Antiquariaat FORUM & ASHER Rare Books na New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2017

247 stunning large tinted, double-tinted and chromolithographic views of the Middle East

A New York Antiquarian Book Fair vai decorrer de 9 a 12 de Março no The Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue, na 67th Street, New York City USA.

New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2017

Antiquariaat FORUM & ASHER Rare Books estará presente no stand C26 e, para este evento, preparou um catálogo.

Catálogo

É deste catálogo que vos apresento algumas das obras presentes neste importante evento da bibliofilia mundial.

Engraved, illustrated perpetual wall calendar with 3 dials: for home or office

2. [ALMANAC]. Eeuwigduurende almanach 1815 [–1823]. [The Netherlands, 1814?]. Oblong 4º (19 × 24 cm). Engraved perpetual almanac (engraved image 17.8 × 22.0 cm) with three engraved roundel scenes with windows cut out of them to view engraved dials mounted behind them that can be set to show the year (ranging from 1815 to 1823), the month (also the zodiac sign, the hour of sunrise and sunset, and the length of the day and night) and the days of the week (showing 7 days of the month simultaneously, each with the day of the week and one of the five planets or the sun or moon). The main engraving and the three dials mounted on millboard, each dial turning on a brass pin secured in a small iron plate, and the main engraving partly coloured in red, blue, green and black. In a contemporary wooden frame (21 × 26 cm) behind glass, with 3 holes cut in the backing board for setting the dials.

$ 2900

A unique engraved perpetual “almanac” (we would now call it a wall calendar) with three dials, the year dial for use in the years 1815 to 1823, so probably published around October or November 1814 for use in the new year. We have found no record of this or any similar calendar. The three dials are mounted behind roundel scenes with windows cut out of them to reveal the date and other information set using the dials. Those for the year and the days of the week have one window each to show one year and 7 days of the week, so that the calendar would normally be set only once a week. In a month with less than 31 days, the dial for the days of the week would require an extra adjustment during the last week to skip the extraneous day or days. The month dial has 6 windows: if one sets it to the month it also shows the number of days in the month (in the same window as the month itself), the zodiac sign for that month, the hour of sunrise and sunset and the number of hours in the day and night. The scenes in the roundels are traditional Dutch views whose general style dates back to the 17th century, but we have not identified specific models. The large (10.5 cm diameter) roundel for the month on the right shows a three-masted ship in full sail with 6 cannons visible on the port side, flying the Dutch flag, and several ships in the background. These are all scenes of production, trade and commerce, suggesting it might have been intended for a merchant’s office, but it might also have hung on the wall or a door in a private home.

With a few small abrasions in the sky of the ship scene and minor stains and dirt, mostly in the open areas at the head, but still in good condition. With one corner of the frame chipped and some gaps in the gilding. A unique engraved, illustrated perpetual wall calendar, with three dials.

     Nothing similar found in Grand-Carteret; Köhring; KVK & WorldCat; NCC; Vandenhole, Inventaris van almanakken en kalenders (1979).

Great history of the discoveries and conquests

of the Portuguese colonial empire in America

4. ANDRADA, Francisco d’ – Cronica do muyto alto e muito poderoso Rey destes Reynos de Portugal dom João o III. deste nome. Dirigida ha C. R. M. del Rey dom Felipe o III. deste nome nosso senhor. Lisbon, Jorge Rodriguez for the author, sold by Francesco Lopez, 1613. 4 parts in 1 volume. 2º. With a central crowned coat of arms of Portugal on the title-page, title and coat of arms set in ornamental border, woodcut initials. Contemporary blind-tooled vellum.

$ 31 250

First edition of this principal history of the reign of João III of Portugal (1502 – 1557), ruler of Portugal from 1521 until his death. His reign was marked by the introduction and establishment of the inquisition in Portugal from 1536 onwards. During his rule, Portuguese possessions were extended in Asia and in the New World through the Portuguese colonization of Brazil.

‘’Francisco de Andrada (ca. 1540–1614) was a Commander of the Order of Christ, a member of the State Council, Chief Keeper of the Archives and Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom. He was the son of Fernâo Alvares d’Andrada, Treasurer to King Joâo III’’ (Maggs).

With the bookplate (in gold) of the Huth Library on inside of front cover, embossed stamp of Antonio de Almeide Correa on the title-page. Very good copy of an important work on the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese.

     Bosch 52; Huth Library 177; Maggs, Bibl. Brasiliensis 104; Rodrigues 171.

Rare first edition of “the most important medical book of colonial Brazil”,

printed in Rio de Janeiro

11. BOMTEMPO, José Maria – Compendios de medicina pratica, feitos por ordem de Sua Alteza Real ... Rio de Janeiro, Régia Oficina Tipografica, 1815. 4º. With the woodcut crowned arms of Portugal on title-page. Contemporary Brazilian tanned goatskin mottled in a “cat’s paw” pattern, gold-tooled spine.

$ 13 500

Rare first edition of “the most important medical book of colonial Brazil. A highly systematic work, it is a magnificent treatise on pathological and therapeutic practices” (Guerra). Much of it is devoted to the classification of diseases (nosology), the text ending with a 49-page hierarchical classification scheme (pp. 245–293). In design and format the book matches Bomtempo’s 1814 Compendios de materia medica, the first Brazilian pharmacological handbook. Both were printed and published by the royal printing office in Rio de Janeiro, the first printing office to be established in Brazil after an abortive 1747 attempt. The printing office produced the book admirably and used three different paper stocks, one also used for the last free endleaf and its conjugate paste-down, suggesting that the book was bound in Rio de Janeiro, perhaps by the royal printing office itself. Some of the paper has a slight blue cast.

José Maria Bomtempo (1774 – 1843), born in Lisbon, studied medicine and philosophy at the University of Coimbra. He worked seven years in Angola and came to Brazil with the Prince Regent in 1808. He was granted several official medical and pharmacological titles and in 1820 became director of the Academia Medico-Cirurgica in Rio de Janeiro.

With a few small browned spots in a couple quires and an occasional faint offset, but still in very good condition. The spine, hinges and board edges are slightly worn, with the loss of part of the spine label, and the boards show some unobtrusive scratches, but the binding is still in good condition. Rare pioneering work of Brazilian medicine and a nice example of early book production in Rio de Janeiro.

     Bosch 291; Camargo & Moraes, Bibliografia da Impressão Régia do Rio de Janeiro 425 (2 copies); Guerra, Bibliografia medica Brasileira 33 (6 copies); KVK & WorldCat (4 copies); Porbase (1 copy); Rodrigues 416; not in Borba de Moraes.

Coloured Austrian cattle

17. [CATTLE]. Abbildungen österreichischer Rindvieh-Racen. Vienna, Kaiserliche Konigliche Hof-und Staatsdruckerei, 1859. With 27 numbered chromo-lithographed plates. Oblong folio text volume (34 × 46 cm) in original cloth-backed lithographed wrappers, the plates (each 33.5 × 45.5 cm) loose as issued, preserved together in the original gold- and blind-stamped blue cloth box (36.5 × 50 cm).

 $ 9000

Rare and finely produced work on cattle with 27 plates of bovine animals after photographs taken on the Landwirthschafliche Ausstellung in the Augarten (Vienna), held in May 1857. The plates are divided into 9 categories, arranged per species, area or country where they originate from (Pinzgau, Mürztal, Lavanttal, Tyrol, Voralberg, Egerland, Mahren, Hungaria, and foreign species (i.a cattle from Switzerland and Würtemberg, Germany). The text volume supplies each plate with an explanatory text.

Spine and edges of box used; library stamp on title-page; some foxing throughout. A fine work on cattle with chromo-lithographed plates.

     KVK (5 copies); Nissen, ZBI 4518.

Very rare educational work in a fine armorial dedication binding

from the Bourbon restoration, for the Duchess of Angoulême,

the only heir of Louis XVI to survive the Revolution 

23. GALLAND, P.J. – Cours pratique d’éducation à l’usage des jeunes demoiselles, et convenable aux jeunes gens qui ne sont pas à porté de suivre les études de collège, ou qui les ont suivies sans succès; contenant la grammaire, précédée de principes de lecture servant d’introduction; la rhétorique, l’arithmétique, la cosmographie, la géographie, l’histoire et la mythologie, traitée séparément pour l’enfance et pour l’adolescence, par demandes et par réponses. Dédié à Son Altesse Royale Madame, Duchesse d’Angoulême. Paris, Librairie d’Éducation d’Alexis Eymerie, and the author (on back of title-page: printed by J.-B. Imbert), 1816 (vol. 3!)–1817 (vols. 1–2). 3 volumes. Large 12º (17.5 × 10.5 cm). With a large folding engraved map of France, 3 astronomical and cosmographical figures on 3 engraved plates, a large folding hierarchical “tableau synoptique” of French grammar, and numerous numerical tables and mathematical equations in the text. Contemporary richly gold-tooled, grained green morocco, each board with the large arms of the dedicatee, Marie Thérèse de France, Duchesse d’Angoulême, daughter of King Louis XVI: a crowned double coat- of-arms (each in an oval) in a wide border of fleurs-de-lis and tulip-like flowers, the dexter arms (of her husband) that normally used by the Duc de Berry, but also by the seconde maison Capétienne d’Artois and the sinister arms (of her father Louis XVI) matching that of the Kings of France, pink silk endleaves, gilt edges.

$ 26 500

Very rare first and only edition of a compendious educational work intended for girls, dedicated (in the newly restored Bourbon monarchy) to Marie Thérèse de France (1778–1851), Duchesse d’Angoulême and daughter of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, the only heir directly descended from Louis XVI to survive the Revolution. The dedication itself appears in volume 1 (1817), but is noted on all three title-pages (so also 1816). The present copy is in a beautiful armorial morocco binding clearly intended as a dedication copy for Marie Thérèse, with her arms on both boards of each volume. She had married her first cousin Louis Antoine d’Artois (1775–1844), Duc d’Angoulême in 1799 (he was to be King of France for 20 minutes in 1830 when his father and he abdicated, then pretender to the throne, calling himself Louis XIX). She was nearly forty and childless when the book appeared, soon after the 1814/15 restoration of the Bourbon monarchy with her uncle as King Louis XVIII. Rather than impale the husband’s and father’s arms as the English did, French ladies displayed them side by side: courtoisie.

The book contains lessons in all subjects girls of good family should be taught. The first volume covers French grammar and syntax, with separate courses for younger and older girls, followed by a basic course in rhetoric. The second volume covers arithmetic and geography in single, extensive courses. The third and last volume covers history and mythology, again with separate courses for the younger and older girls, both presented like a catechism. with questions and answers for the children to learn by heart.

In fine condition with only a small tear in the folding table and occasional very minor foxing. Fine copy in a fine armorial dedication binding for the daughter of King Louis XVI in the restored Bourbon monarchy.

     KVK & WorldCat (5 copies); Quérard III, p. 245; not in Gumuchian; for the arms on the binding: Olivier, Manuel armoriées Françaises 2553, fer no. 2 (recorded on a different 1816 book).

91 hand-coloured engraved botanical plates:

the first book with engravings

after Pierre-Joseph Redouté

30. L’HÉRITIER DE BRUTELLE, Charles-Louis – Stirpes novae, aut minus cognitae, quas descriptionibus et iconibus illustravit … Paris, Philip-Dionysius Pieres, “1784”-”1785” [= 1785–1791]. 6 parts in 1 volume. 1º (51 × 35.5 cm). With 91 engraved plates (2 double-page). All in contemporary or near-contemporary hand-colouring, protected by tissue guards. 19th-century green half sheepskin.

 $ 51 400

First and only edition of a sumptuous botanical work and Redouté’s first publication: of the 91 hand-coloured plates 54 are after drawings by the young Redouté, then not yet 25 years old. “The book is splendid in its spacious descriptions, its charming exotic plates, its implications for taxonomic history; and fascinating as an imposing piece of eighteenth-century bookmaking ...” (Hunt). In Stirpes novae (New herbs), Charles L’Héritier de Brutelle (1746–1800) describes a great number of new taxa, many of which grew in his own garden, the gardens of his friends and in the Jardin du Roi. He had ample means and engaged the young botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840) to draw the majority of the plates. The two developed a close friendship and L’Héritier taught Redouté the basics of plant taxonomy and dissection. The friendship proved a determining factor in Redouté’s career and enabled him to fully develop his extraordinary talents.

Bookblock in good condition, with some light spotting. The binding badly worn, with the headbands and the boards damaged.

     Cat. Redouteana 1; GFB, pp. 64 – 65; Johnston 555; Nissen, BBI 1190.

The VOC in 17th-century China, with ca. 150 illustrations coloured by a contemporary hand

38. NIEUHOF, Johan – Die Gesantschaft der Ost-Indischen Geselschaft in den Vereinigten Niederländern, an den Tartarischen Cham, und nunmehr auch Sinischen Keyser, verrichtet durch die Herren Peter de Gojern, und Jacob Keisern. Itzund zum zweiten mahle hier und dar verbessert, und üm ein guhtes theil vermehret, heraus gegeben. Amsterdam, Jacob van Meurs, 1669. 2º (31 × 21 cm). With engraved title-page, engraved author’s portrait, large folding engraved map of China, 34 double-page engraved plates and 110 half-page engravings in the text (topographic, botanical & zoological, costume, architectural, etc.), all coloured by a contemporary hand. The engraved title-page shows the Emperor of China with what must be Blaeu’s 68 cm terrestrial globe (showing India & Ceylon, Southeast Asia, China, Japan & Korea, the East Indies and western Australia). Contemporary blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards.

$ 90 000

Second edition of the German translation of “the definitive account” (Howgego) of the embassy that the VOC (Dutch East India Company) sent to the Emperor of China, the entire trip occupying the years 1655 to 1657. Nieuhof’s eyewitness account was the first extensively illustrated book describing China and is, among works on China, “bis heute eines der bedeutendsten und gesuchtesten” (Walravens). The second part gives a general description of the Chinese empire, including botany and zoology. The first part covers the East Indies and Southeast Asia before going on to China itself. Japan, Korea and Formosa appear as well.

Nieuhof (1618–1672) joined the VOC in Batavia by 1655 after an earlier voyage to Brazil with the West India Company. He served as steward, artist and chronicler on Pieter de Goyer and Jacob de Keyzer’s VOC embassy to the Chinese Emperor. While the embassy was more successful than the Russian one shortly before (which was not even granted an audience), the Jesuits in the Chinese court hindered contacts between the Emperor and the Protestant Dutch as much as they could. The party nevertheless got a more intimate view of China than almost any other Dutch visitors of the 17th century, and the breadth of Nieuhof’s interests and the large number of drawings he made provided a wealth of new material that makes the present work an essential primary source. Nieuhof apparently didn’t return to the Netherlands until 1670, but sent his manuscript and drawings.

Slightly thumbed, some occasional browning and minor foxing, a few water stains, restorations to the engraved title-page and the folding map with folds reinforced, still a good copy and the binding in very good condition. An essential primary source for any study of seventeenth-century China and especially its relations with the Netherlands, coloured by a contemporary hand.

     Cordier, Sinica, col. 2346; Howgego, to 1800, G85 & N25; Landwehr & V.d. Krogt, VOC 541 note; Tiele, Bibl. 801 note; Walravens, China illustrata 64.

Richly and beautifully hand–decorated copy of a rare Latin grammar,

with most of the initials and decorations coloured and with extensive use of gold

42. PONTANUS, Petrus (Pierre de PONTE) – Duplex grammatice artis isagoge ab eodem multis nuper locupletata schematibus, ... [Paris], Ambrosius Girault (colophon: Paris, printed by Nicolai Savetier for Ambrosius Girault, 25 July 1525). Small 4º (20 × 13.5 cm). With a large woodcut device on title-page, about 25 woodcut “Lombardic” initials plus about 10 repeats, and about 20 line fillers. With the device, all initials and line fillers richly coloured by hand with extensive use of gold, four lines of text on title-page, nearly all paragraph marks and some capitals gilt. Black sheepskin (ca. 1900).

$ 6100

Richly and beautifully hand–decorated copy of a very rare edition of a Latin school grammar by Pierre de Ponte (1475–1539). The decoration goes beyond mere colouring and the application of gold. Some of the initials have flowers or figures painted in that do not seem to be present in the printed initial, so that two initials that were probably printed from the same block sometimes appear different in details of form. Born at Bruges, De Ponte was blinded at age three but became a school teacher at Paris. The title-page calls him caecus Brugensis (the blind man of Bruges). His Latin grammar distinguished itself by its methods and scholarly qualities, teaching children by questions and answers in prose, with examples taken from classical authors. The first part treats Latin grammar and the second part Latin syntax. Only two other copies of the present edition are known.

Title-page with a faint early owner’s inscription. Some restorations and water stains in the title-page and it and the following leaf somewhat browned, but the rest of the leaves are in very good condition. The binding has cracks in the hinges and scuff marks mostly at the corners, but is still good. Very rare edition of a classic Latin school grammar, beautifully coloured and decorated with extensive use of gold.

    Bibl. Belg. P317 (IV, p. 714: 1 copy); Moreau III, 887 (2 copies).

Early 19th-century Thai astrological manuscript with 72 colour scenes

(6 for each year in the 12-year cycle)

58. [THAI MANUSCRIPT]. [The 12-year astrological cycle]. [Northern Thailand, early 19th century]. A Thai astrological manuscript (13 × 39.5 cm) on a sort of paper made of felted (not macerated) plant fibres, with 72 illustrations in coloured inks and gouaches (each 13 × 13 cm with 3 to a page on 24 pages), and all text written in black ink in a sloped but unconnected Thai script. Made from 3 long sheets of paper, sewn together to make a single accordion-fold book of 44 leaves, progressing from above to below.

$ 5000

An extensively illustrated Thai manuscript concerning the twelve-year astrological cycle. Each year in the twelve-year cycle is illustrated with a double-page opening of 6 scenes. For each year, the first scene generally shows a god riding on the zodiac animal for that year. For each year, the last of the six scenes shows a god (or in one case a pair of gods) riding a dragon. For each year the four scenes in between appear to tell a story, with common people, leaders and/or gods, as well as animals, buildings and boats. Some of the people or gods are riding animals (often elephants), others are fighting or engaged in day-to-day activities. The years appear in the usual order (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig) but there are a couple irregularities.

The 44 leaves contain 88 pages, 24 primarily with illustrations (the 72 scenes in 12 groups of 6 discussed above), 38 primarily with text and 26 mostly blank. The manuscript probably dates from the early 19th century, perhaps from the reign of King Rama I (d. 1809) or II (d. 1824).

The manuscript is complete but somewhat worn, with smudges or abrasions occasionally obscuring a small part of one of the scenes, a couple tears, a few small stains, chips at the edges of a few leaves, many folds partly or wholly separated (some repaired or reinforced with brown paper: as it now stands the manuscript is in two pieces, with the separation between leaves 28 and 29), and much of the black colouring of the edges has worn off. The text and most illustrations remain clear however, and in all the illustrations one can see what they depict.

Com esta selecção muito pessoal do catálogo, mas em que tentei encontrar exemplares de que pudesse apresentar mais fotografias do que aquelas que acompanham o descritivo no mesmo, deixo-vos o convite para a sua consulta atenta e, para aqueles que estejam mais perto, ou tenham melhores facilidades, uma visita à New York Antiquarian Book Fair que será seguramente um momento de inegável prazer bibliófilo e cultural…boa viagem!

New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2017

No entanto, antes de terminar, gostaria de, mais uma vez, chamar a vossa atenção, para o cuidado que é posto na descrição exacta do estado tanto do miolo/corpo do livro como da encadernação (e repare-se que é um catálogo para uma feira-exposição, onde o potencial comprador poderá facilmente avaliar o livro…)

Saudações bibliófilas.