[Ahmet Ibn Sirin].MareMagnum
4 355 résultats
8vo. (8), 312, (8) pp. With woodcut device to title page. Contemporary limp vellum. Extremely rare French edition of the "Kitab al-Jawami", an Arabic work on the interpretation of dreams by an "Achmet, son of Seirim" - almost certainly identical with the 8th century Muslim mystic Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Sirin. The work survived in a Greek translation ("Biblion oneirokritikon") prepared in the 12th century. This is the French translation of Leunclavius's Latin edition, published by Wechel at Frankfurt in 1577: Leunclavius had erroneously attributed the work to "Apomazar" (Albumasar, i.e. Ga`far Abu Ma`sar al-Balhi), which mistake he later acknowledged, though it is repeated by the present edition. "The author Ahmed served as interpreter of dreams to Caliph Al-Mamun around 820 [...] The mediaeval conflation of medicine with astrology originated with the Arabs. Through the Salernitanian school, which had many Arabic works translated, the notion reached Europe in the 11th century, where it remained predominant as late as the 17th and 18th century [...] In 1577 J. Loewenklau published a Latin translation of the Oneirokritiká of Ahmed, whom he calls Apomasar" (cf. Schöll). - Some waterstains and edge flaws, especially to the first and last leaves. 17th c. handwritten ownership of the Discalced Carmelites of Bordeaux on title page; a few old annotations in ink. Several small defects to the vellum binding have been repaired. While the 1577 Latin edition (which Caillet calls "rarissime") has been auctioned three times since 1959, no copy of the present French edition is known in auction records internationally. Caillet I, 153 (note). Graesse, Bibl. mag. et pneum. 97 ("1580" in error). OCLC 1218171. Not in Adams or BM-STC French. Cf. GAL I, 66. Schöll, Geschichte der griechischen Literatur III, 487.
8vo. 11 pp. Original wrapperless covers. Agreement between the UK and the Government of the United Arab Emirates regarding the operation of airlines between the two countries. Such an agreement had become necessary following the Emirates' independence in 1971, when the British-Trucial Sheikhdoms treaty expired.
4to (180 x 236 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished oriental paper. 546 ff. (foliated in a somewhat later hand), 23 lines per extensum, written in black naskh, with chapter headings and emphases in red. Contemporary blindstamped full calf, restored and spine rebacked. Rare, complete late 16th century Arabic manuscript of the "Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta'wil" ("The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation"), better known as "Tafsir al-Baydawi". One of the most popular classical Sunni Qur'anic interpretational works (tafsir), it was composed by the 13th-century Muslim scholar al-Baydawi (d. 1319?), who flourished in Persia. The "Tafsir al-Baydawi" is considered to contain the most concise analysis of the Qur'anic use of Arabic grammar and style to date and was hailed early on by Muslims as the foremost demonstration of the Qur'an's essential and structural inimitability ("i'jaz ma'nawi wa-lughawi") in Sunni literature. Due to its fame and influence, the work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and significant, and many commentaries have been written on Baydawi's work. According to the contemporary Islamic scholar Gibril Fouad Haddad, the work "became and remained for seven centuries the most studied of all tafsirs" and it is to be regarded as "the most important commentary on the Qur'an in the history of Islam". - Paper rather browned; some waterstaining to margins of the first 70-odd leaves and occasionally beyond. The first 130 pages are closely annotated in the margins by a near-contemporary owner with several additional annotated sheets (some folding) pasted in. Old waqf stamps to recto of first leaf. Restored binding uses original cover material, showing traces of worming. Removed from the Kutub Khana-i-Sultani (Sultani Library), one of the libraries the Nawabs of Bahawalpur, established in 1926 at Dera Nawab Sahib in south Punjab. GAL I, 417.
Folio (210 x 290 mm). 2 volumes bound in one. Arabic manuscript on polished oriental paper. 166 ff; 273 ff. (foliated in a later hand), 40 lines, per extensum. Black ink with red emphases. Contemporary blindstamped full calf, restored and spine rebacked. Fiqh commentary on the famous and much-glossed Hanafi manual "Mukhtasar al-Qudurii" (known among Hanafi scholars simply as "al-Kitab") of Abu al-Husayn Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Quduri al-Baghdadi (362-428 H). The author of this commentary, Abu Bakr bin Ali bin Muhammad al-Haddad al-Zubaidi al-Yamani (d. 800 H / 1397 CE), was a Hanafi jurist and exegete. He hailed from the people of Abadieh, from the villages (Wadi Zabid) in Tihama, historically in Yemen but today mostly in Saudi Arabia. - The first volume, copied in 1046 H (1636 CE), has an ownership inscription of Abdullah bin Hassan Al-Afif Al-Kazaruni, a Hanafi jurist from Mecca, dated 1063 H (1653 CE). The second volume has an inscription stating this was commissioned by him in 1071 H (1661 CE). - Handwritten table of contents on the preserved original flyleaves. Some light browning and brownstaining throughout; a few repairs; old waqf stamps and inscription to first page of both parts; marginal annotations throughout. The restored binding uses the prettily stamped original cover material. Removed from the Kutub Khana-i-Sultani (Sultani Library), one of the libraries the Nawabs of Bahawalpur, established in 1926 at Dera Nawab Sahib in south Punjab. GAL I, 175; II, 189; II S, 250.
4to. (32), "171" (recte: 471), (1) pp. With printer's woodcut device to title page, two initials and 19 woodcut diagrams in the text. Slightly later vellum. First edition of this important commentary on al-Qabisi's most influential work, "al-Madkhal" (the text of which is included in the Latin translation of Joannes Hispalensis prepared in 1144): an introductory exposition of some of the fundamental principles of genethlialogy, the astrological science of casting nativities, or divination as to the destinies of newborns. The author, known as "Alchabitius" in the Latin tradition, flourished in Aleppo, Syria, in the middle of the 10th century. "Although al-Qabisi's education was primarily in geometry and astronomy, his principal surviving treatise, 'Al-madkhal ila sina'at ahkam al-nujum' ('Introduction into the Art of Astrology') in five sections [...], is on astrology. The book, as the title indicates, is an introductory exposition of some of the fundamental principles of genethlialogy; its present usefulness lies primarily in its quotations from the Sassanian Andarzghar literature and from al-Kindi, the Indians, Ptolemy, Dorotheus of Sidon, Masha'allah, Hermes Trismegistus, and Valens. Although completely lacking in originality, it was highly valued as a textbook" (DSB). "Together with the writings of Abu Ma'shar and Sacrobosco's 'Sphaera mundi', 'al-Madkhal' became Europe's authoritative introduction to astrology between the 13th and the 16th century [...] In 1560 the commentary of Naibod (also known as Nabod or Naiboda) appeared in Cologne. This professor of mathematics had previously published the first book of Euclid's 'Elementa' and his own treatise on arithmetics. For his commentary he relies mainly on Ptolemy, Bonatti and Regiomontanus. Its wide circulation bears evidence to the vivid interest which al-Qabisi's astrology engendered as late as the early 17th century A.D." (cf. Arnzen, p. 96 & 106f.). Naibod (1523-93) taught at the universities of Cologne and Erfurt, adhering to the Ptolemaic principles. His commentary on al-Qabisi was banned by the Catholic church. Naibod is said to have discovered a new method to prognosticate a man's fate, but was unable to avert his own murder in spite of his having presaged it (cf. Jöcher III, 806). - Slightly browned but a good copy. Provenance: 1) Contemporary handwritten ownership "Joannis Roberti Aurelii" on the title page, probably by Jean Robert of Orléans who in 1557 published "Sententiarum juris libri quatuor". 2) Later in the famous collection of the Polish theologian Józef Andrzej Zaluski (1702-74), with his stamp on the title page. With his brother, Zaluski founded the Bibliotheca Zalusciana, the first Polish public library, dispersed in 1795. 3) The book was subsequently acquired by the Warsaw industrialist Jan Henryk Geysmer (1780-1835) (his stamp on the foot of the title). 4) Bookplate of the composer Robert Curt von Gorrissen (1887-1978) on front pastedown. VD 16, N 14. Adams N 3. BM-STC German 642 Houzeau/Lancaster 4882. Zinner 2239. Thorndike VI, 119f. BNHCat N 2. Grassi p. 483. Dewhirst I.1, 781. Hamel II, 187f. Cantamessa 5437. DSB XI, 226. R. Arnzen, "Vergessene Pflichtlektüre: Al-Qabisis astrologische Lehrschrift im europäischen Mittelalter", in: Zft. für Geschichte der arab.-islam. Wiss. 13 (2000), pp. 93-128, at p. 112 no. 6. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from The Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe (Qatar 2009), nos. 9f.
4to. 64 ff. With several diagrams and woodcut initials in the text and the printer's full-page woodcut device on the final page, printed in red and black. Modern limp vellum with ties. "Early edition of Alchabitius' 'Introduction to the Mystery of Judgments from the Stars', with the 'modern' version by Antonius de Fantis. Sessa issued the same work at the same time, but Liechtenstein's edition is superior and especially esteemed for the fine woodcut in black and red (printer's mark) at the end" (Weil). Translated by Joannes Hispalensis (in 1144), with the commentary of Joannes de Saxonia. "Although al-Qabisi's education was primarily in geometry and astronomy, his principal surviving treatise, 'Al-madkhal ila sina'at ahkam al-nujum' ('Introduction into the Art of Astrology') in five sections [...], is on astrology. The book, as the title indicates, is an introductory exposition of some of the fundamental principles of genethlialogy; its present usefulness lies primarily in its quotations from the Sassanian Andarzghar literature and from al-Kindi, the Indians, Ptolemy, Dorotheus of Sidon, Masha'allah, Hermes Trismegistus, and Valens. Although completely lacking in originality, it was highly valued as a textbook [... The] Latin version was commented on by Joannes de Saxonia at Paris in 1331" (DSB). - Title slightly smudged; occasional light waterstaining. From the library of Curt Wallin with his armorial bookplate on the pastedown. Rare; a single copy in auction records since 1975. Edit 16, CNCE 834. Adams A 24. BM-STC 1. BM I, 307. IA 102.864. Essling 301. Sander 223. Houzeau/Lancaster I, 3848. DSB XI, 226. Weil, Cat. VI, 29. OCLC 46413115. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from The Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe (Qatar 2009), nos. 9f.
8vo. LXXII, 452 pp. Near-contemporary half cloth with giltstamped red spine label. Edges sprinkled in red and blue. First edition. - A rare and scholarly investigation of the Arabic origins of star names, incorporating the first edition (with a German translation) of the relevant part of the famous "Aja'ib al-makhluqat" by the astronomer Zakariya al-Qazwini (1203-83), which contains a description of the 48 constellations of Ptolemy and is hailed by Brockelmann as "the most valuable cosmography in Islamic culture" (GAL). Taking Qazwini's text as his guideline, the Prussian astronomer Ideler (1766-1846) provides a detailed commentary elucidating the respective Greek, Latin, oriental, and modern names of the stars. The final chapter is an essay on the Arabic nomenclature of celestial bodies, tracing the names' origins to the ancient nomadic Arabs (Bedu). Although Ideler was not an orientalist and claimed merely a scholarly working knowledge of Arabic, he had the advice of Oluf Gerhard Tychsen and Georg Beigel. The resulting text edition, translation and critical study were highly praised by Fück, who called the annotations "excellent". - Some browning throughout as common; professional repairs to spine. Old stamp and shelfmark of the Boston Arts Academy Library to title; handwritten ownership "J. Johnson / Jan.y 1930" to pastedown. Schnurrer p. 466f., no. 404. Fück 160 ("1810" in error). Kayser III, 248. OCLC 11828254. Cf. GAL S I, 882.
8vo. (48), 662, (2) pp. With woodcut printer's device on title-page, repeated on verso of final leaf. 18th century half calf with marbled boards and title giltstamped to spine. First Latin edition of this collection, published in Greek by Stephanus in Paris the previous year (itself a translation from Syriac): the twelve books on medicine by Alexander of Tralles, the first parasitologist in medical history (and the younger brother of Anthemius, architect of the Hagia Sophia), issued with al-Razi's classic treatise on smallpox and measles ("Kitab fi al-Jadari wa al-Hasaba"), also known as "Peri loimikes" or "De pestilentia": the first book ever published on smallpox. Indeed, al-Razi was the first physician in the history of medicine to differentiate between smallpox and measles, and consider them as two different diseases. The influence of his diagnostic concepts on Muslim medicine was very clear, especially on Ibn Sina. This work gained great popularity in Europe and was also translated into French, English and German; Brockelmann states it saw some 40 Latin editions between 1498 and 1866. - Al-Razi (also known as Rhazes; 850-923 or 932) is considered the greatest mediaeval physician next to Avicenna; he also conducted alchemical experiments. According to his biographer al-Gildaki, he was blinded for refusing to share his secrets of chemistry. - Binding lightly rubbed. Light brownstaining throughout, with a waterstain to the upper edge. A misprint has been overpasted with replacement text on pp. 40f. ("imo interdum mors talium potionem comitatur"). Rare; only two copies in auction records internationally since 1950. VD 16, A 1786. Muller III, 448, 7. Ritter 36. BM-STC German 20. Wellcome I, 209. Durling 148. GAL S I, 419, no. 3. Cf. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from the Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe, No. 44 (Venice 1555 ed.). Not in Adams.
4to (178 x 240 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. (136) pp. Calligraphic text with cursive writing in red ink, black and gold in a frame of double red rules, 15-23 lines, frontispiece on double page, 4 banners. Contemporary blindstamped red morocco binding with fore-edge flap. Arabic manuscript on the virtue of prayer upon the Prophet Muhammad. The very neat cursive calligraphy is finely executed in three inks: black, red and gold (the latter having taken on an olive green hue). The manuscript begins with the last three suras of the Qur'an, followed by the Asma ul-Husna, an introduction, and a prayer. A superb frontispiece on a double page (pp. 5-6) is executed in black ink on a red background within polychrome frames. The one on the right-hand side, decorated with five outward-facing arches in the margins, gives the names of Allah, of the Prophet, and of his four caliphs; the panel on the left indicates the name of the manuscript and its author, "Abi Abdallah Hashim ibn Abdulaziz al-Mohammadi al-Shafei". The titles of each of the six chapters are written in red ink or gold, followed by the "Bismillah" in larger calligraphy. The first colophon, at the end of the first chapter, is calligraphed in red ink in a banner; the other three colophons, arranged within triangular tiers, announce the end of each chapter and repeat the name of the author. The text ends with the "Qasida" to the glory of the Prophet. The analysis of the document and the use of the term "Shafei" suggest that its author was an imam trained in the Shafiist school of jurisprudence, one of four schools (madhhab) of jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, based on the teaching of Imam Al-Shafi'i (767-820) and his followers. This "madhhab" is widespread in Yemen and around the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia), as well as in Kurdistan and Egypt. Binding and paper suggest a date in the second half of the 18th century.
8vo (145 x 215 mm). 70 pp. In Ottoman script within rules, lithographed throughout. The heading (serlevha) and borders of the first double page are printed in gilt. Bound in contemporary wrappers, taken from a volume, and stored loosely within protective giltstamped cloth boards (modern spine). First and only printed edition of one of the earliest Islamic travel accounts of China and the first description of the Silk Road in the Islamic world, pre-dating even Ibn Battuta's Rihla. - The present work, one of the most complete descriptions of Ming Dynasty China in the 16th century, was originally written in Persian in 1516. Completed and issued soon after Khitai reached Istanbul in 1520, it was later translated into Turkish by Hezârfen Huseyin (d. 1691) and became influential also in the Turkish-speaking Muslim world. According to the colophon, the book was finished on the last day or days of Rabî I 922 (3 May 1516), while the preface contains a panegyric on Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520-66). - Based on the author's personal observations, the book's 20 chapters discuss roads, cities and castles, stores, brothels and prostitutes, eunuchs, legislation, administration, jails, law and law-abidance, the military, agriculture, magazines, the imperial throne, the various religions, celebrations, entertainments, wonderful arts and strange cures, schools, persons from the West, Qalmaqs, gold, silver and currency, as well as Chinese temples and other matters. Thus Ali Akbar's book conveyed to a reader of the 16th century a fair impression of China: as a guidebook it could serve as a companion especially for Muslim merchants travelling along the Silk Road. - The Chinese scholar Lin Yih-Min describes Ali Akbar as a "Turkish businessman" (58) who probably journeyed only to Central Asia, where he gathered the information for his book before returning then to Turkey. The book was dedicated to Sultan Suleiman, and as the author's name suggests a Shi'ite background, it is possible that Ali Akbar may have wished to impress on the Ottoman court the difficult conditions of the Shi'ite community living in Istanbul, among a dominant Sunnite community. - Also known as the "Khataynameh" ("Book on China"), the work aroused considerable interest not only in the Ottoman Empire but also in Europe in the 19th century. The book's immediate impact is difficult to estimate, but astonishingly the Ottoman Empire, here referred to as "Lumi", would figure quite prominently in Chinese sources after a first embassy arrived in Beijing in 1524, four years after the book was first issued; other embassies followed until 1618. Thus, it is entirely possible that Ali Akbar's book had a direct influence on Ottoman diplomacy and commerce in China and Central Asia. - A few holes in the last leaf (minor loss of a few letters); some browning. A few contemporary pencil marginalia and calligraphic examples on the last blank page. Overall a good copy. Özege 20686. Cf. Ralph Kauz, "One of the Last Documents of the Silk Road: The Khataynameh of Ali Akbar", The Silk Road 1 (2005), p. 59f. Lin Yih-Min, "A comparative and critical study of Ali Akbar’s Khitây-nâma with reference to Chinese sources", Central Asiatic Journal 27 (1983), pp. 58-78.
4to. XV, (5), 80 pp. Modern red half cloth with giltstamped title to spine. The sayings of Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad and one of the central figures in Shia Islam, who ruled as the fourth caliph from 656 to 661. Text in Arabic, Persian, and Latin. Based on a Weimar manuscript, this was an early effort by the German scholar J. G. Stickel (1805-96), a student of Silvestre de Sacy, to establish himself as an oriental philologist at Jena University. - Deaccessioned from the Bamberg University Library with their stamps and shelfmark label. OCLC 4423742.
Small 4to (146 x 206 mm). 64 pp. With printer's woodcut device on title-page. 19th century red boards. Only edition of this early milestone of Arabic typography from the Roman Medici Press, including a Latin treatise on Arabic script. The Medici Oriental Press, the first printing press in Europe dedicated to printing books in an Arabic typeface, was founded in Rome under the direction of Giovanni Battista Raimondi and the patronage of Pope Gregory XIII. For the Arabic types, Raimondi commissioned the famous typefounder Robert Granjon: "In a few years Granjon had cut a large number of oriental characters, following superb calligraphic designs provided by Raimondi. On September 6, 1586, he completed the small Arabic typeface [...] Because cutting the Arabic typefaces took such a long time, establishment of the Medici Press went slowly. Though the contracts formally setting up the press were signed on March 6, 1584, the first book to bear its imprint did not appear until 1591. Legible and much more 'oriental' in feel than those of de Gregorii, Postel or Spey, this face was not improved upon until the time of Ibrahim Müteferrika in the early 18th century [...] Once underway, however, the Medici Press was very productive. In 1592 it issued a prospectus of its Arabic type faces under the title 'Alphabetum arabicum' - a 64-page masterpiece of design which not only displays Granjon's beautiful types, but contains a careful Latin Essay on the Arabic writing system" (Lunde). Until 1610 Raimondi printed a mere eight works with Granjon's types, "all equally rare" (Smitskamp 29b), before a long hiatus ensued - probably due to the sluggish distribution of the works in the Orient, where everything produced in the West, and especially any printed specimen of Arabic script, was received with the utmost caution (cf. Fück 55). Even Smitskamp cites only four other productions of the Medici Press, but not this exceptionally rare one. One of the only three other copies known to have appeared in the trade was even thought to be incomplete by Sotheby's, since Adams's collation - based on the Trinity College copy - cites a 24-page appendix that is, in fact, an independent Medici Press grammar bound with the Trinity 'Alphabetum'. - Binding worn and rubbed; spine rebacked. Interior somewhat dust-soiled throughout with occasional light dampstaining; a few marginal annotations on the verso of the title cropped by binder. Title-page with minute wormhole affecting one word on verso; a small hole to the last leaf with loss of a few letters; stamp of a monk to margin of final page. Front pastedown has 1880s bookseller ticket by G. A. Young & Co. of Edinburgh pasted in. An entirely complete copy of an important and excessively rare publication. Adams A 780. BM-STC Italian 36. Schnurrer 41. Edit 16, CNCE 1227. OCLC 47816774. Lunde, Paul, "Arabic and the Art of Printing", in: Aramco World 32/2 (1981) (with illustration). J. Balagna, L'imprimerie arabe en occident (Paris 1984), p. 135. Le Livre et le Liban (mentioned on p. 190; no copy in the catalogue). Not in Smitskamp or Fück.
4to. 2 consecutively paginated parts. (4), 80 (but: 84), (8) ff. (Pt. 2 has separate title page). With woodcut printer's device to title-page and 50 large woodcut plant illustrations (many page-sized). 18th century marbled wooden boards. All edges sprinkled in red. First edition of the earliest treatise on the native Egyptian flora, the author's most important scientific work. The Italian physician and botanist Alpini (1553-1617) spent three years in Egypt studying botany and hygiene as a companion to the Venetian Consul Giorgio Emi. He was "among the first of the Italian physician-botanists of the 16th century to examine plants outside the context of their therapeutic uses. Today this work is best known for containing the first European illustration of the coffee plant" (Hünersdorff). Alpini writes: "I saw in the garden of Halybey the Turk a tree [...] which is the source of those seeds, very common there, which are called Ban or Bon; from them everyone, Egyptians and Arabs alike, prepare a decoction which they drink instead of wine and which is sold in public bars just as is wine here and they call it 'Caova'. These seeds are imported from the Arabian peninsula [...]" (f. 26r, transl.). The coffee plant is pictured on f. 26v, captioned "Bon". - Binding rather rubbed and bumped (especially the spine); trimmed somewhat closely at upper edge; occasional brownstaining throughout with the odd waterstain; slight defect to title page repaired by a former owner. A good copy from the library of Karl Martin and Siri Hilda Karolina Norrman (1900-95) with their joint bookplate on front pastedown. Edit 16, CNCE 1244. BM-STC Italian 20. Adams A 803. IA 103.853. Ibrahim-Hilmy I, 32. Gay 1678. Wellcome I, 233. Durling 179. Nissen 20. Pritzel 111. Mueller 5 (& plate I). Hünersdorff I, 29-32.
4to. (16), 344 pp. Engraved architectural title with portraits of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, 145 finely etched and engraved botanical plates in the text, ornamental initials. Contemporary blind-tooled calf with gilt spine. Edges sprinkled red. Third edition (in fact, a re-issue with changed title page date only) of Alpini's further observations on exotic plants. The specimens here presented were collected primarily in Crete and the Eastern Mediterranean, including many xerophilous plants from Egypt and scores of plants not mentioned in earlier works. The first edition was published posthumously in 1627 and was edited by the author's son, Alpini Alpini. The work (in all its editions) is much rarer than the author's better-known "De plantis Aegyptii". "Date altered by hand [from 1629] to MDCLVI" (Krivatsy). - Prospero Alpini (1553-1617), an Italian physician and botanist, travelled through Greece, Crete, and Egypt from 1580 to 1583 with the Venetian Consul Giorgio Eno. He worked as a medical advisor and took the opportunity to carry out botanical investigations. His work includes the first European recognition of the medicinal value of coffee and introduced banana and baobab. "Alpini became professor of botany at Padua after having spent three years in Egypt" (Garrison/M., p. 992). - Binding rebacked, showing some light wear to extremeties, but a good, clean copy. Provenance: removed from the Large Library at Goodwood House (Chichester, West Sussex) with bookplate on front pastedown; latterly in the collection of Cornelius J. Hauck (his tree bookplate dated 15 March 1944). Nissen BBI 21. Krivatsy 241 (copy 2). Cf. Pritzel 112. Not in Wellcome, Waller, or Osler.
Small 4to (225 x 175 mm). 2 parts in one vol. (11), 150, (25) ff. 39, (1) ff. Title-page printed in red and black; woodcut chapter initial and head-tail pieces, 2 text illustrations and 3 full-page woodcuts. Full vellum, title gilt on spine red label. Somewhat later edition of the first important work on the history of Egyptian medicine. Alpini (1553-1617) was an Italian physician and botanist who spent three years in Egypt studying botany and hygiene as a companion to the Venetian Consul Giorgio Emo. This work is considered "one of the earliest European studies of non-western medicine. Alpini’s work dealt primarily with contemporary (i.e. Arabic) practices observed during his sojourn in Egypt. These included moxibustion - the production of counter-irritation by placing burning or heated material on the skin - which Alpini introduced into European medicine [...] Alpini also mentioned coffee for the first time in this work" (Norman). Jacobus Bontius (Jacques de Bondt, 1592-1631), whose work on Indian medicine is included, was a Dutch physician and botanist. He travelled to Persia and Indonesia to study the botany of the area. He was the first to study cholera on the island of Batavia in 1689, before it was known in Europe, and died on Java. His botanic and medical works were published after his death by Pisonius. He "was probably the first to regard tropical medicine as an independent branch of medical science. He spent the last four years of his life in the Dutch East Indies, and his book incorporates the experience he gained there. It is the first Dutch work on tropical medicine and includes the first modern descriptions of beri-beri and cholera" (Garrison/M. 2263, citing the 1642 first edition). - Binding slightly brownstained in places. Small tear to 3rd leaf, not affecting text; occasional browning. Caillet 230. Krivatsy 236. Wellcome II, 36. Hirsch/Hübotter I, 101 & 627. Hunt 161 (note). Ibrahim-Hilmy I, 32. Osler 1796. Waller 12509. Cf. Garrison/Morton 6468. Norman 39 (1591 first edition); Heirs 384 (1646 edition) and 463 (1642 edition).
8vo. X, 273, (1 blank) pp. With two black and white maps on the endpapers. Brown cloth with publisher's illustrated dust jacket. First and only edition of a thorough description of the history of the nine Arab states of the Lower Gulf, that gained independence in 1971, just four years before the publication of this book. The author has managed to discuss the individual politics of each state and that of the bigger picture, making this a handbook for all who wish to learn more about Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain). The several infographics that are used to explain the political structures are very helpful in this respect. Oil plays a key role in the relationship between the individual states and this is intricately laid out by the American author. Because this book was written in such a key moment in the history of the region, it has gained much importance. The author Dr. John Duke Anthony is a leading figure in United States-Arab relations and has held many influential government positions in this field. Amongst others, he is the founder and president of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and he is part of the United States Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy's Subcommittee on Sanctions. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies. In the years leading up to this publication the author has conducted first-hand research on the Lower Gulf region's political and socio-economic structures, obviously with oil playing a major role. The fruits of this research are presented in this book, offering the reader a comprehensive overview of a complex subject. This book was published in The James Terry Duce Memorial Series, which started in 1966. The first and second volumes were on North Africa and Jerusalem respectively, this is the final volume of the series. - Ink annotations in the margins throughout. A good copy with the original dustjacket well preserved. OCLC 1700964.
4to. 63 pp., final blank page. With map frontispiece and several illustrations and tables in the text. Contemporary printed wrappers. Stapled. First edition. Rare climatological study originating from a series of meteorological handbooks of the Indian Ocean issued by the British government between 1940 and 1944. The three-volume series, comprising a total of 12 parts, was prepared by the Meteorologial Office, Air Ministry, in cooperation with the Naval Meteorological Branch, Admiralty, London; it was reprinted for the U.S. Navy as late as 1980. The ESSA Technical Memorandum of 1969 mentions another reprint in 1945. - The present volume is the last of nine parts of volume II, covering the climate of the East African coast from the equator to Cape Delgado, discussing tropical cyclones and depressions, winds, visibility, clouds, rain and hail, temperature, humidity and other meteorological events. The frontispiece shows a map of the relevant area; additional diagrams illustrate surface winds and higher winds, as well as the amount of clouds and rainfall. The tables show the general climate in Mombasa, Tanga, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Kilwa, and Lindi, as well as the monthly frequency of wind direction and force at sea and in the upper air, and the visibility at coastal stations. - Library shelfmark in pencil, as well as a mounted blank loaning sheet to final blank page. 7 combinations of letters and digits in black felt pen to lower cover. Traces of a shelfmark label and a cancelled inscription to front cover. Not a single copy in auction records. U.S. Department of Commerce, ESSA Technical Memorandum EDSTM10, A Note on Climatology of Thailand and Southeast Asia, 164, 19. OCLC 1181290135.
1380 × 1216 mm. Lambert conformal conic projection, constant ratio linear horizontal scale 1:2,000,000. Relief shown by hachures and spot heights. Framed and glazed. A highly detailed map of the complete Peninsula, the first modern map in 1:2,000,000 scale: the rare preliminary edition, issued five years before the officical release. Based on the groundbreaking series prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Arabian American Oil Company under the joint sponsorship of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. State Department, "a unique experiment in geological cooperation among several governments, petroleum companies, and individuals" (Seager/Johnston). Also includes the territories of today's Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. "The plan for a cooperative mapping project was originally conceived in July 1953 [... By 1955] there was established a cooperative agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Department of State, and the Arabian-American Oil Co. to make available the basic areal geology as mapped by Aramco and the U.S. Geological Survey" (ibid.). The plan provided for 21 maps on a 1:500,000 scale in both geologic and geographic versions; "a peninsular geologic map on a scale of 1:2,000,000 was to conclude the project [...] The first geographic quadrangle was published in July 1956 and the last in September 1962. While preparation of the geographic sheets was in progress, a need arose for early publication of a 1:2,000,000-scale peninsular geographic map. Consequently, a preliminary edition was compiled and published in both English and Arabic in 1958" (ibid.). While the revised, final version that appeared in 1963 ("I-270 B-2") would incorporate some additional photographic, topographic and cultural data, the exceedingly uncommon present, preliminary edition is surprisingly complete in virtually all respects - a testament to the precision with which Aramco's cartographers proceeded from the very first. Includes a key with symbols for water pipelines, desert watering points, oil fields, pumping stations, refineries, and a glossary of Arabic names. - "Although the search for oil, gas and minerals was ultimately to drive geological survey work across the region [...], in its early years it was the need for water that was the catalyst for Saudi Arabia's resource exploration. In 1944 King 'Abd al-'Aziz approached the United States for a technical expert who could assist with the identification and plotting of the kingdom's natural resources, particularly its groundwater reserves. The individual who arrived, Glen F. Brown, was one of the pioneers of a partnership between the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the government of Saudi Arabia that was to span the next five decades and play an important role in the development of the kingdom [...] By 1954 the Saudi Ministry of Finance, USGS and Aramco were working together to produce the first full series of geographic and geologic maps of the country. The first of their type in the Peninsula, these were published [...] in both Arabic and English versions, and the information they contained formed the basis of subsequent Saudi national development plans. To this day, all modern maps of the kingdom trace their roots back to these first publications" (Parry). - Some insignificant browning; a few slight edge defects professionally repaired. Altogether in fine condition. James V. Parry, "Mapping Arabia", in: Saudi Aramco World 2004/1, p. 20ff. OCLC 30099393. O. A. Seager/W. D. Johnston, Foreword to the Geology of the Arabian Peninsula series (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 560-A-D, 1966).
74 catalogued items, comprising 88 volumes of printed books. In Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Swedish, and Syriac. A highly important ensemble of books on early Islamic medicine and science, assembled by one of the most renowned medical research institutes of its age, comprising not only rare historical and bibliographical studies, but also many first printed editions of crucial scientific texts in Arabic, frequently in the form of doctoral theses that remain almost impossible to find in libraries. Several titles, such as Steinschneider's "Introduction to the Arabic Literature of the Jews" (published in no more than 20 copies, "for private circulation" only), have not been seen on the market in decades, making the present offering a unique opportunity to acquire some of the most elusive relevant literature published in the late 19th and early 20th century. - Established in 1906, the Karl Sudhoff Institute in Leipzig was the first institute for the study of the history of medicine established worldwide. Its founder Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938) is regarded as one of the 20th century's foremost historians of medicine. A practicing physician for most of his life, Sudhoff published more than four hundred articles as well as many monographs, edited standard works and editions of original manuscripts. He was personally involved in building the institute's library and thus in assembling the present collection. - The 88 volumes offered here include numerous relevant issues of scholarly journals as well as journal articles. They often unite within a single volume several items published separately but forming a clear thematic unit, sometimes bringing together between two covers material that appeared at various times and in several places but was intended by the author to be considered as a whole. Deaccessioned from the Department of the History of Medicine of the University of Leipzig, most books bear the usual shelfmarks and stamps, but are otherwise in fine condition. - Catalogue available upon request.
8vo. (2), V, (1), 18, (6) pp. Original printed wrappers. Rare information booklet for Aramco workers, outlining the dental care expense benefits extended to the company's full-time salaried or retired employees and their dependents under Aramco's dental insurance plan. - Well preserved.
985 x 645 mm. Scale 1:500,000. Key in English. Printed on cloth. Blueprint map of the Gulf, showing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and parts of Qatar. The map pays particular interest to oil and gas exploration, detailing the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, the old tapline survey route, and the offshore terminal and refinery at Ras Tanura, as well as the Jafurah basin, the largest natural gas field in the Kingdom stretching 170 by 100 kilometers. - Among the most notable places are Hofuf, Dhahran, and Abqaiq in Saudi Arabia, as well as Manama, Awali, and al-Muharraq in Bahrain. Labelled locations in the displayed portion of Qatar's coast include Hawar Island, Dukhan and Salwa. The map illustrates trails, roads, and airstrips, as well as topographical features such as dunes, sand and gravel patches, and sabkhas. - The sheet was prepared as a working document by Aramco and the U.S. Geological Survey to help them in the early stages of comprehensive nationwide mapping and exploration work for the Saudi Government. First published in May 1953, the present map was revised in February 1954. - Two minor brown spots; upper left edge a little toned and frayed.
Large folding map (60 × 90.5 cm), printed in light orange with darker purple, depicting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its main roads. With on the right the title in both Arabic and English and a table with the distances from one city to another. Large folding map, published by the Arabian American Oil Company, depicting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It depicts the country’s roads, trails, railroads, roads that are still under construction and proposed roads, as well as cities, villages, airports and deserts. The table on the right shows the distance in kilometres from several towns and cities to some of the major cities: Buraidah, Dhahran, Dammam, Hofuf, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Ta’if. - Slightly discoloured along the folds, with only some very minor tears along the folds. Otherwise in very good condition
100 x 74 mm and 95 x 70 mm. Two Douglas DC-3 aircraft (registrations N720A and N726A) in their 1950s or early 1960s Aramco livery.
760 x 750 mm. Scale 1:1,000,000. Relief shown by hachures, spot heights, submarine contours, airports and airstrips, mining activity, and land routes. Key in English. Printed on cloth. Blueprint map of Saudi Arabia covering 20-26° N and 38-45° E, extending from the Nejd to the Red Sea coast including Jeddah and Yanbu al-Nakhal. It pays particular attention to geological features, showing the lava fields of Harrat Rahat, Harrat Kishb, Harrat Khaybar, Harrat Nawasif, Harrat Buqum and Harrat Hadan, as well as the Uruq Subay dunes and the tribal areas of Bilad Zahran and Bilad Ghamid. Among the most prominent labelled cities are Mecca with its environs (Muna, Shumaysi), Medina, Jeddah and Taif; the Darb al-Hijaz (Riyad-Jeddah Road) is named. - The sheet was prepared as a working document by Aramco and the US Geological Survey to help them in the early stages of comprehensive nationwide mapping and exploration work for the Saudi Government. - Slightly toned along folding lines and right margin.
Folio (420 x 280 mm). (4), 101, (1) ff. Later calf with gold- and blind-tooling. First edition of a work on poisons, compiled by Sante Arduino (or Ardoini) of Pesaro. "[T]he elaborate compendium on poisons in eight books which Sante Ardoini of Pesaro compiled in the years, 1424-1426, from Greek, Arabic and Latin works on medicine and nature, and which was printed at Venice in 1492, and at Basel in 1518 and 1562 [...] Although Ardoini quotes previous authors at great length, his work is no mere compilation, since he does not hesitate to disagree with such medical authorities of Peter of Abano and Gentile da Foligno, and refers to his own medical experience or observation of nature at Venice and to what fisherman or collectors of herbs have told him. He also seems to have known Arabic, and his occasional practice of giving the names of herbs in several Italian dialects is of some linguistic value" (Thorndike). Arduino makes extensive use of the works by Avicenna (Ibn Sina), who "held a high place in Western European medical studies, ranking together with Hippocrates and Galen as an acknowledged authority" (Weisser). Among the numerous other sources he used are Galen, Avenzoar (Ibn Zuhr), Rasis (al-Razi), Andromachus, Albucasis (Al-Zahrawi), Serapion the Younger and Dioscorides. - A very good copy, with only a few marginal waterstains. Binding slightly rubbed along the extremities and with a few scratches on boards. Hain-Copinger 1554. Goff A-950. Ohly-Sack 233. Walsh 2186. Proctor 4963. BMC V, 403. GW 2318. Thorndike III, 545. ISTC ia00950000.