Armillary sphere with celestial globe.MareMagnum
4 355 résultats
Engraved and etched gilt brass with lettering in Arabic. Total height from ring to base 53 cms. Exceptionally large armillary sphere with rich calligraphical and ornamental decoration as an image of the universe. The celestial sphere is surrounded in the centre by rings with the signs of the zodiac (outside) and various planet symbols. The names of the zodiac signs and months are engraved in Arabic. Signed and dated by the artist, an "Alexander", in the year H 1125. A nearly identical object is kept at the Globe Museum of the Austrian National Library at Vienna (item GL. 214), there classified as "Persian/Arabic". While simple celestial globes are not uncommon in the trade, elaborate specimens of the present size (53 cms) are very rare. - Slightly soiled and corroded, but almost not rubbed.
Small folio (216 x 294 mm). (16), CCXIX, (9) pp. With 3 large folding engraved plates. Contemporary green half calf with gilt spine and marbled covers. Only edition of this rare study decribing a celestial globe with Cufic lettering in the Borgia Museum at Velletri. The book also contains a dissertation on the astronomy of the Arabs, with Arabic excerpts from the works of Ahmed al-Farghani (Alfraganus; cf. GAL I, 221), one of the most famous mediaeval Muslim astronomers. Simone Assemani (1752-1821), a great-nephew of Joseph Assemani, the cataloguer of the oriental manuscripts in the Vatican library, is best known for his catalogue of the manuscripts and Cufic coins in the Naniana in Venice (cf. Fück 125). - Calf somewhat worn at spine-ends and hinges. Old library shelfmark label pasted on inside of upper cover. A fine copy. Brunet VI, 8185. DG 7.9265. M. H. Fikri, Treasures from the Arab Scientific Legacy in Europe, no. 13 (with full-page illustration).
4to (180 x 220 mm). Persian manuscript on polished oriental paper. (16), 1 blank, (23), 1 blank, (13), 1 blank ff., 17-20 lines, per extensum, text enclosed by red and black rules. Black ink with red emphases. With numerous ink diagrams in the text. Contemporary blindstamped full calf, restored and spine rebacked. A mid-19th century Persian manuscript comprising three treatises on astronomical matters, illustrated throughout with diagrams in red and black ink and containing several tables. - Some worming throughout the text but not affecting legibility. Corners bumped. A loose slip of paper inserted at the beginning mentions three titles which do not appear to correspond to the works here contained.
4to (170 x 227 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished paper. 42 written pp., 19-24 lines, per extensum, black and occasional red ink with red underlinings. With several astronomical diagrams in the text. Modern brown cloth binding with the original 18th century blindstamped leather covers pasted on the boards. An Arabic astronomical manuscript on quadrants in three parts, comprising: 1. Muhammad ibn al-Sheikh al-Hamid, Risalat al-kura (dhat al-kursi). - 2. Sabat Al-Mardini, Risalat mukhtasirat fi aleamal bialrabe alshamalii almaqtue (A brief treatise on the work in the northern quadrant). - 3. Sabat Al-Mardini, Risalat fi aleamal bialrabe almajib al-risalat al-fathiat fi al'aemal al-jibia (A treatise on work in the responding quadrant). All parts include detailed astronomical tables and diagrams in ink. - Well preserved manuscript in a professionally restored modern binding.
Folio (387 x 242 mm). 49 hand-coloured illustrations on 6 plates and hand-coloured folding lithographed backdrop (desert scene; ca. 580 x 224 mm). Original blue wrappers with lithographed cover label. Charming Mignon Theatre of the kind popularized by the Viennese publisher Trentsensky around the mid-19th century and distributed throughout England by their London agent Myers, & Co. on the corner of Oxford and Berners Street. The desert landscape backdrop is to be populated by the pilgrims, camels, resting horses, etc., with plants, a large tent, a cooking fire, and many other details, all to be cut out from the present set of plates. Issued as "Exercises in Colouring", this set was clearly coloured by a trained contemporary artist rather than a dilettante. - The front cover is stained, spine splitting, but the plates are clean and well-preserved. Rarely encountered complete, well-coloured, and in the original state. Another example, prominently featured in the 2012 Hajj exhibition at the British Museum, was cut and mounted. Hajj. Journey to the heart of Islam. London, British Museum 2012, p. 125 (fig. 125).
Large 8vo. 297, (7) pp. With photographic illustrations in the text throughout and a lithographed map showing the sailing route in blue. Original publisher's printed paper wrappers. Rare first edition in Spanish, in the original publisher's paper wrappers, of this important work on Arabian horses, describing a voyage made in 1904 of a Spanish commission to Turkey, Syria, Mesopotamia and Palestine, to observe thoroughbred Arabian horses. The party returned to Spain with 33 Percherons, of which 27 were considered to be first-class horses. In the present work, the Spanish cavalry commander Luis Azpeitia de Moros describes their journey, their contact and negotiations with the people there, and the horses they bought. Azpeitia's account is lavishly illustrated with photographs, all with Spanish captions printed below, of not only the areas they visited and their inhabitants, but also of the several horse specimens they bought, with their name and place of purchase in the printed captions. - The present work was used as reference source by Gladys Brown Edwards in her work on the history of the Arabian horse (The Arabian: War Horse to Show Horse) (Boyd/Paul, p. 11); an English translation of the work appeared in 2001 (In Search of the Arabian Horse), and an Arabic one was published in Riyadh in 2007 (Al-Bahth `an al-husan al-`Arabi). Altogether the very rare first edition of an important work on Arabian horses, even more rare when offered with its original wrappers, as the present copy, which are illustrated with drawings of scenes of the voyage. - Wrappers a little browned and somewhat foxed (including the edges), spine slightly damaged (especially at the head) and partly cracked. Some very minor foxing throughout, but otherwise still in good condition. A very rare work on Arabian horses.
8vo (160 x 252 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished oriental paper. 12 pp. on 7 ff., ca. 18 lines, per extensum. Black ink with red emphases. With numerous red and black ink diagrams in the text. Contemporary blindstamped full calf, restored and spine rebacked. The "Tashrih al-aflak", known as "general outline of astronomy" or "anatomy of the celestial spheres", is a summary of theoretical astronomy. The philosopher, architect, mathematician, astronomer and poet Baha' al-Din (953-1030 H / 1547-1621), a native of Baalbek, relocated to Iran with his father. Having completed his studies, he is said to have travelled for 30 years before settling in Isfahan, where he was highly respected as Sheikh al-Islam at the court of Shah Abbas. In the present treatise he affirmed a view in support of the positional rotation of the Earth. Baha' al-Din was one of the first Islamic astronomers to advocate the feasibility of the Earth's rotation in the 16th century, independent of Western influences. - Noticeable duststaining throughout; edges remargined. The restored binding uses the stamped original cover material. GAL II, 415, 6.
Hand-drawn military map and organizational flowchart, 1.37 x 1.45 m. Coloured ink and watercolour on paper. Accompanied by 9 original photos. Unique hand-drawn chart of Bahrain's naval force as it was projected in the early and mid-1970s, including two large maps: firstly, of the island's location in the Gulf showing the Navy's planned 200-mile range as well as strategic points throughout the Gulf, and secondly, a smaller scale map showing the defensive coastal artillery firing range and radar ranges reaching out to the north and east of Qal'at al-Bahrain, Galali, and East Sitra bases around Manamah. An inset flowchart shows in detail the organization of Bahrain's Navy, to be headed by the Commander of Naval Forces, presiding over the branches of Supplies and Exercises (Engineers, Supplies, Medical Office), of Operations, Planning, and Signals (all commanded by the Chief of Staff), as well as the Naval Armed Forces proper (Fleet, Special Forces, and Coastal Artillery). The extensive annotation describes the maritime theatre of war around Bahrain, identifies vital targets (Port Sulayman, oil terminal, national airport, oil wells and storage tanks, refinery) and crucial points to be observed, and sketches the projected scope of the navy: initially a small fleet of armoured motor vessels with radar-guided automatic ordnance, later to be upgraded with surface-to-surface rocket launchers with a tactical range of ca. 180 nautical miles. The planning stage is to encompass some 2 to 3 months, followed by a development stage of about 3 years and an implementation phase of another year. - The chart is accompanied by a set of nine original mid-1970s photographs of members of the Egyptian General Staff who assumedly were closely involved in advising the government of Bahrain on the structure and implementation of their new Naval Forces, which became fully operational in 1979. - A fine survival, undocumented and at the time undoubtedly a closely guarded military secret.
Large 4to. 3 vols. (7), 208 ff. (2), 238 ff. (10), 262 ff. Title vignettes (royal arms of Portugal). Without the folding plan present in some copies. Uniform contemporary limp vellum with Iberian handwritten spine titles and traces of ties. All edges red. Second edition of the first three "Decades" on Portugal's Middle Eastern enterprises, all that was published during the lifetime of the author (a fourth volume was produced posthumously in 1615, and the set was continued by other hands). "This is considered by Du Fresnoy as being a good edition of the three first decades" (Clarke, The Progress of Maritime Discovery, p. 132). The writer de Barros (1496-1570), head agent for the Portuguese overseas trade authority "Casa da Índia", managed to persuade King João III to commission from him a history of the Portuguese in India (including Asia and southeast Africa). The result, published between 1552 and 1563, earned him renown as one of the first great Portuguese historians, and the the title of a "Portuguese Livy". The 'Decades' contain "the early history of the Portuguese in India and Asia and reveal careful study of Eastern historians and geographers, as well as of the records of his own country. They are distinguished by clearness of exposition and orderly arrangement. They are also lively accounts" (Enc. Britannica). Books 2 and 3 of the "Decada Segunda" (fols. 21 ff.) offer a detailed narrative of Afonso de Albuquerque's expedition to the Arabian Gulf and his conquest of Ormuz in 1507; the island remained under Portuese occupation from 1515 to 1622. As vassals of the Portuguese state, the Kingdom of Ormuz jointly participated in the 1521 invasion of Bahrain that ended Jabrid rule of the Arabian archipelago. - From the library of the Spanish Dukes of Medinaceli y Santisteban (their engraved armorial bookplate on the pastedowns); olf shelfmark on flyleaves. Occasional slight browning, but a very good set. Palau I.181b. Howgego I, B34, p. 91. Arouca B 56-58. Löwendahl, Sino-Western Cultural Relations I, p. 42, no. 75. OCLC 4507939. Cf. Macro 474.
Large 12mo. 24 vols. With engraved portraits of Barros, Couto, Henry the Navigator, and Afonso de Albuquerque and 5 folding maps. Uniformly bound in contemporary full calf, spines with titles and number of volume on giltstamped red labels. Edges lightly sprinkled red. A fundamental travel work: the best and most complete edition of what is considered the most comprehensive publication on Portuguese exploration and colonial history by João de Barros (decades I-IV) and Diego de Couto; the first edition to include decades X and XI. Books 2 and 3 of the "Decada Segunda" offer a detailed narrative of Afonso de Albuquerque's expedition to the Arabian Gulf and his conquest of Ormuz in 1507; the island remained under Portuguese occupation from 1515 to 1622. As vassals of the Portuguese state, the Kingdom of Ormuz jointly participated in the 1521 invasion of Bahrain that ended Jabrid rule of the Arabian archipelago. - This is "the best edition of this famous work on Portuguese colonial history. The first edition appeared at Lisbon, Madrid and Paris from 1552 to 1645. It consists of 12 "Decadas" (decades), comprising the history of the years 1420-1600. Only Decadas I, II, III and a part of IV are by J. de Barros, the rest is by D. de Couto, who begins his part also with Decada IV, so that there are two Decadas IV" (Laures). De Barros (1496-1570), head agent for the Portuguese overseas trade authority "Casa da Índia", managed to persuade King João III to commission from him a history of the Portuguese in India (including Asia and southeast Africa). The result earned him renown as one of the first great Portuguese historians, and the the title of a "Portuguese Livy". The 'Decades' contain "the early history of the Portuguese in India and Asia and reveal careful study of Eastern historians and geographers, as well as of the records of his own country. They are distinguished by clearness of exposition and orderly arrangement. They are also lively accounts" (Enc. Britannica). - A crisp, uniform set with a contemporary ink note by L. Quesnel on the front pastedown of the index volumes and 19th century collector's blue monogram labels (JCQ?) to flyleaves. Cordier, BJ, 34 and BS, 2309. Innocencio III, 322. Laures 642. Streit IV, 667 (with extensive list of contents) & VI, 630. This edition not in Borba de Moraes. For the maps cf. Gole, India, 8.
Oblong folio (510 x 385 mm). 25 albumen prints (ca. 260 x 370 mm), loosely mounted on grey leaves, each captioned in French. Green half morocco. Early, uncommonly well-preserved album of photographs showing the monuments of Egypt. Having arrived in Egypt as early as 1859, Antonio Beato (1835-1906) was among the first commercial photographers to make their way to the Middle East in order to capitalise on the increasing demand for souvenir photographs. Beato's images of Egypt were distinctly different from those of other photographers working in the region (cf. Hannavy). - Binding a little rubbed. Most of the photos signed in the negative, showing fresh and crisp contrast. Hannavy, J. (ed), Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography (Routledge, 2013), pp. 127f.
60 photographs on albumen paper, measuring 28 x 22 cm each, signed and captioned in the plate, numbered 1 through 68. Contemporary green half calf with gilt spine and title "Égypte & Nubie", initialed "B.C.D." on first plate. Large and beautiful photographs by Bechard: excellent vintage prints, mostly in superior condition. They represent the popular Egyptian and Nubian types, frequently in close-ups. Nissan N. Perez states that this part of the work of a photographer specializing in views of sites and monuments "has escaped general attention" (cf. Focus East, p. 123, reproducing the photograph of water carriers resting). Includes: a scribe; a sheikh reading the Qur'an, merchants and grocers, a group of ulemas (religious scholars) reading the Qur'an, an Arab drawing water, whirling dervishes, Arab peasants (a fellah carrying water), a sheikh going to the mosque, a game of Mangala, water carriers, mat manufacturers, Sheikh Sadad, a descendant of Mohammed, a falconer, washerwomen, an Arabic singer, a young fellah, a Darabouka player, labourers, a public fountain, a beggar, Arabs at prayer, Arabic coffee, etc. - Béchard was active between 1869 and ca. 1890. "His work is distinguished by the superb quality of his prints and the generally spectacular presentation of even the most common sites, such as the pyramids. His studies of people and costumes are even more interesting and point to a very personal involvement of the photographer in the life and customs of the country. His cityscapes and urban scenes were mostly taken from unusual angles in an attempt to cope with the narrow and confined spaces" (Nissan N. Perez). - Binding repaired in places.
Folio (222 x 346 mm). (9) pp. of text with an engraved headpiece, (27) pp. of engraved astrological charts, (32) pp. of tables with 37 engraved diagrams, 80 pp. of text with 4 engravings in the text, 1 folding engraved plate. Title-page printed in red and black. Marbled boards. Only edition of this rare treatise on the astronomy, astrology and allied sciences of the Arabs, Persians and Turks. Once "said to be the first book printed with Persian characters" (Anderson, The library of the late George H. Hart of New York City, Part II [1922], no. 471), it remains an impressive achievement, even if the oriental languages are here in fact rendered in Hebrew letters, while the Persian specimens are engraved. (The first book in Persian characters was produced at Leiden more than a half-century earlier.) - The Swabian theologian Beck (1649-1701) studied history and oriental literature at Jena, soon surpassing his teachers. "The principal object of his studies always remained the oriental languages; and his great knowledge of Hebrew, Samaritan, Chaldaic, Syriac, Ethiopian, Persian, Arabic, and Turkish gained him such renown that he even drew a pension from the Prussian crown for them" (ADB II, 218). - Somewhat browned and stained throughout; edges untrimmed, paper somewhat limp. Includes the frequently lacking 12 double-page tables with additional engraved diagrams. - Provenance: from the library of the French oriental scholar Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (1731-1805), the founder of Persian studies in Europe, with his handwritten ownership on the title-page. VD 17, 39:125183T. Caillet 901. Lalande p. 330. Gardner II, 102.
4to. (12), 112 pp. With engraved portrait frontispiece of Anne Marie Louise d'Orleans and numerous pretty woodcut initials and tailpieces. Contemporary richly gilt calf, leading edges and spine gilt (tiny defect to upper spine-end and hinge). Marbled pastedowns. First edition of this rare work on precious stones and pearls found in the East and West Indies, written by a Parisian "marchand orphèvre". Dedicated to "La Grande Mademoiselle" Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier and niece of Louis XIII, with her finely engraved portrait by L. Boissevin (which, according to Graesse, is frequently lacking). This "very early, and important treatise on gemstones, gold & silver" (Sinkankas) includes a chapter dedicated exclusively to pearls, a subject with which the author was especially familiar (cf. ibid.), and the Gulf is stated as one of the main locations of pearl fishing: "on pesche les perles en divers endroits du monde. Dans le Golfe Persique, principalement aux environs de l'Isle d'Ormus & Bassora: aupres de Baroyn [i.e., Bahrain], Catiffa, Iuffa, Camaron, & autres lieux de ce Golfe [...]" (p. 74). "The first chapter attempts to reconcile differing views of various writers, as cited by Berquen, on the origin of gemstones and precious metals, with following chapters taking up the principal gemstones, and some minor ones, as diamond, sapphire, topaz, ruby, spinel, emerald, amethyst, aquamarine, hyacinth, opal, chrysolite, iris, vermeille, garnets, carnelian, turquoise, quartz varieties, pearl, coral and amber, and lastly, a chapter on gold and silver [...] Both [the first and the second edition] are rare" (Sinkankas, p. 97f.). - Insignificant waterstain and occasional slight worming, mainly confined to upper margin. A good copy in an elaborately decorated contemporary French binding. Sinkankas 592. Sabin 4957. Brunet VI, 4780. Graesse I, 348. Ferguson II, 295 (note). Cf. Duveen 71 (1669 second ed.).
8vo. 574, (2) pp. Contemporary full red leather binding, finely stamped and gilt with rules and the supralibros of the Husainids of Tunis to both covers. All edges gilt. First edition of this widely received study of medical and sanitary standards in the Arabic countries. The principal work of Bertherand (1821-90), a French physician and medical-legal expert active in Algeria, written in the context of a discussion over assimilation within the French colonial empire. In contrast to Montesquieu's traditional theory, which explained cultural differences with the climatic zones of their origin, Bertherand attributed them to moral conditions which, in the case of contemporary medicine in the Muslim countries, he associated directly with Islam. His suggestions for colonial politics are informed by the racist and eugenic theories of his age (cf. Ellen Amster [2014], Medicine and the Saints: Science, Islam, and the Colonial Encounter in Morocco, p. 59ff.). - Light browning and occasional foxing as common. A splendidly bound copy from the library of Muhammad II ibn al-Husayn (1811-1859), the Bey of Tunis. The Husainid dynasty ruled the Beylik of Tunis from 1705 until 1957. OCLC 7369595. Gay 739; Playfair 1806 (both erroneously citing an edition Lille, 1854). Not in Tailliart.
Large 4to (ca. 220 x 272 mm). (4), (306), (98) ff. Original blindstamped full calf over heavy boards with rubbed remains of gilt border. First edition. Arabic text (without vowel points) throughout, save for the English title-page. "This edition, produced under the patronage of the Bishop of Durham (Shute Barrington), was at first undertaken by Joseph Dacre Carlyle (1759-1806), Cambridge Professor of Arabic in 1795, and vicar of Newcastle in 1801. On Carlyle's death Henry Ford, Lord Almoner Reader in Arabic at Oxford, took up the work, and saw the book through the press in 1811. The text is based, apparently, on the London Polyglot. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts contributed £250 for 1000 copies to be distributed in Africa and Asia. The British and Foreign Bible Society also gave £250, and in addition purchased, or received for distribution, over 1000 copies" (Darlow/M.). - Binding rubbed, front hinge professionally repaired. Undecorated spine shows traces of a removed library label. Old ink shelfmarks and stamp of Grüssau Abbey at Bad Wimpfen's St Peter's Church on verso of title-page. Handwritten ownership of "Eug. Breitling, parochus in Hamburg" (dated 1909) and note "Left by the wish of the Rev. A. Lehmann" at the end. Darlow/Moule II, 1663. OCLC 165689213.
8vo. (16), 220, (12) pp. With full-page woodcut illustration at the end of the preliminaries. Contemporary blindstamped calf over wooden boards with two clasps. Exceptionally rare Arabic Psalter, the first of several reprintings of 'Abd Allah ibn al-Fadl al-Antaki's translation which had first appeared in Aleppo in 1706. Translated from the Greek Septuaginta Version, with the kathismata interspersed between the Psalms and with the Canticles following them. Edited, with a Paschalion for the years 1709-39 at the end, by Philipp Ghailán. - Only two copies known in institutional collections; collation agrees with that of the British Library copy (Biblioteca Marciana collation omits 116 pp. of preliminary matter). Binding professionally repaired; noticeable worming, mainly confined to margins. Some browning throughout; slight waterstaining near end. A few early 19th century inked notes in Hebrew. Provenance: 18th-century bookplate "Ex bibliotecha Johannis Marchioni Plebani Veneti" on final endpaper. Darlow/Moule I, 1653 (note). BL shelfmark: Asia, Pacific & Africa 14501.a.31. Marciana shelfmark: 133-C-176. OCLC 945484585 (digital reproduction only).
4to. (16), 458, (2) pp. With the title in a woodcut architectural frame. Contemporary vellum. "First printing of the Pentateuch in Arabic characters" (Smitskamp). Edited by Thomas Erpenius and printed with his influential nashk Arabic types, cut under his direction by Arent Corsz. Hogenacker in Leiden. It gives the text of a 13th-century translation of the Pentateuch in the Maghreb dialect (spoken in Mauritania). Erpenius was one of the most distinguished orientalists and by far the best Arabist of his day. He published an influential Arabic grammar and several excellent critical editions. His own private printing office, equipped with Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, Ethiopic and Turkish type, produced its first works as early as 1615. - With bookplate, owner's inscription and library stamp of Verplanck Colvin (1847-1920). Occasional spots, some leaves with a minor waterstain in the upper or lower margin, nor affecting the text. A good copy, with generous margins. Binding slightly soiled and with a restoration to the front inner hinge, but otherwise good. Breugelmans 1622-2. Darlow/Moule 1645. Smitskamp, PO 86.
Folio (260 x 366 mm). (4), 9-462, (2) pp. Title-page printed in red and black, with the Medici arms. With 149 text woodcuts by L. N. Parassole after Antonio Tempesta. Contemporary Italian flexible boards with ms. title to spine. The rare first re-issue, with new preliminary matter only, of the first Gospel printing in the interlinear Arabic and Latin version, prepared at the same time and printed by the same press as the first Arabic-only Gospel. These were the first works ever produced by Ferdinando de' Medici's "Medicea" press, founded by Pope Gregory XIII to spread the word of Christ in the Orient. Supervised by the able scholar Giovambattista Raimondi (1536-1614), its strength lay in oriental, especially Arabic, printing. After Raimondi's death, the press relocated to Florence. - The Arabic text is printed in Robert Granjon's famous large fount, generally considered the first satisfactory Arabic printing type; as all early printed editions of the Arabic Gospels, it is based on the Alexandrian Vulgate (cf. Darlow/M. 1636). The Latin version is by Leonardo Sionita. As issued in 1591, the work began with page 9, without a title page or any preliminary matter at all: "the intended prefatory matter was apparently never published" (Darlow/M.). The 1619 re-issue contains 4 pages of preliminary matter (title page and a note "typographus lectori"); there exist copies with two additional leaves of dedications not present here. Another re-issue, much more common, was released in 1774. - Occasional browning; a good, untrimmed and hence wide-margined copy in its original temporary binding. Darlow/Moule 1643. Mortimer 64 (note). Streit XVI, p. 866, no. 5138.
Folio (220 x 334 mm). 9-462, (2) pp. With 149 text woodcuts by Leonardo Parassole after Antonio Tempesta. Early 20th century half vellum. The first Gospel printing in the interlinear Arabic and Latin version, prepared at the same time and printed by the same press as the first Arabic-only Gospel. These were the first works ever produced by Ferdinando de' Medici's "Medicea" press, founded by Pope Gregory XIII to spread the word of Christ in the Orient. Supervised by the able scholar Giovambattista Raimondi (1536-1614), its strength lay in oriental, especially Arabic, printing. After Raimondi's death, the press relocated to Florence. - The Arabic text is printed in Robert Granjon's famous large fount, generally considered the first satisfactory Arabic printing type; as all early printed editions of the Arabic Gospels, it is based on the Alexandrian Vulgate (cf. Darlow/M. 1636). The Latin version is by Leonardo Sionita. The work begins with page 9, without a title page or any preliminary matter at all: "the intended prefatory matter was apparently never published" (Darlow/M.); these first eight pages were not supplied until the 1619 re-issue. - Light browning as common; a light waterstain to the margin of the first leaves, but a good, fairly wide-margined copy. Provenance: handwritten ownership "C. R. Lies" (?), dated Rome, 1931, on upper pastedown; later bookplate of Guy Evans. Darlow/Moule 1637. Mortimer 64 (note). Streit XVI, p. 866, no. 5138. Ebert 7198. Graesse II, 531. Nagler XX, 326. Not in Adams.
Folio (binding 250 x 335 mm, inner book 236 x 327 mm). 200 leaves, complete. Title printed in red and black within woodcut arabesque border, printer's device on final leaf. With parallel text in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Arabic and Chaldaean (in their respective types), 4 columns to a page, 41 lines. 13 woodcut floriated initials (5 Latin, 4 Hebrew, 2 Greek and 2 Arabic). Rebound in near contemporary brown calf, carefully restored, edges and corners repaired, spine fully rebacked in seven compartments with modern gilt title and date. First edition. - The first polyglot edition of any part of the Bible, and also the first polyglot work ever published. It is of the utmost importance in several further respects, constituting the second book printed in Arabic from movable type (following Gregorio de Gregorii's "Kitab salat as-sawa'i", a Horologion for the Lebanese Melchites, printed in 1514), as well as the earliest Arabic printing of any portion of the Bible. It also contains the first edition of the Aramaic text of the Psalter and offers for the first time Kabbalistic texts from the Zohar. Furthermore, Giustiniani’s commentary provides the first substantial biographical reference to Columbus, and is thus noted as an Americanum. - The learned Dominican Agostino Giustiniani (1470-1536) was Bishop of Nebbio in Corsica from 1514 and later became the first Professor of Arabic and Hebrew at Paris. On his death he bequeathed his extensive library to the state of Genoa. He edited, supervised and financed the present edition and also wrote the commentary. - His book is the first multilingual edition of any part of the Bible. Aldus Manutius had planned a Psalter in three languages as early as the late 15th century, but his project was not realised. Printed in eight parallel columns on double pages, Giustiniani’s work comprises the text in Hebrew, a literal Latin translation thereof, the Latin Vulgate, the Greek Septuagint, Arabic, Aramaic (Chaldee), a literal Latin translation from the Aramaic, and scholia in the same languages. While Giustiniani aimed to edit the entire Bibel in this form, no further sections were published. He described his difficulties in selling the edition in his History of Genoa (1537), recording an edition size of 2,000 paper copies and 50 copies on vellum. - Giustiniani’s extensive commentary includes a long note to Ps. 19:4 ("et in fines orbis omnia verba eorum"; C7r-D1r), about the Genoese Christopher Columbus, who had died in 1506, containing previously unpublished information on his second voyage: "In this interesting sketch of the life and voyages of his fellow-townsman, Bishop Giustiniani gives an interesting account of the discovery of the new world, and states some facts not mentioned elsewhere" (Sabin). - This edition is also the only book printed at Genoa in the 16th century. The Milanese printer Pietro Paulo Porro maintained a press at Turin with his brother Galeazzo. Giustiniani summoned Porro to Genoa especially for the production of this edition, and had set up a press in the house of his brother Nicolo Giustiniani Paulo. The types were designed and cut for this edition under Porro’s direction. - Mild browning throughout, with some occasional waterstaining (more pronounced near beginning). Adams B 1370. Darlow/Moule 1411, 1634 & 2401. Smitskamp, PO, 236. Alden-Landis 516/4. Harrisse, BAV no. 88 (pp. 154-158). Sabin 66468. Sander 5957. G. Roper, Early Arabic Printing in Europe, in: Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution. A Cross-Cultural Encounter (Westhofen 2002), pp. 129-150, at p. 132, with colour ill. IV. StCB 25. Vinograd Genoa 1.
4to. (24), 315, (12) pp. With two printer's devices in prelims. - (Bound with) II: [Barhebraeus, Gregorius]. Veteris philosophi Syri de sapientia divina. Poema aenigmaticum. Ibid., 1628. 4 ff. (incl. final blank), 35, (1) pp. With printer's device to title-page. Calf binding (ca. 1800), covers and spine gilt, leading edges and inner dentelle gilt. First complete edition of the Psalter in Syriac. "The text, which includes Ps. CLI, is based on three manuscripts, one of which had been sent to the editor by George, the Maronite Archbishop of Nicosia. The Latin version professes to be as literal a translation as possible of the Syriac text" (Darlow/M.). The present Paris edition and the one published at Leiden in the same year by Erpenius are the first two European editions of the Psalter in the Syriac language. While both are printed in Syriac and Latin, Erpenius's edition omits psalm 151 (cf. Smitskamp 80). Edited by the Maronite Gabriel Sionita (1577-1648), principally involved in the 1645 Paris polyglot Bible, printed with the types of Savary de Brèves. - Bound with the sole edition of Barhebraeus's Syriac poem. "Sionite édita et traduisit ce poème syriaque de Barhebraeus, mais sans en avoir identifié l’auteur. Pour lui c’est un auteur inconnu qui a composé ce poème sur la sagesse divine" (Le livre et le Liban). Even library catalogues frequently fail to identify the author (or cite the editor Sionita). - Catalogue clipping mounted on front endpaper. Psalter title has ms. ownership and several stamps. Title of Barhebraeus stamped; all edges remargined to page dimensions of Psalter. Of the utmost rarity, only a single, incomplete copy at auction within the last decade (Sotheby's, Dec 7, 1993, lot 315, lacking 6 prelim. leaves). I: Goldsmith B 848. Darlow/Moule 8961. - II: Le livre et le Liban 143.
Small 8vo (108 x 156 mm). (4), 589 pp. Contemporary calf binding with gilt spine title in Osmanli and label "Watkins Binder" on the inner side of the rear cover. An exceedingly rare edition of Ali Ufki Bey's Turkish translation of the New Testament, almost unknown to bibliography. - Revised by Türabi Efendi from the text produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1827, the original translation into Ottoman Turkish was prepared by the Polish musician and linguist Wojciech Bobowski (ca. 1610-75), known under his Muslim name Ali Ufki, as an attempt to present the Christian text to the Muslim world. The 17th century Turkish Bible translation had been informed by Christian eschatological hopes that Protestantism and Islam might form a political alliance to defeat the common enemy, idolatrous Catholicism, and bring about world peace. A Turkish translation of the Holy Scripture was to advance this cause: the word of God alone, it was assumed, would soon convert the Muslim world to Christianity. Although Ali Bey, who had been hired to the task in 1662, completed his translation in 1664/65, the first printed edition was not published until 1819, by the Imprimerie impériale in Paris. - Türabi Efendi, who carried out the new revisions for this edition, had in his youth been sent to Britain by the Egyptian administration, learned English and may have even married a British woman; in 1865 he would publish a Turkish cookbook in English. A more common version of this text, further revised by James W. Redhouse, was published in 1857. Possibly the new edition became necessary after the present 1853 edition sold out in the Crimean war (cf. Privratsky, p. 48). - Light brownstaining to beginning and end; sporadic underlined words and annotations in Ottoman Turkish in the margins. Binding professionally repaired at extremeties; overall in a good condition. A single institutional example could be traced (Tübingen University Library). Darlow/Moule 9468. OCLC 313135237. Bütün baskilarin listesi, tarihsel açiklamalar ve arastirma önerileriyle (2013), s.v. 1857 - Kitâb ül-'Ahd el-Cedîd. Cf. Bruce Privratsky, A History of Turkish Bible Translations, v. S (2014), p. 47.
8vo. XIV, (2), 80 pp. Original printed wrappers. First edition. The fables of Bidpai after the Turkish version by Anwari Souhaili in a German translation. Intended as a "handbook for prospective German orientalists", it contains the original text of the first fable of the "Humayun Nameh" in Ottoman Turkish script, a German translation as well as exhaustive philological and etymological material. The present edition was compiled and edited on the occasion of the centenary of the Vienna Oriental Academy by the Austrian orientalist and diplomat Eduard Adelburg (1804-56), himself a graduate of the Academy. - The title-page identifies this volume as an introduction to a much larger editorial project; however no further parts were published. - Binding somewhat loosened; front wrappers slightly creased. Occasional light foxing. Uncut copy. Kalemkiar 357. Chauvin II, p. 51, no. 75. OCLC 255154353.
8vo. (20), 352 pp. Contemporary full calf with giltstamped edges, spine and spine-label. Marbled endpapers. All edges sprinkled red. Very rare, early French edition of the Fables of Bidpai, here comprising the prologue and the first four chapters of the "Anvari Suhaili". This Persian fable first appeared in French in 1644 in a translation prepared by David Sahid d'Ispahan. The year 1698 saw a joint edition by the Paris publishers Barbin and Delaulne, copies published by the latter being slightly more common. Not a single copy bearing Barbin's name on the title-page is traceable in libraries internationally. - The ancient Sanskrit Panchatantra fables, a classic of the genre, are thought to have been assembled ca. 200 BC out of stories from an even older oral tradition. The stories became known in Europe through Hebrew translations of Arabic versions under the name Bidpai. Featuring animals as a mirror for human behaviour, the fables were intended to educate people, especially young rulers. - Handwritten ownership of E. Bouzerand to lower flyleaf, dated 1802. Extremities professionally repaired. Paper shows occasional light spotting. A good copy of this classic work. Barbier II, 413. Brunet I, 937 (Delaulne issue). Graesse I, 422. Chauvin II, p. 33, no. 55B. This edition not in OCLC.