, engraved by P. L. Charpentier, showing the Sanskrit alphabet and the metre employed in the Vedas. Re-issued in 1780. - Early 19th century bookseller label of A. Claudin, Paris, pasted head-over-heels to lower pastedown. Binding very attractively preserved. Excepting the Sir Thomas Phillipps copy, sold at Sotheby's in 1977, this is the second copy known in trade records. Lanson III, 8161. OCLC 34570575.
8vo. (3)-245, (3) pp. Contemporary sprinkled boards. Second German translation of "Hayy ibn Yaqzan" by the 12th-century physician Ibn Tufail, widely considered the first philosophical novel and tremendously influential on Eastern and Western intellectual traditions alike. The Arabic tale (not to be confused with Avicenna's earlier like-named romance) was known in Europe as early as the 15th century through Pico della Mirandola's 1493 unpublished Latin translation, and scholars have since asserted its influence on Francis Bacon, Baruch Spinoza, Robert Boyle, the modern novel, Enlightenment thought, and even Robinson Crusoe. A bilingual Arabic and Latin edition appeared at Oxford in 1671, marking its first publication in Europe, and this was soon followed by English and Dutch translations. "A medieval philosophical treatise in literary form, written by the Andalusian philosopher Abu Bakr Ibn-Tufayl in the 1160s, it relates the story of human knowledge as it rises from a blank slate, through practical exploration of nature, to a mystical or direct experience of God. Its central argument is that human reason can independently access scientific knowledge unaided by religion or society and its conventions, leading not only to the tenets of natural philosophy but also to the attainment of mystical insight, the highest form of human knowledge" (Ben-Zaken, p. 2). Following the life of a young man stranded on an otherwise uninhabited island, it is easy to appreciate comparisons to Robinson Crusoe; given the protagonist's flair as an autodidact and faith in empiricism, it is similarly not difficult to understand the story's appeal to Enlightenment thinkers, whom this German edition would have served well. The work's Western influence is hardly to obscure its importance within the Arabic and Persian literary traditions, nor its influence on Islamic philosophy. The author was well placed to leave an enduring legacy. "He was the caliph's friend and confidant as well as his physician. The two could talk freely about the burning issues of the day, even including creation and whether the world had always been as we know it" (Goodman). - Unchanged re-issue of Eichhorn's new translation, styled "The Natural Man", which had first appeared the previous year. An earlier German translation, by J. G. Pritsius, had been published in 1726. - Ownership signature of the theologian Martin Hößler (b. 1877), dated 2 November 1919, written in indelible pencil on front flyleaf. Light dampstain to lower pastedown and moderate wear to the binding extremities. Complete, pagination notwithstanding, matching all digitized copies available for comparison. An appealing copy. VD 18, 11177462. OCLC 247720469. Avner Ben-Zaken, Reading Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan: A Cross-Cultural History of Autodidacticism (Baltimore, 2011), p. 10. Cf. GAL S I, p. 831 f. Schnurrer p. 472.
Folio. 6 pp., 1 bl. f., 637, (1) pp. Contemp. calf binding with fore-edge flap, blindstamped cover ornament and cloth spine. First edition of this Islamic chronicle by the Ottoman religious scholar and historian Kara Çelebi-zâde Abdul Aziz Efendi (1591-1658). The Bulaq press, established in 1235 (1819/20), "'wrote' printing history. This is the first Muslim printing press in the Arab world" (Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution. A Cross-Cultural Encounter, Westhofen 2002, p. 183). - Professionally restored. OCLC 462409245 (only the BnF copy).
8vo. (117)-127, (1) pp. Original printed wrappers. Offprint from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. About the Mahmal, the closed rectangular pyramidal canopy taken along on camelback on Egyptian and Syrian pilgrimages to Mecca before Ibn Saud's conquest of the Hejaz in 1925 - a "very curious custom in Islam", the origin and purport of which the present essay undertakes to investigate. "It is very improbable that the Mahmal [...] will be seen in the Hejaz again [...] The Mahmal is heretical to Islam, and the Wahhabis [...] have declined to admit the Mahmal into the Hejaz" (p. 117). - Wrapper shows insignificant ruststains from staples, otherwise in perfect condition. OCLC 47931240. Not in Macro.
5 colour-printed topographic maps, sheets ca. 77 x 63 cm each or smaller. Constant ratio linear horizontal scale 1:200,000. A rare set of 5 maps from the French military's cartography of the Levant, produced from the mid-1920s until the Second World War. The maps comprise: Antioche (Antakya and Iskenderun), Palmyre (Tadmur, Palmyra), Haiffa (Haifa, Acre, and Tyre), and Homs (2 different sheets). Considered products of military intelligence by the French government, the maps fell into German hands when Germany invaded France in 1940. The present maps were subsequently accessioned by the Geographical Institute of the University of Berlin and bear the Institute's stamps and pencil shelfmarks. - Two maps folded. Occasional edge and corner flaws, some wrinkling, duststaining and minor chips and tears to margins, but altogether well preserved. OCLC 904341885.
4to. XVI, 120, 330 pp. Near-contemporary library binding by the Lund "Semitiska Seminariet": half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine-title. Bound with the original printed wrappers. Important critical edition of a 14th century Arabic manuscript held at the Königliche Hof- und Staatsbibliothek in Munich, the "Cod[ex] arab[icus] Quatremère 37", produced by the Swedish orientalist Zetterstéen in Arabic type. The edited text is preceded by a German foreword and a philological introduction by the editor. The Codex Quatremère 37 contains a compilation of two chronicles of the Mamluk Sultanate, the first anonymous, the second by Badr al-Din Baktash al-Fakhiri (d. 1334). The first part begins with the Mamluk conquest of Acre, wrested from the Crusaders in 1291, and ends with the beginning of the third reign of Sultan An-Nasir Muhamad, who returned to Egypt from Al Kark in 1309; the second part picks up at the Sultan's return and describes events up to his death in 1341. The German orientalist Gustav Weil considered the manuscript to be part of a larger series, as there is a reference of a subsequent 8th volume of the chronicle at the end of the codex. - Pink label on the inside of the front wrapper, indicating that the book was presented by the author ("Ueberreicht vom Verfasser"). - Contemporary ownership to front wrapper. Stamp of the Lund Semitiska Seminariet to front pastedown and to verso of title-page; their bookplate overpasted by that of the Lund University Library. Later in the collection of the Swedish numismatist Bengt E. Hovén (his handwritten ownership, dated 23 Sept. 2014), to flyleaf. Extremities very slightly rubbed; interior crisp and clean. Never seen at auction. Weil, Geschichte der Chalifen IV, XIff.
An archive of 807 loose photographs, 541 in colour (including several duplicates, some printed in a different format), including 65 photos depicting falcons (3 duplicates, 36 in colour) and 14 photographs of camels (1 in colour). A large collection of 807 photographs, providing a unique view into the private life of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918-2004), ruler of Abu Dhabi and founding father of the United Arab Emirates. The photographs depict Sheikh Zayed and his family, including Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (b. 1948), relatives and friends partaking in various leisure activities. Also included are some photographs of children, probably including Sheikh Zayed's sons, possibly Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (b. 1961). The pictures date from a significant period in the history of Abu Dhabi, the years leading up to the foundation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, and from the earliest years of the new federation. - A group of pictures is possibly taken in Pakistan, many depicting a large manor where a party arrives by helicopter. Sheikh Zayed enjoyed visiting the country to go horse riding and hunting with his falcons. Many photographs depict casual dinner parties, gatherings, and meetings in the open air. Other photographs show a large party setting off on horseback, falcons, camel races, cars, etc. - Some photos slightly curled along the edges, some slightly discoloured. Overall in very good condition.
Vintage lithographed poster. 1000 x 620 mm. A vividly coloured travel poster with the image of a hookah and a vignette of a Middle Eastern city shown inside the base, designed by Raoul Éric Castel (1915-97). - Right and left edge with minor defects. Affiches Air-France (2006), p. 149.
12mo. XXX, 161, 113 pp. Contemporary half calf with title to giltstamped spine and marbled boards. Endpapers and edges marbled. First edition of "Sind-Bâd" and the first independent printing of any part of the Arabian Nights in Arabic. Although traditionally included in the corpus of the Thousand and One Nights (Alf Layla wa Layla) as told by Scheherazade, it is thought that the series of stories that make up the voyages of Sindbad have older and separate origins, incorporating elements of Homer, Panchatantra, other Persian, Arab and Indian literary material as well as historical material relating to trade and navigation. Set traditionally during the reign of Haroun al-Rashid, Sindbad undertakes seven voyages from Basra, each leading one to the other, encounters fabulous creatures, faces exhaustive ordeals and amasses fabulous wealth. The publisher of the present edition, Louis-Mathieu Langlès (1763-1824), an important figure in the study of Middle-Eastern and Oriental languages and literature, was a correspondent of William Jones in Calcutta, co-founder of the École des Langues Orientales Vivantes in Paris, and the keeper of the Indian manuscript department in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. "Un ouvrage classique, et d'une certaine importance sous le point de vue scientifique, historique ou littéraire" (preface). Chauvin VII, p. 2. Brunet III, 820. OCLC 4433261.
4to. (4), 74 pp. With 28 plates with 55 black-and-white photographic prints, as well as 1 plan of Burchhardt's itinerary on page 9. Original printed wrappers. First edition. Rare travelogue of Yemen, enriched with striking photographs. In Arabic and German parallel text. Prepared by Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Garadi, the secretary, Arabic teacher and companion of the German explorer Hermann Burchardt (1857-1909), the book describes Burchardt's travels in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, where he was ambushed and killed by gunmen in December 1909. Containing "important ethnographical information on crafts and the Jewish population", the account also boasts a wealth of photographs "of great documentary value" (Speake), including city views and landmarks of Sanaa, Taizz, and Mocha, such as tower houses in Sanaa's old town, the Ashrafiya Mosque, the Grand Mosque in Mocha, and the ruined palace of Sultan Hasan, as well as pictures of local children, a group of Jews studying scripture in the synagogue, several men sitting around a water pipe, bedouins, farmers, and workers. The images impressively portray the destitution of the Yemenite population in the early 20th century. - In addition, the work includes annotations to the text of the travelogue, a list of examples of the Sanaa idiom, and an index prepared by the German orientalist Eugen Mittwoch, who also translated the Arabic text. Published as a festschrift for the Vierter Deutscher Orientalistentag in Hamburg. - A few edge flaws to wrappers professionally repaired. Lower right corner of first two leaves chipped, but interior very well preserved in general. Never seen at auction. Speake, Literature of Travel and Exploration III, 1305. OCLC 907363736.
Small 8vo. III, 53 pp., printed on rectos only. With 3 plans of Kuwait in the text and one folding plan of Kuwait and its suburbs. Original printed wrappers. Exceedingly rare yellow pages for Kuwait, compiled for English speakers by the American Women's League in Kuwait, founded in 1963, presumably in its first edition. - Includes references for air conditioning repair, art galleries, car rental and sales, barbers and hairdressers, embassies and consulates, exterminators, oil companies, tennis schools, and "oriental handicrafts". The plans show the commercial center of Kuwait, Fahd Al-Salem Street, and the Salmiyah quarter. The folding plan indicates the location of hospitals, English, American and French schools, Kuwait University, the National Evangelical Church and the Holy Family Cathedral, as well as important hotels and hunting, sporting and sea clubs. - Binding a little brownstained; lower cover showing some waterstaining. A small spot to the folding plan. In all a very well preserved copy of an otherwise unobtainable publication.
8vo. VII, (1), 334 pp., final blank leaf (p. 48 misnumbered "84"). With woodcut illustrations on p. 316 (X6v, showing ostrich and peacock-feather fans). Sumptuous 19th century red grained morocco binding, spine gilt, gilt cover rules and inner dentelle, leading edges gilt. All edges gilt. The unauthorized first edition, first issue (with misnumbered page 48). This original edition, claiming to be translated directly from Arabic, appeared without the name of the author, also omitting from the title the name under which the work would later be known internationally. - Although often classified as an early Gothic novel, "Vathek" is more truly an oriental tale, describing the experience and rewards of succumbing to temptation, and closely reflecting the "foolish, fantastic, egotistical life" of the author who began writing the story in French in January 1782. Despite the fact that Samuel Henley's translation, and the elaborate notes which he provided for the book, were undertaken with his friend Beckford's approval, its publication was contrary to the author's express wishes: Beckford had clearly intended to bring out the French edition first, but his wife had died in Switzerland on 18 May 1786, and though the book was published by Joseph Johnson on 7 June, he was still unaware of its existence by late August. Copies were priced at 4 shillings or 7s. 6d. on large paper, and have the running title of "The History of the Caliph Vathek". Even though Beckford published French editions in Lausanne (December 1786, dated "1787") and Paris (1787), the novel only became well known some thirty years later when Byron declared it to be his Bible. - Provenance: From the library of John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey (1840-1929), at Bignor Park, Sussex (his bookplate to front pastedown and ink ownership to flyleaf). Subsequently in the library of the American publisher and collector A(lfred) Edward Newton (1864-1940), whose collection was auctioned by Parke-Bernet in 1941 (bookplate). Later acquired by the American lawyer and collector Robert S. Pirie (1934-2015), a prominent member of the Grolier Club, whose library was dispersed by Sotheby's in December 2015 (his bookplate to front flyleaf). - With the final blank Y8, which is often absent. Occasional light brownstains, but in all an excellent copy, beautifully bound and with fine provenance. ESTC T62055. Rothschild 352. G. Chapman, Bibliography of William Beckford, pp. 22f, i. Summers 543. Garside/Raven/Schöwerling 1786:15. OCLC 1636740.
Engraved map, hand coloured. 330 x 253 mm. Finely engraved map of Mocha, Yemen, from Jacques Nicolas Bellin's "Le Petit Atlas Maritime Recueil de Cartes et Plans des Quatre Parlies du Monde en Cinq Volumes", first published in Paris in 1764. - Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-72) was among the most important mapmakers of the 18th century. In 1721, at age 18, he was appointed hydrographer (chief cartographer) to the French Navy. In August 1741, he became the first Ingénieur de la Marine of the Depot des cartes et plans de la Marine (the French Hydrographic Office) and was named Official Hydrographer of the French King. - During his term as Official Hydrographer, the Depot was the single most active center for the production of sea charts and maps, including a large folio format sea-chart of France, the Neptune Francois. He also produced a number of sea-atlases of the world, e.g., the Atlas Maritime and the Hydrographie Francaise. These gained fame, distinction, and respect all over Europe and were republished throughout the 18th and even in the succeeding century. - Bellin also came out with smaller format maps such as the 1764 Petit Atlas Maritime, containing 580 finely detailed charts. He also contributed many of the maps for Bellin and contributed a number of maps to the 15-volume Histoire Generale des Voyages of Antoine François Prévost, or simply known l'Abbe Prevost. - Bellin set a very high standard of workmanship and accuracy, thus gaining for France a leading role in European cartography and geography. Many of his maps were copied by other mapmakers of Europe.
Large 8vo and folio (290 x 442 mm). 3 volumes. (4), LV, 406, (2) pp. (4), 355, (1) pp. Vol. 3 (atlas): title-page, index, and 18 double-sided engraved maps (ca. 45 x 31,5 cm neatline). Contemporary half calf with gilt title to spine and giltstamped morocco label to upper cover of the atlas, identifying the volumes as a gift from Bertrand's son. Original wrappers bound within. Marbled endpapers. First and only edition of Napoleon's memoirs of his French campaign in Egypt and Syria as dictated to his general and grand maréchal du palais, Henri-Gatien Bertrand (1773-1844), during his exile in St. Helena (1815-21). Bertrand was the only one of Napoleon's loyal companions in exile to have participated in the Egyptian campaign, which explains his choice of subject. - The two volumes of text present an ample, if subjective account of the famous military campaigns, enriched with transcripts of numerous official documents and letters relating to the events described. The beautiful atlas, engraved by Alexandre Moisy (1763-1827), presents 18 partly hand-coloured maps that are mostly in direct connection with the campaign. Including a general map of the south-eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, a map of the Mediterranean with the movements of the French and British fleets, a map of Egypt, a map of Syria and the Middle East, maps of the invasion of Malta, the Battle of the Nile, the Battle of the Pyramids, the Siege of Acre (with an engraved veduta of the city), the Battle of Mount Tabor, and the Battle of Aboukir. Four maps of parts of Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands represent additional theatres of the War of the Second Coalition in 1799. - Bertrand's "Guerre d'Orient" was published 26 years after Napoleon's death in exile and three years after Bertrand's own passing, on the initiative of his son, general Henri-Alexandre-Arthur Bertrand, who gifted the copy at hand to its first owner, as indicated by the morocco cover label on the atlas. - Lower right corner of the atlas slightly bumped, occasional minor foxing and browning in all volumes. Atlas with several minor tears (not affecting the maps) and occasional marks and scribbles in ink, ballpoint, and crayon.
8vo. (6), X, 166 pp. Contemporary full calf with giltstamped spine and giltstamped spine-label. All edges marbled. Marbled endpapers. First edition. French translation of the "Vasiyetname", the Turkish catechism by the Hanafi Maturidi scholar and moralist Imam Birgivi (1522-73), who lived during the height of the Ottoman Empire. Edited by the French orientalist Garcin de Tassy (1794-1878). Invoking honesty, devotion, unity and fraternity, the "Vasiyetname" was directed at the common people, and was therefore written in Kaba Türkçe, a simpler, vulgar version of Ottoman Turkish used by unskilled workers and farmers. - Apart from the Muslim catechism, the present volume includes a translation of the "Pend-Namèh" by Saadi Shiraazi by the same editor, and a translation of the poem "Al-Burda" by Antoine-Isaac Silvestre de Sacy (1758-1838), as well as two fairy tales from the "Anwari Soheili", the famous collection of folk tales by Bidpai ("The Falconer" and "The Bear and the Gardener"). - Binding somewhat rubbed; lightly bumped at extremities; hinges starting. A few pencil underlinings. Small portion of lower right corner of title-page torn off; tiny marginal tear to p. 33f. Traces of two removed paperclips and some ink dashes to half-title. Decorative contemporary bookplate in Arabic to front pastedown. Shelfmark stamped to half-title. Two red square stamps to title-page, another to first page of the preface and first page of the "Exposition". OCLC 165361693.
Large 8vo. 8 ff. (including original illustrated wrappers; 6 leaves printed on one side only). With 8 hand-coloured woodcut illustrations and a woodcut cover illustration. Sewn with cloth spine. Scarce children's book about the various types of camels, their habits and uses, issued within the series of "Uncle Joseph's Pretty Stories". Includes pictures of a Bedouin camp, a desert caravan, the Holy Camel bearing the Qur'an on the pilgrimage to Mecca, a camel fight, and a two-humped camel exhibited on the streets of London. - Numerous repaired tears, some chipping to wrappers with slight loss to title. Rare; OCLC lists a single holding library (University of Chicago). OCLC 41203190.