Antique mythologies, pagan cults, primitive religions, sacred folklore and ancestral beliefs

First edition, illustrated with 18 figures in the text.

Spine and covers slightly sunned and faded, with small losses along the edges; a pleasant copy internally despite occasional minor foxing.

From 1895 onwards, René Dussaud (1868-1958) undertook several archaeological missions in Syria, a field to which he would devote much of the rest of his career.

Signed presentation inscription by René Dussaud on the half-title to the archaeologist Emmanuel-Alban Guillaume-Rey (1837-1916), an Orientalist and archaeologist specializing in medieval Syria.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the November 1881 issue of the Revue archéologique, illustrated with a photogravure plate.

Gustave-Charles-Ernest Chocquin, known as "de Sarzec" (1832-1901), discovered the site of Lagash while serving as vice-consul in Basra (1877-1899), and financed the excavations there at his own expense.

As a curator at the Louvre, Léon Heuzey was kept informed of the objects unearthed during the excavations.

An attractive copy despite slight marginal losses to the wrappers.

New quarto edition, revised and corrected by the author, with numerous decorated headpieces, initials and tailpieces.

Full brown calf, spine in six compartments with five raised bands richly gilt-tooled, red morocco lettering-piece, triple blind fillet border to boards, double gilt fillet to board edges, red edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers.

Light scratches and scuffing to boards, corners slightly bumped, otherwise a very...

First edition describing the 388 items offered in the sale.

A few pencilled hammer prices in the margins, a loss to the upper right corner of the front wrapper and title-page, and small corner losses to the wrappers.

The introduction is by Fröhner, though the expert in charge of the sale was Hoffmann.

Of Baden origin, the numismatist Ludwig Wilhelm Fröhner (1834–1925) settled in Paris in 1859; he became a close friend of Napoleon III and assisted him in the preparation of his Histoire de Jules César (1865–1866), which helped him obtain both French naturalisation (1866) and an important post at the Louvre.

He later devoted himself to the cataloguing of...

First edition, illustrated at the close of the volume with six plates printed out of text.

Only three copies recorded in the CCF (BnF, Institut, Strasbourg).

Our copy is preserved in its original state, issued in a temporary paper wrapper.

Spine restored at head with small losses; marginal losses to the soiled covers; two small adhesive strips along the right margins of the final plate; author’s name and title pencilled on the upper cover.

The study of Phoenician languages was the speciality of Auguste-Célestin Judas (1805–1873).

First edition, printed in a small run, of this offprint from the Journal des savants.

Work illustrated with a finely engraved plate printed outside the text.

Some scattered foxing internally and to the wrappers.

Appointed in 1820 to the chair of archaeology at the Sorbonne, succeeding Quatremère de Quincy, Désiré Raoul-Rochette (1789–1854) was chiefly known for his expertise in Greek antiquity. He also served as curator of the Cabinet des médailles.

On the upper cover, authorial presentation inscription from Désiré Raoul-Rochette to the physician and botanist Henri Dutrochet (1776–1847), the discoverer of the phenomena of exosmosis and...

First edition, exceedingly scarce, of this light-hearted and engaging introduction to the principal ancient myths, prepared for a Polish aristocrat. Annopol (today Anopal) is a locality now situated in Belarus.

No copies recorded in the CCF. A single copy located in WorldCat (National Library of Poland, Biblioteka Narodowa, Warsaw).

Contemporary-style half sheep binding in brown, the smooth spine ruled with alternating thick and thin gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns; modern binding.

Losses to the title-page expertly filled and restored; the final two leaves also restored.

First edition, illustrated with four tinted plates, including a frontispiece (cf. O'Reilly & Reitman, Tahiti, 6452).

Contemporary half plum sheep, the spine faded and decorated with gilt garlands and floral tools, some rubbing to the spine, marbled-paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, a few worn spots along the edges.

Scattered foxing, the plates evenly toned.

The work offers a history of the island, written in the aftermath of its annexation following the cession of his domains by King Pomare V. It provides an overview of the voyages of Quirós, Wallis, Bougainville and Cook, a portrait of Tahitian life a century earlier, and a sketch of the island’s...

First edition.

Contemporary half calf in a bronze tone, the spine with four raised bands framed by double gilt rules and gilt pointillé work, together with broad black fillets; joints rubbed, marbled paper sides, marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled; a period binding.

Scattered foxing.

First French edition, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with 40 mounted colour plates on thick brown paper, each protected by a captioned tissue guard, along with 30 black-and-white line drawings within the text, one of the extremely rare 30 copies printed on japon, signed by Arthur Rackham on the limitation page; the deluxe issue.

Publisher’s Bradel binding in full vellum-style boards, smooth gilt-titled spine, upper board gilt-stamped with title and a tree design, top edge gilt; the silk tie on the lower board is lacking.

...

Second edition, largely original, as it is considerably expanded (cf. Caillet 2273).

This edition is not cited by Quérard. Not in Blake. NUC: 3 copies.

Rare copy preserved in its original pink wrappers with printed spine label, untrimmed; covers slightly worn with a few corner losses, spine splitting at foot.

The first edition, published anonymously and without publisher’s address, appeared in 1784 [i.e. 1785].

"C'est dans cet ouvrage que le marquis de Puységur fit connaître la découverte qu'il venait de faire (mai 1784) des phénomènes qu'il désigna sous le nom de somnambulisme artificiel. Plusieurs cures importantes minutieusement observées et dûment...

Illustrated edition with 24 colour plates by Arthur Rackham tipped in with captioned tissue guards, 8 full-page black-and-white illustrations, together with numerous ornaments and vignettes in the text by Arthur Rackham, one of 300 copies printed on vélin à la forme, signed by Arthur Rackham on the limitation page.
Publisher’s Bradel binding in full bright white vellum, smooth spine lettered in gilt, upper cover gilt-stamped with the title and a design of fantastic animals within a vertical gilt rule, illustrated endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt, untrimmed edges preserved. 
A very well-preserved copy of Milton's baroque and Dionysian...

Rare first edition (cf. Caillet 3017).

Full porphyry calf binding, smooth spine decorated in the grotesque style, small losses and rubbing at the foot of the spine, tan calf title label with a small loss and restoration, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, gilt rolls on the caps partially faded, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

An interesting dissertation written by President de Brosses (1709–1777) for the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, “on ancient myths, theurgy, magic, and secret cults.”

First edition, one of 160 hors commerce copies on Lana vellum, ours being one of 60 hors commerce copies, the only deluxe issue.

Half long-grain black morocco binding, smooth spine lettered with the author’s name, title, date, and the palladium inscription “EX. JOSEPH KESSEL 1958”, wood-patterned paper boards, grey endpapers and pastedowns, wrappers and spine preserved, binding signed by Thomas Boichot.

Some foxing, mainly affecting the wrappers and the first and last leaves.

Exceptional and moving signed autograph presentation from Maurice Druon to Joseph Kessel: "A toi mon grand Jef, cet Alexandre le grand né lui aussi sous le signe du...

First edition, illustrated with 11 double-page folio plates, including 2 plans printed on tracing paper. (Not listed in Hage Chahine.)

The text fascicle is in wrappers and the suite of plates is loose, both housed in the publisher’s original black cloth-backed portfolio with corners, flat spine without lettering, title label centered on the upper board, sand-colored boards showing some stains and scuff marks, with flaps and ties.

On the inside flap of the publisher’s portfolio, autograph inscription signed by Henri Chevrier to Pierre Glénat: "... dans l'espoir de faire un jour sa connaissance sous le soleil der Thèbes..."

First edition, cf. Blackmer 133. Not in Atabey.

Contemporary romantic binding in navy-blue half sheep, spine gilt with decorative romantic tools, gilt rolls (partly faded) at head and foot, gilt fillet framing the boards decorated in blind with romantic arabesques, gilt-stamped plaque of the "Lycée impérial du Mans" to upper board, some wear along board edges, endpapers and pastedowns of marbled paper, marbled edges, gilt tooling at head and foot of the boards’ edges mostly rubbed. A handsome romantic binding of the period.

A near-spotless copy, attractively preserved in a period romantic binding.

First edition, bringing together in a single volume the three Persian sections issued by the Elzeviers at Leiden in 1639: the Historia Christi Persice conscripta and Historia S. Petri Persice, forming the two parts of a single publication, followed by Louis de Dieu's separately titled Rudimenta linguae Persicae. Backer & Sommervogel VIII, 1339-1340; Willems 490 and 477.

Contemporary full stiff vellum with overlapping edges, smooth spine with an early manuscript title partly faded at head, some staining to covers, red-speckled edges. Earlier booksellers' description labels mounted on a flyleaf. An attractive...

Paris, Gervais Clouzier, 1666. Quarto, 5 unnumbered leaves and 436 pages.

First edition in French, translated by the Celestine Father François-Célestin Le Comte from Giovanni Filippo de Marini's account, originally published in Rome in 1663 as Delle missioni de' padri della Compagnia di Giesù nella provincia del Giappone, e particolarmente di quella di Tumkino. The translation appeared with two variant title pages, Relation nouvelle et curieuse and Histoire nouvelle et curieuse des royaumes de Tunquin et de Lao, the present copy bearing the latter. Cordier, Bibliotheca...

Rare first edition of this predominantly folkloric and literary work: the Forest of Bréchéliant, also known as the Forest of Paimpont, is traditionally identified in Breton folklore with the mythical Forest of Brocéliande from Arthurian legend.

Illustrated with 14 full-page plates in the first volume and 21 in the second.

Our copy was uniquely extra-illustrated at the time with 59 postcards and 2 original photographs mounted on thin cardboard and bound into the volumes.

Contemporary half black shagreen bindings, flat spines with gilt compartments and decorative gilt typographic motifs, marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns...

First edition of this work published "by order of His Majesty the Emperor and under the supervision of the Minister of Public Instruction" (cf. Leclerc (1878) 2283).

The first volume is illustrated with 70 colour-printed plates, all hors-texte.

Contemporary half red shagreen bindings, spine with four raised bands adorned with double gilt fillets and floral gilt tooling, gilt decorative rolls at head and foot, some rubbing, cloth boards with blind-stamped borders and central device, bindings of the period.

Some rubbing to boards, water stains to the upper corners affecting the first 10 leaves of both volumes, one quire in the first volume becoming loose, boards slightly...

New edition of the French translation.

Bound at the end of this volume are the following two texts:

• Relation du Nouvel Archipel Septentrional, discovered recently by the Russians in the seas of Kamchatka and Anadir. By Mr. J. Staehlin. Translated into English from the original German, and from English into French.
• Account of the singular adventures of four Russian travellers who were cast away on the desert island of Eastern Spitzbergen, with some observations on the productions of this island. By M.P.L. Le Roy. Translated into English from the original German at the request of several members of the Royal Society of London, and from English into...

First edition, illustrated with a folding map and 11 tinted lithographic plates (cf. Gay 3137).

Contemporary half aubergine sheep, smooth spine ruled and lettered in gilt, some rubbing to hinges, one joint fragile, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers, speckled edges.

Some repairs to the spine, occasional foxing.

Arbousset, a Protestant missionary and explorer, recounts the discovery of the Mont des Sources and offers vivid descriptions of the peoples among whom he lived: Bastaards or mixed-race communities, Hottentots, Bushmen, Kaffirs, etc.

Rare.

First edition, accompanied by the original text with interlinear translation, grammatical analysis, and a Maya–French vocabulary, published by Count H. de Charencey.

A pleasant copy.

Contemporary full green cloth, flat spine slightly sunned, gilt title, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Grammatical and lexicographical study based on a short text in the Maya language written around 1562 by an indigenous chronicler named Nakuk-Pech.

From the library of the orientalist Emile Sénart, with his ink stamp and a printed presentation slip: "Avec tous les compliments de l'auteur. De Charencey".

Autograph postcard signed and addressed to his friend Ariel Denis from his summer residence in Vendée, 22 lines in black ink.

The postcard shows a general view of the coastal cliffs of Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez in Vendée.

Julien Gracq expresses his satisfaction with the advice he had given his friend, while lamenting the petty calculations of administrative life: "j'avais décidément raison de vous recommander une saine stratégie syndicale : faute ce cet appui je crains qu'il n'y ait plus de belle carrière dans l'enseignement ! J'espère tout de même que la stabilité au moins va venir couronner vos efforts (il y en a un de ma part sous le beau style ! malgré...

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...

First edition, one of 165 numbered copies on pur fil d'Arches, deluxe issue.

A fine copy.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece, a portrait of the author, and 14 copper-engraved vignettes within the text, mostly depicting inhabitants of the North (cf Sabin, 38711.)

Restored binding in full grained morocco, spine with five false raised bands adorned with gilt fillets and double compartments, gilded roulettes on the partially faded caps, small repairs to the joints, gilt fillets on the edges, slightly worn corners, binding of the period.

Ink annotations on the white endpaper and at the top of the false-title page.

Born in Rouen in 1634, La Martinière embarked around 1670 as a surgeon on a ship of the Northern Company bound for Norway, and visited...

First edition, one of 249 numbered copies on B. F. K. de Rives, the only printing other than 1 copy on Hollande and 24 on vélin crème de Renage. Illustrated with 4 original colour lithographs by Rufino Tamayo.

This copy further contains an additional suite of the 4 lithographs by Rufino Tamayo, usually reserved for the deluxe copies. Printed stamps to the versos of each engraving: "Annulation d’estampille pour annulation de vente".

First edition of the vocal and piano score of the opera Déjanire by Camille Saint-Saëns.

A few pencil annotations in the margins of certain staves.

Our copy is presented in a 3/4 shagreen clamshell box, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt garlands and decorated with gilt fleurons, gilt lettering at foot of spine: "Inscribed by composer". Boards, endpapers and pastedowns in marbled paper. Spine of the box slightly faded.

Inscribed, dated and signed by Camille Saint-Saëns to music critic Edouard Beaudu.

First edition, no deluxe copies printed.
Handsome copy.
Important presentation copy inscribed by Claude Lévi-Strauss to Jean-François Revel.
 

First edition, one of 300 numbered copies on alfa paper reserved for the press service.
A few spots of foxing, chiefly affecting the endpapers and edges, small tears to the boards at the edges, a small loss at the foot of the spine, which also shows slight sunning at the head.
Presentation inscription signed by Marguerite Yourcenar to Mr. Van Melle.
 

New edition, revised, corrected, enlarged, and illustrated with engravings.

Contemporary half brown morocco over marbled boards, corners preserved, spine with five raised bands showing a few minor rubs, gilt date at foot, gilt fillet border to the boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, all edges gilt, an elegant binding signed by Pierson.

A few occasional and unobtrusive spots of foxing.

A handsome copy, attractively bound.

First edition, one of the numbered copies on vélin d'archers, the only large paper issue.

First endpaper, half-title and title pages slightly shadowed, with a few pencil annotations and reading marks in the margins of some leaves.

Rare and pleasing copy.

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on vélin pur chiffon de lana, the only deluxe issue.

A fine copy, with a small nick at the head of the spine between the author's name and the title.

Presentation copy, inscribed by Patrick Chamoiseau to Maurice Marchaux: "... cette mémoire-langage qui invoque toutes les langues du monde. Avec mes amitiés créoles..." [this memory language invoking all of the world's languages] with a sketch formed from his initials.

First edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued, this being one of the publisher's review copies.

Inscribed copy, dated and signed by Georges Dumézil to Alfred Ernoul.

New edition, issued a few months after the first edition.

Copy complete with its wraparound band : """Prix Goncourt 1970 à l'unanimité"

Autograph inscription signed by Michel Tournier to Monsieur Deslignières.

1865 edition of Goethe's reimagining of Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris.

Contemporary publisher's plum cloth binding, smooth spine lettered with title and author's name in gilt, blind-stamped decoration on boards.

Spine faded as often, slight loss of cloth at spine ends.

Minor scattered foxing.

First edition of this important work, the fruit of nearly thirty years of research conducted in China by the Jesuit Léon Wieger (1856–1933), and which remains a valuable reference despite the narrowly confessional bias that frequently comes to the fore.

Contemporary half tan shagreen binding, faded spine with four raised bands ruled in blind, some rubbing to spine and joints, marbled paper boards, paste-paper endpapers and pastedowns, corners bumped.

Illustrated with figures in the text. 

First edition.

Minor foxing, a pleasing copy.

The Roman jeweller Alessandro Castellani (1823–1883) was also an enlightened collector of ancient and medieval artefacts, from which he sometimes drew inspiration for his jewellery designs.

Jean de Witte (1808–1889), archaeologist and numismatist, became a member of the Institut in 1886.

First edition. 

Contemporary binding in green shagreen, spine slightly faded, with four raised bands gilt with fillets and triple compartments, joints split at the head, green vellum corners, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns in laid paper.

This volume from the Panthéon littéraire series offers a striking example of the 19th-century Western view of the East, notably in its attempt to identify counterparts to “sacred books” for religious and philosophical traditions that—apart from Islam—do not fit such a framework at all. 

The orientalist Jean-Pierre-Guillaume Pauthier (1801–1873) worked across several fields, though he is best known for his translations...

New edition of the French translation of this work, originally published in 1731 in two quarto volumes (see Brunet IV, 456).

This edition is illustrated with 8 folding plates, comprising 3 maps and 5 views.

Contemporary full marbled tan calf bindings, smooth spines richly decorated with gilt floral panels, bronze calf lettering- and volume-pieces, small wormholes to the spines, gilt rolls to the caps, single blind fillet framing the boards, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets to the board edges, red edges, bindings of the period.

Repairs to the joints, a few occasional spots of foxing.

The translator of this French version, written "en un style aisé, clair, même...

A later issue consisting of a reissue of the 1857–58 edition, with cancel titles (see Cordier, Sinica, 770; Caillet, 5294; Numa Broc, Asie, 247–249).

At the end of the volume, volume I is illustrated with a folding hand-coloured map inserted as a plate.

Some foxing, notably to the boards.

A native of Caylus, near Montauban, Évariste Huc (1813–1860) pursued his studies in Toulouse before entering the seminary of the Congregation of Saint Lazarus in 1836.

Ordained a priest in 1839, he left for China as a missionary.

After five years’ residence, he was entrusted with an extensive journey of exploration and evangelisation across the country...

First edition.

Minor losses at head and foot of the spine, which is slightly sunned; a few small spots of foxing.

Alongside a distinguished career in the colonial troops, in Senegal and Indochina, General Henri Frey (1847–1932) also cultivated literary and scholarly ambitions. This unusual thesis was, of course, neither substantiated nor taken up subsequently …

On the upper margin of the half-title, an autograph inscription by Henri Frey to Commandant Étienne Lunet de Lajonquières [here spelled Jonquières] (1861–1933), of the Marine Infantry, archaeologist and ethnographer, and also a key figure in the organisation of the preservation of Historical Monuments in...

First edition, illustrated with a map of the Mexican states at the time of the Conquest in 1521, by Malte-Brun (see Sabin 7429, Leclerc 1079, Brasseur de Bourbourg, Bibliothèque Mexico-Guatémalienne, p. 27, Numa Broc, Amérique, pp. 45-47).

Originally engraved by Erhard Schieble, this map is presented here as an early facsimile, likely produced by the publisher to complete his copies.

Bound in half havana shagreen, spines with four raised bands decorated with gilt tooling and gilt panels and fillets, orange shagreen title labels, minor rubbing to spines, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, twentieth-century bindings.

Waterstains...

First edition printed in a small number of copies of this offprint from the Journal asiatique.

Unlettered spine with restorations; scattered foxing.

Abel Bergaigne (1838–1888), one of the leading Indologists of his time, was Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Linguistics at the Sorbonne.

His interpretation of the Rig-Veda remains authoritative.

On the upper wrapper of the first cover, a signed autograph inscription by Abel Bergaigne to the academic and statesman Charles Lenient (1826–1908).

Illustrated first edition, featuring at the end of the volume two plates of inscriptions printed on tinted grounds.

Some tears and small losses to the corners of the spine and boards; the interior remains in pleasing condition.

Abbé Bargès (1810–1896), a native of Auriol, pursued an unconventional career marked by his exceptional command of Eastern languages (Hebrew, Arabic), and devoted himself in particular to epigraphy, while also engaging with other fields of study.

The Phoenician world held a special fascination for him, as he long defended the Punic origins of Marseille, and published six monographs on Phoenician-language inscriptions between 1847 and 1888; the...

First edition issued as offprint no. 13 for the year 1849 from the "Journal Asiatique".

Not recorded by Lorenz.

Our copy is preserved in the original plain blue wrappers, title pencilled on the upper cover.

Some foxing.

First edition, with three folding plates and numerous hieroglyphs in the text.

A copy preserved in its original wrappers with temporary green paper covers, a title label affixed at the head of the spine.

Occasional foxing.

The German traveller and Orientalist Julius von Klaproth (1783–1835), one of the foremost linguists of his time, devoted himself chiefly to the languages of Asia, which he spoke almost all.

In this vehement critique of Champollion, published six months after the latter’s untimely death, he seeks—though not entirely in good faith—to call into question the method and results of the scholar from Grenoble, disputing in particular the priority and...

First edition, printed in a limited run, of this extract from the Revue britannique of February 1880.

Only three known copies in the CCF (BnF, INHA, and Sorbonne).

This copy is presented in its original wrappers, with a blank temporary cover.

Pamphlet adorned with in-text black-and-white illustrations.

In Greek mythology, the Cabeiri were minor deities worshipped in mystery cults across several regions of Greece, particularly on the islands of Samothrace, Lemnos, and Imbros.

These deities, little understood even by the Greeks themselves, were remnants of an Aegean past influenced by Phoenician culture, yet they later became protectors of...

Rare first edition illustrated with 2 plates outside the text, including a frontispiece and a large folding facsimile of the inscription.

Contemporary green half sheep, spine faded and decorated with blind fillets and raised bands, a few scuffs to the spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, speckled edges, corners bumped.

A few spots of foxing.

This inscription had been unearthed in Marseille in June 1845 and had already given rise to numerous attempts at interpretation.

It is now known as the “Carthage Tariff” and lay at the origin of the enduring myth of the city’s Phoenician origins: the religious regulations it records appeared to provide proof that...

Rare first edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with two folding plates.

Only two copies recorded in the CCF (BnF and Strasbourg). Backer & Sommervogel III, 1242 (59).

Our copy is preserved in its original provisional yellow paper wrappers,

With a few minor spots of foxing on the folding plates.

The Neapolitan Jesuit Raffaele Garrucci (1811–1885) devoted his work to the study of the Church Fathers as well as to both pagan and Christian antiquities.

He became one of the foremost disciples of Father Giuseppe Marchi, alongside the renowned Giovanni Battista de Rossi.

Autograph letter dated and signed by Georges Dumézil to Thierry Maulnier—though not referred to by name—four pages on a bifolium written in blue ballpoint pen on stationery bearing the letterhead of the Académie française, discussing his recent work "Le dieu masqué".

Rust marks from a paperclip visible at the top of the leaves.

Georges Dumézil expresses agreement with the views of his fellow Immortal: "Je reconnais pour moi cet agnoticisme indulgent (156 - 787) ce scepticisme sans découragement dans son 'léger sourire' (324, - et la fin de 604, 611...) [...] Le Dieu masqué suppose un dieu, ou l'équivalent. Je pense moi, au conte d'Edgar Poe, 'Le...