Jeffries, David.MareMagnum
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8vo. (6), IV, (16), 69, (3) pp. With 30 engraved plates (some depicting cuts of diamonds) and tables. Contemporary mottled calf with gilt dentelle border and corner fleurons (rubbed); modern spine on 5 raised bands. Rare first edition of the "first book in English to describe how diamonds and pearls can be evaluated on the basis of the factors of size (or weight) and style of cut" (Sinkankas). The London jeweller Jeffries is also the first author to provide "a clear statement of the principle that the value of pearls should be calculated to the square of their weight [...] This principle is implicit in the valuation tables given by earlier authors, including Tavernier and others, but Jeffries is the first to state it explicitly. At the back of his book, he provides tables allowing the calculation of the value of individual and batches of pearls of different size or quality. This is effectively a 'chau' book, as used by merchants in the Gulf and India until the mid-20th century, and fulfils exactly the same function" (Carter). - "The text explains the [diamond] cutting procedure, how the evaluation rules were derived, the importance of imperfections and flaws as affecting price, notes on rough diamonds [...] and finally, a somewhat similar procedure for the valuation of pearls, with highest values accorded to pearls of closest approach to spherical perfection, luster, etc. The mathematical rule used for the pearl is known as the 'square of the weight' multiplied by a per-carat base price" (Sinkankas). - Includes a list of subscribers in the preliminaries. Occasional spotting, a few small stains. Small tape repair to title, plates 5 & 6 with short repaired tears (no loss). Professional repairs to corners; modern spine (repairs including the first inch of the covers); modern endpapers. Removed from the Library of the Birmingham Assay Office, one of the four assay offices in the United Kingdom, with their library stamp to the title-page. Sinkankas 3195. Carter, Sea of Pearls, p. 83, 125f., 251 (with illustrations). Goldsmiths' 8500. Hoover 453 (note). Cf. Roller/G. II, 10.
8vo. XVI, 116 pp. With 30 plates. Contemporary blue cloth, covers blindstamped and upper cover gilt, title gilt to spine. A 19th century edition of the "first book in English to describe how diamonds and pearls can be evaluated on the basis of the factors of size (or weight) and style of cut" (Sinkankas). The London jeweller Jeffries is also the first author to provide "a clear statement of the principle that the value of pearls should be calculated to the square of their weight [...] This principle is implicit in the valuation tables given by earlier authors, including Tavernier and others, but Jeffries is the first to state it explicitly. At the back of his book, he provides tables allowing the calculation of the value of individual and batches of pearls of different size or quality. This is effectively a 'chau' book, as used by merchants in the Gulf and India until the mid-20th century, and fulfils exactly the same function" (Carter). - "The text explains the [diamond] cutting procedure, how the evaluation rules were derived, the importance of imperfections and flaws as affecting price, notes on rough diamonds [...] and finally, a somewhat similar procedure for the valuation of pearls, with highest values accorded to pearls of closest approach to spherical perfection, luster, etc. The mathematical rule used for the pearl is known as the 'square of the weight' multiplied by a per-carat base price" (Sinkankas). - Insignificant browning. Removed from the Library of the Birmingham Assay Office, one of the four assay offices in the United Kingdom, with their library stamp to the flyleaf. OCLC 31561438. Cf. Sinkankas 3195. Carter, Sea of Pearls, p. 83, 125f., 251. Goldsmiths' 8500. Hoover 453 (note). Roller/G. II, 10.
8vo. (8), XXXXV, (1), 104 pp. With engraved dedicatory headpiece and 10 engraved plates (some depicting cuts of diamonds) and tables. Contemporary French mottled calf with red giltstamped label to prettily gilt spine. Marbled endpapers. All edges red. First edition in French of this early book describing "how diamonds and pearls can be evaluated on the basis of the factors of size (or weight) and style of cut" (Sinkankas). The London jeweller Jeffries is the first author to provide "a clear statement of the principle that the value of pearls should be calculated to the square of their weight [...] This principle is implicit in the valuation tables given by earlier authors, including Tavernier and others, but Jeffries is the first to state it explicitly. At the back of his book, he provides tables allowing the calculation of the value of individual and batches of pearls of different size or quality. This is effectively a 'chau' book, as used by merchants in the Gulf and India until the mid-20th century, and fulfils exactly the same function" (Carter). - "The text explains the [diamond] cutting procedure, how the evaluation rules were derived, the importance of imperfections and flaws as affecting price, notes on rough diamonds [...] and finally, a somewhat similar procedure for the valuation of pearls, with highest values accorded to pearls of closest approach to spherical perfection, luster, etc. The mathematical rule used for the pearl is known as the 'square of the weight' multiplied by a per-carat base price" (Sinkankas). - This French edition is much scarcer than the expanded second English edition, on which it is based. It is dedicated by the translator (the Royal librarian Chappotin S. Laurent) to the sixteen-year-old Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé, on the occasion of his marriage to Charlotte de Rohan. - Professional repairs to hinges and corners; in all a fine copy. Provenance: Handwritten ownership of the Brussels jeweller Emanuel Meyer, dated 1788, to title-page. 19th century engraved bookplate of Thomas Westwood to pastedown. Latterly removed from the Library of the Birmingham Assay Office, one of the four assay offices in the United Kingdom, with their library stamp to the second flyleaf. Sinkankas 3198. Cf. Carter, Sea of Pearls, p. 83, 125f., 251. Goldsmiths' 8500. Hoover 453. Roller/G. II, 10.
20 x 13 inches. Hand-coloured. Fine example of De Jode's modern map of the Middle East, from his Speculum Orbis Terrae, published in Antwerp in 1578 and engraved by Joannes & Lucas van Deutecum. The complete title reads: "Secundae partis Asiae: typus qua oculis subijciuntur itinera nautarum qui Calecutium Indiae mercandorum aromatum caufa fre quentant, ac eorum quoqz qui terrestri itinere ade unt Suacham, Laccam, in domino Praeto Iani, nec non eorum qui Aden et ormum inuifunt, et Balsaram quoque castrum, supra Euphratem fluuium situm, omnia suis gradibus subiecta, cum longitudinis tum latitudinis / Iacobo Castaldo pedemontano authore; Gerhardus de Iode excudebat". As noted in the title, the map was prepared by Gerard De Jode's and is largely identical to Giacomo Gastaldi's highly influential map of 1559. De Jode's delineation of Arabia is vastly superior to the contemporary maps of Ortelius, showing far more accuracy and detail. Extending from the Nile to Afghanistan and centered on the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf, the map depicts what was then still among the most important trading centers of the commercial world. The present example is from the first edition of De Jode's work, which can be distinguished from the second edition by the pagination on the verso (VII for the 1578 edition; 9 for the 1593 edition). The map is drawn from the rare first edition of De Jode's Speculum Orbis Terrarum. At least one commentator has opined that as few as 11 known examples of the first edition are known to have survived, making separate maps from this first edition very rare on the market. - Giacomo Gastaldi (fl. 1542-1565) is widely considered to be the most important and influential of all of the Lafreri School mapmakers. Born in Piedmont, Gastaldi worked in Venice, where he become Cosmographer to the Venetian Republic. Karrow described him as "one of the most important cartographers of the sixteenth century. He was certainly the greatest Italian mapmaker of his age..." While his achievement is obvious, it is hard to quantify. A large number of maps were published throughout this period with the geography credited to Gastaldi, but it is often difficult to know what role Gastaldi played in their creation. As a practice, he did not sign himself as publisher, although his name may be found in the title, dedication, or text to the reader. Frequently where there is no imprint one may assume that Gastaldi was the publisher. A further clue may be that many of the maps attributable to Gastaldi as publisher seem to have been engraved by Fabius Licinius. In other cases, where publication is credited to another, it is not always certain whether Gastaldi was commissioned by the publisher to compile the map, whether another less-enterprising publisher merely copied his work and attribution, or simply added Gastaldi's name in the title to add authority to the delineation. His name clearly commanded the same sort of respect that the Sanson name had in the last years of the seventeenth century, and as Guillaume de L'Isle's had in the first half of the eighteenth century. Gastaldi's first published map was of Spain, engraved on four sheets, and issued in 1544. The following year he published a map of Sicily, among the most widely copied of all his maps. In the course of a prolific career, Gastaldi subsequently produced a number of maps of Italy, and individual parts of the peninsula, with his general map of Italy, and the map of Piedmont also being very influential. Among the most important of his maps, however, were of areas outside Italy. Principal among these was his map of the World, published in 1546, a four sheet map of the countries of south-eastern Europe, published in 1559, and his series of three maps of the Middle East, Southern Asia, and South-East Asia with the Far East, issued between 1559 and 1561. In 1562, Gastaldi issued a two-sheet map of the Kingdom of Poland, and in 1564, a magnificent eight-sheet map of Africa. Karrow, Mapmakers of the Sixteenth Century, 30/91.2. Tibbetts, Arabia in Early Maps 38.
107 volumes, many containing multiple articles. 8vo. Some illustrated with plates and maps. Half calf with marbled sides and gilt lettering on spine or cloth with marbled sides and label on spine. Handsomely bound, extraordinary collection of important scientific journal articles by 19th and 20th century Western explorers of Afghanistan, Central Asia, China, the Himalayas, India (including Assam, Bengal, Kashmir, and Punjab), Karakoram, Pakistan (including Sindh), and Tibet, with content covering anthropology, archaeology, exploration, geography, geology, glaciology, history, language and grammar, mountaineering, and politics. At the time these were the far outskirts of the world for Western science, where a lot was yet to be learned. Often the maps in these journals are the first modern maps of such regions and findings were the first to be scientifically published. - Generally in very good condition. Please inquire for a full list of contents.
4to. (4), 92 pp. Printed on thick paper with 2 text illustrations and 1 plate (counted as III). Contemporary brown half cloth over marbled covers with old paper label pasted on the spine. First edition of this important study of Arabic papyrology, exceedingly rare. With quotations and interspersions in Arabic. The orientalist Joseph Maria von Karabacek (1845-1918) was professor at the University of Vienna and director of the Imperial Court Library. This is the first and only independent, monographic edition in German, an offprint (with separate pagination) from vols. II and III of the "Mittheilungen aus der Sammlung der Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer" (1887). The book was translated into English in 1991 (republished in 2001); it remains a classic textbook referenced by specialized literature such as Adam Gacek's handbook on Arabic manuscripts (Leiden: Brill, 2009). - In very good condition: title-page showing light foxing; contemporary library stamp of the Brünn German Technical University on the cover, their bookplate on the pastedown. Binding slightly rubbed; extremeties bumped. A wide-margined copy. OCLC 17791658. Cf. Gacek, Arabic Manuscripts, pp. 191f., 306 (citing the serialized edition and the English translation).
Original watercolour drawing over ink. 267 x 196 mm. On thick oriental wove paper. Original ink drawing of the armillary sphere (Zâtü'l-Kürsü, "instrument on pedestal") published in 1732 in the famous universal Islamic geography "Kitab-i Cihânnümâ" of Katib Chelebi (1609-57). The present watercolour by Ahmed Al-Qirimi, who also contributed the maps to Ibrahim Müteferrika's famous publication of Katip's atlas, probably served as the direct model for the engraved plate. Müteferrika, a Hungarian convert to Islam, completed Katip's unfinished work, which had hitherto circulated in manuscripts only. He had the maps specially drawn and cut for it, and printed it at his own press, the first printshop in Turkey. - While extremely close in design and size to the present drawing, the published plate differs from it in several respects, lacking numerous details as well as - most conspicuously - the four additional instruments which here decorate the corners; on the other hand, the print shows the pedestal placed upon an additional short plinth not seen in the sketch. - Evenly browned and with a few small edge flaws, but well preserved.
4to. (8), 206 pp. (wanting final blank). With woodcut printer's device on title. - (Bound after) II: Pirhing, Ehrenreich, SJ. Facilis, et succincta S.S. canonum doctrina [...]. Venice, Nicolo Pezzana, 1693. (12), 350, (14) pp. Title printed in red and black with two-coloured woodcut vignette. - (And) III: Moretto, Bernardo. Propugnacolo della cattolica, apostolica, e universale Santa Romana Chiesa alle false obiettioni de scismatici, & heretici contra la parola Romana nella dottrina Christiana [...]. Venice, Andrea Poletti, 1685. (14 [instead of 16?]), 112 pp. With engraved armorial vignette on title. Contemporary blindstamped leather over wooden boards with 2 clasps. All edges red. First Italian edition of the "Taqwim al-Tawarikh", an annalistic chronicle from the creation of Man to the year 1648, when it was composed by the famous Turkish polymath Katib Chelebi (1609-57). This is, at the same time, the first printing of any work of Katib Chelebi's in any language: the chronicle was not published in the original mixture of Persian and Ottoman Turkish until 1733, by Müteferrika. "[T]he work originated as an excerpt of [Chelebi's previous effort,] 'Fazlakat aqwal al-ahyar', but continued up to Chelebi's own time [...] Becoming highly popular as an easy reference work, it was continued after Chelebi's death by several authors, including Hüseyin Hezarfenn, Seyhi, and Ibrahim Müteferrika, who published it as the twelfth product of his press [...] Equally popular in Europe as a reference work, it was translated into Latin, Italian, and French. Today, the afterword is the main part of interest, as it contains a brief discussion of the regularities or laws of history, and an initial elaboration of his ideas of causation in history, which are later copies by Na'ima (d. 1128/1716) in his theoretical discussion" (Kafadar, Karateke, Fleischer: Historians of the Ottoman Emprire, s.v.). - Bound before this are two other rare Venetian works of the late 17th century, namely a single-volume reduction of the "Jus Canonicum" (1674) by the Bavarian Jesuit Pirhing (1606-79), and the second edition of an instructional dialogue between a Catholic and a heretic by the Venetian jeweller Moretto (first published in 1647). Some brownstaining and waterstaining; a few edge and corner flaws. Last leaves rather wrinkled, lacking lower flyleaf. I: Babinger, GOW, 197. BN XXIII, 990. Encyclopaedia of Islam² IV, 761. OCLC 563174142, 457543094. - II: De Backer/Sommervogel VI, 854.
Small folio (237 x 308 mm). 2 vols. (6), IX, (1), VI, 665, (1) pp. (2), VI, 817, (13) pp. Contemporary full sheep, flat spines with red morocco labels. The "Mishkat al-Masabih" ("A Nic33357he for Lamps") of Al-Khatib al-Tabrizi (also known as Wali al-Din, d. 741 H), a revised and expanded version of the "Masabih al-Sunnah" by al-Baghawi, with approximately 1500 hadith added. This important Sunni text was first translated into English by Capt. Matthews of the Bengal Artillery. Although some of the original hadith are not included and others incorrectly translated, this attempt at publishing a translation from the Arabic was a noted accomplishment for the time. - The List of Subscribers accounts for 122 copies, with an additional 100 copies noted as being published on order of the Governor General in Council for the Honourable Company. A statement in an 1848 issue of the Journal of Sacred Literature suggests that most copies of the work were destroyed at sea, yet it was still advertised for sale in 1817 in the Literary Panorama (at the price of £4.4s). - Some browning throughout, more pronounced in endpapers. A short tear to lower edge of vol. 1. A good copy of this rare Calcutta imprint, bound in India. OCLC 15466515. BLC v. 229, p. 302.
Small folio (204 x 306 mm). (10), 140 pp. Text in Latin and Arabic, with some Hebrew and Greek, woodcut initials and tail-pieces. Tasteful modern sheep-backed marbled boards with giltstamped spine label. First edition of the "notes on the Gospel of Matthew" by the pioneering Arabist and physician Peter Kirsten (1577-1640), who started a private press in Breslau (Wroclaw) in 1607 (cf. Reske 130). His Arabic type, the first to be cut in Germany (by Peter von Selau), shows the influence of the Medicean types. - This is the issue with the letterpress title; another issue has an engraved title. Some copies lack the fifth preliminary leaf (present here): a singleton printed on different paper and in a different typeface, containing a 26-line laudatory poem in Hebrew by Jakob Ebert of Frankfurt, with the Latin translation on the recto. - Kirsten's notes on Matthew's Gospel "are mainly a comparison of the Arabic with the Greek version, and serve to explain the Arabic text. The Coptic and Syriac versions mentioned in the title are no more than marginal readings indicated as such in the Arabic manuscript which he used. These versions, as well as the Hebrew version, are mostly given in Latin translation, but occasionally a slight 12 pt Hebrew type-face is employed" (Smitskamp). - "One of the earliest non-Dutch scholar-typographers in [the] post-Medici tradition was the German Peter Kirsten (1575-1640), a physician of Breslau (Wroclaw), who had travelled and studied in both Italy and Leiden. He created a superior type-face, with some calligraphic qualities" (Roper). - Some very light browning and spotting, but a good copy. OCLC records two copies in the US (New York Public Library and University of Pennsylvania, both apparently with only four preliminary leaves). VD 17, 1:071605E. Smitskamp, PO 113. Fück 58, note 143. Waller 19836. Not in Schnurrer. Cf. Geoffrey Roper, "Early Arabic printing in Europe", in: Middle Eastern Languages and the Print Revolution (Mainz 2002), pp. 129-150, at p. 143.
4to (162 x 202 mm). (12), 128 pp. Modern marbled boards. Posthumous edition, under a new title (and with the author's name misspelt "Enustinus" for "Cnustinus"), of Knaust's 1542 pamphlet "Von geringem Herkommen, schentlichem Leben, schmehlichem Ende des Turckischen Abgots Mahomets". The jurist and poet Knaust (ca. 1521-77) published on a wide range of topics; "his popular-scientific works, written mainly for young readers and interested laymen, proved especially successful" (cf. NDB XII, 167). From p. 33 onwards the book contains an updated German version of the oft-reprinted and anthologized "Cronica und Beschreibung der Türckey" (1530) by the former slave Bartolomej Georgijevic from Transsylvania (Georgius de Hungaria). - Variously browned throughout with a few insignificant waterstains in the margins; occasional 18th century pencil annotations. Rare. VD 16, K 1434. Chauvin XI, 502. Göllner 2200. BM-STC German 473. Boecler 169. Draudius 531. Hammer 1305. Kertbeny 1190. Szabó III, 873. Veress 128.
Large folio. 2 vols. in one. (26), VIII, 132 pp. (4), XX, 144 pp. With coloured engraved title-page (dated 1754), large engraved vignette by Andreas Hoffer after Gottfried Eichler, and 91 (1 folding) coloured or colour-printed engravings by Knorr, J. A. Eisenmann, A. Hoffer and others. Contemporary calfskin binding gilt. First edition of this monumental work of natural history, one of the most splendid zoological works ever produced in Nuremberg. Begun by Knorr as early as 1751, it was continued by his heirs after his death in 1761. The book describes items from the great contemporary natural history collections, including the magnificent white falcon (with hood) from the collection of the famous physician and botanist Christoph Jakob Trew. The illustrations, occasionally printed in colours but mostly hand-coloured in radiant hues, depict birds, exotic mammals, fishes, corals, butterflies and other insects. - Occasional insignificant waterstaining to the wide blank margins of the text; a few plates show unobtrusive fingerstaining. A beautiful, very wide-margined copy in excellent state of preservation, printed on good, strong paper. Plates show clean, distinct colours and superior contrast. Nissen, ZBI 2227. Horn/Schenkling 12038. Hagen I, 426. Dean I, 696. Graesse IV, 35.
187 x 276 mm. With a rosette gilt and in gouache colour. Diacritical marks added later in black ink, vocalization marks in red (as well as one in green and one in blue). 5 lines. Well-preserved leaf in monumental Kufic script (line height c. 30 mm), written in dark brown ink. The text is from the middle part of verse 109 of the second Quran sura. The script style belongs to group D (according to Déroche's classification, subtype D.III). Similar examples are usually dated to the 9th century C.E. (cf. François Déroche, The Abbasid Tradition, London 1992. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Vol. I, nos. 25 [p. 76] and 34/35 [p. 84]). The polychromatic rosette shows an inscribed number: The red dots are vocalisation marks; the diacritics (in the form of small slashes) were added later in black ink. - Some browning and staining. Brittle in places due to ink corrosion (minor defects to vellum). Verso rubbed, but still legible. Cf. Fingernagel (ÖNB 2010), p. 33.
170 x 263 mm. With gilt rosette and numerous gilt floral ornaments between the letters and in the margins. Vocalisation marks (dots) in red. 5 lines. Illuminated leaf from a once-magnificent Quran manuscript with fine gilt flower and leaf illustrations as space fillers and ornamental border around the large Kufic script written in black ink (line height ca. 25-30 mm). The ornamentation mainly consists in leaf designs with the occasional blossom. Illumination of this type is exceedingly rarely encountered among the preserved Abbasid Kufic manuscripts pre-dating the year 1000. The script style belongs to subgroup D.I, according to Déroche's classification. Manuscripts in this style are normally dated to the 9th century CE (cf. François Déroche, The Abbasid Tradition, London 1992. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Vol. I, nos. 19-23, pp. 67-71). The red dots are vocalisation marks: diacritic marks were not used until later. - Some browning and staining. Brittle in places due to ink corrosion (slight loss to individual letters). Verso rubbed, but still legible. Cf. Fingernagel (ÖNB 2010), p. 33.
4to. (20), 108, (12) pp. 19th century blindstamped full calf with blindstamped spine-title. Rare Latin edition of a contemporary history of the Afghan-Persian wars of the Safavid era. This is a Latin retranslation of Müteferrika's 1729 Turkish edition ("Tarih-i seyyah der bayan-i zuhur-i Agvaniyan ve-inhidam-i devlet-i Safeviyan"), which was itself a translation of a work by the Polish Jesuit Judasz Tadeus Krusinski. The present Latin version is the work of the German linguist Johann Christian Clodius. - Krusinski lived in the Safavid Empire from 1707 to 1725/28. He acted as an intermediary between the Papacy and the Iranian court and also functioned as court translator. Proficient in Persian and well acquainted with the nation and its people, he lived in the Safavid royal capital of Isfahan and was a first-hand witness to the sack of the city by the rebellious Afghans in 1722. Krusinksi's accounts make him an important primary source on this particular period of the Safavid era. - Upper hinge professionally repaired. Paper evenly browned and brownstained throughout due to stock. Provenance: from the library of the British Indian civil servant and member of the Royal Asiatic Society, Thomas Newnham, with his ownership to title-page, stricken out, and with his ca. 1840 gift note to flyleaf: "Presented to the Royal Institution by Thomas Newnham Esq.". Faded library stamp to title-page and last page. A 19th century English handwritten genealogy of the Safavid dynasty is loosely inserted. Bibliotheque de Baron Silvestre de Sacy, III, 5310. Ebert 4844. De Backer/S. IV, 1264. Brunet II, 109 (s.v. Clodius). Zenker 930. OCLC 85075897.
8vo. (4), XI, (1), 198 pp., 1 blank leaf, (199)-207, (1) pp. Original cloth-backed printed wrappers. First complete English edition. - One of the few written sources about the Arab conquest of Sindh (now in Pakistan) and the origins of Islam in India, translated from a 13th century Persian text by Ali, son of Muhammad Kufi, itself the translation of an undated Arabic manuscript. A chronicle of the Chacha dynasty, following the demise of the Rai dynasty and the ascent of Chach of Alor to the throne, down to the Arab conquest by Muhammad bin Qasim, it narrates the Arab inclusions into Sindh of the 7th to 8th centuries, concluding with an epilogue on the tragic end of the Arab commander Muhammad ibn al-Kasim and of the two daughters of Dahir, the defeated king of Sindh. Co-opted by various interest groups for centuries, the Chach Nama has significant implications for modern imaginings about the place of Islam in South Asia, that remain disputed to this day. - Handwritten ownership in ink to upper wrapper. Light foxing to covers and variously throughout. Altogether a good copy of a rare work; no copy in auction records. OCLC 315332365. Not in Ghani or Wilson. Cf. Asif, A Book of Conquest (2016); Friedmann, The origins and significance of the Chach Nama, in: Islam in Asia: South Asia (1984), pp. 23-37.
Oblong folio. With 18 tinted chalk lithographs by L. Ekeman-Allesson after R. Kuntz. With lith. title, lith. dedication and 3 ff. of letterpress text. Stored in a modern half morocco leather case. First and only edition. Commissioned by the Board of the Württemberg Stud, the first Arabian stud in Europe, this almost unobtainable series of large format plates shows the Stud's full-blooded Arabian horses with decorative oriental backgrounds. The plates constitute extremely early examples of chalk lithographs (listed individually by Winkler, Frühzeit der dt. Lithographie, 180, 57). Kuntz (1797-1848) was known for his "excellent depictions of horses" (cf. Thieme/B.); throughout his brief career he studied thoroughbreds in England, Hungary, and Paris as well as in Germany. In 1832 he became Painter to the Court of Karlsruhe, Baden; he suffered a stroke in 1846 and died in the newly-founded Illenau mental hospital. - Of the utmost rarity, no copy of the complete series with all three issues as present here traceable in auction records. Nissen 2327. Thieme/B. X, 444 & XXII, 116. Winkler, Die Frühzeit der dt. Lithographie 180.57.
565 x 780 mm. Scale 1:250,000. Showing the future border, then the dividing line through the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone, a 5,770 km² area between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that was left undefined when the border was established by in 1922. Partitioning negotiations finally commenced when the rulers of both countries met and decided, in October 1960, that the Neutral Zone should be divided. On 7 July 1965, the two governments signed an agreement, which took effect on 25 July 1966, to partition the Zone adjoining their respective territories. Ratification followed on 18 January 1970. "This map has been prepared from the results of the survey according to the agreement between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for the Neutral Zone Division on 7/4/1386 corresponding to 25/7/1966". The Gulf is labelled "Arabian Gulf". - An indistinct stamp on verso. A tear to one fold; lower edge irregular. Rare; not in OCLC.
4to. (16), 540, (10), (2 blank) pp. With a woodcut and an engraved author's portrait, 34 woodcut illustrations in text, including several full-page, and some woodcut initals, head- and tailpieces. Contemporary calf, gold-tooled spine. Rare first edition of a travelogue by the French explorer, merchant and diplomat François de la Boullaye-Le Gouz (ca. 1610-69). The largest part of the book deals with his travels through the Middle East and India, while a smaller parts treats Le Gouz's travels through Europe. In 1643 he travelled the Middle East under the name Ibrahim Beg, visiting Syria, Palestine, Persia, Egypt, Anatolia and Armenia. "Like so many European travellers in the east he adopted oriental clothes and an oriental name ... Unlike most European travellers to the east, however, La Boullaye-Le Gouz continued to wear his Persian clothes in his return to France and was consequently regarded as something of a curio" (Hamilton). A few years later he was sent by the French king with an embassy to the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan, where he met and became great friends with the Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes (1591-1660). - La Boullaye-Le Gouz describes the routes he takes, the cities he visits and the people he meets along the way, with frequent observations on religion, natural history and commerce. The illustrations show various Indian deities, some city views or buildings, Indian and Eastern costumes, plants and trees. Pages 243-255 deal with plants, fruits and trees in India, including several palm trees, a fig tree, a jack tree and a melon tree. "The work is notable for its information on northern India and its relations to Persia, and for its inclusion of a summary of the Ramayana" (Howgego). - In Europe, Le Gouz travelled Italy, Greece, Poland, England, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands. In his later years he travelled again to Persia and died in Isfahan probably in 1669, whereafter the Shah ordered a splendid funeral to be held. Included at the end of the book is a list of names of the people La Boullaye-Le Gouz met, sorted by country; a list of uncommon words, and a table of contents. A second, enlarged edition was published in 1657 at Troyes. - Binding rubbed, restored and front hinge partly cracked. Occasional small (water) stains, otherwise in very good condition internally. Atabey 645. Hage-Chahine 2526. Hamilton, Europe and the Arab world 22. Howgego, to 1800, L4. Slot, The Arabs of the Gulf 1602-1784, p. 410. WorldCat (5 copies). Not in Blackmer.
Imperial folio (420 x 596 mm). (8), 87, (1) pp. With large lithographed title vignette and coat of arms of Wilhelm II on dedication leaf. 69 lithographed plates, maps and plans after Laborde and Linant de Bellefonds, mostly mounted on India paper (3 of which folding or double-page and 1 coloured). Period-style half calf with gilt title to spine. First edition of "an important work" (Blackmer), complete with all the magnificent views in large folio format. All subsequent editions, including the English one, were published in octavo and retained only a few plates of the original edition, all in considerably reduced format. Laborde made the journey to Petra with the engineer Linant de Bellefonds in 1828, travelling from Suez via St. Catherine's and through Wadi al-Araba to Akabah. Although Burckhardt, Irby and Mangles had explored Petra before Laborde, he was the first to make detailed drawings of the area. Dedicated to the Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse (1777-1847). - Slight browning and foxing, occasional waterstaining and tears to folds; a small tear in the map repaired, but in all a good, wide-margined copy. Rare: the last complete copy came up for auction in 2009 (Christie's, 3 June, lot 120: £23,750). Blackmer 929. Gay 929. Henze III, 101. Brunet III, 714. Vicaire IV, 758f. Nissen ZBI, 2335. Not in Atabey. Cf. Macro, Bibliography of the Arabian Peninsula, 1386 (2nd ed. only). Howgego 335, L2 (1830-33 ed.).
62 vols. bound in 42, including: 7-16, 19, 21-25 (paper), 28-33, 37-41, 50-57, 63, 69-73, 75-77, 80, 88-92, 94-99, 102, 115, 139, 154-155, 168 (paper). Indices of 1-3, 8-11, 12-15, 28-31, 131-152, 1-39. Vol. 154 with a folded map. Mostly blue cloth with giltstamped crest and spine title, original wrappers included in the binding. 6 vols. in original wrappers. Lithogr. coloured plate of a chart at the end of vol. 56/57 added. First and only edition: a substantial torso of the League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS), the League's officially published collection of treaties and other international engagements. Begun in 1920, it was discontinued in 1946 (following the dissolution of the League) after 205 volumes. The present set includes numerous important agreements reached during the interwar period between the western powers and those of the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, the Trucial States, Yemen, and Oman. - To cite but a few examples, vol. 71 includes the full Arabic and English text of the "Treaty of Friendship and good understanding between his Britannic Majesty and his Majesty the King of Hejaz and of Nejd and its dependencies. Signed at Jeddah, May 20, 1927", authorized by Faisal Abdul-Aziz al Saud, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdul-Rahman al Saud and Gilbert Clayton, pp. 133-164, also noting: "Article 6. His Majesty the King of the Hejaz and of Nejd and its Dependencies undertakes to maintain friendly and peaceful relations with the territories of Kuwait and Bahrain, and with the Sheikhs of Qatar and the Oman Coast, who are in special treaty relations with His Britannic Majesty's Government", p. 154. - Vol. 115 includes the German and Arabic text as well as a French and English translation of the "Treaty of Friendship" between Germany and Hejaz, Neijd and dependencies of 1929 in Cairo which was authorized by Stohrer, Sheikh Hafez Wahba, and Sheikh Fausan El Sabek, pp. 266-270. - Vol. 8 includes the English text of the "Anglo-Muskat commercial treaty": "[...] the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Oman, signed on the eighth day of Shaban 1308 H., corresponding to the 19th March, 1891, will be prolonged by this writing notwithstanding all or any correspondence between His Late Highness Syud Faisal bin Turki and the Glorious British Government [...]" authorized by Taimur bin Faisal, Sultan of Muscat and Oman and R. Wingate, I.C.S. - Vol. 25 includes the English text of the "Anglo-Muscat Treaty prolonging for one year from February 11, 1924", authorized by R. G. Hinde and Nadir, Muhammad bin Ahmad, Rashid, and Zubair in Muscat, pp. 388-391. - Vol. 168 includes the "Agreement between Great Britain and Muscat renewing for a further period of one year from February 11th, 1927, the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation of March 19th, 1891 [...]" in Arabic, French and English authorized by Said bin Tamur, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and Major R. P. Watts, I.A., pp. 230-233. - Vol. 96 includes the "Agreement between Great Britain and Mascat renewing for a further period of one year, from February 11, 1929, the above Treaty of March 19, 1891" in Arabic, English and French, authorized by B. S. Thomas, G. P. Murphy, and Hadji Zuber bin Ali "on behalf of his Highness Sayid Sir Taimur bin Faisal, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., Sultan of Maskat and Oman", pp. 194-197. Numerous further relevant treaties are referenced in the copious indices included with the series. - Three sets of indices bound in separate volumes, the others bound with the treaties. Some of the original wrappers somewhat damaged when not included in the binding, but well preserved. Removed from the Champlain Library of the Université de Moncton, Canada (their shelfmarks to spines and stamps to edges); previously in the library of the University of Washington, Seattle, International Fisheries Commission (their stamps to some wrappers).
Varying sizes (ca. 60 x 55 mm to 20 x 14 mm). Engraved bronze. Set within a modern frame (36,4 x 30,4 cm). Rare document of the Roman presence on the Arabian Peninsula, comprising 15 fragments in good condition. The diploma was issued for an equestrian named Bithus of the ala praetoria singularium, an auxiliary cavalry unit stationed in Syria, under the command of Aulus Furius Saturninus during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96). It can be dated with a high degree of certainty, as Aulus Furius Saturninus is only traceable to military diplomas issued as part of an imperial military constitution for 5 alae and 2 cohorts in Syria from 8 November 88. The name Bithus is probably of Thracian origin. - The ala praetoria singularium was one of 14 alae and 33 cohorts stationed in the province of Syria between 88 and 157. These troops built and defended the almost 1500 kilometre Limes Arabicus, a system of streets, watchtowers, and forts that had its origin in the Roman conquest of Syria in 64 BCE and reached its greatest extent in the second century. Palmyra and Damascus were among the fortified cities along the Limes Arabicus. - From the German collection of Peter Weiß, acquired before 1980. Published: P. Holder, Roman Military Diplomas V (London: University of London, Institute of Classical Studies, 2006), p. 771 f., no. 330. P. Weiß, Neue Militärdiplome, in: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 117 (1997), pp. 229-231.
Large 4to (20.6 x 28.5 cm). (3), 14, (3). With one map in the text, 3 folding diagrams and 4 numbered plates (plate II and IV comprising 3 pages each), as well as 4 corresponding pages of captions. Original printed wrappers. Stapled and perforated. Rare conference paper for the Seventh Arab Petroleum Congress organized by the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States, held in Kuwait from March 16 to 22, 1970. Authored by the geologist Galal Loutfi and the paleontologist Ali Salama Jaber, it discusses the stratigraphiy of three oil fields in the Kuwait-Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone offshore area, namely Khafji, Hout, and Dorra. The illustrations show the geologic profile of the area with its various rock formations, as well as microfacies of four different kinds of limestone in a total of 33 figures. - Front cover slightly brownstained along edges; a larger trace of glue on inside of lower cover; interior otherwise crisp and clean. A single copy located in libraries worldwide (Muséum d'histoire naturelle, Genève). OCLC 716527649.
8vo. VII, (1), 272, 12 pp. With a folding hand-coloured map and a plate (view of Mount Ararat). Contemporary polished calf, spine gilt, rebacked retaining original spine. Marbled endpapers. First edition. - Rare travel report by the British lieutenant Thomas Lumsden, who journeyed from Meerut near Delhi down the Ganges to Calcutta, then onwards by boat to the Arabian Gulf and by land through Persia (Iran), the Caucasus, and southern Russia. A German translation appeared in the same year (and was republished in 1824). The author gives a detailed account of his voyage through the Gulf from Muskat to Bushire immediately after the British Navy's controversial 1819 campaign against Ras al-Khaimah, and notes approvingly the Arabs' kindness and hospitality toward their foreign guests ("which could hardly have been the case, had their detestation of Christians been in reality as great as the Koran tends to inspire"), as well as the entire absence of the cruel mistreatment of the sailors so common on European ships. - Plate slightly browned; a fine copy. Wilson 131. Salmaslian 135. Miansarov 3022 Lowndes 1413. Western Travellers in the Islamic World AR-2028. Cf. Griep/L. 840. Engelmann 124. Not in Macro.
8vo. (26), 237 pp., final blank. Title within double-ruled border. 19th century half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine and spine label. Marbled endpapers. Very scarce English translation of this popular chronicle of the 8th-century Moorish invasion of Spain, purportedly translated from an Arabic manuscript that the Moorish apologist and interpreter Miguel de Luna claimed to have found in the Escorial library, but in fact a work of historical fiction of his own composition. Originally issued as "La verdadera hystoria del Rey Don Rodrigo" in two parts (in 1592 and 1600), the present edition, which encompasses only the first part (a second volume announced in the publisher's letter "To the reader" was never published), is the third one in English, following that of Robert Ashley in 1627 and the slightly more common edition published by Leach in 1687. Further translations appeared in French and Italian. It was not until almost a century after its publication that de Luna's book was discovered to be a literary forgery, and even today it remains important as a sympathetic account of the Moorish conquest of Spain. - Binding insignificantly rubbed. Occasional very light foxing; title-page slightly trimmed at foot affecting border. A tiny rust-hole to I5 and a larger tear to K8. Provenance: Handwritten ownership of the Revd. Thomas Watkins (1761-1829), F.R.S., of Pennoyre, Breconshire (dated 1806) to p. 1. Later in the library of the art collectors Howard and Linda Knohl at Fox Pointe Manor, California, with their bookplate to front pastedown. Rare; a single copy in auction records. Palau 144.080. Wing L3484C.