Best.-Nr. 121952Cambridge Cambridge Archive Editions 2021. . 4 vols 8vo 25.5 x 16.5 cm; 5 large folding maps loose in rear pocket; publisher's original black cloth silver gilt lettering a fine set. A comprehensive collection of documents recording the history of Qatar between the years 1966 and 1971 which saw the withdrawal of Britain from the region and the eventual establishment of Qatar as an independent nation rather than joining the Emirates in a confederation. Cambridge, Cambridge Archive Editions, 2021. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121950Cambridge Cambridge Archive Editions 2021 . 5 vols 25.5 x 16.5 cm; publisher's original black cloth silver gilt lettering a fine set. A very important collection of documents charting the the history of Qatar during the years 1961 to 1965 including the rise of the National Unity Front the growth of the Qatar Petroleum Company and the decline of British-Qatari relations. Chapters divide the documents into sections: the royal court council of ministers communications economy foreign affairs internal affairs judiciary labour and oil among others. Cambridge, Cambridge Archive Editions, 2021, hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121955London Archive Editions 1991. . 8 vols 8vo 25.5 x 16.5 cm; 7 vols text and 1 map portfolio containing 12 large folding maps; publisher's original green cloth gilt arms of Qatar to upper boards gilt lettering to spines with red lettering pieces top edges gilt a fine set. An unrivalled collection of material revealing the history of Qatar from 1820 to 1960 focussing on primary documents charting the history of the peninsular from Qatar's first maritime treaty with Britain in 1820 up to the abdication of Ali bin Abdullah in 1960. Many of the documents within are published for the first time. London, Archive Editions, 1991. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121949London Archive Editions 1989. . 8 vols 8vo 25.5 x 16.5 cm; 7 vols text & map portfolio containing 9 large folding maps and 2 tables; publisher's original red cloth gilt royal arms of Kuwait to upper boards spines in gilt with green labels top edges gilt a fine set. An impressive set of records documenting the history of Kuwait from 1899 to 1961 covering the period from the first treaty signed between Britain and Mubarak Al-Sabah to the establshiment of Kuwait as an independent state in 1961. London, Archive Editions, 1989. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121954London Archive Editions 1991. . 8 vols 8vo 25.5 x 16.5 cm; 7 vols text & map portfolio containing 12 large folding maps; publisher's original green cloth gilt arms of Qatar to upper boards gilt lettering to spines with red lettering pieces top edges gilt a fine set. An unrivalled collection of material revealing the history of Qatar from 1820 to 1960 focussing on primary documents charting the history of the peninsular from Qatar's first maritime treaty with Britain in 1820 up to the abdication of Ali bin Abdullah in 1960. Many of the documents within are published for the first time. London, Archive Editions, 1991. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121953Cambridge Cambridge Archive Editions 2021. . 4 vols 8vo 25.5 x 16.5 cm; 5 large folding maps loose in rear pocket; publisher's original black cloth silver gilt lettering a fine set. A comprehensive collection of documents recording the history of Qatar between the years 1966 and 1971 which saw the withdrawal of Britain from the region and the eventual establishment of Qatar as an independent nation rather than joining the Emirates in a confederation. Cambridge, Cambridge Archive Editions, 2021. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121951Cambridge Cambridge Archive Editions 2021. . 5 vols 25.5 x 16.5 cm; publisher's original black cloth silver gilt lettering a fine set. A very important collection of documents charting the the history of Qatar during the years 1961 to 1965 including the rise of the National Unity Front the growth of the Qatar Petroleum Company and the decline of British-Qatari relations. Chapters divide the documents into sections: the Royal Court Council of Ministers communications economy foreign affairs internal affairs judiciary labour and oil among others. Cambridge, Cambridge Archive Editions, 2021. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 122017London Archive editions 2026. . 4 vols 8vo; includes a map portfolio with 7 maps original black cloth lettered in white a fine set. A very important work on the pearl fisheries of the Arabian Gulf bringing together in a single research collection all relevant documents from British government records relating to the pearl industry the most important economic activity in the Gulf before the oil era. London, Archive editions, 2026. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121956London Archive editions 1990. . 5 vols 8vo; 1 vol. text with index map & 4 vols map portfolios containing 55 maps charts and views; original blue cloth gilt a fine set. The first systematic examination of the coastal topography of the Arabian Gulf. A remarkable collection of sea charts harbour plans coastal views and topographical descriptions produced during the survey of the shores and islands of the Persian Gulf carried out between 1820 and 1829 by officers of the Bombay Marine on the orders of the Bombay government. London, Archive editions, 1990. hardcover
Best.-Nr. 121957London Archive editions 1990. . 5 vols 8vo; 1 vol. text with index map & 4 vols map portfolios containing 55 maps charts and views; original blue cloth gilt a fine set. The first systematic examination of the coastal topography of the Arabian Gulf. A remarkable collection of sea charts harbour plans coastal views and topographical descriptions produced during the survey of the shores and islands of the Persian Gulf carried out between 1820 and 1829 by officers of the Bombay Marine on the orders of the Bombay government. London, Archive editions, 1990. hardcover
Steel-engraved map by J. Rapkin (27 x 35 cm), with engraved illustrations by J.B. Allen after designs by J. Marchant, outlined in colour. Decorative map with Asia including the Arabian Peninsula, with vignettes of ‘Tartars’, ‘Russian peasants’, ‘The walrus’, ‘Sun birds’ and ‘Petra’. Also published in ‘Tallis’s illustrated atlas and modern history of the world’ (London, New York, R.M. Martin, 1851). - Some minor fraying at the top of the map, some browning. In good condition. Not in Al Ankary; Al-Qasimi.
Oblong folio (ca. 425 x 300 mm). Photo album with 31 original black-and-white photographs, including 4 loosely inserted photographs. 205 x 255 mm. Contemporary full calf decorated with Arabian-themed scenery to front cover. Cord-bound. Compelling images of the fleet of vehicles operated by Aramco in Saudi Arabia. Uncommon in its extent, the collection was presumably prepared by an Aramco employee and motor enthusiast. It features large trucks mainly manufactured by Blumhardt, Kenworth and Fruehauf, which served in the transportation and installment of oil drilling facilities, as well as some close-ups of enormous tires and cargo areas. Some pictures feature oil derricks, refineries, tanks, cars, and office buildings in the background. - Very well preserved. A rare glimpse of the immense engine power required to produce oil in the Saudi Arabian desert.
Oblong 4to. 12 black-and-white glossy prints. Spiral binding. Photo book of the Abqaiq Senior Staff School, an institute for the children of Aramco employees. The prints show the school building, the Aramco compound and petrol facilities, children playing softball, a swimming tournament, a falconer with his falcon, dromedars, a fishing boat, and a group of Arabs enjoying their coffee. With reproductions of the signatures of the class of 1961 to lower pastedown. - Edges somewhat worn.
Small folio (280 x 212 mm). 5 issues. Original illustrated wrappers. Five issues of Aramco World. In November 1949 the Arabian American Oil Company launched "Aramco World" as an interoffice newsletter that linked the company's U.S. offices with "the field" - primarily Dhahran, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The journal quickly grew into a monthly (later bi-monthly) educational magazine featuring historical, geographical and cultural articles that helped the American employees and their families appreciate an unfamiliar land. - The present collection comprises vol. 3, nos. 2, 4, and 11; vol. 5, no, 10, and vol. 6, no. 7. - Heads of spine somewhat worn. Interior in excellent condition.
Calling card format. 2 pp. Visiting card of the Almana Eye Hospital in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia. With handwritten notes, likely by Mrs. Thomas, the wife of an Aramco employee, on verso, regarding the GIA Gemological Institue in New York, as well as a tailor. - Slightly creased and spotted.
75 original Kodachrome red border colour slides (35 mm film). Private collection compiled by an Aramco engineer active in Saudi Arabia, particularly remarkable due to the exceptionally well retained rich colours of the images - a signature feature of Kodachrome red border slides, which were only produced between the years 1941 and 1959. - Providing a rare insight into the demanding work environment of Aramco personnel, the slides document the cohabitation and collaboration of American and Saudi Arabian staff. They show the exploration for oil and the installment of drilling compounds, as well as large Aramco trucks, frequently carrying explosives. Other images depict groups of workers enjoying a meal in a tent, resting in the shade of a truck, having tea, or playing cards. In addition, the set includes pictures of a small Aramco plane, traditional markets and flocks of sheep, as well as two slides showing scenes from Hadramaut (the only captioned slides). - Extraordinarily well preserved.
Lithographed map, ca. 99 x 137 cm. Scale 1:1,000,000, Conformal Conic Projection. Rare U.S. Air Force aeronautical chart of the Arabian Gulf detailing Saudi Arabia with Al Hasa Oasis, the Qatar Peninsula, Bahrein, parts of Kuwait, Iraq and Iran, as well as the Saudi-Kuwaiti and Saudi-Iraqi neutral zones. Other details include Tapline road, Kuwait road, geological features like the Dibdiba gravel plains, and the Rub al-Khali desert. The most prominent labelled cities include Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait, Bushire and Shiraz. - The map was prepared by the USAF Aeronautical Chart Service with the 1950 copyright belonging to Standard Oil Company. SOC subsequently licensed their copyright to Aramco. - With a single fold. Somewhat toned. Several larger tears to lower margin; a tear in right margin repaired with old adhesive tape.
8vo. 2 United States passports. Passports of the Aramco employee Joseph John de Roule, packed with entrance visa stamps from his trips to Aramco facilities in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey, but also Hong Kong, Cyprus, and Denmark. - De Roule had been with Aramco since 1951, his first assignment being that of a craft specialist in Abqaiq. He was transferred to Dhahran in 1956, where he later retired with his wife. His 1964 passport includes a set of spare original black-and-white passport photographs in a rear pocket. - In very good condition.
50 x 90 mm. Charming sew-on patch of the Ras Tanura Golf Association. Woven with gold, blue and black thread, it shows two camels wandering the Saudi Arabian desert surrounded by a set of golf clubs, an oil rig, and a palmtree. - Apparently never sewn on. A unique survival.
Oblong 12mo (74 x 114 mm). 1 page. Membership card of the Ras Tanura Golf Association issued to Aramco employee Orlin Orace Thomas. - Somewhat worn.
Oblong 12mo (63 x 100 mm). 2 pp. Membership card of the Ras Tanura Golf Association issued to Velma Thomas, the wife of Aramco employee Orlin Orace Thomas. - Slightly spotted. Well-preserved.
4to. 77 original photographs, comprising 48 colour and 29 black-and-white photos. Ca. 85 x 110 mm. With one Aramco press photograph. Captioned in English. Contemporary half calf with giltstamped spine in a full calf case with metal clasp. Private photo album of the petroleum engineer and Aramco employee Herschel Edmund Zirger (1926-2015). After joining Aramco in 1955, Zirger was involved in the construction of the ADMP-2 platform - a gigantic off-shore oil rig showcased here in impressive photographs which make up the bulk of the collection. Built in the fall of 1965 and spring of 1966 in Vicksburg, it was towed down the Mississippi river, across the Atlantic and through the Suez Canal, to arrive in Saudi Arabia in September 1966. The set includes spectacular images of the rig being launched into the river, passing under the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge, the largest bridge on the Mississippi, and travelling past New Orleans. A pioneering project, the ADMP-2 platform was constructed "to operate in 200-ft water depths compared to the 77-ft maximum of the earlier rig [ADMP-1]. The design of the No. 2 also anticipates Aramco moving out into deeper Gulf waters" (World Petroleum). - Another set of images displays the arduous transport of an oil rig derrick through the desert near Abqaiq. Zirger is seen posing in front of enormous trucks and following the convoi. Sadly, the endeavour ended in a severe accident: after weeks of hard work, the derrick was destroyed in a desert storm. - Finally, several images depict an oil platform in the Arabian Sea, including detailed views of a drill head. - Nearly every picture is captioned in white ink in Zirger's handwriting. Zirger's label of ownership to front cover. - In 1971 Zirger established a Saudi-Registered Limited Liability Partnership which provided consulting services and consultants to Aramco for the supervision, inspection and maintenance of oil wells, water wells and drilling operations. - Full calf case slightly rubbed. An extraordinary collection.
A total of 10 separately catalogued items: a personal collection of 5 membership cards of golf clubs, country clubs and women's groups, one golf score card and the Aramco Golf Banquet programme, a set of 7 programmes of the Protestant Fellowship, 2 programmes of a choir and theatre group, 2 membership cards of the Ras Tanura Golf Association, 2 autograph Christmas and birthday cards, a calling card, 2 identification cards, and a sew-on patch. Private material collected by the Aramco employees Orlin Orace and Velma Thomas during their years in Ras Tanura. The collection portrays the couple as avid golf enthusiasts, including their membership cards for several clubs of the Ras Tanura Golf Association as well as Velma's score card. Perhaps the most uncommon item is a sew-on patch of the Golf Association: woven with gold, blue and black thread, it shows two camels wandering the Saudi Arabian desert surrounded by a set of golf clubs, an oil rig, and a palmtree. - The Thomas family were active members not only of the golf scene, but also of the Protestant Fellowship; their archive further comprises several programmes for Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Christmas service. - 2 autograph Christmas and birthday cards addressed to Mrs. Honeycutt in Tulsa, Oklahoma, signed by the Thomas family, document the expats cultivating their relationship to their native home. - The remaining items include an insurance ID verifying Thomas's claim to have medical expenses covered under the Aramco medical payment plan, a permit to use retail services in the Ras Tanura Camp, as well as the programmes of a choir and theatre performance in Ras Tanura. - An intriguing set documenting the diverse activities of Aramco expats in Saudi Arabia. Detailed list available on request.
4to. 106, 22 ff. (as numbered; some leaves numbered with 'a' numbers according to preceding leaf, per standard industry practice). Published as a mimeographed typescript with inset illustrations, many folding. Bound in original wrappers with metal split pin fasteners. Second revised edition. A very extensive report supplied to Aramco regarding the Convair CV-340, a passenger jet designed largely for airlines like United, but quite popular in Saudi Arabia during the first decades of Saudi passenger air service. - The early 1950s saw the dawn of what would become Saudi Arabian Airlines, precipitated in part by the gift of a Douglas DC-3 passenger jet from U.S. President Roosevelt to King Ibn Saud in 1945. It would be the DC-3 and the CV-340 which would comprise the first fleets of passenger planes in Saudi Arabia. That Aramco, a large regional employer, might be interested in the CV-340 is thus understandable; in fact, both planes are remembered by Aramco employees from the 1950s and 1960s - and especially by their children, who were often sent to prep schools in cities like Rome, but flew home on DC-3s and CV-340s to Aramco installations like Dhahran with their peers for holidays. - The CV-340 was developed by Consolidated Vultee (later Convair) from the earlier CV-240, but was newer and larger; the first flight test took place on 5 October 1951. The CV-340 seated at total of 44 passengers. In all, 209 aircraft of this type were sold to airlines but 37 went to private operators, potentially including those interested in purchase at Aramco and more generally in Saudi Arabia and along the Gulf. In extensive text and diagrams, every aspect of the engineering and design of the plane is presented, from the new layout of the tailfin to the shocks in the landing gear to the fire extinguishing system. - A touch of wear, otherwise a well-preserved example of a rare publication produced in a very limited number of copies for promotional and reference use only.
3 typed letters signed and 1 autograph letter, a passport, and an air freight manifest. Compelling archive of the Aramco employee Paul Schwarzenau (1916-92), who joined the Aramco "family" at Dhahran around April 1952. The archive comprises three letters to his mother describing his life in the Middle East, praising his new job with Aramco: "How lucky can i get? All this and a salary too! Ah yes, this is real living although i still can't understand why it should happen to a bum like me!". The remaining correspondence is written in a slightly more critical tone, speaking of an invasion of locusts and the difficulties raised by the language barrier, as well as working obligations during the month of Ramadan, suggesting "the company should abolish all daytime work during this month but of course it is all a big question of $$$$$$'s and the oil has to be kept moving regardless of any attempts, man-made or god-made, to interrupt the flow". - The passport is packed with entrance visa stamps of his trips to Aramco facilities in the Middle East. It also documents a change of name from "Schwarzenau" to "Stiehl". - In addition, the set includes an air freight manifest for a box of personal effects Schwarzenau had shipped from Dhahran to New York. The document includes a customs clearance authorization as well as a specification of the contents of the box, which contained 4 prayer rugs, 12 towels, and 5 bed sheets. - A unique ensemble. Detailed list available on request.
