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 endosmosis.
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 China; it includes a significant section on the Americas, notably the recent discovery of New Mexico by Antonio d'Espejo in 1583. It was through this work that Abraham Ortelius was able to complete the American section of his atlas (Sabin 27775).
Manuscript ex-libris on the title page: Cadt. Berdeilh; autograph letter signed by Marie de Berdeilh, dated Mirepoix, January 10, on the front endpaper; and an acknowledgment of debt signed by the same, mounted to front pastedown. Ex-libris of Gaston Héliot, an antiques dealer specializing in Chinese and Japanese curiosities c. 1920–1930.
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 and tail of spine.
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 was also a specialist in Indian religions.
The collection includes the following items:
I. Die Religion des Veda, von Hermann Oldenberg. Berlin, Wilhelm Hertz, 1894 (September 1896, 55 pp.).
II. Le pèlerin chinois I-Tsing. Edouard Chavannes: Voyages des pèlerins bouddhistes (...). Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1894 (November 1898, 52 pp.).
III. Le Mahavastu, Sanskrit text published for the first time with introductions and commentary, by E. Senart. 1882–1897 (October 1899, 41 pp.).
IV. Grundriss der indo-arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde, edited by Georg Bühler. Strasbourg, Karl-J. Trübner, 12 fascicles published from 1896 to 1899 (September 1900, 82 pp.).
V. Le Cambodge. Le Royaume actuel, by Etienne Aymonier, Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1900 (August 1901, 17 pp.).
VI. Kaccayana's Pali Grammar, by Satis Chandra Acharya Vidyabhusana, London and Calcutta, 1901 (October 1902, 16 pp.).
VII. Lunet de Lajonquière, Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, Paris, Imprimerie nationale, E. Leroux éditeur, 1902 (July 1903, 4 pp.).
VIII. On the Origin and Diffusion of Fables. Francesco Ribezzo: Nuovi studi sulla origine e la propagazione delle favole indo-elleniche comunemente dette esopiche. Napoli, Francesco Giannini, 1901 (January 1904, 29 pp.).
IX. L'École française d'Extrême-Orient (Hanoi, Imprimerie F.-H. Schneider, n.d. [1900], 11 pp.).
X. Stele of Vat Phou, near Bassac (Laos) (1902, 2 unnumbered ff., 6 pp., one folding plate).
XI. The Doublets of the Stele of Say-Fong. Letter to the Director of the École française d'Extrême-Orient (1903, 7 pp.).
XII. FOUCHER (Alfred): Report to the Governor-General of Indochina on the work of the École française d'Extrême-Orient during the year 1901 (1902, 10 pp.). – XIII. LEVI (Sylvain): Chinese Notes on India (1902, 2 unnumbered ff., 10 pp.).
XIV and XV. FINOT (Louis): Notes on Epigraphy (n.d. [1902], and 1903, 36 pp., one unnumbered leaf of errata and 4 photogravure plates).
XVI. SPECHT (Edouard): On the Deciphering of Sindo-Ephthalite Coins (Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1901, 43 pp.).
Most of the pamphlets bear a signed presentation inscription from the authors to Father Boyer.
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 Gospel in Tonkin for fourteen years, and later served as rector of the college in Macao.
From 1674 onwards, he governed the Japanese mission as Provincial. His account offers a wealth of fascinating and detailed information about Tonkin and Laos in the first half of the 17th century.
Contemporary manuscript ex-libris of the Jesuit Professed House in Paris on the title page.
Very rare.
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 endpapers.
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:
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.
First edition, one of 50 copies printed on Lancey watermarked paper, the only copies on deluxe paper.
A handsome copy despite some foxing on the boards.
Inscribed by Maurice Gorrée’s brother to him and his family as a gift.
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 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 pèlerins bouddhistes".
Author of numerous works on China, Stanislas Julien (1799–1873) held the chair of Chinese and Tartar-Manchu language and literature at the Collège de France, where he succeeded Abel Rémusat in 1832.
He was also a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres from 1833.
Our copy is enriched with an autograph letter dated 4 December 1854 and signed by Stanislas Julien to M. Charles Jourdain, notably concerning the prospect of launching a subscription for the subsequent volumes (sold separately) of the Voyages des pèlerins bouddhistes series.
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.
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 from Chinese.
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: between 1844 and 1846 he undertook a major expedition that brought him to Lhasa, which he succeeded in entering disguised as a lama. He remained there for six weeks before being discovered and expelled back to China.
The account of his journey, published in Paris in 1850, enjoyed considerable success. The present work, devoted to the history of Christianity in China, is divided into four parts: From the apostolate of Saint Thomas to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. – From that discovery to the establishment of the Tartar-Manchu dynasty in China. – From the establishment of that dynasty to the death of Emperor Kangxi. – From the death of that emperor to the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858.
It also contains numerous documents on ancient religions and on occultism in general (see Caillet).
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).
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.
