Eastern wisdom: Buddhism, Hinduism, Asian spiritualities and contemplative philosophies

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 separate illustrated edition, with a large folding map printed on a separate sheet and hand-coloured in outline bound at the end of the volume.

This geographical study is in fact an extract from Volume II of the first French translation by Stanislas Julien of the Da Tang Xiyu Ji (Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang), the literary account of Xuanzang's nineteen-year journey (626–645, during the Tang dynasty), from Chang'an across Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent.

The two-volume work had previously been published by the Imprimerie impériale in 1857 and 1858.

Spine split, restored with minor losses, some foxing.

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...

Extremely rare first edition of the French translation by Luc de la Porte (cf. Lust 24. Cordier, Sinica, 12. Palau 105509. Sabin 27780. Wagner (SW) 7bb. Leclerc (1878) 258. Streit IV, 1999. Alden European Americana 588/37 – 8 copies recorded in the U.S.A. Atkinson 339.)

Contemporary full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with double gilt compartments, joints and spine restored, gilt fillets partly faded on the edges, red edges. 17th-century binding.

Minor stain to margin at the beginning of the volume; tear to margin p. 62.

Extremely rare first edition of the French translation of one of the finest missionary accounts of 16th-century...

First edition published in book form, expanded with the French translation established by G. Pauthier. (cf. Cordier, "Sinica", 1399-1340.)

A portion of the work had first appeared in 1832 in the "Revue Encyclopédique" of May–June, and was also issued separately in a 23-page printing.

The text is presented in French with a Latin version and the Chinese text facing.

The Chinese characters were produced using movable types engraved on steel punches and cast by Marcellin-Legrand, engraver to the Royal Printing Office.

A small angular loss at the foot of the lower cover required a minor restoration on the last page of the volume; slight, inconsequential tears at head...

Very rare first edition of this publication by the young Belgian Orientalist Eugène-Vincent-Stanislas Jacquet (1811-1838), whose career was as swift as it was promising, but tragically cut short by tuberculosis.

Illustrated with a figure at the end of the text.

Only one copy in the CCF (Lyon).

Some minor foxing.

Binding in half black shagreen, smooth spine decorated with cold-stamped garlands and golden fillets, black oasis leather title label, cold-stamped garland on black silk boards, a slightly bumped lower corner, modern binding.

Very rare collection comprising offprints of original editions of articles and reviews first published in the Journal des savants or the Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient.

Bradel binding in green bottle cloth-backed boards, flat spine decorated with a central gilt ornament and double gilt fillet at foot, red morocco title label, marbled paper boards, some original wrappers preserved, modern binding signed Boichot.

Most of the fascicles are by the Indologist Auguste Barth (1834–1916), one of the founders of the École française d'Extrême-Orient, and the originator of Indochinese epigraphy through his studies of Sanskrit inscriptions in Cambodia. He...

Rare first edition.

Full vellum binding over boards with flaps, smooth spine, title inked partly faded at the spine head, some blemishes on the boards, edges spotted red.
A fine and rare copy.

Bookseller’s descriptive labels pasted on an endpaper.
Backer & Sommervogel VIII, 1339-1340 (considers the two parts as separate works). Willems, 490 (clearly explains that the two parts form a single title, published at once) and 477 (for the Persian grammar, which forms a separate title and constitutes the second attempt of its kind for Western use).

First edition of the French translation by Father F. Le Comte (cf. Cordier, Bibl. Indosinica, 1046. Streit BM, V 1719. Sommervogel V, 583).

Contemporary full mottled brown calf, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands and double gilt panels adorned with gilt floral tools, speckled edges.

Spine expertly restored; pages 181–184 repeated; pagination jumps from 284 to 289 without loss.

The first part (pp. 1–327) contains the “Relation du Royaume de Tunquin,” and the second, the “Relation du Royaume de Lao” (pp. 329–436). The Italian Jesuit G. F. de'Marini (born in Taggia [Genoa] in 1608 – died in Macao in 1682) set sail for the Indies in 1638, preached the...

First edition, without volumes III to V, which were published posthumously in 1957.

Volume I: Energy (points, meridians, circulation), illustrated with 100 plates, including 44 in two colors.

Volume II: The use of energy, with 17 illustrations.

The diplomat and sinologist George Soulié de Morant (1878–1955) introduced the practical application of acupuncture to France in 1929, overcoming considerable resistance from the academic establishment.

Endpapers slightly and marginally soiled; two repaired tears to the head and foot of the spine of the second volume; otherwise, a pleasing set.

Copy from the library of Maurice Peyrache, with his ink stamps on the...

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...

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...

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on laid paper, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

A handsome and rare copy.

Illustrations.

Signed autograph inscription by Jean de La Varende to Maurice Gorrée.

First edition, one of 315 numbered copies on Arches wove paper, the deluxe issue.

A fine copy with full margins.

First edition of the French translation, one of 40 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 230 numbered copies on Vélin du Marais, the deluxe issue.

A handsome copy.

First edition on ordinary paper.
A fine copy.
Inscribed and signed by François Cheng to a woman named Pascale.


 

First edition of the French translation prepared by Stanislas Julien. 

Contemporary half havana shagreen over corners binding, spine in five raised bands ruled in gilt and decorated with double gilt and blind-stamped panels, date gilt at foot, a few minor rubs to the spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt, covers and spine mounted and restored and preserved, binding signed F. Saulnier.

Pages 409–415 present, at the upper right corners, tears without loss affecting the text which have been restored, with an additional restoration to the title-page. Faded manuscript note on the half-title.

From the collection "Voyages des...

First edition (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 2558).

Only one copy recorded in the CCF (BnF).

The First Convention of Peking (18 October 1860) was one of those unequal treaties through which the Western powers sought to impose their conception of international law upon China, which remained reluctant to comply with its provisions.

The clauses addressed in this brief memorandum concern, in particular, the full freedom of practice of the various Christian denominations as stipulated in Article 13.

Loss at the foot of the spine, marginal loss at the foot of the upper cover, minor spotting to the covers.

First edition.

Publisher's full blue pebbled cloth binding, smooth spine lettered in gilt to the centre of the upper cover, double blind-ruled frames to covers, some discoloration to covers.

Leaves 2, 8, 12, 14, 16 and 18 have been interleaved.

No copies traced in the CCF or WorldCat. Extremely rare.

Founded in 1864, this Indo-British lodge was affiliated with the Order of Mark Master Masons, established in 1769, a society connected with Freemasonry.

First edition of the French translation, one of only 34 numbered copies printed on pure vellum paper, the sole deluxe paper issue.

A fine and rare copy.

First edition of the French translation, one of 230 numbered copies on alfa paper.
With a preface by Romain Rolland.
A fine copy, the spine very slightly toned.

First edition, one of 45 numbered copies printed on Rajasthan jute paper, the only deluxe issue.

Manuscript signature of Emil Cioran at the colophon.

Spine very slightly faded, of no significance.

Rare and fine copy, complete with the three tantric paintings reproduced hors-texte in colour on cream paper.

First edition of the French translation of an episode from the Ramayana. 

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, under a temporary blue paper cover with minor losses at the corners. 

Some foxing, mainly affecting the endpapers.

The young orientalist Antoine-Léonard Chézy (1773-1832), influenced by Friedrich Schlegel, had begun teaching himself Sanskrit around 1806, studying original texts alongside their English translations.

In the same year, 1814, he was appointed to the very first chair of Sanskrit in Europe, becoming professor of Sanskrit language and literature at the Collège de France.

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...

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 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).

First trade edition, partly original in its enlarged form.

A portion of the work had first appeared in 1832 in the Revue Encyclédique (May-June), and had been issued separately in a first offprint of 23 pages (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1399-1340.)

Wrappers backed and restored, manuscript bookplate in the upper left corner of the title-page, a pleasing copy internally.

This is the Da Xue, the first of the Four Confucian Classics, first incorporated into the Li Ji (Book of Rites), then regarded from the Neo-Confucian revival of the Song period onward as a mirror for the Prince and likewise a mirror for subjects, centered on good government.

The Chinese characters were...

New edition of the French translation, this one by Abbé Pluquet (see Cordier, Sinica 1395-1396).

Contemporary half tan calf bindings over corners, smooth spines decorated with double gilt fillets, black calf title-pieces, some rubbing to spines and headcaps, marbled paper boards with some surface wear, a few corners slightly bumped, speckled edges, period bindings.

This French translation of Father François Noël’s Latin work includes the Observations on the moral and political philosophy of the Chinese legislators, The Great Learning, or the Science of Adults, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Book of Sentences, Meng Tsee or The Book of Mencius, Hiao-king, or The Book of Filial...

A probably unique copy, comprising pulls of proofs of Masonic illustrations containing 38 plates, the majority double-page, numbered in red pencil from 1 to 40 (discontinuous numbering, with bis plates).

Not recorded in Caillet or Dorbon.

Bound in full black cloth, smooth spine, no lettering, title label pasted onto the upper cover, modern binding.

A restored tear in the left margin of plate 10, two angular tears in the left margin of plate 12 without affecting the image. Published by the Masonic booksellers Teissier et Cie, lithographed by J. Rigal et Cie and, in some cases, by A. Appert.

A highly interesting document on nineteenth-century Freemasonry

First edition of these extremely rare statutes of an Indo-British lodge established in Calcutta since 1860.

No copy recorded in the CCF or in WorldCat.

Minor losses to the spine and corners of the boards, with one tear at the head of the upper cover skilfully restored.

Extremely rare first edition of the statutes of an Indo-British military lodge established in Calcutta.

Losses to the rubbed spine, covers reinforced, internally in pleasing condition.

No copy recorded in the CCFr or on WorldCat.

Rare first edition. Published in Avignon according to Barbier; however, J.-P. Perret records it as printed in Yverdon.
Contemporary full marbled and polished calf. Smooth spine gilt-tooled. Tobacco-colored morocco labels for title and volume numbers. Lacking head of volume I. Upper joint of volume II split at head. Volume number label on volume I rubbed. Two bumped corners on volume I. In volume II, faint waterstain from title page to p. 60. Otherwise, a clean and well-preserved copy. A good example overall.