[VOC ROTTERDAM BINDING - NOTEBOOK].
[17] ll.Remarkable notebook from the Rotterdam chamber of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), with 6 leaves specifically coated for use with the included stylus, so the writing could be easily removed. These notebooks were commissioned by the chambers of Delft and Rotterdam in the mid to late 18th century as gifts for friends and relations of the directors. "As far as the eighteenth century is concerned there seem to have been only two kinds of books that were covered in sharkskin bindings: almanacs and Bibles. In the case of the almanacs, as far as we know these were always rather luxurious gifts from city or national governments, from the Regional Water Board or from a chamber of the VOC, Dutch East india Company. Most of the gifts seem to have been of a more or less official character; a few may have been gifts within the private sphere. Generally the books will have been given away as a New Years gift (some of the VOC bindings did not contain almanacs but books of blank pages for taking notes), " (Storm van Leeuwen p. 1221). Although between 8 and 12 copies were made each year during this time, few have survived. The Rotterdam version appears to be the most rare, as we have not been able to trace another copy on the market.A few notes in the present notebook are legible and refer to business transactions "den 29 Novb. in den goudbeurs 29 Ducaten " or detail which psalms to read on the occasions of the confirmation and farewell of certain pastors (dated at the head of the page "1785"). Thus, the binding and notebook must have been manufactured and gifted before 1785. While the silverwork on the boards of the book is not visibly marked and thus cannot trace the exact manufacturer, we do know by whom the silverwork for these bindings was produced during the 1770s-80s from other sources. From 1777-1784 it was made by Johann Georg Holtzhey (1729-1808), a mint master from Amsterdam, and supplied to the company of silversmith Dirck van Hengel (active 1728-1776), who likely attached it to the book. The design of the silver is typical for the VOC, as similar designs were also used as printer's devices on VOC publications.With writing and (children's) drawings throughout. The leaves are bumped on the fore edge from the fastenings, the silk on the bottom of the back pocket has torn. Otherwise in good condition.l Landwehr, p. XXVII; Storm van Leeuwen vol. IIB, p. 1209, 1221-1223.
[CATALOGUE - LIBRARY - HAARLEM].
[1], [1 blank], [6], 113, [1 blank] pp.First edition of a rare 18th-century catalogue of the library of Haarlem, the Netherlands. The present copy comes from the celebrated Haarlemiana collection of A. M. van den Broek (1932-1995). It lists all the books present in the library in 1716. The work also includes a poem by Salomon van Echten (1643-1728), which was written specifically for the Haarlem library in 1673 and hung there for many years. A second edition of the catalogue, titled Catalogus librorum bibliothecae Harleminae novus, was printed by Johannes Enschedé in 1768, but the first edition is more scarce.The city library, or librije, of Haarlem was established in 1596, when the Prince of Orange gifted the collections of former convent libraries to the city as compensation for the damage after the siege of Haarlem (1572-73). The city library was primarily accessible for scholars and had an especially large collection of theology works. In the 19th century, the collection grew exponentially from just a few hundred works to over 45.000, with a large focus on book and printing history. The old collection is currently part of het Noord-Hollands Archief. The librije itself has been renamed to bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland and is now a public library.The works in the catalogue are arranged by topic and further divided by size. The first chapter lists the works on theology in folio format, then quarto and octavo. The other topics are law, medicine, philosophy and other humanities, cosmo-, geo- and topography, works from classical antiquity, history, and even manuscript written on parchment. The catalogue is a unique source for Dutch 18th-century book history and the history of this library in particular.With a shelfmark label ("16") mounted on the head of the spine and annotations about the provenance from Mr. A. M. van den Broek (the previous owner) mounted on the front pastedown. The gold-tooling on the boards is very slightly rubbed. The edges of the endpapers have browned from the leather, the first few leaves are slightly dust-soiled and frayed and pp. 1-2 show a very small hole in the fore-edge margin of the leaf, all without affecting the text, the leaves are slightly warped from past humidity, mild foxing throughout. Overall in very good condition.l Ekema, Catalogus over de geschiedenis van Haarlem, 262 and 383; STCN 153931361 (8 copies); cf. for the binding: Storm van Leeuwen vol. 1, pp. 410-436.
[BERSE, Gaspar, Francis XAVIER etc.].
[24], "361"[=316], [20] pp.; [16], 103, [9] ll.Ad 1: Third edition of a collection of 19 letters from missionaries in the East, mostly the East Indies but also including letters from Gaspar Berse from Hormuz Island, mentioning the islands religion, customs, and noting that the island is especially known for its trade - during the trading season you could find people from all over the world. Beside four letters by Gaspar Berse, the volume also includes letters from: Franciscus Xavier (1), Henricus Henriquez (2), Antonius Quadrus (2), Michael Barulus (1), Arius Bandonius (1), Ludovicus Frois (3), Emanuel Tesceira (1), Joannes Meschita (2), Jacobus Navarchus (1) and Joannes Berra (1). They mainly concern India and the mission on the Indian coasts, containing invaluable information on the activities of the Jesuits in the region.A second part containing the letters on Japan was separately published in the same year, but is not included here.Ad 2: First and only edition of a theological work by Johannes Garetus (1499-1571) on the invocation of the saints in heaven; a Catholic work written in a period of growing Protestantism. Garetus was a 17th-century Benedictine monk who studied the history of orthodox church fathers and saints. His work De sanctorum invocatione liber. reveals these figures' testimonies and religious conduct.With an owners inscription on flyleaf dated 1571 and a library stamp on title-page ("Asiens Gesch"). A very good copy.l Ad 1: Alt-Japan-Katalog 468; De Backer & Sommervogel I, cols. 996-997; Bibl. Belg. II, p. 267 (E14); Cordier, Japonica, cols. 52-53; Floor, The Persian Gulf, p. 18 note; not in Machiels; ad 2: Machiels G-87; NNBW III, col. 3403; not in Bibl. Belg.
HELMONT, Johannes Baptista van.
[36], 800; [8], 110; 115, [1]; 88 pp.First edition of the Ortus medicinae by Jean Baptiste Helmont (1577-1644), a Belgian mystic and a chemist following in the tradition of Paracelsus (1493-1541), the Swiss German who, next to philosopher, physician, botanist, astrologer and occultist, was seen as the founder of toxicology. With this work, published four years after his death by his son, Helmont establishes his name as one of the founders of biochemistry, and as a significant figure in the history of medicine. Due to the mystical elements in the book it was going against Church dogma, and was therefore published in the Protestant Netherlands, instead of in Catholic Southern Netherlands. It became his most successful work, and was issued with the second enlarged edition of Opuscula medica inaudita (first published in 1644). Both works are dealing with the treatment of disorders like leprosy, epilepsy and paralysis, of fevers, including stonefever, and the different Galenic humors. Included in the present copy is an account of the plague. Due to his works on digestion and gases Helmont was seen as the founder of pneumatic chemistry and became the most prominent chemist of the first half of the 17th century. Some underscoring throughout; lower part of spine damaged, hinges partly broken, and the corners slightly rubbed. Good copies.l Ad 1: Garrison&Morton 665; Heirs of Hippocrates 409; PMM 135; ad2: Dijstelberge, Plague and print, pp. 117-118.
[DRAWINGS - EGYPT]. ROBERTSON, William.
[37] ll. including title-leaf and 7 blanks, plus 16 loosely inserted ll.An album of drawings (and squeezes of bas reliefs) made by William Robertson on a journey from Cairo in December 1838 down the Nile into Nubia, reaching as far south as the present-day Egyptian-Sudanese border region, including the temples of Abu Simbel, in January 1839, then returning via Philae, Karnak and other sites to Thebes in February 1839. They give very detailed views of numerous buildings, sculptures, bas-reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions, as well as more distant views of landscapes with buildings and three botanical drawings. Since many of the ancient Egyptian sites have been looted and damaged over the years, these early drawings and squeezes provide an important record of what was there in 1838/39 and how it was situated, before the first photographs were made.While Robertson made most of his drawings on site, he drew the Temple at Luxor after a drawing by Achille Émile Prisse d'Avennes (1807-1879) who began exploring and drawing the ancient Egyptian sites in 1836 and published many of his drawings in 1847.A few of the original album leaves are now detached and may have been removed by the artist himself. One inserted drawing is severely foxed and one inserted floor plan is rather dirty, but in general the drawings are in very good condition.
[MINIATURE BOOK - ALMANACK - LONDON].
[24] pp.Rare remarkable "pocket" London almanack; an entirely engraved miniature publication for the year 1788. The almanac contains an explanation of its use on the title-page, four full-page portraits of the King of Prussia, the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Brunswick, and the Duke of York, common notes (including the dominical letters, golden number, and religious festive days) for 1788 beneath a half-page view of St. Paul's Cathedral, a calendar, an overview of all British Kings and Queens and the dates of their reign, a list of mayors and sheriffs (1767-1788), one page listing bank holidays, and an overview of the Royal family (King George III and Queen Charlotte and their children) can be found on the final page. The long series of the London Almanack is, according to Bondy, of special interest for the beautiful bindings which were issued or commissioned by the publishers themselves.The binding shows signs of wear, with some minor loss of material around the foot of the spine and a small worm hole in the fore edge of the back board. The final page shows a light red stain, slightly affecting the text. Lacking its matching decorative slipcase. Otherwise in very good condition.l Bondy p. 39 ff., and p. 164; Welsh p. 32 and passim; Coll. Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 194; this ed. not in WorldCat.
DJEMAL PASCHA, Ahmed and Theodore WIEGAND.
10 pp., 100 ll.First and only edition of a bilingual work with 143 photographs of archeology in the Middle East, compiled by the well-known German archaeologist Theodore Wiegand (1864-1936). The publication was ordered by Ahmed Djemal Pasha (or Jamal Basha, 1872-1822), the Ottoman military leader and Minister of the Navy, who also wrote the foreword. The 100 plates show a total of 143 photographs, showing archaeological excavation sites in Aleppo, Amman, Baalbek, Damascus, Gerasa, Jerusalem, Palmyra, Petra and others. Each plate is accompanied by a leaf explaining the photographs, with the text in both Arabic and German. Some of the photographs are by the Swedish photographer Lewis Larsson (1881-1958). Others were taken during the expedition by Otto Puchstein (1856-1911) to the capital of the ancient Hittite Empire, Hattusa, in present-day Turkey.Only very slightly browned, the fore-edge of the book block is very slightly foxed, with a small tear in the center of the last two leaves, very slightly affecting text and image (without loss). Otherwise in very good condition.l M. Greenhalgh, Constantinople to Córdoba: dismantling ancient architecture in the East, North Africa and Islamic Spain (2012), p. 478.
[BRITISH NAVY - BATTLE PLAN - ALGIERS].
Contemporary handcoloured lithographed(?) plate with the plan for the Bombardment of Algiers in August 1816. The attack was instigated and won by Great Britain and the Netherlands, which was celebrated in London.The Bombardment of Algiers was part of a European campaign to end piracy against Europeans by North African countries. The goal of this attack was to free Christian slaves in Algeria and stop Omar Agha (?-1817), the of Dey of Algiers, from enslaving more Europeans. The attack was partly successful. Algeria freed around 3000 Christian slaves after the battle, but did not stop enslaving Europeans until later in the 19th century.The plan for the attack was made by Admiral Lord Exmouth, the commander of the fleet. The largest ships approached the harbour in a column, sailed to the zone were the Algerian guns could not reach them, and bombarded the defences. Other ships blocked the harbour, to attack the Algerian ships and prevent them from joining the battle. On the present illustration, each of the British ships is named and drawn in its planned position, thus giving an interesting visual insight into 19th-century naval tactics.The sheet is folded in half, with a tear along the top and bottom of the fold, somewhat browned and stained, with remnants of tape on the back. The plan and view remain clear and the colouring remains bright.
KAEMPFER, Engelbert (Sir Joseph BANKS, ed.).
[4], 3, [1 blank] pp.First and only edition of one of the rarest books on Japanese flora. The author Engelbert Kaempfer (1651 - 1716) was a professor from Lemgo, Germany, who joined the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a medical doctor in 1685. After periods in what are now India and Indonesia he travelled in 1690 to Japan to work as a doctor on Dejima (Deshima), the Dutch trading post or factory in Nagasaki. Sir Hans Sloan acquired his manuscripts, alsong with his drawings and herbarium, and arranged for their translation and publication, the first to appear in translation was The history of Japan in 1727. This English translation established Kaempfer's reputation as the 18th-century authority on Japan and deeply influenced Japan's image in Europe. The renowned botanist and companion of the 1768 Cook expedition Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was responsible for the editing and publication of the present work and dedicated it to the curators of the Library. In most cases no plates had previously been made from these drawings, so they remained unpublished. In the last years of his life Kaempfer himself had published only a small number of his drawings in his Amoenitatum exoticarum, printed in Lemgo in 1712. Thus the present publication introduces many Japanese plants for the first time to a large audience in the West. Kaempfer's herbrarium is now in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington.Royal Library duplicate stamp in the foot of title page. With some minor foxing, the last few plates stained only in the lower margin, not affecting the illustrations. Otherwise in very good condition.l Great flower books, p. 62; Henrey 886; Nissen BBI, 1019; Stafleu & Cowan 3484.
[40], CCCCCCCIIII, ll.Very rare edition of the Code of Justinian, printed by Yolande Bonhomme (active ca. 1497-1557). It was likely the first time this text was printed by a female printer, as we have not been able to find an earlier edition printed by a woman. This edition by Bonhomme has never been on the market before, is only available in a few libraries and is not mentioned in several of the most important relevant reference works.Bonhomme was the daughter of bookseller and printer Pasquier Bonhomme (active 1451-1501) and the wife of printer Thielman Kerver (active ca. 1497-1522). Women in France were not allowed to start their own printing business, but they could take over their husband's company after his death. When Kerver passed away in 1522, Bonhomme continued the business under her own name and remained in charge for 35 years. She was one of the most successful female printers of her time and is the first woman known to have printed the Bible (1526).This edition by Bonhomme is heavily glossed. Although it is not mentioned, these glosses are very likely by Accursius (ca. 1183-1263), a professor of law at the university of Bologna.With an extensive owner's inscription and a black, oval library stamp on the title-page, and with annotations in the margins of some pages. The edges and corners of the boards are somewhat scuffed, the leather is slightly scratched and soiled, slightly affecting the clarity of the blind-tooling. Two ink stains on the title-page, but the text is still legible, the inner margin of the title-page and the lower margin of the first text leaf are restored, without affecting the text, a small tear in the woodcut initial on leaf 2A1 (prefatio G. Haloandri), without loss of paper, the outer edges of the final 10 leaves are slightly frayed, the lower outer corners on the last 6 leaves are folded, also without affecting the text. Overall in good condition.l WorldCat 312067202, 313412679, 993078134 (4 copies); Not in Adams; Brunet; Graesse; USTC.
