Middle Eastern History

London: Frederick Westley & A.H. Davis, 1836. First Edition . Hardcover. Good. Rare First Editions, bound in 3/4 leather by J. Edmond of Aberdeen, identified by a tiny sticker on the front pastedowns; marbled boards, marbled edges. Good only. The boards are very much rubbed; leather corners worn and spines cracking. Gilt-stamped title pieces both present but dull. Internally there is very little foxing and no marking, pages mostly very clean. Hinges starting. Long scar to fpastedown of v1 where top layer of paper torn, small chip to paper reveals board underneath. Discoloration to front board, water stains to rfep and rpastedown of v2. Most of the engraved plates show waterstains which aren't visible on the pages. All plates are present; the folding map of the Bosphorus in vol. 1 (hand-highlighted in pink) is in vg condition with no tears. 412 + 542 pp.

Alexandria: Whitehead Morris Ltd., 1938. Second Edition [Revised] . Yellow Printed Boards. Very Good. Maps, Plates. xii, 208 + folding map at end. Signed limited issue, #106 of 250 copies. Second edition, much revised, of the 1922 edition, and including his new dedication to his old friend Cavafy. Decorative bookplate of "John & Alexandrine Russell", no other names or marks. [Russell was in Naval Intelligence in WWII, after which, in 1945, he was recommended by Ian Fleming as a reviewer for the Sunday Times. He became an art reviewer/commentator/writer of note and later was the New York Times art critic for many years. He was married to Alexandrine Apponyi 1945-1950. ] This copy lightly used, boards slightly soiled and paper lightly aged as usual, but no fraying to paper-covered boards.

London, 1753. First Edition . Full Leather, Gilt. Very Good. 20 5/8" x 14 1/8. Plates. Vi, 50 Pp, Followed By 38 Plates. The Index Indicates There Should Be 57 Plates, Of Which 19 Are Lacking (The Plates Still Present Are 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56). 20" X 14 1/2". Contemporary Full Calf, Blind Tooled Panels With Corners Tooled On Boards, Ornately Gilt Spine, Morocco Spine Label, All Edges Colored Red. No Names Or Marks Except A Couple Of Tiny Pencil References. Covers Worn, Corners Worn And Frayed, Joints Cracked But Held Firmly By Cords, 3/16" Loss Along Bottom Edge Of Spine. Pages Clean And Fresh. A Classic Of Archaeological Investigation And Illustration; Unfortunately Also A Classic Example Of How Poorly Mankind Preserves Its Historical Monuments, Particularly So Since Many If Not Most People In The Near East, Mediterranean, And Europe Have Some Distant… Read More

London [circa 1880]: J. S. Virtue and Co, 1880. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good +. 13" Tall. Engravings on Steel and Wood. Vol 1: X;Vi; 240; Vol 2: Vi, 240; Vol 3 Vi, 240; Vol 4 Vi, 236. Half Morocco [Spine And Tips) Over Purple Pebbled Cloth; Spines With 5 Bands, Six Compartments, Gilt Title And Volume Number, Ornate Gilt Decorations In Other Four Compartments; Original Yellow Endpapers; All Edges Of Page Block Gilt. Undated But Circa 1880. Front Hinge To Vol Ii Cracked, Binding Solid. Original Leather Recently Professionally Conditioned And Refreshed, Professional Repairs To A Few Splits At Top/Bottom Of Spine Edges; Gilt Bright; No Names, No Marks, No Bookplates. Also With An Additional 41 Loose Plates (From Another Copy Of This Set, Or Perhaps Never Bound). Shipping Weight About 30 Pounds, Insurance Required, Shipping Requires Additional Charges Depending On Destination.

London: C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1879. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. Color And B/W Illustrations. Xxviii, 338 Pp. ; Vii, 311, Large Folding Map, 32 Pp Catalog Dated 9/78 (First Issue Point). Peach Cloth, Gilt Lettering, Illustrations And Rules Embossed In Black, Slate Black Endpapers. Armorial Bookplates Of Bibliotheca Lindesiana, With Small Labels Beneath Annotated In Pencil "Earl Of Crawford / 59/E"; Binders Ticket "Bound By Burn & Co." On Rear Pastedown Of Vol. I. First 96 Pp Of Vol I Neatly Opened, With A Very Few Lightly Penciled In Marginal Words/Notes/Questions, Rest Of Vol I And All Of Volume Ii Unopened And Fresh. Endpapers Immaculate And Unfaded, Hinges Tight, One Signature (Beginning P 97 Of Volume I) Is Detached But Present (Old Gutta Percha Binding Glue, I Think, But Easily Reinserted In Any Case). Bindings With Light Wear, All Gilt Still Brilliant, Spine Cloth A Little Darkened, A Little Wear And Edge Fraying At Tops And Bottoms Of Spines-… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape, 1935. First Edition thus. Near Fine+. First Trade Edition (hand-numbered limited issue, no. 363 of 750 copies) of one of the indisputable classics of twentieth century English literature. Thick, square 8vo: 672pp, with 54 plates (many in color and including 3 not in in the 1926 subscriber's edition and a number not in the cheaper ordinary trade edition bound in cloth) by Kennington, Rothenstein, Roberts, and others and 4 folding maps. Publisher's original quarter tan pigskin over brown buckram boards, spine stamped in gilt, top edge gilt with others uncut, Cockerell marbled endpapers; with gilt-stamped motto on upper board: "The sword also means cleanness & death." Without the card slipcase and the plain-paper dust jacket, usually discarded. An excellent copy, top grain rubbed at spine ends, light fading and occasional spotting to cloth, otherwise virtually pristine and apparently unread (many pages unopened). O'Brien A041. National Geographic 100, 24. Third (but second… Read More

1653 TURKS Ottoman Empire Sultans Turkish Viziers Mehmed III Verdier CRUSADES

An extremely rare and important 17th-century history of the Ottoman Empire by Gilbert Verdier. This two volume work is a collection of short biographical sketches of notable sultans and viziers including some of the most iconic Ottoman figure such as Osman I, Bayezid II, Mahomet III, and Ahmed I. It also includes descriptions of Ottoman hussars, infantry, military officers, as well as religious figures and traditions. Note the inclusion of portrait engravings!
Item number: #13236
Price: $1500
VERDIER, Gilbert Saulnier du
Abbrégé de l'histoire des Turcs, contenant tout ce qui s'est passé de plus remarquable sous le règne de vingt-trois Empereurs... Enrichy en cette dernière édition de leurs portraits, & de plusieurs remarques curieuses, reveu, corrigé & augmenté par J.P.
See below for publishing information

Details:
·
Collation: Complete with all pages; 2 volumes
o Vol 1 – [10], 405p
Lyon :… Read More

London:: Longman's, Green, and Co., 1892., 1892. 2 volumes. 8vo. xxiv, 639, [1]; xii, 653, [1] pp. 43 plates, additional illustrations, 9 maps, and 1 folding map. Original black gilt-stamped cloth; neatly restored. Modern open-end sturdy box. Ownership signatures of Watson R. Sperry, 1892 (incl. title). Very good. FIRST EDITION. This is the most comprehensive assessment of Persia of its day. Curzon was responsible for establishing the prevailing view of the British of their on-going, pre-oil, interest in Persia, as a boarder state to India of the British Empire. / Curzon "travelled around the world: Russia and Central Asia (1888–89), a long tour of Persia (September 1889 – January 1890), Siam, French Indochina and Korea (1892), and a daring foray into Afghanistan and the Pamirs (1894). He published several books describing central and eastern Asia and related policy issues. A bold and compulsive traveler, fascinated by oriental life and geography, he was awarded the Patron's Gold Medal of the… Read More

Calcutta & Re-Printed in London:: Oriental Press, by Wilson & Co., … for J. Debrett, Opposite Burlington-House, Piccadilly; and J. Sewell, 1801., 1801. Three parts in one. 4to. [vi], 106 pp., 74 ff., 82 pp. 1-13, + pls. numbered: 81-92, 95, 97, 99, 101, 103, 106[a], 106[b] plates [i.e. 32 total plates, each displaying Arabic or Persian typesetting]; light foxing, marginal worm trails at rear (about 16 leaves – none with any effect to the typography). Lacks half-title and publisher's ads (2 pp., at end). Modern antique-style half calf, brown cloth sides, raised bands, gilt spine title, edges with original marbling, preserving original endleaves. Very good copy. Third edition (First London issue), preceded by two Calcutta printings [attributed to 1795, 1800]. "The Persian Moonshee is a Book well known to Oriental Scholars. It was compiled upwards of twenty years ago for the use of the Students in the College of Fort William, and went through two Editions in India. In 1801, a reprint was made in… Read More

Baghdad, The Times Press Ltd., 1932, hardcover, First Edition, issued without dustjacket, Good condition in original red cloth-covered boards. Laid-in is a bookplate Signed by the Author and dated 1982 in her hand from the collection of autograph enthusiast Derek Birch with his initials in one corner. Also laid-in is a one page (both sides) handwritten signed letter (ALS) dated 12/2/70, where the author discusses the state of her health, the research she is doing on the Mongols for her book Turkey: A Sketch of Turkish History published by Thames and Hudson (1971) in which she provided the text to accompany the photographs of her nephew Fulvio Roiter, and sends her love to Christopher Pirie-Gordon who served as British Charge D'Affaires in Transjordan and later in Yemen on two separate occasions. Boards lightly soiled and spotted, with bumped and fraying corners and spine-ends, spine title label chipped barely affecting text, front label complete, discoloration to endpapers from substandard glue, light… Read More

(Persian) Falconry.Husam al-Dawlah Taymur Mirza. The Baz-nama-yi Nasiri. A Persian Treatise on Falconry, translated by D. C. (Douglas Craven) Phillott, 1st edition, Bernard Quaritch, 1908, One of 500 copies.Description: halftone illustrations in the text, original publisher's green pictorial cloth with gilt reproduction of ancient Persian ms. with falconer on horseback, gilt-lettered spine, one minor worm hole through bottom margin first few pages, 8vo 25.5 x 17 cm. Kept in, and comes with, non adhesive transparent dust jacket. See pics for overall condition.Blanc front and end papers, half title page, frontispiece with clean protective tissue, title page, dedication page in English and one in Farsi, xxiv and 195 pp and illustrated with 25 illustrations of Persian paintings, animals, and original ms. Quaritch printer's device to last leaf (see pics).Notes: - Wood; p. 519; Zimmer p. 623. One of 500 copies only. The author was a grandson of Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar (1772-1834) and a respected authority on… Read More

London: Henry Colburn, 1829. First edition. Two octavo volumes (8 1/2 x 5 1/8 inches; 215 x 130 mm). xvi, 401, [1, errata], [2, blank]; viii, 398, [2, ads], [2, blank] pp. With half-title for volume I, but not volume II as usual. (According to Sotheby's, half-title called for in vol.2 by Blackmer, but probably in error). With 2 pages of publisher's ads at the end of volume II, but without the six pages of ads at the end of volume I. With full color frontispiece in volume I of "The Author in his Syrian Costume." Bound by Clarke & Bedford in full tan calf. Boards double ruled in gilt with central armorial device. Spines elaborately stamped in gilt. Two green Morocco spine labels on each volume, lettered in gilt. Board edges gilt. Gilt dentelles. All edges marbled. Marbled endpapers. Some minor rubbing along hinges. Top of boards of volume II a bit sunned. Some foxing and toning. Still a very good copy. "Madden writes in this epistolary work of harems, slave markets, religion, crime and punishment,… Read More

Constantinople (Istanbul): Neologos Litografyasi - Votîra ve Sürekasi Matbaasi., [AH 1292], 1875. 1st Edition . Leather. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Contemporary 1/4 leather bdg. with marbled boards. Small 4to. (27 x 19 cm). 23 p. (11 p. in Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters; 12 p. in French), with rare 4 folded maps. A very good copy. First and only edition of this extremely rare bilingual book in French and Ottoman Turkish, including the first records on the formation and characteristics of storms to explain how storms and hurricanes occurred, which route they followed, and how they were conveyed to the regions that need to be warned by telegraph, for the vessels sailing in the seas, by French expert Coumbary who was founded the Rasathâne-i Âmîre [i.e. Ottoman Imperial Observatory]. Both the original French and Turkish translations of the work were published together in one volume. The work also included four maps which were… Read More

Istanbul: Sabah Gazetesi / Mihran Matbaasi., [AH 1316], 1899. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Fine brown quarter leather bdg., brown boards with decorative embossing. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 17 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic script). 176 p., 33 unnumbered b/w plates of views of the Middle Eastern cities, Kaiser and queen's portraits, ills. of their maritime voyages, a general view of Beirut, a panorama of Jerusalem (in two pages), The Government House and Lake Tiberia in Beirut, a general view of Jaffa, churches and castles and Masjid-i Aksa of Jerusalem, Idlib, the interior of the Umayyad Mosque in Jerusalem, The Government House of Jaffa, Beirut - Damascus railways, street views and architectural buildings from Damascus, the market place of Jaffa, Bethlehem and the church, views of Trablus-Sam [i.e. Tripolis], ruins of Baalbek, and other numerous b/w photos, published for only this book. Slight stains on pages, a modern repair on a leaf… Read More

1682 ENGLISH Rycaut OTTOMAN Empire Illustrated Sultans Dwarfs Turks Turkey ISLAM

Paul Rycaut was a 17th-century British historian most-known for being the leading authority on the Ottoman Empire. He published 'The Present State of the Ottoman Empire' which become the most important work on the Ottoman Empire. It provided accounts on Turkish politics and society, and according to Blackmer, this work is
"an extremely important and influential work, which provides the fullest account of Ottoman affairs during the 17th-century."
Cox notes of this work:
"This work is regarded as one of the best of its kind with respect to the religious and military state of Turkey."

This incredible 1682 English edition is filled with 28 engravings of sultans, Ottoman clothing and costumes, military officers, descriptions of Turkish customs, military and naval excursions, bizarre and odd medical conditions such as Turkish dwarfs, and much, much more.

Item number: #24359
Price: $1500

RYCAUT, Paul

The history of the… Read More