Middle Eastern History

3 Volumes. xii+139 pages lacking frontispiece; 168 pages lacking frontispiece with 6 color plates of 10; 141 pages lacking frontispiece with 9 color plates of 11. Small octavo (7 1/4" x 4 1/2") bound in half red leather with gilt lettering and stamping to spine and along edge of half leather. First American edition. Antoine-Laurent Castellan was a French painter, architect, and engraver. After having studied landscape painting under Valenciennes, he visited Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland, and published several series of letters upon those parts, illustrated with views drawn and engraved by himself. His best-known work is the Moeurs, usages, costumes des Othomans, published in 1812, and highly praised by Lord Byron. He also wrote Etudes sur le Chateau de Fontainebleau, which was not published until after his death. He was also the inventor of a new process of painting in wax. Condition: 15 or 24 plates. Spines sympathetically repaired, corners rubbed, some foxing and pencil marginalia, previous… Read More

London: Richard Bentley, 1840. Book. Illus. by Lacking portrait frontispieces, but who cares?. Near Fine. Full-Leather. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. subtitled, "Including an Account of Parts of Those Countries Hitherto Unvisited by Europeans, with Sketches of the Character and Manners of the Koordish and Arab Tribes". Pages vii, 382 & ix, 477. Splendid light brown calf, with gilt scrolls & gilt frame border on the boards; raised bands, elaborate gilt decorated panels and deep red title labels on the spine. The page edges are marbled, with matching endpapers. Fraser had two earlier books on India that are listed in Abbey Travel. Scarce..

London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. 1923. (Hardcover) 267pp. Very good plus, no dust jacket. Green cloth with gilt lettering on the spine. Bibliography, index. Small white patches on the endpapers, and light wear at the top and bottom of the spine and corners. Book about Fatimid Khalifate, First Crusade, Fatmid Khalifa, Second Crusade. Time Period Medieval & Medieval. Publisher series: Trubner's Oriental Series. Locale: ; ; Middle East. (History--Middle East, Crusades, Islam).

Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard , 1849. Book. Illus. by 28 wood engraved plates and 2 Folding Maps. Very Good. 3/4 Leather. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Contemporary 3/4 brown calf, elaborate gilt spine panels and raised bands. Attractive and fresh marbled page edges, with matching boards and endpapers. A bit of wear at the edges, and crown slightly chipped. An handsome copy of the U.S. Navy's first foray into the Holy Land, over which young Lynch and his men hauled their boats with camels to the Sea of Galilee, then down the River Jordon to the Dead Sea. er. This copy has repairs on the verso of the map folds, and a few small chips at the edges. The expedition also visited Smyrna and Constantinople. Blackmer 1043 The official report of this Naval adventure was published in 1852. .

Alexandria: Whitehead Morris Ltd., 1938. Second Edition [Revised] . Yellow Printed Boards. Very Good. Maps, Plates. xii, 208 + folding map at end. Signed limited issue, #106 of 250 copies. Second edition, much revised, of the 1922 edition, and including his new dedication to his old friend Cavafy. Decorative bookplate of "John & Alexandrine Russell", no other names or marks. [Russell was in Naval Intelligence in WWII, after which, in 1945, he was recommended by Ian Fleming as a reviewer for the Sunday Times. He became an art reviewer/commentator/writer of note and later was the New York Times art critic for many years. He was married to Alexandrine Apponyi 1945-1950. ] This copy lightly used, boards slightly soiled and paper lightly aged as usual, but no fraying to paper-covered boards.

London [circa 1880]: J. S. Virtue and Co, 1880. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good +. 13" Tall. Engravings on Steel and Wood. Vol 1: X;Vi; 240; Vol 2: Vi, 240; Vol 3 Vi, 240; Vol 4 Vi, 236. Half Morocco [Spine And Tips) Over Purple Pebbled Cloth; Spines With 5 Bands, Six Compartments, Gilt Title And Volume Number, Ornate Gilt Decorations In Other Four Compartments; Original Yellow Endpapers; All Edges Of Page Block Gilt. Undated But Circa 1880. Front Hinge To Vol Ii Cracked, Binding Solid. Original Leather Recently Professionally Conditioned And Refreshed, Professional Repairs To A Few Splits At Top/Bottom Of Spine Edges; Gilt Bright; No Names, No Marks, No Bookplates. Also With An Additional 41 Loose Plates (From Another Copy Of This Set, Or Perhaps Never Bound). Shipping Weight About 30 Pounds, Insurance Required, Shipping Requires Additional Charges Depending On Destination.

New York: Random House, 2006. Signed on the title page by the author, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. First edition / First printing. Red paper-covered spine, light blue paper-covered boards. Very fine in very fine dust jacket. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year 2006.

London: Palestine Exploration Fund, 1881. First Edition . Original Decorative Cloth. Very Good. 4to.. V+438pp. First and last pages and edges with truly insignificant foxing. Original cloth. Spine with some expert repiair. A VERY GOOD CLEAN COPY IN THE ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S CLOTH. FIRST EDITION. RARE. (due to the heavy weight of this book, additional shipping fees will apply)

Istanbul: Altin Kitaplar, 1977. 1st Edition . Dust jacket. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Original bdg. With its rare dust wrapper. Demy 8vo. (21 x 14 cm). In Turkish. 410, [4] p. [RARE FIRST TURKISH EDITION: PSYCHEDELIC COVER] Medyum. [= The shining]. Translated by Mehmet Harmanci. Cover design by Oral Orhon. Mehmet Harmanci (translator), (1932-), was a Turkish translator, author, and the founder of 'Koza Publishing House' together with Tarik Dursun K., (1931-2015). He is known for his translations from American contemporary and modern literature to Turkish as well as Stephen King's books. Oral Orhon was a famous contemporary Turkish graphic designer. He was a productive illustrator between the years 1930-1970, has also drawn many comic books, cartoons, covers, advertisements, movie posters. This book's dust jacket is designed by Orhon in psychedelic photographic style. Extremely rare first Turkish Edition. With its original dust jacket, very difficult to… Read More

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Cape 1st trade printing 1935, by T E Lawrence.
Original trade first edition rebound in 2020 and issued to Scorpion Press subscribers in a run of 16 lettered copies.It has two tan leather covers, the spine has five raised bands, gilt titling, the date 1935 at the base and the scorpion logo. The top edge of the book block has been plated in gold. The front cover has a reproduction drawing (by Augustus John with gold painted to the head band) and underneath is gold title blocking: LT COL T E LAWRENCE, and below that, Lawrence of Arabia. An additional page of text and limitation page (16 lettered copies) considers Lawrence's legacy and the importance of the epic film. Included too are large photos of Lawrence and Peter O'Toole. The binding is new, the book block being 85 years old may have occasional fox spotting. 672 pp, all four maps present, profusely illustrated. A timeless collectible. Given the packed weight of 3 kg an additional charge for shipping may be called… Read More

Tehran: Ketabha-ye Perstav., [Sh.: 1344], 1965. Soft cover. Fine. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Paperback. Foolscap 8vo. (17 x 11,5 cm). In Persian. 200 p. Sadegh Hedayat [Sadiq - Sadigh Hidayet], (1903-1951), was an Iranian writer, translator, and intellectual. Best known for his novel The Blind Owl, he was one of the earliest Iranian writers to adopt literary modernism in their career. Hedayat subsequently devoted his whole life to studying Western literature and to learning and investigating Iranian history and folklore. The works of Rainer Maria Rilke, Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, and Guy de Maupassant intrigued him the most. During his short literary life span, Hedayat published a substantial number of short stories and novelettes, two historical dramas, a play, a travelogue, and a collection of satirical parodies and sketches. His writings also include numerous literary criticisms, studies in Persian folklore, and many translations from Middle Persian and French.… Read More

Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2013. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Small quarto. 9.5 x 6.25 inches. xiv, 311 pp. New. No dust jacket as issued. Pictorial paper on board. Volume 84, Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies.

Istanbul: Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Hükümeti Maarif Vekâleti Nesriyâti / Matbaa-yi Âmire., [AH 1339], 1923. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Original wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (19,5 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 14 p. First and only Turkish edition of this important, rare, and the first work on eugenics in Turkey in book form, translated by Balaban from English, from a lecture Pearson gave at Oxford University, including the idea of the human race can be grown more perfectly in the future as well as the species of animals and plants. Balaban indicated in his preface of the work that Eugenism is discussed in the western world under the leadership of Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), and it should be progressed in Turkey as well. Especially in this period when epidemics are common, the book emphasizes how important it is to combat these diseases. Mustafa Rahmi Balaban (1888-1953),… Read More

Constantinople (Istanbul): Neologos Litografyasi - Votîra ve Sürekasi Matbaasi., [AH 1292], 1875. 1st Edition . Leather. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Contemporary 1/4 leather bdg. with marbled boards. Small 4to. (27 x 19 cm). 23 p. (11 p. in Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters; 12 p. in French), with rare 4 folded maps. A very good copy. First and only edition of this extremely rare bilingual book in French and Ottoman Turkish, including the first records on the formation and characteristics of storms to explain how storms and hurricanes occurred, which route they followed, and how they were conveyed to the regions that need to be warned by telegraph, for the vessels sailing in the seas, by French expert Coumbary who was founded the Rasathâne-i Âmîre [i.e. Ottoman Imperial Observatory]. Both the original French and Turkish translations of the work were published together in one volume. The work also included four maps which were… Read More

Aleppo: Wattar Freres., [ca. 1920's], 1920. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. Eight panels of panoramic photograph folded into original printed light brown card wrappers titled "Souvenir d'Alep (Syrie). / Panoramique d'Alep" and "Editeur Wattar Freres, Alep (Syrie)" on the cover. Open size: 9x112 cm. In French. Contemporarily repaired verso of hinges by tape, overall a fine copy. Scarce wide-angle black and white photo-lithographic panoramic view of one of the oldest and most important cities of the Islamic Middle East, Aleppo of Syria, taken at twilight time, in the 1920s, when the country was under the French Occupation between 1920-22. This attractive photograph was edited and also probably taken by the Wattar Brothers, who were the famous and prolific editors and photographers of Syria and Southeast Anatolia including Kilis, Aintab (today: Gaziantep), etc. The Wattar Freres' descendants were present in Syria until the early 2000s (Serifoglu). This panorama… Read More