Rare travel books in Asia: mission accounts, explorations, colonial Indochina, oriental studies and illustrated works on China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia

First edition of this extremely rare botanical monograph, written by the great navigator following the scientific expedition sent to the Black Sea and the Greek islands aboard La Chevrette, during which he was entrusted with observations in natural history and archaeology (it was during this mission that the Venus de Milo was unearthed).

Cf. Pritzel, 2480.

Late 19th-century brown half cloth, smooth spine with library shelf label at foot and red morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, corners slightly rubbed, speckled edges.

Bound in at the end are three short monographs, all in first edition and published in 1842, the year of d'Urville's death, dealing...

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.

Autograph note signed by the Aga Khan on a fragment of paper, bearing the words: "I have the honor to be your obdt servant Aga Khan"

Accompanied by a dated and signed certificate of authenticity issued by the distinguished London bookseller and autograph dealer Winifred A. Myers, whose premises were located at 70 Bond Street.

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, very rare (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1476); the NUC records only a single copy.

Spine inexpertly repaired with an adhesive strip, losses to the corners of the spine and covers, wrappers browned.

Melchior Yvan (1803-1873), physician and politician, took part in the mission sent to China under the direction of the diplomat Lagrené, with the aim of concluding a treaty of commerce and navigation with that country. He published his account of the journey in several parts between 1850 and 1855.

This pamphlet appears to be one of the author's very earliest publications relating to China.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Revue illustrée de la Terre sainte et de l'Orient chrétien.

The pamphlet is illustrated with black-and-white illustrations in the text and examines the rediscovery in Jerusalem of the "Crypt of the Pater", also known as the "Crypt of the Credo", which had been forgotten for several centuries.

Only 3 copies recorded in the CCF (BnF, Bibliothèque Mazarine, Centre Sèvres).

Small tears with minor loss at head and foot of spine.

Signed presentation inscription by Léon Cré on the verso of the front wrapper to the celebrated archaeologist and Marquis Charles-Jean-Melchior de Vogüé...

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

Alongside his diplomatic career, Paul-Pascal-Henri Pognon (1853-1921) devoted himself to Mesopotamian archaeology in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Combining field discoveries, acquisitions from local antiquities dealers and official survey missions, he assembled Semitic inscriptions whose meaning he deciphered through painstaking translation work. A specialist in Assyrian, Syriac and Aramaic, he produced numerous scholarly publications that became important works of reference.

In 1883, he attracted considerable attention with the discovery of two important inscriptions on...

Rare first edition, illustrated at the beginning of the volume with an engraved line plate.

Publisher's Bradel binding in full boards covered with pink paper, smooth spine darkened, cherry-red calf lettering-piece, boards soiled.

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

The sole edition of this short monograph devoted to what was then the only known representation of this Hellenistic monarch, who ruled successively over Pontus, the Bosporus and Armenia.

The numismatist Louis Allier de Hauteroche (1766-1827) had himself served as French consul at Heraclea Pontica at the end of the eighteenth century.

Difficulties with the...

First edition of this ambitious study dedicated to the eminent Orientalist Antoine-Isaac Silvestre de Sacy, in which the author sets out to examine "l'état et les destinées de l'Asie, d'y suivre la trace des systèmes religieux et d'en indiquer l'enchaînement" (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 70. Barbier I, 305 c. Quérard XI, 101.)

Contemporary full porphyry calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with quadruple gilt fillets and gilt fleurons, gilt ornamental borders at head and foot, olive-green calf lettering- and volume-labels, three with losses at the corners, gilt rolls to the headcaps, covers framed with double gilt fillets, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, gilt fillets to...

First edition, printed in a very small number of copies, of this offprint from the Comptes rendus de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres.

Illustrated pamphlet with 13 figures in the text and a double-page folding map.

Only two copies recorded in the CCF (BnF and Bibliothèque Mazarine).

The archaeologist Joseph-Etienne Gautier (1861-1924) conducted numerous excavation campaigns throughout the Middle East (Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, etc.).

A rare and attractive copy.

Very rare first edition, printed in a very small number of copies, of this offprint from volume XXIV of the Mémoires de la Société nationale des sciences naturelles et mathématiques de Cherbourg.

Spine split with some loss, foxing and losses to the wrappers; internally in pleasing condition.

Suffering from poor eyesight, Albert-Auguste Fauvel (1851-1909) was forced to abandon the naval career he had hoped to pursue and instead turned to travel and natural-history exploration.

A speaker of Manchu, he entered the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs Service, where he served from 1872 to 1884. He studied the country’s fauna and flora as well as its economy. From...

Very rare first edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Magasin encyclopédique (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1710).

Our copy is presented disbound. 

The Mithridates (1806) of the Pomeranian philologist Johann Christoph Adelung (1732-1806), of which only the first volume appeared during his lifetime, was conceived as an ambitious survey of the languages of the world. 

Lanjuinais's review is hardly surprising from this liberal statesman: he took advantage of the considerable leisure afforded him by his opposition to the Imperial regime to learn English and German, cultivate relationships with many of the leading...

Rare first edition, one of 300 copies printed (cf. Palau 159 501).

Not recorded by Pardo de Tavera; only two copies listed in the CCF (BnF and Cujas).

The bibliography of the eminent Chilean historian José Toribio Medina Zavala (1852-1930) is extensive, though he is chiefly known for his works on Chile and Latin America. He also took an interest in other Spanish possessions, as shown by this short monograph, which appears to be the only early study devoted to the subject.

Small tears to spine and along the margins of the wrappers, with a few marginal tears to some leaves owing to the poor quality of the paper.

First edition illustrated with 8 folding plates.

Half vellum binding, smooth spine with gilt initials at foot, black shagreen title label, red morocco label bearing the year of issue, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.

Rare Saigon printing. This uncommon directory was published under this title until 1888; in 1889, it became the Annuaire de l'Indo-Chine française.

First edition illustrated with seven folding plates.

Contemporary half vellum binding, smooth spine with gilt initials at foot, brown morocco title label, red morocco date label, marbled paper boards with some rubbing, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges.

Rare Saigon printing, and the last year to appear under this title.

This uncommon directory was published under this title until 1888; in 1889 it became the Annuaire de l'Indo-Chine française.

Rare first edition of this uncommon atlas, featuring 9 maps printed in colour, either on single sheets, double-page, or folding.

Bound in modern half dark blue calf, smooth spine with gilt rules at head and tail, title in long, boards of handmade paper, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Minor foxing to the versos of some maps, three discreet repairs using small adhesive pieces to the margins of three maps and the title page.

Printed note on the verso of the title page: "Institut national de géographie, Bruxelles".

The maps depict: General View of the East Indies, Java and Madura (detached from the volume), Sumatra and the Riouw Archipelago, Banka and Billiton...

Rare first edition (see Cordier, Japonica 583; Nipponalia I, 2073. Neither of these bibliographies mentions the map. Polak 8448).

Contemporary half cherry-red calf, spine slightly faded, with four raised bands gilt with dotted tools and fillets; light rubbing to the spine, red paper-covered boards, corners slightly bumped, speckled edges.

Occasional light foxing; a pale dampstain affecting the opening leaves and the folding double-page map showing the plan of the Strait of Shimonoseki.

This work relates the Anglo-French naval campaign of 1862–1863, by Alfred Roussin (1839–1919), a naval officer who commanded the frigate...

No publisher, no place, no date [1885–1890]. Quarto (32.5 × 23 cm), 1 blank leaf and 49 unnumbered leaves. Contemporary half red percaline over corners, smooth spine covered in red shagreen, pebble-grain paper-covered boards, blue paper endpapers.

An exceptional collection of 49 original unsigned watercolours, each measuring approximately 20 × 15 cm within the margins, finely executed in Indian ink and watercolour with gouache highlights, mounted on guards. Several leaves bear the watermark "Latune et Cie Blacons", that of a paper mill in the Drôme region active throughout the final third of the nineteenth century. Rubbing to the spine, a few marginal...

First edition of this Latin work devoted to the history of the ancient Mediterranean: Sardinia and the influences of Greece, North Africa, the Syrtes and Numidian tribes, the history of the tyrant of Syracuse, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, the island of Rhodes, and more (cf. Adams, L-704. See Durling, 2796, which records only later editions).

Restored full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt tools now largely softened, blind fillets and gilt corner ornaments framing the boards, central gilt medallion enclosing a device in Greek characters, manuscript inscription on the fore-edge, early binding.

Ink numbering at the head of the verso of the...

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...

Complete first edition, in eleven bound volumes (ten text volumes and one atlas) of Auguste Pavie’s monumental work on former French Indochina, enriched with an autograph inscription signed by the author and accompanied by the large map of the Mission.

Published in Paris by Ernest Leroux, with the assistance of Augustin Challamel for the Atlas, between 1898 and 1919, the work appeared under the auspices of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Colonies, Public Instruction, and Fine Arts.

The set comprises the section Géographie et voyages, volumes I to VII, published between 1901 and 1919, illustrated with 52 maps and portraits hors texte...

Rare first edition illustrated with 10 folding plates, including 5 grammatical tables and 5 plates of calligraphy.

Not recorded in Blackmer, Atabey or Hage Chahine.

Half olive-green calf, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt garlands and decorated with small blind-stamped floral tools, black morocco title and author labels, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.

Spine slightly darkened, small paper losses to the upper right corners of the first leaves not affecting the text, some foxing mainly at the end of the volume. Much better known for his role in the mission sent by Napoleon to the Shah of Persia to negotiate a...

Third edition, partially revised and corrected, incorporating new material.

Bradel binding in olive-green half percaline, smooth spine, bordeaux morocco-grained shagreen lettering-piece; restored and lightly soiled original wrappers preserved; modern binding.

Some scattered foxing, bookplate mounted on the verso of the front wrapper, traces of adhesive at the head and foot of the endpapers.

The first edition appeared in 1868.

This collection of twenty-six short independent pieces chiefly concerns the Chinese world and its adjacent regions (Indochina and Japan).

First edition (cf. Martin & Walter, 16 491; Monglond III, 630; not in Schefer, Blackmer or Atabey).

Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine with a vertically lettered fawn sheepskin label, red edges; a modern binding.

Some foxing; marginal staining to the upper edges of the final leaves.

Excellent abridgement of General Hénin de Cuvillers’ diplomatic mission to Constantinople (1793–1795).

Upon his return from Turkey, Hénin (born 1755) took part in the Italian campaign of 1796 and was wounded at Caldiero and Arcole.

Appointed in 1802 as assistant to the general staff in Saint-Domingue, he was entrusted by Rochambeau with the colony’s military...

First separate edition, the text having previously appeared in the series Philipp's new voyages and travels (London, 1820–1823) (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 308).

Bradel-style binding in full grey boards, smooth spine, title label, sprinkled edges; a modern binding.

An exceptionally early account of the coastal region between Macao and Canton, published anonymously despite the initials J.R. at the end of the preface (this J.R. served as supercargo on the ship The Friendship).

[CONSTANTINOPLE] Exceptional album of 54 original caricatures, some captioned, executed in India ink, pencil and watercolour, together with three small pencil drawings on loose leaves. Undated [circa 1872-1873]. Small oblong folio, 47 pp., 40.5 x 27.9 cm. Contemporary overlapping ivory vellum, smooth spine with red rules, a tear at the head of the spine skilfully restored, red fillet border to the boards, a few stains to the covers, comb-marbled endpapers, red edges.

New illustrated edition featuring two lithographed plates out of text and enriched with notes by Francisco de S. Luiz (cf. Brunet I, p. 263; Graesse I, p. 118).

Modern binding in half Havana calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt and black fillets and black floral motifs, black shagreen title piece, marbled paper boards, red edges.

A few light foxing spots, mainly at the beginning of the volume.

This biography, rightly celebrated, met with great success upon publication.

Paris, Arthus Bertrand, undated [1861]. One text volume and an atlas.

Very rare first edition of Voyage dans le Haouran et aux bords de la mer Morte, exécuté pendant les années 1857 et 1858.

The text volume, largely unopened, is illustrated with one plate. The atlas, preserved in a full red cloth box and slipcase, is complete with 27 plates, numbered I to XXVI with an...

Paris, Bellizard, Barthès, Dufour and Lowell, 1835-1843. Eighteen octavo text volumes and one folio atlas.

First edition in French of Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall's Histoire de l'Empire ottoman depuis son origine jusqu'à nos jours, translated by J.-J. Hellert "from the German, using the author's notes and under his supervision". Publication began in 1835, the same year in which the ten-volume German original was completed, making this the first transmission into French of Hammer's monumental history of the Ottoman Empire. Atabey, 557 for the text and 569 for the atlas; Blackmer, 788 for the atlas; Hage...

First edition of this second fascicle, printed in Pondicherry by the Rattinamodeliar Press.

Losses to the cracked backstrip and along the board edges, with a few minor spots.

CCFr records copies only at the BnF (the sole institution to hold a complete run), the Collège de France, and Sainte-Geneviève.

The second of the five fascicles of this exceedingly rare botanical publication: they are devoted respectively to Lawsonia alba [or inermis = henna] and to Aristolochia Indica (Indian birthwort).

Very rare first edition of the Ottoman Turkish translation of Catherine II's new regulations for the administration of the governorates of the Russian Empire, published in Saint Petersburg in 1780.

In the aftermath of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, signed in 1774, Russian expansion towards the Black Sea could no longer be confined to the seizure of fortresses and territory. The newly acquired provinces had to be governed, their inhabitants introduced to the institutions of the Empire, and its regulations made accessible to populations unable to read Russian. The present volume records this decisive transition from military conquest to civil administration through the...

Rare edition printed on laid paper, very likely produced in a small run for Picard bibliophiles (cf. Hage Chahine, 4071).

Listed in the CCF only at Arras, Amiens, and Compiègne.

A few minor spots.

Half cherry morocco binding, spine lightly faded and raised on five bands, a few rubs to the spine, marbled paper sides, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edge, a period binding signed by Petit, successor to Simier.

Robert de Clari (c. 1170 – after 1216) was a Picard knight, vassal to the castellan Pierre d’Amiens.

He took part in the Fourth Crusade alongside his lord Pierre d’Amiens. After the deaths in 1205 of his direct suzerains Pierre d’Amiens and...

"New edition, with parts in first edition, incorporating an unpublished preface; the first edition had appeared in 1927 in Tokyo at the close of Claudel’s ambassadorship in Japan (1921–1927) and was issued in three fan-shaped quarto volumes. Work illustrated with Japanese characters calligraphed by Ikuma Arishima. Composed between June 1926 and January 1927, this essay (blending traditional calligraphy, haiku, and short Western-style verse) bears witness, among Claudel’s other creations, to the influence of the Far East on his poetic practice.

Moving and exceptional presentation inscription, signed and dated by Paul Claudel to his eldest daughter, Marie Claudel, known as...

First edition published anonymously, the work of the Bayonne man of letters Coste d'Arnobat (1732–1808), probably based on accounts provided by English merchants (cf. Barbier IV 1060).

Contemporary half sheep in dark brown, smooth spine tooled with gilt floral motifs, gilt initial “V” at the foot, some rubbing to spine and joints, a small marginal loss at the head of the spine, marbled paper boards, yellow sprinkled edges.

A dampstain affecting the folds of the final ten leaves.

An account of Bambouc, a region of Upper Senegal particularly noted for its gold mines and inhabited by the Mandinka people.

This narrative, later translated into German, offers highly...

Rare first edition of this complete set gathering the three parts of this practical Cantonese manual, accompanied by one of the instructional booklets intended for the Chinese teacher.

The first two volumes are each illustrated with eight plates of ideograms printed hors texte. No copies recorded in the CCFr.

The third volume shows staining at the foot of the spine, a few small spots of foxing, and minor marginal tears with slight losses to the boards of the first volume.

A very uncommon set.

Very rare first edition of the Japanese translation, accompanied by Taiichi Ogawa’s annotated commentary.

Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Alphonse Daudet.

Spine with two tears at head and foot, soiling to the wrappers, a few minor spots internally.

First Japanese edition of Alphonse Daudet’s masterpiece. Harshly received in Provence upon its publication in 1872, despite the support of Frédéric Mistral, the novel soon came to be regarded as one of the landmarks of French literature, and the character of Tartarin became the emblem—and finest ambassador—of the city of Tarascon.

First and only Franco-Chinese edition, illustrated with six etchings reproduced by Frédéric Chevalier.

A single copy recorded in the CCFr (Bulac).

Sole edition of this contemporary curiosity born of the French vogue for all things Oriental: born in 1831, Tin-Tun-Ling (or Ding Dunling) was a Chinese scholar from Shanxi and a political exile in France. Théophile Gautier met him in Paris, grew fond of him, and hired him to teach Chinese to his daughter Judith. Steeped in Far Eastern culture, she delighted in presenting herself as the reincarnation of a Chinese princess. Tin-Tun-Ling then lived in a pavilion built in the Chinese style, set in the garden of the Pré aux Oiseaux –...

First edition of Joseph von Hammer's major history of Persian belles-lettres, published in Vienna in 1818 by Heubner und Volke. Large quarto, XII and 432 pages, with an engraved portrait of the author as frontispiece, a plate of music bound between pages 272 and 273, and an index. The work is dedicated to Silvestre de Sacy.

Contemporary half polished tan calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets, chain tools and floral ornaments, saffron-coloured boards, marbled edges. Joints split at foot and more slightly at head. A handsome copy with generous margins.

Hammer's...

Rare first edition comprising a fine series of 40 two-tone lithographs by Yuko Watanabe depicting Japanese types, scenes of traditional life, costumes, and more: Ronin, hara-kiri, samurai, the attack on Shogun Nobunaga, a geisha’s visit, young women paying a call, a game of go...

Not in Colas, nor Hiler & Hiler; lacking from the Bn; not in Nipponalia or Cordier. Wenckstern, I, p. 228 (gives the Yokohama address, undated, and mentions two volumes, the second—of which no trace could be found—containing 25 plates).

Bound in full beige cloth, smooth spine without lettering, lithograph mounted on the upper cover; twentieth-century binding.

Minor tears affecting three...

First edition illustrated with a folding map at the end of the volume (cf. Nipponalia, I, 2061; Innocencio, IX, 208; lacking from Cordier Japonica, Hill and Palau).

Only two copies recorded in the CCFr (Sorbonne and BULAC).

Rare edition of this account of one of the earliest European voyages undertaken to establish commercial relations with Japan, following the success of the American Commodore Perry in 1853.

Spine cracked with loss at foot, traces of adhesive paper at the head and tail of the endpapers, modern bookplate pasted on the verso of the front cover.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Revue des arts décoratifs of January 1885.

Unbound copy.

Copies recorded in the CCFr only at the BnF, the Musée des Arts décoratifs, and Troyes.

This offprint gathers the three lectures delivered on 18, 21, and 25 October 1884 by the influential art critic Philippe Burty (1830–1890), a key figure in the emergence of Japonism.

Inscribed by Philippe Burty to the archivist and historian Pierre Margry (1818–1894).

First edition of the French translation by the Parisian jurist Luc de La Porte, doctor of law (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 12; Sabin 27780; Palau 105509; Alden, European Americana, 588/37; Leclerc [1878], 258; Streit IV, 1999; Atkinson, 339).

Paris, Jérémie Périer, 1588.

Two parts bound in one octavo volume: 12 unnumbered leaves, 112 leaves, 323 leaves - with errors in foliation - and 25 unnumbered leaves of table and errata.

First edition illustrated with three folding plates.

Half vellum binding, smooth spine, gilt initials at foot, black sheep title label with some rubbing, red sheep year label, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, restored original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.

Rare Saigon printing. This uncommon directory was published under this title until 1888; in 1889 it became the Annuaire de l'Indo-Chine française.

Saigon, Imprimerie coloniale, followed by Imprimerie Rey, Curiol & Cie, Imprimerie commerciale Rey, Ménard & Legros, L. Ménard and F.-H. Schneider, 1886-1911. Twenty-seven separately issued reports bound in six quarto volumes, covering the years 1884-1910.

A rare complete annual run for the twenty-seven years from 1884 to 1910 of the Situation commerciale issued by the Saigon Chamber of Commerce, one of the principal printed statistical sources for the study of the colonial economy of...

Unpublished complete autograph manuscript, dated and signed, written by the Vicomte Edmond de Poncins between 12 September 1891 and 12 June 1892. 775 pages, incorrectly numbered 1-567 and then 567-774. Small folio (21 x 34.5 cm).

Contemporary half dark green shagreen with corners, spine with five raised bands ruled in black and decorated with blind compartments and central gilt floral tools, lettered in gilt "Notes sur l'Inde, 1892". At the beginning of the volume, the author himself gives the slightly different title "Notes sur les Indes". Green boards framed with blind rules, comb-marbled...

Paris, Auxerre and various places, January 1886-August 1887.

A collection of 59 autograph letters signed by Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes and addressed to members of his family, comprising approximately 180 pages, mostly octavo. Most are written on black-bordered mourning paper; several bear the letterhead of the French Ministry of the Navy and Colonies, Inspectorate-General of Artillery.

The letters extend from January 1886 to August 1887. Almost all were written in Paris, a few bear no place, and one was written at Auxerre on 1 July 1886. Forty-seven...

First edition of the French translation prepared by A. J. B. Defauconpret (see Brunet III, 555; Quérard IV, 230; not in Field).

The work is illustrated with 20 charming aquatint plates, 6 of them hand-coloured, and a folding plan. The English first edition contained only 13 aquatints.

Contemporary Bradel bindings in full sand-coloured paper boards, red morocco spine labels for title and volume numbers (partly faded), flat spines gilt with a central floral tool, light rubbing to spines, upper caps slightly worn, two corners bumped, entirely uncut. Period bindings.

Pleasant, clean internal condition.

Johnson was a British officer in India who chose to return to...

Autograph letter signed by Charles Baudelaire, addressed to Antoine Arondel, written in black ink on a single sheet of blue paper.
Folds typical of mailing; minor losses expertly restored without affecting the text; a small tear on the signature discreetly repaired. This letter is transcribed in Correspondance I of Baudelaire (Pléiade, p. 277) and dated by Claude Pichois to May 1854.
In it, Baudelaire sends theatre tickets to his art dealer Antoine Arondel — a notorious and unscrupulous character who exploited the poet’s boundless taste for fine arts...

Third edition, the second issued under this title, partly original as it includes several new memoirs and the general tariff of Holland.

See Sabin 47557. Cioranescu 35613. Kress 3019. Not in Goldsmiths or Einaudi. See INED 2306 for the "Grand trésor historique et politique du florissant commerce des Hollandois" (1712).

Amsterdam, Du Villard, Changuion, 1718, 8vo,

Full mottled tan calf, spine with raised bands decorated with gilt fillets, garlands and floral tools (partly faded), red morocco title label, gilt rolls at the head and tail, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillet on board edges, red edges, one lower corner bumped, others slightly rubbed, contemporary...

First edition illustrated with a large folding map at the end of the volume (cf. Cordier, Indosinica, 1628 and 2533).

Half sheep binding in burgundy, flat spine decorated with two double gilt fillets, gilt title running lengthwise, marbled paper boards marginally faded with a loss at the foot of the upper cover, minor rubbing to the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.

A restored loss in the blank margin of the title-page.

Our copy is complete with its large map drawn and lithographed by R. Hausermann, folded, together with 5 full-page figures.

Rare issue consisting of an extract from l'Exploration, revue géographique.

A...

First edition, illustrated with a large folding lithographed map of the Indochinese peninsula in color, cf. Cordier, Indosinica, p. 1000.

Contemporary half green goatskin, spine faded and decorated with triple gilt fillets, marbled paper boards with losses, a corner loss at the foot of the upper cover extending to the following pages without affecting the text, endpapers and pastedowns of combed paper, corners rubbed, binding of the period.

A marginal tear to the map.

Rare publication of the "Revue indo-chinoise," issues 82-87.

In 1898, Laos was incorporated into the Indochinese Union at the initiative of Paul Doumer, Governor-General of Indochina from 1897 to...

First edition, of which no copies were issued on deluxe paper.

Illustrated, complete with the two folding maps at the end of the volume.

Inscribed by René Grousset: "A monsieur Benoist-Méchin en témoignage de profonde reconnaissance" and additionally signed by Geneviève Grousset.

Accompanied by a one-page autograph letter signed by René Grousset to Jacques Benoist-Méchin, in which he thanks him for his interventions on behalf of his son-in-law and daughter, whom he saved.

Second editions, partially original, of the French and Dutch translations; the text is bilingual (Dutch and French), and includes numerous passages printed in Malay (cf. Cordier, "Indosinica", 1385. Not mentioned by Quérard).

Bound in chocolate-brown half shagreen, spine with four small raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and dots, joints split then restored, marbled paper boards showing some scratches, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, small tears to edges; 19th-century binding.

Waterstains affecting the first and last few leaves of the volume.

The translator’s lengthy preface (47 pp.) appears here for the first time. Pages 235 to 344 contain exercises (original...

First edition comprising 3 pages of ideograms, figures in the text, and 12 full-page illustrations.

Spine lacking, stains and losses to the boards, black stains to the edges and at the foot of the final leaves.

Rare illustrated Calendar of Annam... monastic period (1869).

First edition, printed in a very small number of copies, of this extract from the Revue archéologique.

The booklet is illustrated with several figures in the text and, at the beginning of the volume, a full-page plate.

Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau (1846-1923), orientalist and archaeologist, made major archaeological discoveries in Palestine, where he had resided since 1867 as dragoman-chancellor at the French consulate. Appointed consul in Jaffa in 1881, he accepted a mission on the Egyptian coast east of the Nile, in Philistia, Phoenicia and Palestine; he published the results in the Archives des missions scientifiques.

Until his death, he pursued a dual...

First edition, adorned at the beginning of the volume with a folding facsimile (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1732).

Spine reinforced with an adhesive strip, minor marginal losses to the boards, some foxing.

These Practical Exercises are in fact a reply to the personal attacks and to two articles by M. Pauthier published in the Journal asiatique of Paris (nos. 66 and 67 of volume XII).

They "constitute the confirmation and complement" of his earlier work entitled "Examen critique de quelques pages de chinois relatives à l'Inde", translated by M. G. Pauthier, accompanied by grammatical discussions on certain rules of position which, in Chinese, play the same role as...

First edition adorned with numerous copper-engraved reproductions of medals and coins distributed across 4 plates outside the text, together with 19 vignettes within the text.

Half blue sheep binding with corners, unlettered spine with five raised bands, moiré-patterned paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved, front cover marginally soiled, modern binding.

Rare collection of twelve letters focused on coinage.

The Lorrain scholar Nicolas-Damas Marchant (1767-1833) was a military physician, numismatist, and also served as mayor of Metz from 1 November 1805 to 6 May 1815, spanning almost the entire Imperial period.

First edition illustrated with 5 plates outside the text, including 4 folding lithographs printed in Marseille by Charavel: Plan of the camp at the foot of Mount Elbrus, View of Mount Elbrus, Inscription in Russian, Huno-Scythian alphabet, Inscription on two white marbles found at Magyar (cf. Blackmer 131, Atabey 105).

Spine split with small losses, some corner defects to the boards.

"The author was interested in tracing the origins of the Magyars to the Caucasian peoples. In 1829-1830 he travelled through the Caucasus and then into Armenia. He also produced a Turkish grammar,"

Abrégé de la Grammaire Turque, Pest, 1829 [Leonora Navari].

On the...

Black and white photographic portrait depicting the Philippine dictator seated at his desk.

Accompanied by an official letter on the headed paper of the Office of the President of the Philippines, together with its envelope.

Manuscript signature of Ferdinand Marcos in black ink.

Provenance: from the collection of renowned autograph collector Claude Armand.

First edition of each of the fascicles.

Half brown sheep binding, spine slightly faded with four raised bands framed by blind fillets and decorated with gilt floral tools, some rubbing to the spine and along the edges of the boards, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners rubbed, contemporary binding.

This collection of pamphlets includes: 1) Voyage à Tahiti. n.d., 12 pp. 2) Voyage en Cochinchine. Algiers, Impr. Algérienne, 1923, 20 pp. 3) Dans les mers du sud. Australie, Nouvelle-Calédonie. n.d., 20 pp. 4) L'île Bourbon ou une perle de la mer des Indes. Algiers, Impr. Algérienne, 1923, 16 pp. 5) L'exotisme dans la littérature française. n.d., 16 pp. 6)...

First edition of this important series of plates, published in Lyon by Louis Perrin in 1858 following Antoine-Marie Chenavard's journey through Greece and the Levant in 1843-1844.

Folio. 81 steel-engraved plates by various artists, including Dubouchet, after drawings by Antoine-Marie Chenavard and Étienne Rey: a route map, a plan of Athens dated 1843, and 79 plates numbered I-LXXV. The series includes plates LVIbis and LVIIbis, called for in the plate list, together with XXVIIIbis and XLVIIIbis, neither of which appears in the list and both of which occur only in certain copies. The present copy therefore...

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a portrait frontispiece and a folding map of Beloutchistan and Sindhy, together with parts of Kotch, Sedjistan, Khorasan, and Persia (cf. Quérard VII, 300).

Traces of removed bookplates on the pastedowns.

Half blond sheepskin bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and garlands, title and volume labels in fawn sheep, upper cap of the second volume lacking, small loss to the upper cap of the first volume, traces of rubbing to the spines, corners in green vellum, marbled paper boards, sprinkled edges, contemporary bindings.

First edition of this treatise on the jurisdictional privileges granted to France by the Porte, a true system of exemptions benefiting French nationals.

Bound in full black cloth, spines smoothly restored, red morocco lettering-pieces, blind-ruled panels on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

In addition to reduced customs duties, those concerned were exempted from most local taxes and subject only to the jurisdiction of their consulates, rather than to Ottoman courts.

Small areas of discoloration to the covers, some scattered foxing.

Rare first edition.

Spine and boards slightly sunned along the margins.

Dated and signed autograph inscription from C. Martin Saint-Léon to Baron Hulot, Secretary General of the Société de Géographie, on the front free endpaper.

The character and spirit of the Vietnamese as seen from a French perspective.

First edition illustrated with a large folding map of Algeria outside the text, together with a portrait frontispiece.

Gay 938: "le fait capital du volume est la prise de Constantine."

Pleasing copy.

First edition, only two copies listed in the CCF (Archives nationales, Arras).

Spine split with some losses. 

Complete with the two successive reports (1 February 1862; 6 June 1863).

Very rare first edition. 

Some light foxing.

Contemporary 19th-century modest half-grained cloth binding, spine faded, marbled paper boards with surface abrasions, yellow endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges. 

Sole edition, uncommon, of this vindication by Jacob Spon (1647-1685) concerning his major travel account of the Levant (Voyage d'Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grèce et du Levant, fait aux années 1675 & 1676), published in 1678.

First edition, one of 20 deluxe copies on Holland paper, the only large-paper issue, reimposed in octavo, while the ordinary edition was issued in duodecimo. Vicaire and Carteret record 25 copies; the printed justification on the verso of the half-title in the present copy, however, states 20. Cf. Vicaire III, 305-306; Carteret I, 222.

Contemporary full stiff ivory vellum, smooth spine with longitudinal printed title, marbled-paper endleaves and pastedowns. A fine copy.

A particularly desirable signed autograph presentation inscription appears on the half-title...

First edition.

Half blue shagreen, spine with four raised bands decorated with gilt floral tools within blind-ruled compartments, blind fillet borders on indigo percaline boards, boards with marginal soiling at foot, brown paper endleaves and pastedowns, modern bookplate affixed to a pastedown, contemporary binding.

Some scattered foxing, a black ink stain on the edge not affecting the text.

Second edition, the only complete one (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1430).

Spine split with small angular losses, scattered foxing.

It deals with educational institutions, examinations, and public instruction under the various dynasties.

Appended are notes on the method used in China to study the pronunciation of characters, on the organization of the Chinese administration, and on a collection of examination questions for candidates to literary degrees.

Two memoirs bound in one volume with continuous pagination. The engineer Edouard-Constant Biot (1803-1850), son of the mathematician Jean-Baptiste Biot and pupil of Stanislas Julien, rapidly became an outstanding...

First edition of this finely crafted narrative retracing the journey of the author, appointed in December 1854 as First Secretary to the French legation in Persia, under the direction of Prosper Bourée.

Some foxing.

Bound in half bottle-green shagreen, spine with four raised bands decorated with triple gilt compartments, blind-tooled borders on morocco-grained cloth boards, school emblem gilt-stamped at the centre of the upper cover [Lycée de Nevers], marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, contemporary binding.

The journey was undertaken by sea from Marseille to Bushir, then by caravan to Isfahan and Tehran: Malta, Alexandria, Cairo, Jeddah, Aden, Muscat...

First complete edition, constituting vol. 15 of the Archives d'études orientales published by J.-A. Lundell (9 copies recorded in the CCFr, including 1 in Lyon and 8 in Paris).

The work was originally a doctoral thesis defended in 1915, later expanded with supplements issued up until 1926.

Publisher’s binding in half blue cloth, smooth spine with minor rubbing, silver lettering on the spine, brown paper-covered boards, Chinese red ink stamps on the title and half-title leaves, corners bumped.

Some small angular paper losses on pp. 241, 243, and 707, without loss of text.

New edition illustrated with numerous engravings in the text: plants, animals, musical scores, geometrical figures, electrical devices, assorted objects, etc.

The table on p. 1323 presents the periodic classification of the elements; the figure on p. 1483 illustrates the path of light rays passing through lenses.

Publisher’s binding in half black percaline, spine titled in Chinese characters, sand-coloured boards slightly soiled at the margins, corners rubbed, endpapers partially toned.

The Cihai, or "Sea of Words," is a Chinese encyclopedic dictionary, work on which began in 1915 and which was first published in 1936.

Fourth edition of the French translation (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1696).

Bilingual Chinese-French text. With a loose leaf of Corrigenda (1 p. in-12). Shanghai, Catholic Mission Press, T'ou-Sè-Wè Orphanage, 1906.

Half purple percaline binding with corners, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, black cloth boards, minor superficial scratches to the covers, sprinkled edges, contemporary binding.

The first French edition appeared in 1887: it was an adaptation of a conversation guide intended for Japanese students of Chinese in Peking.

Its success lay in its practical nature, which led to further editions in 1893, 1901, 1906, and 1919.

The present edition...

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...

First edition of this correspondence recounting the journey of Joseph-François Michaud and Jean-Joseph-François Poujoulat through Greece, the Archipelago, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Egypt (cf. Atabey 807. Blackmer 1122. Contominas 465).

Minor losses to corners on some boards and spines, a pleasant set overall.

Our copy retains, at the end of volume II, the extremely rare map that is missing from most other copies.

First and only edition, illustrated in the first volume with 9 folding plates and 4 large maps at the end; and in the second volume with in-text figures and 10 folding maps at the end (numbered 10–19 as a continuation of the first volume).

A few minor spots, not affecting the text; handwritten ownership inscriptions in the upper left corners of the front covers.

The work, complete in two volumes (I. With 9 plates out of text. – II. The March to Battle. The Battle. The Engagement), is regarded as the most thorough strategic and tactical study of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.

Émilien-Victor, known as Emile Cordonnier (1858–1936), then a colonel of infantry, served...

First edition of the second orientalist bibliography compiled by Henri Cordier (1849–1925), following his Sinica (1878–1895).

The first four volumes are bound in full red cloth, smooth spines (spine of the first volume slightly faded), marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern bindings.

The fifth and final volume, published in 1932, is in original wrappers.

Copy from the library of the Indologist Émile Sénart (1847–1928), with his printed ownership stamps on the title pages of volumes three and four.

Rare complete set in five volumes.

First edition, illustrated with 67 full-page color plates, as well as 2 maps and a full-page sketch.

A rare and significant work.

Small loss to the foot of the spine on the first volume, spines lightly marked and cracked in places; otherwise a pleasing complete set in 4 volumes.

First edition of both parts; the second includes a folding map at the end.

No copies of either text recorded in the CCF (Catalogue collectif de France).

Pale green cloth Bradel binding, flat spine with vertical green morocco label, original wrappers preserved for both volumes, green paper endleaves and pastedowns; modern binding.

These are the very first reports on the Central Asian expedition (Ladakh, Xinjiang) undertaken in 1913–1914 by Dr. Filippo De Filippi (1869–1938).

A rare and attractive set.

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.

First edition of this uncommon work (cf. Atabey 138. Blackmer 178.)

Return journey via the Black Sea, Rumelia, Bulgaria, Russian Bessarabia, the Danubian Principalities, Hungary, Austria and Prussia, in May, June, July and August 1853. Paris, Treuttel et Würtz, Dumoulin, Derache, Victor Didron, 1855, 2 vols. 12mo,

Contemporary half cherry calf bindings, flat spines decorated with gilt fillets, dotted lines, and garlands, gilt rolls at foot, black marks and discoloration to spines and boards, red paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Occasional light spotting, a fresh and well-preserved copy.

New edition illustrated with 47 engraved and hand-colored costume plates (cf. Colas 2784).

This is a reissue, under the Metz imprint, of a portion (volume IV) of the Tableau Historique des costumes, des moeurs et des usages des principaux peuples de l'antiquité et du moyen âge, originally published in Paris and Metz between 1804 and 1809.

Rare and attractive copy preserved in its original publisher’s wrappers, with the original plain waiting cover and a printed title label affixed at the head of the spine.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a folding map in the first volume (see Cordier, Sinica, 2094; Quérard I, 260; not in Schwab or Atabey. Blackmer (111) owned only the English edition: Travels from St. Petersburg in Russia, to diverse parts of Asia, Glasgow, 1763).

Contemporary full marbled calf bindings, spines with five raised bands richly gilt in double panels, brown or green morocco title-pieces (in the second volume), red morocco volume labels, gilt rolls on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets to edges, marbled edges, some corners a bit rubbed.

Minor wormholes on the upper board of the first volume, light scuffing to...

First edition of the French translation by Philippe Florent de Puisieux (see Chadenat 1412 and 6038; Brunet 27050; Polak 5580; and Sabin 3968 for the English edition).

The first volume retains its engraved frontispiece.

Contemporary full calf bindings, spines with five raised bands decorated with double gilt panels and ornamental tooling, red morocco labels for title and volume number, gilt roll tooling on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, partially faded gilt fillets on board edges, red edges.

Two scratches and two small losses to the upper covers of the first two volumes.

A handsome copy, attractively bound, from the library of Darest de Saconay...

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...

First edition of each volume.

No copy of this series listed in the CCF.

Contemporary bindings in quarter bottle-green or black sheep, flat spines decorated with double gilt fillets, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of combed or tub-marbled paper; the first volume bound at the time of publication.

Some rubbing to the headcaps of the first two volumes.

 I. Minutes of the twenty-sixth [- thirty-ninth] meeting, 18 January 1932 [26 October 1932]: 6 pp., 7 pp., 9 pp., 11 pp., 5 pp., 3 pp., 3 pp., 4 pp., 2 pp., 6 pp., 9 pp., 4 pp., 3 pp., 4 pp. II. Minutes of the fortieth [forty-eighth] meeting, 7 February 1933 [21 December 1933]: 8 pp., 4 pp., 4 pp., 6...

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...