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8vo. (2), 332 pp. Original beige printed boards with red cloth spine. First edition of a rare survival, illustrating the development of language studies among the officers of the British military during colonial rule in India and the Middle East. The work was compiled by Rizkallah Azoo, the Arabic Instructor to the board of examiners under the supervision of the secretary board of examiners at Fort William, Calcutta. - The book is divided into two parts, the first containing fables, anecdotes and narratives, travels of famous explorers (including Ibn Battuta and Sinbad the Sailor), and a final section on the travels of Sadiq Pasha to the Great Desert of Africa. Part two covers an extract from Kitab-ul-Wasitah, a description of Malta, and an account of European arts and sciences by Ahmed Faris Effendi, the editor of Al-Jawib. It concludes with some curious descriptions of Paris and London. - The standard examination of Arabic was a serious matter, affecting officers' roles and promotions in overseas territories. Failure to pass the elementary Arabic examination could result in deferment of appointments, and even the withholding of portions of an officer's salary. - Light exterior wear, otherwise well preserved. Rare: OCLC locates copies at Oxford and SOAS, as well as at the University of California (Berkeley) and seven additional libraries. OCLC 417302837.
Oblong folio (340 x 250 mm). 48 albumen photographs mounted on card, each approximately 225 x 280 mm. Contemporary olive wooden boards decorated with the cross of Jerusalem; red calf spine. A thorough collection of Bonfils studio photography of Palestine and surroundings. - Félix Bonfils (1831-85) was a French-born photographer who had come to the Levant with General d'Hautpoul in 1860 and remained active in the East. Based in Beirut, Bonfils produced thousands of photographs depicting Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Greece and other parts of the Ottoman Empire. In the early days of Western tourism to the Middle East, his works soon became popular as souvenirs. - The photographs largely depict views in and around Jerusalem as well as six portrait and group shots showing traditional fashions. Included are scenes of Jaffa, the exterior and interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the "Mosque of Omar" (Dome of the Rock, Qubbat as-Sakhra) and the Al-Aqsa (Qibli) Mosque, scenes of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, among others. The handsome olive binding, with its carved cross and decorative inlay, underlines the value of Bonfils photographs as fine mementos of trips to the Holy Land in the late 19th century, during a rise in tourism European tourism and interest in the Levant. - Light exterior wear; well preserved.
Oblong folio (385 x 275 mm). 49 albumen photographs (approximately 236 x 293 mm) mounted on card. Near-contemporary half brown morocco and pebbled cloth, marbled endpapers. Scenes of Palestine by the famous 19th century photographer Félix Bonfils (1831-85) or his studio and others, most titled and attributed in-plate. The photographs include genre scenes, natural and urban scapes, ancient monuments, architectural points of interest, and religious scenes. Many also show the human element of ancient places: Jewish women in embroidered headscarves lined up at the Western Wall for prayer, Orthodox priests eyeing the camera outside the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, two men relaxing in the shade at the Tombs of the Kings, children keeping watch over cows just outside Jericho. One photograph shows Cairo rather than Palestine, and captures a winding and crowded street at the famous Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Other scenes show the interiors of Jerusalem mosques and churches, the port at Jaffa, and the site labeled "The well of Jacob", potentially taken just prior to the construction of a new church on the site in the 1890s. - Leaves faintly rippled, light wear to photographs. The album has a bookseller ticket from the Maison Martinet, Albert Hautecoeur, Paris. An interesting record of Jerusalem and its surroundings at the end of the 19th century.
Oblong folio (360 x 260 mm). 96 albumen photographs mounted on card. Contemporary vellum elaborately ruled in floral gilt. A thorough collection of late 19th century Holy Land souvenir photographs, featuring photography by American Colony, the Bonfils studio, and others, depicting views of Cairo, Palestine, and surroundings. - Félix Bonfils (1831-85) was a French-born photographer who had come to the Levant with General d'Hautpoul in 1860 and remained active in the East. Based in Beirut, Bonfils produced thousands of photographs depicting Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Greece and other parts of the Ottoman Empire. In the early days of Western tourism to the Middle East, his works soon became popular as souvenirs. - The photographs depict views in and around Palestine and Egypt, including scenes of grotto chapels and many interior scenes of churches and mosques, including the Al-Aqsa (Qibli) Mosque, the Mosque of Omar, the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha, Al-Azhar Mosque, and Sultan Qaytbay's mosque and mausoleum complex. - Bookseller's ticket of C. Glingler, Rome, to front pastedown. Light wear and fading to photographs. A handsomely bound collection.
Oblong folio (425 x 330 mm). 102 albumen photographs (220 x 275 mm) mounted on card. Contemporary green pebbled cloth ruled in blind. A large collection of portraits and views of Jerusalem and surroundings, most signed or captioned in-plate by Felix Bonfils (46), the American Colony studio (16), Zangaki (7), Dumas, and P. Sebah. Striking scenes include sea-bathers in the Dead Sea, the market at Jaffa overflowing with melons, the Greek Orthodox ceremony of the washing of the feet in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, several scenes of the interior of the same church, the Tombs of the Kings, the convent of Mar Sabba clinging to a cliffside, the Christmas Day pilgrimage in Bethlehem, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, street scenes of Jerusalem populated by passersby in Ottoman and European dress, men and camels resting along the banks of the Jordan or aiming their rifles across the river for the camera, the "Mosque of Omar" (Dome of the Rock, Qubbat as-Sakhra) and the interior of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (also known as the Qibli Mosque). The collection also includes portraits, largely of locals: two portraits of women from Nazareth, all in European style dresses under long headscarves, two wearing tall pattens to keep their feet from the street mud; father and son street vendors in Ottoman dress, a young woman from Bethlehem in an elaborately embroidered jacket, and a bearded man captioned "Cheik de Village". - Some fading and occasional wear to photographs, binding skilfully rebacked and repaired. An interesting and wide-ranging collection documenting Jerusalem from the individual to the historical scale just prior to the turn of the century.
Oblong folio (335 x 245 mm). 188 silver gelatin photographs, one hand-tinted, mostly 105 x 80 mm, mounted in photo corners with handwritten captions. Original green cloth binding with hand-drawn map of Africa, Europe, and Asia on the front pastedown labelled "England to Aden 4643 miles" and four small maps of Kuwait, Ceylon, Iraq, and India mounted on rear pastedown with hand-coloured borders in blue and orange. A previously unknown collection of unique photographs by an anonymous British serviceman, documenting an interwar deployment to Aden and featuring one of earliest known photographs of Sheikh Juma bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum (b. 1891) and Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum (1878-1958) of Dubai. Early photographs of Dubai or its rulers are quite uncommon, making this an exceptionally important piece. Here, the brothers are shown touring a British Royal Navy cruiser. Sheikh Juma (on the left) was the founder of the Al Maktoum branch of the Dubai royal family; his brother, Sheikh Saeed (on the right), was the longest-tenured ruler of Dubai, and presided over many of the huge economic changes of the first half of the 20th century. Both were deeply important to the formation of Dubai as it is today, but relics of their lives are extremely scarce. - Another rare photograph captures the Sultan of Oman Said bin Taimur (1910-72) as a young man touring a British light cruiser no more than a few months after the start of his reign in 1932. At only twenty-one, Said inherited both the sultanate and the difficulties faced by his predecessor. Though his reign was not easy, he was famously successful in uniting the warring factions within the sultanate. - The photographer behind this collection was likely a serviceman based on the H.M.S. Emerald, an Emerald-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy which would go on to provide support service during the D-Day landings at Gold Beach in WWII, but spent much of her career in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf. The serviceman has snapped a shot of a Fairey Flycatcher pontoon plane with the registration number N9670 - the Flycatcher known to have been assigned to the Emerald - photographed from the deck, and the Emerald appears repeatedly throughout the collection. Though the Emerald had a long tenure in the Gulf, photographs of the crash of the same ill-fated Fairey Flycatcher N9670 date the collection to circa December 1931, and the appearance of the young Sultan of Oman can only have been taken after the start of his reign on the 10th of February, 1932, covering a reasonable span of six months or more. Additionally, the Hawkins-class heavy cruiser H.M.S. Effingham appears in tow at the East Indies Station Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, which could only have occurred in early 1932, as later that same year she was sent back to Britain as part of the Reserve Fleet. - The photographs of ship life are full of action: men bathing over the side in the warm waters off Gibraltar, views of the Suez Canal, the use of a "smoke box" on the ship to generate a smokescreen, and torpedo drills, one capturing a launched torpedo in motion. However, no small part of the collection is dedicated to rare early views of Bahrein, Oman, and Iran. Bahrain is introduced by the Flycatcher plane crash; the British desired to impress their allies among the local dignitaries in Bahrain with a demonstration of military power, and sent Flight Lt. Peter Dabney Heinemann out in the Flycatcher to machine-gun targets which had been floated in the sea just off Bahrain. Heinemann reportedly lost control and spun out, and was killed when the plane crashed into the sea. Seven photographs show the British retrieving the wreckage, and the following photographs show a funeral procession in Manama, the bed of a military truck laid out in carpets acts as a hearse, and the burial in the Old Christian Cemetery. Two more photographs show a cityscape view of Manama and the clock tower of the Church of Christ in Bahrein. - Photographs of Old Muscat show the al-Jalali and al-Mirani forts, the former then still in use as a prison, and a view of the city "from hill top". Rounding out the tour of the Gulf, two photographs show the Abadan oil refinery in Iran. - The photographer spent some time in the Indian Ocean, and made port at Columbo, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura, Kandy, and Diyatalawa in Sri Lanka, as well as Karachi, Negapatam, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata (Calcutta), Sittwe (Akyab), and Port Blair. In Karachi, several photographs show the city's newly constructed airship mast and the cavernous airship shed, built as one of the main "terminals" of Britain's Imperial Airship Communications Scheme. The mast and shed were never used: a decade before the more famous Hindenburg disaster, the inaugural flight of the Scheme saw the R101 Airship leave London bound for Karachi, only to crash over France, killing all but six of the fifty-four crew and passengers and effectively ending the Scheme. Also of interest are several photographs of the large prison at Fort Blair, and include a photograph of an inmate strapped onto a "flogging board". - A touch of light wear; a few photographs are apparently missing as shown by their empty mounts; however, in excellent condition. Altogether a tour de force, featuring incredibly rare portraits of dignitaries and numerous photographs of cities of the Arabian Gulf.
Oblong 4to (244 x 232 mm). XVI, 152 pp. Illustrated throughout. Original pebbled brown cloth, titled in gilt on front cover. A rare Zionist publication on anti-Israeli propaganda, in English and Hebrew throughout, issued in the wake of the first two tumultuous years of statehood. Prolifically illustrated with facsimiles of contemporary photographs, posters, and cartoons and quoting extensively from Arab newspapers translated into Hebrew and English, the author presents a snapshot the political climate and high tensions of 1950 through a curated collection of contemporary sources, most from Arab media outlets in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. - Light wear, binding delicate. Interior bright and clean. OCLC 19160797.
8vo (150 x 240 mm). Persian manuscript on paper. (4), 62 (misnumbered: 63, omitting fol. 19), 64 (misnumbered: 58, leaping back to 24 after 23 but lacking fols. 38-39) ff.; 64 (instead of 70) ff. (lacking fols. 25-30). 15 lines of black and occasional red ink script. Rebound in full red morocco using the original covers. A collective manuscript on falconry, including the famous "Baz-nama" of Khushal Khan, the Afghan national poet, copied in the area of Afghanistan within a year after the passing of the author. - This fine and early manuscript contains two separate treatises on falconry, the latter one being the "Book of Falconry" of Kushal Khan Katak, the father of Pashto literature, written in verse. The first English translation, prepared by Sami ur Rahman and dedicated to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, appeared in Islamabad as recently as 2014: "What makes Khushal's 'Baaz Nama' unique is its poetical form. Perhaps there is no other work in world literature that treats the subject matter in verse on the one hand and keeps its systematic exposition and professionalism intact on the other [...] Khushal's manual is pretty concise and cogent. There are no long-drawn and tedious accounts. The style and diction are extremely down-to-earth" (translator's note, p. xiv). - The present manuscript contains a colophon at the end stating that it was copied by Muhammad Khan in 1101 AH, within a year of the death of its author on 5 Jumada I, 1100 AH, and it may thus command a high degree of textual authority. A renowned Pakistani warrior, Khushal Khan Khatak (1613-89) long served the Mughal Empire, but when he was expelled from his tribal chiefdom, he turned against his Mughal lords, promoted Pashtun nationalism, and encouraged revolt against the Mughal Empire. His works, mostly written in Pashto, are considered the foundation of modern Afghan literature. - A few occasional stains and ink smudges; lacks six leaves according to foliation and catchword. The first treatise in this volume, by an unidentified author, is in two parts with an index after the first but apparently not complete, lacking the end of the second half, as well as two leaves. First leaf extensively remargined but without loss to text; a few old waqf stamps and occasional marginalia.
4to (245 x 190 mm). 32, CXXVI, (2), 219, (1) pp. Complete but irregular pagination. With full-page engraved map of part of Yemen, drawn by Niebuhr and engraved by Peter Haas. 19th century half calf over green marbled boards. All edges marbled, title in gilt on spine. First edition of a "pioneer work by the great botanist Forskål which substantially increased the knowledge about the vegetation in the areas he visited. The author proposed 50 new genera, half of which are still valid" (Hünersdorf). The Swedish botanist Peter Forsskål (1732-1763), a brilliant pupil of Linnaeus, was part of the famously doomed Royal Danish expedition to Arabia 1761-1767. Despite his success in studying Arabic and collecting and recording numerous botanical and zoological specimens, all but one of Forsskål's party perished; Forsskål himself contracted malaria and died in Yemen at only thirty-one. The sole survivor was the group's cartographer, Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815), who returned to Sweden and published Forsskål's meticulous notes, preserved in this volume, which describe a staggering number of Arabian plants for the first time in modern scientific terms. Forsskål was also known for using local Arabic terms for plants and animals in assigning them Latin names. Many Arabic terms are listed alongside botanical descriptions in this volume as well, appearing in both Latin and Arabic scripts. Among these are coffee and the drug plant qat (Catha edulis). Indeed, Forsskål and Niebuhr were the first Europeans to taste the qat. In a note added to his description, Forsskål describes the cultivation and uses of the drug, observing how the Arabs chewed the green leaves to stay awake all night (p. 64). The volume closes with one of Niebuhr's maps, showing the Western side of the Arabian Peninsula, today Saudi Arabia, as it was in the 1760s. - Light external wear, otherwise well-preserved. Pritzel 2969. Hünersdorf, Coffee, pp. 517-518. Stafleu & Cowan 1819. Cf. I. Friis, "Coffee and qat on the Royal Danish expedition to Arabia", in: Archives of Natural History, vol. 42, No. 1 (April 2015), pp. 101-112..
Largely loose or informally bound, 375 x 280 mm. Contents include 1 bound report with 22 silver gelatin print photographs, numerous typed letters and manuscripts prepared for publication, over 100 original drawings of horses or of military scenes, often with extensive notes. Contemporary ribbon-tied black cloth, sans spine, with handwritten label. Extensive archive spanning three decades of French horsemanship, from cavalry battalions in WWI to the development of the sport of dressage, and including unpublished typed and corrected manuscripts, military reports, photographs, original watercolour paintings, and numerous original drawings, at once technical and artistic, of horses in movement. The main individual behind this archive was Captain Elie de Galard Terraube of the French Armée du Levant, member of the prominent de Galard family and nephew of Marie-Henri de Mauléon, himself the author of "Méthod de Dressage", a 19th century manual on horse training. - Though most of the record is loose in folders, several pieces are informally bound. The most notable is "Rapport [...] sur les chevaux Arabes de Syrie, leur achat, leur transport en France" dated 1923 in Hama, Syria, and directed to the French Minister of War. At the time the Minister would have been André Maginot, most famous for his design of the Maginot Line. However, the report states its purpose as "Au sujet d'achat de chevaux des tribus Bédoines pour l'Agriculture" rather than for warfare. Stationed among the Bedouin tribes of Syria during the French Mandate period, de Galard Terraube provides 22 photographs of individual horses and horse dealers, notes on horse breeds and those who sell them, and a hand-inked map titled "Tribus Arabes de Syrie" illustrating the summer and winter residences of seven tribes, listed as: Rouallah [Ruwallah], Fedaan, Sbaa [likely Sba'a-'Abada], Maqualis, Haddidyne, Faquaras, and Beni Khaled [Bani Khalid]. - Another informally bound piece is an unpublished typescript on the work of de Galard Terraube's uncle, Mauléon, with a hand-drawn cover titling it "Méthod de Dressage du Mis. de Mauléon" and dated 1936; evidently, de Galard Terraube wished to have it published and used in French cavalry units, and much of the material relates to this endeavour. Additionally, there is a folder of hundreds of drawings, from polished watercolours to sketches, many labeled, most on the subject of horses: the use of the bit, the pose of the head and legs, etc. Several are on the subject of a soldiers' training instead, illustrating in watercolour how to stabilize a sniper rifle in various situations, often with the help of a second soldier. Numerous further typed pages and letters authored by de Galard Terraube on the subject of horse training. - The earliest of the material are four telegrams dating from 1919 and discussing ranks and responsibilities. Alongside these is an 870 x 370 mm original hand-drawn map titled "312e Brigade" and inked in black, red, and blue. The map shows a detailed series of fortifications presumably under the command of the 312th Brigade. Another informal map shows similar fortifications. - Altogether a thorough archive of French military, cavalry, and general equestrian history at an intersection with Syrian and Bedouin history and the history of the horse trade. Some wear from handling, in general quite good.
320 x 260 mm. 24 issues bound as one. With one map. Housed in contemporary Brinco binder. A rare and complete run of the Gulf Bird Watchers' Newsletter, a record of bird-watching in Bahrain and other Arabian Gulf states. The newsletter was put together by Michael Gallagher, who also authored "The Birds of Oman" (1980), as a way for largely English-speaking inhabitants of the Gulf States to compare sightings, exchange tips and aid with transport, and to provide a resource for bird watchers across the region. - The newsletter started out as meeting minutes from a group of eighteen bird watchers, but encouraged reader submissions. Birders submit recent reports of sightings, along with questions: "Caspian Terns [...] Do they breed nearby?" and lists of birding books purchased en masse from England and available for a small fee. Much focus is on the birds of Bahrain in particular, with reports of Reef Herons, curlews, black headed gulls, and cormorants near Sharjah and of various doves in the desert. Rare sightings receive particular attention: a Great Gray Shrike is seen "near Sar" on 4 July 1969, and a Water Rail, "the first since Spring 1967, was identified in the Janabya reed beds". With numerous lists of sightings, queries, and advice on how to preserve dead specimens. In later years a Sea Bird Report is added due to popular demand, and reports on sightings in the Gulf itself ("Phalaropes: These attractive birds are back again in the Gulf of Oman"). Complimenting the sea reports is a map titled "Sketch Map to Accompany Summary of the Bird Sightings of Captain Chilman During 1967, 1968 & 1969", illustrating the tanker routes through the Gulf from which these observations take place, and carefully noting a curious "NO BIRDS AREA" in the midst of the Gulf. - Altogether, a complete and engaging record of birding in Bahrain and surroundings. Well preserved. OCLC 18723858.
4to (180 x 256 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. Paginated 1-297 (but ff. 101-116 and 273-297 left blank). 21 lines of black riqa' within double pencil rules, illustrated throughout with numerous diagrams. Contemporary blindstamped black cloth. Finely handwritten Lebanese manual of astronomy, written in Arabic by a Catholic Christian mathematician of Syrian descent. In his preface, the author Girgis indicates that his work deals with the sciences of the stars and constellations, including phenomena such as eclipses. He therefore drew from "ancient manuscripts, some of them thousands of years old", and used the astronomical concordances "of the scholars of India, Persia, Greece and Egypt" to write his treatise, which boasts numerous meticulously executed diagrams and tables. Dated 8 Adar 1884 in the Jewish-Christian style. Apparently, this interesting manuscript was not completed by the scribe. - Binding rubbed and bumped, spine chipped and frayed. Paper evenly browned throughout.
350 x 240 mm standard notebook and typewriter sheets. 7 vols., plus loose typewritten and notepad paper. Those bound are in original wrappers. Extensive archive relating to surveying work conducted by A. L. Holt for the Cairo-Baghdad air route in 1921, likely from Holt's own collection. This trove of original documents sheds light on British efforts to establish control over the post-Ottoman Middle East in the aftermath of WWI and the 1920 Iraqi Revolt. Plans for an air route between Cairo and Baghdad were originally drawn up in 1919 by Winston Churchill as Secretary of State for Air in collaboration with Hugh Trenchard, marshal of the Royal Air Force. Major A. L. Holt (1896-1971) was a decorated former Royal Engineers officer who during the 1920s was employed by Iraq Railways and the Turkish Petroleum Company, and pioneered mechanized exploration in the region. Holt additionally authored "Some Journeys in the Syrian Desert" (1923) and "The Future of the North Arabian Desert" (1923). - Another notable presence in this collection is that of Nuri ibn Sha'lan, leader of the Ruwallah tribe and the last major Arab leader to join the Arab Revolt. He was courted assiduously by T. E. Lawrence and the British military establishment, but only an intervention and payment by King Faisal prevailed (Tauber). - The archive comprises: - 1. [Report on two Cairo-Baghdad air route reconnaissance missions], 1921. Typescript with manuscript annotations, 34 pp. (rectos and versos), describing "The expedition to Ma' Dak Han" (oasis near Ramadi) and the "First Ford expedition" ("The ostensible purpose was a political mission to Nuri ibn Shalan of the Rowallah tribe", p. 11), incidents include an encounter with Arab chieftain "Faad ul Duchaim" ("He seemed to think that he ... should receive the same consideration and subsidy as his cousin Fahad Beg ibn Hadhal whose son had taken an active part against the Turks during the war", p. 30), 2 leaves of related manuscript notes attached. - 2. "2nd Ford Reconnaissance on the Baghdad-Cairo Air Route, June 6th-16th", ca. 1921. Manuscript, 79 ff., begins "Purposes of the Expedition. 1. To establish by ground and air No 4 landing ground at 200 miles from Ramadi, 2. To meet the Cairo reconnaissance party at L.G. 4 and pilot them to Baghdad", describes numerous encounters with locals, e.g., "Met a crowd of Arabs on the move. These proved to be the people of Jiza ibn Bahr. Consulted Jiza ibn Bahr himself about a guide and he produced one Zumaitan ibn Matar who proved himself excellently acquainted with the country" (f. 23), "Met a raiding party of Arabs about 100 strong under Mutlaq ibn Thamir going to raid the Beni Sabbar people" (f. 32), "Arrived Al Mat. Found camped there one Sheikh Mishrif al Awagi (Suwailmat) with about fifty tents but no camels. The camels had been sent away to better grazing while he remained there to retain the right to the water" (f. 35), and the airlifting of wounded sheikh Murthi al Rifadi ("an excellent piece of propaganda", f. 61). - 3. "Short Diary of Instructions & Action Taken in Connection with the Aerial Route to be Constructed between Amman and Ramadi. From 13.3.21 to [30.6.21]", 7 September 1921. Typescript, 16 ff., marked "confidential" on title-page. - 4. "Report on Desert Journey to Establish L[anding] G[round] 4", from the Assistant Divisional Adviser, Ramadi, to Major Holt, 22 June 1921. Carbon typescript, 4 ff., typescript covering note attached. - 5. "Names of Places". Carbon typescript, 3 ff., containing names and description of topographical landmarks apparently in Iraq. - 6. Holt, A.L. Baghdad-Amman Air Route. Report on Proposed Trans-Desert Highway for Mechanical Transport. Baghdad: printed by the Superintendent, Railway Press, 1922. 3 copies, folio, each in original wrappers, 9 pp., "Confidential. Report No. 1" printed on front covers. - Together with similar items relating to Holt's work on other projects, including several large maps. These include: "Iraq Railways. Proposed Baghdad Haifa Railway. Notes on Estimates Drawn up from Reconnaisance [sic] Surveys with Map of Proposed Route. District Engineer, Construction and Surveys, Baghdad" [cover title], 24th April 1930. Carbon typescript, 8 [1] ff., folding cyanotype map printed on linen (330 x 1200 mm); hand-coloured lithographic map of proposed oil pipelines from Naft Khaneh, Iraq, to Tripoli and Haifa (345 x 635 mm), and the "Port d'Alexandrette. Projet", folding lithographic map of Iskenderun, modern Turkey (650 x 750 mm). - Altogether a quite complete and engrossing collection with relevance to interwar politics, the early development of aircraft-based infrastructure, and 1920s Iraq. Some light wear and a few rust stains from paperclips and pins; altogether well preserved. Omissi, Air Power and Colonial Control: The Royal Air Force, 1919-1939, pp. 135f. Tauber, The Arab Movements in World War I, pp. 148f.
4to (175 x 244 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 2 volumes. 117 pp. 68 pp. 27 lines to the page, written in dark brown ink on buff paper, catchwords in red, some diagrams, dated at the end of each book. Modern brown morocco bindings with fore-edge flap. Rare and early manuscript of Ibn Kammuna's principal work, this copy written less than fifty years after the commentary, which made its author famous, was completed in 1268. - Ibn Kammuna, who lived in Baghdad in the 13th century, is considered one of the most important Jewish philosophers after his Andalusian colleague Moses ibn Maimon (Maimonides, d. 1204) and is known to have corresponded with the illustrious polymath Nasir al-Din Tusi (d. 1274). Ibn Kammuna experienced the overthrow of Abbasid power by Mongol troops in 1258. Following this event, many faiths cohabited in Baghdad until the new power converted to Islam. It is at the heart of this multi-confessional society that Ibn Kammûna wrote most of his work. - The "Sharh al-Talwiyyat" constitutes one of the major contributions to the work of Sohrawardi (d. 1191), who had died in Aleppo less than eighty years before the commentary was written. Several texts suggest that Ibn Kammuna would have stayed in Aleppo, around 1250, to collect direct sources from Sohrawardi's students. Thus, Ibn Kammuna played a key role in the dissemination of the thought of Sohrawardi and the illuminative philosophy ("Ishrâq" in Arabic) that he initiated (cf. Henri Corbin, 1945). - Since Corbin's work, the "Sharh al-Talwiyyat" has been the subject of numerous studies seeking to establish a reference edition. Three relevant editions exist: those of S. Mûsawî (2003), H. Ziai and A. Alwishah (2002, dealing only with parts I and II), and of N. Habibi (2009). The three parts of this work are devoted respectively to logic, the natural sciences, and theology. According to the census established by John Lameer, there are only about fifty copies of "Sharh al-Talwihat" by Ibn Kammuna, taking into account the complete and incomplete copies. Our manuscript, dating from 716 H (1316 CE), is said to be the tenth oldest known copy of Ibn Kammuna's Commentary on the work of Suhrawardi. This set of two volumes comprises parts 2 and 3, while the volume on logic is not present. - Ibn Kammuna wrote extensively on theology, philosophy and psychology. His work is based on the knowledge of ancient Greek philosophers, on the study of the writings of Avicenna and Sohrawardi, as well as on the works of Judah Halevi and Maimonides. He is notably the author of "Tanqih al-abhath lil-milal al-thalath" (Critical Study on the Three Monotheistic Religions), and of "al-Jadid fi'l-hikma" (The New Wisdom), a discussion of the philosophy and science of the 13th century. His most significant contribution to the history of philosophy remains his present detailed commentary on Sohrawardi's "Al-Talwihat". Reza Pourjavadi & Sabine Schmidtke, A Jewish Philosopher of Baghdad. 'Izz al-Dawla Ibn Kammuna (d. 683/1284) and His Writings. Leiden and Boston, 2006 (= Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies, vol. 65). Joep Lameer, "Ibn Kammuna's Commentary on Suhrawardi's Talwihat. Three Editions", Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 3 (2012), pp. 154-184.
8vo (162 x 239 mm). 588 pp. Contemporary blindstamped blue cloth. Third Beirut edition of Ibn Khaldun's famous "Muqaddimat fi'l tarikh" (Prolegomena to History). "Ibn Khaldun's title to enduring fame [...] is bound up with that remarkable product of his pen, the Prolegomena to History. Here his genius reveals itself in its full splendor. Here he scatters with lavish hands the ripe fruits of his reflection on the course of human history. Hammer-Purgstall hailed him as an Oriental Montesquieu [...] He was indeed the first to describe comprehensively the state of the various sciences in the Muslim world: the arts, the trades, the commerce, the means of obtaining a living; the forms of government and the administration of justice and public affairs; every important aspect of the social life known to him" (Schmidt, p. 14). The Beirut edition, first issued in 1879, was the first produced by Arabic scholars; previously, the text had been published only by Etienne Quatremère (Paris 1858). - Binding a little rubbed; extremeties bumped. Front flyleaf loose; final leaves a little stained with light edge flaws, but a complete, sound copy. Schmidt, Ibn Khaldun, p. 56. OCLC 993710073.
Small oblong folio (260 x 180 mm). 103 silver gelatin photographs mounted in photo corners or laid down. Contemporary black leather, blindstamped with imitations of Egyptian hieroglyphs. An interesting album of snapshots taken in Sudan and Iraq in the 1930s. Although the photographer's name is not present, he was probably an RAF serviceman stationed in North Africa and the Middle East, as there are several images of billets and two official R.A.F. aerial photographs at the rear of the album. - The images of Iraq, including Khartoum, Baghdad and Samarra, are in the majority, and largely focus on leisure activities such as horse racing in the desert and trips to important archaeological sites. One attractive series documents an excursion to the ruins of Babylon with the Lion of Babylon and the Ctesiphon Arch. Among the images of Babylon are two brick reliefs from the Ishtar Gate (constructed ca. 575 CE), a muscular aurochs, and the mythic mushussu dragon. - Light fading, otherwise well preserved.
4to (185 x 248 mm). 80 pp. Illustrated throughout with photographs, diagrams, and maps. Original light blue printed wrappers. Pamphlet covering the history of Kuwait, the operations of the Kuwait Oil Company, and the "New Kuwait" of the 1950s. The Kuwait Oil Company was founded in 1934 and was heavily involved in the modernization of Kuwait, whose large petroleum and natural gas reserves were first tapped at Burgan Field in 1938, with production beginning in 1946. The pamphlet focuses on the changes brought to Kuwait by the oil industry in the first ten years since its inception: graphs and photographic illustrations show the rise in oil production, numerous scenes of the refineries, pipelines, workers' houses, mosques, and recreational scenes at Ahmadi, and an early gas station and new housing in Kuwait City. Also explained is the family history of the al Sabah rulers of Kuwait, with a family tree and portraits of previous and contemporary rulers, including Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah (1837-1915), Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (1885-1950), and Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah (1895-1965), first Emir of Kuwait; one image depicts him ceremonially opening an oil well. - Wrappers slightly browned at extremities, quite well preserved. OCLC 21880314.
180 x 305 mm. 48 chromogenic and 49 silver gelatin photographs, ranging from 80 x 80 mm to 19 x 126 mm, and housed in photo sleeves. Contemporary spiral-bound illustrated boards. An album of 97 vintage photographs and photographic postcards showing the construction works for the Kuwait oil industry, likely at the famous Burgan and Al Bahrah oil fields and refineries. During the early decades of oil production, the Kuwait Oil Company worked to develop the flowering industry, sometimes partnered with British oil company BP. Several photographs were likely taken by European engineers who moved to Kuwait to work in the oil industry; some of the early silver gelatin photographs were printed in Germany, while several other silver gelatin prints have the stamp of the Armenian-Syrian photographer Vartan Derounian (1888-1954) and/or the stamp K.E.W., that is of the Kuwait Engineering Works Ltd. Since oil was discovered in Kuwait at Burgan oil field in 1938, the petroleum industry has become the largest in the country, responsible for roughly half of Kuwait's GDP. This series of photographs, beginning in roughly the 1950s and with the latest photograph dated 1978, illustrates three decades of infrastructure development and expansion in the industry, including numerous detailed scenes of tanks, wells, and pipelines. - A few light signs of wear, altogether very well preserved.
8vo mimeographed typescript. Approx. 122 pp. Original black wrappers. Together with: 3 colour stills on board (364 x 281 mm), 12 colour stills (241 x 185 mm) issued for the press, 10 silver gelatin print stills (278 x 210 mm), colour poster, and 14 behind the scenes and costume test silver gelatin prints (ranging from 158 x 105 mm to 290 x 290 mm), with further costume test photographs tucked into the script. Fascinating and significant collection of material relating to one of the most famous British films of all time, Sir David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962). The collection includes a unique production-used script, the title-page annotated "2nd Unit, Abbey", with various test photographs inserted into the script at different points and annotations and added tabs towards the end of the script. Includes four large black and white behind-the-scenes photos of the film's then-unknown star, Peter O'Toole (1932-2013), on camelback taken by famous stills photographer Ken Danvers (1911-80). Various additional costume reference photographs are present, including three for 'Lawrence', one featuring Peter O'Toole, in costume, smoking next to a set trailer. Also present are a set of twelve front of house stills for the film, an American one-sheet poster from the 1971 re-release, and other photographic stills relating to the production including three large colour film stills on board, which round out an impressive collection. Also included are 11 photographic references of T. E. Lawrence used by the costume design team to style Peter O'Toole. - "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) was O'Toole's film debut, for which he received international acclaim. The film itself was selected in 1999 as the third best British film of the 20th century, and won seven of an impressive ten Oscar nominations. It is generally considered one of the most important films to come out of the 1960s, and has been selected for preservation in America's National Film Registry in acknowledgment of its cultural significance. - Occasional light wear to photographs, generally in the form of subtle pinpricks to corners. In general, exceptionally well preserved. - Provenance: Acquired by an employee of the film's producer, Sam Spiegel (1901-85). Spiegel was financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th century, and was the first independent Hollywood producer to work on films that won the Academy Award for "Best Picture" three times. One of those films was, of course, "Lawrence of Arabia".
Large folio (620 x 508 mm). A total of 31 albumen prints (of an average size of 390 x 280 mm), individually mounted on card. Contemporary red half morocco and pebbled red cloth, titled in gilt on spine. A fine album of large-format photographs mainly of Egypt and Palestine, including numerous fine and early views of mosques, all by the most famous 19th century photographer of the Arab world, Félix Bonfils (1831-85). Among the famous locations captured in his high-quality albumen prints are the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, the newly-built Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali (one image showing the fountain of ablution), the Sultan Qaytbay Mosque and funerary complex, as well as the Tombs of the Caliphs, the Fountain of the Valide Sultan, and the so-called Chair of Omar (Membar) in the Temple Square. Ancient Egypt is well represented, as well. In Jerusalem, the collection includes views of the Mosque of Omar (that is the Dome of the Rock, or Qubbat al-Sakhrah), the Church of Saint Anne with the Dome of the Rock, as well as Zion Gate and several street scenes in the older districts of the city, but also the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Kanisatu al-Qiyamah), with Christian priests posing on a balcony, some standing on a ladder which is famously permanent - by rumour due to the Status Quo agreement between the numerous Christian sects which use the church. In Istanbul (Constantinople), the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque is pictured. A few additional images show the tidewater at Jaffa and two sites in Athens. All photographs are signed and titled in plate by Bonfils. - Some exterior wear; the large-sized photographs are well preserved.
8vo. 255, (1) pp. With 13 photo illustrations and a map. Original red publisher's cloth with giltstamped spine title. Original dust jacket. First printing of the first edition. A documentary of a year spent by the author in the Arabian Gulf, discussing Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Buraimi Oasis, Qatar, Kuwait; hunting and falconry. Dedicated "to the honour and glory of His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Albufalah, Ruler of Abu Dhabi". - Dust jacket slightly frayed and chipped in places, otherwise a good copy of this now-rare title. OCLC 1239299. Not in Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula.
Chromolithograph map, 852 x 520 mm. Scale 1:500,000. A map depicting the Jewish settlements related to Keren Hayesod agricultural work from 1921-1946. Keren Hayesod was, during the pre-state period, a single-issue Zionist funding body and played a large role in the settlement of Palestine by Jewish colonists prior to 1948; many of these settlements were agricultural in nature. The map lists over one hundred settlements and distinguishes those established by from those aided by Keren Hayesod. Also identified are settlement types: communal, smallholders, village, urban, town, training farms, and ex-servicemen villages. A colourful and thorough overview of Keren Hayesod's work in the region. - A hint of wear along creases, otherwise well preserved. OCLC 827860593.
Colour-printed map, 889 x 632 mm. Scale 1:250,000. First edition. A rare, large full-colour geological map of Palestine, sheet 3, partly revised from aerial photographs by the Geological Section. The key lists era and type of rock, from Precambrian grey and red granites to Neogene sandstones and recent dune deposits, and illustrates both known and predicted fault lines across the earthquake-prone region. However, geology was evidently not the sole concern: international and district boundaries are noted along with railways, various roads, wadis, Arab and Jewish villages individually marked, monasteries and convents, khirba ruins and tell mounds, and sheikhs' tombs. This provides a holistic and detailed map showing Palestinian human settlements, water cycles, geological deposits, and transport corridors during the Mandate period. - Fully and professionally backed in cloth.
Large 4to (240 x 273 mm). 48 albumen photographs (ca. 240 x 180 mm) mounted on card recto and verso. Bound in contemporary black half calf and cloth, ruled in gilt. An elegant example of the early photography souvenirs which were becoming increasingly popular in the 1890s, especially in tourism of the Holy Land. Many of the photographs are by the studio of Félix Bonfils (1831-85), a French-born photographer who came to the Levant with General d'Hautpoul in 1860 and remained to begin a prolific photography career. Based in Beirut, Bonfils produced thousands of photographs depicting Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Greece and other parts of the Ottoman Empire. In the early days of Western tourism to the Middle East, his works soon became popular as souvenirs, and other photographers soon followed. Other examples are by Francis Frith or unsigned. They show memorable scenes of Jerusalem and surroundings, especially tombs, monuments, churches, mosques, landscapes, and cityscapes. - Gentle wear and fading, some foxing to cards, but generally appealing and well preserved.
Small folio (310 x 235 mm). 46 window-mounted albumen photograph cartes-de-visite (84 x 52 mm), Contemporary pebbled green cloth, all edges gilt, remains of metal clasp. Moirée endpapers. An elegant example of the early photography souvenirs which were becoming increasingly popular in the 1890s, especially in tourism of the Holy Land. The cartes-de-visite distinctively illustrate the moment visual souvenirs began to evolve from etchings and prints to photographs: all are, in fact, photographs of paintings depicting church scenes and architecture. There are 48 cartes-de-visite, though only 46 are photographs, the final two being handwritten and hand illuminated well-wishes in French. - Gentle wear and fading, but well preserved.