Damiri, Muhammad ibn Musa.MareMagnum
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2 volumes. 8vo (160 x 216 mm / 160 x 205 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished paper. First volume: 340 ff.; title-page with gilt borders. Second volume: 178 ff. Script in black naskh with occasional words, phrases, and punctuation in red. 19th century leather and morocco with fore-edge flaps, stamped in blind. An important Arabic bestiary and the most famous work of al-Damiri (1341-1405), little known in the West. In the "Hayat al-Hayawan", al-Damiri alphabetically lists over nine hundred animals mentioned in the Qur'an or known in Muslim literature; his extensive commentary explains the use of such animals in medicine, tradition, and ancient poetry: whether they can lawfully be eaten, and their role in folklore and superstition. - Al-Damiri was a Muslim writer from Mamluk-era Egypt, and his other works are largely on canon law. His natural history, however, is considered his most influential and popular writing. - The first volume is not dated or signed, but was written in the Ottoman provinces in the 18th century; the second volume was completed by the scribe Umar ibn Abd al-Da'im ibn Umar al-Dandi on the 15th of Muharram 1024 H (14 February 1615 CE). Covers a little worn, spines professionally rebacked, some light paper repairs and soiling. A scarce and appealing piece of mediaeval zoology; complete in two volumes dating from the 17th and 18th century. Cf. GAL II, 137/8.
Folio (212 x 333 mm). Publisher's original blue printed boards, black cloth spine hand-lettered. Appendices to the annual "Administration Report" on the Gulf region which the British Political Residents submitted to the Indian Viceroy and Governor. The bland official title belies the true value of the series, which has been called "a mine of information on the development of the modern Gulf" (Cambridge Archive Editions). Regularly the reports contain political details of the local sheikhdoms as well as trade information. - The present appendix volume contains the meteorological tables for the year 1896/97 as well as, crucially, the year's trade reports for the entire Gulf region. The issue notes widespread lower trade revenues, which it diagnoses as due to an Indian plague and subsequent quarantines of port cities, as well as ongoing political unrest in Qajar Iran following the assassination of the Shah, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the previous year. The volume provides carefully detailed charts of imports and exports for Bushire, Lingah, Bunder Abbas, Bahrain, the Arab Coast of the Gulf, and Shiraz. Though most exports dropped, the value of Bahrain's in fact had gone up since the previous year, with its most valuable exports being coffee, rice, and printed cottons to Turkey and the especially valuable export of pearls to India. On the Arabian Gulf Coast, principal exports were, again, pearls, though these were largely bound to "Persian ports". Those on the Arab Coast also benefitted from the mother o' pearl shell trade, one of the least impacted by the upheavals of India and Qajar Iran. - The "Administration Report on the Persian Gulf" was published under various titles annually between 1875 and 1957. Original specimens are almost unobtainable in the trade. - Provenance: removed from the London Library, with their printed label on the upper cover and their stamps (in blind and printed) on title-page and final leaf, accompanied by cancel stamps. Macro, p. xii (s.v. "RAPA": Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency). OCLC 224558510. ZDB-ID 768652-3. Cf. the 1989 Cambridge Archive Editions reprint.
8vo. 78, (2) pp. With 7 half-tone photographic illustrations on 2 plates. Orange and white wrappers, titled in black. From a series published in the 1950s whose stated aim was to examine contemporary international political, social, and economic problems from an Egyptian perspective. This twenty-third title in the series focused on the Arabian Gulf and the United Arab Emirates, including chapters on the role of the UAE in the modern world, a chapter on future visions for the Arabian Gulf, and - rather presciently - a chapter on the new era of oil, which at the time had barely begun. - Preceding this volume were books on the Suez Canal (which had just been nationalized) and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Discussed in simple terms are the histories of Oman and the Emirates; in addition to the above, brief chapters are included on Sa‘id bin Sultan (1791-1856), Thuwaini bin Said al-Busaidi (1821-1866), Salim bin Thuwaini al Busaidi, Azzan bin Qais, Faisal bin Turki (1864-1913), and Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud (1875-1953). - Some leaves uncut, others slightly stuck together. Includes four pages of photographic illustrations of contemporary daily life. OCLC 316086724.
Tall 8vo (104 x 220 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished paper. (1), 185, (1) ff. Naskh script in black and occasional red ink, with catchwords and extensive marginal notes in a contemporary hand. 19th century leather, ruled and decoratively stamped in blind. Popular and influential mediaeval Arabic handbook for medical students by the great Damascus anatomist Ibn al-Nafis (1210-88). Long considered a commentary on Avicenna, this is now viewed by scholarship as an original work which also discusses Avicenna's ideas, and thus as "an independent book meant to be a handbook for medical students and practitioners, not as an epitome of Kitab Al-Qanun of Ibn Sina as thought by recent historians" (Abdel-Halim, 2008). One of the author's most widely received works, it provides a useful sum of medical knowledge to aspiring physicians of the mediaeval and early modern periods alike. It was still being copied centuries on from the death of Ibn al-Nafis, who is famous for first describing the pulmonary blood circulation, thereby anticipating by many centuries the efforts of William Harvey. - Not dated by the scribe, but one of the ownership dates on the first leaf is dated Shawwal 1100 AH (July/August 1689 CE), and the date of copying would be estimated around 950 AH, or possibly later. Covers lightly scuffed, interior shows marginal paper repairs and slight trimming to outermost marginal notes. The main text is clean and unmarred. GAL I, 493, 37, 2 & I, 457 (s. v. Ibn Sina). Rabie E. Abdel-Halim, "Contributions of Ibn Al-Nafis (1210-1288 AD) to the Progress of Medicine and Urology. A Study and Translations From his Medical Works", in: Saudi Medical Journal 29.1 (2008), pp. 13-22.
8vo (127 x 214 mm). Arabic manuscript on polished paper. 80 ff. Part 2 (of 2). Black and occasional red ink, with catchwords and a few marginal notes in a contemporary hand. 19th century limp red morocco. Rare and important 17th century manuscript of the most famous work of Ibn al-Nafis (1210-88), written at only twenty-nine years of age. Unlike the author's two other commentaries on Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine, the "Sharh Qurashi" is extremely uncommon. The present part includes his most important contributions to medicine and anatomy: in describing the pulmonary blood circulation, he anticipated by many centuries the works of the 17th century scientists Marcello Malpighi and William Harvey. - Ibn al-Nafis "was the first person to challenge the long-held contention of the Galen School that blood could pass through the cardiac interventricular septum, and in keeping with this he believed that all the blood that reached the left ventricle passed through the lung. He also stated that there must be small communications or pores ('manafidh' in Arabic) between the pulmonary artery and vein" (West, 1877). In his commentary, "pulmonary circulation was described, for the first time, in much detail [...] this circulation was not described by Galen, and only Al-Akhawayni had provided some accurate details about it. He contradicted Galen's reports on the presence of a pathway of 'invisible pores' or a visible hole between the right and left cavities, and stated that blood moves to the lung through vena arteriosa (pulmonary arteries). There, it mixes with air and is filtered, then it moves back to the left cavity via the arteria venosa (pulmonary vein)" (Alghamdi, 1001). Many of al-Nafis's statements remain accurate to medical science today, making this work one of the most groundbreaking of its era. - Morocco binding somewhat rubbed and lightly soiled, with a few small closed tears to extremities. A tiny paper flaw in margin of f. 19 and old paper repair to edge of f. 53. Exterior leaves slightly browned and brittle, with some wear and soiling to edges. A well-preserved and highly unusual survival of a major text in the history of medicine during the Islamic Golden Age. GAL I 493, 37, 7. M. Alghamdi et al., "An Untold Story: The Important Contributions of Muslim Scholars for the Understanding of Human Anatomy", The Anatomical Record 300 (2017), pp. 986-1008. J. B. West, "Ibn al-Nafis, the Pulmonary Circulation, and the Islamic Golden Age", in: Journal of Applied Physiology 105 (2008), pp. 1877-1880.
4to (200 x 144 mm). 81 pp. French manuscript, black ink on watermarked laid paper. 19th century blindstamped half calf with smooth spine, title lettered in gilt. A hitherto unknown French translation of an Arabic medical and philosophical text by a 13th century author from Al-Andalus: part of the first sections of the third chapter from the "Kitab al-Aghdiya", or the "Book of Food and the Preservation of Health", by Ibn Khalsun (ca. 1203-88). This chapter discusses general hygiene and personal health, that is to say, the body and spirit in their entirety. The present manuscript fragment is entitled "Traicté des choses non naturelles" ("Treatise on matters not natural"), meaning the things necessary for human life that are part of the external, material world, such as air, food and drink, including paragraphs on wine and sleep. It provides no information as to its source, but there was at the time no French edition of the work, and this would appear to be an entirely original, albeit unfinished, effort at translating an Arabic manuscript. The first published French translation was that included with the critical edition published in Damascus in 1996. - According to the Andalusian scholar Ibn al-Khatib (1313-74), Ibn Khalsun was originally from Rueda in Spain and lived in Malaga and Granada where he was part of the Nasrid ruler Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Yusuf's court (1272-1302). This is his only recorded work on medicine. - Some worming to the wide margins. Binding slightly rubbed at extremeties. Provenance: from the library of the French writer Jules Claretie (handwritten note dated 1919); subsequently owned by Dr. René-Albert Gutmann (1885-1981), and acquired from his heirs.
8vo. (2), 76 pp. , final blank leaf. Cloth-backed boards with paper title labels on front cover and spine. Privately published collection of letters from wartime Persia in 1918, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: "To Maddalene and Murray Franklin with love from Kate Jackson". - Kate Jackson wrote a series of letters to her sister in the United States while she and her husband were travelling "to Persia as members of the American-Persian Relief Commission": while "quite personal in character, they present a picture of experiences under somewhat unusual conditions and during a very memorable period" (from the prefatory note by A. V. Williams Jackson). Few copies were printed, not for publication, but intended simply to be given to friends. - In the letters themselves, Jackson discusses studying Persian, her voyage via Japan and Bombay, being the only woman on a troopship up the Tigris, meeting Syrian and Armenian refugees on the way out of Baghdad, and the reports she has heard on the Armenian genocide, and describes the celebration of the Armistice in Tehran. - Covers somewhat worn, otherwise an inscribed copy in good condition. OCLC 10350636. Not in Wilson.
8vo (145 x 204 mm). Two treatises bound together: the first in Persian with occasional captions in Arabic, the second in Arabic. Manuscript on polished paper. 45 ff., 18-22 lines. Nastaliq and naskh script in black and red, written space ruled in red and blue, with numerous charts in red, blue, and black and chart headers in blue woodblock print. Folio 10 features moveable slips to complement a chart. 19th century full leather over wooden boards, covers decorated with lacquered gold leaf and illustrated with an astrolabe quadrant; top edge of upper cover recessed at the centre; a flower-shaped inlay to the upper cover is lost. Finely rendered and beautifully bound work on astronomy and timekeeping by Haji Mirza Muhammad Karim Khan-i-Kirmani (1810-73). Karmani was a Shaykhi-Shia scholar, a distant cousin to Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar (1769-1834), and a 19th century polymath with mastery of a whole field of Islamic and philosophical sciences, including alchemy, medicine, optics and music. - The first treatise presented here is "Khulasa al-taqwim", a calendar summary in the form of tables for ikhtiyarat, or selections: it thus guides the reader through the selection of auspicious moments in a given day, the station of the moon and the zodiac in the heavens, and describes the solar and lunar calendars, the hours of the day and night, and knowledge of horoscopes. - The second is "Risala al-Mizan", which focuses on the use and construction of astrolabes. Karmani had a particularly keen interest in the engineering behind the astrolabe, a distinctly Muslim invention which is perhaps the greatest technical triumph of the mediaeval world. Indeed, Karmani went on to invent his own version of the astrolabe. Both calendrical knowledge and astrolabe engineering require keen mathematical and geometric knowledge, the study of which is aided by the numerous and often complex charts made available to the reader throughout. One such chart features two movable slips, still fully intact and functional, which practitioners may slide up and down to match up with the chart and aid their calculations. The binding on this volume is particularly striking, as it is illustrated with diagrams of astrolabe quadrants on a field of glittering copper leaf. - Light wear to covers, slightly delicate binding. A well-preserved and uncommonly early copy of Kirmani's astronomical writings. The only comparable manuscript copy to have appeared on the market is a later specimen in a very similar binding, dating from 1312 H/1895 CE, which sold at Christie's (Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Sale, 27 April 2017, lot 16), commanding £21,250.
8vo (200 x 288 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 50 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within red double rules, punctuation in red, gold rosette verse markers outlined in black, surah headers in gold, gold and polychrome marginal decoration, opening bifolium with red, blue and black and gold illuminated panels around three lines of text. Restored 18th century red leather with fore-edge flap, elaborately ruled and stamped in blind. Beautifully illuminated Qur'an Juz' (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in 18th century China. Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. The section of the Qu'ran copied here is the tenth Juz', which comprises surah 8, al-Anfal ("The Spoils") and surah 9, al-Tawbah ("The Repentance"). These two surahs form a set, and are best read as a pair. Both give an account of battles: al-Anfal describes the Battle of Badr, while al-Tawbah describes the Battle of Tabuk. - Covers fully rebacked, with some mild warping; some paper repair and reinforcement. Altogether a fine example of the Chinese Muslim manuscript tradition. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
8vo (180 x 252 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 58 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within double red rules, punctuation in red, black outlined gold rosettes between verses, headers in gold text on red ground, opening bifolium with red, blue and black and gold illuminated panels around three lines of text. 18th century full red leather with fore-edge flap, elaborately ruled and stamped in blind. Handsomely illuminated Qur'an Juz (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in 18th century China. - Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing, boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. Juz' 29, the penultimate Juz' of the Qu'ran shown here, begins with surah 67, al-Mulk (The Sovereignty), and closes with the fifty lines of surah 77, al-Mursalat (The Emissaries). - Binding rebacked and spine and endpapers professionally replaced; subtle paper repairs; some later pagination marks. Altogether a beautiful example of the Chinese Muslim manuscript tradition. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
4to (163 x 220 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 56 ff. Script in bold black sini, 5 lines within double red rules, punctuation in red, surah heading in red, opening and closing bifolio with red, blue and black and gold illuminated panels around three lines of text. Early full calf with fore-edge flap, elaborately ruled and stamped in gilt. A finely illuminated Qur'an Juz', written in China in the 16th century by Abd Allah bin Yunus al-Sini, in the city of Xi'an. - Xi'an has a long history of Muslim culture, stretching back to the Tang dynasty. Indeed, Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Xi'an itself boasts a well-known Muslim quarter; by the time this Juz' was written in the Ming Dynasty, Da Xuexi Street and the Huajue Great Mosque were well-established parts of the thriving Muslim district. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show the Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. - This thirtieth and final Juz' is also the most commonly memorized. It begins with surah 78, al-Naba’ (The Tidings), and concludes with the 114th and final surah of the Qu'ran, al-Nas (Mankind). The themes are generally apocalyptic, contrasting the moment of judgment with the beauty of Allah's creation. The Surah al-Nas, a brief six lines, is one of the most famous and best beloved. - Binding professionally rebacked, some subtle paper repairs; altogether a striking manuscript. Provenance: Private UK collection formed in the 1960s and 1970s.
4to. 2 parts in 1 volume. (24), 454, 134 pp., (1 blank leaf), (72) pp. Woodcut initials; printer's woodcut device in two sizes to title and last page. Contemporary limp vellum (spine and edges renewed). Author's name inked on lower edge of text block. First edition of this detailed commentary on the famous ninth book of the "Kitab al-tibb al-Mansuri", a treatise dedicated by al-Razi (also known as Rhazes; 850-923 or 932) to Almansor, the Prince of Chorosan. "The manual, known as 'Nonus Almansoris', was popular among mediaeval physicians" (cf. GAL S I, p. 419). The work discusses special pathology but excludes pyrology and was one of the most popular textbooks at medical schools and faculties well into the Middle Ages (cf. Hirsch/H. I, 171). Rhazes is considered the greatest mediaeval physician next to Avicenna; he also conducted alchemical experiments. According to his biographer al-Gildaki, he was blinded for refusing to share his secrets of chemistry. - The Italian physician Leonardo Giacchini (1501-47), who composed this commentary, practised at Lucca until 1543 and later taught at the University of Pisa. His other works are collected in part two of the volume, with its own title-page, dated 1563. - Vellum rippled, spine replaced, edges rebacked. Some light dampstaining, inkstains, and general soiling to interior; edges of some marginal notes have been trimmed. - From the library of the Italian physician Giambattista Giovanetto Morello from Tavagnasco (Piedmont), whose doctoral dissertation was published at Turin in 1779 (a single copy known, in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria Torino); his autograph ownership inscription on the front free endpaper, "Joanettus medicus a Tavagnasco", is dated 10 February 1780. Numerous marginal notes throughout in two hands, one belonging to the 17th century, the other apparently that of Giovanetto. VD 16, G 1940. BM-STC German 359. Adams G 581 (part 2 only). Wellcome 2823. Durling 2094.
8vo. 36 pp. Contemporary green cloth wrappers titled in gilt. A chronology of the Arab world spanning from Babylonian origin myth to the accession of Yezid, son of Caliph Mawiya I of Damascus in 679. Redhouse (1811-92) first sketched out his timeline while he was preparing a translation and commentary in the East India Office of a manuscript called the History of the Resuliyy Dynasty and the Kings of Yemen to the death of Melik Eshref II. He decided to publish his chronology separately in order to reach a wider audience, and so as to make it available to scholars who might find further use for it. Much of the early entries are by necessity semi-mythical, but Redhouse adds historical notes where possible, occasionally alongside his own personal commentary, such as in his entry for 12 BC wherein Hassan, son of Tubba' the Middle, king of Yemen, "uses the Macbeth strategem of boughs of trees to make the advance of his army against the place", or in 189 CE when he notes with some confusion, "The Saracens defeat the Romans; their first mention in history. (Who were they? Arabians have always been well known)", and at roughly 300 CE notes that "Lu'eyy b. Galib [...] ninth ancestor of Muhammed, wrests the principality of Mekka [...] out of the hands of the 'Ezdite tribe of Khuza'a. (It remains in the hands of his descendants to the present time, A.D. 1887)". - During his career Redhouse served the Ottoman government as interpreter to the Grand Vizier, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and sat on the Naval Council. He was additionally involved in attempts to negotiate treaties for Britain and the Ottomans with Persia. In his retirement his focus turned entirely academic. - A little light wear, binding somewhat delicate. OCLC 5590516.
4to (152 x 210 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 57 ff. Leaves have been numbered in pencil, though incorrectly. Brown and red ink with occasional blue and yellow, ruled in red, gilt pointer in the margin marking the beginning, and ending with the name of the Prophet Muhammad written in yellow and black. Marginal notes in a modern red ink. Modern brown morocco with fore-edge flap. Modern endpapers. A theological treatise more commonly known as "Al-Sanusiyyah Al-Sughra" (The Short Version of As-Sanusiyyah) or as "Umm al-Barahin" (The Mother of All Proofs). Mohamed ibn Youssef Sanoussi (1435/36-1490) was a North African theologian who lived as a mystic in Tlemcen, Algeria. Unlike Averroes or al-Ghazali, Sanusi espoused a democratic and rational conception of theology that appealed not to the elite but to any man endowed with reason. He sought to establish practical faith through logical proof. - As stated in the colophon, the present manuscript was copied by one Ahmad ibn Ali. Recto of first leaf somewhat soiled, with later ink notes and paper repairs; the beginning of the text on the verso is only slightly affected. Light soiling and inkblots throughout, with a few marginal wormholes and dampstains. Later marginal notes; verso of f. 56 has text which is not contained in ruled margins and has thus been trimmed slightly along fore-edge. Cf. GAL II, 8.7.4.
8vo. 2 parts in 1 volume. Arabic manuscript on paper. 144 ff., 1 leaf of index. Text in black naskh with important words and phrases in red, occasional marginal notes. 19th century three quarter red boards with red morocco spine, ruled and lettered in gilt. An uncommon epitome of a 13th century medical treatise by 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad Sha'rani (1492/3-1565), known primarily for his mystical writings. While Al-Sha'rani famously founded an Egyptian order of Sufism, Sa'rawiyyah, which remained active until the 19th century and wrote extensively on religious law and Sufism; his interest in medicine is less well known. This book, which discusses a treatise by the physician Al-Suwaydi (1204-92), is unique among his works as a scientific text, and is important in forming an idea of Al-Sha'rani as a man of numerous intellectual interests, equally able to debate religious law and explain medical recipes and procedures. Indee, these were not interests at odds with each other: magical and occult remedies are prominent throughout the text. Al-Sha'rani retains some of Al-Suwaydi's stylistic choices as well, most noticeably the organization of the medical recipes by body part to be treated: the work starts with ailments of the head and proceeds down the body to end with the feet. - This specimen was copied on Sunday, the 11th of Safar 1108 AH by the scribe Muhammad Muhyi al-Din Abi al-Anas al-Shafi'i al-Miliji al-Ash'ari al-Sha'rani. Two of the ownership entries are dated 1251 and 1322 H, and annotations and notes at the end with an added index in Maghribi script suggest that it was last owned by a physician in Morocco or elsewhere in North Africa. - Boards somewhat worn, a few minor stains and wormholes. Index has been reinforced. An interesting medical work from a Sufi theologian. GAL II, 335f.
8vo (154 x 208 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 267 ff. (final 6 leaves are supplied in a 19th century hand). Naskh script in black and red, with many numerical charts and calculations in text and margins. Rebacked contemporary red morocco, ruled and stamped in blind. Commentary on a work by the Egyptian mathematician Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ha'im (ca. 1352-1412), the "Murshidat al-talib ila asna al-matalib fi ilm al-hisab" ("A student's guide to the summit of learning on the science of mathematics"). Al-Ha'im is famous for his contributions to mathematics, especially in the field of early algebra. The author of the commentary, Baha al-Din Muhammad al-Shinshawri (d. 1590), finished this work in 1587. The present copy was completed by the scribes Abd al-Rahman bin Wali Allah and Shihab al-Din al-Wiqay al-Shinway al-Shafi' on Friday, the 18th of Rabi' al-Thani 1023 AH at Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque in Ottoman Egypt. - The text incorporates several small mathematical charts as well as marginal calculations, which provide a key insight into the development of mathematical notation and visual organization in the early 17th century. - Covers rebacked and spine replaced, along with final six leaves which were probably completed in Western Asia in the 19th century. Several small waqf stamps. A few paper repairs and marginal wormholes, otherwise well-preserved. Cf. GAL II, 125.
8vo (150 x 214 mm). (2), LVIII, 560 pp. With 7 folding chromolithographed maps (one bound as a frontispiece) and 5 woodcut maps and plans in the text (some in colour). Early 20th century library cloth with title lettered to spine in gilt. Fifth edition. Stanley (1815-81) was a progressive Anglican priest and ecclesiastical historian who would go on to serve as Dean of Westminster from 1864 until his death. - "Stanley was able to make an extended tour of Egypt and the Holy Land in 1852 and 1853. Starting from Cairo he and his companions sailed up the Nile, which he found intolerably dull, but the great granite statues of Rameses and two other pharaohs at Thebes impressed him. They went as far south as Abu Simbel, but turned back to Cairo, climbed the pyramids, and then set out on camels for the Sinai peninsula, at that time visited only by the most intrepid of European travellers. In the monastery of St Catherine at the foot of Mount Sinai they found the great German scholar Tischendorf, who on a previous visit had discovered there an important biblical manuscript, the Codex Sinaiticus. After moving on to the Gulf of 'Aqabah, they turned up the defile that led to Petra, which Stanley pronounced to be a city not of bright colours, but of dull crimson, indigo, yellow, and purple. They reached Jerusalem on Easter eve 1853, from where they made expeditions to Nazareth, Damascus, Jericho, and the Dead Sea. The tour led to the publication of 'Sinai and Palestine' in March 1856, Stanley's powers of observation and description, together with the unfamiliarity of the places that he had visited, making the book an instant success. It reached a fourth edition within a year, and as late as 1881 was still being reprinted" (ODNB). - Occasional slight browning, but very well preserved in a later library binding. OCLC 3044873. Cf. Ibrahim-Hilmy II, 257. Not in Gay.
8vo (116 x 180 mm). Arabic manuscript on paper. 52 pp. on 28 ff. of very fine polished paper (8 ff. on pink paper), complete. Meticulous Naskh in black ink with occasional red; numerous diagrams in red in the margins and occasionally within the text itself. Bound with an astronomical treatise in Persian. 50 pp. Black ink with occasional red; several diagrams in red throughout the text. Altogether 59 ff. 18th century red morocco, ruled in gilt and stamped in blind, modern rebacking. A 16th 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 text is decorated throughout with geometric diagrams drawn in red ink with a delicate and exacting hand. Each is labelled, and many are quite intricately detailed, showing the geometric qualities of the sphere and progress to astronomical diagrams exploring orbits and planetary movement. This present manuscript was copied by Muhammad Taqi bin Aqa Jalal al-Kilani, dated to Sha'ban 1000 H. - Bound with another astronomical treatise, in Persian, written on somewhat coarser paper stock. Covers worn and rebacked, some dampstaining, otherwise very well preserved. A fine piece in the history of mathematics.
Folio (212 x 324 mm). Persian manuscript on faintly ruled paper. 1 blank leaf, 336 pp. (168 ff.), 1 blank leaf. Text is complete, but last leaf is missing. 1 illuminated headpiece and 49 illustrations in ink and bright watercolour wash. Text in black, ruled in black, with important words and phrases picked out in purple. 19th century leather ruled and stamped in blind. Lavishly illuminated Persian manuscript depicting the romance which came to define the love story in Western literature. Composed by Abu al-Qasim Hasan Unsuri (ca. 961-1039), the original Persian was in fact lost, and preserved in a Turkish translation. Unsuri's version was itself based on what was already an ancient love story in his own time, the Ancient Greek novel "Metiochus and Parthenope", which also survives only in fragments. Though certainly derived from the Greek, like many Persian romances with Greek origins, "the nature of the relationship is not [...] the simple one of the earlier (Greek) material influencing the later (Persian) material, as the Greek novels contain a number of motifs and topoi which are identified within the narratives themselves as Persian in origin. The relationship between the love narratives of the two cultures appear, therefore, to have been one of mutual reciprocity over a considerable stretch of time" (Davis). - Some fragments of the original Persian do survive: Sa'id Nafisi collected 141 verses of "Wameq o 'Adra" that were used as evidence in Persian dictionaries, and 372 more verses were discovered by Mohammad Šafi' in the binding of an old manuscript in 1950 (Blois, 201). Unsuri's version was translated in the 16th century into Turkish by Shaikh Mahmud Lame'i, though in comparison with the earlier fragments, this is considered a loose translation of the original. However, it provides the source of most subsequent translations and most of what we know of "Vamiq va 'Azra", as a romance which underpins the genre. In literature both medieval and modern, the narratives of the original persist: lovers separated by a kidnapping, a virgin who must use a range of tricks to elude unworthy attempts on her chastity, an interrupted wedding, and a seemingly final separation with the (supposed) death of one of the lovers. In this way, "Vamiq va 'Azra" echoes down the literary ages. - Covers somewhat worn but professionally repaired; still tightly bound. Light soiling, otherwise a beautifully illustrated and uncommon manuscript. Richard Davis, "Greece IX. Greek and Persian Romances", in: Encyclopaedia Iranica XI, 339-342. Francois de Blois, Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey. Vol. V: Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period (London: Royal Asiatic Society, 2004), pp. 201-204.
Small 8vo. (6), 43, (1) pp. Stiff green cloth wrappers titled in black. Extremely rare manual, marked "For Official use only" and prepared for the troops of the Indian Expeditionary Force "D", giving an account of the political and historical context of the British Mesopotamian campaign of World War I. - Expeditionary Force "D" was made up of Indian and British troops and is infamous for its doomed defense of the siege of Kut, where disease and starvation forced a surrender in April 1916. However, the pamphlet does not limit itself to Iraq, but crucially provides an entire chapter on the history of, and British interest in, the Arabian Peninsula, titled "Arabia - Our Left Flank", including an entire section on Abdulaziz Ibn Saud (1875-1953). The author summarizes the history of British presence in the Gulf, noting the sack of Ras-al-Khaimah in retribution for alleged pirate activity, after which "the climate forced [the British] to evacuate that position". The book further refers to the "maritime truce" imposed by Britain upon the Arabian Coast from "Masandam to Kuwait" in 1836 and notes that the suppression of the arms trade in Muscat was successful thanks to the regulations put in place by Faisal bin Turki, Sultan of Muscat and Oman (1864-1913), the direct ancestor of Sultan Haitham. In more general terms the author describes "The rich oases of the Qasim, with their population of enterprizing merchants" and "the Hasa, coveted for its date groves and its ports on the Persian Gulf" which "was finally wrested from the Ottoman Government by Ibn Sa'ud in 1913". The author lists British treaties along the Gulf Coast, including with "the Shaikh of Bahrain" (Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, 1769-1849) in 1820 "and in 1798 with the chiefs of the Trucial Coast". - Cloth gently rubbed. Interior shows a hint of foxing, otherwise in very good condition. A single copy is listed in auction records, and that volume included a pencil note attributing authorship to Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson (1884-1940), a captain in the British Indian Army. As then-acting civil commissioner for Mesopotamia who later became known for his strong opinions on the postwar fate of Iraq, he is not an unlikely candidate.
4to (165 x 125 mm). (6), 129 ff. Early 19th century half calf with floral moirée paper covers. Yellow paper pastedowns. The sixth book printed by Ibrahim Müteferrika: an important eyewitness account of the life of Tamerlane (Timur), the successful and barbaric 14th-century Turkish conqueror. Translated into in Ottoman Turkish by Nazemi Zadeh from the original Arabic manuscript completed in 1437/38 by the Syrian author Ahmad lbn 'Arabshah (1392-1450), secretary to Sultan Ahmad of Baghdad. - Binding a little rubbed at extremeties. Occasional browning, depending on paper stock, but mostly a very good, clean copy on crisp paper. Özege 19929. GAL S II, p. 25. Ebert 292 (note). Brunet I, 117 (note). Toderini III, p. 75, no. V.
8vo (101 x 171 mm). (16), 286 pp., final blank leaf. Near-contemporary full red morocco binding, flat spine with gilt title and elaborate ornamentation, both covers bordered with triple rules, leading edges gilt, inner dentelle gilt. Marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. Extremely rare first French edition of the oriental tales known as "Kalila wa-Dimna" or "Anvari Suhaili", being the Persian version of the Fables of Bidpai (here comprising the prologue and the first four chapters). Translated by the great French linguist Gilbert Gaulmin (1585-1665) and his student and collaborator David Sahid d'Ispahan (whose is the only name given on the title). Bidpai (or "Pilpay") is the name of the Indian philosopher to whom the Arabic and Persian tradition attributes this famous collection, known in the Sanskrit tradition as "Panchatantra". It was translated into Latin as early as the 13th century. - This first French edition is of particular importance for popularising the fables in France and providing Jean de La Fontaine with themes for many of his later and most beautiful stories in his own fable collection, first published in 1678-79 (cf. Le Roux). - Volume ends with the note "Fin de la premiere partie", but all published. Provenance: old ink ownership "Bouhon or. de S. Sac" to title-page. Later in the library of the Lebanese-born entrepreneur Charles Kettaneh (1904-85) with his etched bookplate to the front flyleaf. Together with his brothers, Charles Kettaneh developed the export business of cars and other American luxury goods to the Middle East, where he established licenced dealerships. Passionate about travel, a fine scholar and knowledgeable about art, Kettaneh was a great collector and bibliophile; his library was remarkable for the rarity of the books rather than for their number. - Binding very slightly rubbed in places, but finely preserved. Contemporary bibliographical notes and the odd penstroke to the margin. A superb copy, not in trade records. Chauvin II, p. 33, no. 55A. Brunet I, 937. Graesse I, 421f. Barbier II, 1329. Le Roux de Lincy, Essai sur les fables indiennes et sur leur introduction en Europe (1838), p. 23f. OCLC 457066815.
Diameter: 31 cms. A beautiful copper gilt tray in a rounded flat form, engraved with geometric designs in the Mamluk revival style, the Star of David and Hebrew and Arabic lettering. - Exceedingly well preserved.
4to (170 x 214 mm). (4), 65, 51 ff. Early 19th century half calf with marbled covers and fore-edge flap. Pink paper pastedowns. The seventh book printed by Ibrahim Müteferrika: a history of Egypt from antiquity to early modern times, prepared by the Turkish scholar Ahmed Süheylî (1562?-1632). The modern section (bound first, as usual) is in fact an Ottoman Turkish translation of the chronicle of the Ottoman-Mamluk war of 1516/17, "Fath Misr" (Tarikh as-sultan Selim al-Utmani ma'a as-sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri) by Ibn Zunbul (d. 1574/75). - Handwritten ownership of the French diplomat Louis Lagarde (dated 1923 CE) to front flyleaf. Occasional light browning and fingerstains, but mostly an excellent copy on good, crisp paper. Özege 19868-19869. GAL S II, p. 409. Toderini III, p. 85, no. VI.