Travel books to Middle East & Arab World, pilgrimages, exploration accounts, maps and illustrated works, Mediterranean, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Arabian peninsula, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Persian world

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de Constantine de l'année 1873.

Not in Tailliart.

Front wrapper detached then reattached, losses to the spine, small chips to the corners.

Scarce work illustrated with 14 plates printed hors texte and numbered I–XII (including plates VI bis and ter). Not in Tailliart.

A volunteer in the Corps of Engineers from 1841 onward, Baptiste-Charles Brunon (1821–1888) spent most of his military career in Algeria; after the 1871 war he returned to oversee the Engineering Corps in Constantine.

Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 1697, Playfair 554, Polak 5050).

Spine clumsily restored with small losses, slight marginal tears to the covers, a few scattered foxmarks.

The crew of the "Béarnaise," consisting of about thirty men, seized the citadel of Bone without firing a single shot.

First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with three folding maps (cf. Tailliart 3080; Playfair 4334).

The original colour map, frequently lacking, has here been supplied in photomechanical reproduction, while the two others are later insertions.

Full brick-coloured sheep binding, unlettered spine with five raised bands showing traces of rubbing, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved; modern binding.

Minor foxing, pencil annotations on the initial endpapers and in the margins of several passages, with a handwritten note in blue ink "états de service" at the head of the front endpaper, followed by a brief pencilled biography...

First edition of the French translation.

Contemporary half vellum binding, smooth spine gilt with a small fleur-de-lis ornament at the foot, black shagreen title label, marbled paper sides.

The sole edition of this version (a portion had already been made available to the French public in 1837 under the title Histoire de la fondation de la Régence d'Alger). Alphonse Rousseau (1820–1870), first interpreter at the French General Consulate in Tunis, later served as Consul General.

Modern Pierre Libaude bookplate pasted to a free endpaper; a few minor spots.

Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 3062).

A disbound copy preserved in a plain brown paper wrapper, the titles handwritten in ink on the spine and upper cover, with a faint marginal dampstain to the title-page.

Edmond Doutté (1867–1926) was a sociologist, orientalist and Islamic scholar — fluent in both Arabic and Berber —, a multifaceted French intellectual and, above all, a French explorer of Islam and the Maghreb in his time, to whom Marcel Mauss paid tribute ("explorateur complet, géographe, géologue, naturaliste, anthropologue, ethnographe, sociologue, historien, linguiste, agent d'information")

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, illustrated with a large folding colour map printed out of text (cf. Tailliart 2645).

Bradel binding in half blue percaline, the smooth spine slightly sunned, the brown skiver lettering-piece lightly rubbed, marbled-paper boards, blue endpapers and pastedowns showing a few small spots, corners softened, top edge sprinkled.

A few light spots.

The only edition of this comprehensive survey of the state of Algeria, published after the death of Jules Ferry (17 March 1893), the driving force behind the senatorial commission that had commissioned the work. It serves as a reminder that Ferry was a staunch advocate of France’s colonial expansion and of the mission...

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...

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.

Very rare first edition.

This printing does not include the two maps later added by the publisher in the second issue, intended to illustrate the itinerary for readers who had not acquired the atlas (corresponding to plates XVIII and XXIV of the atlas), cf. Hage Chahine 3995. Röhricht 480-481. Chadenat 1712.

The text volume is largely unopened and includes one full-page plate.

The atlas volume, housed in a red full-cloth box and slipcase, is complete with all 27 plates (numbered I to XXVI, XVIII [bis]; plates XIX-XX are printed on a single sheet).

A very fine and rare copy in its original condition.

First edition, illustrated with a single folding plate bearing two figures: a plan of Algiers and its surroundings (cf. Quérard IV, 343 : does not record the plate and gives xlviii pp. for the "pièces à l'appui" indeed, p. xlviii carries, like the final leaf, the printer's address. Tailliart 2420 : does not record the plate).

Minor marginal losses to the spine and boards, a few light spots.

"Causes de la rupture avec Alger. Historique des rapports de la France avec Alger. Les torts des représentants d'Alger dans la Régence pendant ces dernières années. Ultimatum. Blocus. Nécessité d'une enquête ou au moins d'une information spéciale avant d'entreprendre une expédition...

Very rare first edition of this splendid photographic album, produced in Cairo in 1871, representing the first illustrated catalogue of the earliest museum devoted to Egyptology.

The photographs by Hippolyte Delié and Émile Béchard depict the rooms and antiquities of the Boulaq Museum, founded in Cairo in 1863 by the eminent Egyptologist Auguste Mariette (1821–1881).

The album comprises forty albumen prints (approx. 24.5 × 18 cm), mounted on thick card leaves set on guards, each accompanied by a letterpress commentary leaf (except plates 4 and 11, which each have two). The prints are mounted on the versos of the plates, the rectos bearing the printed captions.

Rare first edition (cf. Tailliart 2391).

Backstrip skewed and untitled, with a few losses and small tears to the board corners; light dampstaining at the head of the opening leaves, otherwise a clean and pleasing copy.

The author served as a military intendant and published several concise monographs on fortification and military administration.

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...

First edition of the earliest of the four works devoted by the deputy Amédée Desjobert (1796–1853) to the situation in Algeria (the second concerns the year 1838 – see below –, the third 1844, and the last 1846) (cf. Tailliart 2333).

Contemporary full tree-calf bindings, smooth spines gilt with garlands, fillets and floral tools, the gilt sometimes a touch dulled, red morocco lettering-pieces, green morocco volume labels slightly faded at the margins, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets to the board edges, marbled edges, modern bookplates mounted to the endpapers, contemporary bindings.

A few small losses to the leather on the boards, the half-title to the first work wanting, a...

First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with four hors-texte plates printed on chamois paper.

Not recorded by Brunet, who lists the author’s principal works.

Scattered foxing, including to the boards.

The orientalist Michelangelo Lanci (1779–1867) produced a fascinating blend of genuine erudition and improbable conjectures, shaped by the pre-critical and broadly concordist mindset then prevailing without challenge in the learned circles of pontifical Rome (Lanci being a subject of the Pope).

This largely accounts for the profound neglect into which most of his works have since fallen.

Prisse d’Avennes (1807–1879), who had worked with Champollion...

First edition (cf. Tailliart 2540).

Quarter shagreen in a dark bottle-green hue with corner pieces, the smooth spine slightly toned and decorated with blind fillets, marbled paper sides, cat’s-eye patterned endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding signed Honnelaître.

A light marginal dampmark at the foot of the half-title and title pages; scattered, unobtrusive foxing.

The author (1781–1852) was a colonial administrator: "Une introduction de trente pages sur les erreurs de la politique suivie à l’égard des Arabes : trop de faiblesse chez nous ; de glorieuses expéditions, mais pas de résultat positif durable. Il attaque Bresson qui a préconisé la formation d’un empire...

First edition, illustrated with 12 in-text reproductions of coins.

Contemporary half Russian-cherry morocco over marbled boards, smooth spine gilt with a floral tool, date gilt at foot, marbled paste-paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt edges at head.

Sole edition, uncommon.

Henri Lavoix (1820–1892) served as curator of the Department of Medals and Antiquities at the Bibliothèque nationale.

At the head of the half-title, which shows heavy foxing, signed presentation inscription from Henri Michel Lavoix to the archaeologist Alban-Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), a specialist in medieval Syria and in particular the Frankish settlements...

Rare first edition illustrated with 31 figures in the text.

Contemporary half blond calf, the spine slightly sunned, with five raised bands decorated with gilt and black fillets, fawn morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper sides, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled comb-marbled edges.

Christophe-Edouard Mauss (1829–1914), architect to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, undertook several archaeological missions in the Levant (Salonika, Smyrna, Alexandria) before being sent by the French government to Jerusalem (1862–1874) to restore the Church of Saint Anne.

He was also deeply interested in ancient metrology, on which he wrote several monographs (the final...

Very rare first edition.

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

Half blond calf, spine lightly sunned, with five raised bands decorated with gilt and black fillets, tan morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, mottled comb-marbled edges, original front wrapper preserved; contemporary binding.

The architect of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christophe-Edouard Mauss (1829–1914), undertook several archaeological missions in the Levant (Salonika, Smyrna, Alexandria) before being sent by the French government to Jerusalem (1862–1874) to restore the Church of Saint Anne. He also developed a...

New edition, one of 50 copies on deluxe paper (no. 29/500) and issued with a named dedication, ours specially printed for Baron Emmanuel-Alban Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), orientalist and archaeologist specializing in medieval Syria.

Full rigid vellum binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and floral tools, brick-brown morocco title label, gilt place and date at foot, gilt cornerpieces on the covers, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.

A poetic account of the exploits of Peter I of Lusignan, King of Cyprus (1328–1369), written shortly after his death at the request of Charles V, and centered on the so-called “Alexandrian Crusade,” the ill-fated...

First edition illustrated with 24 plates, including 18 views and cross-sections, and 6 folding maps and plans (cf. Tailliart, 1229).

Half brown shagreen binding, spine faded with five raised bands, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, brown endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding signed Honnelaître.

First and last leaves lightly and partially soiled.

This volume gathers the official reports of the exploration mission led by Mircher (1820–1878), Vatonne, and Polignac, which departed from Tripoli in 1862 and returned via El-Oued after signing a trade treaty with the people of Ghadamès and the Tuareg. This agreement enabled the inclusion of the locality within Algeria...

First edition of the French translation.

Full flexible bottle-green cloth binding, smooth spine with rubbing, author's name and title gilt-stamped on the upper cover, some surface wear to the boards, wrappers preserved.

Rare first edition (cf. Caillet 3017).

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

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

First illustrated edition, with four folding plates bound at the end of the volume (cf. Tailliart 1979).

Contemporary half green calf binding, flat spine faded and yellowed, decorated with a gilt cartouche and ornamental tooling at head and tail, caps trimmed, joints fragile, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, period binding.

Some foxing.

In fact, this pamphlet was intended as the first of a series, hence the general title; however, only this installment was ever published. The secondary title specifies the subject of the volume: "Relation d'une excursion de Bône à Guelma et à Constantine, par sir Grenville Temple et le...

First edition illustrated with six folding lithographed plates (cf. Tailliart 1862).

Contemporary full tan sheepskin binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and floral motifs, partially faded, brown morocco title label, some rubbing to the spine, surface abrasions to the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

Two library ink stamps on the endpaper, a few small spots of foxing inside.

A work serving both as a firsthand account and a collection of documents (from page 109 onward) on the events surrounding the conquest of Algiers.

Pierre-Paul Denniée (1781–1848) was Chief Intendant of the Army of Africa.

First edition, large octavo, illustrated with 78 engravings together with 12 chromotypographic plates by George Roux and 2 coloured maps.
Publisher’s binding by Hetzel in full red cloth signed A. Lenègre, with the "portrait collé" design: the upper cover signed Souze, polychrome, depicting various means of transport (balloon, locomotive, ships), with a sepia-toned portrait of the author mounted at the centre, and various navigational instruments highlighted in gilt in the foreground; lower cover of type "e" as recorded by Jauzac; spine decorated with several gilt and coloured illustrations; original blue endpapers; one upper corner slightly crimped; all edges gilt. HF catalogue at the...

First edition of the French translation of the only portion translated (and adapted) from the monumental Geographie der Griechen und Römer, comprising 14 volumes published between 1788 and 1825 in Nuremberg, which at the time constituted the finest synthesis of the Ancients’ geographical understanding of the known world (cf. Brunet 23 388).

First gatherings loosened, angular losses to the spine and boards, a few minor spots of foxing.

Konrad Mannert (1756–1834) was among the foremost Bavarian historians of his time.

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.

Bradel binding in half beige cloth, smooth spine, black oasis morocco lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved, slightly soiled at the margins and reinforced, modern binding signed Laurenchet.

Some minor foxing.

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 an engraved view of Oran by Fichot.

Only three records in the CCF (BnF, Troyes, Saint-Geniez). Not listed in Tailliart.

Contemporary half bottle-green cloth, smooth spine decorated with false raised bands and blind-stamped fillets, marbled paper boards, rubbed corners.

Some minor foxing, endpapers partly shaded.

Sole edition of this curious work composed by a "first-class engineer guard," intended to counter metropolitan prejudices against the Arabs of Algeria.

First edition, on ordinary paper, of the French translation.
A small tear restored at the foot of the spine, a pleasing copy.
Letter-preface by Jean Cocteau, preface by Somerset Maugham.
Illustrated cover with a portrait of the Aga Khan by Kees Van Dongen, with iconography.

Rare and precious signed autograph presentation from the Aga Khan to Madame Avrillier.

 

First edition of this important and early collection of 50 superb lithographs of Algiers printed on china paper mounted on heavy wove, executed by the two painters Emile-Aubert Lessore (1805–1876), a pupil of Ingres, and William Wyld (1806–1889), a friend of Vernet. The work was originally issued in five parts: buildings, landscapes, figures, scenes, etc.

See: Bibliothèque algérienne de Gérard Sangnier, no. 207. Not in Blackmer. Playfair, 517. Tailliart, 896. Gay, 919. Brunet III, 1018.

Contemporary binding in half green shagreen, flat spine with triple gilt fillets and blind-stamped fleurons, gilt decorative bands at head and foot of spine, the upper band partially faded...

New edition from the rare Ottoman presses in 1888. Printed in the calligraphy of Mustafa Nazif Efendi. 77 engravings, including 4 full-page, with numerous half-page ornaments and headpieces.

Contemporary Ottoman binding (buffalo or gazelle) in full leather with reddish-brown flap. Flat spine, renewed in the 20th century. Boards elaborately decorated with large framing panels of scrolls and flowers. Central medallion. Part of the upper board restored. Flap with small losses at headcaps and rubbing. Flap uniformly darkened to brown. Endpapers renewed. Paper in perfect condition.

First edition of this collection of articles published in L'Opinion nationale (cf. Tailliart, 2584).

Half cherry calf binding, spine darkened with five raised bands, a date written in black ink at the head of the spine, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, contemporary binding.

Auguste-Hubert Warnier (1810-1875), the son of a soldier of the Empire, first practised as a surgeon, then as a physician with the Army of Africa from 1834 to 1851, before embarking on a brilliant political career which briefly made him prefect, but above all deputy for Algiers from 1871. He was regarded as a specialist in all matters, indigenous or...

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)...

Seventh edition (cf. Playfair 1723).

Spine restored, small angular losses to the boards filled, staining to the covers, pleasant condition internally.

Alexandre-Marie Bellemare (1818-1885) served as official interpreter at the Directorate of Algerian Affairs.

First edition of the French translation with the Arabic text following.

Contemporary half cherry sheep binding with corners, spine without lettering and with five raised bands, marbled paper boards, pink paper endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved.

The pre-Islamic Arab poet Zuhayr ibn Abî Sulma (530–627) holds a central place in Arabic literature, although his life remains little known. He is the author of one of the seven Mu'allaqât, the canonical anthologies of Arabic poetry.

Rare and attractive copy.

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.

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 illustrated with 62 figures in the text or full-page, included in the pagination.

Half green oasis morocco, spine with five raised bands, marbled paper sides, endpapers and pastedowns of marbled paper, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, modern binding signed Laurenchet.

A few small spots of foxing, manuscript ex-dono at the head of the front wrapper.

A pleasing copy.

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 15 numbered copies on Japan paper, the only deluxe issue.

Illustrated with 121 wood engravings and a folding coloured map.

Bound in modern half black oasis, flat spine decorated with double gilt fillets, brown oasis lettering-piece, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of marbled paper, lower cover preserved and mounted on a tab.

First edition, one of 20 deluxe copies on Holland paper, the only large-paper issue, reimposed in octavo format (the ordinary edition being in duodecimo).

Cf. Vicaire III, 305-306. Carteret I, 222.

Contemporary full stiff ivory vellum, smooth spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Fine copy.

Bibliographers mention 25 copies, which seems difficult to account for, as the limitation is clearly stated on the verso of the half-title. This procedure was customary for the author (Les Six aventures, 1857, was issued in the same dual printing).

Precious presentation copy inscribed and signed by Maxime Du Camp to the celebrated critic Jules Janin...

First edition, illustrated with 11 lithographed plates by Théodule Devéria and printed by Kaeppelin.

Some occasional foxing.

Rare.

First edition of this magnificent work, one of Gustave Le Bon’s (1841–1931) contributions to anthropology, in which he applied his pioneering theories to the Arab world. One of the few copies printed on japon paper, unrecorded in bibliographies.

Illustrated with 10 chromolithographs, 4 maps, and 366 engravings, including 70 large plates, after the author’s photographs or the most reliable documentary sources. Cf. Vicaire V, 134.

Contemporary half cherry-red shagreen, spine with five raised bands adorned with gilt fillets and double gilt compartments, double gilt fillet frame on marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edge gilt.

Minor...

First edition of the French translation of the compilation entitled Historia de la dominacion de los Arabes en España sacada de varios manuscritos y memorias arabigas (Madrid, 1820–21), cf. Playfair 528. Palau 59020.

Contemporary bindings in black half sheepskin, flat spines decorated with gilt garlands and blind-tooled floral ornaments, gilt library shelfmark numbers at foot, vellum-tipped corners, headcaps rubbed on two volumes, covers in mottled paper, bookplates pasted on the endpapers, a few small chips to the upper edges and corners of the third volume, sprinkled edges.

Scattered foxing, minor rubbing to the bindings.

Copy from the library of Vittorio...

Fourth edition after the original of 1577 published in Paris by Nicolas Chesneau and the edition by Abel L'Angelier printed in 1584. It is identical to the 1612 edition by Artus Thomas d'Embry, the first to contain engravings and to offer the four final texts. It is illustrated with a large folding plan of Constantinople, a double plate captioned « Portraict de l'Armée de l'Empereur Turc rangée en Bataille », 17 plates for the prophetic tableaux, 62 full-page engravings representing the different inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire (men and women) and 27 plates of portraits of Turkish personalities. Repeated title-frontispiece. Title pages in red and black.
Contemporary full brown calf...

First edition of this work written in collaboration with Christian Funck-Brentano and Marcel Bousser.

"L'Institut des hautes études marocaines a cru opportun de faire réunir en volume les tirages à part de la Bibliographie marocaine, publiée régulièrement dans la revue Hespéris."

The archivist Pierre Hellouin de Cénival (1888–1937) had served as curator of the Archives and Library of the French Protectorate in Morocco, based in Rabat, from 1918 to 1927.

Spine slightly faded with minor tears skillfully repaired at head and foot; clean and attractive interior.

First edition (the work was reissued several times up to 1954), illustrated with a double map as frontispiece and numerous black-and-white in-text illustrations (cf. Hage Chahine 1925).

Contemporary binding in black half shagreen with corners, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt floral motifs, gilt fillet framing on marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, all edges gilt, original illustrated wrappers preserved in color.

The title is somewhat misleading: the book is not a history of the cult of the Virgin Mary in Lebanon, but rather a richly illustrated travelogue across the country from one sanctuary to the next, featuring nearly 660...

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with a frontispiece engraved by Lechard after Gibert [Constantine], and a folding map bound at the end (cf. Tailliart 58. Palau 328 502).

A few minor spots of foxing.

Publisher’s binding in full red cloth, spine with black and gilt oriental-inspired decorations, blind-stamped frames on covers, red endpapers slightly faded at the margins, all edges gilt.

Only French edition, highly regarded, of this epistolary account of a journey undertaken in 1878 by the Russian geologist and naturalist Tchihatcheff (1808–1890), whose main interest lay in the natural sciences but who also addressed economic matters, a field dear to...

Good edition, published by J.B. Carpzov, illustrated with a frontispiece and a copper-engraved map of Judea in the text (see Graesse IV, 209).

The work includes numerous passages printed in Hebrew.

See Röhricht, p. 240, for a separate edition of the geographical and topographical prefaces to each gospel ("chorographia").

Contemporary full stiff ivory vellum binding, smooth spine, large later-added brown morocco title label mounted on the back, bookplate pasted on the inside cover, red edges.

Some black stains on the boards.

This is the author's most important work; he also dedicated two other volumes to the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of Saint...

Rare first edition (cf. Polak 2250).

Copy preserved in its original wrappers and in a plain grey waiting cover.

Some marginal staining affecting a few leaves; at the end of the volume, marginal repairs to three leaves, not affecting the printed text.

This double shipwreck occurred off the Algerian coast.

Partly original and substantially expanded edition of this key work, first published in 1836–39 (see Gay 944. Playfair 1700. Tailliart 1736).

Modern bindings in brick-red half shagreen with corners, spines with five raised bands, marbled paper boards framed by a single blind fillet, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spines preserved.

Title pages and half-titles swapped. Volumes II and III mislabelled: volume III actually contains the content of volume II.

Two small holes to the half-titles of the first two volumes; some light foxing.

Edmond Pellissier de Raynaud (1798–1858) took part in the 1830 Expedition to Algiers as a staff officer...

First edition of the most significant contribution by Pinson de Ménerville (1808–1876) to the understanding of the legal framework specific to Algeria under French rule.

It was soon followed by several supplements, later integrated into the definitive 1872 edition (in three volumes). Having arrived in the colony as early as 1831, Ménerville held successive posts as lawyer, examining magistrate, and prosecutor, before concluding his career as the esteemed First President of the Court of Algiers (1874).

Illustrated with a folding table at the end of the volume.

Contemporary binding in cherry red half shagreen, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt dotted fillets...

First edition. Bibliothèque des chemins de fer series. Quite scarce. The novel was previously serialized in the Moniteur universel from March to May 1857. 12-page Hachette catalogue bound in at the end.
Full early 20th-century tan morocco binding, signed at the foot of the inside front cover by A. J. Gonon, housed in a beige slipcase trimmed with morocco. Spine with raised bands, compartments decorated. Wide gilt fillet border on pastedowns. Untrimmed copy. Occasional foxing. Spine slightly sunned. Original wrappers preserved, spine portion missing. A good copy.

First edition of the French translation by Victor Largeau, presented in 1844 to the Geneva archaeologist Gustave-Philippe Revilliod (1817–1890) by Moors with whom he had become close.

Contemporary binding in brown half sheep with corners, spine with five raised bands and no lettering, marbled paper sides, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, soiled original wrappers preserved, modern binding.

Some occasional foxing.

An explorer—he attempted twice to cross the Sahara, the first time in this same year, 1875—Victor Largeau (1842–1897) later became a colonial administrator. He was the father of General Victor-Emmanuel Largeau (1867–1916), one of the founders of Chad.

Very rare first edition of the French translation, partially unpublished, enriched with historical, geographical, and botanical notes, as well as a notice on ancient and modern Cyrenaica, the Kingdom of Fezzan, Timbuktu, the oasis of Siwah (the ancient Ammon Oasis and the Temple of Jupiter), the desert wind, the sacred ibis, the lotus, Egyptian papyrus, and the silphium so highly prized by the Ancients.

Illustrated with 8 plates and 1 folding map out of text.

Not recorded by Gay. Bourquelot V, 657 mentions only 7 plates and 1 map.

Contemporary-style binding in black half calf, flat spine decorated with double blind fillets, marbled paper boards, red edges. Modern binding...

Very rare first edition, privately printed in a very small number of copies, of this offprint from the Nouvelles annales des voyages, June 1857. (cf. Gay, 418).

Some foxing.

Complete in its original state with the large folding map inserted at the end.

Jacques-Auguste Cherbonneau (1813–1882), founder of the Archaeological Society of Constantine, provides here an account of the exploratory mission to the southern region of the Regency of Tripoli, culminating in the city of Ghadamès.

Rare first edition, privately printed in small numbers, of this offprint from the Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de Constantine, vol. XXIV.

Only two copies recorded in the French collective catalogue (BnF and Lyon).

Vertical crease visible throughout the booklet.

Preserved in its original grey paper wrappers, without lettering, with the title and author's name handwritten in pencil.

A member of the Congregation of the White Fathers, particularly active in North Africa, Alfred-Louis Delattre (1850–1932) was first sent as a missionary to Algeria, later becoming chaplain of the Saint-Louis Church in Carthage, and eventually...

First edition of this occasional text, illustrated with 4 plates outside the text.

Spine faintly faded, a rare and attractive copy.

Archbishop of Algiers from 1867, Charles Lavigerie (1825–1892) would become in 1884 Primate of Africa through his exceptional accumulation of titles, including the restored See of Carthage.

He took an early interest in the excavations of the Carthage site.

New edition of the French translation, illustrated in the first volume with a folding map of India with hand-colored borders, printed on bluish paper; and in the second volume with a folding map of Arabia, also printed on bluish paper (see Gay 83 and Lorin 2065 for the first edition of 1786).

Contemporary full speckled calf bindings, spine with five raised bands, gilt-tooled compartments with floral motifs, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt roll tooling at head and foot of spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges.

Library stamps to title pages, shelf labels at foot of spines, some rubbing to spines and covers with minor surface losses, internally clean...

First edition of the French translation by David Durand, illustrated with 5 plates (4 folding), including a genealogical chart (cf. Brunet IV, 1203. Hage Chahine, 3949).

Contemporary full stiff vellum, spine with five raised bands, lower joint split, black morocco lettering-piece, bumped corners.

Some inevitable soiling due to the binding, light foxing to initial and final leaves, ff. 107–108 and 109–110 restored and trimmed short.

The De Religione Mohammedica was first published in 1705, and reissued in 1717 in an expanded edition.

The Dutch orientalist Adriaan Reland (1676–1718) pursued a broad range of scholarly interests, but this presentation of the...

First edition, illustrated with a fine engraved frontispiece portrait of Cardinal Casanate, signed by Pet. Paul Bouché, an Antwerp engraver born around 1646 [cf. Bénézit].

Gay 1464.

This engraving is lacking in the copy held by the Bibliothèque nationale.

Contemporary full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands, compartments decorated with gilt floral tools, gilt fillets on board edges, mottled edges.

Restorations to the spine, dampstain to the outer margins of the opening leaves, some leaves slightly yellowed.

“Another edition of this work by Emmanuel Schelstrate, published in Antwerp in the same year, is recorded.”

The author published this...

Second edition of the French translation, complete with its folding map at the beginning of the volume.

Scattered light foxing, otherwise a well-preserved copy.

Preface by Édouard René Lefebvre de Laboulaye.

Bound in contemporary chocolate-brown half morocco, spine with five raised bands ruled in black, double blind fillets framing the marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red top edge, slightly rubbed corners, bookplate affixed to a pastedown.

French translation of The Lost Continent: or, Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa by the Quaker abolitionist Joseph Cooper (1800–1881).

The work is of particular interest for its early...

First edition of the French translation, made from the second English edition and illustrated with 7 plates outside the text and 1 folding map (Gay 1496 bis).

Contemporary quarter fawn sheep bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets and typographic ornaments, brown morocco title label on the first volume, red morocco title label on the second; some restorations and rubbing to spines and joints, marbled paper boards, bumped corners, a few scrapes along the edges.

Some foxing; bookplates mounted to the pastedowns, names carefully erased.

Rare first edition of this elementary Arabic grammar, the author's first publication, composed at the beginning of his teaching career in Oriental languages at Jena by the pastor and theologian Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob Paulus (1761–1851), who would later become known primarily for his systematically rationalist interpretation of the Scriptures.

Illustrated with 5 folding tables.

We have identified only three copies in the CCF (Bulac, Strasbourg, and Chambéry).

Some occasional foxing, small loss of leather to the lower left corner of the upper board.

Contemporary full tree calf binding, spine with gilt fillets, garlands and floral tools, cherry-red morocco label...

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...

Rare first edition of this grammar written in collaboration with Louis Cheikho (Théodore Rizqallah), later revised in a 1912 edition.

Contemporary half blue sheep binding, flat spine decorated with double gilt fillets, joints restored, green vellum tips, some rubbing to the marbled paper boards.

Stamped marks and pencil annotations to the endpapers and title page.

Louis Cheikho (Théodore Rizqallah) was a Jesuit of the Chaldean rite, a renowned Arabist and Orientalist, and founder of the Bibliothèque orientale in Beirut.

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...

Uncommon first edition illustrated with a double-page plan: "Plan du Saint-Sépulcre, à Jérusalem" (see Röhricht p. 587. Not in Blackmer or Atabey.)

The text is divided as follows: Letters on Italy and Egypt (pp. 5–64), Palestine (pp. 65–604), the Levant and Constantinople (pp. 605–685).

Minor tears to the spine and boards, with some light foxing.

First edition, printed in small numbers as an offprint of the preface only: the full catalogue was later published between 1887 and 1896 in three large volumes.

Henri Michel Lavoix (1820–1892) was curator in the Department of Medals and Antiquities at the Bibliothèque Nationale.

A rare and appealing copy.

Inscribed and signed by Henri Michel Lavoix to the archaeologist Melchior de Vogüé (1829–1916).

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, one of 50 copies printed on Lancey watermarked paper, the only copies on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy despite some foxing on the boards.

Inscribed by Maurice Gorrée’s brother to him and his family as a gift.

First edition, one of 240 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only deluxe issue.

A handsome copy.

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...

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...

First edition, illustrated with numerous in-text tables.

Spine split with small losses, a restored tear at the foot of the upper cover, minor losses to the lower cover, internally well preserved.

Antoine-Paulin Pihan (1810–1879), who was proficient in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian, held the modest post of compositor in the Oriental Typography department at the Imprimerie Impériale. Yet the volume of his linguistic work reveals an orientalist of far greater depth than his official title suggests. This work documents a remarkable variety of numeral systems (see the alphabetical index at the end of the volume), ranging from Albania to Japan, and from Ethiopia to Mongolia.

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...

First edition, uncommon, featuring at the end of the volume a folding genealogical table of the family of Muhammad (According to the CCF, copies are held only in Angers, Strasbourg, and Toulouse.)

A small pale water stain to the lower right corner of the first leaves, not affecting the text.

Bradel binding in half fawn cloth, flat spine decorated with a gilt fleuron and double gilt fillet at foot, brown shagreen title label, marbled paper boards.

This is the major work of Jules-Charles Scholl (1850–1886), who lived in Bienne and Neuchâtel; it stands apart from his usual writings, which were largely focused on animal advocacy.

First edition of this uncommon study of the major international diplomatic crisis provoked by Mehmed Ali's expansionist policy (cf. Carré I, 294; Blackmer 261; Atabey 179; Walch, 398; Hage Chahine, 748).

Some foxing, occasional reading marks in pencil and red pencil in the margins of certain paragraphs.

Late 19th-century Bradel bindings in half khaki percaline, flat spines decorated with a gilt fleuron, gilt double rules at foot of spines, black shagreen title-pieces, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved, corners rubbed.

At the end of the first volume, the work is complete with the folding plate representing the Battle of Nezib.

Edmond de Cadalvène...

First edition, illustrated with portraits, views, and in-text plans (cf. Tailliart 1966).

Scattered light foxing.

Bound in half havana shagreen, spine with four raised bands decorated with gilt dotted fillets and compartments adorned with gilt decorative tools, marbled paper-covered boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edge. Original wrappers and spines preserved, with small losses and some soiling.

Several chapters in the second volume are devoted to Medina and Mecca, including an account of the Wahhabis, a detailed description of the mosques of Medina and Mecca, pilgrimage rituals, etc. The author, a retired plenipotentiary minister and former chief...

New edition, partly original as revised, of this study first published in 1858 in the Revue des Deux Mondes (Sabin 40127. Ryckebusch 5041).

Minor chips to the corners of the covers, some occasional foxing.

A member of one of the oldest families in Martinique, Romuald Le Pelletier de Saint-Rémy (1809–1882) served as president of the Central Agency of Colonial Banks; he wrote extensively on West Indian issues and colonial ventures in South America.

Inscribed by the author Romuald Le Pelletier de Saint-Rémy on the front free endpaper.

First edition, one of 1,500 copies printed on vellum paper, this one unnumbered.

A handsome copy.

Illustrated with a frontispiece by Jean Berque.

Exceptional full-page signed presentation inscription from Abel Bonnard to Hubert Lyautey, the first Resident-General of the French Protectorate in Morocco: "A monsieur le maréchal Lyautey, qui, marmi tant d'autres illustres, a aussi sauvé la beauté du Maroc. En respectueux hommage. Abel Bonnard."