Les échanges artistiques entre le Japon et la France à partir de 1854 furent parmi les plus fructueux de l’histoire des arts. La fascination qu’exercèrent les arts orientaux sur les écrivains français et la capacité d’assimilation des techniques occidentales par les artistes japonais ont été à la source d’une formidable créativité donnant naissance à de nombreux chefs- d’œuvre, prisés par les collectionneurs depuis près de deux siècles.
Very rare original edition illustrated with 2 folding maps out of text.
Two small losses at the head and foot of the spine, otherwise an agreeable interior condition.
The work was composed with the collaboration of Dr. Mougeot.
First edition, printed in a small number of copies.
The work primarily discusses the potential for exporting French goods to Tonkin and China, as well as public works in Annam and the railway along the southern borders of China.
Georges Fillion served as a correspondent for Agence Havas with the French expeditionary corps in Tonkin.
A rare and appealing copy.
Very rare first edition printed by the Bureaux de l'armée nationale (only two copies recorded in the CCF: ASOM and Nanterre).
A pleasant copy.
The pamphlet brings together the texts of two lectures: the first delivered on 19 June 1924 in Hanoi, the second on 10 December 1924 in Paris; both advocate for a systematic effort to provide indigenous populations with access to education.
A former captain in the colonial artillery, Paul Monet (1884–1941) was then head of the Annamite Students' Residence in Hanoi. He would soon gain attention for echoing Roland Dorgelès' stance on the exploitation of indigenous labour by French companies (Les Jauniers, 1930).
Very rare first edition of this short treatise advocating the cultivation of jute in Indochina, at a time when British India held an almost total monopoly over its production.
Single copy recorded in the CCF (ASOM).
Upper cover detached, with minor marginal tears and soiling.
Uncommon first edition, illustrated with historiated initials and 7 plates (see Brunet I, 710).
Not listed in Atabey, Blackmer or Hage Chahine.
Contemporary full marbled tan calf, spine with five raised bands richly gilt with floral motifs, joints and spine rubbed with traces of restoration, cherry morocco label, covers framed in triple blind fillet, margins of covers rubbed, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges.
Joints rubbed, corners worn, some foxing.
Rare copy of this historical and numismatic monograph devoted to the small kingdom of Osroene (or Edessa), which long served as a buffer state between the Persian and Roman empires.
Born in Königsberg, Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694–1738) taught Greek and Latin humanities at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences from 1726 to 1737.
Contemporary ownership inscription of Louis de Boisses at foot of title page.
Second edition with the text printed in two columns (see Cordier, Indosinica, 2288).
The first edition was published in 1868.
Contemporary quarter fawn mirabelle sheep binding, flat spine decorated with triple gilt fillets, some rubbing to spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, bumped corners.
Théophile Marie Legrand de La Liraÿe (1819–1873), a priest of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, was sent to Western Tonkin in 1843.
During the French intervention in Annam, he acted as interpreter to Admiral Rigault de Genouilly. After leaving the Missions, he continued in this role for the Governor of Cochinchina.
He died on 7 August 1873 at the military hospital in Saigon, leaving behind manuscripts now held in the Saigon library. A street in that city bears his name (see Archives des Missions Étrangères de Paris).
Some foxing, mainly affecting the first and last few leaves.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Iwakura Tomomi.
Contemporary binding in navy blue long-grain half morocco, flat spine decorated with gilt fillets and blind-stamped fleurons, red morocco lettering-piece running lengthwise, green cloth boards, minor fading and rubbing to covers, original blank wrappers preserved; modern binding.
Iwakura Tomomi (1825–1883) was a prominent figure of the Meiji era, whose influence played a key role in Japan's transformation.
Some handwritten annotations in ink and pencil on a pastedown, and an inscription in ink reading "Trautz (?) Kyoto. Jan 1935" on the endpaper.
Inscribed and signed by Leonardus Johannes Antonius van de Polder to Doctor Kniper, dated December 1922.
Bookplate of R.A. Scoales pasted on a pastedown.
New edition of the French translation, illustrated in the first volume with a folding map of India with hand-colored borders, printed on bluish paper; and in the second volume with a folding map of Arabia, also printed on bluish paper (see Gay 83 and Lorin 2065 for the first edition of 1786).
Contemporary full speckled calf bindings, spine with five raised bands, gilt-tooled compartments with floral motifs, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt roll tooling at head and foot of spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges.
Library stamps to title pages, shelf labels at foot of spines, some rubbing to spines and covers with minor surface losses, internally clean and fresh.
Pages [283] to 414 of Volume II contain Capper’s account of the journey to India via Egypt and Arabia. "Capper was in the East India Company service from an early age. The text of his work is in two parts - a letter describing the voyage from India via the Red Sea, Suez and Egypt, and a journal of the route from India through the Arabian desert via Mesopotamia to Aleppo. At this time there was unofficial interest in opening a new route to India through Egypt - the two standard routes being via the Cape of Good Hope or through the Euphrates Valley - and some attempts were made to use this route. Irwin was forced to use the Egypt-Suez route ; Capper is advocating it" [Leonora Navari].
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with 105 plates out of text (including 2 folding tables, 21 plans and maps, and 82 views and reproductions of documents). A remarkable record of one of the most significant instances of international opinion manipulation carried out by China and North Korea in the early stages of the Korean War: as early as 1952, North Korean and Chinese officials (including Zhou Enlai) accused the American army of using "insect vectors" on a large scale to spread various diseases among the populations of Korea and Manchuria (plague, cholera, etc.).
The entire operation had been meticulously staged, as definitively revealed by Soviet documents published in 1998.
Head and tail of spine with some losses, minor stains and marginal tears to the covers, two small holes to the lower edge of the rear board also affecting the rear endpaper, otherwise clean and sound throughout.
Rare.
First edition of both these rare fascicules; the first is illustrated with three folding plates at the end of the volume, the second with in-text illustrations.
Contemporary half bottle-green calf binding, smooth spine gilt with fillets and dotted rolls, as well as black fillets, some minor rubbing to joints, headcap worn, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges.
One of only three known contributions to the nascent field of Assyriology by the Austrian numismatist and traveller Isidore Löwenstern (1810–1858), who served as Danish consul in Constantinople.
Bound with, by the same author: Exposé des éléments constitutifs du système de la troisième écriture cunéiforme de Persépolis. Paris-Leipzig, Adolphe Franck, 1847, 101 pp., in-text illustrations. Copy from the library of the renowned archaeologist Honoré-Théodore, 8th Duke of Luynes (1803–1867), with his ex-libris vignette from the Château de Dampierre pasted to a pastedown.
First edition, printed in very limited numbers, of this offprint from the Revue archéologique, illustrated with 12 textual figures and 3 plates; only two copies listed in the CCF (Quai d'Orsay and Strasbourg).
Contemporary Bradel binding in olive green cloth-backed marbled boards, smooth spine with red morocco title label, original wrappers bound in.
Christophe-Edouard Mauss (1829–1914), architect to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was entrusted with several archaeological missions in the East (Thessaloniki, Smyrna, Alexandria), and was later sent by the French government to Jerusalem (1862–1874) to oversee the restoration of the Church of Saint Anne. He also developed a keen interest in ancient metrology, to which he devoted several monographs.
Bound at the end, three additional works by the same author:
First edition of the French translation by David Durand, illustrated with 5 plates (4 folding), including a genealogical chart (cf. Brunet IV, 1203. Hage Chahine, 3949).
Contemporary full stiff vellum, spine with five raised bands, lower joint split, black morocco lettering-piece, bumped corners.
Some inevitable soiling due to the binding, light foxing to initial and final leaves, ff. 107–108 and 109–110 restored and trimmed short.
The De Religione Mohammedica was first published in 1705, and reissued in 1717 in an expanded edition.
The Dutch orientalist Adriaan Reland (1676–1718) pursued a broad range of scholarly interests, but this presentation of the Muslim religion—based on authentic Islamic sources—is considered his most important work.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with two folding plates hors texte.
This is an abridged translation (unusually, this is stated) of the major work Reise durch Sibirien, published in Göttingen in 1751–1752 in four quarto volumes richly illustrated. It recounts a major scientific expedition to Siberia that took place from July 1733 to February 1743. Johann Georg Gmelin (1709–1755) held the chair of chemistry and natural history at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Despite the erratic pagination of the second volume, the set is complete.
Contemporary full marbled tan calf, flat spines decorated with gilt compartments, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt rolls at head and tail, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, marbled edges, corners somewhat rubbed.
Some light foxing.
Armorial bookplates from the 18th century, with the handwritten note “Longeville.”
First edition of this continuation of the series Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, documenting events from 1767 onward in the missions led by the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (M.E.P.) in Sichuan, Tonkin, Cochinchina, Siam, and along the Coromandel Coast. (cf. Cordier, Sinica, II, 953–957; Cordier, Indosinica, III, 1970–1978; Sabin 40704.)
Contemporary full speckled tan calf, smooth spines richly decorated with gilt garlands, fillets and floral tools, red morocco labels for title and volume number, gilt roll tooling at headcaps, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, single gilt fillet on board edges, yellow edges.
Spines slightly sunned, headcaps trimmed, some rubbing to spines and boards with occasional paper loss, bumped corners, occasional light spotting, internally a very good copy.
First edition, illustrated with a fine engraved frontispiece portrait of Cardinal Casanate, signed by Pet. Paul Bouché, an Antwerp engraver born around 1646 [cf. Bénézit].
Gay 1464.
This engraving is lacking in the copy held by the Bibliothèque nationale.
Contemporary full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands, compartments decorated with gilt floral tools, gilt fillets on board edges, mottled edges.
Restorations to the spine, dampstain to the outer margins of the opening leaves, some leaves slightly yellowed.
“Another edition of this work by Emmanuel Schelstrate, published in Antwerp in the same year, is recorded.”
The author published this treatise to demonstrate that the Church of Africa and its most eminent pastors had always acknowledged the Pope as patriarch. This valuable history of the African Church, its heresies and its councils, also includes a list of bishops from the provinces of Numidia, Byzantium, Mauretania, Tripolitania, and Sardinia. Emanuel van Schelstrate [1645–1692], the Antwerp antiquarian and theologian, was a staunch defender of papal prerogative. A learned scholar, he served as canon and precentor of Antwerp Cathedral before being called to Rome, where Pope Innocent XI appointed him custodian of the Vatican Library and canon of St. John Lateran.
Library stamp to title page.
Autograph inscription signed by Edouard Imbenotte to Abbé Griselle (circa 1910) in black ink on the front pastedown.
New edition, the most comprehensive to date, illustrated with 300 engravings, several maps, and followed by 18 appendices (cf. Cordier, Japonica, 694).
The original edition was published in 1899.
Contemporary half havana sheep binding, corners tipped with the same, smooth spine sunned and rubbed, decorated with blind fillets and floral tools, blind-tooled garland framing the bordeaux cloth boards, black paper endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges.
Some minor foxing mainly affecting the endpapers, otherwise a clean and well-preserved copy.
Our copy lacks the atlas of 11 maps, which was not ready in time for printing, as stated on a slip mounted on the first endpapers ("Par suite d'un accident imprévu, la gravure et l'impression des cartes géographiques n'ont pu être terminées en temps voulu. Elles seront envoyées à part dès qu'elles auront paru").
Jacques-Edmond-Joseph Papinot (1860–1942) was ordained in 1886 and sent to Japan three months later. He taught at the Tokyo Theological Seminary for fifteen years and returned permanently to France in 1911.
Provenance: from the library of the Barante family, with a printed ex-libris label mounted on the pastedown.
Second edition, illustrated with 13 full-page plates printed on various tinted backgrounds. The first edition was published in 1924.
This edition includes a map that was not reissued in the second printing.
The Miao people (known as Méo in Vietnam and Hmong in Laos) are an ethnic group found in southern China and northern Indochina. They speak various loosely related dialects, but without mutual intelligibility.
Today, they are generally regarded not as a single ethnic group but as a broader grouping of distinct peoples. A missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, François-Marie Savina (1876–1941) worked in Upper Tonkin, Hainan (China), and Laos from 1901 to 1941.
Pleasant copy, with some minor marginal tears to the covers, not affecting the text.
Rare first edition of this essential supplement to the Flore forestière (1881–1897) by Jean-Baptiste-Louis Pierre (1833–1905), director of the Saigon Botanical Garden.
OCLC locates copies only at the BnF and the Natural History Museum.
Publisher's binding in brown cloth-backed boards, plain flat spine, paper-covered boards slightly sunned and soiled, title printed on upper board, bumped corners, minor wear to edges.
Text in two columns.
Clean and fresh interior.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with one frontispiece plate in the first volume: "Infantrymen of Sindh in their battle dress", and a large folding map in the second volume: "Map of Beluchistan and Sindh, including parts of Cutch, Seistan, Khorasan, Persia, &c., drawn by Henry Pottinger, Lieutenant of the 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, in 1814" (cf. Quérard VII, 300).
Contemporary full green calf bindings, faded smooth spines gilt with fillets and small ship motifs, gilt rolls on slightly rubbed caps, gilt dentelle frames on covers, marbled endpapers lightly soiled at the edges, bookplates pasted on the front pastedowns, corners bumped, gilt fillets on the edges, yellow edges.
Some light scuffing, traces of restoration to the spines, internally well preserved with occasional foxing.
Henry Pottinger [1789–1856], British general, administrator, and diplomat, was one of the prominent figures of British colonial history.
“Dispatched to India as a cadet in 1804, he soon distinguished himself for his bravery and intelligence, was entrusted with several administrative duties which he carried out with skill, served for several years as judge and revenue collector in Ahmednagar (Deccan), later became political resident in Cutch, president of the regency in the same city, diplomatic agent in Sindh, took part in military operations on the frontier, was promoted to the rank of major general, and was granted the title of baronet in 1839, following the Afghan War.” Cf. Larousse.
After returning to England in 1840, Pottinger’s exceptional diplomatic career continued in China. From 1846 to 1849, he served as Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, before concluding his career as Governor of the Madras Presidency. After 1854, he retired to Malta, where he died.
Distinguished provenance: From the library of Talleyrand, with his bookplates pasted on the front pastedowns.
First edition, complete with the large folding map — often missing — and the facsimile in Arabic. Copy originally issued in plain temporary wrappers, therefore without the printed covers, as specified by the publisher’s sale notice.
Contemporary green half sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated with three gilt tools and fillets. Rubbing; hinges of volume 1 mostly cracked along the upper joint with some small losses. Internally very fresh. Untrimmed copy bound as issued in quires.
The supporting documents occupy pages 217 to 370 of volume 3.
Rare first edition, complete with its 17 plates, including 2 maps, 2 colored facsimiles of Japanese view and plan (view of Yedo, plan of Nagasaki), and 13 colored facsimiles of natural history drawings. (See Cordier, Japonica, 549 and Sinica, 2128. Numa Broc, Asie, 89-90.)
Some minor foxing, a faint dampstain on the final leaves, small restorations to the verso of the facsimiles.
Contemporary half green shagreen, spine slightly faded, with raised bands framed by gilt fillets, double gilt compartments with decorative tools, boards framed with a blind-stamped fillet, marbled paper boards slightly soiled, combed endpapers and pastedowns, painted edges.
A career diplomat, Charles de Chassiron (1818–1871) was part of Baron Gros’s diplomatic mission to Japan in 1858. He boarded the corvette *Laplace* with the other members of the mission in Shanghai on September 6, 1858, arrived at Shimoda on the 14th at 10 a.m., left during the night of September 19, landed in Edo (Tokyo) on the 26th, stayed until October 12, and departed the country from Nagasaki on October 22.
Chassiron’s *Notes* are a nearly verbatim transcription of the journal he kept during his stay; the appendix contains the text of the Franco-Japanese treaty signed on October 9. His travel journal thus represents an important milestone in the history of Franco-Japanese relations. His entries concerning Edo are particularly valuable for their care, precision, and integrity. Throughout Chassiron’s text runs a tension between the anxious caution of a disoriented diplomat and the observations of a traveler fascinated by Japan’s social order and industrial arts. The French, more perplexed than the British before Japanese reality, nonetheless allowed themselves to be charmed by it, bringing back the image of a feudal Japan rooted in espionage, and that of an artistic Japan. (Cf. Numa Broc.)
First edition published in the Bulletin de la Société des études indochinoises de Saïgon, no. 69.
Other contributions in this issue include poems, an analysis of Le Comte’s book, Lettres sur les moeurs des Chinois, and above all an insightful analytical index of the subjects addressed in the Bulletin of the Société des études indochinoises from its founding (1883) up to 1914.
Small losses and tears to the spine.
First edition of the French translation, made from the second English edition and illustrated with 7 plates outside the text and 1 folding map (Gay 1496 bis).
Contemporary quarter fawn sheep bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and typographic ornaments, brown morocco title label on the first volume, red morocco title label on the second; some restorations and rubbing to spines and joints, marbled paper boards, bumped corners, a few scrapes along the edges.
Some foxing; bookplates mounted to the pastedowns, names carefully erased.
Rare first edition of this important geographical and ethnographic account, intended to provide insight into the conflict between the Afghans and the British, the latter seeking to protect their Indian frontiers from the threat posed by the Russian Empire (cf. Bourquelot V, 637).
This copy retains the folding map bound at the end of the volume: "Carte pour l'intelligence des voyages d'Alexandre Burnes".
Spine faded with small losses, boards lightly soiled at the margins, paper loss to the lower left corner of the half-title page, some scattered foxing.
The author based his work on Elphinstone’s account, whose second edition appeared in 1838, as well as the narratives of Burnes, Forster, and Masson.
Rare work illustrated with 199 in-text full-page costume plates, as stated in the table (not recorded by Colas. Hilaire p. 14).
Contemporary binding in red half shagreen, spine with four raised bands, triple panels ruled in blind and decorated with gilt central floral tools, some rubbing to the spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, a few small tears to the edges; period binding.
Two leaves have been restored (pages 51 and 147), one marginal tear, otherwise clean and fresh throughout.
A sweeping illustrated survey of the peoples of the world, featuring a substantial section on Oceania.
Among others, it depicts Russians from the Tver region, inhabitants of Siberia, Native Americans, Eskimos, and natives of various Oceanic islands, with their hunting or war weapons, ritual objects, and, for some, their tattoos.
Notable illustrations include a striking plate of a Sandwich Islands warrior and one of a tattooed man from Noukahiwa.
New edition of the French translation, reissued for sale with a substitute title, of this anonymous account first printed in 1793 (Schwab, 612. Barbier, IV, 1097e. Quérard, Supercheries, I, 606e.).
The translation is by Louis Matthieu Langlès and François Joseph Noël.
Contemporary full tree calf, smooth spine with gilt-decorated compartments, gilt fillet at foot, joints rubbed, spine ends worn, maroon morocco title label, endpapers and pastedowns lightly soiled at margins, corners bumped.
The work includes a description of the principal towns and regions visited during the journey from Bengal to Persia: Ceylon, Goa, Bombay, Muscat, Oman, Bushehr, Shiraz, followed by numerous details on Persian customs and manners, character, justice system, marriage, funeral rites, religion, superstitions and talismans, and Shiraz wine…
It then addresses the revolutions in Persia from 1747, the year of Nadir Shah’s death, to 1788. The final section deals with the island of Pulau Pinang (Malaysia), with a description of its natural resources and the opium trade.
Appended are several excerpts by other travellers concerning this island (by Le Gentil and Captain Thomas F.).
An early handwritten note evaluating the work appears on the half-title.
First edition, illustrated with 31 plates outside the text, including a map, some folding or double-page. (cf Hague Chahine 1505).
A few insignificant spots of foxing, a pleasing copy overall.
Contemporary Bradel binding in green cloth-backed boards, smooth spine with gilt date at foot, red shagreen title label with a small angular defect, boards covered with 'cat’s eye' marbled paper. Contemporary binding.
The volume is also decorated with numerous illustrations in the text and is an offprint from the Nouvelles Archives des Missions scientifiques, vol. X, documenting the archaeological expedition in the Harra region, conducted alongside Frédéric Macler.
Inscribed by René Dussaud to Baron Rey on the half-title page.
An archaeologist and orientalist, Emmanuel Guillaume Rey (1837–1916) made three journeys to the Near East between 1857 and 1865, during which he explored Palestine, Syria, and southern Turkey. He published numerous works, notably on the Hauran (south of Damascus), the Ansarieh mountains (north of Mount Lebanon), the history and topography of the tribe of Judah, the military architecture of the Crusaders in Syria, and Latin rule in the East.
Rare first edition illustrated with three folding plates outside the text.
Spine repaired along the right margin with adhesive strip, minor tears to spine, internally clean and appealing.
In the manner of departmental compendia of customary law published in mainland France, the author records the unofficial legal “usages” adopted in practice within the colony, though lacking legal force. Born in Saint-Denis, Réunion, Georges Garros (1860 – after 1919) moved to Cochinchina in 1892 to open a law practice in Saigon, primarily serving the commercial interests of his Vietnamese merchant friends. He was also the father of the famed aviator Roland Garros (1888–1918).
Inscribed by Georges Garros: "Monsieur Foulé, greffier en chef de la Cour d'appel hommage de cordiale sympathie. G. Garros"
Rare first French edition of the travel impressions of Prince Soltykoff, more an adaptation than a strict translation (cf. Vicaire, VII, 575. Schwab, 544. Only two copies listed in the CCF).
Illustrated with a two-tone lithographed frontispiece and 20 tinted lithographic plates by Trayer and Émile Beau after drawings by the author.
Contemporary green half-shagreen binding, flat spine decorated with double gilt fillets and broad blind-stamped fillets, dark green paper-covered boards, minor restorations and rubbing to head and foot of joints, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, period binding.
Some superficial wear and very faint foxing, otherwise a pleasant copy in contemporary binding.
Prince Alexei Soltykoff (1806–1859), a member of one of the most prominent Russian families, was sent on a diplomatic mission to Tehran in 1838 under the reign of Muhammad Shah. He spent nearly a year in Persia. Having no real calling for diplomacy, he abandoned the career soon after his return and settled in Paris to prepare for further travels in India.
A singular and even eccentric figure, Soltykoff had been fascinated with travel since childhood, and this mission provided him with his long-awaited opportunity to explore the Orient. Arriving via the Caucasus, he remained in Tehran until May 1839, which he observed and described extensively, particularly through the everyday lives of its inhabitants. The plates are of particular interest for their depiction of costumes (Saba, Bibliographie Française de l’Iran, p. 187 no. 211).
Edition not recorded by Leclerc, Rodriquez or Borba de Moraes (cf. Sabin 43770; Cordier, Bibl. Japonica 62-63, and Bibl. Sinica 782).
Some occasional light foxing; minor worming affecting the index leaves at the end of the volume.
Modern Bradel binding in half vellum, smooth spine with red morocco label, marbled paper-covered boards.
A work of major significance for the history of Jesuit missions in the Americas, India, China, and Japan.
First edition, illustrated with 7 plates: a plan of Fort William and a large folding view of Calcutta in the first volume; 5 folding plates in the second volume (including 3 views of Mocha and its surroundings), see Gay 3317bis.
Contemporary full tree calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, floral tools and geometric patterns, now largely faded, red morocco title-pieces, green bottle-morocco volume labels, some wear to joints, marbled endpapers, red-speckled yellow edges.
Rubbing to the spines, split to one joint.
Rare sole edition of one of the author's two travel accounts. A naval officer and son of a slave trader from Saint-Malo, Louis Ohier de Grandpré (1761–1846) had served in Suffren's campaign in India. He later turned to commerce, outfitting three ships in La Rochelle for trade and the slave trade.
His journeys took him to India (Bengal) and to the eastern coast of Arabia. His description of Yemen, and especially of the port of Mocha, is considered the first serious French account of the region.
Copy from the library of the Château de Menneval (Eure), with engraved bookplates mounted on the pastedowns.
Collected edition, bringing together in a single volume the Grammar of the Annamite Language, first published in 1864, and the Vocabulary, issued as early as 1861. (cf. Cordier, Indosinica IV, 2297.)
Spine restored, with minor losses at head and foot; some occasional foxing within.
A naval officer and Orientalist, frigate captain Gabriel Aubaret (1825–1894) served as the first French consul in Bangkok in 1863. His true mission, however, was to negotiate with the imperial court of Hué for the cession of the provinces of Cochinchina to France. On June 21, 1864, Aubaret signed in Hué a new treaty aligned with the terms desired by the court of Annam. The three eastern provinces were returned to the court of Hué in exchange for a French protectorate over all six provinces of Cochinchina. While the Emperor’s suzerainty was upheld in the treaty, a specific clause stated that this did not imply vassalage.
First edition of the French translation by Antoine Gilbert Griffet de La Baume of the first two volumes of "Asiatick researches, or, Transactions of the Society instituted in Bengal for enquiring into the history and antiquities, the arts, sciences and literature of Asia, Calcutta, 1788–1790" (cf. Chadenat 4934).
The first volume, Meteorological Journal kept by Colonel T. D. Pearse from 1785 to 1786, is illustrated with 33 full-page plates; the second, Meteorological Journal kept in Calcutta by Henry Trail from 1785 to 1786, with 11 plates and 2 tables, including one large folding plate.
Modern bindings in black half morocco, flat spines ruled with double gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers.
Some light foxing, a few restorations to corners (upper or lower) of the second volume.
This remarkable typographical edition features several plates and tables printed in Arabic or Bengali characters, the latter being the first use of this language type in France. Among the essays are: vol. 1: Dissertation on the Spelling of Oriental Words – Account of a Meeting with the Tichou Lama – Report on a Journey to Tibet – Observations on the Sykhs – On Hindu Literature – Conversation about the City of Gondar and the Sources of the Nile – On Ordeal among the Hindus; vol. 2: Discourse on the Arabs, Tartars, and Persians – On the Hebrew Origin of the Afghans – On Hindu Chronology – On the Indian Game of Chess – Introduction of Arabic Words into the Persian Language – On Hindu Astronomical Calculations – Description of the Kingdom of Nepal, etc.
A nephew of the historian and theologian Henri Griffet, Antoine Gilbert Griffet de La Baume (Moulins, 1756 – Paris, 1805) settled in Paris in 1776, where he was briefly employed at the Ministry of the Interior. He went on to translate numerous works from English and German, and contributed to various periodicals including the Bulletin de Littérature, La Décade, Journal Encyclopédique, Mercure de France, and Censeur universel anglais (cf. Hoefer).
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the Emperor of Annam.
Modern binding in full flexible boards, covers in cat's-eye patterned paper, smooth black cloth spine without title, original wrappers preserved in poor condition and laid down.
Désiré Lacroix was a naval artillery captain.
Pleasant and scarce copy, lacking the atlas containing 40 plates.
First edition illustrated with 39 aquatint engravings, 37 of which are hand-colored (cf Atabey, 624. Hage-Chahine, 2388.)
Finely engraved and colored, the illustrations evoke the design of Persian miniatures: portraits (Fath Ali Shah, Abbas I, Nadir Shah), figures in costumes (Persian women, slave and eunuch from the harem, Persian rider…), views and ancient monuments (Tehran, ruins of Persepolis), scenes of daily life (Persian meal, village entertainments, writing master and his pupil, Persians in prayer…), musical instruments, etc.
Half dark green shagreen bindings, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, gilt friezes on the head and tail, cat’s-eye paper boards with some marginal wear, endpapers and pastedowns made of handmade paper, speckled edges, slightly later bindings.
Some foxing, frontispiece of volume 4 restored, detached ex-libris mark on the pastedown of the first volume.
The orientalist Amable Louis Marie Michel Bréchillet-Jourdain, known as Jourdain (1788-1818), was a student of Sylvestre de Sacy before becoming assistant secretary at the School of Oriental Languages. He studied Persian and Arabic and was a secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rare copy.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a lithographed frontispiece portrait, six engraved plates by Ambroise Tardieu, and a large folding map, all outside the text (cf. Schwab, p.48, no. 360).
Some foxing, mainly affecting the beginnings and ends of the volumes, otherwise a handsome and attractively bound copy.
Contemporary binding in half aubergine shagreen, spines slightly faded, with five raised bands, decorated with black fillets and gilt floral tools, gilt dates at foot, marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, a few surface abrasions.
The original edition, A History of Persia, was first published in 1815.
A major work on Persia, in which the author "carefully consulted all European authors of note who had written on the history and literature of Eastern peoples", and gathered information from various specialists and diplomats.
A Scotsman in the service of the East India Company, John Malcolm (1769–1833) personally led two missions to Persia, assisted by capable officers such as Captains Grant and Christie, Lieutenant Pottinger, Major Pasley, Captains Frédéric and Josias Stewart, John Briggs, John M'Donald Kinnier, Messrs. Henry Ellis, Andrew Jukes, and others.
First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a portrait of the author and 29 engraved plates depicting objects, ornaments, coins, plants, and animals (cf. Cordier, Bibl. Japonica, 447. Gay, 3151. Brunet, V, 850).
Contemporary full marbled calf bindings, flat spines richly decorated with gilt typographic tools, gilt roll tooling at head and tail, brown morocco title-pieces, dark green morocco volume labels, gilt roll-tooled borders on boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, yellow edges.
A Swedish botanist and naturalist, Carl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828) studied medicine and natural history at Uppsala and became one of Linnaeus’s most brilliant pupils.
In 1771, he sailed as a surgeon aboard a ship of the Dutch East India Company. Upon arrival at the Cape, he remained in the colony for three years, exploring regions inhabited by the Hottentots and the Kaffirs while collecting specimens of plants and animals. In 1775, he traveled to Java, stayed in Batavia, and eventually reached Japan. He settled on the island of Deshima, in Nagasaki Bay, where the Dutch trading post of the Company was located. There he worked as a physician and obtained permission to botanize in the nearby mountains, where he collected a large number of rare and previously unknown plants, along with many natural history specimens. In 1776, he accompanied the Dutch Company’s director on a visit to the shogun in Edo (Tokyo), allowing him to explore further and gather more botanical samples. He returned to Sweden in 1779. The first volume recounts the voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, his stays at the Cape, and his first journey inland; the second volume describes his second trip along the Kaffir coast, return to the Cape, journey to Java, and arrival in Nagasaki; the third is entirely devoted to Japan: trade with the Dutch and Chinese, government, administration, religion, language, character and portrait of the Japanese, zoological observations, minerals, etc. The final volume continues with Japan: food, festivals, weaponry, agriculture, calendar, etc., followed by the account of the return voyage via Ceylon. It also includes Lamarck’s explanations of the eight natural history plates.
A rare copy of this important travel account.
Provenance: From the library of the Château de Menneval, with armorial bookplates on the pastedowns of each volume.
First edition of the French translation, one of 60 numbered copies on Arches laid paper, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.
Very fine copy.
Second edition of Lucas’s third journey to the Near East, undertaken between 1714 and 1717 (first published in 1729); cf. Gay, 2122. Chadenat, 5090. Atabey 734. Blackmer, 1038.
The illustrations include two folding maps (Anatolia and surrounding regions by de l’Isle; Lower Egypt and the course of the Nile by Lucas) and 32 plates outside the text: monuments, picturesque views, architectural plans, archaeological artefacts, various inscriptions, etc.
Contemporary half tawny sheep, smooth spines ruled in gilt with triple fillets, headcaps stained, some rubbing, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges, some wear to the edges of the first volume. 19th-century bindings.
Pleasant internal condition.
According to Brunet (III, 1204), the text was written by Abbé Banier.
A soldier, naturalist, collector and dealer, Paul Lucas (Rouen, 1664 – Madrid, 1737) showed a marked passion for travel from an early age.
He first left for the Levant to trade in precious stones, joining the Venetian army in 1688 and becoming captain of a ship armed against the Turks. Returning to France in 1696 with a collection of antiquities and coins he sold to the King's Cabinet, he was commissioned by Louis XIV to undertake journeys that would make him famous. From 1699 to 1703, he visited Egypt, Cyprus, Persia and Syria. His second expedition, from 1704 to 1708, took him to Greece, Macedonia, Asia Minor, the Holy Land, Egypt and Libya. In 1714, he was entrusted with a new mission in the Levant: he travelled through Rumelia and Thessaly, passed through Constantinople and Smyrna before visiting Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Departing from Cairo, he returned to Paris in December 1717.
First edition, one of 50 copies printed on pur fil du Marais, the only deluxe copies along with a few not-for-sale copies.
A handsome copy.
First edition, a Paris edition appeared the same year, see Cioranescu, XVII, 26842. Brunet V, 1222, under the entry "Villa," mentions this Paris edition under the title Voyage. Blackmer 505.
Contemporary full stiff vellum, flat spine, inked title at head of spine, speckled edges.
"This work is an abridged version of, or rather based on, Rostagno's Viaggi Dell'… Sign. Marchese Ghiron Francesco Villa In Dalmatia, e Levante, Torino, 1668. Du Cros, who in the preface says Rostagno lent him his manuscript, has produced a day-by-day account of the siege of Candia and of Villa's part in it. Villa took up arms against the Turks in 1665, sustained the siege of Candia for 2 years, and died of his wounds after he returned to Italy in 1668. According to Breslau, Du Cros, a diplomat who later carried out missions for Charles II and was involved in the marriage negociations of William and Mary, had travelled in the Levant and been in Crete himself as a follower of Ghiron Francesco Villa, but this is not mentioned in the preface, although Du Cros does speak of his obligations to Villa and apologizes to the reader for beginning his account with the last part of Villa's life, since he had intended originally to produce a full biography of the man" [Leonora Navari].
First edition of the French translation of this remarkable study originally published in Vienna in the *Mines de l'Orient*.
The work, translated and enriched with observations and explanatory notes, followed by a dissertation on the location of the Pallacopas by J. Raimond, is illustrated with six folding plates at the end (rather than four, as stated on the title page).
Contemporary binding in green half sheep, spine slightly faded, gilt-stamped with a sphinx, gilt title, cat's-eye marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.
Some foxing, mainly affecting the opening leaves.
Rich provides "une description très détaillée de toutes les ruines et de tous les tertres [...] qui s'étendent à une grande distance sur les deux rives de l'Euphrate" (Michaud).
His work on Babylon is regarded as the starting point of Mesopotamian archaeology (Chahine, 4032).
Rare first edition of this "relation (...) much sought after for its accuracy", illustrated with 19 folding plates, including 2 maps (cf. Sabin 3604, Leclerc 119).
Full marbled tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands, gilt compartments decorated with gilt floral motifs, small chip at foot of spine, scuffing to covers, red edges, bumped corners, gilt fillets along the board edges, contemporary binding.
The author, a physician and botanist born in Perpignan in 1690—where he held a post at the military hospital—was introduced by Antoine de Jussieu to the Conseil de la Marine in August 1721 and appointed royal physician and botanist in French Guiana. He landed in Cayenne at the end of 1721 and left the colony in May 1724. During his stay, he explored the banks of the Kourou and Orapu rivers, studying the local flora, fauna, and indigenous customs.
His account, one of the earliest on French Guiana, is of great importance and was widely used by eighteenth-century geographers.
First edition, illustrated with 3 hors-texte plates (cf. Rodrigues 1357. Borba de Moraes I, 381. See INED 2496 for the 1774 edition).
The plates depict: Brama, god of the Indians – View of a pagoda tower – Snake charmer.
Contemporary-style binding in marbled tawny calf over vellum-tipped corners, spine with five raised bands, ruled in gilt, brown calf lettering-piece, marbled paper-covered boards, red sprinkled edges, modern binding.
Coromandel Coast, European trading posts, military strongholds, Indian religion, medicine, anatomy, caste system, Indian manners, dress, dwellings, gardens, food (and temperance), wedding rituals, funerals, Indian morals, fauna, flora, etc.
Pages 3 to 21 are devoted to Brazil. The author made a stop at Bourbon Island (pp. 25 to 27).
Provenance: from the Breitenbauch library, with its armorial bookplate pasted on the endpaper.
A pleasing copy.
First edition of this uncommon study of the major international diplomatic crisis provoked by Mehmed Ali's expansionist policy (cf. Carré I, 294; Blackmer 261; Atabey 179; Walch, 398; Hage Chahine, 748).
Some foxing, occasional reading marks in pencil and red pencil in the margins of certain paragraphs.
Late 19th-century Bradel bindings in half khaki percaline, flat spines decorated with a gilt fleuron, gilt double rules at foot of spines, black shagreen title-pieces, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved, corners rubbed.
At the end of the first volume, the work is complete with the folding plate representing the Battle of Nezib.
Edmond de Cadalvène (1799–1852) served as embassy attaché, then as director of the French postal service in Alexandria, Smyrna, and later Constantinople; his knowledge of the Orient, and particularly Egypt, was vast and multifaceted. As for the Saint-Simonian Émile Barrault (1799–1869), he followed a more conventional political path: he travelled to Egypt to accompany Father Enfantin in his quest for the Woman and universal regeneration...
New edition, intended as a supplement to the various collections of *Lettres édifiantes* (see Backer & Sommervogel II, 1075; Cordier, Japonica, 424).
Some foxing, minor scuffs, and small paper flaws on the boards.
Contemporary half grey calf bindings, flat spines decorated with blind-stamped romantic arabesques and gilt fillets, gilt decorative rolls at foot, small green vellum tips, boards covered with geometric-patterned paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges; romantic period bindings.
First reissue of the *Histoire de l'établissement, des progrès et de la décadence du christianisme dans l'Empire du Japon*, originally published in 1715 in three 12mo volumes. The Louvain edition (1828–1829) is a later Belgian counterfeit, published after our edition.
This was the first work by the Jesuit Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix (1682–1761), compiled from existing sources (notably Crasset and Daniele Bartoli) before his own travels in North America. It should not be confused with his *Histoire et description générale du Japon* (1736, 2 vols. 4to).
A handsome copy in contemporary romantic binding.
Rare first edition of the French translation (not recorded by Sabin or Cordier).
Contemporary half calf bindings, spines with four raised bands ruled in gilt and adorned with blind-stamped typographic ornaments and gilt fillets, gilt Greek-key rolls at foot, marbled paper boards showing some scuffing with losses to paper at a few corners, marbled edges.
Some foxing.
The Scottish naval officer Basil Hall [Edinburgh 1788 – Gosport 1844], son of geologist and antiquary Sir James Hall, undertook numerous voyages as a Royal Navy officer to the East Indies, the seas of China, Japan, and Korea, the coasts of South America, the United States, and Canada, publishing detailed and engaging travel accounts. "Korea had been sketchily explored by Europeans but it was not until the Alceste and Lyra expedition of 1816-17 under Captains Murray Maxwell and Basil Hall that detailed information was obtained about the Ryukyus" Hill.
A handsome copy, finely bound at the time of publication.
Provenance: two bookplates mounted on the pastedowns, including that of the Bourbon de Rouvre family.
Very rare first edition illustrated with 4 maps and 2 plates out of text: map of Amsterdam Island, map of part of the northwest coast of America, of the northern mouth of Queen Charlotte Sound, plan of Bokerelle port on the northwest coast of America, sea wolves and sea lions (cf. Sabin 61001. Howes 7897. F. Monaghan 1174. Lada Mocarski 89. Gay 272. Ferguson 980. Hill 230. Borba de Moraes II, 663: "A description of Bahia appears in Vol. I").
Scattered foxing. Minor losses and rubbing to joints.
Contemporary full khaki green calf bindings, spines faded and decorated with raised false bands adorned with gilt garlands, dotted lines, and gilt rules, along with blind-stamped typographic motifs, cherry calf labels for title and volume numbers, joints restored, gilt roulettes on caps, gilt and blind garland borders on covers, gilt fillets on edges, marbled edges.
A naval officer, Pierre-François Péron was long involved in the fur trade between the northwest coast of America and China. He notably described parts of California (a journey to Monterey in 1796), Tasmania, New South Wales, Hawaii, and Sumatra. He provides highly valuable information on British Columbia and the Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands. According to Henry R. Wagner, Péron's full name (1769–1840) was Pierre François. He should not be confused with the explorer François-Auguste Péron (1775–1810).
A handsome copy preserved in a charming period romantic binding signed by Duplanil.
New edition, partly original as revised, of this study first published in 1858 in the Revue des Deux Mondes (Sabin 40127. Ryckebusch 5041).
Minor chips to the corners of the covers, some occasional foxing.
A member of one of the oldest families in Martinique, Romuald Le Pelletier de Saint-Rémy (1809–1882) served as president of the Central Agency of Colonial Banks; he wrote extensively on West Indian issues and colonial ventures in South America.
Inscribed by the author Romuald Le Pelletier de Saint-Rémy on the front free endpaper.
First edition, (cf Röhricht p. 499. Hage Chahine 2893.)
Rare, light foxing without significance.
Binding in half green cloth, smooth spine slightly faded, decorated with cold fillets, a slight abrasion near the gilt title, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges, binding of the period. Preliminary pages, departure of the expedition, Lebanon, excursion to Baalbek and the Cedars of Lebanon, military pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the French garrison in Lebanon.
Rare first edition illustrated with an original frontispiece etching by Raoul Cordier, depicting an authentic portrait of Nasser-ed-Din.
Minor losses and tears to the soiled cover margins, with a larger marginal loss to the rear cover; clean and attractive internal condition.
The only edition of this biography written on the occasion of Nasser-ed-Din Shah Qajar's (1831–1896) second European tour. He ruled Persia from 1848 until his death and was the first Persian monarch to visit the West. The reforms he introduced to the country ultimately led to his assassination by a fanatic.
Inscribed and signed by Edmond Dutemple to Monsieur Brunet, with date.
First edition in French, one of 1,000 numbered copies on Annonay rag paper, the only deluxe paper copies.
Illustrated with numerous photographs. Preface by Maurice Herzog. Foreword by the Duke of Edinburgh.
Publisher’s full flexible boards binding. Lacking slipcase, spine sunned with minor tears at head and foot.
Rare and handsome autograph inscription, dated and signed by General John Hunt: "A M. Robert Moch vous témoignant notre reconnaissance de nous avoir préparé la trace jusqu'au sommet du signal de l'Iséran le 3 janvier - et pour vous exprimer nos regrets de ne pas l'avoir suivie ! John Hunt 7/1/54."
This copy is further enhanced with the handwritten signature of Edmund Hillary beneath the inscription.
First French edition translated by Abdelmalek Faraj.
Spine and boards marginally discolored and sunned, handsome interior condition.
Very fine autograph inscription signed by Pierre Dermenghem, on two pages, to Henry de Montherlant enriched with an autograph inscription signed by Abdelmalek Faraj.
Manuscript annotations by Henry de Montherlant, in blue ink, on the back board.
First edition. 14 full-page plates including two folding, numerous illustrations in the text, as well as twelve pages of tables with hieroglyphic and Chinese characters.
Beige calf binding, elaborately gilt spine, boards stamped with the arms of the Society of Writers to the Signet. Minor foxing. Spine, corners and spine-ends restored, some wear to spine and boards.
A rare copy of this abundantly illustrated treasure trove of esoteric science, serving as an initiation into the mysteries of Egypt through the study of hieroglyphics.
One of the rarest and most interesting works by Pierre Lacour, a painter, engraver and literary scholar who succeeded his father as professor and director of the Bordeaux School of Painting. Lacour is known for his studies of ancient monuments, Hebrew and ancient languages; only a year before Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, Lacour claims in these pages to find passages from the Bible in Egyptian texts. His study namely suggests a hieroglyphic meaning for the name of Moses.
Provenance: arms of the Society of Writers to the Signet, association of Scottish lawyers founded in the late 16th century. Library shelf label pasted to the flyleaf.
First edition, with seven folding plates engraved by Hallmandel after G. Schärf.
Beige full calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed in gilt, gilt lettered morocco title label lengthwise, stamped arms of the Society of Writers to the Signet in the center of the boards. Restored spine and corners, brittle spine ends, spalls and stains to boards.
A very rare and important publication by the British Consul General in Egypt in 1815, Henry Salt (1780-1827),involved in the excavation of several historical sites and the collection of numerous antiquities. The most remarkable of these is the colossal bust of Ramses II found at Thebes and housed in the British Museum, which is said to have inspired Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias". Salt carefully reproduces and explains various inscriptions, bearing the cartouches of Egyptian gods and pharaohs. He made valuable contributions to the understanding of hieroglyphics, following Thomas Young's work on the Rosetta Stone and Jean-François Champollion's groundbreaking discoveries presented in 1822. Historiography even proved that he successfully translated some Egyptian names independently of Champollion's work.
Provenance: bindings with the arms of the Society of Writers to the Signet, Scottish sollicitors association founded in the late 16th century. Library shelf label glued to the flyleaf.
