![[Silsilat al-tawarik - English]. Ancient accounts of India and China](https://rarebookinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/31646510254-600x992.jpg)
SULAYMAN AL-TAJIR and ABU ZAID HASAN IBN YAZID, AL-SIRAFI. (Eusèbe RENAUDOT, editor).
XXXVII, (1), 260, VII pp.First English edition of the famous travel report given by the Arab merchant Suleiman al-Tajir, who had visited China and India in the 9th century. His book is the oldest Arabic account of China, written more than 400 years before Marco Polo. This is augmented by the "Silsilat al-Tawarikh" of Abu Zayd al-Hasan al-Shirafi, written in the early 10th century and based on the account of Ibn Wahb al-Basri, who had visited China shortly after Suleiman.Translated from the French version by Renaudot. According to Renaudot, the account of events such as the great revolution which swept across China during their second voyage confirms that the journeys were undertaken four centuries prior to Marco Polo. Their travels took place in 851 CE and 877 CE, respectively. The text gives a lively account of 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). Later Arabic geographers such as Ibn Khordadhbe and al-Masudi relied heavily on this work for their information on India and China. "Ces relations sont de la plus haute importance pour la connaissance de lInde et de la Chine au moyen-age" (NBG).The book includes stories about the Indian Ocean and its fish species, the cities around the Arabian Gulf, whales and other large man eating fish, the religions of China and India. Other sections discuss commercial routes and the most important products of India, Srinadeb, Java, and China, as well as the presence of Muslims in China in the third and fourth centuries.With the bookplate of "Will[ia]m Markham Esq[ui]r[e] Becca Lodge, Yorkshire" on the front paste-down, covering another bookplate. The boards are slightly scuffed around the edges, slightly foxed throughout. Otherwise in very good condition.l Cordier, Sinica 1924; Cox I, 335; Lust 297. NBG 41, 997f (Renaudot); cf. T. Mackintosh-Smith & J. Montgomery (eds.), Two Arabic Travel Books (2014).
Eye-catching, beautifully coloured facsimile wall-map of Georg Marcgraf's renowned mid-17th-century map of Dutch Brazil. The present wall-map was published alongside the 1923 facsimile edition of Caspar Barlaeus' Nederlandsch Brazilië onder het bewind van Johan Maurits Grave van Nassau 1637-1644, edited by S.P. l'Honoré Naber and published by Martinus Nijhoff in The Hague."As a whole, the Marcgraf map is an extremely valuable iconographic source for aspects of Dutch Brazil, especially for ethnography. As can be seen from Post's paintings and drawings, he had a superb talent for compressing details into small scenes and even smaller figures and his eye for detail was extraordinary. It seems very probable that the scenes depicted were actually observed and although redrawn and recombined afterwards, they can be trusted as authentic records of negro, Tupinamba and Tapuya life at this time." (Whitehead & Boeseman p. 159).The large wall-map consists of eleven irregular shaped leaves pasted together to make a rectangle, supplemented with a descriptive text in Dutch about the Dutch possessions in Brazil and its governor-general Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, nicknamed "the Brazilian". The text is a Dutch translation, probably by l'Honoré Naber, from the original Latin by Barlaeus. "Four of the parts, the actual maps, were published by Barlaeus, being those of Sergipe, southern Pernambuco, northern Pernambuco with Itamaracá, and Paraiba with Rio Grande. Georg Marcgraf (also Markgraf or Marggraf, 1610-1644) was a German naturalist, astronomer and cartographer, who is known for his works on 17th-century Brazil. His large map of (Dutch) Brazil is renowned for its accuracy and precision. The Historia naturalis Brasiliae, published posthumously, was a major contribution to early modern science, which came about as a result of Marcgraf's zoological, botanical, astronomical, and geographical expeditions in Brazil.In very good condition. A beautifully coloured facsimile copy of Georg Marcgraf's exquisite 17th-century map of the northeast coast of Brazil.l E. van den Boogaart, Johan Maurits' Brazilië. Het land van de suikermolen, pp. 27-41; M. Storms, "De kaart van Nederlands Brazilië door Georg Marcgraf", in: Caert-Thresoor 30-2 (2011), pp. 37-46; Whitehead & Boeseman, A portrait of Dutch 17th century Brazil, pp. 151-161.
[XIX], 548 pp.The book of the pearl by Georg Frederick Kunz (1856-1932) is one of the highlights of American gemmology from the beginning of the twentieth century. Richly illustrated with plates from various sources, some in colour, this is the presentation copy, inscribed by the author himself: To Miss Julia Halsey Munson, with the compliments of the senior author George F. Kunz New York July 10 1913.Kunz drew heavily on his encyclopaedic knowledge of gems for this book. The book of the pearl presents the history of pearls from ancient China to the authors present day. Kunz describes the historical and current practices of pearl harvesting and how pearls are processed into jewellery and cult objects. Kunz devotes much space to the region that he describes as the pearling center of the world (p. 140): the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. There lay the origins of pearl fishing in the Persian Gulf and Kunz describes the mastery of pearl fishers and pearl cutters of the region and the rich collections of pearls of Arab Shahs and princesses. He illustrates all of this through detailed maps. The text covers all aspects of ancient and modern knowledge of pearls, including the formation of pearls and the natural history of fresh- and saltwater pearls. John Sinkankis in his bibliography on gemmology praised the book as [a] beautiful example of modern book design, executed in high quality materials [ ] prized not only for the enormous amount of reliable information that it contains, indeed still unmatched in any work since, but also for the large number of high quality illustrations in black and white.Georg Frederick Kunz was one of the United States earliest gem experts. Born into a Swiss immigrant family in New York, he was primarily raised in New Jersey where he developed an early interest in minerals. He began collecting his first specimens by the age of 14. He had amassed a collection of approximately 4,000 stones only six years later. Kunz was a self-taught expert and his knowledge was second to none. He applied his knowledge as a gem expert for Tiffany & Company at the age of 23. He remained with Tiffany for 53 consecutive years, eventually becoming the companys vice president. During his career at Tiffanys, Kunz also became a prolific author. He is credited with a legacy of important books on gemstones. Kunz was also one of the founders of the New York Mineralogical Club, a Secretary of American Society of Arts and Sciences, an Honorary Curator of Precious Stones at the American Museum of Natural History, and a Curator for the New York Academy of Sciences. The pink gem variety of spodumene was named kunzite in his honour in 1903.Very good condition, only very slight wear to very slight wear to extremities, all plates included and intact, no browning or foxing.l Sinkankas 3690.
320 ll."The most important Persian reworking of the Indian-Middle Eastern cycle of mirror-for-princes fables known at different periods and places and in various recensions as the Pancatantra, Kalila wa Demna, and the Fables of Bidpay (Pilpay)" (Wickens 140). This beautiful Persian manuscript boasts the full fourteen chapters - illustrated with forty remarkable miniatures - of the famous collection of moral tales titled here in Persian as "Anwar-e Soheyli" (or Sohaili), penned in the 15th century by the writer, astronomer, and Sufi mystic Kamal al-Din Husayn ibn 'Ali Kashifi (1436-1504). Of Kashifi's prolific oeuvre, this is one of his best known and best-loved, especially in India. - In his prose Kashifi plays with genre, intertextuality, and the intellect of his readers. The title itself is a pun twice over: written for Kashifi's patron Sultan Hosayn Mirza Bayqara (1438-1506), the work is named after the Sultan's much-favoured vizier, Ahmed Soheyli, while also making a pun on Sohayl, the Persian name for the bright star Canopus.The present text itself covers all fourteen chapters which normally appear in Anwar-e Soheyli, each chapter including a loose collection of animal fables (though human beings are very much also part of this animal landscape) with tales of fabulous scenes, prolifically illustrated. A given miniature might depict two geese making a tortoise fly by means of a stick held by their beaks, the terrible lion Kamgu'i and the sly jackal Fariseh deep in conversation, or a camel-rider and a venomous serpent discussing the reward of the good deeds, witnessed by a large tree. The largest and most artistically refined miniature is from the story of a bear, intent on ridding a sleeping gardener's face of flies, dashing a boulder on the latter's head.Certainly a handsome manuscript, with spine professionally rebacked and subtle paper repairs to the lower margins of some leaves. A few instances of staining, otherwise bright and clean, with colourful and generally well-preserved miniatures throughout. An important Persian continuation of a longstanding and distinctly Middle Eastern and West Asian genre of fable-writing, beautifully presented.l G. M. Wickens, "Anwar-e Sohayli", Encyclopaedia Iranica II.2, pp. 140f.
[4], 329, [1 blank], [15], [3 blank] pp.First edition, in the original Italian, of the only historical work by the army general Pompeo Giustiniano (1569-1616). Giustiniano learned the art of warfare in the Netherlands under Farnese and Spinola. His work on the war in Flanders is of great importance for military history as it was the only work written from the Spanish point of view. The large strategic plans show numerous besieged cities in the Netherlands in the years 1601 to 1609. A large part is devoted to the 1603 Siege of Ostende, where Giustiniano himself as commander in chief successfully attacked Maurits of Nassau, the future Prince of Orange. At that siege the Spanish army recaptured the city and the Dutch lost their last stronghold on the Flemish coast. With the bookplate of the Luton Library of John Crichton-Stuart (1793-1848). With some text leaves slightly browned but still in very good condition, most of the plates fine. The binding is also very good, with only the spine label slightly damaged. A first hand account, from the Spanish side, of the battles and sieges in Flanders during a crucial stage of the Dutch war of independence.l Nijhoff, Bibl. Hist. Neerl. III, 649; Palau 102835; STCV 6624785 (4 copies, incl. 2 incomplete).
MOUTINHO DOS SANTOS, Joaquim.
20 pp.Incredibly rare medical guide to prevent and treat cholera morbo (cholera morbus). Apart from the present copy, no other copies have appeared on the market in the last century and only two other copies are held institutionally, one in the United Kingdom (the Wellcome Library) and one in the United States (Cornell University).The work was published in Santos, near São Paulo, in Brazil, for the use in the hospitals and establishments of the Santa Casa de Misericórdia. Presumably, this guide was used in all Santa Casa de Misericordia-branches in Brazil. Santa Casa de Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy) is a prominent charitable institution in Brazil, with a long history of providing healthcare, social assistance, and humanitarian services. The first Santa Casa was established in Lisbon, Portugal, in the late 15th century, and the tradition was brought to Brazil during the colonial period.Not much is known about the author, Joaquim Moutinho dos Santos (1811-1902), except that he was a 19th-century medical professional likely specialised in infectious diseases like cholera. He was the grandfather of Mário Moutinho (1877-1961) ophthalmologist and medical colonel in the Portuguese military.The wrappers are very slightly frayed and browned, with a small brown stain to the top margin of the front wrapper and first half of the work (not affecting the text) and a very small hole in the first 8 pages, barely affecting any text.l WorldCat 776453843 (2 copies - Wellcome library & Cornell Univ.); not in Borba de Moraes; Innocencio; Porbase.
KOPS, Jan. (With: P.M.E. GEVERS DEYNOOT; Jhr. F.A. HARTSEN; F.W. van EEDEN; L. VUYCK; and others).
The very first beautifully illustrated comprehensive description of the wild flora of the Netherlands: an absolute highlight of 19th-century botanical book production. The present set consists of the first 24 (of 28) volumes, complete with all 1920 hand-coloured engraved and lithographed botanical plates, and 2 index volumes. Each plate is accompanied by a detailed description in both Dutch and French, giving the plant's scientific and generic names in multiple languages (Latin, Dutch, French, German, and English) and its characteristics, habitats, and uses.The Flora Batava was first published in 1800 and the total of 28 volumes containing 2240 coloured plates showing more than 2630 kinds of wild plants, fungi, mosses, and algae together with approximately 5000 pages of text. The fine plates are considered to be among the best of Dutch botanical illustration. The work appeared in instalments - each containing 5 plates, which were gathered into volumes of 80 plates each - over the course of the entire 19th century and well into the 20th century; the last volume was published in 1934. The plates in the first 24 volumes (nos. 1-1920) are engraved or lithographed and subsequently coloured by hand, the plates of the last four volumes (vols. 25-28, nos. 1921-2240) are chromo-lithographed. The first editor of this monumental work was Jan Kops (1765-1849), who was a Dutch botanist, agriculturalist and professor of agronomy and botany at Utrecht University. For volumes 5-10 Kops was assisted by the following Dutch botanists: Herman Christiaan van Hall (1801-1874), Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (1811-1871) and Johannes Everardus van der Trappen (1807?-1880). The editors for the other 18 volumes were, successively, the following Dutch botanists and scientists: Pieter Marie Eduard Gevers Deynoot (1816-1860), Frederik Anthony Hartsen (1838-1877), Frederik Willem van Eeden (1829-1901), Laurens Vuyck (1862-1931), and Willem Jan Lütjeharms (1907-1983) assisted by Fredericus Cornelius August de Wever (1874-1947).The portfolios of the first 9 volumes are worn, the rest show signs of wear, internally only very slightly browned along the edges of the leaves, but overall very fine and clean. Overall in very good condition. An unmatched display of Dutch flora, essential to any botanical collection.l Great Flower Books, p. 108; Landwehr, coloured plates, 60; Nissen BBI 2247; Sotheby's, Magnificent botanical books, 196; Stafleu & Cowan 3874; cf. BMNH 1016 (8vo ed.); Johnston, Cleveland Herbal, 663 (vols 1-10); Pritzel (vols 1-13); not in Hunt; Oak spring flora; Plesch.
JAZYKOV, Aleksandr Petrovich.
37, [1 blank] pp.Historical treatise on the colours of national and other flags, particularly in the Russian Empire, published on occasion of the introduction of the first Russian state flag. Starting at the earliest moments in history that people grouped around a specific colour, it further describes more official associations of families and administrative and/or religious groups with colours, flags and banners before ending with states and nations. After summing up the national colours of dozens of states and principalities the second part describes the use of colours in the Russian Empire and its states. Aleksandr Petrovich Jazykov (1802-1878) was a Russian lieutenant-general and director of the St. Petersburg Imperial School of Jurisprudence, one of the most prestigious schools for boys. As an amateur historian he wrote treatises on several subjects linking Russia with other European nations, including the Russian church in Potsdam and Peter the Greats visit to the Dutch Republic.Spine broken, but sewing still intact. In good condition.l Rovinsky, Podrobnyy slovar' russkikh gravirovannykh portretov III, col. 2189
[ROBINSONADES].
XVI,749,(3)p.Rare first edition of an original Dutch Robinson story. Apart from the Robinson-theme the book contains all elements most favoured in 18th-century popular literature, like a son travelling in search of his father, imprisonment by the Inquisition, fighting pirates, etc., even including returning home loaded with treasures.Robinsonade is a literary genre of fiction wherein the protagonist is suddenly separated from civilization, usually by being shipwrecked or marooned on a secluded and uninhabited island, and must improvise the means of their survival from the limited resources at hand. The genre takes its name from the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The success of this novel spawned so many imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply as a "desert island story" or a "castaway narrative".With the bookplate of Buijnsters-Smets on the front paste-down, an inscription on the front paste-down in pencil "Staverman D 5 a" and an owner's inscription on the recto of the first free end leaf "M Buisman 31/4 '46". The binding shows some signs of wear and the boards are somewhat rubbed, the edges of the leaves are very slightly browned, not affecting the text. Overall a very good copy from the collections of M. Buisman, and Buijnsters-Smets.l Buisman 679; De Vries 229; KLKL 302; Muller 169; Scheepers II, 511; Staverman D 5 a; STCN 17399752X (4 copies); Ullrich IV, 36; Waller 608.
[INDIA - PHOTOGRAPHY]. [G.W. LAWRIE & Co.; Francis FRITH & Co. W.L.H. Skeen & Co. (photographers)].
A detailed list of contents is available upon request.Large collection of photographs showing views of India. The majority of these photographs are of religious and other notable buildings in Delhi and major sites and cities in Uttar Pradesh, such as Benares (now Varanasi) and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, but also in the states Karnataka (Mysore), West-Bengal (Calcutta), Gujarat (Ahmedabad), and Tamil Nadu (Madras) and even Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This collection gives a wonderful impression of the most important and most attractive sites in these regions of India at the end of the 19th century.Many of the photographs can be attributed to prominent late 19th- and early 20th-century photography studios in India, such as G.W. Lawrie & Co. and F. Frith. While only two photographs - of the stone bull and the juggernaut car in Mysore, Karnataka - are signed in the negative by Lawrie, many others have been attributed to this studio in the manuscript captions. The captions even mention the corresponding numbers of the albumen print photos which were commercially available to be collected and presented in albums or collections such as the present one. G.W. Lawrie was a Scottish photographer working in Lucknow, the capital of the state Uttar Pradesh in India, in 1880s and 1890s. Another photograph, showing a tomb in Delhi, is accompanied by a small label of Frith's photo-pictures, universal series. Frith (1822-1898) was an English photographer and founder of F. Frith and Co., a studio mainly known for publishing photos of the Middle East and the United Kingdom (then also including India).Some of the more notable sites and buildings appearing in the photographs are: the Qutb, including the Qutb Minar, the Red Fort, and Jama Masjid (or Masjid-i-Jehan-Numa, one of the largest mosques in India) in Delhi; the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, and Moti Masjid mosque in Agra; and the Golden Temple and surroundings, and the Durga Kund Mandir temple in Benares (Varanasi). Other photographs give an insight in the Indian culture surrounding religion and death as they show the Ghats along the Ganges river near Benares and a Ghat in Calcutta. Ghat is a term used in the Indian subcontinent which could, depending on the context, refer to a range of stepped hills with valleys or the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf. In this case the word specifically refers to the steps leading down to the different bathing and cremation places along the banks of the Ganges. The Ghats in Varanasi - 84 in total, the majority of which were rebuilt in the 18th century - are among the most important and famous ghats in India. Most of the ghats are bathing and puja ceremonial ghats (a worship ritual performed by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event), while two ghats - Manikarnika (pictured in this collection) and Harishchandra - are used exclusively as cremation sites.Almost all photographs have manuscript captions, contemporary with later additions, below the image or on the verso of the boards. The photographs and the contemporary boards are somewhat foxed and browned, but the images remain clear. Overall in good condition.
WITSEN, Nicolaes.
[16], 516, 40, [4] pp.Extremely rare issue of the first edition of Witsen's incredibly influential work on 17th-century Dutch shipbuilding techniques and styles. The other issue appeared in the same year with the impressum of C. Commelijn and J. Appelaer, instead of C. Cunradus. Both contain the same engraved title-page by Romeyn de Hooghe, but the principle difference can be found in the letterpress title-page, with ours being printed in black and showing a different vignette. Notably, Witsen's work contains more than 110 meticulously detailed engraved plates based on drawings by the author himself. Considered the definitive work on shipbuilding, Aeloude en hedendaegsche Scheepsbouw was the product of Witsen's passion as a wealthy enthusiast and future regent. Only someone connected to regent circles would have had access to the exclusive information contained within its pages. The book, a precious item that required a deposit of twelve guilders, would primarily have graced the libraries of affluent members of Dutch society. In order to mitigate the risks associated with its publication, the publisher Casparus Commelijn collaborated temporarily with the Appelaer brothers, Broer and Jan. They also enlisted the services of Christoffel Cunradus, a printer from Amsterdam. However, once the book was printed, Witsen chose to retain its publication indefinitely to incorporate necessary additions and corrections. Consequently, the book has an intriguing early history. There are variations in the number of plates in different copies of this work, with Landwehr documenting 112 plates, while the present copy contains 112 full-page plates, 1 double-page folding plate and 7 additional small engraved plates.Nicolaes Witsen (1641-1717) served as mayor of Amsterdam for 13 separate terms and held important administrative positions in the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The present work brought him in contact with tsar Peter the Great, who enlisted Witsen's assistance in modernising the Imperial Russian Navy. This connection also led to the tzar placing orders for warships from Amsterdam shipyards. In 1697, Witsen arranged a four-month training period for the tzar at the VOC shipyards.Born into a prominent Amsterdam merchant family, which produced several mayors, Witsen's father, Cornelis, also held numerous significant positions, including mayor, councilor of the admiralty, director of the West India Company, and sheriff. In 1682, Nicolaes Witsen assumed the role of mayor of Amsterdam. He was reelected to this influential position every other year until 1706, serving a total of thirteen terms, the maximum allowed. However, at the time of the publication of his great book in 1671, Witsen had yet to hold any official office. From a young age, he dedicated himself to research and acquiring knowledge, particularly in the fields of mathematics and natural sciences. Although his true passion lay in the realm of science, his family responsibilities and obligations pushed him toward a career in city administration. Eventually, he managed to combine his passion with his responsibilities. Witsen's parents provided him with ample opportunities for growth and development. Between 1664 and 1672, he embarked on several journeys, including an eleven-month stay in Moscow as part of an embassy, a grand tour of Italy, and multiple visits to England. These travels served not only to enrich his personal growth but also to explore and establish potential diplomatic and trading connections. Witsen documented his experiences in diaries, sketches, and notes. These records formed the basis for the present work and other works like Noord- en Oost Tartarije (published in 1692). The fifteenth chapter of Aeloude en hedendaegsche Scheepsbouw, for instance, recounts his visits to the most significant shipyards in those countries.With a small 18th-century manuscript note tipped in before the letterpress title-page: "Op het schip Hilversbeek (?) de Ao 1741 .", a small black stamp on the front paste-down "10 [.?] 1969" and the printed coat of arms of Ortt pasted on the front paste-down next to the stamp. The binding is slightly scuffed, the front hinge has been reinforced and new brown leather ties have been added. The engraved title-page is slightly damaged in the gutter, not affecting the engraving and with some small tears in some pages, not affecting the text or plates, the edges and outer margins are very slightly browned. Otherwise in very good condition.l Bierens de Haan 5368; Hoogendoorn, Witsen N04; Landwehr Romeyn de Hooghe, 16; NHSM p. 743; NNBW IV, 1473; STCN 240219058 (2 copies).
12 ll, 13-259, 1 blank pp. [= 272 pp].Very rare first edition of the first volume of a series Portuguese-language reports documenting (Jesuit) overseas missions, particularly focusing on Asia. The reports were published separately in five instalments over an eight-year period, starting with the first volume in 1603 and concluding with the last volume in 1611. Unlike individual letters or synoptic histories, these volumes provide extensive and detailed accounts of the events that took place during a relatively short period. They offer a unique perspective on the activities of the Jesuits in Asia. They reported on and thus advertised their activities in several languages; the reports written in Portuguese, including the present work, are generally the rarest.The present work was written by Fernão Guerreiro (1550?-1617), who was a Portuguese historian and Jesuit father. "In his 'to the reader' Guerreiro indicates that he conceived of his Relaçam as a continuation of Luis de Guzman's two-volume Historia de las missiones . en la India Oriental . China y Iapón. As a consequence he usually begins his accounts with 1600, the date when Guzman left off. In moving from area to area in the East, he ordinarily starts with a review of the number and location of Jesuit establishments, the persons working in them, and the activities with which they busied themselves. He indicates that by 1601 the Jesuits had divided the Orient administratively into three provinces: (1) North India, (2) South India, (3) China and Japan. he claims that in these provinces they had more than one hundred houses - including colleges, rectories, and residences - in which almost six hundred Jesuits worked. The Province of North India included, apart from the Portuguese coastal outposts from Goa northward, the missions of 'Mogor' (Mughul Empire), Cathay, and Persia. ." (Lach & Van Kley, Asia vol. III, book 1 p. 316).The present work is the first volume in a series of 5 volumes containing Jesuit letters and related texts by Guerreiro. Not only the complete series is very rare (only the British Library is known to possess a complete set), but also the individual volumes and especially the present first edition of the first volume is very rare. Several reference works emphasize this fact, for example in the Catalogue de la bibliothèque de M. Fernando Palha 3, 2552: "Cette partie des relátions annuelles des missionaires Jésuites est très rare".With an inscription on the title-page: "Dom. Prof. Nom. Soc[^]tis Jesu Cat. Insc. Bibl. cois(?)". Leaves L3 and L4 are misbound after L5. The back hinge is slightly weakened, somewhat foxed and browned throughout. Otherwise in good condition.l Backer & Sommervogel 3, 1913; Barbosa Machado 2, p. 27-28; Borba de Moraes 1, p. 380; Catalogue de la bibliothèque de M. Fernando Palha 3, 2552; Condes de Azevedo e de Samodães 1, 1474; Innocencio II, p. 282, 154; Pinto de Matos, Manual bibl. Portuguez, p. 350; Porbase (3 copies); Silva, Condessa de Azambuja, 1128; WorldCat (6 copies); cf. Alt-Japan Kat. 597 (Spanish ed.).
CELLINI, Benvenuto.
[5], 61, [7] ll.First edition of the treatises on the arts of the goldsmith and the sculptor by Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), one of the most important artists of Mannerism. Cellini divulges the wonderful secrets and methods of the goldsmith, designing medals, enamelling, minting coins, soldering, tinting diamonds, etc. and also the techniques of the Florentine sculptors of the `quattrocento', like those of Donatello who attacked the block directly without the use of large scale models. There is also a crucial passage on Michelangelo's sculptural technique: how he outlined the figure in charcoal on the block, made large scale clay models, and the kind of chisels and drills Michelangelo used. Oddly enough Cellini's treatises were not republished till 1731, nor translated until the 19th century. With an ownerships' inscription of Domenico Martinelli di Lucca on the second blank page, lacking a blank leaf, some slight foxing and a few marginal stains. A very good copy.l Adams C-1240; Besterman, Old Art Books, p. 23; Cicognara 273; Honeyman 659; Schlosser 398-399; BMC STC Italian, p. 164.
[PRAYERBOOK].
272 pp.Second located copy of probably the first edition of this collection of prayers to be said before and after Mass. Later editions were published in 1609 and 1621. The magnificent baroque binding is of Roman design and can be attributed to the Soresini atelier. It is executed in the finest style of this famous family of bookbinders connected with the papal court. Founded in 1570, the bindery of Francesco Soresini and his son Prospero began to flourish after the death of Nicolo Franzese and their work is mainly related to the pontificate of Clement VIII (1592-1604). One of the most striking characteristics of the Soresini atelier is a flower within a spiral line, an important contribution to the new baroque 'fanfare style', which the family helped to perfect. This example has, on both covers, ten different stamps with these spirals ending in a fleuron, forming an harmonious decorative pattern in which more traditional stamps also appear. Some insignificant browning and spotting throughout. Good copy in a splendid fanfare binding.l CRRA (1 copy); not in BMC STC Italian; KVK; WorldCat; for the binding: Legatura romana barocca 9; G. Vianini Tolomei, ''Reliures romaines d'archives des XVe et XVIe siècles'', in: Bulletin du bibliophile, 1993, nr. 2, pl. VI.
THOMAS, Lowell and Kenneth Brown COLLINGS.
[6], 202 pp.First edition of a biography of General Sir Edmund Allenby (later, Field Marshal and Viscount, 1861-1936). The work treats his Arabian period as commander of the cavalry division in Palestine during the First World War. Allenby made his name in Palestine. He rebuilt the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, established up-to-date Western Front standards of operations, and restored the force's confidence and morale. Allenby's forces defeated the Turks at the final Battle of Megiddo (September-October 1918) to occupy Transjordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Afterwards, he became high commissioner in Egypt. The present biography is largely based on accounts of figures connected to Allenby, such as T.E. Lawrence "of Arabia". Lowell Jackson Thomas (1892-1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveller.Binding somewhat stained and showing signs of wear around the spine and corners, otherwise internally fine and clean. Overall in good condition.l O'Brien F1045.
[MANUSCRIPT - HERALDRY - ENGLAND]. CLEMENTS, Joseph and J. GOLDING.
[2], 183 ll.Interesting and beautifully finished heraldic manuscript on the English nobility, showing the coats of arms of important 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century English noble families. The present manuscript contains more than 1050 coats of arms, all finely hand-painted with a close attention to detail. They are almost all painted on a plain background, with exception of three pages. The work opens with a hand-painted title-page, followed by an heraldic ordinary which helped the reader to interpret the subsequent family crests, illustrated with a six-to-six grid filled with 36 coats of arms. The succeeding pages are the main body of the manuscript, which are all divided in to a grid formation of six shields to a page. They contain the heraldic shields of 1050 English noble families, all having some important family members from the 16th till the 18th century. On three pages, the coats of arms have a coloured or decorated background, making them visually very appealing. The first of these pages show six families ("Arblaster", "Bowes", "Beddingfield", "Briston", "Nugent' and "Bagot" whose coats of arms share the characteristic of having a ground of ermines. The second pages show the coats of arms of six other families ("Blackstone", "Retowre", "Theme", "Arnest", "Jorney" and "Chorley"), all incorporating organic trinities (three stumps, woodbine leaves, gillyflowers, etc.). The last of these extraordinary leaves is definitely the most aesthetic one, arranging the crests and shields upon a highly decorated field of repeated geometric patterns, all executed with great diligence. Another striking page is p. 22, containg the coats of arms of three authors (Shakespeare, Howley and Pope) together with those of three actors (Henderson, Garrick and Lewis). The manuscript concludes with a detailed handwritten index.The title-page contains two monograms reading "JC" and "JG" and the two coats of arms on the title-page of the Kentish Clements (left) and Goulding (right) families. A note in pencil on the facing page states that this manuscript was made by Joseph Clements and J. Goulding in ca. 1795. Altogether a stunning and appealing heraldic manuscript on the English nobility from the sixteenth until the eighteenth century, which is executed in great detail and giving a beautiful overview of the English nobility and their heraldic representations.With some loosely inserted small leaves with notes upon the manuscript, all in later 20th-century hands. Also with a loosely inserted small card reading "Mrs. George Boudier. Ewhurst Rectory". George Boudier (1820-1899) was rector of Ewhurst, Sussex. It is likely that his wife obtained this manuscript in the 19th century.Binding a little worn: head, bottom and hinges of the spine slightly damaged, a few spots on the sheepskin, tooling (likely silver-tooling) on the boards and spine faded. Internally only a few very minor spots throughout, but overall in very good condition.
VIII, 524, [5], [3 blank] pp.A beautiful and fabulously ornate jewelled 17th-century binding, its boards, spine and clasps adorned with turquoises, amethysts, garnets, and (simulated) sapphires. It contains a popular French prayerbook entitled La journée du chrétien, which was added long after the completion of the binding itself. The prayerbook, published in numerous editions during the 19th century, is reminiscent of medieval and early modern books of hours. The work specifies the daily duties of Christians and includes devotional prayers.It was for a long time part of the collection of the princes and rulers of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in what is now southwestern Germany. Their collection was exhibited in the Städel museum in Frankfurt in 1928 and the present binding is listed in the exhibition catalogue. The French prayer book was at one time part of the collection of the Stadtbibliothek Frankfurt, according to the blue stamp on the verso of the title page. The whole - binding and prayer book - were part of Cornelius John Hauck's bibliophile collection during the second half of the 20th century, which subsequently appeared at Christie's auction house New York in 2008.With the bookplate of Cornelius J. Hauck on the verso of the first flyleaf, and a blue stamp of the "Stadtbibliothek Frankfurt am Main" on the back of the title page. With very slight foxing and stains in the gutter of the first few leaves, a brown stain in the gutter of pp. 24-27, and the Stadtbibliothek stamp bleeds through a bit to the title-page: otherwise internally fine and clean. The whole is in very good condition.l WorldCat 467731356 (1 copy, BnF).
XVI, 469, (1); 479, (1); 586, (2); 386, (2) pp.First Dutch edition of a literary, almost romantic travel book, for Italy much inspired by the classical authors. The author, Friedrich Leopold Graaf zu Stolberg-Stolberg (1750-1819), a German poet and diplomat, belonged to one of the oldest noble families in Germany, and was a life-long friend and admirer of Klopstock. He made this voyage later in life, after his second marriage, in 1791. The work was also translated into English by Holcroft, and published in London in 1796. The plates for the present Dutch edition were newly engraved and are in fine strong impressions. Added extra:ATLAS-VOLUME to the original German edition of Stolberg's Reise. Large 4to. Contemp. half calf. With 19 double-page views by Griefsmann after Wolff, G.G. Endner after Piranesi, etc., several dated 1794, and with double-page folding hand-coloured map of Italy by D.F. Sotzmann after Brion, dated 1794, and 5 folding leaves with engraved musical scores. Comparing the plates with the Dutch plates it is a surprise to notice how even while closely copying the German originals, the Dutch artist by his own art and technique of engraving managed to give the views a quite different sort of atmosphere.Good set.l Cox I, p. 167.
[2], 3-24 pp.First and only edition of a pamphlet responding to the pamphlet entitled Oogen salve, printed at Rotterdam in 1650, probably by the same author as the Hollandsche praatjes. The Oogen salve argued, among other things, that consolidation of the Protestant faith was the main goal of the Union of Utrecht (1579), while the author of the present pamphlet, among other things, states the economic effects of the Union. It includes comments on the WIC (Dutch West India Company) (p. 11), and Dutch colonies and conquests in Brazil (p. 16). The book contains a pictorial woodcut exlibris of H. Hendrikse with the text "Walcheren 1944-1945".The book is in a good condition, few small wormholes in the margins of some pages, paper slightly torn on some pages, one sheet loose.l Alden & Landis 650/65; Knuttel 6855; Tiele, Pamfletten 3795.
112, 258 [= 241], [4] pp.The Plantin edition of the letters of the Flemish humanist Nicolaes Cleynaerts (1493-1542), a Flemish priest, humanist, Arabist, and grammarian (also known as Clenardus), is truly remarkable. The first book comprises a series of letters previously published in 1551 by Rotarius, but in this edition, they have been thoughtfully arranged in chronological order. In Book 2, you will find new letters that were discovered by Clusius in Salamanca. This book also includes Clenardus' manifesto "Ad Christianos, de professione Arabica, militiaque constituenda adversus Machometum," which spans pages 218 to 258. The correspondence features the interactions of Cleynaerts with his contemporaries. He studied at the University of Louvain and authored a widely renowned Hebrew and Greek grammar, which was published in over 500,000 copies. Cleynaerts had a profound goal in life - to foster understanding and dialogue between Christianity and Islam, with the ultimate aspiration of bridging the gap between the two religions, as he believed God desired. To explore Islam further, he traveled to Morocco, seeking mutual comprehension and harmony.However, his approach brought him into disfavour with the Portuguese authorities, leading to his disgrace. Nonetheless, Cleynaerts' Latin letters hold immense value for understanding the 16th-century Hispano-Portuguese and Moroccan cultures. Among the recipients of his letters was Johannes Vasaeus (Jan Waes), who, like Cleynaerts, was associated with La Colombina, the library dedicated to the explorations and journeys of Christopher Columbus.Flyleaf with older owner's entry and annotations. Several leaves with older marginal annotations and underlining. Outer margin leaf M1 damaged. Minimally browned. Otherwise in very good condition.l Adams, C 2139; Brunet, II 99; Cockx-Indestege Glorieux, 651; Index Aureliensis Catalogus Librorum Sedecimo Saeculo Impressorum, 141.406; Pettegree Walsby, NB 8459; USTC 401260 (83 copies); Voet, 996; WorldCat 633724543 (26 copies).
A complete description including a detailed list of contents is available upon request.A uniformly bound collection of Elzevier's renowned "Republics", conveniently sized as pocket books. These books were the work of Bonaventure Elzevier and his nephew Abraham I and two other publishers (one in Leiden and one in Amsterdam). The present collection unites Leo Africanuss Africae Descriptio with descriptions of the Bosporus, Constantinople, Hungary, the Holy Land, the Holy Roman Empire, the Low Countries, Persia, Spain, Scandinavia and other countries and regions in a uniformly bound set of 27 volumes. It also includes 4 works showing another impressum, 3 with the impressum of publisher and bookseller Joannes Maire in Leiden and 1 with the impressum of Amsterdam publisher and bookseller Johannes Janssonius.From 1625/26 to 1649, the renowned Elzevier publishing house in Leiden published a collection of thirty-five descriptions of European nations, select non-European regions, and three historic states: Greece, Israel, and Rome. These volumes meticulously illustrated each nation's geographical features, landscapes, distinct regions, societal norms, governance, economic systems, ruling monarchs, aristocratic lineages, and, in certain instances, their contributions to arts and sciences. Due to their compact dimensions, these works garnered significant attention within the early modern printing community and rapidly gained renown as the inaugural series of pocket-sized books in history. "Bonaventure and Abraham Elzevir launched another bestselling series, the Republics, published in Latin between 1626 and 1649. Each volume gave information on the geography, inhabitants, economy and history of a country in Europe, Asia, Africa or the Near East. The Republics were the ancestors of modern travel guides." Martyn Lyons, Books: A Living History, (London, Thames & Hudson, 2011, p. 80).Ad 16 (volume 16) with a manuscript inscription in brown ink on the first free flyleaf. Volume 1 of ad 23 is lacking. The volumes are internally occasionally browned and/or foxed. The bindings are very slightly soiled and show some very slight signs of wear around the head- and foot of each spine and the corners of the boards. Otherwise in very good condition.l Cf. Martyn Lyons, Books: A Living History, (London, Thames & Hudson, 2011, p. 80).
[172] pp. plus [18] engraved plates, including 11 ll. blank or with only a gold frame.Richly decorated, finely illustrated and skilfully executed Latin Jesuit manuscript prayer book, with 18 engraved illustration plates- nearly all executed and published by the Antwerp engraver, Hieronymus Wierix (1553-1619), the whole manuscript with its engraved plates apparently commissioned by the Jesuit professor of philosophy and medicine at the University of Vienna and deacon of the medical faculty, Johannes Petrus Magnus (1558-1618), from 1608 rector of the University and after 1612 physician to the Holy Roman Emperor Matthias in Prague, though he returned to Vienna and died there. The prayer book was probably produced in Vienna. The patrons full-page coat of arms, in many colours and gold, follows the manuscript title-page. It has two text cartouches, that at the head giving his motto and that at the foot identifying him.Since the manuscripts bibliographic structure is complicated we refer to the leaves by their recent pencil numbering, which generally includes the engraved plates, but accidentally skips one vellum leaf between 21 and 22 (so we call it [21.5]) and deliberately omits 3 of the plates (the two pasted on the inside of the boards and the one facing the title-page. The last leaf of the vellum manuscript is therefore numbered "100", while there are actually 86 vellum leaves, 18 engraved leaves (104 leaves together) plus 19 endleaves. Each of the three original full-page emblematic drawings, in colour and gold, shows an emblematic image with a motto, but they are not recorded in Emblematica online.A more detailed description and a detailed, complete overview of the engraved plates are available upon request.With the colours slightly smeared or the gold slightly worn on a few pages (mostly around leaves 83-85, slightly affecting the engraved portrait on 83v), and an occasional leaf slightly tattered at the edges, not affecting the text or images, but the vast majority of the leaves are in very good condition, with the gold well-preserved and the colouring fresh and bright. Binding slightly dirty.l For Johannes Petrus Magnus, see: Friedel Pick, Joh. Jessenius de Magna Jessen, Leipzig, 1926 (= Studien zur Geschichte der Medizin, no. 15), pp. 195-196
[12], 297, [7], [4], 287, [5] pp.Rare and beautifully illustrated edition of 117 Aesop's fables in French, each with an extensive discussion of the moral followed by a four-line verse, by Jean Baptiste Morvan de Bellegarde. He adds French prose translations of further fables without illustrations: 18 numbered fables by the Renaissance Italian humanist poet and scholar Francesco Filelfo or Philelphus (1398-1481), translated from the Latin verse; 37 fables based on Aesop by Gabrias and Avienus, translated from the Latin verse; two longer fables: the "Battle of the cats and the rats", and the "Battle of the rats and the frogs"; five Aesop "tales" taken from Plato's dialogue Protagoras; six numbered "poetical fables", with Olympian Gods as protagonists; and finally three more "tales", the first from Herodotus and the last from Gerbellius.Light wear to binding, some pencil notes to endpaper and throughout, repairs to title page, not affecting the text. With en exlibris of Georges Jal.l STCN 334560683 (1 copy), Bodemann 97.1, Landwehr, Emblem & fable books F062, WorldCat 42461403 (3 copies).
[4], 264, [16] pp.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. They 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 (1529-1543), 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.With early owner's inscription on title-page. Quire 2D bound after quire 2E, a couple mm. shaved of the outer border of the map, a faint waterstain throughout, some leaves foxed and some occasional spots. A good copy.l ESTC T133244; Paulitschke, Afrika-Literatur 1137; cf. Howgego, to 1800, A65 (Almeida).
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