Asia

First bilingual edition (in French with the English translation on facing pages) of this speech delivered by General De Lattre in Saigon on July 11, 1951.
Small corner losses to the marginally browned boards, handsome interior condition.

New edition of the French translation.
Preface by André Maurois.
Two fold marks at upper corner of front cover and lower corner of back cover, small stains on bottom edge.
Rare bilingual autograph inscription signed by Norman Mailer: "To Jean-Claude merci pour les bons mots. Cheers Norman Mailer".

The first edition, published in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Revue des études islamiques.
Some light dampstains to boards, marginally dusty, handsome interior condition.
Fascicle illustrated with figures in the text and three plates hors-texte.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Spine creased, some minor foxing to edges.
Complete with its folding map at end of volume.
Iconography.
Signed autograph inscription from Alain Bombard to Gilbert Guilleminault.

Voyage autour du Monde, commencé en 1708 & fini en 1711 par le Capitaine Woodes Rogers [A Cruising Voyage Round the World]
Chez la Veuve de Paul Marret, à Amsterdam 1716, 12° (9,5x16,5cm), (10 p.) 415 pp. (29 p.) and (2 p.) 162 pp. (2 p.) 255 pp. (24 p.), 2 volumes, full brown roan.
First edition of the French translation. First published in English in 1712 under the title A cruising voyage round the world. Illustrated with 2 engraved titles, 14 engraved plates and 7 maps including 2 large format (Paraguay and Chile - mainland Peru and Brazil and the Land of the Amazons) and a world map.
Bound in full brown sprinkled calf, spine elaborately gilt, gilt roulettes on the edges, all red speckled edges. Expertly restored (corners, upper and lower part of joints). Two small restored tears on the world map, not affecting the image.
Ex-libris in ink "Sr Remy" to the upper left margin of the title-page.
A tear to the world map, not affecting the engraving.
The book that brought fame to Alexander Selkirk and inspired the character of Robinson Crusoe.
English captain and privateer Woodes Rogers undertook his "Voyage Around the World" between 1708 and 1711 at the request of buccaneer William Dampier during the War of the Spanish Succession. This account written on his return narrates the many difficulties encountered by the fleet: desertions, mutinies, scurvy epidemic...
Especially contains the rescue of Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, after being marooned on the island of Más a Tierra in the Juan Fernández archipelago, more than six hundred kilometers from the Chilean coast. His ship stopped on this island to resupply with wood and water before returning to England after several failed attacks against Spanish fleet and cities in South America. Selkirk pointed out that the damaged ship needed to be refitted or it would likely sink. The captain refused and left the Scotsman on the deserted island. By the time Selkirk realized the absurdity and danger of his decision to stay there, it was too late, and the ship had already weighed anchor. Ironically, the ship later sunk, drowning half the crew. Four years and four months later, on February 2, 1709, Rogers and his crew landed on the island and met this "a Man cloth'd in goat skins, who look'd wilder than the first owners of them”. An engraving in our copy illustrates this chance encounter: "He had with him his clothes and bedding, with a firelock, some powder, bullets, and tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a kettle, a bible, some practical pieces, and his mathematical instruments and books. He diverted and provided for himself as well as he could; but for the first eight months had much ado to bear up against Melancholy, and the Terror of being left alone in such a desolate place. He built two hutts cover'd them with long grass, and lin'd them with the skins of soats, which he kill'd with his gun as he wanted, so long as his powder lasted […] At his first coming on board us, he had so much forgot his language for want of use, that we could scarce understand him, for he seem'd to speak his words by halves”. Captain William Dampier who was there during Selkirk's abandonment, encouraged Rogers to hire him as foreman and the unfortunate Scot returned to England with them.
Rogers' account was a great popular success, mainly thanks to Selkirk's recue story. A close friend of Rogers, author Daniel De Foe used this incredible story and extended Robinson's stay on a desert island to twenty-eight years. His novel published in 1719 was a huge bestseller and remains one of the greatest works of literature to this day.

Chez Saillant & Nyon, Paris 1771, in-4 (19x26cm), (6 p.) 417 pp. (3 p.), contemporary calf.
First edition, with 18 engraved maps et 5 folding engraved plates.
Contemporary tan calf, skillfully restored tear to the first folding map, some marginal restorations to the map “Troisième division - Archipel des navigateurs”. Falkland Islands map expertly rebacked on the outer margin as well as the Magellan Strait map. Map of the Buton Strait with a small marginal tear and a second restored with a strip of paper.
Bougainville undertook the first official French circumnavigation and scientific expedition. Starting from Nantes in November 1766, he sailed to the Falklands, made a stopover in Buenos Aires and then crossed the Magellan Strait and the Pacific through the East Indies. The expedition visited the Samoan Islands, Tahiti, the New Hebrides...
300-word glossary of Polynesian language (Tahiti) in-fine.
“He first went to Paraguay, to the main Portuguese settlement, and gives engaging geographical and commercial descriptions. Details on the Falkland Islands and on Brazil are also instructive. The reader is pleasantly surprised to find [...] the delicious picture of the island of Tahiti. Sailing away from this blessed island, the traveler visited several other islands [...] He stopped over in New Britain, finally entered the Indian Sea, visited the main islands, such as Celebes, Java, Moluccas...” Boucher de la Richarderie, Bibliothèque universelle des voyages.

First edition of the French translation established by Victor Henry.
Spine with lacks, front board detached, lacks to boards, some light foxing.
Rare.

First edition printed on laid paper of these offprints gathered in one volume from the Mémoires de la section orientale & américaine de la Société d'Ethnographie.
Rare and handsome copy.

First edition in French.
Publisher's full grey cloth binding, smooth spine, front board decorated with chiseled vignettes, black paper endpapers and pastedowns.
Work illustrated with 40 heliogravures.
Small stains on verso of first endpaper and on the following page.
Rare autograph signature of Heinrich Harrer in Tibetan and Roman characters on the endpaper.

First edition.
Tears and small lacks to spine, clear dampstain to front cover, rear cover marginally soiled, minor corner lacks to covers.
Rare.

First edition presented under plain blue temporary wrappers.
Small tears and minor lacks to covers, dampstaining affecting the entire text block.
Rare.

First edition of this speech read at the public session of the Academy of Inscriptions, on July 25, 1834.
Some light foxing.
Rare.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the review.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue condemning American bombing in Vietnam.
Texts by various correspondents of the magazine.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the review.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the review.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the journal.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the journal.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue partly devoted to supporting the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam.
Texts by S. Niemetz, C. Michaloux, J. Pesquet, C. Scalabrino and various correspondents of the review.
Handsome and rare copy.
The front page is illustrated with a drawing by Giroud.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the magazine.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the magazine.
Handsome and rare copy.

First edition of this issue.
Texts by various correspondents of the review.
Handsome and rare copy.

Second collective edition published by various booksellers, including Michel Almaury. It is illustrated with 75 figures including a frontispiece portrait, of which 30 are folding, a map and 6 folding tables. Title pages in red and black.
Contemporary full glazed brown sheep binding. Raised band spine richly decorated. Red morocco title labels, brown sheep title label with frame of roll tooling. Head caps of volumes 1 to 8 torn off, tail caps torn off except for the second volume (3 and 4). 9 corners very bumped. Rubbing. A lack to the lower joint at head of volume 9, 10. Lacks to edges of volume 1. Set relatively worn. In volumes 9, 10, worming to margins of 4 folding plates, extending a few millimetres onto the engraving, and to margins of 8 text leaves, up to page 72; one to 2 wormholes afterwards on a few leaves; p.80, the engraving has a tear which has been amateurishly restored with pieces of paper. A tear in volume 7, 8, p. 332. Trace of light dampstain on the title page of volume 1. 3 engravings with short margins. Title pages yellowed, the first with a light dampstain.
Bookplate of Henry Gouin.
Considered the best ancient account and description of Persia, Les voyages du Chevalier Chardin provides a complete survey of this region for the first time in history. Besides the different voyages, volumes 5, 6, 7 and 8 examine the situation of arts, government, religion; volume 8 concerns the city of Isfahan.

Bibliothèque de La Pléiade edition printed on bible paper.
Publisher's full green grained sheep bindings, blue tops, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets.
Complete set with rhodoids but lacking some slipcases and dust jackets.

First edition.
Half red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands set with black fillets decorated with gilt compartments, a tear at foot of spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.
Some light foxing.

L'amant de la Chine du nord [The North China Lover], Gallimard, Paris 1991, 15x21,5cm, original wrappers.
First edition, one of 70 numbered copies on vélin pur chiffon de Rives, the only deluxe issue (grands papiers).
A copy in perfectly mint condition of this novel hailed by the French critics as a return to “the Duras of the great books and the great days,” giving a mature and complex outlook on the dramatic experiences of Duras's adolescence.

First edition printed in a small number of copies of this offprint from the Journal Asiatique of March-April 1893.
A light stain to margin of first cover, handsome interior condition.
Rare.

First edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Autograph inscription signed by Georges Blond: "A monsieur Peret, ces éléphants qui ne lui feront pas oublier les toros, en souhaitant qu'il les trouve quand même sympathiques" ["To Mr. Peret, these elephants who will not make him forget the bulls, hoping that he will find them sympathetic nonetheless"].
Fine illustrated cover by Cyril, iconography.

Third and final edition with some parts in first edition, the best and most complete as regards the text, bringing the number of volumes to 10 against the 7 published until then. The work appeared in a luxurious version, quarto (certain octavo printings have thicker and higher quality paper and do not have the same collation, as is the case with ours) and in a more modest version. Ten superb frontispieces by Moreau Le jeune illustrating colonialism including the portrait of Raynal in volume 1 by Cochin re-engraved by Lardy.
Contemporary full marbled and speckled blonde calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with 4 compartmented fleurons (daisy flower). Red morocco title label, green morocco volume label. Triple fillet frame on covers. Traces of surface wear on spines and covers. Head caps of volumes 1 to 7 and 9 and 10 worn or partly worn. Tail caps of volumes 7 to 10 partly worn. Upper joints cracked at head of volumes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. Upper joint cracked at tail of volume 7. About ten corners rubbed and denuded. Fresh set with rare worming and some leaves more yellowed.
First published in 1771 in 7 volumes, the Philosophical History of the Two Indies enjoyed dazzling success throughout Europe and America; its success was essentially due to the severe criticism of colonialism, exploitation, slavery and mercantilism. It was condemned to be suppressed by decree of the Council of 19 December 1779 and condemned to the fire by decree of the Parliament of Paris of 25 May 1781. An emblematic book of the Enlightenment, presenting itself as a history of international commerce, the work is above all a violent attack against European colonialism and its arrogance, slavery and the enslavement of peoples, against the Church which lends its support to European hypocrisy. We know today that Diderot collaborated from the first edition and that he supervised the organization of the texts, which he would perfect in the third edition (by adding numerous texts from his pen and those of other collaborators, such as D'Holbach), transforming the initial work into a true war machine of the philosophers' party. The book is not merely accusations, it seeks on the contrary and even implores peaceful solutions, agreements between peoples. History was not mistaken since it saw in Raynal a promoter of the French Revolution. It should finally be noted that the work concerns world commerce, as much in South America as in Asia and Europe, and all countries are studied and represented, Peru and Chile for example. The 6th volume contains a physical, economic and political description of the American colonies. Raynal's work forms the most important bibliographical document on America and the first book to accord such importance to the colonies.

First edition.
Some light foxing to margins of certain leaves.
Iconography.
About the industrial disaster that occurred in Bhopal, India, which cost the lives of approximately 25,000-30,000 people according to victims' associations and only 7,575 according to Indian authorities.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Dominique Lapierre probably to Régine Deforges: "A la bellissime Régine, de tout coeur. D. Lapierre 1.10.2001" ["To the most beautiful Régine, wholeheartedly. D. Lapierre 1.10.2001"]

First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe copies.
Spine and front cover slightly and marginally yellowed, otherwise a handsome and rare copy.

First edition in French, one of 50 numbered copies on pur fil de Rives, deluxe copy.
A handsome full-margined copy.
Work illustrated with drawings by Serge.

First French edition of this work originally published in English in 1790. The second part, which occupies 256 pages, consists of a succession of translator's notes, particularly rich in information on plants, animals and physical geography.
Contemporary full brown calf binding with marbled decoration. Smooth spine richly decorated with 5 fleurons in lozenges with angular palmettes and roulettes in place of raised bands. Red morocco title-label. Upper board slightly curved at lower right corner, otherwise very handsome copy, almost free from foxing with a few quires slightly yellowed, a trace of pale dampstain at lower corner of title page and following leaf.
The travel accounts relate the first settlement of colonists in Australia. When the British Empire lost its American colonies where all sorts of undesirable persons were regularly sent, it was decided to establish the deportees in New South Wales (eastern coast of Australia). A squadron of 11 ships, 6 of which were assigned to transport criminals, was placed under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, governor of the new settlement. The fleet left England in March 1787, reached Botany Bay in January 1788, and the colony was established at Port Jackson. The account, fascinating in more ways than one, by the chief surgeon of the expedition, narrates in detail the voyage and installation of officers and deportees in the new colony, as well as encounters with the natives.

First edition.
Contemporary half glazed blonde calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 compartmentalized fleurons. Red shagreen title and volume labels. Combed edges. Spine lightened with areas of discoloration. Some scattered foxing.
A handsome copy.
Collection of the author's articles, travels, and studies on the Orient published in various journals and gathered in this work. Venice, Turkey, the Danube, Greece, Syria, China, Japan, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia. Essays on Salammbo, Persian poetry, hashish, Nerval's Journey to the Orient... One can distinguish a fantasized, romantic Orient, the vision of an aesthete and a painter. A first collection had appeared in 1848 in one volume under the title: Scenes from Oriental Life.

Belgian first edition, published simultaneously with the Paris edition by Comptoir des Imprimeurs-Unis.
Contemporary half sheep binding in tender green. Smooth spine decorated with romantic tools in mirror pattern, roulette at head and tail. Rubbing to headcaps. Fine copy, completely free of foxing, with decorative spines.
The author, a Frenchman of Irish origin, spent nine years in British possessions in service of the East India Company. He consulted a great number of documents in order to present a portrait of the true India. His work is composed of a picturesque journal and political and geographical studies. He gives in addition a precise idea of the English army of India.

First edition.
Contemporary half red shagreen binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with 4 fleurons in blind-tooled compartments. Author, title and date in gilt. Top edge gilt. Fresh paper (a few rare pale foxing marks).
Handsome copy.
In December 1854, Joseph-Arthur de Gobineau (1816-1882), then first secretary at the Frankfurt legation, was appointed secretary to an extraordinary mission to Persia, led by minister Prosper Bourée and ordered by Emperor Napoleon III. On the way to Persia, Gobineau traveled through Malta, Egypt and the countries of the Arabian peninsula. The second part of Trois ans en Asie is certainly the richest part of this work, a mine of information on Persian society of that period. Animated by the same enthusiasm for Persia, Gobineau would publish, in 1864, Religions et philosophies dans l'Asie centrale, then, in 1869, a Histoire des Perses and finally, between 1872 and 1874, his collection of six Nouvelles Asiatiques.

Bristol letterhead from "Prime Minister House" in New Delhi, on which Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, added her manuscript signature which she dated 1980.
Handsome copy.

First edition, illustrated with 21 steel plates by Rouargue and Kernot (Saint Petersburg, Moscow...), of which 8 are hand-colored (animated scenes with costumes).
Publisher's half brown shagreen binding. Spine with false raised bands decorated with compartments with multiple fillets. Series of blind frames on the boards. Gilt edges. White moiré endpapers. The present tissue guards are considerably browned. Fresh overall with some scattered foxing. Light tear at head. Rubbing traces. Good copy.
Famous travel account by journalist Charles de Saint-Julien (1802-1869), from Saint Petersburg to the Caucasus via Finland, Moscow and Nijni-Novgorod (the Volga, Crimea, Kazan...), followed by a journey from Saint Petersburg to Kamchatka, through Siberia.

First edition of the French translation by Paul Dousdebès.
Half chocolate brown shagreen binding with corners, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, gilt date at foot, double gilt fillets framing the pebbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved, top edge gilt.
Fine copy complete with its 4 pages of facsimile Japanese ideograms at the end of the volume.
Work illustrated with 32 wood engravings, colored in blue, black and gray, and printed on special Japanese paper containing mica powder.
Signed autograph inscription by Paul Dousdebès.

Edition printed on pure Lafuma thread paper and illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author by Eugène Carrière engraved by Paul Bornet
Half chocolate brown morocco binding with corners, smooth spine decorated with a gilt cartouche adorned with gilt and blind typographic motifs, marbled paper boards, pebbled paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, lower corners slightly bumped.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on Japan paper, deluxe issue after 20 on China paper.
Half grey-blue morocco binding with bands, smooth spine decorated with a gilt cicada, marbled paper boards, moiré endpapers and pastedowns, covers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, contemporary binding signed Kieffer.
Pleasant copy perfectly executed.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Spine lightly discolored, otherwise handsome copy.
Iconography.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Alain Bombard to Madame Raymonde and Michel Coquilleau: "... pour que les grands navigateurs leur donnent le goût des aventures et des voyages..." ["... so that the great navigators give them a taste for adventures and voyages..."]

First edition illustrated with photographs denouncing colonial cruelty and the slavery it engenders.
Unlettered spine sunned, dampstain at foot of boards also affecting the spine, handsome interior condition, printed stamp on title page.
Rare.

First edition published and distributed by the Committee for Amnesty and Defense of Indochinese and Colonized Peoples.
Covers marginally discolored, an orange stain at foot of front cover.
Rare.

New edition with some parts in first edition.
Handsome copy complete with its 4 folding color maps at the end of the volume.
Autograph inscription signed by René Dumont at the twilight of his life.

Rare suite of woodcuts by Itchô Hanabusa (英一蝶) on Japanese folk tales, printed in black ink. Only one volume of a three-volume set, possible 19th-century reprint.

Bound in Japanese style, pages bound by a seam, blue soft cover with title label, folds, small stains and lacks of blue paper to corners, ink stain in title piece not affecting the text.

Itchô Hanabusa was part of the Kanō school and studied under Kanō Yasunobu, however he rejected this training to become a renowned painter and calligrapher.

Illustrations of Japanese legends with genre scenes, animals and flowers. The technique of Ukiyo-e, or Japanese printmaking, is very close to the original drawing, since the ink drawing was affixed to a piece of wood that the engraver carved out, precisely following the lines of the drawing, itself destroyed in the process.
Japanese bookplate, stamped in red ink.

First edition in French.
Iconography at the beginning of the volume.
Spine lightly sunned, otherwise handsome copy.

Pléiade library edition printed on Bible paper.
Publisher's full green grained sheep binding, blue top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets, handsome copy complete with its cellophane wrapper, dust jacket and slipcase.

First edition in French.
Bradel binding in full boards, smooth spines, some rubbing with lacks to headcaps and joints.
Pleasant interior condition.
Work illustrated with two beautiful color frontispieces.

Richly illustrated first edition.
Publisher's full orange cloth binding, smooth spine, complete with its illustrated dust jacket.
A handsome copy.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Handsome copy.
Beautiful full-page autograph inscription dated and signed by Pierre Garnier to his friend, the poet Charles Dobzynski.

First edition illustrated with 8 engravings, after photographs, and some figures in-text.
Contemporary brown half-shagreen binding. Spine with raised bands in Jansenist style. Spine uniformly darkened. Some scattered pale foxing. Good copy.
Engraved bookplate with the arms of De Masur.
Travel account through Japan by a French naval officer. Yokohama, Yeddo, Nikko, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagasaki and Shanghai. The journey relates the classic vision of a Westerner visiting Japan, describing customs, rites and everything that could appear exotic to him, such as theater, Geishas, samurai, ronin, kites... The account contains numerous anecdotes.

First edition, rare, translated by Baron Jean de Reuilly.
Contemporary full red Russia leather binding. Smooth spine decorated with 5 fleurons and fillets. Gilt title. Wide decorative border on boards with eagles, serpents, rabbits and stars in the corners. Interior garland. Spine darkened, having become dark red. Dark stains on lower board. One scratch on upper board. Endpapers having suffered humidity with discoloration. In lower margin, faint trace of dampstaining throughout the volume, more extensive at end of volume, with traces in outer and lower margins. Handsome copy in contemporary Russia leather.
Manuscript ownership inscription Sorlin d'origny, Constantinoples, 1882. Below, a biographical note on Baron de Reuilly.
Sole separate edition of Pallas's journey to Tibet, which had not been printed in the French editions. It was translated from the first and third volumes of the German edition of Pallas's voyage published in St. Petersburg from 1771 to 1776. This edition was prefaced and annotated by Reuilly based on the missions of several travelers (Bogle, Stewart, Georgi and Andrade) and from his own observations.

The rare first edition.
Bradel binding in full decorative paper, smooth spine, brown morocco title-label, binding signed Thomas Boichot.
Work illustrated with 8 plates hors-texte as well as in fine with a folding plan of the city of Beirut.
Rare.

First edition, one of 339 numbered copies on "pur-fil" paper, only deluxe copies ("grand papier") after 1 China and 39 laid "pur-fil" paper reimposed.
Very nice copy.
Half morocco binding.

First edition. 2 large folding maps drawn and engraved by Ambroise Tardieu: L'Indoustan et l'Inde Ancienne.
Bradel binding in publisher's boards. Smooth spine with red morocco title label. Marbled paper covering the boards. Uncut copy, with full margins. Lack at head of volume 3. Lack to title label of volume 1. Corners slightly bumped. Set rubbed. At end of volume 4, a dampstain in upper margin affecting text from p. 420 to the end, otherwise set rather clean with some small scattered foxing.
Contents of the different volumes. Volume I. Introduction. Hindus. Hindustan. General description. Mountains, rivers, climate, animal kingdom, Alexander, Ptolemy, Population, commerce, government, customs, Bengal, Oude, Benares, Ajmere, Kashmir, Carnatic, Malabar, Mysore, Dekhan, Pagodas, Temples, Antiquity of the Hindus, Origin of the Hindus, Chronology.
Volume II. Religion and Mythology of the Hindus. Philosophy. Brahmins. Cosmography. Trinity. Worship of Giants and Genies. Durga, Kali, Lakshmi. Krishna, Rama, Idols, Cow, monkeys, trees, sacred rivers, Festivals, Sacrifices, Fasting, Penalties, Sects, Isis, Mithra, Philosophy of the Brahmins. Philosophers of India. etc.
Volume III. Literature. Sanskrit. Languages. Poetry. Eloquence. sciences and Arts. Legislation. Analytical table of Contents of the first three volumes comprising everything concerning Religion, Government, Customs, Legislation, and ancient History of the Hindus until the end of the tenth century of the common era.
Volume IV. Modern history from the invasion of the Ghaznavids to the reigns of Babur and Akbar founder of the Mongol empire.
Volume V. From the reign of emperor Akbar to the mid-eighteenth century.
Volume VI. Continuation of the third part, from the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth. Current state of European establishments. Exports from India, from the Orissa and Coromandel Coast, from the Malabar coast. European imports. Interior commerce. Notice on currencies, weights and measures.
Remarkable study on India, notably its literature and language, with extracts of maxims...

First edition, rare, illustrated with 3 maps and 2 plans, including the general map of Crimea and the plan of the capital of the Don Cossacks. Rare first French edition, translated by Emmanuel de Laubespin, which was withdrawn from sale. Quérard: "The [French] government did not permit the sale of this translation; only a few copies were distributed".
Contemporary full brown calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with 4 quatrefoil tools and multiple fillets. Red morocco title and volume labels. Decorative border on the board doubled with gilt fillet. Interior fillet. Wear to spine and boards. Volume 2 label scraped with loss of leather. 3 corners slightly bumped. Some rare and pale foxing. Despite defects, handsome copy overall.
English mineralogist and archaeologist teaching at Cambridge University where he became librarian. Clarke was an tireless traveler throughout his life, first in Italy, Scandinavia, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Egypt and the Holy Land; travels which allowed him to collect many minerals and make precise observations of physical and human geography. Besides his critical observations, notably on Tsar Paul, which earned him a ban from the French government, Clarke's journey (1799-1802) is particularly interesting since he traveled beyond the European limits of Russia and dealt with the Don Cossacks whose life, organization and customs he describes. He then descended to the Sea of Azov, traveled in Crimea, to Odessa, and to Constantinople. The author's principal quality is his gift of observation and his multiple interests, as much for insects, venomous snakes as for the customs of Russians and Cossacks or commerce on the Black Sea.

Tabula Asiae VIII
[Basel ca 1550]
| 42.1 x 33 cm | one map
Original map, titled and heightened in colors by a contemporary hand. Published for the first time in 1540 in Munster's Geographia.
Central fold. Two repairs with paper strips to verso and two little wormholes without consequence.
A very good copy of one of the most important maps of monsters from the 16th century, done by one of the most famous mapmakers of the Renaissance.
The map covers the territories of Central Asia as well as Tibet and Nepal.
One finds, at the edges of the topography, three kinds of congenital deformations (monopods, headless men, and
people with the heads of dogs) as well as a legendary bird.
All these creatures emerged from the superstitions of the Middle Ages, based on accounts by travelers who had preceded Marco Polo into Central Asia. Also worth noting is a scene showing cannibalism in the North part of the map.

First edition consisting of a large folding colored map presented in original wrappers.
Small marginal lacks to covers.
Handsome and rare copy.

New edition.
Tears and small lacks to spine, lacks and angular tears to boards marginally sunned, handsome interior condition.
Illustrated pamphlet with 4 figures in the text and complete with its loose map.
Rare.

First Edition printed in a small number of this reprinted from the Journal of Jewish Studies.
A lack at the top of the first board which also has a clear marginal wetness, nice interior state.
Signed autograph dedication of Hartwig Derenbourg at the head of the first board, the name of the dedicatee was torn off.
Rare.

First edition of this Neo Lao Haksat program adopted on April 10, 1964.
Rare and handsome copy illustrated with a photographic frontispiece and a folding photograph at the end.


.

First edition.
Rare and handsome copy illustrated with 4 photographs.
One transverse fold to the front cover, light dampstain to margins of leaves.

.

Third and final edition, the best and most complete in terms of text, bringing the number of volumes to 10 from the 7 published previously, here with a relay title dated 1781; copies are indeed found with title pages bearing both dates of 1780 and 1781. The work appeared in a luxurious version, in quarto, and in this octavo version. The illustration includes a portrait of Raynal by Cochin (with the inscription: Le défenseur de la liberté, de la vérité...) as frontispiece to volume I and 9 fine figures as frontispieces to the other volumes, by Moreau le Jeune and engraved by De Launay, Delignon and Simonet. The quarto atlas was published separately and could be joined to the edition according to the purchaser's wishes. The volumes are complete with all half-titles and the 10 errata leaves at the end.
Contemporary full green morocco binding. Decorated smooth spine. Red morocco title and volume labels. Triple gilt ruling on boards. Spines uniformly faded. Traces of rubbing. Superb copy, very rare in green morocco.
Edmond and Jules de Goncourt bookplate designed and engraved by Gavarni. Edmond de Goncourt's signature above the bookplate. It should be noted that fine 18th-century books are rare in the Goncourt library.
First published in 1771 in 7 volumes, with the collaboration of D'Holbach and Diderot, the Histoire philosophique des deux Indes achieved lightning success throughout Europe and America; its success was essentially due to its severe criticism of colonialism, exploitation, slavery and mercantilism. It was condemned to be suppressed by decree of the Council of 19 December 1779 and condemned to the fire by decree of the Parliament of Paris of 25 May 1781.
An emblematic book of the Age of Enlightenment, presenting itself as a history of international commerce, the work is above all a violent pamphlet against European colonialism and its arrogance, slavery and the subjugation of peoples, against the church which lends its support to European hypocrisy. The result was not long in coming, and the book was burned in a public square in Paris. We know today that Diderot collaborated from the first edition and that he supervised the organization of the texts, which he would perfect in the third edition (by adding numerous texts from his pen and those of other collaborators, such as D'Holbach), transforming the initial work into a true war machine of the philosophers' party. The book is by no means only accusations, on the contrary it seeks and even implores peaceful solutions, understandings between peoples. History was not mistaken since it saw in Raynal a promoter of the French Revolution. It is an extremely rich work, an encyclopedia of European voyages and a colonial history of all continents and all countries conquered and colonized by Europeans.

Map of Shanghai – Folding color map
tNorth China Daily News & Herald limited | Shanghaï 1933 | 100 x 74 cm | one map
Rare original folding colored map of the city of Shanghai printed on heavy paper and including the street names in English, as well as an extensive grid to find locations. It was published under the authority of the Shanghai city council in 1933.
A skillfully repaired tear touching the index.
There is a variation of this map in existence – without the grid or the key – of which an example is preserved in the University of Chicago library. We have not otherwise been able to find any other example of this map.
This very detailed map still shows the old town under the name «Chinese City.» Each district or foreign concession (particularly the French one) is marked out and named in a miniaturization on the bottom right of the map, these concessions will finally be returned in 1943. Significant places and places of interest are shown, as well as the railway lines.
Maps of Shanghai before the Battle of Shanghai are rare and sought after.

Photograph album – Ulwar
1894 | 26 x 19 cm | one album
Album bringing together a total of 49 contemporary albumen print photographs (15.5 x 10.5 cm), laminated on thick card and mounted on guards. All of the shots are captioned by hand in the lower margin. Three other albums, containing 196 photographs, were sold at auction when the Viscount's collection was put up for sale by his heirs in 2003.
The album contains 49 photos, of which 29 are village scenes with people and animals (elephants, nilgai, camels, etc.),
8 views of the camp, 5 of people, including a surprising Fakir with high dreadlocks, 4 of the caravan and 3 landscapes. Contemporary binding in half green shagreen, spine decorated with blind tooled fillets and bands, gilt title in the second band, paper boards with several blind tooled frames, the first stamped in the centre with a gilt title.
Some rubbing, slightly worn corners, one of which is more significant, some small white spots. Some loose boards.
This album was put together by Viscount Edmond de Poncins, naturalist and adventurer descendant of Montaigne, during his trip to Rajasthan.
These photographs were taken in Ulwar (the Alwar district in Rajasthan), where the photographer visited in 1894, following his expedition to the State of Kanjut (today the Hunza Valley), the previous year.

First edition.
Spine broken and with angular lacks, dampstains in margins of the last leaves, stains on the covers.
As is.

First edition.
A dampstain affecting the front cover as well as the very first leaves, small lacks inherent to this dampstain at the foot of the front cover.
Work illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author.

First edition printed to 200 copies.
Contemporary half sheep, spine a little rubbed, one corner broken, the other bumped, small lacks of paper on the covers, pales marginal dampstain.
Rare.

First edition.
Spine and boards marginally discolored, tiny corner losses to rear board, handsome interior condition.
Rare.

First edition, one of 339 numbered copies on pur fil, the only large paper copies after 1 Chine and 39 vergé pur fil re-imposed.
A very nice copy.

First edition printed on laid paper.
Full brown Russia morocco binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with triple black compartments, gilt roulettes on headcaps, gilt initials on front board, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, triple gilt fillet frame on pastedowns, all edges gilt, double gilt fillets on leading edges, corners very skillfully restored, contemporary binding signed by R. Petit.
Superb copy perfectly executed in period binding with monogram.

New edition, without the folio atlas of 15 plates.
Contemporary half blonde sheep bindings. Smooth spine handsomely decorated with anchor and ship tools, rolls and ornaments. Red morocco title labels, green morocco volume labels. Small lack at foot of volume I and at head of volume 4. Foot of volume 14 slightly rubbed.
Preface to L'Abrégé by Depping: "Around the year 1745, some men of letters in England formed the project of a complete collection of all travel accounts published in all the languages of Europe. Abbé Prévost, a writer advantageously known for the success of his novels, undertook to translate the work into French. He kept his word, the work spread throughout Europe. But the English authors abandoning their project, the abbé pursued his course, despite his criticisms of the flaws in their method, and completed the work, without providing readers with a thread that could guide them through the tortuous and innumerable paths, through the arid moors of this vast labyrinth where he had ventured with them.
Here now is what was thought could be done to present it to the public in a more agreeable form: it has been reduced; everything called Navigation Journal has been cut out; When a traveler, who found himself in extraordinary situations, tells his own story, care was taken not to take his place: he was left to speak without changing or adding anything to his account; very few changes were made to descriptions of places and customs, to physical details. But there was added to it, as much as possible, that philosophy which it absolutely lacks, that pure and universal morality, which is dictated and felt only by the heart, which seeks in all the knowledge that man can acquire only new relationships made to attach him to his fellow beings."
Volumes 1 to 4: Africa, by regions and countries. Volumes 5 to 12: Asia, by regions and countries. Volumes 12 to 20: Americas, by regions and countries, with Greenland and the Northern Port. Volumes 21 to 30: Voyages around the world.

First edition illustrated with 90 engravings after the author's sketches and one map, including 61 plates and one in color.
Publisher's half red shagreen binding signed by Magnier at foot. Spine with false raised bands decorated with richly ornamented compartments. Red percaline boards. Rubbing to headcaps. 3 corners slightly bumped. Scattered foxing.
The author (1843-1919) participated in the commercial and scientific expedition of Sosnovsky and Matoussovsky who traveled through Siberia, Lake Baikal and Mongolia during the years 1874 and 1875. They were the first explorers to cross the entire Gobi Desert from Berkul to Lanjou, and made a circuit between Beijing and Shanghai before returning first to Mongolia, then again across the Gobi Desert, to finally reach their native country. This work is the only account of this journey, which was first published in Russian in 1880.

First Edition, one of 55 nuimérotés copys on vellum snow, ours one of the 5 hors commerce, only leading copies.
Back slightly warped, marginally insolated boards.
Signed autograph of Pham Van Ky.

The rare and sought-after French first edition. Translation from German by Dumas. The large folding map, placed at the end of volume II, is missing and has been replaced by a photocopy of the reduced map provided by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France on its Gallica website. It was drawn by French cartographer Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) and published by Abbé Prévost. This has been refolded to insert in place of the original map.
Contemporary full marbled calf bindings. Decorated smooth spines. Red morocco title and volume labels. One wormhole at the head of volume I. Evidence of rubbing to headcaps and corners. Lacking the half-title of the second volume. Handsome copy.
The first volume surveys all the voyages of discovery carried out in eastern Russia, Kamchatka, Siberia, and notably and especially that of Vitus Bering who in 1728 was the first to discover the northwest passage, leaving his name to the famous Bering Strait. The latter made a voyage by the same route to southern Alaska in 1741. The work relates numerous voyages, notably that of Simon Dejnev around the Chukchi Peninsula, that of Mikhail Gvozdev and Ivan Fedorov across the Bering Strait to Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, in 1732... The second volume deals with the history of the Amur River based on Witsen's work on northern and eastern Tartary. This history details the reports and relations between the Russians and Chinese, as well as Jesuit interventions.

French first edition in octavo, published at the same time as the quarto edition. It is illustrated with 16 plates, including 12 folding ones (views, portraits, objects) and a large folding map, all on heavy paper. This edition appeared the same year as the English original, and the translation was revised by the Count of Mirabeau.
Contemporary full marbled and glazed sheep bindings. Smooth spines decorated with 4 compartmented fleurons. Red morocco title labels, black morocco volume labels. Triple fillet frame on boards. 2 small cuts at head of volume 2. Narrow split to upper joint at head of volume 1, lower joint cracked at head and tail over 4 cm. Corners bumped, some trimmed with lacks to leather. Overall rubbed. Good general appearance.
The Palau archipelago is situated east of the Philippines, north of Indonesia, in Micronesia; Captain George Wilson and his crew, in service of the East India Company, were shipwrecked on an island near Palau in 1783. The work recounts how they were received by the natives and their king, and how they lived, until the king had a ship built for them to sail to Macao, while entrusting his son to the care of Captain Wilson, so that he might receive a Western education. George Keate, with the aid of the captain's notebooks, established the travel narrative of the ship Antelope which departed from Macao. The introduction is research into the literature of the existence of these islands. The book relates, quite naturally, the customs and habits of the inhabitants. At the end of volume II, a vocabulary of the Pelew language. One will note with interest an episode which shows the king at war against the inhabitants of other islands, and who borrowed 5 men from the captain to accompany him to war, the peaceful relations between the English and the king surely draw their origin from this curious diplomatic fact.
The work enjoyed great success, certainly because the testimony it rendered corresponded to that myth of the noble savage which prevailed in Europe; Paul et Virginie by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre appeared on the same date.
Bookplate: Library of C. Jameson. Below illegible cipher in black.

Second edition, after the first published in 1786, by the same publisher. It is illustrated with 3 folding maps on heavy paper, one of Europe, a second of central Asia, a third of the North Pole.
Contemporary full brown marbled calf bindings. Smooth spines decorated with 4 fleurons. Red morocco title labels and volume labels. Head of volume 1 slightly worn; that of volume 2 largely missing. Tail of volume 2 worn. 6 corners very bumped. One incision to the last compartment of volume 2. Rubbing and surface wear to boards. Some scattered foxing. One tear on a fold to the large map of Asia.
Composed of a series of letters, Mackintosh's travels aim essentially at describing the situation of Hindustan, and the English presence in India. This journey nevertheless passes through Europe (description of the Netherlands, Antwerp, Nantes and Lorient), the Cape of Good Hope, and Bourbon Island, where Mackintosh was held prisoner. Some letters appear to have very diverse subjects but all in fact relate to England's situation and its future in the Indies, such as letters concerning the war between the Americans and the English, or those concerning the principal English chiefs of the Indies. Interesting appendix On the ants that attack sugar cane.
Capper's Journey, colonel of the East India Company, reveals to us the ancient overland route to the Indies, from Egypt. At the end, extract from Sparrmann's journey to the Cape of Good Hope.

Second edition published the same year as the first, by the same publisher. Large folding plan of the Holy Sepulchre at rear. The large and famous atlas, published in only 325 copies and sold separately, is absent. At rear explanation of the 78 lithographed plates in colors that compose the atlas.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding with porphyry grain. Smooth spine decorated with 4 compartments with grotesque cross-hatching and a central ornament. Framing frieze on boards. Chocolate morocco title-label. Spine uniformly faded. Small lacks to joints at head. A slight lack at foot. Upper joint split narrowly at tail for 8 cm, and for 5cm along the lower joint. Trace of pale dampstain on half-title, title page and preliminary leaves. 3 corners bumped.
Appointed in 1816 as Director General of the Louvre museum, Forbin obtained leave from Louis XVIII to finally realize his youthful dream, a journey to the Levant. Embarking on several ships, he first visited Milos, Athens, Constantinople, Ephesus, then finally arrived at Saint Jean d'Acre, continuing to Jerusalem, Gaza, Damietta. He also visited Egypt and its principal sites: Cairo, Luxor, Thebes, Rosetta and Alexandria. He acquired numerous antiquities that would enrich the Louvre's collections. Beyond the classic and picturesque narrative of the journey, this Voyage au Levant is characterized by its aesthetic and artistic vision; Forbin was above all a man of art, and he would work extensively in France for museums, reorganizing the Louvre's collections, creating the Luxembourg museum and that of Versailles... In the Dictionnaire des orientalistes, Frédéric Hirzel writes: "Le voyage au Levant du Comte de Forbin remains one of the finest achievements of the Voyages pittoresques of the early nineteenth century. Unlike some of his predecessors, such as the Comte de Choiseul-Gouffier, the text here is a true narrative."

First French edition of the Account of the Capture of His Majesty's Ship Bounty translated by Daniel Lescallier. It is illustrated with 3 maps, including one of the voyage in the launch, one of the islands discovered by Lieutenant Bligh, and one of the coasts of New Holland.
Contemporary full marbled brown sheep binding, spine with raised bands decorated with urn tools in lozenges, rolled decoration at foot, red morocco title-label. Some rubbing.
Captain Woodard was held prisoner by the Malays on the island of Celebes for two years and five months; his testimony was collected by Vaughan in England while the captain was making a stopover. Describing his captivity and adventures, he also reports on the food, fauna and flora, customs and practices of the natives. In the appendix, several very remarkable accounts of shipwrecks: loss of the frigate La Pandore, loss of Captain Kenedy's vessel, account of the black hole...
The Account of the Capture of His Majesty's Ship Bounty relates its voyage and the famous mutiny. After a six-month stay in Tahiti and a cargo of breadfruit trees, the revolt broke out on board on April 28, 1789; the captain and 18 of his men were forced into a drifting launch, with only ship's biscuits for food. After 48 days of navigation, this meager crew landed at Timor with all hands. Christian Fletcher, one of the lieutenant's mates, and 24 other men remained on the Bounty. William Bligh attributes this unexpected revolt, according to him, to the life the men found in Tahiti, and the desire to return to a gentle life far from the discipline of an English ship. Cinema would find in this maritime story eloquent symbols to exploit: youth against authority and blind and arbitrary repression, freedom... Christian Fletcher would establish a colony with some of his men on Pitcairn Island (the others having remained in Tahiti); in all likelihood, they killed each other and only one survivor remained.
Handsome copy.

First edition illustrated with numerous plates.
Light rubbing to spine and boards which also show some discoloration at head and foot.
Publisher's binding in full dark green shagreen, smooth spine lightly browned, headcaps somewhat worn, blind-ruled frame to boards, title stamped in gilt to center of front board, corners slightly bumped, yellow paper endpapers and pastedowns.
Handsome interior condition.

The rare first edition, illustrated with a folding colored map.
Contemporary full marbled brown sheep bindings. Decorated smooth spines. Red morocco title and volume labels. Head of volume 2 slightly worn. Small lack at head of volume 1. Corners slightly bumped and trimmed.
Important testimony by Maistre de la Tour, French military mercenary who entered the service of Haidar Ali, Sultan of Mysore (1720-1782). He is described on the title page as: general of ten thousand men of the Mogul empire, & formerly commander-in-chief of the artillery of Ayder-Ali's army, & a corps of European troops, in the pay of this Nabob. The author's account revolves around two themes: presenting a positive image of Haidar and criticizing the English position, particularly against French interests. Often presented as a despot, Haydar Ali was considered a significant figure by French authorities due to his military successes against the English in the war between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British.

First edition published in a small number of copies of this offprint from the Revue de géographie of April and May 1901.
Brochure illustrated with 23 photographs hors-texte.
Spine and covers marginally discolored and sunned as usual, small worming and corner tears to covers, handsome interior condition.

first edition printed with 1000 numbered copies on Alfa paper.
Duplicated and signed autograph tribute by Maurice Dubourg.
In frontispiece, a photographic portrait of Geroges Bloy.
Small scattered foxing.

First edition of the translation from Sanskrit into French by Armand Loiseleur Deslongchamps.
Bradel binding in full pasteboard covered with marbled paper, smooth spine, red shagreen title-label, some rubbing to spine, a scratch to front board, corners slightly bumped.
Foxing to foot of most leaves.

First edition, rare. The work is followed by two memoirs presented in 1781 to Louis XVI by the author of this work, containing a plan to annihilate English power in India, and a third on the current means to still achieve this.
Contemporary full grained calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with urn and sun tools. Red morocco title label. Greek key border on boards. One lack at head. Signs of rubbing. One corner slightly bumped. Handsome copy, despite some defects.
After a political and religious history of Hindustan (the largest part of present-day India) which is a transcription of the "Historical, political and economic memoirs on the English revolutions in Hindustan" by J.-A. Pallerot de Saint-Lubin, 1782, the work endeavors to establish the history and current state of the occupation of the regions of Hindustan by the English, of the various battles between English and Hindus, of commerce in Soudabar, Bengal, and Gujarat. The author's aim is to provide precise information on the English presence (army, commerce...) and conceivable means of driving them from Indian lands. In his memoir to Louis XVI, the author reveals several military plans to retake India from the English as well as several measures that would make them unpopular with the indigenous populations. Through a proper historical and cultural study, the author seeks to demonstrate that the English presence is an affront to India, and that France would be more respectful and just in its presence in the Indies. One will note that on the last page, we find the mention "End of the first part", but the second, which was to appear later and be occupied by various memoirs on the English occupation, was never published. The work is one of the most important testimonies on English abuses in India in the 18th century.

First edition, one of 1500 numbered copies on Lafuma vellum.
Work illustrated with a frontispiece by Pierre Guastalla.
Handsome copy despite some occasional light worming.