LD20
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1Formula for entering the tribunal of OsirisFragment of a "Book of the Dead".N. p., first half of the XVIIIth dynasty ca. 1540-1350 BCE.
€ 48,000.00This early illustrated fragment written in cursive hieroglyphs contains the end of the 124th chapter of the "Book of the Dead" ("Formula for entering the tribunal of Osiris") and a depiction of a procession of three male gods (one fragmented) equipped with ankhs and was-sceptres. The gods, drawn in red and black ink, wear striped tunics, the Egyptian …
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2Early 15th century report on the spice and wine trade in CairoAutograph letter signed.Cairo, 13 Sep 1419.
€ 45,000.00Hitherto unknown letter in Italian to the Venetian consul resident in Alexandria, Biagio Dolfin, reporting on the situation of the spice and wine trade. Part of the correspondence between two influential Venetian merchants and trade officials in Egypt, this letter is an illuminating document of the vast Venetian trading network and of the intricacies …
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3Owned by the Austrian theologian Johann Hofmüllner of WeitraHomilies by Augustine, Bede and others. (With:) (Pseudo-)Petrus de Pilichdorf …Probably Lower Austria, before 1447.
€ 45,000.00Fine late mediaeval sermon manuscript owned by the Viennese theologian Johann Hofmüllner of Weitra (d. 1475), with an anti-Waldensian treatise at the end. The first part contains mainly homilies for various feast days and Bible passages drawn from St Augustine and the Venerable Bede:
1r: In vigilia ascensionis. S. Johan. In illo tempore sublevatis …
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4One of Koberger's most monumental achievements: the complete set, from the Kloss collectionSumma theologica.Nuremberg, 1477-1479.
€ 58,000.00The complete four-volume set of this very early and rare edition of a principal work, usually encountered only in separate volumes. This encompassing account of moral philosophy by the Florentine archbishop Antoninus (1389-1459, canonized in 1523) exerted a powerful influence over later studies; it is regarded as "probably the first - and certainly …
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5Impressive sammelband with three magnificent German illustrated works - including the Gart der Gesundheit and a wonderful Vegetius - in a contemporary Augsburg bindingIn disem Buch ist der Gart der gesuntheit (zu latin Ortus sanitatis) in …Strasbourg, 1509.
€ 58,000.00First German edition of the 1491 Latin "Hortus Sanitatis" printed by Jacob Meydenbach, translated by Johann Adolph Müling and illustrated with over 500 woodcuts. Divided into four parts, it discusses terrestrial animals, birds, and fish as well as gemstones and their purported medicinal properties, also boasting an index of medications. The full-page …
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6Criticising Arabic and Latin medical teaching: "a feat of the rarest intellectual courage"De Plinii et aliorum medicorum erroribus liber.Basel, 1529.
InquireFinely printed Basel edition of this important work by the famous medical reformer and humanist Nicolò Leoniceno (1428-1524), correcting the botanical errors of Pliny and aiming to reinstate the classical Greek medical authorities at the expense of their Arabic and Latin interpreters who dominated medical opinion until the late Middle Ages: "Remembering …
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7The first systematic study to address exclusively the education of womenVon underweysung ayner Christlichen Frauwen, Drey Bücher.Augsburg, 1 March 1544.
€ 18,000.00First German edition of "the first systematic study to address explicitly and exclusively the universal education of women", at the same time a fine and rare woodcut book. Commissioned by the wife of Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, who was at the time rearing her own daughter, Mary Tudor, Vives' treatise was translated and adapted by numerous followers …
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8The first true grammar of Aramaic produced in France[Luah diqduqa kasda 'a 'o-Arama 'a]: Tabulae in Grammaticen linguae Chaldeae, …Paris, 29 Nov. 1560.
€ 4,500.00A very rare oriental grammar, unknown to Vater and Jülg: the first true grammar of Aramaic produced in France, expanded from Mercier's similarly titled "Tabulae in Chaldaeam grammaticen" published in 1550 (a slight work of a mere 18 leaves). The French oriental scholar Jean Mercier (ca. 1510-70) studied under François Vatable, whom he succeeded …
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9With the complete wedding pageant, comprising 10 double-page-sized woodcut platesOrdenliche Beschreibung des Christlichen, Hochlöblichen und Fürstlichen …Vienna, 1571.
InquireFirst and only edition of the wedding book for Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria: one of the rarest and most beautiful books printed in Vienna during the 16th century. The author, who probably shared responsibility for organising the elaborate festivities which lasted several days, describes "the wedding celebrations with the …
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10Complete with the frequently missing third volumePrimera parte (Libro tercero y secundo volumen dela primera parte / Segunda …Granada & Malaga, 1573-1599.
€ 28,000.00Extremely rare first edition of this important 16th century description of Muslim Africa, complete with the frequently missing third volume, printed at Malaga. "Ouvrage toujours fort recherché" (Brunet). A native of Granada, Luis Marmol Carvajal (1520-1600) took part in the 1535 Tunis campaign of King Charles V against the Ottoman Empire's Mediterranean …
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11The most controversial book associated with the name of Henri EstienneCatharinae Mediceae reginae matris, vitae, actorum, & consiliorum, …Geneva, 1575.
€ 6,500.00Very rare first Latin edition of this controversial pamphlet, previously published in French as "Discours merveilleux de la vie, actions & deportements de la royne Catharine de Medicis" ("Paris 1563", but in fact printed in the autumn of 1574). This stinging indictment of Catherine de Medici was reprinted several times and also saw a German translation, …
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12Entering apprenticeship in 16th century BoliviaIndenture between Lázaro de Ysla, mestizo, son of Pedro de Fuentes, and …Villa de Oropeza, Cochabamba Viceroyalty of Peru, now Bolivia, 31 Jan 1585.
InquireA rare document of social life in 16th century Spanish South America: an original Apprenticeship Indenture from Cochabamba (now in Bolivia) binding the mestizo Lázaro de Ysla to his master Francisco Patiño, who in turn agrees to train the young man in the tailor trade and to supply him with the necessary food and clothing for the duration of the …
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13With extensive annotations by a contemporary ownerRosarium novum olympicum et benedictum. Das ist: Ein newer Gebenedeyter …Basel, 1608.
€ 8,500.00First edition of this alchemical manual; extremely rare: a prettily preserved copy with extensive annotations by a 17th century alchemist.
The first part contains extracts from Paracelsus, Salomon Trismosin, and Trithemius (though Sudhoff, who provides a thorough list of the contents, doubts the authenticity of the Paracelsus sections). The …
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14Erneuerung der drittheiligen Weingarthen zu Nieder Wöllstadt, angangen …Wöllstadt, 11 Sep 1609.
InquireAn accurate register of vineyard leaseholders in Nieder-Wöllstadt (in Hesse's Wetterau region, north of Frankfurt), providing significant name material. Set up in 1609 on behalf of the Teutonic Order's commandery (Deutschordenskommende) of Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen, who owned the demesnes since the early 13th century, but still in use as late as 1743, …
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15The greatest of star catalogues between those of Ptolemy and Brahe[Jadawel mavadeh thavabet dar tool wa ard keh be rasad yaft-e Oloq Bayk …Oxford, 1665.
€ 28,000.00Editio princeps of Ulugh Beg’s "Zij-i Jadid-i Sultani", in the words of the Encyclopedia Britannica “the greatest of star catalogues between those of Ptolemy and Brahe”. Ulugh Beg (1394-1449) was the grandson of Timur, known in Europe as Tamerlane. In 1409, his father, Shah Rukh, appointed him governor of Samarkand, and he quickly set about …
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16Newton's alchemical notes"Sententiae notabiles expositae". Autograph manuscript.No place, end of the 1670s or 1680s.
€ 225,000.00Interesting compilation of alchemical notes in Latin. It was the sale of Newton’s archives in 1936 that revealed the extent of his interest in alchemy, hermetics and unorthodox theology. Sources and quotes are indicated with great precision and denote an attentive reader. Many are taken from the "Septimana philosophica" of Michael Maier (Frankfurt, …
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17A magnificent maritime atlas in Renard’s first editionAtlas de la Navigation, et du Commerce qui se fait dans toutes les parties …Amsterdam, 1715.
€ 150,000.00Rare first Renard edition: a splendid example of the publisher's best work. The exceedingly pretty maritime maps are adapted from de Wit's plates, which in their turn had been derived from those of Van Keulen, and must have been fairly obsolete by the time Renard republished them, even with the alterations he carried out. Renard also replaced de …
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18Impressive calligraphic manuscript on the history of Granada's silk trade, beautifully illustrated with decorative borders throughoutManifiesto del origen, progreso, y estado de la real hacienda y renta de …Granada?, 22 March 1762.
€ 15,000.00Impressive calligraphic presentation manuscript with an account of the history and 18th century state of the renowned silk production in Granada. Having belonged to the Marqués de Esquilache, Minister of Charles III, and signed in Granada by Pedro Paschio de Baños y Molina (1762), this beautiful copy was executed by a skilled calligrapher for the …
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19Polyglot poems: an authorial manuscript bound for the KingPoemata anatolico-polyglotta seu plurium linguarum OO. in laudem Magni …Probably Turin, 1767.
€ 25,000.00A fine dedicatory manuscript, pre-dating the noted Hebraist's first published work: an assembly of polyglot odes by the 25-year-old scholar to the royal family of Sardinia, written in Aramaic, Arabic, Coptic, Ethopian, Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syriac, all with their Latin translation opposite.
De Rossi studied at Ivrea and Turin. In 1769 he was …
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20French Royal herbal of New World plantsRecueil des semples.No place, ca. 1770-1780.
€ 22,000.00A fine herbal from the French Royal collections, dissolved during the Revolution, mostly containing specimens from the American continent. The watermarked paper, the editor's handwriting, and the style of the royal binding and fleurs-de-lys suggest a date of production around the end of the reign of Louis XV or near the beginning of that of his successor, …
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21A French officer's manuscript on naval tacticsEvolutions navales.No place, ca. 1770.
€ 14,000.00An encompassing, finely executed manuscript on naval tactics, composed by an officer of the French navy, where this subject had long enjoyed special emphasis. The present manual contains 91 "evolutions", or techniques of seamanship and combat manoeuvres. It is unpublished in this form, but it draws heavily on and assimilates the classic works of …
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22The Truffles from Maxim's: Raymond Oliver's copyI tartufi. Poemetto. Tradotto dal latino.Turin, 1776.
€ 4,500.00First Italian edition of one of the earliest works on truffles, also published in Latin ("Tubera terrae") in the same year, with fine provenance. Couched as a learned poem, it discusses all aspects of the gathering of truffles (as shown in the engraving), including soil conditions, weather, and conditions for truffle hunting. Giambernardo Vigo (1719-1805) …
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23Numerical systems comparedAritmetica delle nazioni e divisione del tempo fra l'orientali.Cesena, 1786.
€ 7,500.00First edition thus. A highly interesting work comparing the different numerical systems used by various languages and cultures: Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, North and South American Indian cultures, Chinese, Japanese, Tamil, Coptic, Maori, etc. Separate chapters investigate the European adoption of the Arabic system of numerals. The engraved plate shows …
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24Printed form signed.Weimar, 15 Jul 1791.
InquirePrinted receipt for shares in the Ilmenau copper and silver mines. Letterpress form with handwritten entries by Christian Gottlob von Voigt (1743-1819): "Ein neuer Louisd'or oder Vier Laubthaler sind wegen des Ilmenauer Kuxes oder Bergtheils No. 450 zu dem in der Vierten Bergwerksnachricht am 24sten Februar d. J. ausgeschriebenen gewerkschaftlichen …
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25Eigenh. adressiertes Kuvert.Poststempel: Jena, 19. IX. 1796.
InquireAn seinen Schwager, den Bibliothekar und Sprachwissenschaftler Wilhelm Friedrich Hermann Reinwald (1737-1815): "an Herrn Rath Reinwald in Sachsen-Meinungen fr[an]co".
Das Kuvert gehört zu dem im Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv befindlichen Brief Schillers an seinen Schwager vom 19. IX. 1796 (C. v. Wolzogen, Schillers Leben). Schiller hatte am …
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26Autograph manuscript by a famous Polish adventurer in Southern Russia[Voyage dans les steps d'Astrakhan et du Caucase]. "Livre I. Année 1797". …Russia, 1797.
InquireOriginal manuscript of the first part of Jan Potocki's account of his 1797-98 expedition to Southern Russia and the Caucasus region, posthumously published in 1829 in two volumes by his protégé Julius Klaproth as "Voyage dans les steps d'Astrakhan et du Caucase: Histoire primitive des peuples qui ont habité antérieurement ces contrées".
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27Dr Jenner is "sorry it is not in his power to send any vaccine Virus"Autograph letter signed (in third person).London, Bond Street, 26 June 1801.
InquireA rare and early letter by Jenner relating to vaccination. Probably written to Edward Beeston Long (1763-1825) of Hampton Lodge, Surrey, only five years after Jenner's first successful vaccination: "Dr Jenner presents his Compliments to Mr Long & is sorry it is not in his power to send him today any vaccine Virus he can depend upon; but Mr Long …
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28The flora of Styria, Carinthia, and CarniolaCollectio Plantarum. In Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniolia, sponte crescentium; …Graz, 1807-1809.
€ 35,000.00Uncommonly large herbal of Austrian plants, especially from the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola (now in Slovenia), compiled in the early 19th century under the guidance of M. W. Sandmann, director of the University Library of Graz. The resulting collection is of great historical interest, as nearly every single one of the many hundred …
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29The introduction of electricity to the Islamic world: the earliest surviving manuscript[Introducing electricity through experiments].Constantinople, 1812 CE = 1227 H.
€ 48,000.00The original Ottoman Turkish manuscript of one of the most important texts in the history of electrical engineering and science: the complete treatise on electrical fluid, as drafted by the Turkish engineer Yahya Naci the same year. "In the early 19th century, the teaching of science at the Imperial Engineering School in Istanbul was mostly based …
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3015 years in Constantinople: autobiographical manuscript of the French Ambassador to the PorteMémoires sur l'ambassade de France en Turquie et sur le commerce des Français …No place, mid-19th century.
€ 18,000.00Highly interesting autobiographical account of Guignard de Saint-Priest, a French politician and diplomat during the Ancien Régime and French Revolution, and of his diplomatic career. Appointed ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1768, he remained in Constantinople until 1785, with a single brief interruption in 1776/78, and there married Wilhelmina …
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31Immersed in his studies of fossil CirripediaAutograph letter signed.Down Farnborough Kent, 8. VIII. 1850.
€ 25,000.00An important letter which underscores Darwin's belief in the scientific significance of the study of Cirripedia (barnacles). To Nathaniel Thomas Wetherell: "I fear that you will think me a sad trespasser on your kindness & forbearance, when I tell you that I have not actually completed my description of Loricula; but I shall do it directly & write …
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32Ten hand-coloured views of Wiesbaden and its spaAlbum von Wiesbaden.Wiesbaden, 1852.
€ 4,800.00Beautifully produced suite of views engraved after the Dutch artist Jan Simon Voddiggel (1820-62) showing Wiesbaden in Hesse, one of the oldest spa towns in Europe, celebrated as the "Nice of the North". Includes several views of the old Kurhaus ("spa house") built by Christian Zais in 1810 in the neoclassical style, the nearby cold-water balneological …
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33Magnificent chromolithographs: one of 200 copiesAntiquités du Bosphore Cimmérien conservées au Musée impérial de l'Ermitage. …St Petersburg, 1854.
€ 85,000.00The rare first edition of this monumental work on the antiquities housed at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, published at the personal expense of Emperor Nicolas I. The Tsar took a deep interest in Russian archaeological finds following the discovery of a Scythian burial mound near Kerch in 1830, and many of these discoveries are featured here.
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34Arabic handwriting specimensAlbum de l'arabisant ou recueil choisi d'autographes arabes. Suivis d'une …Algiers, 1856.
€ 1,500.00A wide-ranging and painstakingly reproduced ensemble of Arabic handwriting specimens, lithographed throughout and entirely in Arabic save for the title and preface, which are in French. Comprises letters (part 1) as well as legal documents (part 2). Published as a manual and workbook for self-instruction in reading Arabic, this includes a section …
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35A Circassian female slave sold to an Ottoman womanSales document of an Ottoman slave trader.No place, 11 May 1864 CE = 4 Zilhicce 1280 H.
€ 3,500.00Extraordinary record of slave trade in the Ottoman Empire, confirming the sale of "a Caucasian, roughly ten or twelve years old, virgin and Circassian female slave" to an Ottoman woman. Stamped and signed by a slave trader named Kozpaha, probably himself of Circassian origin. The girl had probably come to the Ottoman Empire with the Great Circassian …
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36Autograph letter signed ("Dr. Nietzsche Professor in Basel"). In German.Naumburg, 11. IV. 1869.
€ 58,000.00Emotional farewell letter to his grandmother Wilhelmine Oehler in Halle, on the eve of his moving to Basel, where Nietzsche assumed his professorship on 28 May 1869. He attached his doctoral diploma to thank his grandmother for a congratulatory letter, apologizing for being unable to present it in person due to a "flood of urgent affairs". The letter …
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38Autograph letter signed ("Richd. Owen").Sheen Lodge, Richmond Park, London, 9 Mar 1882.
InquireTo Mrs. Du Plat Taylor, inviting her to the recently opened new Natural History Museum, whose first director he was: "I shall have much pleasure in receiving you and your friends at the New Museum, Cromwell Gardens, on Friday, 17th; you will find me there at & after 11 a.m. Sincerely your's [...]".
A pioneer of paleontology, Owen coined the …
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39The Port of Beirut, linking East and WestCompagnie Impériale Ottomane du Port, des Quais et Entrepôts de Beyrouth. …Paris, 1889-1922.
€ 8,500.00Rare collection of the annual reports published by the administrative board of the Beirut Port holding company: the complete stretch from 1889 (when work on the harbour began) to 1922.
Even since the 1860s, the old harbour of Beirut, 150 by 100 metres in length and a mere two metres deep, was rapidly becoming too small for the ever-expanding …
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40The Plague in JeddahRapport sur la manifestation pestilentielle a Djeddah en 1898 suivi d'une …Constantinople, 1898.
€ 2,500.00Rare contemporary account of the plague outbreak in Jeddah, written by the chief sanitary inspector, documenting disease control in the Ottoman Empire. The treatise puts forward nine suggestions on how to prevent future outbreaks, including an urgent recommendation to establish a strictly isolated hospital for plague patients only, a reminder to …
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41Thirteenth century history of SindhThe Chachnamah, an Ancient History of Sind, Giving the Hindu Period down …Karachi, 1900.
€ 2,800.00First complete English edition.
One of the few written sources about the Arab conquest of Sindh (now in Pakistan) and the origins of Islam in India, translated from a 13th century Persian text by Ali, son of Muhammad Kufi, itself the translation of an undated Arabic manuscript. A chronicle of the Chacha dynasty, following the demise of the …
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42Autograph letter signed ("M. Planck").Berlin-Grunewald, 13 Feb 1908.
€ 4,500.00To Mrs Warburg, a relative of the physicist Emil Warburg, thanking her for a letter of congratulations which has so overjoyed him that he has given his twin daughters permission to skip their appointment with their tailor in favour of accepting an invitation to visit the letter-writer: "Eigentlich weiß ich nicht, was ich stärker empfinde: die Freude …
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43Travelogue of Ottoman ArabiaSeyâhatlerim.Istanbul, 1916 CE = 1332 H.
€ 4,500.00First and only early edition.
Extremely rare travelogue of Ottoman Arabia, describing a journey from Istanbul to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Medina, Nejd and Hejaz by Ali Suad, appointed "mutasarrif" of Nejd by the governor of Basra, Süleyman Nazif, in 1909. The account was first published in the newspaper "Tanin", its first part, "Toward Nejid", …
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44Eigenh. Brief mit U.Wien, 25 Apr 1917.
€ 35,000.00Unveröffentlichter Brief an Oberleutnant Gustav Herrmann im Kriegsgefangenenlager Mühling bei Wieselburg (NÖ) mit der Bitte um einige Portraits als Leihgabe für die Kriegsausstellung Wien 1917: "Ich wurde zur Beteiligung an der Kriegsausstellung eingeladen und bitte Sie Herr Oberleutnant alle Ihre Porträtzeichnungen, die von Herrn Oberleutnant, …
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45Expressionist lithograph of the famous string quartet formed by Mahler's brothers-in-law"Rosé-Quartett". Original coloured lithograph. Signed in the stone ("MOPP").No place or date, ca. 1920.
€ 12,500.00Expressionist interpretation of the famous string quartet formed in 1882 by Arnold Rosé, brother-in-law of Gustav Mahler, whose sister Justine the violinist married in 1902 (Arnold's cellist brother Eduard, co-founder of the ensemble but no longer a member at the time of this print, had married Mahler's other sister Emma in 1898).
Oppenheimer's …
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46Presentation copy inscribed to Saleh bin Ghalib Al-Qu'aiti, Sultan of Shihr and MakallaSaid bin Sultan (1791-1856). Ruler of Oman and Zanzibar. His Place in the …London, 1929.
€ 28,000.00Rare first edition: presentation copy from Said-Ruete to Sir Saleh bin Ghalib Al-Qu'aiti, Sultan of Shihr and Makalla (ruled 1936-56), inscribed in green ink: "To / His Highness The Sultan / of Shiher and Makalla / Saleh bin Galib Alcaity / a token of sincere esteem / by the Author. / London, May 7th 1937". Below this is pasted a printed bookplate …
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47Presentation copyMetrical version of the Gathas in English.Bombay, 1934.
€ 1,500.00First edition of this translation, inscribed by Kanga on the recto of the flyleaf to "S. Fowler Wright Esq. / with S P Kanga's / deep respect / Khorshed Villa / Hyderabad Dn. / India / 10-7-1934".
The Gathas are the only part of the Avesta believed to have been written by the prophet Zarathustra. As a result, they have exercised a fascination …
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48"What must the censors think!"Autograph letter signed ("Ludwig").Trinity College, Cambridge, 4 Feb 1947.
€ 16,000.00Unpublished letter, in German, to his sister Helene Salzer, née Wittgenstein: "Little Helene, my uncle! (What must the censors think!) […] I have not listened to music for a long time. I would like to hear Schumann quartets again. Recently I remembered the beginning of one quartet - the introduction - and was quite delighted. Unfortunately, two …
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49The 1965 Petroleum CongressFifth Arab Petroleum Congress.Cairo, 1965.
InquireExtraordinarily comprehensive run of papers from the 1965 Petroleum Congress, many issued by prominent oil companies, including Kuwait Oil, the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco), and Shell Qatar. Discusses seismic and geological issues, questions of palynology, and the role of formation waters and ground water in oil reservoirs, as well as the …
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50Archive of books and documents on the Dhofar rebellionThe collection of Luc-Daniel Dupire, founder of the Belgian Palestine National …Aden, Algiers, Beirut, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dhofar, Iran, Jordan, London, Toulouse, Yemen and other places, 1969-1983.
€ 45,000.00An extraordinary archive of books and documents on the Dhofar rebellion (also known as the Omani Civil War) waged from 1962 to 1976, from the collection of the journalist and activist Luc-Daniel Dupire, founder of the Brussels Palestine Committee in 1969 and chairman of the Palestine National Committee in Belgium from 1970 to 1976.
Mostly …