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A total of 86 topographic maps, colour-printed, ca. 58 x 45 cm. Constant ratio linear horizontal scale. In Russian (Cyrillic). Nearly all of the Soviet Union's 1:200,000 General Staff map quadrangles showing the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula: from the Russian series of maps produced during the Cold War, based on high-quality satellite imagery, but usually also ground reconnaissance. While there are a few lacunae in Yemen near the south-western tip of the Peninsula, most of the area is well-covered. Assembled continuously, the quadrangles would form an enormous map spanning ca. 8 x 4 metres. - Products of a massive, clandestine cartographic project begun under Stalin and ultimately encompassing the entire globe, the Soviet General Staff maps are today noted for their extreme precision. Indeed, even in post-Soviet times they provide the most reliable mapping for many remoter parts of the world: "Soviet-era military maps were so good that when the United States first invaded Afghanistan in late 2001, American pilots relied on old Russian maps of Afghanistan. For almost a month after the United States began a bombing campaign to help oust the Taliban government, American pilots were guided by Russian maps dating back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s" (Davies/Kent, p. xi). - Although the details of the cartographic programme evolved over the decades, its overall system and plan remained remarkably constant. "The basic quadrangle is the 1:1,000,000 sheet spanning 4° latitude by 6° longitude [...] Each 1:1,000,000 sheet is [...] subdivided into 36 1:200,000 sheets in a six-by-six grid [... They] normally contain on the reverse side a detailed written description of the districts (towns, communications, topography, geology, hydrology, vegetation, and climate) together with a geological sketch map" (ibid., p. 19-21). "Printing such large-format plans in so many colors with near-perfect print registration itself testifies to the skill of the printers in the military map printing factories across the former Soviet Union. The quality of printing reflects the level of training and the reliability of humidity-control equipment and the electricity supply at the time" (ibid., p. 6f.). - The 1:200,000-scale maps are specifically labelled "For Offical Use". Indeed, all General Staff maps de facto constituted closely guarded military material, none of which became available in the West before the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. - Light traces of folds, occasional wrinkles and a few odd edge flaws, but altogether in excellent condition. Cf. J. Davies / A. J. Kent, The Red Atlas (Chicago/London, 2017).
8vo. 15 black and white photographs captioned in white, plus one repeat in a smaller print. Original board album, acquired from "M. Arthur, Beyrouth". Paper label to upper cover: "Arab Types. Syria". Small but fascinating collection of portrait photographs showing Arabian nobles as well as commoners, all captioned and the subject often identified by name and tribe. The photos, many of which are executed as highly expressive profile studies, were taken and assembled by Lt. Col. Walter Francis Stirling (1880-1958), Chief of Staff to T. E. Lawrence. While the present photographs were taken during his time with Lawrence, whom Stirling revered, it is not his British comrades but rather the striking features of the sheikhs and bedouins on which this collection is focused. Among the images are "Sheik Gawaileh of Nejd, one of Lawrence's Bodyguard", and "Sheikh Hamondi, Friend of Lawrence"; others are more ominously identified as "Yezidi Shepherd, Devil worshipper" or "Bad type of Hadadiyim Tribesman". Of many noble tribesmen here depicted, such as Fauraz ibn Sha'laan, Emir of the Ruwalla, or Sheikh Daham al-Hadi, Paramount Sheikh of the Shammar tribe, these probably constitute the only photographic record. - Stirling was trained at Sandhurst and served in the Transvaal operation during the Boer War before being seconded to the Egyptian Army in 1906. He spent five years patrolling with an Arab battalion on the Eritrean and Abyssinian borders. Throughout WWI he served at Gallipoli and the Palestinian campaign until he was appointed chief staff officer to Lawrence of Arabia, who called him "Stirling the imperturbable". In 1937, Stirling would reflect on his famous wartime comrade: "From then [early 1918] throughout the final phase of the Arab revolt on till the capture of Damascus, I worked, travelled, and fought alongside Lawrence [...] We sensed that we were serving with a man immeasurably our superior [...] In my considered opinion, Lawrence was the greatest genius whom England has produced in the last two centuries [...] If ever a genius, a scholar, an artist, and an imp of Shaitan were rolled into one personality, it was Lawrence." In 1919 Stirling became advisor to Emir Feisal and Deputy Political Officer in Cairo, then acting governor of Sinai and Governor of the Jaffa district in Palestine before moving to Albania in 1923 to take up a position advising and assisting in the reorganisation of the Albanian Ministry of the Interior.
2 vols. 18mo. (6), CLXX, 154 pp. 105, (1), 202 pp. With Arabic title-page printed in red and black. Contemporary tanned half sheepskin, gold-tooled spine. First edition in French of two Arabic travels to China and India. The text was translated from the Arabic by the French orientalist and professor Joseph Toussaint Reinaud (1795-1867). The Arabic text was first printed in 1811, under supervision of the French linguist and orientalist Louis-Mathieu Langlès. - The first volume starts with an introduction to the text, followed by the translation. The main text can be divided into two sections. The first account is based on statement from a merchant called Suleyman, who is said to have travelled to India and China in the years 851-852 (237), however, the actual author of the text is unknown. The following account is written down by Abu Zayd al-Hasan al-Sirafi. Al-Mas'udi, "the Herodotus of the Arabs", mentions al-Sirafi in one of his works, stating that he met him in the year 915-916 (303) in Basra, Iraq. Al-Sirafi tells us he was commanded to verify and extend the earlier account. The date of the second account is unclear, but it was probably written in the first half of the 10th century. The text gives a lively account of the life in China and India, with "… the first foreign descriptions of tea and porcelain, and a whole panorama of Chinese society, from the Son of Heaven and Confucian ethics down to toilet paper and bamboo urinals" (Mackintosh-Smith). The second volume gives notes to the translation, followed by the Arabic text. Added to the Arabic text are two extracts from works by Al-Mas'udi, including his "Muruj al-dhahab". - With owner's inscription on title-page. Sides slightly rubbed. A very good copy: only some minor browning. Cordier (Sinica) 1924f. Hage Chahine 3965. T. Mackintosh-Smith & J. Montgomery (eds.), Two Arabic travel books (2014), pp. 4-17.
490 x 725 mm. Various editions, 16 coloured sheets. Scale 1:100,000. Reliefs shown by contours, hachures and spot heights. Publisher's pictorial wrappers. Rarely found in such a complete group, these topographical maps document an important phase of the Survey of Palestine which was a direct result of the 1917 Balfour Declaration. - "The cadastral survey proceeded in fits and starts, through the Great Revolt of 1936-1939 and World War II. By the end of the mandate, the land was settled in less than 20 percent of Palestine, primarily in areas where Jewish colonies were established, such as the coastal plain, the Marj Ibn Amer valley, and north of Lake Tiberias by the Jordan River. The topographical maps were completed for all of Palestine, excluding the lower Negev. These were very valuable for military purposes during World War II" (Sitta). - Showing the district and sub-district boundaries, plus roads, notable buildings, police stations, minarets, in some cases Sheikh's tombs etc. The maps are as follows: 1. Metulla; 2. Haifa; 3. Safad; 4. Zikhron; 5. Nazareth; 6. Jaffa, Tel Aviv; 7. Nablus; 8. Yibna; 9. Ramle; 10 Jerusalem; 11. Gaza; 12. Hebron; 13. Dead Sea; 14. Rafah; 15. Beersheba; 16. Jebel Usdum. - A little edgewear and toning to wrappers; ownership inscription to each upper wrapper. Sitta, Salman Abu, [review] "A Survey of Palestine under the British Mandate, 1920-1948", in: Journal of Palestine Studies 35.2 (Winter 2006), p. 102.
4to (235 x 325 mm). (1), 118 pp. Lithographed throughout; pp. 8-97 comprise a continuous genealogical tree. Contemporary plain black cloth-covered boards with black sheepskin spine. First edition: a rare and important work on the genealogy of the Arab tribes, also an early, graphically sophisticated lithographic effort from the Arab World. The "Book of Gold Bars" by the prominent Iraqi theologian and historian Suwaydi (1786-1831) is a revised and expanded interpretation of the "Dictionary of the Arab Genealogy" by the legendary Medieval Egyptian scholar Ahmad ibn Ali Qalqashandi; notably, Suwaydi continued the genealogical profile up to modern times. The book seeks to trace the genealogy of the Arab peoples, and the branches of their tribes, from Biblical times up to the age of Muhammad and then to the modern era. The introductory text (pp. 1-7) is followed by the grand, 90-page genealogical table and ultimately by an alphabetical reference section and analytical section (pp. 98-118). - Suwaydi is thought to have commenced preparation of the work as early as 1814, although he did not complete the treatise until 1830 or 1831, shortly before his death. Highly regarded in its time, for some years a small number of manuscript copies circulated in Islamic academic circles. The present publication represents the first printed edition of the work. The second edition was published in Bombay in 1877 (and is likewise rare), while several subsequent editions appeared during the 20th century. - Covers slightly stained. Last 3 leaves with light tide-marking to outer margins and some sporadic light stains elsewhere, but overall in a good clean condition, a few leaves with short marginal tears some closed with discreet old restoration. Very rare: we can trace only six institutional examples (British Library; University of Cambridge; Bibliothèque de Genève; Yale University Library; University of California at Berkeley; National Library of Israel). No examples have appeared on the market over the last generation. OCLC 708712572 & 32728624. British Library: Asia, Pacific & Africa 14548.c.5. Yale University Library: CS1129.A2 S8 1864. On early lithography in Iraq, cf. A. Al-Rawi, Media Practice in Iraq (2012), passim.
8vo. (24), 179, (17) pp. Contemporary full vellum with handwritten title label to spine (faded). First Latin translation of this three-part pharmacological treatise on the nature and effect of medicines gained from animals, vegetables, and minerals (including some quite superstitious material), published under the name of the mediaval Egyptian polymath Abd al-Rahman Al-Suyuti, whose "versatility stands out as unique in the history of Arabic literature" (GAL II, 144), but probably assembled from various Arabic sources. The first part, covering animals, is likely Al-Suyuti's own "Diwan al-Hayawan", translated by Abraham Ecchellensis after a manuscript in Cardinal Mazarin's library; the authors and manuscript sources of the following two parts remain unidentified. Within the notes, this edition uses several Greek, Hebrew, and even Arabic interspersions in the type. - Some browning to paper. 18th century French note on lower flyleaf; handwritten duplicate note and stamp to title-page. Insignificant paper flaws to pp. 103-106, merely affecting the pagination; small edge tear in p. 151f.; loss to lower margin of last leaf but one of the index (not touching text). Krivatsy 11586. Choulant 389. Wellcome II, 2. Ebert I, 9151. Krüger, Bibliographia botanica 35. Catalogue of the Library of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London 145.
Folio (214 x 310 mm). 6 parts in one vol. (18), 264 pp. (2), 214 pp. (2), 66 pp, (2). (12), 14, (4), 15-46, (4), 47-87, (1) pp. (6), 113, (1) pp. 154, (2) pp. With 17 full-page engr. plates, 13 folding plates, and numerous text illustrations (including plates of Arabian coins, the great name of Allah, and other Arabian inscriptions). Contemporary calf, spine rebacked. Rare first collected edition of Tavernier's works, profusely illustrated with a fold-out map of the Arabian Gulf, an unusual, large map of Japan, and a fold-out map of the Great Moghul. Comprising: 1) The First Book of Monsieur Taverner's [!] Persian Travels; 2) The Six Trabels of John Baptista Tavernier [...] Through Turky and Persia to the Indies: 3) A Relation of Japon; 4) A New and Particular Relation of the Kingdom of Tunquin; 5) A New Relation of the Inner-Part of the Grand Seignor's Seraglio; 6) The History of the Late Revolution of the Dominions of the Great Mogol. A rare and interesting account of Turkey, Persia, India, Japan, Tonkin, and Formosa. "The Persian Gulf is the most dangerous Gulf I know, by reason of the shallowness and sharp promontories that point out into Sea [...] The Merchant would be glad to find a way through the Coast of Arabia to get to Mascate [...] Elcatif a Sea Town in Arabia, where there is a fishery for Pearls that belong to the Emir of Elcatif" (pt. I, p. 95; "Qatif" being an oasis in Saudi Arabia). Chapter XI (p. 49) of the first part deals with the breeding and nature of camels; chapter III (p. 64) mentions a voyage to Mecca; chapter XXIII (p. 255) deals with the island of Ormus (with the map of the Arabian Gulf). - The second part begins with a discussion of Arabian currency and is illustrated with plates of Arabian coinage. The most important story is perhaps that of “The Imam of Muscat Pearl - That Surpassed in Beauty All Other Pearls in the World”. In chapter XVIII of book II, "Of Pearles and the places where to find them" (p. 145), Tavernier states: "In the first place, there is a Fishery for Pearls in the Persian Gulf, round about the Island of Bakren. It belongs to the King of Persia, and there is a strong Fort in it, Garrison'd with three hundred men." Tavernier then narrates: "There is a wondrous Pearl in the possession of an Arabian Prince, that took Mascate from the Portugals. He then call'd himself Imenhect Prince of Masscaté; being known before only by the name of Aceph Ben-Ali Prince of Norennaé. It is but a small Province, but it is the best of all in the Happy Arabia. Therein grow all things necessary for the life of man; particularly, delicate fruits, but more especially most excellent Grapes, which would make most incomparable Wine. This Prince has the most wonderful Pearl in the world, not so much for its bigness, for it weighs not above twelve Carats and one sixteenth, nor for its perfect roundness, but because it is so clear and so transparent that you may almost see through it. The Great Mogul offer'd him by a Banian forty thousand Crowns for his Pearl, but he would not accept it." The use of the phrase "clear and lustrous as to appear translucent" seem to indicate a white or colorless pearl, the most sought-after color in pearls, with an optimum of lustre and orient caused by the reflection and refraction of light, respectively. The surface quality of the pearl must be exceptional and almost blemish-free in order to characterize it as a specimen surpassing in beauty all other pearls in the world, at that time. The fact that the pearl was in the possession of the Imam of Muscat in the mid-17th century indicates without any doubt that the pearl originated in the most ancient pearl fishing grounds in the world, the Arabian Gulf, most probably in the kingdom of Oman itself, at its very doorstep - on the pearl banks situated closer to the country's shoreline in the Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz. Oyster bearing reefs were well distributed throughout the Gulf, but were greater in abundance on the Arabian side of the Gulf than the Persian one. The pearls are depicted on a plate opposite page 150: "Figure one is of a Pearl which the King of Persia bought at the Fishery of Catifa in Arabia. It cost him 32,000 Tomans, or 1,400,000 Livres of our Money, at forty-six Livres and six Deneers to a Toman. It is the fairest and most perfect Pearl that ever was yet found to this hour, having no defect". Blackmer 1632. Wing T251A, T252, T253. Campbell (Japan) 28. Cox I, 275f. OCLC 6071990. Cf. Wilson 223. Howgego T14. Severin 104-113. Not in Atabey or Weber.
Large folio (545 x 375 mm). (16) pp. With 6 hand-coloured lithographed plates and a lithographed title. Contemporary half calf with cloth sides, gold tooled title on front cover. First and only edition of an ethnographic study of native Indian people by William Tayler (1808-92), who was at the time Acting Salt Agent of the Central Division of Cuttack for the East India Company. He dedicated his work to "Lady William Bentinck" (born Lady Mary Acheson, 1809-50), who was the wife of the Governor-General of India. The illustrations were drawn by Tayler himself, who was an amateur artist and drew much of the Indian daily life that he encountered. He selected the present 6 drawings to be published and had them lithographed by J. Bouvier. The first 3 plates not only show the ways of Indian people, but even more so the luxurious life of the English in India. The first plate, "The Young Civilian's Toilet" shows a young man relaxing while being treated by several servants, who are named "Anglo-Indians". The room is strewn with objects of leisure. The next 2 plates, "The Young Ladies Toilet" & "The Breakfast" show equal scenes. The other 3 plates are more ethnographic in nature, showing native Indians in their everyday life: "Women grinding at the mill"; "the Sunyasees" (Sannyasis) & "The village barber". Tayler later became a controversial figure for his excessively harsh oppression of Indian people when he was the commissioner of Patna. - Spine and covers slightly worn, pages a little frayed, some foxing on the text pages. Dedication page browned. Plate 2 detached and inserted loosely. Plates in good condition. Abbey, Travel 465. Bobins I 272. H. K. Kaul, Early Writings on India 454. Prasannajit De Silva, Colonial Self-Fashioning in British India, c. 1785-1845 (2018), pp. 116-119.
8vo. 90 pp. (without the final blank leaf). Small woodcut device on title, woodcut decorations and initials. Fine 19th century mottled calf by Lloyd, with gilt arms of Sebastião Pinto Leite, Conde de Penha Longa (motto "Superabo") to both covers, gilt fillets and faux raised bands to spine, compartments tooled in gilt, two red lettering pieces. Leading edges gilt; inner dentelle gilt. Marbled endpapers. First English edition of this rare work, containing an account of the failed invasion led by the young king of Portugal, Dom Sebastian, to the north of Africa, his defeat and death, and the political unrest that ensued. - Sebastian, the 24 year-old King of Portugal, invaded Morocco in 1578 with an army of 18,000 men. The army was crushed by the forces of Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi at the battle of Alcacer Quibir and King Sebastian was killed. The fact that he had left no successor paved the way for a series of impostors claiming the throne, only to be captured and executed (ultimately, the Spanish king would accede to the throne of Portugal). Teixeira's work narrates the machinations of the fourth such impostor, a Calabrian by the name of Marco Tullio. - Bound for the Portuguese politician and entrepreneur Sebastião Pinto Leite (1815-92), Conde de Penha Longa. Bookplate of the Fox Pointe Collection Library of Dr. & Mrs. Howard R. Knohl to pastedown. Joints of the fine binding slightly rubbed. Lightly browned throughout; title-page and verso of final leaf lightly dustsoiled. Overall in excellent condition. Rare at auction, the last copy being sold in 1991. BM-STC 23864. OCLC 32330439.
8vo. (8), 384, (8), 115 [but: 215], (17) pp. With a woodcut on title-page, a woodcut initial and some woodcut tailpieces. 17th century marbled calf with gilt label to richly gilt spine, red edges. First edition of a "history of the kings of Persia compiled from the Persian histories of Mir Khwand and Turan Shah" (Howgego), in the original Spanish, by the Portuguese merchant and adventurer Pedro Teixeira (1563-1645?). It is one of the earliest European sources to mention Qatar, relating to the pearl fishery in the region: "The pearl fishery at Bahren begins some years in June, but generally in July, an lasts all that month and August … They generally go a fishing to Katar, a port on the coast of Arabia, 10 leagues to the southward of the Island Bahren. As soon an oyster is brought up, they open it, and take out the pearl. The pearls of this sea surpass all others in goodness and weight…" (English translation). The work is divided into three parts. The first, which is the largest, deals with the kings of Persia. It is a summarized translation of the voluminous Rawzat al-Safa by the Persian historian Mir Khwand (ca. 1434-1498), and is probably the first translation of the text into an European language. The second part is a translation of the Ayyibud emir Turan Shah's (d. 1180) chronicle of the kings of Hormuz, a text which is today only extant in translations. Though Teixeira's adventures started in 1586, he reached Hormuz in 1593, where he resided for several years to study its history. Both parts contain a chronological account of the kings, but also provide a more general history of the area. The last and third part contains an account of Teixeira's later travels from India to Italy in 1600-01 and 1604-05, visiting China, Mexico and the Middle East. In his preface Teixeira states that he originally wrote the work in Portuguese, but that it was translated into Spanish to appeal to a wider audience. The work appeared in a French translation in 1681, and extracts appeared in an English translation appeared in 1711, followed by a translation of the full text in 1715. - Binding slightly rubbed and with a small defect to upper spine. Slightly browned, otherwise immaculate copy in its first binding. Howgego, to 1800, T19. Maggs Bros., Spanish books 1014a. Not in Blackmer.
4to. (4), 264, (16) pp. With engraved map of Ethiopia, including part of the Red Sea and the source of the Blue Nile. Modern calf, gold-tooled spine, with red morocco title-label, and the sides blind-tooled in a panel design. Rare first English edition of Tellez's influential historical account of Ethiopia and Arabia. It is a digest of the accounts of all the Jesuit travellers to Ethiopia and Arabia, including Paez, De Montserrat, Almeida, Lobo and Mendes. It includes an account of the travels of the Jesuit missionaries Pédro Paez and Antonio de Montserrate, who were captured off the Kuria Muria islands on a mission from Goa to Ethiopia in 1590 and subsequently taken to Yemen, where they were held captive until 1596. After being sent to San'a by way of Melkis and the Wadi Hadramaut, then after three years taken to Al Mukha (Mocha), where they were forced to serve as galley slaves, they were finally ransomed in 1596 and returned to India. Paez discovered the source of the Blue Nile and is said to have been the first European to have tasted coffee in Al Mukha. - The work further includes a detailed description of Aden (Yemen) as well as of the Ethiopia-Adal War (1529-43), during which Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi led several expeditions against the Ethiopian emperor until most of Ethiopia came under the power of the Muslim Sultanate of Adal. The present English edition is based Almeida's "Historia geral de Ethiopia a alta" (1660), edited by Tellez. - With early owner's inscription ("W. G. Patchell") on title-page. Quires 2D and 2E transposed; a couple of millimetres shaved off the outer border of the map; a faint waterstain throughout; some leaves foxed and some occasional spots. A good copy. ESTC T133244. Paulitschke 1137. Cf. de Backer/Sommervogel VII, 1908-1910. Howgego, to 1800, A65 (Almeida).
4to (170 x 254 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished oriental paper. 111 pp. (paginated in a later ballpoint hand), 11 lines, per extensum, black and red ink, written space ruled throughout with several sets of coloured borders. With numerous diagrams in the margins. Contemporary blindstamped full calf. An early 20th century Arabic manuscript of the "Sphaerics" by the Greek astronomer and mathematician Theodosius of Bithynia (ca. 169-100 BCE). Unknown in the West during the Middle Ages, the "Sphaerics" proved instrumental in the restoration of Euclidean geometry to Western civilization when the book was brought back from the Islamic world during the crusades and translated from Arabic into Latin. - The present manuscript was written in Afghanistan under the rule of Habibullah Khan, a reform-minded Emir who attempted to introduce modern medicine and other technology to his country. The prettily blindstamped binding would also appear to be of Afghan origin. - Paper a little browned and brittle; traces of former block-stitching; some of the first few leaves transposed during re-binding, according to the later ballpoint pagination.
Folio. (12), 125, (1) ff. With woodcut printer's device on title-page, repeated on final page, two pages with decorative woodcut borders (built up from 4 blocks, some with initials I.F.), and woodcut initials throughout. 18th-century half calf, with marbled paper in a tree pattern on sides, gold-tooled spine with the coat of arms of the Russian Tsars. First edition of a collection of four medical works, compiled by the Swiss physician Albanus Torinus (1489-1550). The main part of the work consists of "De re medica", also known as "Medicina Pliniana", a very popular medical text during the Middle Ages. Compiled in the fourth century by an anonymous author, it is generally ascribed to Plinius Valerianus, also called pseudo-Plinius, since it mainly derived from Pliny the Elder's "Historia naturalis". Consisting of five books, it gives various medicines and treatments for different diseases, ailments, wounds, tumours etc. The book also draws heavily from the works of Galen and Dioscorides, all highly esteemed in the Arabic world. - The work also contains three other medical works from different authors. "The contents are all either spurious works or later compilations from genuine works of the authors to whom they are attributed" (Durling). It starts with an introduction to "the art of healing", ascribed to Soranus of Ephesus. The second text is by Oribasius, a Greek medical writer from the fourth century BC. According to Durling, the text is an extract from the first chapter of his "Euporista ad Eunapium". The work closes with a botanical text, "De virtutibus herbarum", ascribed to Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis, but written by an anonymous author from the 4th century, known as Pseudo-Apuleius. In one of the manuscripts Torinus used, the text was ascribed to the famous Italian physician Antonio Musa Brassavola (1500-55), an expert on the works of Galen and heavily influenced by his work. - The editor, Torinus, was appointed professor of practical medicine at the University of Basel after receiving the degree of doctor in medicine in Montpellier. He translated many Greek texts into Latin, or Latin works into the vernacular, including Vesalius' "De humani corporis fabrica". - From the library of the Russian tsars, with its letterpress library label with shelf number on pastedown and the coat of arms on the spine. With the place and date of printing added in manuscript on the title-page. Paper on boards slightly chafed, binding with traces of use along the extremities, corners bumped and spine restored. First five leaves with a minor water stain, but otherwise a very good copy. Adams S 1461. Durling 4351. Parkinson 2410.
4to. 75, (1) ff. - (Bound with) II: Fabri, Felix. Eigentliche beschreibung der hin unnd wider farth zu dem Heyligen Landt gen Jerusalem, und furter durch die grosse Wüsteney zu dem Heiligen Berge Horeb Sinay, darauß zuvernemen was wunders die Pilgrin hin und wider auff Land und wasser zu erfahren und zu besehen haben. [Frankfurt, David Zöpfel], 1556. 219, (1) ff. With a title woodcut depicting a pilgrim with two camels. Contemporary blindstamped leather over wooden boards. I: A fine Renaissance edition of Tucher's pilgrimage to the Holy Land, undertaken in 1479-80 and first published by Schönsberger in Augsburg in 1482. Tucher (1428-91) was a wealthy Nuremberg merchant who moved in humanistic circles; "his travel report is remarkable in several respects: geographically, because it provides a different, non-traditional route from Jerusalem to Mt. Sinai. Tucher departed from Gaza like Breydenbach, Count Solms, and Felix Fabri in 1483, and seems to have crossed the Tih by the pass el-Mureikhy (which he calls 'Roackie'). But Tucher's stations in the desert denote a different route and are even more difficult to reconcile with the known localities. In historical respect, Tucher's account is remarkable for abstaining largely from the fabulous and for revealing a sense of factual reporting, even though much space is given to miraculous episodes, as might be expected from a text of this genre and age. Finally, it is of linguistic interest" (ADB). - II: Editio princeps of Fabri's pilgrimage account. Felix Fabri, a native of Zurich and a Dominican preacher at Ulm, describes his two pilgrimages made to the Holy Land, the first in 1480, as chaplain to Georg von Stein, and the second in 1483-84 as chaplain to Johannes Truchsess von Waldburg, as part of the same party as Breydenbach. - Title-page of Tucher frayed. Some light staining throughout. Worldcat lists 3 copies of Tucher in the US, and 5 copies of Fabri. Not a single copy of Tucher in auction records; a copy of Fabri in a modern binding commanded £4140 at Sotheby's in 1998. I: VD 16, T 2164. Röhricht 390. ADB XXXVIII, 766. - II: VD 16, F 136. Röhricht 395 ("Ulm").
Colour-printed map, ca. 600 x 835. Scale 1:250,000. An extremely detailed map of what are today the northernmost six Emirates of the UAE (at the time of issue, the Trucial States): Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Quwain, Ras al Khaimah, and Fujairah, also marking the names of all the tribes holding power in the various areas. Issued by the Geographical Section, General Staff (GSGS) as part of their 1:250,000 scale map series of Arabia. The GSGS, also known as MI 4, operated under the Director of Military Operations and Intelligence. Its role was to supply maps to the British armed forces, collect data on foreign survey networks, provide training, and prepare survey data for Expeditionary Force mobilisation. - Old folds, some staining. Numerous pin-holes to corners from former wall mounting; an old ballpoint penstroke. Otherwise well preserved.
Large colour-printed map, ca. 113 x 84 cm. Scale 1:500,000. A highly detailed large scale British military map, showing the coast from Doha (Qatar) to Ras Al-Khaimah (modern-day UAE). - Old folds, some creasing to bottom margin, and one small closed tear to left margin, otherwise very good.
Large colour-printed map, ca. 113 x 84 cm. Scale 1:500,000. A highly detailed large scale British military map, showing the coast from Doha (Qatar) to Ras Al Khaimah (modern-day UAE). - Old folds, some creasing to margins and corners, 10 cm closed tear to bottom margin, a few other small closed tears, otherwise good. With "Additions drawn by: - Sgt Newman 17:11:61. 1 Troop 19 Topo Sqn R.E.", marking additional camps, old oil camps, place names and airstrips (old, extant and "possible"), mainly in the desert areas of Abu Dhabi.
Coloured R.A.F. aeronautical chart. 738 by 573 mm. Scale 1:1,000,000. An excellent official British aeronautical chart of the Strait of Hormuz, covering part of Oman, a large section of the coastline of the United Arab Emirates (including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah) and Hormuz Island. It was issued by the Geographical Section, General Staff (GSGS) as part of their 4695 series of 1:1,000,000 scale maps. The GSGS supplied maps to the British Armed Forces (in this case the R.A.F.), collected data on foreign survey networks and prepared survey data for Expeditionary Force mobilisation. - Light weakening and edge flaws to folds, but generally well preserved.
Colour-printed map, 554 x 733 mm. Constant ratio linear horizontal scale 1:500,000., Lambert Conformal Conic Projection. Relief shown by contours, shading, gradient tints, and spot heights. Key printed on verso. Rare, advanced first edition of this U.S. Air Force aeronautical chart of what would be, within less than a quarter of a century, the bulk of the United Arab Emirates: Sharjah, Dubai, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and the city of Abu Dhabi to the south, based on aerial photography. "This chart is prepared for use at night under white, ultra-violet, red, and amber lights" (note). Released November 1948, with additions to February 1950 (advance edition). - Blindstamp of the American Geographical Society. Stamps to corners, not affecting the image ("Map Room Copy", "Obsolete", "Gift From Publisher"). Folded; in very good condition.
Colour-printed political and physical map, ca. 134 x 94 cm. Scale 1:2,000,000. Mounted on cloth. Rare, detailed Syrian-printed map of the short-lived United Arab Republic, which aimed to unite Egypt and Syria politically in 1958. Although it effectively ceased to exist with the Syrian coup of 1961, Egypt continued to use the name until 1971. - Cartography by Niqola Zariq and Izzat Saydawi. Shows borders, rivers, valleys, principal, secondary and desert roads, railways, oil pipelines, capitals, provinces and centres, important cities and villages. The areas, population, railway length, cultivated lands and provinces of Syria and Egypt are specified separately. The Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia is shown as far as Al Lith, south of Jeddah. - The declaration of the United Arab Republic bolstered the trend towards Pan-Arabism, and confrontational attitudes toward neighbouring states increased. The province of Hatay, on the Turkish border, is shown on Syrian territory, reflecting ongoing disputes over claims on Hatay beginning after the end of the First World War. Similarly, Israel is designated "Palestine" in the Palestinian territories. - Some stains; wrinkled with several edge tears and chips. Folded.
2 sheets (A, combined map of geography and geology; and B, geography only) in full colour, both covering the same section the Arabian Peninsula. Ca. 103 x 103 and 83 x 100 cm, folded. In original printed envelope. English and Arabic. Scale 1:500,000; relief shown by hachures and spot heights. The only two sheets of the groundbreaking series covering today's UAE - the remaining parts of the Emirates were skipped in the survey prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey and Aramco and were therefore never published. The first to produce a full series of geological and geographical maps of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the venture was instrumental in establishing the country as a major global force in the production of natural resources and must count as "a unique experiment in geological cooperation among several governments, petroleum companies, and individuals" (Seager/Johnston). - The area here covered is the eastern portion of Qatar and the westernmost area of Abu Dhabi, including the island of Sir Bani Yas and the adjoining border territory of Saudi Arabia. Indeed, this is the only map in the series to show any portion of today's United Arab Emirates: the land to the eastward was still beyond the focus of oil exploration in the mid-1950s and was omitted from the mapping project. - The importance of the present map within the series is underscored by the fact that its joint authors, R. A. Bramkamp and L. F. Ramirez, were Aramco's foremost geologists. Together with Glen F. Brown, a veteran of the industry who also had been in the region since the 1940s and who would oversee the venture, Bramkamp had in February 1955 planned the entire programme, laying down everything from the scales of maps, the areas of responsibility, and types of terrain representation to the bilingual names. As Aramco's chief geologist, Bramkamp was responsible for the compilation of the areas within Arabia where the sediments crop out. This responsibility fell to Ramirez following Bramkamp's early death in September 1958. - The surveyors divided the Peninsula into 21 quadrangular sections (numbered I-200 through I-220), each to cover an area 3 degrees of longitude and 4 degrees of latitude. All maps were produced on a 1:500,000 scale and issued in two series: a combined map of geography and geology (marked by the appendix 'A') and a map of geography only ('B'). "High altitude photography [...] was [...] completed in 1959 [...] This controlled photography resulted in highly accurate geographic maps at the publication scale which then served as a base for the geologic overlay. The topography of the sedimentary areas was depicted by hachuring and that of the shield region by shaded relief utilizing the airbrush technique. The first geographic quadrangle was published in July 1956 and the last in September 1962 [...] The first of the geologic map series was published in July 1956 and the final sheet in early 1964" (Seager/J.). - Although it was the search for oil, gas and minerals that "was ultimately to drive geological survey work across the region [...], in its early years it was the need for water that was the catalyst for Saudi Arabia's resource exploration. In 1944 King 'Abd al-'Aziz approached the United States for a technical expert who could assist with the identification and plotting of the kingdom's natural resources, particularly its groundwater reserves [...] By 1954 the Saudi Ministry of Finance, USGS and Aramco were working together to produce the first full series of geographic and geologic maps of the country. The first of their type in the Peninsula, these were published [...] in both Arabic and English versions, and the information they contained formed the basis of subsequent Saudi national development plans" (Parry). The project was considered highly important by Ibn Saud, and its aims encompassed all aspects of cartography. It was to enable not only the search for natural resources but also aid in advances for agriculture, civil and military engineering and general infrastructure projects. The results were seminal for the mapping of the region: "To this day, all modern maps of the kingdom trace their roots back to these first publications" (ibid.). - Lower left corner of 'B' map chipped (no loss to text or image); printed sleeve somewhat rubbed with a 1960s few pencil annotations, otherwise a very clean set in excellent state of preservation. A single map of the quadrangle to the immediate west of this, I-208 (the 1958 'A' sheet only), showing Dhahran and Ras Tanura, is currently being offered on the market at £25,000. James V. Parry, "Mapping Arabia", in: Saudi Aramco World 2004/1, p. 20ff. O. A. Seager/W. D. Johnston, Foreword to the Geology of the Arabian Peninsula series (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 560-A-D, 1966).
20 maps, 84 x 53 cm or larger. Printed in brown tones. Transverse Mercator projection, constant ratio linear horizontal scale 1:250,000 scale. All but two in their original printed orange envelopes. The joint NASA/USGS Landsat Programme started in the early 1970s, providing the longest continuous space-based record of the Earth’s surface. Of the 25 maps in 1:250,000 scale produced during 1979-81, 20 are included here (wanting 2, 3, 4 [IR 301, 302, 303], 13 [IR 312], 16 [IR 315]). They cover the stretch of the Red Sea coast from just below the Gulf of Aqaba to just below Jeddah, and inland from Jeddah towards Dammam via Riyadh. Comprises individually: - 1 (IR 300): Jabal Al Hasir Quadrangle, Sheet 19F, 1979; 5 (IR 304): Jibal Hayil Quadrangle, Sheet 17E, 1980; 6 (IR 305): Al Qunfudhah Quadrangle, Sheet 19E, 1980; 7 (IR 306): Wadi Hali Quadrangle, Sheet 18E, 1980; 8 (IR 307): Jizan Quadrangle, Sheet 16F, 1980; 9 (IR 308): Jibal Al Qahr Quadrangle, Sheet 19G, 1981; 10 (IR 309): Bi’r Idimah Quadrangle, Sheet 18G, 1981; 11 (IR 310): Jaza’ir Farasan Quadrangle, Sheet 16E, 1980; 12 (IR 311): Wadi Bishah Quadrangle, Sheet 20F, 1981; 14 (IR 313): Al Lith Quadrangle, Sheet 20D, 1981; 15 (IR 314): Wadi Tathlith Quadrangle, Sheet 20G, 1981; 17 (IR 316): Turabah Quadrangle, Sheet 21E, 1981; 18 (IR 317): Ar Rawdah Quadrangle, Sheet 21F, 1981; 19 (IR 318): Jabal Tarban Quadrangle, Sheet 21G, 1981; 20 (IR 319): Rabigh Quadrangle, Sheet 22D, 1981; 21 (IR 320): Al Muwayh Quadrangle, Sheet 22E, 1981; 22 (IR 321): Zalim Quadrangle, Sheet 22F, 1981; 23 (IR 322): Wadi Ar Rika’ Quadrangle, Sheet 22G, 1981; 24 (IR 323): Al Mulayh Quadrangle, Sheet 22H, 1981; 25 (IR 324): Al Ji’lan Quadrangle, Sheet 21H, 1981. - Envelope and map of no. 10 stamped with initials and date (TRU May 1981) and a couple of nicks to map edge, otherwise excellent throughout. G. J. Vranas, List of Interagency Reports submitted by the US Geological Survey Saudi Arabian Mission to the Saudi Arabian Directorate General of Mineral Resources from 1965 to the beginning of 1992 (Open File Report USGS-OF-92-2. Interagency Report 844 (Jiddah: Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Directorate General of Mineral Resources, 1412 AH/1992 AD), pp. 71, 26-29.
2 text vols. (8vo) and 2 plate vols. (large folio). (2), 491, (1), (4) pp. 788, (6) pp. text. With engraved portrait of Segato as frontispiece in the first text volume and the plate volumes with 160 engraved and aquatint plates (7 double-page), including 51 tinted and/or coloured by a contemporary hand; many plates contain multiple illustrations, making 309 illustrations in total. Contemporary green (text vols.) and brown (plates vols.) half morocco, sewn on 3 recessed cords (text vols.) and 4 tapes (plates vols.), "agate" chemical marbled sides. First edition of a beautiful series of illustrations of Egypt and classical Egyptian monuments, with the accompanying text volumes giving detailed information on each illustration. The illustrations show maps, costumes and views of both ancient and modern Egypt. The scientist and Egyptologist Girolamo Segato (1792-1836) began working on a new description and depiction of Egypt, selecting illustrations from the works of Denon, Grau and Rosellini, and also including his own original drawings. After his premature death his collaborator Domenico Valeriani finished the work and provided the accompanying texts. - Segato is best known for his technique similar to mummification, this technique of petrification remains mysterious, despite numerous studies and attempts to imitate, as he destroyed all his documentation before his death. - The text and plates volumes with marginal foxing throughout, minor except in the preliminary leaves. Otherwise in good condition. The binding slightly rubbed along the extremities, damage to the upper right corner of the first plates volume, resulting in a stain on the front endpapers, and the upper half of the sides on the second plate volume faded, otherwise good and structurally sound. Blackmer 1521 (plate volumes only, erroneously noting 159 plates). Blackmer sales cat. 984 (160 plates). Ibrahim-Hilmy II, 301. ICCU 0154707. For Segato: Almagia, "Segato, Girolamo" in: Treccani Enciclopedia Italiana (online ed.).
Folio. 4 vols. bound as 1. [20], 218, [12], [2 blank]; [4], 236, [12]; [4], 244, [13], [1 blank]; [6], 231, [17] pp. First title-page printed in red and black, each title-page with Widerholds's woodcut device (motto: "Gradatim ad sidera tollor"). With 31 engraved plates (1 folding), including frontispiece and portraits of the author and his wife, by Jean Jacques Thourneyser. Further with woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, factotums and several small woodcuts in the text. Contemporary vellum, manuscript spine-title, blue sprinkled edges. First edition in German of Pietro della Valle's deservedly famous narrative of his travels in the Middle East, with an excellent account of Muscat and the Arabian Gulf and references to Dibba. Della Valle, an Italian nobleman, sailed from Venice in 1614 to Istanbul, where he arrived in August 1614, spending a year to explore the city. He continued to Rhodes, Alexandria, Rosetta, Cairo, crossing the Sinai desert to Jerusalem, Damascus and Aleppo. From there Della Valle proceeded to Isfahan (Iran) to meet the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas I. He sojourned in Persia until early 1623, witnessing and commenting on the escalating conflict between Shah Abbas and the Portuguese empire. In 1621 he decided to return to Europe and set off for the Persian Gulf, but the Persian and English blockade prevented his sailing. By way of India he finally sailed for Muscat in January 1623, from which he crossed the Arabian Gulf to Basra, continuing overland to Aleppo, arriving in Europe in 1626. During his travels he wrote regularly to his learned friend in Naples, Mario Schipano. These 54 letters formed the basis of an account of his travels that was first published in Rome as Viaggi di Pietro della Valle from 1650 to 1658. "Della Valle displayed excellent narrative and descriptive skills, powers of acute observation, and a genuinely scholarly breadth of learning. He refused to comment on what he had not witnessed himself or checked against the best authorities [...] Della Valle's eighteen letters from Persia provide one of the most detailed sources of information for most aspects of Persian life in the second half of Shah Abbas' reign" (Gurney). - Engraved armorial bookplate on paste-down. Evenly browned throughout, some spotting, few quires in volume 3 with wormholes in gutter margin, not affecting the text, otherwise in very good condition. VD 17, 39:135561Q. Tobler, p. 95. Cf. Atabey 1269-1271 (other eds.); Blackmer 1712 (French ed.); Gurney, "Della Valle, Pietro", in: Encyclopaedia Iranica (online ed.).
12mo. 4 vols. (40), 670 pp. (2) ff. (1 blank), 734, (34) pp., (2) ff. (1 blank), 792, (18) pp. 756, (24) pp. With a woodcut in the text of vol. 3, p. 193, and a full-page engraving on p. 361 of vol. 4 (both diagrammatic). Contemporary limp vellum with ms. spine titles; all edges of vol. 2 sprinkled in red. Early duodecimo edition of Della Valle's complete "Viaggi", published while the first complete edition was still under the press. Della Valle's account is highly sought after as one of the earliest printed sources for the early history of Dibba, the coastal region at the northeastern tip of the United Arab Emirates, today ruled by the Emirates of Fujairah and of Sharjah. - Pietro della Valle (1586-1652) left Venice in 1614 on a pilgrimage to Palestine, proceeding to Baghdad and then into Persia, where he married and sojourned in the court of Shah Abbas. While staying with the Sultan of Bandar Abbas, he "met the son of the ruler of Dibba who was visiting. From this he learned that Dibba had formerly been subject to the kingdom of Hormuz, but was at that time loyal to the Safavids who in 1623 sent troops to Dibba, Khor Fakkan and other ports on the southeast coast of Arabia in order to prepare for a Portuguese counter-attack following their expulsion from Hormuz (Jarun). In fact, the Portuguese under Ruy Freire were so successful that the people of Dibba turned on their Safavid overlords, putting them all to death, whereupon a Portuguese garrison of 50 men was installed at Dibba. More Portuguese forces, however, had to be sent to Dibba in 1627 as a result of an Arab revolt. Curiously, two years later the Portuguese proposed moving part of the Mandaean population of southern Iraq, under pressure from neighbouring Arab tribes, to Dibba" (UAE History: 2000 to 200 years ago - UAEinteract, online). "Della Valle displayed excellent narrative and descriptive skills, powers of acute observation, and a genuinely scholarly breadth of learning. He refused to comment on what he had not witnessed himself or checked against the best authorities" (Gurney). He continued his travels east to the coast of India, Goa and Muscat, and thence back to Aleppo by way of Basra. He reached Rome in 1626, where the original Italian text of his letters written to the Neapolitan physician Mario Schipano was published. Only the first volume, dealing with Turkey, saw print during his lifetime. The two-part volume II on Persia was released in 1658, four years after his death; in 1662 the Turkey volume saw a second edition, and the set was concluded in 1663 with the volume on India. A single-volume English translation of the Indian travels appeared in 1665. - Occasional slight brownstaining, otherwise fine. Röhricht 947, p. 238. Tobler 95. Weber II, 251. British Library STC II, 931. Cf. Graesse VII, 251. Atabey 1271 (1667 Baglioni ed., 3 vols. only). Blackmer 1712 (mixed French ed.). Macro 2233. Gurney, "Della Valle, Pietro", in: Encyclopaedia Iranica (online ed.).