First editions and antique editions of civilization studies, cultural anthropology, ethnography, comparative sociology and social sciences

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...

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...

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...

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

Minor foxing, light discoloration spots to the margins, at the beginning and end of the volume.

Bradel binding in blue cloth-backed marbled boards with corners, smooth spine slightly darkened, cherry red shagreen title label, gilt initials at foot, marbled paper-covered boards.

A pupil of Silvestre de Sacy like so many others, Joseph-Toussaint Reinaud (1795–1867) succeeded him in 1838 at the chair of living Oriental languages; his primary scholarly interest was directed toward the Arab world. Copy from the library of agronomist Adrien de Gasparin (1783–1862), father...

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...

Very rare first edition illustrated with 40 lithographs (cf. Colas 1581, Mayfair, Algeria, 751, Tailliart, 1001, *Iconographie de l'Algérie*).

A few minor spots of foxing; the front free endpaper is slightly creased at the margin, not affecting the text.

The 40 plates, printed on 37 leaves, are arranged as follows: 37 black lithographs including one plan and one folding map (plates 11–12, [37–38], and [39–40] are printed on single leaves).

Among the rarest and most beautiful illustrated albums devoted to Algeria, this edition comprises 40 lithographic plates printed in black across 37 leaves. The map of the Regency of Algiers and the views of Algiers and Constantine...

New edition, illustrated with two folding maps bound at the end. (cf Gay 91.)

Some foxing, spine with restored sections.

Preceded by an introduction and followed by geographical and historical studies on Arabia by M. Jomard.

Contemporary half tan calf, spine decorated with gilt and blind fillets, gilt roll at foot, modern black morocco labels for title and volume numbering, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers.

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...

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.

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...

First edition of the French translation based on the second English edition, with additions drawn from Robert Adams's narrative in Africa, 1810. (cf. Gay 2788.)

Illustrated with 10 plates, including a frontispiece portrait of Mungo Park and a map showing his route from Kayee on the Gambia to Boussa on the Niger.

Contemporary full marbled tan sheep, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets, garlands and fleurons, cream title labels, gilt dentelle and fillet frames on boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, speckled edges.

Some wear with minor losses at head and foot of one joint, a few scuffs to the covers, occasional foxing, otherwise a...

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".

First edition of the French translation.
Illustrated with photographs by Erica Anderson, with text and captions by Eugène Exman.

Preface by Daniel Halévy.
Pleasing copy complete with its illustrated dust jacket, showing minor losses and angular tears to the spine, along with some marginal scuffing to the panels.

Bookplate affixed to the inside front cover.

Rare dated and signed presentation inscription by Albert Schweitzer on a blank flyleaf: "A monsieur Bernard Tessier en souvenir de son passage à Lambaréné le 1.9.1956, Albert Schweitzer."

First complete edition of this major work in Africanist literature (cf. Bibliography of Côte d'Ivoire, 286. Not listed in Bruel, Bibliography of French Equatorial Africa. Lorentz, XIV, 215.)

This book contains an overall map, numerous detailed sketches, and one hundred and seventy-six wood engravings based on the drawings of Riou. Bindings in half cherry morocco with corners, spine with five raised bands decorated with cold-tooling, a small tear at the top of one joint, paper-covered boards, some light rubbing to the boards, endpapers and pastedowns made of marbled paper, corners slightly bumped, gilt edges, period bindings.

This exploration mission ordered by Faidherbe left...

First separate edition of this excerpt from the Nouvelles annales des voyages, September and October 1862 (cf. Gay 340).

Illustrated with a folding map.

Scattered foxing.

Contemporary navy half shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands and black ruling, spine restored, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Originally from Goin in Moselle and son-in-law of Linant de Bellefonds, Dr. Charles Cuny (1811–1858) spent nearly his entire career in Egypt as a military surgeon, after being dismissed from Algeria.

Gustave Flaubert and Maxime Du Camp, who met him during their celebrated journey, mention him in their...

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...

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...

Rare first edition (cf. Gay 367; Leclerc 638).

The work is illustrated with a map of the port and harbor of Brest and five plates: How the beds of the Negroes are made [and] The house of the Negroes – How the Moors ride their Camels, Horses and Oxen with their merchandise – How the Negroes collect palm wine [sic] [and] How they climb the palm trees [and] How the Negroes make incisions to extract the palm wine [and] how they are dressed – Dress of lords and notable persons – How the women are dressed and how they carry their children on their backs [and] How the Negroes dance in a circle.

This account is considered a valuable narrative, offering noteworthy details on the trade...

Very rare first edition of the French translation by J. Castéra, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author (cf. Sabin 43417. Leclerc 756).

Stamp marks scratched out on the half-title and at the end of the volume, dated 22 August 1878, occasional foxing.

Contemporary half havana sheep binding, flat spine decorated with gilt fillets, fleurons and rose tools, red morocco title label, spine restored, marbled paper boards with marginal fading, one upper corner slightly bumped.

Pages 261 to 274 contain a Vocabulary of the Algonquin Language and that of the Knisteneaux, and pages 304 to 310 a Vocabulary of the Chipiouyane Language [Chippeway].

First edition, rare, illustrated with a large folding engraved map (cf. Gay 3082).

Contemporary full marbled calf, smooth spine gilt in compartments adorned with gilt floral tools, tan morocco title label, gilt roll tooling at head and foot of spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, red-speckled yellow edges.

Some restoration to spine and covers, occasional foxing and slight age-toning to a few gatherings.

Written from the memoirs of the missionaries Descourvières and Bellegarde. The first part offers a description of the country and the customs of its inhabitants, followed by notes on their language; the second part recounts the history of...

Illustrated edition featuring 6 charming lithographs, including 5 costume plates, executed by Madame Veuve Jobard in Dijon.

No copy listed in the CCF; not recorded by Vicaire or Colas.

Contemporary half brown sheepskin binding, spine slightly faded, gilt double fillets and decorative gilt rolls at head and foot, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges.

Scattered foxing, small paper flaw on half-title.

A rare, wide-margined copy in period binding.

First edition, one of 60 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe copies after 28 on pur fil.

A handsome 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 26 numbered copies on Vélin du Marais, the only deluxe copies.

Rare and appealing copy.

Rare first edition of this curious travel account, originally written entirely in verse (7,500 lines), though the author—on the advice of friends—agreed to intersperse it with prose narrative (retaining 2,500 lines of verse); see Sabin 20128, Gagnon 1134 (1710 edition), and Dionne II.

Contemporary full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands, gilt compartments decorated with gilt floral tools, cherry red morocco label, gilt roll tooling at head and foot, double black fillet border on covers, gilt fillets on board edges, sprinkled yellow edges with red mottling.

Lower right corner of upper cover restored; some spots and minor scuffs to the boards; occasional light...

First edition, illustrated with four plates including a map of the Sudan.

The plates depict human types and a map of Sudan, drawn "according to the Negro slaves in Bahia".

Modern Bradel binding in black half shagreen, smooth spine decorated with two gilt floral tools, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved (small hole on rear board).

A naturalist and explorer, Francis de Castelnau undertook, between 1843 and 1847, a major expedition across South America, notably visiting Peru and Brazil.

In 1848, he was appointed French consul in Bahia. Upon his arrival, he observed that several African-born slaves could read and write Arabic and...

Second edition, the first having been published in 1824 (cf. Gay 3389).

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, in blue paper with a plain temporary cover, and a title label affixed at the head of the spine.

Some minor foxing, a faint water stain in the right margin of a few leaves at the end of the volume.

At the age of twenty, Armand-Pierre Caussin de Perceval (1795–1871) departed for Constantinople as an interpreter. He travelled through Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon, and served as a dragoman in Aleppo in 1820.

Upon returning to France, he was appointed to the chair of colloquial Arabic at the École des Langues Orientales, and succeeded his father in 1833...

Original edition printed in a limited number of copies of this excerpt from Bulletin of the Société de géographie (1882-1883).

This text was re-edited in 1885 by Hachette.

Work illustrated with figures in the text and a large folding map at the end (Route from Médine to Nango by the Gallieni mission).

Binding in black half-shagreen, spine with five raised bands decorated with cold fillets, boards of handmade paper, preserved original covers, modern binding signed by Boichot.

Covers restored with some stains, pleasant interior condition.

Work illustrated with figures in the text and a large folding map at the end (Route from Médine to Nango by the...

First edition of this collection of observations and reports on French Algeria, whose pacification had just been completed (cf. Quérard VI 70, Playfair 1264. See also Gay 953 and Tailliart 812).

Contemporary bindings in half bottle-green sheep, flat spines decorated with gilt fillets and triple gilt panels, a gilt fillet framing a large plaque decorated with blind-stamped motifs on the percaline-covered boards, school stamp [Pensionnat de M. Ballé], marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, gilt fillets at head- and tailcaps, period bindings.

Some restorations to spine ends and joints; school prize labels affixed opposite the half-titles.

The work is sometimes...

Very rare first edition, illustrated with a large folding lithographed map (cf. Sabin, 21 178 – Only two copies listed in the CCF: at the BnF and the Médiathèque du Quai Branly).

Contemporary full marbled yellow paper boards, flat spine with a cherry-red shagreen label, library shelf label pasted at the foot of the spine, red edges.

A small discoloured spot on the title page, a few light foxmarks.

The Federal Republic of Central America (Republica federal de Centroamérica) was short-lived: established in 1824 from the United Provinces of Central America, it was dissolved in November 1839 following the secession of its main constituent states. It comprised Guatemala...

Edition published in Paris by A. Nepveu in 1815, in six small octavo volumes, illustrated with 54 hand-coloured plates depicting twelve views, more than sixty different costumes, monuments and various picturesque scenes, including bullfights, most of them after drawings made in 1809 and 1810. Cf. Colas 439; Lipperheide 1214, the latter reference still requiring direct verification in the printed bibliography; Brunet I, 1226, no. 3; Quérard I, 506. The title itself calls for the 54 plates and records the recent origin of many of their designs.

Contemporary half blond calf, spines with four false bands...

First edition, illustrated with 39 full-page plates and numerous in-text vignettes (cf. Lorenz IX, 494).

Bradel binding in full brown buckram, smooth spine gilt-stamped with a floral tool, gilt double fillet at foot, green morocco label, modern binding signed by Lobstein-Laurenchet.

Some foxing, mostly to the first and last leaves.

A pleasant copy.

New edition, with mention of the print run.
Illustrated.
Two losses to the spine; complete with its illustrated dust jacket, which shows small chips and angular tears. One gathering poorly opened with minor marginal losses not affecting the text.

Bookplate affixed to the verso of the front cover.

Rare signed presentation inscription by Albert Schweitzer: "A monsieur et madame André Fontan en souvenir de leur passage à Lambarené le 2.6.1963, avec mes bonnes pensées. Albert Schweitzer."

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

First edition, with no deluxe copies printed on special paper.

A handsome copy.

Inscribed and signed by Pierre Bourdieu to a friend named Emmanuel.

First edition, illustrated with 4 plates, one folding, and a large vignette on the dedication leaf.

Contemporary full fawn calf, smooth spine gilt in compartments with gilt floral tools, olive-green shagreen lettering-piece, minor rubbing to the joints, boards framed with triple gilt fillets, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets to the board edges, all edges gilt.

Contemporary ownership inscription on a free endpaper.

Internally in pleasing condition.

Rare first edition for which no large-paper copies were printed, one of the press copies.
Spine and boards lightly sunned as usual, a few light dampstains to the spine.
Illustrated with 32 photographic plates.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Michel Leiris to Gabrielle Gras, a discreet yet prolific critic for the Revue Europe, close to Surrealist circles and to numerous writers and artists.

First edition, superbly illustrated with 200 full-page plates and 120 in-text vignettes by Grandville. Second-issue printing, with the errors corrected. It may be identified by the fact that, in the first issue, the opening third of the volume was printed on tinted wove paper, whereas this second issue was entirely printed on uniform white paper; the frontispiece no longer bears the title Badigeneographie but instead Des affiches seront, d'après ses ordres....
Publisher's original full green ribbed percaline binding, decorated with special blocking tools commissioned by Hetzel specifically for this edition. Smooth spine stamped with tortoise, butterfly and beetle...

Illustrated edition with 150 drawings by Riou.

Publisher's catalogue by FN bound in at the rear.

Hetzel publisher's binding "aux deux éléphants" type 3, full red percaline binding signed A. Lenègre, rear board type "e" as identified by Jauzac, original blue endpapers, all edges gilt. Manuscript inscription on the title page, upper right.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Bulletin de la Société normande de géographie.

Contemporary-style Bradel binding in full burgundy cloth, spine titled lengthwise, burgundy paper endleaves and pastedowns, wrappers doubled and restored and preserved, modern binding. 

Only three copies recorded in the CCF (BnF, Sainte-Geneviève, Condorcet).

This is the author’s second report delivered before a Norman audience (Pelliot had family ties to Normandy), concerning the 1906–1908 expedition to Chinese Turkestan.

It followed the Paris lecture (Trois ans dans la haute Asie, conférence de M. Paul Pelliot au grand...

Reprint of the Exposé statistique du Tunkin, first published in London in 1811 by Ant. Jean Bapt. de Montgon (cf. Cordier, Indosinica, 997).

Contemporary uniform half tawny calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with double gilt fillets, red and black calf lettering and volume labels, a few scuffs to the spines, marbled paper-covered boards, yellow edges.

Occasional light foxing.

A French missionary born at Bourgueil around 1764 and deceased in 1830, La Bissachère entered the Paris Foreign Missions Seminary before being sent to Tonkin in 1790, where he remained for seventeen years.

During his stay, he travelled extensively throughout the provinces...

Second edition, issued in the same year as the first, and illustrated with a folding colour map at the beginning of the first volume (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 2120; Caillet, 5293; Numa Broc, Asie, 247-249).

Tears to one joint of the first volume; spine of the second volume split with minor losses; a tear without loss to p. 407 of vol. II.

A valuable copy, bearing the signature "G. Rocquemaurel" on the title-pages.

This is Louis François Gaston Marie Auguste de Rocquemaurel (Toulouse, 1804–1878), a former student of the École polytechnique, second-in-command to Dumont d'Urville as lieutenant aboard the Astrolabe during the voyage...

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with 14 hand-coloured engravings depicting costumes (cf. Colas 961.)

Bindings in blue half morocco, spines slightly faded, with five raised bands and minor rubbing, dates gilt at the foot, illustrated wrappers preserved, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled top edges, corners slightly bumped.

Foxing, small paper flaw to the corner of page 37 and misbound leaves in volume 1.

First edition, published in Paris by Nepveu in 1812 in six volumes, illustrated with 72 engraved plates by Lambert, most of them reduced from those in Dalvimart’s Costume of Turkey, published in London in 1802. Complete with all plates; without the binder’s directions and the leaf concerning the orthography of Arabic words, both of which are absent from many copies.

Contemporary full mottled tan calf. Smooth spines, slightly faded, decorated with gilt...

First edition, comprising only the introductory sections, without the translation itself, which required considerable labour on Biot's part, the text being renowned for its extreme obscurity.

Some foxing.

The Zhouli (Rites of Zhou) was known until the Tang dynasty as the Zhouguan (Offices of Zhou), since it is in fact a list of official functions divided into six categories, which later inspired the six ministries of the imperial administration.

The engineer Édouard-Constant Biot (1803-1850), son of the mathematician Jean-Baptiste Biot, was also a pupil of Stanislas Julien and rapidly became an outstanding sinologist, whose work remains in use to this day.

First edition (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1430).

Our copy is preserved in its original temporary grey paper wrappers.

This is the first memoir only of a monograph that was eventually completed in 648 pages.

Unlettered spine split with losses, chipped corners to the wrappers, occasional foxing throughout.

The engineer Edouard-Constant Biot (1803-1850), son of the mathematician Jean-Baptiste Biot, studied under Stanislas Julien and rapidly established himself as an outstanding sinologist whose scholarship remains authoritative today.

Provenance: From the library of the celebrated mathematician Michel Chasles (1793-1880), member of the Académie des sciences...

Offprint from this prestigious publication directed by François Albert-Buisson, President and Perpetual Secretary of the "Académie des Sciences Morales & Politiques", and Claude Pellegrin, editor-in-chief and attaché to the Academy. The text featured here, Le problème de l'éthique dans l'évolution de la pensée humaine (The Problem of Ethics in the Evolution of Human Thought), is the work of a newly elected member of the Academy, who had been a member for only a few months when this offprint was published, having taken the seat previously held by Marshal Pétain; namely...

First edition by a forgotten Ferrarese polygraph and historian, which nevertheless enjoyed considerable success upon publication and was followed by two subsequent editions in 1577 and 1599. According to Marc Adam Kolakowski, Alessandro Sardi, together with Johannes Boemus, pioneered the use of "antiquarian and ethnographic perspectives" in the study of ancient religions.

Fine historiated initials depicting various Greco-Roman deities.

First edition, printed in small numbers, of this offprint from the “Journal de la Société des Américanistes”. No deluxe issue printed. Skilful restauration to cover.

Rare presentation copy signed by Claude Lévi-Strauss to Simone de Beauvoir: “Cet humble aspect de la malédiction féminine, en amical hommage de Claude Lévi-Strauss” (“this humble aspect of the feminine curse, in friendly homage”) on the upper cover. This fieldwork study of the Nambikwara from Lévi-Strauss’ 1938 ethnographic expedition directly influenced Beauvoir, who...

First edition, one of 1,045 and one of 1,246 numbered copies on deluxe paper, the only large-paper issues after the 118 and 120 reimposed copies.

A pleasing set.

First edition.

Spine and boards slightly and marginally faded.

A rare and pleasing copy.

Fourth edition reproducing, with only minor variations, the third edition of 1916.

Half tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with blind fillets, cherry shagreen lettering piece, slight rubbing to the spine, handmade paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.

This work is fundamental to the graphic and lexicological development of Chinese characters.

It is entirely unjust, as was done for more than fifty years, to minimise the role and contribution of the Jesuit Léon Wieger (1856–1933) to sinology, in which his work was of major importance despite the narrowness of his religious...

First edition of the French translation prepared by Lamole de Tamayo of this monumental publication, long sought after for its exceptionally rich iconography: 107 plates hors texte, including 2 in colour (mostly portraits), 2 folding colour maps, and a very large number of in-text figures and photographs (portraits, views, reproductions of early engravings, types and costumes, portraits, etc.).

Publisher’s bindings in half brown shagreen, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and dotted tooling, as well as blind-stamped panels; gilt titles and ornaments in relief on the green percaline boards; publisher’s bindings signed E. Domenech-Barna.

Some rubbing to the spines with...

Very rare first edition, illustrated with two frontispieces, eighteen plates, and a folding map table bound at the end of the second volume.

Scattered foxing.

Half black shagreen bindings, smooth spines tooled in blind with fillets and small ornaments, gilt lettering at the foot of the spines showing some rubbing, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, light rubbing to the extremities, sprinkled edges, contemporary bindings.

Born at Versailles in 1809, Anne Jean-Baptiste Raffenel entered the Naval administration in 1825.

After several voyages, notably to Africa, the West Indies and the United States, he was posted to Senegal and from 1843...

Rare first edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Bulletin de la Société de géographie de Marseille, illustrated with 2 folding colour maps outside the text.

Spine split with some loss, marginal dampstaining to the covers, contents in pleasant condition.

Alfred Rabaud (1828-1886) was president of the Société de géographie de Marseille, founded in 1877 and one of the organisations that helped further France's colonial policy.

Rare, albeit in the condition described.

First edition of the French translation of this account, originally published under the title: "An Account of the Island of Ceylon" in London in 1803 (cf. Boucher de La Richarderie, V, 135. Brunet, IV, 490 and Quérard, VII, 43 mention an edition published by Dentu, 1804).

Contemporary full mottled calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt compartments and gilt tools, red morocco lettering pieces, green calf volume labels, gilt rolls at the head and tail partly worn, fragile joints, marbled paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplates pasted to the pastedowns, gilt fillets on the board edges, speckled edges.

Bindings rubbed, small losses at the foot of the joints...

First edition of the French translation (cf. Chadenat, 494; Brunet I, 24.)

Contemporary half green sheep, smooth spines faded and decorated with double gilt fillets, marbled paper sides with minor rubbing, marbled endpapers, two small tears at the joints, contemporary bindings.

Light waterstain to the upper right corner of a number of leaves in the second volume.

An Indian traveller, Mirza Abu Taleb Khan was born in 1752 at Lucknow in Hindustan and died in Calcutta in 1806. 

After serving in the army of the Nawab of Oudh, he embarked for Europe on 16 February 1799 with his friend Captain David Richardson.

Following a three-month stay at the Cape, he landed at...

Second edition of the french translation.

Some light foxing.

Contemporary full mottled calf bindings, smooth spines richly gilt with typographical ornaments, slight rubbing to the joints, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt rolls to the headcaps, sides framed with a gilt floral dentelle, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dotted edges, marbled edges.

Gay 368 : "On y trouve l'extrait du voyage de Picard qui se rendit à Fouta Tora ; cette relation ne se rencontre pas ailleurs". 

New edition illustrated with 16 folding copper-engraved plates.

Only two copies recorded in the CCF (Collège de France, Caen). As such, the volume is not cited by Quérard nor by Cioranescu.

Contemporary temporary blue paper boards, smooth spine, unlettered. Minor rubbing to the spine-ends.

Some foxing.

As such, the volume is not cited by Quérard nor by Cioranescu. It nevertheless constitutes the exceedingly rare atlas to the second edition of the Histoire de Russie tirée des chroniques originales, published in the same year, 1800, in 8 volumes of text.

The first edition had appeared in 1782 in five duodecimo volumes and, compiled from the...

Vezry rare first edition.

Jesuit library stamp to the half-title, a few minor spots of foxing, slight tears to the head and tail of the spine.

First edition (see Cordier 92).

Contemporary half brown sheep over brown cloth boards, smooth spine decorated with triple gilt rules, gilt ornamental frieze and gilt name at foot, a few rubs to the spine; marbled endpapers and pastedowns; binding of the period.

Scattered foxing.

Manuscript ex-libris on the half-title: Madame Sinoir, repeated in gilt lettering at the foot of the spine.

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...

New edition, partly original, revised and corrected, illustrated with 4 engraved plates out of text and an engraved title-page in the first volume.

Contemporary full mottled calf, smooth spines gilt with a repeated floral tool (the decorative motifs partly faded), red morocco lettering-pieces, rubbing to the spines, gilt rolls to the head- and tailcaps, one headcap shaved, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets to the board edges, three corners softened, red edges, a few small snags to the board edges, bookplates to the pastedowns, bindings of the period.

The title-page and plates were engraved by Benoît Louis Henriquez after drawings by Jollain. Cohen 440. See Atabey...

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 large folding map inserted as a plate (see Gay 1114; Playfair 692; Tailliart 1290: "Livre écrit entre la première (1836) et la deuxième (1837) expédition de Constantine : étude consciencieuse, documentée, sincère").

Modern half caramel calf binding, smooth spine gilt with double fillets, marbled paper sides, original upper wrapper preserved.

Some foxing.

Fourth separate issue of this memoir. The text first appeared in the Description de l’Égypte, before being reissued in several offprints (cf. Meulenaere p. 80.)

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, under temporary green paper covers, spine restored, minor marginal losses and a few tears to the covers, internally in pleasing condition.

At the head of the front free endpaper, autograph inscription by Du Bois-Aymé “à son honorable collège et ami Monsieur Etienne”.

Du Bois-Aymé (1779-1846), who embarked on the Tonnant, travelled to Egypt as a student of the École Polytechnique. He sat his examinations there, at the same time as...

Rare second edition, unfortunately lacking the engraving recorded by Gay (cf. Gay 2932).

Modern half navy-blue calf over blue paper-covered boards, with corners; spine with five raised bands, decorated with blind-stamped fleurons; date gilt at foot; marbled edges.

A few minor spots of foxing.

Contemporary manuscript ownership inscription of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame at the head of the title page.

First edition (cf. Playfair, 533; Tailliart, 2295).

Spine cracked with small tears, some foxing. 

General considerations on the colonisation of Algiers, its aims and its results. On the Arabs. The various systems of occupation, etc.

At the head of the front wrapper, an autograph presentation inscription from Amédée Hippolyte de Brossard to Marshal Clausel.

First edition of the French translation (cf. Sabin 8048; Quérard I, 521, who gives the date 1825).

Contemporary half roan with an aubergine hue, the flat spines lightly sunned and ruled with gilt fillets and dotted tooling, some rubbing to the backs, marbled paper sides, yellow mottled edges.

A few very light, insignificant spots.

John Bristed, born in the county of Dorset in 1778, died in the United States in 1855.

After studying medicine and law, he entered the Church. "Before leaving England he began writing and seems to have held ideas considered radical at the time (...) In 1806 Bristed came to New York City and there practised law, lectured, and wrote...

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. 

Contemporary half black shagreen over comb-marbled paper boards, spine with five raised bands ruled in black, green paper endleaves and pastedowns, original wrappers retained (soiled), modern binding.

Heavy foxing throughout.

First edition illustrated with 105 engravings, a heliogravure portrait frontispiece with tissue guard, as well as 2 folding maps at the end of the volume.

Publisher's bottle-green full cloth Bradel binding, smooth spine, upper cover decoratively blocked, bevelled boards, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners lightly rubbed.

A Geneva-born geographer, Alfred Bertrand (1856-1924) undertook numerous journeys for ethnographic purposes as well as missionary work; a fervent Calvinist, he sought not only the conversion of indigenous peoples but also a deeper understanding of their customs, and the destinations of his expeditions were largely determined by the...

Unpublished manuscript comprising 17 original signed and captioned watercolours executed in 1873 by a certain A. Poquet, an illustrator whose name has not been traced in the principal artists' dictionaries. The work announced on the calligraphic title page, Vues et types du Sénégal (Views and Types of Senegal), appears never to have been published; these watercolours almost certainly constitute the original maquette, or preparatory artwork, intended for its illustration.

The volume comprises a calligraphic title leaf, with a table of plates on the verso, followed by thirteen leaves on which the seventeen watercolours are mounted, one or two to a page...

First edition of the illustrated French translation, embellished in the second volume with a plate, a folding table, and a large folding map printed as a separate leaf (cf. Gay 2996).

Contemporary full mottled fawn calf, smooth spines gilt with fillets, garlands, and floral tools, red morocco title and volume labels, with the volume labels inlaid with green morocco, gilt rolls at the headcaps, minor rubbing to the spines, dentelle, single gilt fillet and gilt garland framing the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners rubbed, gilt fillets to the board edges, lemon edges; bindings of the period.

In 1797, John Barrow (1764–1848) accompanied Lord Macartney, as his...

First french edition forming volumes 18 and 19 of the Voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir à l'histoire de la découverte de l'Amérique, issued by H. Ternaux-Compans (cf. Sabin, 98793).

Some foxing, light dampstaining to the upper margins of most leaves of the first volume, marginal losses to the spine and boards.

A member of the Society of Jesus and a native of Quito, Don Juan de Velasco withdrew to Italy following the expulsion of his order.

It was there that, in 1789, he composed his Historia del Reino de Quito.

The work comprises three parts: natural history, civil history, and geography.

The present publication...

Second edition, partly original as revised and enlarged, illustrated with a folding map at the end of the volume.

Slight corner wear to the boards, otherwise a well-preserved copy with internal foxing.

The author takes a very broad view of the Serbs, seemingly including all Slavic populations of the Balkans.

First edition, forming the sixteenth volume of Voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir à l'histoire de la découverte de l'Amérique, published by H. Ternaux-Compans. Cf. Sabin, 94852.

Bound in half green sheepskin, spine with four raised bands, gilt date at the foot, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of laid paper, upper corner with a minor tear; twentieth-century binding.

Foxing, one stain on the half-title page.

This volume contains: Letters from Don Juan de Zumárraga, elected Bishop of Mexico, to the King. — Documents relating to the disputes between the first Audiencia of New Spain, presided over by Nuño de Guzmán, and the Bishop...

First edition, forming the tenth volume of Voyages, Relations et Mémoires Originaux pour servir à l'Histoire de la Découverte de l'Amérique, published by H. Ternaux-Compans (cf. Sabin, 94854).

Some foxing, front board tending to detach, minor losses to the spine and at the corners of the boards.

This volume contains the Itinerary of the Voyage of the Fleet of the Catholic King to the Island of Yucatan, undertaken in 1518 under the command of Captain General Juan de Grijalva, first published in Italian in Venice in 1522.

It is followed by 19 other previously unpublished pieces relating to the history of Mexico, including: A Brief Account of New...

First edition.

Half pearl-grey calf binding, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets and gilt floral ornaments, black morocco title label, author’s name in navy blue morocco, boards covered with decorative patterned paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.

The Centrones (or Ceutrones) were one of the Gallic peoples who controlled the Alpine passes of the Little and Great St Bernard, with Axima (Aime) as their capital.

A few pencil annotations in the margins of certain leaves, minor rubbing to the boards of the binding.

First edition.

Only three copies recorded in the CCFr.

Spine restored with some losses remaining, sun-faded boards, scattered foxing.

The sole edition: despite his surname, Dr Roberts appears to have been French, and it was at the request of the French Minister of Public Instruction that he undertook this journey through Central Asia, of which India formed but one stage.