Asher Rare Books

Erpenius's excellent Arabic grammar

ERPENIUS (VAN ERPE), Thomas. Rudimenta linguae Arabicae.
Leiden, Boneventura and Abraham Elzevier, 1628. Small 8vo (15 x 9.5 cm). With title-page printed in red and black. 19th-century green sheepskin. [10], 172, [48] pp. Full description

€ 2,800

Arabic Printing & Calligraphy Language & Linguistics

Best edition of a classic Arabic grammar, with fables, proverbs and quotations

ERPENIUS, Thomas. Grammatica Arabica; cum varia praxios materia, cujus elenchum versa dabit pagella.
Leiden, Johannes Maire, 1656. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4to. Mid 19th-century half tan calf, gold- and blind-tooled spine. [12], 172, “282” [= 284] pp. Full description

€ 3,500

Arabic Printing & Calligraphy Fable Books Greek & Non-Western Types Language & Linguistics

Heavily annotated copy of the best edition of a classic Arabic grammar,
with fabled, proverbs, and quotations

ERPENIUS, Thomas. Grammatica Arabica; cum varia praxios materia, cujus elenchum versa dabit pagella.
Leiden, Joannes Maire, 1656. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4to. The title-page is printed in red and black, lacking the printer's device, with a few woodcut decorated initials and some head- and tailpieces built up from typographical ornaments. The text is set in both roman and Arabic type. Quarter vellum and blue decorated paper sides, with the manuscript author and title on the spine, blue sprinkled edges. [1], [1 blank], [4], [1 blank], [5], 172, "282" [= 284] pp. Full description

€ 4,500

Arabic Printing & Calligraphy Education & Pedagogy Language & Linguistics

Greatly enlarged edition of Erpenius's groundbreaking introduction to the Arabic language

ERPENIUS (VAN ERPE), Thomas. Rudimenta linguae arabicae. Florilegium sententiarum arabicarum ut et clavim dialectorum ac praesertim arabicae adjecit Alb. Schultens. Editio altera, aucta indicibus.
Leiden, S. & J. Luchtmans & Jean le Mair, 1770. 4to. With engraved publisher's device on title-page. Contemporary half calf. [6], 374, [174] pp. Full description

€ 850

Arabic Printing & Calligraphy Language & Linguistics Literature

One of the most influential works ever written, with commentary by the "Euclid of the 16th century"

EUCLID and Christopher CLAVIUS (editor). Elementorum Libri XV.
"Cologne" [= Venice], Giovanni Battista Ciotti, 1591. 2 parts in 1 volume. Folio. The title page of each part is set within an elaborate woodcut border, with woodcut decorated initials (at least 3 series), headpieces built up from typographical ornaments, numerous woodcut mathematical figures in the text, large woodcut ornamental tailpieces, and a woodcut printer's device on the otherwise blank verso of the last leaf of both parts. Including: Posteriores libri IX.
Later blind-tooled overlapping vellum. [15], [1 blank], 359, [1 blank]; 355, [1 blank], [40] pp. Full description

€ 2,500

Early Printing - 16th century Greek & Roman Classics Mathematics School & Textbooks

Dutch translation of the most successful and influential geometry textbook ever written

EUCLID and Jan Pieterszoon DOU. De ses eerste boecken Euclidis.
Amsterdam, Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 1626. 8vo. With numerous woodcut geometrical figures in the text. Contemporary vellum. [14], 224 [2 blank] pp. Full description

€ 1,500

Greek & Roman Classics Mathematics Physics & Chemistry

First edition of nearly all Euripides plays, in Aldus's best and last Greek, type:
Thomas More's fictional hero gave a copy to the Utopians in 1516!

EURIPIDES. [Title in Greek then Latin:] Tragoediae septendecim [recté octodecim], ex quib[us]. quaedam habent commentaria. & sunt hae. Hecuba[,] Orestes[,] Phoenissae[,] Medea[,] Hippolytus[,] Alcestis[,] Andromache[,] Supplices[,] Iphigenia in Aulide[,] Iphigenia in Tauris[,] Rhesus[,] Troades[,] Bacchae[,] Cyclops[,] Heraclide[,] Helena[,] Ion[, Hercules furens].
(Colophon to each volume: Venice, Aldus Manutius, February 1503). 2 volumes. 8vo. With Aldus's anchor device on the last page of each volume, printed in Aldus's beautiful Greek type.Matching limp vellum (made from 2 leaves from a ca. 1560/70? Spanish legal manuscript), constructed or reconstructed ca. 1900. [268]; [190] ll. Full description

€ 35,000

Aldine Press Arabic Printing & Calligraphy Book History, Printing & Typography Greek & Roman Classics Literature

The first bilingual edition of Erasmus' Euripides translation

EURIPIDES and Desiderius ERASMUS (editor and translator). Euripidis tragoediae duae hecuba & iphigenia in aulide, Latinae factae...
Basel, Froben Office [heirs of Johann Froben], April 1530. 8vo (10.4 x 15.4 cm). With a woodcut printer's device on the title page and final page, and 7 decorated woodcut initials. 19th-century half brown calf and grey paper sides. 293, [1], [1 blank], [1] pp. Full description

€ 1,500

Church History & Missions Classical Antiquity Early Printing - 16th century Erasmus Greek & Roman Classics Humanism & Reformation Philosophy & Humanism Religion (16th Century)

First Dutch translation of the Historia ecclesiastica

EUSEBIUS PAMPHILUS. Die Historie diemen heet ecclesiastica ... (&c.). nu ... ouerghesedt in onser duytscher spraken.
Antwerp, Govert van der Haghen, May 1534. Small folio. With the title printed in red and black, set within an elaborate woodcut title border, 12 decorated woodcut initials, and 2 woodcut tailpieces. 17th-century vellum. [6], CLIII, [1 blank] ll. Full description

€ 9,500

Catholicism & Eastern Orthodox Church Church History & Missions Classical Antiquity Early Printing - 16th century Religion (16th Century)

Rare collection of 17 popular farcical texts

[FACETIAE]. Facetiae facetiarum, hoc est, jocoseriorum fasciculus novus, exhibens varia variorum autorum scripta, non tàm lectu jucunda & jocosa, amoena & amanda, quàm lectu verè digna & utilia, multisve moralibus ad mores seculi nostri accomodata, illustrata & adornata.
[Rostock, Augustin Ferber], 1627. 17 parts in 1 volume. 4to. With general title-page and 17 part-titles, some with woodcut ornaments or illustrations. Contemporary vellum. Full description