Hartel, Wilhelm (August) Ritter von, Politiker und Philologe (1839-1907). Eigenh. Brief mit U.Karlsbad, 15 Apr 1905.

“Ihr Unternehmen, dem Dichter Hamerling ein Denkmal zu weihen, werde ich in jeder Art unterstützen [...]”.

Hartel, Professor für klassische Philologie, war seit 1896 Sektionschef für die Hoch- und Mittelschulen im Ministerium für Unterricht und Kultus und hatte von 1900-05 das Amt des Unterrichtsministers inne. Er veröffentlichte zahlreiche wissenschaftliche Arbeiten, u. a. über Homer, Demosthenes und attisches Staatsrecht, edierte patristische Texte, gründete 1879 die "Wiener Studien" und war seit 1866 Mitherausgeber des ‘Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum’, seit 1887 der ‘Bibliotheca Patrum Latinorum Hispanorum’. Als Mitglied der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (seit 1899 auch Vizepräsident) initiierte Hartel 1899 die "Internationale Assoziation der Akademien" in Wiesbaden. Vgl. Czeike III, 63.

Das Denkmal für Robert Hamerling, 1908 von dem Bildhauer Johann Scherpe geschaffen, wurde während des Zweiten Weltkriegs entfernt und nicht wieder aufgestellt.

Der Brief an den Schriftsteller und Journalisten Julius Patzelt (1864-1941), der seit 1898 Chefredakteur des ‘Deutschen Volksblatts’ war.

In altem Sammlungsumschlag.

Düntzer, Heinrich, Altphilologe (1813-1901). Eigenh. Brief mit U.Köln, 28 May 1848.

Dankesschreiben für Korrekturarbeiten an einen nicht namentlich genannten Bibliothekar: "Lange hätte ich Ihnen meinen besten Dank für die Sorgfalt sagen sollen, mit welcher sie sich der an sich nicht leichten Korrektur meiner Schrift über Zenodoti unterzogen haben, [...] aber statt dessen erlaube ich mir Ihnen mit einer Bitte lästig zu fallen, durch deren Erfüllung sie mich sehr verbinden würden. Diesmal ist es Ihr Stolz, Ihre herrliche Universitätsbibliothek welche Ihnen meine diese Bitte zuzieht. Ich wünsche nämlich eine Abschrift von zwei Recensionen von Goethe's 'Werther's Leiden' zu erhalten, welche sich im 'Hamburger Correspondenten' und im 'Altonaer Postreuter' in den letzten Monaten (von Oktober an) 1775 oder in den ersten Wochen 1776 finden. Vielleicht könnten sie auch mir die Recension in Abschrift verschaffen, welche in der 'Schwarzen Zeitung' des Pfarrers M. Goeze von Werther's Leiden erschienen ist [...]".

Neben seinen altphilologischen Schriften, besonders zu Homer, befasste sich Heinrich Düntzer intensiv mit dem Leben und Werk Goethes, wovon auch der vorliegende Brief zeugt. Das geflügelte Wort "Hier irrt Goethe", das Düntzer lange zugeschrieben wurde, findet sich nicht verbatim in seinen Kommentaren, dürfte aber durch seine Aussagen inspiriert worden sein.

Mit zahlreichen Randeinrissen. Gefaltet. Mit Sammlernotiz in Tinte (recto).

Jordan, Wilhelm, Schriftsteller und Politiker (1819-1904). Eigenh. Brief mit U.Frankfurt a. M., 8 Oct 1868.

Gemäß einem zeitgenöss. Bleistiftvermerk von fremder Hand am unteren Rand von Bl. 2 verso an "Frau Minna Grosser bei Ueberreichung seines Lustspiels "Durch's Ohr": "Nicht vergessen habe ichs, verehrte Frau, daß ich Ihnen seit mehr als einem halben Jahre eine Antwort schuldig bin auf Ihre freundlichen und warm empfundenen Zeilen. Aber die nur fünfmonatliche Sommerfrist [...] war in diesem Jahr so über alle Maaßen in Anspruch genommen, daß ich erst jetzt [...] endlich dazu gelange, Ihnen meinen herzlichsten Dank zu sagen. Ihrer lebhaften u. schönen Theilnahme an meiner Poesie eingedenk hoffe ich, daß es Ihnen einiges Vergnügen machen werde, das beikommende Lustspiel zu lesen u. als Wiener Andenken an d. Verfasser Ihrer Bibliothek einzuverleiben [...]".

1843 wegen seiner Schriften und Reden für politische Freiheit aus Berlin ausgewiesen, ließ sich Jordan in Leipzig nieder, gab 1845/46 die Zeitschrift 'Die beflissene Welt' heraus, mußte aber auch Sachsen wegen seiner politischen Gesinnung verlassen und ging als Korrespondent der 'Bremer Zeitung' nach Paris. "Nach Berlin zurückgekehrt, wurde er in die Deutsche Nationalversammlung gewählt. Hier schloß er sich erst der Linken, dann der Erbkaiserlichen Partei an, plädierte für ein deutsches Reich unter preußischer Führung und war zuletzt Marinerat im Reichshandelsministerium" (DBE). Sein Werk umfasst neben eigenen Schauspielen und Romanen zahlreiche Übersetzungen von Shakespeare, Homer und Sophokles.

Ohne das erwähnte Lustspiel.

Jordan, Wilhelm, Schriftsteller und Politiker (1819-1904). Eigenh. Brief mit U.Frankfurt a. M., 12 Feb 1897.

An den Schriftsteller und Journalisten Wilhelm Goldbaum (1843-1912): "Indem ich auch Ihnen herzlich danke für Ihren warmen Glückwunsch und die Uebermittlung des Angebindes von griechischem Wunderwein, bitte ich Sie, die beil. kl. Festschrift als Andenken anzunehmen [...]".

1843 wegen seiner Schriften und Reden für politische Freiheit aus Berlin ausgewiesen, ließ sich Jordan in Leipzig nieder, gab 1845/46 die Zeitschrift "Die beflissene Welt" heraus, mußte aber auch Sachsen wegen seiner politischen Gesinnung verlassen und ging als Korrespondent der "Bremer Zeitung" nach Paris. "Nach Berlin zurückgekehrt, wurde er in die Deutsche Nationalversammlung gewählt. Hier schloß er sich erst der Linken, dann der Erbkaiserlichen Partei an, plädierte für ein deutsches Reich unter preußischer Führung und war zuletzt Marinerat im Reichshandelsministerium" (DBE). Sein Werk umfaßt neben eigenen Schauspielen und Romanen zahlreiche Übersetzungen von Shakespeare, Homer und Sophokles.

Wilhelm Goldbaum war Feuilletonredakteur der "Neuen Freien Presse" und arbeitete auch für die "Westermannschen Monatshefte", die "Rundschau", die "Gartenlaube", die "Nationalzeitung" und die "Wiener Mode". Seine kultur- und literaturhistorischen Essays erschienen in den Sammlungen "Entlegene Kulturen" (1877) und "Literarische Physiognomien" (1884); zudem war Goldbaum auch als Übersetzer aus dem Polnischen tätig.

Etwas gebräunt.

Ohne die erwähnte Beilage, jedoch mit Jordans gedr. "Programm der epischen Dichtung Sigfridsage".

Dionysius Periegetes. De situ orbis habitabilis.Venice, 1478.

A famous description of the classical world, originally written in Greek verse around the beginning of the second century AD by Dionysios Periegetes, also known as Dionysius of Alexandria, including early mentions of China and Arabia. The poem exerted a great influence during the Middle ages and remained popular well into the Renaissance. One of its main appeals are the literary descriptions of faraway countries, which leave more space for imagination than the more scientific geographical descriptions like those of Mela and Solinus.

It was translated into Latin prose by the Veronese humanist Antonio da Beccaria and first published a year earlier by Erhard Ratdolt, the former partner of Franz Renner, two German printers active in Venice. The poem had first appeared in print in a free verse translation in Priscian's Opera in 1470.

"Until the thirteenth century, Asia beyond India was practically unknown in Europe; only vague references to the Serica or Sinica of the Graeco-Romans helped keep alive a sketchy knowledge of China's existence". Mentions here in Dionysius's text referring to "Thina" hark back to the mentions in the Periplus of the 1st century AD, which were the earliest surviving accounts in European literature (Löwendahl).

Dionysius lived in Pharos, an Alexandrian neighbourhood, at the time of Hadrian (117-138). Further information in the poem suggests a date of composition before 130. At that period, geography was not deemed an important component of the school curriculum but rather an ancillary subject to rhetoric. Dionysius composed his poem with these didactic ramifications in mind. In addition to imparting geographical knowledge, he wanted to acquaint the students with the great classical authors, notably Homer. He therefore composed his poem in hexameters, after Homer, and included many mythological place names, for instance from the journey of the Argonauts, but also the borders of the historical empire of the Seleucids. In this manner, the "Description of the inhabited world" became a guided tour through the world of antique geography.

Some minor waterstains in the margins of the second half of the volume, the first and last leaves reattached and some occasional foxing, otherwise in very good condition, washed.

Strabo. En tibi lector studiose Strabonis geographicorum co[m]me[n]tarios, olim …Basel, March 1523.

Early Latin translation of the geography of Strabo, who had visited Egypt and sailed up the Nile in 25 BC.

Even in the introductory chapters, Strabo provides important details on the Arabian Peninsula: "Adjoining the Ethiopians, a needy and nomad race, is Arabia: one part of which is distinguished above all other lands by the title of Felix [i.e., Hedjaz and Nejd-ed-Ared], and the other, though not dignified by that name, is both generally believed and also said to be pre-eminently blessed. Though Homer knew of Arabia Felix, at that time it was by no means wealthy, but a wild country, the inhabitants of which dwelt for the most part in tents. It is only a small district which produces the aromatics from which the whole territory afterwards received its name, owing to the rarity of the commodity amongst us, and the value set upon it. That the Arabians are now flourishing and wealthy is due to their vast and extended trade" (p. 30f.); "Arabia Felix is bounded by the entire Arabian and Persian Gulfs, together with all the country of the tent-dwellers and the Sheikh-governed tribes. [...] Beside the ocean the country is tolerably fitted for habitation of man, but not so the centre of the country: this for the most part is barren, rugged sand desert. The same applies to the country of the Troglodytic Arabians and the part occupied by the fish-eating tribes" (p. 90f.) Furthermore, chapters 15 and 16 are devoted entirely to the Orient (chapter 16 on Arabia in particular), while the final chapter 17 discusses Egypt and Libya.

The fine title border shows King Solomon among the philosophers and poets of Greco-Roman antiquity; at the bottom, the Nine Muses lay a wreath on the head of Homer. Occasional insignificant brownstaining. The uncommon binding is slightly rubbed; some edge defects professionally restored. Title page has contemporary ms. ownership of the classical scholar Johannes Lyresius from Kleve, professor of Greek at Ingolstadt from 1568 onwards. A few marginalia and underlinings by his and later hands.

[Alf layla wa-layla - Qissat as-Sindbad al-bahri]. Langlès, L[ouis] (ed.). [Qissat al-Sindibad al-Bahri fi sab` safaratihi fi al-barr wa-al-bahr al-Hindi-Kayd …Paris, 1814.

The publisher of the present edition, Louis-Mathieu Langlès (1763-1824), an important figure in the study of Middle-Eastern and Oriental languages and literature, was a correspondent of William Jones in Calcutta, co-founder of the École des Langues Orientales Vivantes in Paris, and the keeper of the Indian manuscript department in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. "Un ouvrage classique, et d'une certaine importance sous le point de vue scientifique, historique ou littéraire" (preface).

[Alf layla wa-layla - Qissat as-Sindbad al-bahri]. Langlès, L[ouis] (ed.). [Qissat al-Sindibad al-Bahri fi sab` safaratihi fi al-barr wa-al-bahr al-Hindi-Kayd …Paris, 1814.

First edition of "Sind-Bâd" and the first independent printing of any part of the Arabian Nights in Arabic. Although traditionally included in the corpus of the Thousand and One Nights (Alf Layla wa Layla) as told by Scheherazade, it is thought that the series of stories that make up the voyages of Sindbad have older and separate origins, incorporating elements of Homer, Panchatantra, other Persian, Arab and Indian literary material as well as historical material relating to trade and navigation. Set traditionally during the reign of Haroun al-Rashid, Sindbad undertakes seven voyages from Basra, each leading one to the other, encounters fabulous creatures, faces exhaustive ordeals and amasses fabulous wealth. The publisher of the present edition, Louis-Mathieu Langlès (1763-1824), an important figure in the study of Middle-Eastern and Oriental languages and literature, was a correspondent of William Jones in Calcutta, co-founder of the École des Langues Orientales Vivantes in Paris, and the keeper of the Indian manuscript department in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. "Un ouvrage classique, et d'une certaine importance sous le point de vue scientifique, historique ou littéraire" (preface).

A prettily bound copy of this rare edition. Provenance: handwritten ownership of "Le capitaine Regnault" (dated Constantine in Algeria, 7 October 1846) on half-title.

[Alf layla wa-layla - Qissat as-Sindbad al-bahri]. Langlès, L[ouis] (ed.). [Qissat al-Sindibad al-Bahri fi sab` safaratihi fi al-barr wa-al-bahr al-Hindi-Kayd …Paris, 1814.

First edition of "Sind-Bâd" and the first independent printing of any part of the Arabian Nights in Arabic. Although traditionally included in the corpus of the Thousand and One Nights (Alf layla wa-layla) as told by Scheherazade, it is thought that the series of stories that make up the voyages of Sindbad have older and separate origins, incorporating elements of Homer, Panchatantra, other Persian, Arab and Indian literary material as well as historical material relating to trade and navigation. Set traditionally during the reign of Haroun al-Rashid, Sindbad undertakes seven voyages from Basra, each leading one to the other, encounters fabulous creatures, faces exhaustive ordeals and amasses fabulous wealth. The publisher of the present edition, Louis-Mathieu Langlès (1763-1824), an important figure in the study of Middle-Eastern and Oriental languages and literature, was a correspondent of William Jones in Calcutta, co-founder of the École des Langues Orientales Vivantes in Paris, and the keeper of the Indian manuscript department in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. "Un ouvrage classique, et d'une certaine importance sous le point de vue scientifique, historique ou littéraire" (preface).

Some browning and waterstaining throughout; occasional paper defects to edges (no loss to text); an Arabic stamp to p. 90 of the French text.

Lepsius, Karl Richard, German linguist and Egyptologist (1810-1884). (De armatura). Arma Graecorum, Romanorum, gentiumque Barbarorum. Recensuit …Paris, ca. 1833-1835.

An encompassing study of the weapons of classical antiquity, commissioned by the Duc de Luynes and prepared by the great classical scholar Lepsius, who was to head the Prussian expedition to Egypt in 1842-45. The antiquary and numismatist Honoré d'Albert de Luynes (1802-67) was an important patron of scholarship and the arts. During his sojourn in Paris in the years 1833-35 Lepsius compiled this survey from the Greek and Latin sources to form the basis for an archaeological and philological work of the Duke's that did not materialize.

The hefty first volume, entitled "Arma Graecorum, Romanorum, gentiumque Barbarorum", contains a Greek repertorium with notes in French (f. 128r: "C'est donc une couverture de tous le bras, non pas seulement de la main ce qu'on serait porté à croire d'après l'explication de Pollux [...]"; f. 165r: "sur la fabrication des glaives"; ff. 262-264: extensive discussion of bows and archers), with an alphabetical index beginning on f. 515. A larger, slimmer volume is dedicated to Homer exclusively: Greek text and French notes in two columns with several illustrations, treating shields, helmets, armour, swords etc., also discussing the Durand collection ("Parmi les vases de Monsieur Durand il y a une amphore à fig., représentant le combat d'Hercule contre les Amazones [...]"), the armour of Agamemnon and of Alexander, the skin of the Nemean Lion, as worn by Hercules ("n'est devenue un vêtement de ce héros que depuis Pindare") etc. The octavo volume contains quotations from Greek writings (again with French notes) on helmets, armour, etc. ("Et en effet je crois qu'Homère lui même par ces différents noms d'armures [...] a voulu désigner différentes espèces qu'il semble aujourd'hui [...] je n'hésite nullement de croire que ces noms désignaient autrefois des espèces de casques").

Bindings insignificantly rubbed; very occasional slight browning or edge flaws. A splendid, unique, unpublished manuscript by the great scholar, bound for the sponsor.

Strabo. [Geographia.] Rerum geographicarum libri XVII.Paris, 1620.

Enlarged and corrected second edition ("much more accurate and splendid than the first", says Dibdin) of Strabo’s "Geography", one of the earliest and most important scientific treatises of historical geography. Contains the Greek text beside Xylander's Latin translation, with commentaries by Frédéric Morel and Isaac Casaubon. Together with the works of Ptolemy and Solinus, Strabo's "Geography" constitutes the first attempt at a unified treatise of geographical knowledge. Strabo had visited Egypt and sailed up the Nile in 25 BC. Even in the introductory chapters, the author provides important details on the Arabian Peninsula: "Adjoining the Ethiopians, a needy and nomad race, is Arabia: one part of which is distinguished above all other lands by the title of Felix [i.e., Hedjaz and Nejd-ed-Ared], and the other, though not dignified by that name, is both generally believed and also said to be pre-eminently blessed. Though Homer knew of Arabia Felix, at that time it was by no means wealthy, but a wild country, the inhabitants of which dwelt for the most part in tents. It is only a small district which produces the aromatics from which the whole territory afterwards received its name, owing to the rarity of the commodity amongst us, and the value set upon it. That the Arabians are now flourishing and wealthy is due to their vast and extended trade" (bk. 1, p. 39); "Arabia Felix is bounded by the entire Arabian and Persian Gulfs, together with all the country of the tent-dwellers and the Sheikh-governed tribes. [...] Beside the ocean the country is tolerably fitted for habitation of man, but not so the centre of the country: this for the most part is barren, rugged sand desert. The same applies to the country of the Troglodytic Arabians and the part occupied by the fish-eating tribes" (bk. 2, p. 130f.). Furthermore, books 15 and 16 are devoted entirely to the Orient (bk. 16 is on Arabia in particular), while the final book 17 discusses Egypt and Libya.

Strabo. [Geographia.] Rerum geographicarum libri XVII.Paris, 1620.

Enlarged and corrected second edition ("much more accurate and splendid than the first", says Dibdin) of Strabo’s "Geography", one of the earliest and most important scientific treatises of historical geography. Contains the Greek text beside Xylander's Latin translation, with commentaries by Frédéric Morel and Isaac Casaubon. Together with the works of Ptolemy and Solinus, Strabo's "Geography" constitutes the first attempt at a unified treatise of geographical knowledge. Strabo had visited Egypt and sailed up the Nile in 25 BC. Even in the introductory chapters, the author provides important details on the Arabian Peninsula: "Adjoining the Ethiopians, a needy and nomad race, is Arabia: one part of which is distinguished above all other lands by the title of Felix [i.e., Hedjaz and Nejd-ed-Ared], and the other, though not dignified by that name, is both generally believed and also said to be pre-eminently blessed. Though Homer knew of Arabia Felix, at that time it was by no means wealthy, but a wild country, the inhabitants of which dwelt for the most part in tents. It is only a small district which produces the aromatics from which the whole territory afterwards received its name, owing to the rarity of the commodity amongst us, and the value set upon it. That the Arabians are now flourishing and wealthy is due to their vast and extended trade" (bk. 1, p. 39); "Arabia Felix is bounded by the entire Arabian and Persian Gulfs, together with all the country of the tent-dwellers and the Sheikh-governed tribes. [...] Beside the ocean the country is tolerably fitted for habitation of man, but not so the centre of the country: this for the most part is barren, rugged sand desert. The same applies to the country of the Troglodytic Arabians and the part occupied by the fish-eating tribes" (bk. 2, p. 130f.) Furthermore, books 15 and 16 are devoted entirely to the Orient (bk. 16 is on Arabia in particular), while the final book 17 discusses Egypt and Libya.

With 19th c. bookplate of Richard Newcome, and later label of Viscount Mersey, Bignor Park, on the front free endpaper. Short marginal tear and a crease to the titlepage, single minute wormhole in the inner margin through the first half of the text block; a very good copy.

Strabo. [Strabonos geographikon bibloi hepta kai deka]. Strabonis rerum geographicarum …Basel, August 1571.

First printing of this edition, the first illustrated Strabo. Greek and Latin parallel text by Wilhelm Xylander (whose learned notes are appended to each book); a Latin-only edition was published at Basel the same year. Except for the world maps and the eighth map of Asia with its Scythian monsters, now deemed to fantastic for a scientific publication, this includes all the 'old' Ptolemaic maps from Sebastian Münster's Ptolemy editions published by Petri, newly arranged and distributed throughout the work within the respective chapters (cf. Hieronymus, p. 428).

Strabo had visited Egypt and sailed up the Nile in 25 BC. Even in the introductory chapters, the author provides important details on the Arabian Peninsula: "Adjoining the Ethiopians, a needy and nomad race, is Arabia: one part of which is distinguished above all other lands by the title of Felix [i.e., Hedjaz and Nejd-ed-Ared], and the other, though not dignified by that name, is both generally believed and also said to be pre-eminently blessed. Though Homer knew of Arabia Felix, at that time it was by no means wealthy, but a wild country, the inhabitants of which dwelt for the most part in tents. It is only a small district which produces the aromatics from which the whole territory afterwards received its name, owing to the rarity of the commodity amongst us, and the value set upon it. That the Arabians are now flourishing and wealthy is due to their vast and extended trade" (bk. 1, p. 36f.); "Arabia Felix is bounded by the entire Arabian and Persian Gulfs, together with all the country of the tent-dwellers and the Sheikh-governed tribes. [...] Beside the ocean the country is tolerably fitted for habitation of man, but not so the centre of the country: this for the most part is barren, rugged sand desert. The same applies to the country of the Troglodytic Arabians and the part occupied by the fish-eating tribes" (bk. 2, p. 131f.) Furthermore, books 15 and 16 are devoted entirely to the Orient (bk. 16 is on Arabia in particular), while the final book 17 discusses Egypt and Libya.

Among the fine roll-tools decorating this binding (dated 1580 and monogrammed "MHF") is a well-preserved Bible roll dated 1550. Contemp. note on the author on front pastedown. Provenance: near-contemporary ownership "Sum ex libris Philippi Scheele Pomerani" on title page; by descent to his nephew (?) Johann Scheele (d. 1641), landlord of Neklade near Bergen on Rügen island and known for his large library, with his early 17th century ownerships "Jean Scheele", "Ex bibliotheca Jeans Scheelen", and "Johan Scheelen mp". Some browning and brownstaining due to paper; slight waterstaining; occasional Greek marginalia. Slight edge defects to first few leaves.

Mathieu, Georges, French painter (1921-2012). Collection of 10 autograph letters signed ("Georges" or "Mathieu"), 2 autograph …Paris, Gstaad, and Saint-Tropez, 1965-1967 and n. d.

Correspondence with his art dealer and friend Raymond Nacenta (1899-1979), director of the Galerie Charpentier in Paris, concerning upcoming exhibitions, artistic projects, payments, and holidays (among other subjects). Mathieu’s style of writing is hyperbolic and bursts with enthusiasm, often matched by expressive calligraphy. In the longest letter in this collection, one of only two dated letters, Mathieu showers Nacenta with thanks and compliments: "The benefits of which I found myself the object by your care [...] are too great to be the external mark of my merit in spite of the very particular esteem that you seem to have made of my person [...] Happy; yes, you have made me happier than I can say [...] Your generosity is so much greater in intention than that of the Great Alexander that it can never be rewarded by the thanks I could give. Ah, if I were allowed at least to grant you the diadem of the Persians or the praises of Homer! [...]” (25 April 1966). In a letter in red ink, dated to 24 June with no year, Mathieu describes his anticipation of a coming exhibition: "I am thus living my last days of calm before undertaking the greatest battles of my history. Bloody adventure, where it will please me to triumph with You".

In a letter that can be dated to 1971-72, Mathieu mentions to Nacenta that he had met President Pompidou and told him that "he will receive a charming medal". The letter closes with one of Mathieu's starkest hyperboles: "I curse the merchants who make me work in the cold of my icy workshop, and I curse the muses who seem to have abandoned me. In this season the cows would keep me warmer. What am I, alas, the little Jesus!". In 1972, a tin medal designed by Mathieu was issued to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Fifth Republic. Five years earlier, Mathieu had designed a bronze medal for the French railway company SNCF. On 20 Nov. 1967 Mathieu sent to Nacenta a zinc mould and some proofs necessary for casting the medal. In the accompanying letter, Mathieu states that he had talked to the general secretary of SNCF, Jules Antonini, and was ready to accept his payment in vouchers.

Mathieu was highly interested in French art and design of the 17th and 18th centuries. In the letters he mentions Charles LeBrun, Antoine Watteau, and the sculptors Philippe Caffieri and Pierre Lepautre who, for Mathieu, is "the incarnation of that so French measure which I flee from and which I need so much". In a postcard from Gstaad that is embellished with a beautiful calligraphic drawing in blue and red ballpoint, Mathieu exclaims: "Long live the masterpieces and artisanal rehabilitation", a motto that resonates with his art historical interests. A contemporary artist mentioned in the correspondence is Pierre-Yves Trémoin who "seems to be enchanted by the commission that you gave him". With respect to his own work, Mathieu reminds Nacenta: "You have forgotten that I was 'anti lithography of luxury numbered even for good works'" and therefore instead offered a gouache that "will not be multiplied". The two postcards are co-signed by a mutual friend named Solange, possibly the former actress and collector Solange Turenne.

All letters on Mathieu’s personal stationery with an embossed print of his design "Moult de Parte". This design reappears in three red seals on one of the envelopes. The brown ink and calligraphy of the address on this large cardboard envelope match the letter from 25 April 1966. Minor browning to the margins and occasional minor tears. Well preserved with traces of folds and some buckles.

[Arabian Horse Breeding]. A library on Arabian horse breeding, including Stud Books and General Reference. …Various places, 1788-2011.

Amassed over the last fifty years and covering four centuries of relevant material, the present collection spans all aspects of the history and development of the breeding of Arabian horses. It comprises within itself many books from the Le Vivier collection: fine press books of racing and thoroughbred literature produced by Eugene Connett's famous Derrydale press, as well as numerous important items from the library of Duke Maximilian in Bavaria (1808-88), himself a great enthusiast of Arabic horses. We here find the early Arabian Horse Registry of America Stud Books, and many items also bear presentation inscriptions from the authors (Carl Raswan, Gladys Brown Edwards, etc.). The common practice in such a specialized field, most of the publications here were issued for a very limited circulation in runs of 1,000 or fewer individually-numbered copies.

As a reference library for breeding the collection is unparalleled: almost any Arabian horse's forefathers will be found amongst the exhaustive stud books and breeding serials from the 18th to the 20th century, from Egypt, Australia, Iran, Spain, Russia, the USA, etc., often with accompanying photographs. Perhaps the most famous reference work is the Raswan Index, of which only 380 copies were printed (and many destroyed by a flood). Raswan became an expert on the Arabian breed through his lengthy trips to the desert, where he lived with the Bedouins and learned their language and customs. Several scarce early 20th century works also testify to the Western fascination with the Bedouin and desert roots of the Arabian horse: Homer Davenport's 'My Quest of the Arabian Horse' (1909) and Raswan's 'The Black Tents of Arabia: My Life Amongst the Bedouins' (1935).

Alongside modern surveys of the key centres of horse-breeding in the Arab world, the early Western classics are also found here in their scarce first editions. French and German authors are also well-represented, including the text and first French translation of the 'Hilyat al-fursân wa-shi'âr ash-shuj'ân', an abridgement of Ibn Hudhail's horse treatise, prepared around 1400. Finally, the owner's collection of notable catalogues and magazines paints a fascinating composite picture of the evolution, and heyday, of Arabian horse-breeding in the Arab world, Poland, America, and the United Kingdom.

Also contained in this magnificent collection are the classic reference works on Arabian and Anglo-Arabian racehorses and their breeding. These standard works and encompassing sets of specialised thoroughbred literature include not only the indispensable guides to horse pedigrees, the Racing Calendar, General Stud Book, Spanish, American and Australian Stud Books, Bloodstock Breeders' Review, and Prior's Register of Thoroughbred Stallions, in near-complete runs stretching back as far as the 18th century, but also British and international horseracing history, and several volumes of exquisite coloured plates.

The size and comprehensiveness of the present collection cannot be overstated; it is safe to say that it represents the largest private collection of its kind which has come up for sale in recent decades. Many of the items found here can be located in just a handful of public institutions worldwide. Such items come into the market so rarely (and have recently, like the Raswan Index and the AHRA Stud Books, commanded prices of five figures) that it would be impossible to build a comparable collection item-by-item; the volumes here represent a lifetime of serious dedication to the task. Yet the value of such a collection lies not simply in its impressive number of important publications, but in the vast amount of practical knowledge contained within.

Illustrated catalogue available upon request.

Napoléon I, Emperor of the French (1769-1821). "Biblioteque des Corps". Autogr. ms.Prob. Paris, spring 1798.

Catalogue for Napoleon's travel library: a collection of books to be taken along on his "Campagne d'Égypte". Napoleon manuscripts are exceedingly scarce on the market, and autograph documents in connection with the Egyptian campaign are especially rare: even the great collections of Warren Crane, Stefan Zweig, and Karl Geigy-Hagenbach, all dispersed in the first half of the 20th century, could boast of nothing similar; nothing comparable in auction records of the last decades internationally.

The list, drawn up in Napoleon's own hand entirely, begins with a general plan that cites the six classes 1) sciences et arts, 2) géographie et voyages, 3) histoire, 4) poésie, 5) romans, 6) philosophie et religion. Among the 14 volumes Napoléon wants in the Science class are Fontenelle's "Pluralité des mondes", an "Aide-mémoire pour l'artillerie", and a "Traité des fortifications"; in the Geography class, La Harpe's "Abrege de l'Histoire Generale des Voyages" alone occupies 24 volumes; the "Voyages de Cook" are also to be included. Among the history books (by far the most copious class) are the works of Plutarch, Tacitus, and Thucydides, as well as the classics of more contemporary warfare: Turenne, Condé, Marlborough, Frederick the Great, etc. As for poetry, the French officers were to have at their disposal the works of Tasso, Ariosto, Homer, and Virgil, as well as Fénélon's "Télémaque"; the Belles Lettres included Voltaire, "Héloïse" (probably Rousseau's "Julie"), and four volumes of Marmontel, as well as 40 of English and ten of Greek literature. Among the books in the Philosophy/Religion class were the Old Testament, a volume of classical mythology, and, becomingly enough for the expedition's destination port, a Quran.

In his history of the Egyptian campaign, Comte Thibaudeau recounts how Napoleon, following discussions with the principal staff officers and scholars who would be accompanying him on the journey, planned and built this curious library in close collaboration with Antoine-Vincent Arnauld, the poet, playwright and able politician. The "Novels" class was given special consideration, as one anticipated boredom among the young generals and officers during the crossing of the Mediterranean and intended to offer intellectual distraction. Indeed, Napoleon himself took the convivial evening readings as a starting point for general discussion, providing himself with a convenient opportunity to observe the character and bearing of his men: "Pendant cette traversée, Bonaparte avait de fréquentes conférences avec les principaux officiers de l'état-major, les chefs de service et les savans attachés à l'expédition, dont une partie était à bord de l''Orient'. Avant le départ de Toulon, une bibliothèque avait été formée par les soins d'Arnault, pour l'usage du général Bonaparte. Outre les classiques et les ouvrages sérieux qu'il s'était réservés, on y avait compris des romans, pour aider les jeunes généraux ou officiers de l'état-major, Lannes, Junot, Eugène Beauharnais, à supporter l'ennui de la traversée. Le soir on se rassemblait chez le général Bonaparte pour faire une lecture, et l'on préludait dans cette réunion à ces séances de l'institut d'Egypte, qui ont jeté tant d'éclat sur cette glorieuse expédition. A peine la lecture était-elle commencée, que Bonaparte l'interrompait et donnait le signal de la discussion. Elle était vivement soutenue par Caffarelli-Dufalga et d'autres officiers, qui joignaient l'instruction aux talens militaires. La plus grande liberté régnait dans ces conversations, animées tout à la fois par les souvenirs des belles campagnes d'Italie et les espérances d'un avenir non moins glorieux. Elles se prolongeaient fort avant dans la nuit, et quoiqu'elles n'eussent aucun but déterminé et qu'elles s'étendissent à tous les sujets, on peut croire qu'elles étaient pour Bonaparte, un moyen d'étudier de plus près les hommes qui l'entouraient." - Edges frayed; some dampstaining and restored paper defects.