[Conquest of Oran].MareMagnum
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4to. 14 pp., final blank leaf. Two printed sheet folded into a pamphlet, unsewn and unbound. Very rare Portuguese account of one of several unsuccessful 18th century attempts by Muslim forces to recapture Oran. Translated by Manuel Pedro Tomás Pinheiro e Aragão (1773-1838), describing the events of May and June 1791. From 1790 to 1792, Muslim forces, led by Mohamed El-Kebir (d. 1796), besieged Oran and Mers el-Kebir, which were in Spanish hands since 1732. Both cities would be returned to the Ottoman Empire after a massively destructive earthquake in 1792. - First page somewhat spotty. Uncut and untrimmed. BGUC Misc. 24, 508. OCLC 56569516.
4to. 8 pp. With woodcut title vignette. Printed sheet folded into a pamphlet, unsewn and unbound. Rare Portuguese account of one of several unsuccessful 18th century attempts by Muslim forces to recapture Oran. This operation took place in March of 1754, more than two decades after the Spanish conquest of the city in 1732. Oran was repeatedly attacked by Algerian and Ottoman forces, but remained under Spanish rule until 1792. - Uncut and untrimmed. BGUC Misc. 24, 459. OCLC 27754498.
4to. 20, (3) pp., final blank page. With a woodcut illustration. - (Bound with) II: The same. Oran conquistado, e defendido, relaçam historica [...] Parte II. Ibid., 1733. 16 pp. Later full vellum. First editions. Both separately published parts of this rare work on the Spanish expedition against Muslim Oran. After a survey of the history and geography of Oran (in modern Algeria), the author describes the preparations for the expedition to recapture the city, enumerates the Spanish leaders, and gives details of the Spanish naval and military attacks on sites in and around Oran in June and July 1732. The captain-general of the expedition was José Carrillo de Albornoz, first Duke of Montemar, who had fought in the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of the Quadruple Alliance; at this time he was viceroy of Sicily. Facing p. 20 is the plan of battle for the Spanish forces. The woodcut on the verso shows the harbour at Oran, the town, and the half-dozen fortresses surrounding it, as well as the position of the Spanish navy during the battle. The final leaf has the key to the map on its recto, with the verso blank. Freire de Monterroyo Mascarenhas explains in the dedication that he compiled this account from many shorter ones, because the public was eager to learn about the reconquest. Oran, which was in Spanish hands since 1509, had been captured by the Turks in 1708, while Spain was preoccupied with the War of the Spanish Succession. Spain then held the city from 1732 until 1792, when it suffered a massively destructive earthquake and King Charles IV handed the city back to the Ottoman Empire. - First part uncut. Second part slightly wormed near the gutter. Occasional light brownstaining. The two parts are very rarely encountered together. Inocêncio IV, 348. Barbosa Machado II, 856. BGUC Misc. 3, 80.
8vo. IX, (5), 333, (1) pp. With 8 plates. Yellow cloth with title information in blue on front cover and spine, with a dust jacket designed by Paul Wenck, map of Ethiopia and Arabia on the endpapers. First edition of Coon's account of his experiences in Ethiopia and Arabia. From 1933 to 1934 Coon travelled through Ethiopia to conduct physical anthropological research, but after conflicts with the authorities he had to escape to Arabia. He states in his foreword that the purpose of the present work is a memoir, since it was not meant to "impress the public with our scientific findings, for, interesting as these results may or may not be, they are reserved for more formal publication", but simply to tell what he and two others did during the expedition. C. S. Coon (1904-81) was an American anthropologist and professor of anthropology at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. He spoke ten languages and made notable contributions to the fields of cultural and physical anthropology and archaeology. He was the author of multiple works, including highly controversial works on race, such as "The Origin of Races" (1962), which were widely disputed during his lifetime and are considered pseudoscientific by modern anthropology. - Dust jacket somewhat damaged, covered with clear protective plastic, edges foxed. Otherwise in very good condition. Macro 747. Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 178. Sotheby's, Burrell sale, lot 889.
4to (172 x 256 mm). 107, (1) pp. Lithographed throughout. Contemporary half calf over blue marbled boards. Only edition of this rare instruction manual designed by the editor to help learners of Arabic overcome what Caussin de Perceval identified as the greatest difficulty in acquiring the language: the obstacle of reading the script. Dumont's workbook provides a total of 25 specimen texts, first in the original handwriting, then in a standardized transcription (such as might be more easily legible to learners familiar with printed Arabic), and finally a French translation. The contents are listed in a separate table at the end: they include examples such as an appointment as manager, various legal documents, literary and narrative pieces, private and business correspondence, and passages from the Qur'an. - Unnumbered pages (1-2) bound last as colophon leaf. A rare Franco-Algerian produced manual in good condition throughout. OCLC 14851800.
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.
Large 8vo. 3 volumes. XVII, (5), 368, (4) pp. XIV, (4), 512, (2) pp. XX, 506, (4) pp. With 2 portraits as frontispieces in vols. 1 and 2. 16 pages with illustrations and 2 maps at the end of vols. 2 and 3. Red cloth with title information in gold on front cover and spine of all 3 vols. All 3 vols. have a dust jacket. Outstanding research on the oral traditions of the Bedouins in central Arabia, divided into 3 volumes containing information on the poetry and narratives of various Bedouin tribes and an analysis and translation of various poems and stories. Kurpershoek has recorded, transcribed and translated all poetry and narratives he discusses in this work. - Since its first publication in 1994-99, this trilogy has been expanded with two additional volumes: vol. 4, published in 2002, deals with Saudi tribal history, while vol. 5 (2005) looks back on almost 20 years of research on and involvement with Arabian oral culture. - The Dutch scholar, author and diplomat P. M. Kurpershoek specialises in Arab studies. Kurpershoek studied Arabic language and culture at the Universities of Leiden and Cairo; since 1974 he has worked for the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs, the UN and NATO. As a professor of languages and cultures of the Islamic Middle East at the University of Leiden, he has performed research on the Bedouins of Saudi Arabia. From 2002 until 2013 he served successively as Dutch ambassador to Pakistan, Turkey, and Poland. Subsequently, from August 2013 until December 2014 he served as envoy to Syria. - Spines of the dust jackets of vols. 1 and 2 are slightly discoloured, otherwise in very good condition.
4to. 47, (3) pp., final blank leaf. With 11 plates with black and white photographic illustrations on recto and verso, as well as 2 plates with 2 mounted colour illustrations on recto. Contemporary green half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped title to spine. Original printed wrappers bound within. The first art-historical examination ever published of the 17th century oriental (Turkish, Persian and Crimean Tatar) cloth envelopes kept at the Swedish Reichsarchiv. This work discusses the use of the textile envelopes as well as their production, fashioning, material and patterns. The personal copy of Carl Johan Lamm with pencil inscription to pastedown: "From the library of C. J. Lamm". - Carl Johan Lamm studied archaeology at the University of Stockholm. He wrote about the glass excavated at Samarra in 1928 and became a leading scholar on Islamic arts and crafts, notably in glass and carpets. He was on the staff of the Stockholm Museum and taught at Uppsala University. - Agnes Geijer was a Swedish textile historian and archaeologist. She received a doctoral degree from Uppsala University in 1938 and started working at the Swedish History Museum in 1941, where she was active from 1947 as a textile conservator. - Unobtrusive scratch to lower board, otherwise in excellent condition. Yuan 2172. OCLC 871325817.
8vo. (8), 248 pp. With engr. frontispiece and 12 full-page engravings by G. M. Cantarelli. Contemp. blue wrappers. Third edition (probably printed in Bologna) of Lotto Lotti's (1667-1714) poem celebrating the liberation of Vienna from the 1683 Turkish siege, written in the Bologna dialect and first published in Parma in 1685. "Divided in 5 cantos of 30 to 40 eight-line verses each" (Kábdebo). Pretty engravings; the one facing the first canto (a besieging army aiming their cannons) shows contemporary touches of blue colour in places. Includes Lotti's collection of dialogues, "La Banzuola" (likewise illustrated throughout). - Date taken from the engraving on fol. O5v. Untrimmed copy. Sturminger 1973. NUC (pre-1956) vol. 342, p. 194. ICCU UBOE\075844, VEAE\001888. Graesse IV, 264. Cf. Kábdebo II, 290.
Small 8vo. (4), VII, (1), 138, (2) pp. Modern half calf with giltstamped red spine label, light cloth covers. All edges red. Rare first edition of one of the earliest treatises devoted exclusively to cannabis, extolling its virtues as a medicine, industrial fibre, seed oil, soap, animal feed, and so on. Marcandier in particular recommends the cultivation of the plant in the "Nord d'Amerique" (p. 46), and indeed the Traité du Chanvre was read by perhaps that region's most famous hemp enthusiast, George Washington - whose library contained a copy of the English translation printed in 1764, cataloged as Wa/549. - Marcandier begins with a scholarly account of the herb as it was known to the Romans (quoting Dioscorides, Pliny, and Herodotus), presenting intriguing theories of the etymology of the term cannabis: from the Celtic canab; the Greek kanna; the Hebrew kanneh; the Latin canna; etc. Although he is most concerned with its cultivation and medical applications, in his surveys of cannabis in non-European cultures we find descriptions of what can be termed 'recreational use': for example, "the Hottentots use a plant, named Dakha, instead of tobacco, or at least mix them together, when their provision of the latter is almost exhausted. They say that it is a kind of wild hemp" (pp. 19f.), while the 'flour' (farine) of the plant mixed into a drink "renders those who use it drunk, stupid, dazed; they say that the Arabs make of it a type of wine, which intoxicates" (p. 37). - Evidently drawing on personal experience, Marcandier describes the female flower as a "tender, sweet, and oily, white kernel, of a strong smell, that intoxicates when it is fresh" (p. 28) and even gives lengthy advice on how to inspect and purchase good-quality hemp (p. 76) and how to dry the plant properly, to avoid 'black spots' i.e. mold from forming (p. 54). - Cannabis is also recommended for myriad medicinal uses: "The grain and the leaves being squeezed, while they are green, and applied, by way of cataplasm, to painful tumors, are reckoned to have a great power of relaxing and stupefying ... The root of it boiled in water, and applied in the form of a cataplasm, softens and restores the joints of fingers or toes that are dried and shrunk. It is very good against the gout, and other humours that fall upon the nervous, muscular, and tendinous parts. It abates inflammations, dissolves tumours, and hard swellings upon the joints. Beat and pounded in a mortar, with butter, when it is still fresh, it is applied to burns, which it relieves greatly when it is often renewed" (pp. 38, 40f.). Marcandier also finds it useful as a spermicide (p. 35) and against gonorrhea, jaundice, smallpox, and 'vermin of the ear'. - A few contemporary ink annotations throughout. Provenance: from the library of the noted French botanist Philippe de Vilmorin (1872-1917) with his bookplate and separate shelfmark label ("a progenie in progenies") to pastedown. An excellent copy. Very rare: OCLC records 8 copies in US institutions (Chicago, Princeton, Lloyd Museum (OH), American Philosophical Society, Carnegie Mellon (Hunt Institute), Harvard, Minnesota, and the JCB). Not in Kress. Cf. Clarke & Merlin, Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany (University of California Press, 2013), p. 202; and Gibson, "Bibliotheca Cannabinacea", in: Journal of Industrial Hemp 13 (2008), pp. 176-188.
4to. (11) pp., final blank page. Sewn. Scarce Portuguese account of the Third Battle of the Dardanelles in the Sixth Ottoman-Venetian War, the heaviest defeat the Ottomans had suffered since the Battle of Lepanto. Since 1645, Venice and the Ottoman Empire had been at war over the possession of the island of Crete. Ottoman forces had captured most of the island in the early years of the war, but were unable to seize its capital, the heavily fortified city of Candia (modern Iraklio). The Venetians had endeavoured to cut off the Ottoman army's supplies and reinforcements, and attempted several times to blockade the Straits of the Dardanelles, through which the Ottoman fleet had to sail to reach the Aegean from its base around Constantinople. In the morning of 26 June 1656 the wind was from the north, and the Ottomans made good progress, the Venetian galleys being unable to assist their sailing ships. Then the wind backed, trapping the Ottomans against the Asian side of the strait just below the Narrows, and a mêlée ensued. Kenan Pasha got back past the Narrows with 14 galleys but the rest were either captured, sunk or burned. - Numbered "17" in ink on first page. Small rust spot on first page, otherwise very well preserved. BGUC Misc. 3, 58. OCLC 1045393175.
8vo. XVI, 336 pp. With a portrait of the author as a frontispiece and 24 double-sided plates. Blue cloth. First edition, second impression. The autobiography of the noted British Arabist, explorer, writer, officer and adviser to Ibn Saud, Harry St John Bridger Philby (1885-1960). In the preface Philby states that he mainly describes the essential and most notable features and events of his public life. He began writing this work in 1934, but the next decade was filled with activity and adventure, both in Britain and abroad, which kept him from writing and publishing the work until after the Second World War. During this time, he was asked by King Ibn Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia to map the border between his newly formed kingdom and the Yemen. This gave Philby the opportunity to explore Southern Arabia, where he also made archaeological discoveries. - Philby undertook his first journey to Arabia in 1917 in order to complete a mission to Ibn Sa'ud; once there he formed a lifelong acquaintanceship with the future king of Saudi Arabia. In 1930 Philby officially converted to Islam. - The present copy is the second impression of the first edition which were published mere months apart in the same year. Philby's descriptions of his many experiences in Britain, India and the Middle East are accompanied by numerous images of him, his family, King Ibn Sa'ud, government officials, and buildings and landscapes he encountered. - Binding shows very slight signs of wear, small inscription in blue ink to the verso of the first flyleaf, very slight browning throughout. Howgego IV, P 31. Macro 1776. Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 394. Sotheby's, Burrell sale, lot 623.
8vo. XIV, 280 pp. With a portrait of King 'Abdul-'Aziz Ibn Sa'ud as the frontispiece, 1 map of Arabia in 1950, and 16 double-sided plates. Black cloth. First edition of this biography of Saudi Arabian King HRH Abdul-Aziz bin Abdul Rahman al Sa'ud by his adviser Harry St John Bridger Philby. Ibn Sa'ud was the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, when after a conquest spanning 30 years he united most of the Arabian Peninsula under his rule. He reigned from 1932 until his death in 1953, but had previously (since 1902) ruled parts of what was to become Saudi Arabia as Emir, Sultan, King of Nejd, and King of Hejaz. The present work is not a complete and final biography: at the time of writing and publication the king was still alive, and Philby states in the preface that "it is rather a pageant of his [Ibn Sa'ud's] achievement, set forth in a series of tableaux illustrating characteristic phases of his career". The descriptions of these phases contain not only information relating to the king, but also inform the reader about the country as a whole and are enlivened by accounts and other small details of court life and Islamic customs, including a pilgrimage to Mecca. The work is illustrated with numerous images of the king and his family, and important landmarks in Saudi Arabia. - Binding shows slight signs of wear, spine is slightly discoloured, slight foxing to edges, very slight browning throughout, several newspaper clippings in a small paper pocket on the lower pastedown. Overall in good condition. Howgego IV, P 31. Cf. (other ed.) Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 395; Sotheby's, Burrell sale, lot 623.
8vo. 115-124 pp. Contemporary blue cloth with giltstamped title to upper cover: "Philby - Yaman". First edition. A brief investigation of Joseph Halévy's journey through the Jawf region of Yemen, comparing the account given by Hayyim Habshush, recently published, with Halévy's own. - St John Philby (1885-1960), also known by his Arabian name "Sheikh Abdullah", was an Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence officer. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he studied oriental languages and was a friend and classmate of Jawaharlal Nehru, later prime Minister of India. Philby settled in Jeddah and became famous as an international writer and explorer. He personally mapped on camelback what is now the Saudi-Yemeni border on the Rub' al Khali; in 1932, while searching for the lost city of Ubar, he was the first Westerner to visit and describe the Wabar craters. At this time, Philby also became Ibn Saud's chief adviser in dealing with the British Empire and Western powers. He converted to Islam in 1930. The personal contacts between the United States and Saudi Arabia were largely channeled through the person of Philby. - Very slight browning, a few minor stains to the first page. Macro 1782. Smith, The Yemens, 84.
4to. XIX pp., one blank page, 485, (1) pp. With photographic frontispiece, 46 photographic plates (1 of which double-page), 1 folding map of southern Arabia, and several photographic illustrations in the text. Publisher's full cloth with giltstamped title and ornament to spine. First edition. Travel account by the first European to cross the Rub' al-Khali (Empty Quarter) of Arabia from east to west, the Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence officer St. John Philby (1885-1960), also known by his Arabian name "Sheikh Abdullah". Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he studied oriental languages and was a friend and classmate of Jawaharlal Nehru, later prime Minister of India. Philby settled in Jeddah and became famous as an international writer and explorer. He personally mapped on camelback what is now the Saudi-Yemeni border on the Rub' al Khali; in 1932, while searching for the lost city of Ubar, he was the first Westerner to visit and describe the Wabar craters. At this time, Philby also became Ibn Saud's chief adviser in dealing with the British Empire and Western powers. He converted to Islam in 1930. The personal contacts between the United States and Saudi Arabia were largely channeled through the person of Philby. - From the collection of the Dutch traveller and collector Ruud Verkerk. With 2 inserted colour photographs mounted on the plates facing p. 314 and 318, showing Verkerk standing beside rock inscriptions on the old fort at 'Uqla - south face, as well as standing before the Rock fort of 'Uqla, both dated in pencil 18 December 1997. Light damage to head of spine. Paper occasionally foxed and a slightly creased. Overall a good copy. Macro 1801. OCLC 4836861.
8vo. 21, (1), 107-132 pp. With 1 large folding, coloured map, 1 smaller, uncoloured folding map, and numerous photographs on 7 plates. Later half cloth over marbled paper boards with giltstamped title to spine. First edition. Important account of travels in southern Arabia performed in 1936, particularly in the Hadhramaut, by the Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence officer St. John Philby (1885-1960), also known by his Arabian name "Sheikh Abdullah". It describes the longest of Philby's journeys, ostensibly to map the new frontier with Yemen, containing excellent photographs taken for the first time in that area by a European. Until the 1930s the highlands of the south-western corner of Arabia were among the world's few remaining lands not fully explored or charted. - Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, Philby studied oriental languages and was a friend and classmate of Jawaharlal Nehru, later prime Minister of India. Philby settled in Jeddah and became famous as an international writer and explorer. He personally mapped on camelback what is now the Saudi-Yemeni border on the Rub' al Khali; in 1932, while searching for the lost city of Ubar, he was the first Westerner to visit and describe the Wabar craters. At this time, Philby also became Ibn Saud's chief adviser in dealing with the British Empire and Western powers. He converted to Islam in 1930. The personal contacts between the United States and Saudi Arabia were largely channeled through the person of Philby. - Clear tape on the first page, covering part of the title of the journal without affecting the page or legibility of the text; very slight foxing on the large coloured map (mainly on the back). In very good condition. Macro 1788.
4to. 141 pp., final blank page. With 8 coloured plates and numerous photographs (some in colour) in the text. Contemporary full cloth with giltstamped spine-title and illustrated dust jacket. First edition. Lavishly illustrated posthumous edition of an unpublished manuscript "by the great Arabian traveller, scholar and writer, H. St John Philby [...] charting his explorations into the bewildering thickets of the story [of the Queen of Sheba]" (publisher's blurb). With an introduction by the British military officer, Arabist, explorer, historian and diplomat Gerald de Gaury (1897-1984). - Dutch newspaper clipping about the analysis of an Ethiopian DNA sample supposedly going back to the legendary Queen of Sheba is loosely inserted. - In mint condition. OCLC 640352386.
Large folding heliozincographed colour map, 2 (of 4) sheets, each measuring 940 x 700 mm (lacking the eastern sections). Both sections with original printed covers. Two sections of Hunter's large and extremely detailed map of the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf, showing the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia with the 'Asir, Hejaz and Nejd regions, as well as most of Yemen, with Kuwait and Southern Iraq. The two eastern sections, which covered Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and part of eastern Saudi Arabia, are not present. - The Canadian-born Hunter later became a major figure in British India's Intelligence Service. He initially compiled the map between 1905 and 1908, to accompany J. G. Lorimer's "Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf". As the author recalls in his 1919 "Reminiscences", "a great deal of the information on the map was from sources considered secret at the time" (p. 357). Special surveys of the country's interior areas were carried out to achieve a hitherto unprecedented degree of accuracy: "The map was a distinct advance on anything which existed, as in 1908 no general map of Arabia on such a large scale existed" (p. 360). The "Hunter" map was used (and praised) by St John Philby during his journey across Arabia. - Such was the detail of Hunter's map that the Survey of India reissued it, with corrections, several times during the First World War and interwar period. As the maps were issued in parts and used on active service it is not unusual for sections to be missing. Many of the surviving copies show signs of official use; this issue bears a flight route, sketched out in red ink, along the southern Gulf coast to Baghdad. - Some light browning, several small tears to folds, otherwise very good. - Scarce. OCLC locates complete copies at the Library of Congress, University of Wisconsin, National Library of Israel and the BNF. Cf. Macro 1228.
Folio (ca. 305 x 393 mm). 1 page. Share certificate for a bearer stock security of 500 francs with 24 coupons, signed by two administrators of the "Société des factoreries francaises du Golfe Persique". The company operated from the small port town of Obock, on the Gulf of Tadjoura opposite Aden. It was the site of the first French colony in the region, which was established in 1862, initiating the colonisation of Djibouti. The French were especially interested in having a coaling station for steamships, which proved valuable upon the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
8vo. XIII, (3), 341, (1 blank) pp. With a double-page map on green paper, 40 double-sided plates, a green ornament on the title-page and some decorations in the text. Green cloth with gold lettering on front cover and spine. With dust jacket designed by F. Quilter. First edition of the second part of Freya Stark's autobiography, detailing her first extensive travels through the Middle East. Stark (1893-1993) was one of the first European travellers in certain parts of the Middle East, for example Southern Arabia. Apart from a four-volume autobiography, she has 21 other works to her name. Her autobiography and other works are illustrated with images of her own photographs she took of family and of the landscape and peoples during her travels. Her writing style was unusual for her time, since she wrote multifaceted works in a highly personal style, not only about her own life and travels but also about the geography, history, politics, and anthropology of the places she visited. In the present work Stark describes her experiences during the years 1928-1933. - Dust jacket is very slightly damaged with a small tear at the foot of the spine, restored with tape, edges are untrimmed, very slight browning throughout. Overall in very good condition. Bergé, Vente Collection Lazard L'Orient et la Terre Sainte (2008), 404. Blackmer 1470. Howgego IV, S 61. Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 457. Cf. Canton, From Cairo to Baghdad British travellers in Arabia, pp. 118-121; cf. article "Freya Stark" in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
8vo. XII, 296, [2] pp. With a map of the Middle East, titled "Dust in the Lion's Paw" on p. 6, 8 double-sided plates, and an illustration of a lion (in red) on the title-page. Green cloth with gold lettering on front cover and spine. With dust jacket, designed by Frank Quilter, and protected by a clear plastic jacket. First edition of Freya Stark's (1893-1993) fourth and final volume of autobiography, detailing her work, travels and life during the years 1939-1946. During the Second World War she travelled through the Middle East in the service of the British Ministry of Information, spreading propaganda for the Allied cause. According to the short blurb on the inside of the dustjacket, "Freya Stark's new book is an autobiography with a theme - the art of Persuasion ...". She strictly promoted connections between the Allies and the peoples and governments of the Middle East, expressly speaking out against the Germans and also against Zionism. In Egypt she founded the "Brotherhood of Freedom", which she used to further her fight for freedom and secular democracy. - Untrimmed. With an ownership inscription on front pastedown in blue ink: "Marjorie Wood. December 1961". Overall in very good condition. Blackmer 1470. Howgego IV, S 61. Shapero, The Islamic World (2004), 459 (first ed. misdated "1962"). Cf. article "Freya Stark" in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
8vo. XXII, 218 pp. Red and black title-page with a small illustration of two people. With a frontispiece, a map of the Middle East on green paper, titled: "East is West by Freya Stark", and 32 double-sided plates. Blue/green cloth. With dust jacket. First edition, detailing the author's experiences in the Middle East during the Second World War. Stark (1893-1993) spent the duration of WWII travelling from Egypt to Iraq and from Syria to Southern Arabia. She had offered her services to the British Ministry of Information and was sent to the Middle East to persuade government officials, among others, to join, or keep on supporting, the Allied cause. - The book was written "with the freedom of the independent and adventurous traveller but also with the authority of an official of the Diplomatic Corps" (dust jacket blurb). Stark's writings are accompanied by many images of her own photographs, taken during her travels, showing the landscapes and peoples she encountered. - Dust jacket slightly soiled, binding shows some minor signs of wear, slight browning throughout. Overall in good condition. Howgego IV, S 61. Macro 2111. Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 460. Smith, The Yemens, 95. Cf. article "Freya Stark" in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
4to. XXIII, (1 blank), 199, (1 blank) pp. With the title-page in red and black, 1 map of the Hadhramaut titled: "Seen in the Hadhramaut", and 50 double sided plates. The plates are included in the pagination. Blue cloth with black lettering on front cover and spine. With dust jacket. First edition. A perspective on the Hadhramaut region in Southern Arabia and its people through the eyes and camera lens of traveller, writer, and photographer Freya Stark (1893-1993). Of Italian and British descent, Stark was born in Paris and grew up in several places throughout Europe. Her present account tells the story of Southern Arabia in 130 photographs with corresponding descriptions. - Dust jacket is slightly soiled and very slightly damaged (mostly around head and foot of spine), binding and edges with some slight discoloration and foxing, endleaves partially browned. Blackmer 1470. Howgego IV, S 61. Smith, The Yemens, 98. Sotheby's, Burrell sale, lot 889. Cf. article "Freya Stark" in Encyclopaedia Britannica; Macro 2118 (1939 ed.); Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 468.
8vo. XIII, (3), 286, (2) pp. With 1 map of the Hadhramaut printed on green paper, 20 double-sided plates, 3 illustrations in the text on pp. 76, 77 and 85, a few small tail pieces throughout, and a green ornament on the title-page. Green cloth with gold lettering on spine. Third part of Freya Stark's (1893-1993) autobiography, in which she describes her life and especially the travels she undertook between 1933 and 1939. During this time, her first four works were published, starting with "The Valley of the Assassins" in 1934. The present account focuses mostly on Stark's travels in South Arabia and is illustrated with images of photographs she took herself. It is a very personal account of her life and travel experiences, alongside significant historical, political, geographical and anthropological information about the places she visited. This writing style was quite unique and unusual for her time, but since she was one of the first European travellers in parts of Southern Arabia, "unique and unusual" were, in a positive way, accurate descriptors. - Edge at the head of the book is green and the edge at the foot is untrimmed. Small marking in blue ink on p. 79, lacking dust jacket, otherwise in very good condition. Blackmer 1470. Howgego IV, S 61. Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 458. Cf. article "Freya Stark" in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
8vo. XII, (2), 346 pp. With a double-page map on blue/green paper, 22 double-sided plates, a green ornament on the title-page, a small woodcut of Asolo on p. 336, and some small decorations in the text. Green cloth with gold lettering on front cover and spine. With a dust jacket designed by F. Quilter. First part of Freya Stark's autobiography, spanning the years until her early thirties (1893-1927), immediately before embarking on her travels. The author was one of the first non-Arabs to journey through the southern Arabian Desert, in the 1930s. - The present copy is a reprint of the first edition; it was published in 1951, merely months after its first appearance in September 1950. Even though Stark's uniquely personal writing style was considered unusual at the time, her books proved very popular. Stark was of Italian and British descent; she was born in Paris and grew up in several places throughout Europe. - Freya Stark's autobiography includes three additional works: Beyond Euphrates (1951), The Coast of incense (1953), and Dust in the Lion's Paw (1961). - Dust jacket is somewhat damaged and partially repaired with tape, edges are untrimmed, small repair to the inner front hinge with tape. Overall in very good condition. Howgego IV, S 61. Cf. article "Freya Stark" in Encyclopaedia Britannica. Shapero, The Islamic World (2003), 470 (other ed.).