LUCAS, Paul.
2 parts in 1 volume. Second edition of an interesting travel account through Greece, Asia Minor, The Holy Land, and Egypt by Paul Lucas (Rouen 1664-1737), merchant, naturalist, antiquary and physician during his second tour from 1705 to 1708. It was written in collaboration with Fourmont. In the first part Lucas describes Anatolia, Caramanie and Macedonia. The second part is on Greece, Asia Minor, Macedonia and Africa with a description of Jerusalem, Egypt and a history of Tunis since 1684. (''Memoire pour servir à l' histoire de Tunis depuis l'année 1684'' on pp. 109- 317 by N. Béranger). Lucas travelled several times through the Levant. In 1688, he served with the Venetians at the siege of Negroponte. In 1696 he returned to France with a large collection of medals and other antiquities which were purchased for the Royal Cabinet. This brought him to the attention of the court and he then began the series of three voyages for which he is famous. The first voyage took place from 1699-1703 during which he visited Egypt, Cyprus, Persia and Syria. During the third voyage in 1714-1717, Lucas visited Constantinople, Syria, Palestine & Egypt. Lucas had a talent for discovering antiquities and manuscripts. The binding shows some signs of wear, internally very slightly browned. Otherwise in very good condition.l Röhricht, Bibl. geographica palaestinae, p. 288; STCN 304398330 (5 copies); cf. Atabey 732; Carré I, 44-47; Gay 2122; Turbet-Delof 287 (first ed. Paris 1712); not in Blackmer. Contemporary half calf with a white morocco title-label lettered in gold on the gold-tooled spine, brown sprinkled paper sides, red edges. With an engraved frontispiece and a title-page printed in red and black for each part, 9 folding engraved plates with pyramids, archeological findings, the Holy Grave, and inscriptions, 2 folding engraved maps of the Levant (engraved by B. Ruyter), and of Fioum, the Nile and surroundings in Egypt, and 8 full-page engraved plates. Pages: [1], [1 blank], [28], 323, [1 blank]; [1], [1 blank], [8], 328 pp.
JAUBERT, Pierre Amédée Emilien Probe.
Interesting work relating a journey made into Persia and Armenia by the French interpreter and diplomat Pierre Amédée Emilien Probe Jaubert (1779-1847). He was one of the interpreters working for Napoleon and he played an important role in the negotiations Napoleon carried on in the East to become accepted as the emperor in that part of the world. For this purpose he was sent on a mission in 1805 to Persia to negotiate with the sjah, where he finally arrived after an imprisonment of nearly half a year. In 1818 he travelled into the Orient again, this time with a totally different purpose: to research the Tibetan sheep and the cashmir wool they produced. Jaubert was a distinguished and well-known professor of Persian at the Collège de France, director of the École des langues orientales, and a translator of different oriental languages.The binding shows minor signs of wear, with some (ink) stains on the front endpapers (not affecting any other leaves), slightly foxed throughout. Otherwise in good conditon.l Atabey 613; Chadenat 1628 (3782 & 5075 same edition, other copies); Diba Collection, A Persian bibliography (London 1981), p. 236; Numa Broc II, p. 261; Schwab 287. Contemporary gold-tooled marbled calf, with a green morocco title-label lettered in gold on the spine, blue sprinkled edges, marbled endpapers. With 10 lithographed plates showing portraits, costumes, and views, most of them designed by Orlowski and lithographed by Aubry, 1 large engraved folding map showing the region between Constantinople and Teheran engraved by Flahaut. Pages: [2], XII, 506, [2] pp.
LESSEPS, Jean-Baptiste-Barthelemy, Baron de.
Facinating work detailing La Pérouse's famous scientific mission to Alaska and beyond. Jean-Baptiste-Barthelemy de Lesseps was an interpreter of Russian aboard of the Boussole, one of the two vessels of the most famous French scientific expeditions of the 18th century, the one under command of La Pérouse. In 1785 La Pérouse and his team left Brest to sail around Cape Horn to Alaska, and from there on they explored the north west coast of America southwards. In February 1787 they reached Manila on the Philippines. From that point they sailed to the north-eastern coastal regions of Asia. In September 1887, La Pérouse wanted Lesseps to return to Europe to take home the journals and maps of the first half of the expedition. Lesseps went ashore in Kamtschatka, and from there on travelled through Siberia and Russia to reach Paris with the precious documents only two years later. In the meantime, La Pérouse sailed to Samoa, where some of his companions were killed by native inhabitants, and further to Australia. His last reports were received from Sydney; after that never was heard of him again. It was Captain Peter Dillon who in 1826 found the wreckage of two ships on the reefs of Vanikoro, an island to the north of the New Hebrides, and identified it as originating from the Boussole and the Astrolabe, the other vessel of the expedition. This account, with manuscripts from La Pérouse and notes from De Lesseps, as the only survivor of the expedition, consequently is the only publication that gives us first-hand information about the journey.The work is concluded with an extensive appendix, which contains letters from La Pérouse, as well as the account of Captain Peter Dillon about his findings on Vanikoro, and a list of the crew members of both ships.The leather around the spine is slightly faded, the edges of the boards and spine are slightly scuffed, occasionally very slightly foxed, a tear in the large folding map has been reinforced with white tape on the verso of the map. Otherwise in good condition.l Sabin 38965; not in Chadenat, Hill. Modern half calf, marbled paper sides, with two red morocco labels lettered in gold on the gold-tooled spine, decorated endpapers. With an engraved frontispiece with a portrait of Lapérouse, a facsimile of one of his letters, and a large engraved folding map. Pages: [3], [1 blank], [2], XVIII, 436 pp.
POZZO, Andrea.
2 parts in 1 volume. Complete edition, the two parts together, of Andrea Pozzo's remarkable richly illustrated architectural work. It is a huge collection of engraved perspectival and architectural plans and designs by the famous Italian artist and architect Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709). The large folding plate with Pozzo's famous design for the anamorphosis painted on the ceiling of the St. Ignatius Church at Rome was first published in the present 1702-edition. The text of the present edition is bilingual throughout, with parallel text in Latin and Italian on the verso of the plates, relating to the facing plates. Also two titles are present for both parts, one in Latin and one in Italian. At the end a short treatise on fresco painting is added, with explanatory text on four additional leaves in Latin and four leaves in Italian. Pozzo was a clergyman, painter, architect and art theoretician. He executed quite a number of anamorphoses or "trompe-l'oeil" paintings in Italian churches. The present work represents a monument of Baroque art and architecture, and helped spread the ideas of the Roman Baroque in Northern Europe. It also is a classic in perspectival literature, offering a complete manual to both painters and architects on the use and delineation of all kinds of perspective, including anamorphoses.With the blind-stamp of the Theological Institute of Connecticut in some leaves. The binding shows clear signs of wear, with older restorations along the hinges which have weakened again over time. The first quire is loose, internally with some light occasional foxing, but mostly fine and clean. Overall in good condition.l Fowler 251; Berl. Kat. 4725; Cicognara 854; Vagnetti EIIIb73; Wiebenson III.B.25; Cf. Kemp, The Science of Art, pp. 137-9, et passim. Contemporary gold-tooled sprinkled (mottled?) calf, sewn on 6 supports with corresponding raised bands on the spine, with a red morocco title-label lettered in gold in the second compartment, the other compartments with detailed gold-tooled decorations. The boards show a double fillet frame in an ornamental frame with ornamental cornerpieces on the outer corners, all within a double fillet frame, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, red sprinkled edges, marbled endpapers. Part 1 with a large woodcut vignette on both title-pages (one in Latin and one in Italian), an engraved architectural frontispiece dated 1693 (behind the title-pages of part 1), a full-page engraved plate with drawing instruments before the preface, and 102 numbered engraved plates with perspectival and architectural plans and illustrations, including a large folding view of Pozzo's "trompe-l'oeil" fresco on the ceiling of the St. Ignazio church in Rome. Part 2 with a large woodcut vignette on both title-pages (one in Latin and one in Italian), an engraved architectural frontispiece by Teodoro Ver Cruys (behind the title-pages of part 2), an introductory allegorical plate, and 118 numbered engraved plates with perspectival and architectural plans and illustrations, and a full-page engraved plate on fresco painting to the added treatise at the end.
PUTEO, Augustino á.
4 parts in 1 volume. Rare first edition of an extensive text book on the projection of light from all parts of the universe for use of perspectival designs of sun-dials and the calculation of time for all places on earth. Nothing is known about the author, here called "Augustino á Puteo" on the title-page, but also referred to as Agostino Pozzi or Augustinus Puteus. He probably was a relative of Andrea Pozzo, the famous author of Prospettiva de' Pittori e Architetti, and also a Jesuit. The present work is divided into four parts and is based on the geometrical and astronomical teachings of Euclid, Theodosius, and the teaching of Apollonius on cones. The fine engraved frontispiece illustrates the drawing in perspective and the shadows thrown on a pedestal on which a sphaerical globe is standing. The book is richly illustrated with perspectival projections and includes the full tables and perspectival diagrams of all declinations of the earth.According to the blind-tooled decorations on the binding and the inscription on the title-page, the present work has been part of a Jesuit library ("Collegii Societatis Anno 1688").Fine copy.- (Most part of one brass clasp los; few wormholes in top of spine). With a near contemporary manuscript owner's inscription on the title-page: "Collegii Societatis Anno 1688". The binding is somewhat dust-soiled and shows some wormholes around the spine, one of the clasps and one of its catch-plates are lost, slightly affecting the first and last few pages, otherwise internally fine and clean. Overall in very good condition.l Honeyman Coll. 2530; Riccardi I, 2, pp. 316-7; Sotheran I, 3743; STC Italian, 17th century, p. 704 (ed. of 1693); USTC 1713329. Contemporary elaborately blind-tooled vellum over wooden boards, sewn on 4 supports with corresponding raised bands on the spine, with a detailed Jesuit "IHS" device as a center-piece on the front board and a similar device with different letters on the back board. Further with brass clasps (1 complete, other only a catchplate) a paper label on the spine with the manuscript title in brown ink and the manuscript title and shelfmark at the head of the fore-edge in brown ink, blind-tooled board edges and turn-ins, red edges. With a richly engraved allegorical frontispiece, a woodcut "fides" printer's device on each of the 4 typographical title-pages (for part 1, part 2-1, part 2-2, and parts 3 and 4 together, 73 engraved perspectival illustrations and figures in the text, a large folding plate showing a table and diagram, 183 full-page plates with tables and diagrams, a folding engraved plate and 2 near full-page plates of the globe's declinations. Further with woodcut decorated initials, head- and tailpieces throughout. Pages: [1], [1 blank], [21], [1 blank], "136" [= 132]; [1], [1 blank], [6], 88; [1], [1 blank], [6], 12, [1 large folding and 183 full-page engraved tables], [1 blank]; 56 pp.
[VOIRIOT, Guillaume].
Beautiful contemporary portrait of the famous French astronomer Joseph-Jérôme (le Français) de Lalande (1732-1807), depicted as a middle-aged man around 1780. The portrait can be attributed to the famous French portrait painter Guillaume Voiriot (Paris 1713-1799), who studied for a short time in Rome under Lenormant de Tournehem, Louis XV's Minister of Fine Art. In 1752 he exhibited for the first time at the Salon op the Academie de Saint Luc. In 1757, Voiriot was made an associate member of the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and in 1759 he submitted his reception pieces: portraits of the artists Jean-Marc Nattier (now in the Musée du Louvre) and Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (Musée National du Chateau de Versaille) and was elected to full membership, which gained him the right to participate in the biennial Salons. By 1785, he had achieved the rank of "conseiller" in the Royal Academy. For thirty years Voiriot's studio was located in the Cour des Miracles on the rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, but during the Revolution he moved to the Quartier Saint Germain. We would like to thank Mr. Eric Turquin, the most competent specialist of 18th century French portraits, for this attribution.Lalande is dressed in typical late-18th-century French blue-green dress with a lace collar and cuffs. Lalande is depicted en face, sitting at a table with his hands resting on an astronomical engraving, and holding a pair of compasses in the one and a ruler in the other. A book on astronomy with an unfolded plate jutting out, is laying before him. Further mathematical and optical instruments, including an armillary sphere and a folded astrolabe, are placed on the table; a telescope is installed behind him.Lalande started his career as a jurist, but changed his focus completely to astronomy as soon as he had attended the first lectures of De Lisle and Le Monnier in Paris around 1750. In 1751, he stayed a year at the court of Frederic the Great in Berlin spending the nights in the observatory to make observations on the parallax of the moon, and the days studying the integral calculus in the company of Euler, Voltaire, and Maupertuis, all gathered at the court in Berlin at the time. Back in Paris, he immediately became a member of the Academy in 1753. During the next years he studied and published on the comet of Halley and on the planet Venus. In 1760, he became professor of astronomy in the Collège de France as the successor of De Lisle, holding the post for 46 years. He published many astronomical works among which his Traité d'astronomie (1764), the Histoire céleste française (1801) and the Bibliographie astronomique (1803), still in use as a reference work, are the most well-known.Among other portraits of Lalande, the painting by the famous rococo painter Fragonard (now in the Petit Palais, Paris) is the best known. It represents a youger Lalande looking left with his right arm resting on a globe.Very fine painting in excellent condition.l Nouv. biogr. gén., 27, cols. 948-53. In an elegant contemporary gilt frame with pearled inner border.
BIANCANI, Giuseppe.
The two most important works of the famous Jesuit mathematician Giuseppe Biancani (1566-1624). Here the third edition of his Sphaera mundi, with the second edition of his Constructio instrumenti. The former presents a summary of the recent progress in astronomy from discoveries made with the telescope by famous scientists like Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and Copernicus. Biancani never gave up the geocentric view of the universe, noting that Copernicus's heliocentric view was forbidden by the Church, but he ascribes tides to the influence of the moon, discusses the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, refers readers to the work of Tycho and Kepler, discusses sonic echoes, and even anticipated Halley in suggesting that comets might be periodic. The second work, devoted to the construction and use of sundials, includes precisely drafted diagrams and clear illustrations that allow one to construct a sundial exactly as Biancani did shortly before his 1624 death.With an 1891 owner's inscription and several leaves with library stamp (and a deaccession stamp). With 1 bifolium browned (and with a marginal tear repaired with tape) and another badly foxed, a stain on one leaf running into the text, but further in good condition, with only minor and mostly marginal stains and small tears. Binding rebacked and with some stains, but otherwise good.l De Backer & Sommervogel I, col. 1437; Houzeau-Lancaster 11445; ICCU CAGE018725; Riccardi I, col. 128 (Bianchi 2.4). With publisher's woodcut oyster and pearls device, 1 large folding diagram constructed from woodcuts and typeset rules with letterpress text, 1 woodcut diagram on an inserted half-page slip, numerous woodcut diagrams and other illustrations in text, woodcut head- and tailpieces and decorated initials, letterpress tables. Pages: [6], 232; 24, [5] pp. With: (2) BIANCANI, Giuseppe. Constructio instrumenti ad horologia solaria describenda peropportuni. . Opus posthumum. Modena, Andrea Cassiani, 1654. With a woodcut astronomical dial on the title-page, 18 numbered engraved figures printed from 12 copper plates on both sides of 3 leaves, decorated woodcut initials and a large folding letterpress table. 2 works in 1 volume. Folio. Contemporary sheepskin parchment, sewn on 5 cords, manuscript spine title. Rebacked.
ECKER, Lazarus and John PETTUS (translator).
2 parts in 1 volume. First edition of the English translation and adaptation of an important work by one of the foremost metallurgists of the 17th century. The first part is the first English adaption of the celebrated practical manual on mining and metals by Lazarus Ercker (ca. 1530-1594), Bohemian metallurgist, courier for mining affairs under Emperor Maximilian II, and under Rudolf II he was assay master of the mint in Prague. Ecker's work was first published in 1574 and went through several subsequent editions (8th ed. 1672 was retitled Aula subterranea alias Probierbuch). Pettus translated and adapted Ecker's original work. The title Pettus chose for the work Fleta Minor, hinted to his imprisonment in the Fleet, having fought for Charles I in the Civil War. The illustrations to the work were re-drawn on copper after Ercker's original woodcuts, but all workmen were put into contemporary English costume. The second part also is of great importance, as it is the first edition of the first English dictionary of mining terms.Sir John Pettus (1613-1690) was an English royalist, politician and natural philosopher. Pettus was an expert on metallurgy and became a deputy governor of the royal mines in England and Wales under Charles I and II. He is known for the first English translation of the work of the German metallurgist Lazarus Ercker.With the large book plate of R.C. Sticht, depicting a mining scene, mounted on the front pastedown and some occasional manuscript annotations in pencil in the margins. Binding rebacked, showing minor signs of wear along the edges, corners and joints of the boards, internally with some minor foxing in the margins. Otherwise in very good condition.l Duveen 468; Ferguson II, pp. 185-186 (first part in the ed. of 1686); Honeyman 2461; USTC 3107029; Wing P 1907. Contemporary mottled calf, rebacked with lighter brown calf, spine elaborately gold-tooled and with a red morocco title label lettered in gold, gold-tooled board edges, red sprinkled edges. With an engraved portrait of the author as a frontispiece, a separate title-page for part 2, and 43 large engravings in text on mining, distilling, and working metals (41 in part 1 and 2 in part 2). Further with elaborately decorated woodcut initials throughout. Pages: [44], 345, [1 blank]; [8], 133, [1 blank] pp.
SCHELLING, Pieter van der.
First edition of an extensive treatise on the notarial profession, in which all aspects of the notarial work are treated. According to Pitlo, it is the only Dutch work that describes the history of the profession. It discusses the different types of notaries that exist, how to become a notary, and the history of wills from the time of the Romans until the 17th century. Although the work primarily focusses on the Netherlands, a significant portion of it discusses the English notarial practice, including a few chapters on the East India Company (EIC). A remarkable addition to this work is the folding engraving with illustrations of notarial seals, which is often missing from other copies, but present here.Pieter van der Schelling (1691-1751) was a lawyer, theologian, and collector of antiquities. He worked closely with his father-in-law, Cornelis van Alkemade (1654-1737), who was a notary and one of the leading experts on antiquities at the time. Together they researched historical documents and published transcriptions of them. After Van Alkemade's death, Schelling continued to publish historical works, using Van Alkemade's notes.With an ownership's annotation on the first flyleaf (".hagerweg(?)"). The binding has been rubbed on the spine and back. Some of the leaves are mildly foxed. Otherwise in very good condition.l Dekkers, Bibliotheca Belgica Juridica, pp. 152-153; Pitlo, p. 288 (plate); STCN 224229141 (12 copies). Contemporary parchment, sewn on 3 vellum tapes laced through the joints, with the manuscript title on the spine, red and blue sprinkled edges. With the title printed in red and black, a folding engraving of notarial seals, and two decorated woodcut initials. Pages: [74], 746, [75], [1 blank] pp.
POST, Pieter.
8 parts in 1 volume. Splendid collected works of the most famous Dutch architect and master builder of the 17th century, Pieter Post (1608-1669), including the enormous folding portrait of his patron Johan Maurits, governor of Brazil, not included in all copies. Each of the first 7 parts is devoted to a single building by Pieter Post, and they are high points in the history of Dutch architecture. Among them are the house of Johan Maurits in The Hague (now the Mauritshuis Museum); the house and gardens of Amalia van Solms (now the palace Huis ten Bosch); the Maastricht city hall and the weigh house in Gouda.With small tears in the portrait where the folds cross, one plate slightly slurred by the printer and some leaves restored, but still in good condition. 2 plates of the 2nd series are mistakenly bound with the 8th series. The binding has a tear in the spine and various smaller tears, scrapes and scratches, the foot of the spine and a few smaller parts have been restored. Splendid collected works of the most famous Dutch architect and master builder of the 17th century.l BAL 2603; Berlin Kat. 2231; Cicognara 621; Weinreb, Catalogue 2, 119; modern reprint (Soest 1970); not in Fowler. Mottled calf (ca. 1750), straight sewn on 6 cords, richly gold-tooled spine with red morocco label in 2nd compartment, gold-tooled board edges, red edges, marbled endpapers. With an engraved general title-page with a rectangular frame and a cartouche with Athena, architecture books and buildings, letterpress general title-page in red and black with engraved vignette (Athena with a view of Leiden, drawn by J. Goeree), 8 letterpress part-titles, each repeating the vignette of the general title-page, 3 engraved part-titles (for the Sael van Orange, Maastricht city hall and "Cheminées", the first with a bird's eye view of the estate and the second with a richly decorated cartouche, both by Pieter Post himself), engraved dedication, a folding engraved portrait of Prince Johan Maurits after Govert Flinck by C. van Dalen (filling a whole Imperial sheet: plate size 60.5 x 46 cm!), and 8 series of 6, 12, 8, 5, 11, 7, 4 and 23 mostly double-page and some larger folding etched and engraved numbered plates (including the 3 engraved title-pages already noted) by Jan Mathijs & P. Nolpe after designs by Pieter Post, showing architectural plans, elevations, sections, etc. In total about 80 copperplates. Pages: [8], 6; 8; 10; 8; 12; 5, [1 blank]; 6; [2], 8 pp. plus plates.
First and only edition of Glazemaker's Dutch translation of China illustrata, "one of the most influential books in shaping the European conception of China in its Day" (Löwendahl), by the great Jesuit scientist Athanasius Kircher (1601/02-1680). The work is divided into six parts, the first on the inscriptions of the famous Nestorian monument (early Chinese Christian inscriptions, in Chinese and Syriac lettering), the second part gives a history of China and early Christianity, the third on idolatry in Chinese and other Asian cultures, including Indian and Japanese, the fourth describes China's government, its cities and its nature, the fifth details China's architectural and mechanical marvels and in the sixth Kircher returns to the Chinese language and the origins of its characters. Including the engraved author's portrait, often lacking. The first and last few leaves a bit frayed at the edges, some spots and a few plates and leaves slightly browned, otherwise in good condition. The binding recased and with some restorations, rubbed along the edges and three of the compartments of the spine somewhat loose. A fascinating and well-illustrated account of China, mixing fact and fiction, but bringing both to a newly eager and curious public.l Cordier, Sinica, col. 26; Löwendahl 136 (cf. 132); cf. Merrill, Athanasius Kircher 20. Contemporary sprinkled calf, gold-tooled spine and binding edges, later endpapers (re-cased). With engraved frontispiece (dated 1667), woodcut vignette on title-page, engraved author's portrait, 24 engraved plates (including 2 double-page maps and 1 folding plate of a Chinese Christian inscription in Chinese and Nestorian Syriac lettering) and 60 Engraved illustrations in text (plus a repeat on a separate leaf, without letterpress text, of the engraving on 2F3v, facing this illustration). Including maps of China and Asia, traditional Chinese costumes, illustrations of the Chinese and the Mughal rulers in abundantly decorated rooms, linguistic illustrations (such as the inscriptions of the Nestorian monument), zoological illustrations, etc. With the text in roman and italic with passages in Hebrew, Greek, Arabic and Syriac, and a few words in (woodcut) Ethiopic. Pages: [12], 286, [10] pp.
First edition of Hubert's prose translation of Gessner's celebrated poem Der Tod Abels, which was first published in German in 1758. Salomon Gessner (1730-1788), known throughout Europe for literary works of pastoral themes and his rococo style, was a bookseller's son, and started his career as an apprentice to the bookseller Spener in Berlin. Giving up this employment, he lived for a time by painting and engraving. In 1750, he settled in Zurich, continuing to live by painting, including painting on porcelain. Later he was also a town councillor and a forestry superintendent, who also ran an important publishing house, from which he published his books with his own excellent etchings. He began to write idylls in poetic prose, beginning with Daphnis (1754) and his Idyllen (1756-72) achieved nation-wide success. In Der Tod Abels (1758), he attempted to write an epic in prose in five "chants", quickly becoming his most renowned work, and making him the most successful and typical representative of a literary rococo movement. In his idylls, Gessner is indebted to Theocritus and Virgil, creating an idealized, orderly, almost horticultural state of nature. The beautiful stipple engraved plates are after the drawings by Nicolas Monsiau. Nicolas-André Monsiau (1754-1837) was a Parisian who attained some reputation as a painter of both classical and modern subjects. He was elected to the Academy in 1789. These scenes were engraved by Colibert, Casenave, and Clément, and printed in colour in one run through the press. The six plates in this copy are in their first state, before numbers; two have the artist's and engraver's name; 3 have only the engraver's name.With a small paper (library) labels on the front board ("B 8" and "6") and foot of the spine ("207"). Further with an inscription on recto of the first blank flyleaf in French, and a small oval blue stamp of the library of the St. Elisabeth convent in Heythuysen, Limburg, The Netherlands on the title-page and p. 91. The binding shows some scratches on the boards, the spine is worn, but all without affecting the integrity of the binding. Some occasional minor water staining in the top margin, otherwise in good condition. A large-paper copy of a rare colour-printed plates-book.l Brunet II, 1568; Burch, p. 93; Cohen-de Ricci, col. 436; Fürstenberg 122, and 205; Ray, The Art of the French Illustrated Book, pp. 151-2; Sander 780. Contemporary gold-tooled brown and green mottled calf, with red morocco title label lettered in gold, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, gilt edges, marbled endpapers. With a stipple-engraved colour-printed frontispiece, and 5 stipple-engraved colour printed plates by Colibert, Casenave, and Clément after the designs of Nicolas Moniau. Pages: 161, [3 blank] pp.
Very rare complete copy of an account of the diplomatic mission of Baron Gros to Japan in 1858 by the diplomat Charles de Chassiron. The Notes are almost a literal transcription of the journal Chassiron kept during the trip. His account is important for the history of Franco-Japanese relations and gives an eyewitness report.Baron Charles Gustave Martin de Chassiron (1818-1871) was a French diplomat, who travelled to China and Japan as one of the two "attachés" of the French Embassy under Baron Gros. During his travels in Asia, he built a large collection of Japanese and Chinese artifacts, which are now displayed at the Orbigny-Bernon Museum in La Rochelle. Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gros (known as Baron Gros, 1798-1870), was a French diplomat and later senator, as well as a notable pioneer of photography. He served as Ambassador to London (1852-1863), travelling extensively, including to China and Japan in 1857 and 1858. He was an ambassador during the Anglo-French expedition to China (1856-1860). On 9 October 1858, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between France and Japan was concluded at Edo (Tokyo), to which he was a signatory - this treaty established diplomatic relations between the two imperial nations.With a manuscript dedication by the author on the verso of the half-title-page ("A monsieur Ingelmann (or Engelmann?) Avec mes compliments Chassiron Paris le 28 Jannvier 1862") and a manuscript owner's inscription in purple pencil on the recto of the second free flyleaf ("André Bottin"). The bookblock has separated from the binding, some slight foxing to the first few leaves, the edges of the leaves are somewhat browned, the map and folding plates are browned, the bottom margin of the final folding plate is slightly damaged (with some loss of material) without affecting the illustration. Otherwise in good condition.l Cordier, Japonica, 549; Numa Broc, Asie, 89-90. Half brown leather, marbled paper sides, gold-tooled spine with the title lettered in gold, dark brown sprinkled edges, green silk reading ribbon, marbled endpapers. With 2 full-page maps (of Japan and Korea and of Northern China), a large hand coloured folding view of "Yeddo" or Edo (now Tokyo), a hand coloured folding city plan, 8 hand coloured full page plates of flora and fauna, 2 hand coloured folding views of the Japanese country side, and 3 hand coloured plates (including 1 folding) showing caricatures. Pages: XI, [1 blank], 356, [1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank] pp.
2 volumes bound as 1. First edition of this rare work on the last French expedition in the Age of Discovery, written as a challenge to the official narrative of the voyage by a ship's surgeon and illustrated with thirty lithograph plates. Interestingly, the two volumes are bound together in a custom binding featuring the personal crest of Peter II, Emperor of Brazil, making this copy a probable gift to the Emperor himself.Though Brazil was indeed a brief stop for the two ships of the expedition, the Zélée and the Astrolabe, they sailed much further afield in pursuit of circumnavigating the globe and locating the magnetic South Pole. All this was done under the leadership of the famous Dumont d'Urville (1790-1842), who hoped to emulate Captain Cook by making a third voyage of exploration. As chief surgeon of the expedition, the author, Élie Le Guillou, became increasingly concerned with the men's state of health under d'Urville's leadership. Early on, a scurvy outbreak killed one man, and later nearly twenty sailors died in a very short span from dysentery. According to Le Guillou, this was despite repeated warnings that the search for magnetic South Pole should not be attempted until the ill had recovered. D'Urville, however, blamed his surgeon for negligence, had him removed from the list of men who would receive honours upon their return to France, and cut him out of the publication of the official narrative, which dealt largely with the Polar exploration.Instead, Le Guillou wrote this work, which focuses on his additional role as the ship's naturalist and geologist, and on the years spent in Oceania, travelling through Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, New Guinea, Guam, Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Tahiti and Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia. It is very thoroughly illustrated with lithographic prints, nearly all of which show some form of action scene depicting (through French eyes) local customs of dress, worship, tattooing, dance, and punishment.The binding features the personal crest of Peter II, Emperor of Brazil. Light spotting to endpapers; in excellent condition and finely bound.l Ferguson 3646; not in Chavanne, Polar Regions. Contemporary gold-tooled deep purple moroccowith the large gold-tooled coat of arms of the Emperor of Brazil, with the title etc. lettered in gold on the spine ("J. Arago - Voyage autour du Monde"), gold-tooled turn-ins, gilt edges, watered silk endpapers. With 31 lithographed plates, including engraved frontispieces for both volumes and a reproduction of a letter. Pages: [4], IV, 381, [1]; [4], 382, [2] pp.
2 parts in 1 volume. Manuscript journal recording two trips, combining business and leisure, from Hoorn to Zeeland and Antwerp, taken by three Dutch East India Company (VOC) officials (the first between 21 March and 16 April 1761), which has never appeared in print. Cornelis Gallis (1715-1767), the author of the present manuscript, travelled together with Floris Abbekerk Tromp (1721-1783), one of the directors of the VOC, and Dirk Merens (1730-1801), who worked for the VOC in a supervisory role ("be-edigt hooft participant"), on a VOC yacht from Hoorn to Middelburg to attend a shareholder meeting and take the opportunity to go sightseeing in the area. The men were interested in art and undertook various day trips to see important paintings, sculptures and buildings in Zeeland and especially in Antwerp, which are described in detail. Some of the artworks they visit have since been moved, stolen, or destroyed, so the journal is an extraordinary mid-18th-century source on these artworks.In addition to details regarding the weather, winds, tides and other navigational information, the journal contains 11 separately titled sections describing particular churches and monasteries in Antwerp. These descriptions are followed by an alphabetised index of the names of the 87 artists mentioned in the descriptions of Antwerp, including Rubens, Dürer and Van Dyck. Gallis, Tromp, and Merens visited the Dominican St Paul's monastery for the Rubens altarpiece, Caravaggio's "Madonna of the Rosary" (now in Vienna), and the "Calvary" (a group of sculptures outside the church, that had been completed in 1747). They took note of prominent epitaphs, for example they admired the triptych showing the resurrection of Christ by Rubens (serving as an epitaph for Jan I Moretus (1543-1610) and Martina Plantin (1550-1616) in the Cathedral of Our Lady, visited the professed house of the Jesuits in Antwerp (now part of the KU Leuven), and browsed the Library of St. Bernard's Abbey in Hemiksem. The second part of the work recounts a trip Gallis undertook between 12 September and 12 October [1761], possibly with the same or similar people (also VOC officials). It focuses more on Zeeland and describes the streets, gates and buildings in Middelburg, Veere, and surroundings. In an "old castle" in the neighbourhood of Middelburg (without name, but mentioning a very old (supposedly 900 years) mulberry tree(?) "moerbesien boom") the travellers were spontaneously invited to visit a collection of scientific instruments, including a telescope, a microscope, and even an electrostatic machine.The present work gives a captivating contemporary insight into 18th-century tourism in the Low Countries.The binding shows very slight signs of wear. The endpapers and edges of the leaves are very slightly browned. Otherwise in very good condition. Contemporary elaborately gold-tooled red morocco, red sprinkled edges. Manuscript journal written in a very neat 18th-century cursive hand. Pages: [4], 134, [8], [30 blank]; 42, [6 blank] pp. Including: [GALLIS, Cornelis]. Tweede reijs gedaan na Zeeland.
Second (probably pirated) edition of a succinct and well-illustrated military exercise book, first published by Giffart in Paris in 1696. Its 85 precisely engraved illustrations show the use of the pike, halberd, musket and in a few figures the sword by various officers and soldiers. One plate shows a grenadier with grenade in hand, just about to throw it. They are also valuable for their meticulous rendition of the military uniforms. The present edition is much rarer than the first edition of 1696 and the Paris edition of 1698. We have located only 4 other copies, none in a French collection, though the present copy has a French provenance and probably a French binding.With engraved bookplate of the library of Baron de Marbot (1782-1854). Somewhat browned, but otherwise in very good condition. The binding is slightly worn, with some early restorations, but still good. Rare pirated second edition of a very detailed visual record of the use of arms and of French military uniforms in the 17th century.l Goldsmith BMC STC French, G403; KVK & WorldCat (4 copies); cf. Hiler 46 (1696 ed.); Lipperheide Qk1 (1696 ed.); not in Colas; for Giffart: Thieme-Becker XIV, pp. 9-10. Contemporary calf, sewn on 5 cords, gold-tooled spine with title in 2nd of 6 compartments, edges sprinkled in red and brown. With engraved frontispiece (showing a meeting of officers in an army camp, with the title in a decorated cartouche at the head and the crowned and supported coat of arms of the dedicatee, the Duc de Boufflers, at the foot with flags and military attributes), letterpress title-page in red and black, and 85 full-page engraved illustrations (12 x 7.5 cm, numbered in letterpress above the engraving), each showing a French soldier or officer exercising his arms, with a view of army exercises in the background and an engraved caption below. Further with headpieces assembled from arabesque fleurons, and a cast vine-leaf ornament printed in pairs at the foot of most text pages. Pages: [14], 178 pp.
Beautiful copy of Anacreon's poems, printed in Greek and Latin capitals that Bodoni had designed and cut especially for his Anacreon editions. The first of these splendid editions was printed in 1785. Our copy is one of 150 printed. A first 8vo edition was printed by Bodoni in 1784, but the 1785 and 1791 editions are by far the most gorgeous and from a philological viewpoint the best. Brooks (no. 421) furthermore mentions a 16mo-edition, also printed in 1791. The book aroused the admiration of the famous bibliographer Dibdin who wrote in his classic bibliography (Greek and Latin classics, p. 265): "The (Bodoni) edition of 1785 (and 1791) is printed in capital letters, and more elegant and exquisitely finished productions cannot be conceived".Our copy comes from the library of the Comte D. Boutourlin (1763-1829), a Russian soldier, military historian, politician and librarian of the Imperial Russian Library. He was one of the most outstanding book collectors of 19th-century Russia and he formed an important library which was unfortunately destroyed during the burning of Moscow in 1812. His second large collection, of which a catalogue was published in 1831 in 200 copies, was formed during his retirement in Florence. It contained 244 important early manuscripts, 964 15th-century books (many of which were unrecorded), a very complete Bodoni collection, and other outstanding items, 7929 in all. The book was later owned by the Comte Chandon de Briailles, whose bookplate is pasted on first flyleaf: "Au Conte Chandon de Briailles". This is most likely Raoul Chandon de Briailles (1850-1908), historian and wine merchant (founder of the Chandon de Briailles mark of champagne), part of whose rich library was bequeathed to the Médiathèque at Épernay.With the large armorial bookplate of Comte Chandon D. Boutourlin on the verso of the first free flyleaf and the bookplate of Comte de Briailles on the recto of the second free flyleaf. The binding shows very slight signs of wear, internally only very slightly foxed. Otherwise in very good condition.l Brooks 422; De Lama II, p. 66; Giani, Cat., p. 40, no. 17; Palaia & Moscatelli 141; Quand la simplicité devient art, 46; cf. Catalogue de la Bibliothèque de son Exc. M. le Comte D. Boutourlin (Florence, 1831). Contemporary gold-tooled green morocco with the title lettered in gold on the spine, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, shiny pink endpapers, with a frame of small silver leaves mounted on the pastedowns. With a small engraved portrait of Anacreon in a roundel on the title-page, a small engraved portrait of the dedicatee J. N. de Azara in a roundel on the dedication page. Part of the text is set in Greek type. Pages: [4], CXVIII, [2], 111, [1] pp.
Rare work on the journey of a German officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to the East Indies, with a map of the hitherto undescribed Barat Daya Islands (the "South West" Islands) and the Banda Islands, showing New Guinea and "Nova Hollandia" or Australia on the edges of the map. The work contains fascinating descriptions of not only the East Indies, but also the locations the author passed through on his way there, including towns in Germany, the Netherlands and South Africa. Although at least four editions of this work are known, they are all quite rare. The present edition is not mentioned in any of the relevant reference works and is only avaliable in a few libraries, according to WorldCat. We have also only been able to find one other copy in sales records of the past hundred years.German Ernst Christoph Barchewitz (1687-1758) left his hometown Erfurt in 1707 to travel. He eventually reached Rotterdam, where he was employed by the VOC. In 1711, he embarked on a journey to the East Indies and became the Governor of the Island of Leti. Barchewitz reports extensively on his vicissitudes and gives interesting information on the local natural history, inhabitants and their customs. He also makes mention of sightings of mermaids. The illustrations depict views of Cape of Good Hope with pictures of Hottentots, the Island Banda, Leti, buildings in Batavia, Ambon, and trees and fruits. The work also includes a map of the Banda Sea with its islands. Barchewitz returned to Erfurt in 1722, where he wrote his travel account. The present work is the fourth edition.With the blind stamp of the Gulden Passer on the first flyleaf. The edges and corners of the boards are scuffed, the binding is somewhat chafed, with loss of a portion of the top layer of the leather at the foot of the spine. Slightly browned throughout. Otherwise in good condition.l WorldCat 66973710, 258570258, 1112481646 (6 copies); cf. Mendelssohn I, p. 80 (other ed.); Landwehr, VOC, 332 (other ed.); VD18 11092440 (other ed.). Later gold-tooled brown half calf with beige paper sides, sewn on 5 supports with the corresponding raised bands on the spine, a beige morocco title-label on the spine, red edges. With an engraved frontispiece, a full-page map, and 6 engraved plates (5 folding, 1 full-page). Pages: [20], 687, [16] pp.
2 volumes. Untrimmed large-paper copy of the first and only edition of the classic work on "Guiana", the North coast of South America, covering primarily modern Guyana, Surinam, parts of French Guyana and northern Brazil. The book contains very interesting and thoroughly accounts of the geography and history of the regions, customs and habits of the natives, flora and fauna; discoveries of the Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch voyagers and their settlements and colonization, the commerce of the Dutch West India Company, and the Company of Berbice, the Surinam Society and the slave trade. Warden (Bibliotheca Americana) calls it "by far the best work ever published on the countries described". Several hundred pages provide transcriptions of numerous original documents of the 17th and 18th centuries, including a 1662 land grant proclaimed by Charles II on behalf of English settlers establishing there in 1650, with parallel English and Dutch texts. There are five maps, four plans of forts and towns, three views, and two representations of native men. All are finely engraved by Jacob van der Schley. The engraving in the text shows one coin and two blank circles.J.J. Hartsinck (1716-1779) was an official of the admiralty in Amsterdam and a member of the Zeeland Academy of sciences; later he became a director of the Dutch West India Company. He had ready access to many documents which are now lost, and he also made extensive use of the papers of his father, who had been director of the Surinam Society for 25 years, and of oral and manuscript accounts by several local officials. For these reasons, his book will always remain an essential primary source for the history of the regions.This copy has always been in the same family, never removed from the library and is untouched by the trade. Fine and clean copy as it was in 1770, only slightly browned in the first half of the first volume. An uncut large paper copy in very good condition.l JCB (1700-1800) 1742; JFB H-41; Sabin 30712; STCN 204348471 (13 copies, incl. 5 incomplete); Suriname-catalogus 2560; Tiele 457; not in Borba de Moraes; Church; Eberstadt; Streeter. Contemporary three quarter calf, black speckled light brown paper sides, richly gold-tooled spines with a red morocco title label and an oval green morocco volume label, both lettered in gold. With 6 engraved folding maps and plans, 6 engraved full page plates, and 2 engraved folding views, 1 engraving in text. Pages: 1 blank, [2], XII, [4], 520; [2], 521-962, [16] pp.
Rare first and only edition of this biography of Don Luís de Ataide (1517-1581), who was twice the viceroy of Portuguese India (1568-1571 and 1578-1581). He is famous for defending India, especially the Malabar coast, from the Muslim alliance. It was written by the Jesuit Pereira de Macedo. Although the author's name appears as Joseph in the title, it is known that the author was in fact Francisco de Santo Agostinho Pereira de Macedo, a Jesuit writer, theologist, historian and scholar. A highly interesting biography containing a lot of information on military life in the second half of the 16th-century in Portuguese India.With a (oxidized) owner's inscription (causing irrelevant loss) at the head of the title-page and another near contemporary manuscript note on the title-page, correcting the author's name. Binding with some spots. Some foxing throughout, partly browned, but overall in good condition.l Backer-Sommervogel, 245, 9; Inocencio II, p. 322-323; Palau 145729; Salva 3486; WorldCat (10 copies in 6 centries). Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine. Pages: [11] ,[1 blank], 168 pp.
Rare directory describing Calcutta's inhabitants during the Company rule in India (1773-1858). It lists the members of the government, civil servants, and the members of the king's troops, as well as schools, events, religious societies, births, marriages, and deaths, and the departure and arrival of ships, with the ships from Calcutta further highlighted on a folding table. The work is very rare, as it is only available in one library and we have not been able to find it in any sales records of the past 100 years. This seemingly exhaustive directory is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the movements of people in Bengal at the time.The leather is somewhat scratched and bumped, the front joint has split at the head and foot, but the board is still attached, the leather on the spine is slightly cracked. With a grey stain on the fore-edge, some of the text on page 25-29 has been crossed out by hand, pages XI-XIV in the back are nearly detached. Otherwise in very good condition.l WorldCat 776890501 (1 copy). Contemporary gold-tooled crimson goatskin, with the title and year of publication lettered in gold on the spine. With a folding table. Pages: XI, [3], "548" [=440], XXXVI, [2], X, [2 blank] pp.
