Asher Rare Books

First edition of the account of the experiences of American anthropologist
Carleton S. Coon in Ethiopia and Arabia

COON, Carleton S. Measuring Ethiopia and flight into Arabia.
Boston, Little, Brown, and Company, 1935. 8vo. With 8 plates. Yellow cloth with title information in blue on front cover and spine, with a dust jacket designed by Paul Wenck, map of Ethiopia and Arabia on the endpapers. IX, [5], 333, [1] pp. Full description

€ 850

Anthropology & Ethnography Arabian Peninsula & Gulf States East Africa

A late call for a crusade

COPPIN, R.P. Jean. Relation des voyages faits dans la Turquie, la Thebaïde, et la Barbarie. Contenant des avis politiques qui peuvent servir de lumières aux Rois & aux Souverains de la Chrétienté, pour garentir leurs etats des incursions des Turcs, & reprendre ceux qu'ils ont usurpé sur eux.
Lyon, les frères Bruyset, 1720. 4to. Vignette on title-page, interesting woodcut head- and tailpieces showing fruits and flowers, and 4 plates visualising the position of soldiers, divisions, army and artillery. Contemporary brown calf, gold-tooled spine in 6 compartments, red morocco label, lettered in gold. [6], 496, [6] pp. Full description

€ 9,500

Military History (18th Century) Turkey & Ottoman Empire

"Ces Arabes paroissent destiné à jouer un grand rôle dans l'histoire"

[CORANCEZ, Louis Alexandre Olivier de]. Histoire des Wahabis, depuis leur origine jusqu'a la fin de 1809.
Paris, Crapelet, 1810. 8vo. Remains of original grey temporary wrappers. Stored in gilt modern quarter morocco box. [4], VIII, 222, [2] pp. Full description

€ 6,500

Arabian Peninsula & Gulf States Islamic Art, Culture & Science Mediterranean Regions Religion (19th Century)

An Italian farmer turned into a Turkish satirist for a Croatian audience

CROCE, Giulio Cesare and Nikola PALIKUCA (translator). Himbenost pritankogh Veleznanstva Nasradinova.
Ancona, Pietro Paolo Ferri, 1771. 12mo. With a woodcut of the main character on the title-page. Contemporary plain wrappers. 71 pp. Full description

€ 5,800

Balkan & Greece Caricature & Satire Central Europe Italy Literature

Journey around the world with a long stay in India

CUBERO SEBASTIAN, Pedro. Breve relacion, de la peregrinacion que ha hecho de la mayor parte del mundo.
Madrid, Juan Garcia Infançon, 1680. Small 4to (20 x 14.5 cm). With the title-page in a border built up from cast fleurons, woodcut coat of arms of the dedicatee Charles II of Spain, and some woodcut initials and tailpieces.Gold-tooled morocco, by the leading Barcelona binder Emilio Brugalla (1901-1987), with the arms of the Spanish bibliophile Isidoro Fernandez (1878-1963) stamped in gold on front and back, gilt edges. [20], 360 pp. Full description

€ 18,000

Church History & Missions India & Sri Lanka Italy Latin America Mexico Middle America Southeast Asia Spain Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages Europe Travel & Voyages Middle East Travel & Voyages Southeast Asia Travel & Voyages Southern Asia Turkey & Ottoman Empire West Asia

Promissory note for Venetian customs taxes in Damascus in 1488

[DAMASCUS – VENETIAN TAXES]. [Promissory note for Venetian customs taxes on goods from Damascus].
Venice, 22 Feb. / 5 March 1488. Italian notarial document on vellum (44.5 x 16 cm; text block ca. 27 x 14 cm). Written in two fine cursive hands. Full description

€ 7,500

Economic History & Trade Egypt Italy Manuscripts & Documents North Africa

A scarce Arabic bestiary

DAMIRI, Muhammad ibn Musa al-. Kitab Hayat al-Hayawan [= Book of the life of animals].
Meknes, Morocco, 1267 AH [= 1851 CE]. 4to (19 x 23 cm). Arabic manuscript on paper, brown maghribi script in two hands with important words and phrases in red and blue. With an illuminated head-piece at the start of the text in red, blue, green, and gold. Contemporary gold-tooled red leather with a fore-edge flap. 62 ll. Full description

€ 7,500

Faunas & General Zoology Islamic Art, Culture & Science Manuscripts & Documents Medicine & Pharmacy (19th Century)

Beautifully coloured composite atlas

[DANCKERTS, ALLARD, VISSCHER, DE WIT, MORTIER and others]. Atlas.
[Amsterdam, Theodorus and Cornelis III Danckerts?, ca. 1706 (dated maps 1694-1706)]. Imperial folio (53.5 x 33.5 cm). Composite atlas, with an engraved title-page, 43 double-page engraved maps and 4 double-page engraved tables, all beautifully coloured in a consistent and balanced manner by a contemporary hand, probably in the workshop of the publisher. With maps by Johannes, Justus, Theodorus and Cornelis III Danckerts, Carel and Abraham Allard, Nicolaas Visscher I & II, Frederik de Wit, Pieter Mortier, Caspar Specht and even Alexis-Hubert Jaillot in Paris. Modern maroon sheepskin. Full description

€ 48,500

Amsterdam Atlases & Globes Charts & Maps City Plans, Topography & Views Netherlands USA - United States of America

Unique hand-coloured copy of Dapper's famous description of Africa

DAPPER, Olfert. Naukeurige beschrijvinge der Afrikaensche gewesten van Egypten, Barbaryen, Lybien, Biledulgerid, Negroslant, Guinea, Ethiopiën, Abyssinie: vertoont in de benamingen, grenspalen, revieren, steden, gewassen, dieren, zeeden, drachten, talen, rijkdommen, godsdiensten en heerschappyen. ...
Including: Naukeurige beschrijvinge der Afrikaensche eylanden ...
Amsterdam, Jacob van Meurs, 1676. 3 works in 1 volume. Folio (33 x 22 cm). With a richly engraved allegorical frontispiece, a large folding engraved map of Africa (44.5 x 56 cm), 14 double-page engraved maps of parts of Africa and the adjacent islands, 27 double-page and 1 larger folding engraved plates and views, and 55 half-page engraved views, plans, illustrations of costumes, animals, plants, etc. in the text. All illustrations coloured by a contemporary hand. Contemporary vellum at a later date with elaborate blind-tooled decorations, including oriental portraits. With 2 decorated brass clasps, signed B-I. [6], 428, 349, [16]; [1], 121, [4] pp. Full description

€ 85,000

Arabian Peninsula & Gulf States Central Africa Charts & Maps City Plans, Topography & Views East Africa Egypt Geography Malta North Africa Southern Africa West Africa

Major source of information on the Muslim world in the 17th century

DAPPER, Olfert. Naukeurige beschryving van Asie: behelsende de gewesten van Mesopotamie, Babylonie, Assyrie, Anatolie, of Klein Asie: beneffens eene volkome beschrijving van gantsch gelukkigh, woest, en petreesch of steenigh Arabie. Vertoont in een bondigh ontwerp van 's lands benamingen, bepalingen, . . . inzonderheit die van d'oude Arabieren, Mahomet en Mahometanen.
Amsterdam, Jacob van Meurs, 1680. Folio. With engraved frontispiece, 3 double-page maps (of Basra and surroundings, Anatolia and the Arabian Peninsula), 12 double-page or folding views (partly drawn by Charles Vasteau). Near contemporary blind-stamped vellum. [8], 357, [3], 324, [4] pp. Full description