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Antiquariaat FORUM BVTuurdijk 163997 ms ‘t Goy – HoutenThe NetherlandsPhone: +31 (0)30 6011955Fax: +31 (0)30 6011813E–mail: info@forumrarebooks.comWeb: www.forumrarebooks.com www.forumislamicworld.com

ASHER Rare BooksTuurdijk 163997 ms ‘t Goy – HoutenThe NetherlandsPhone: +31 (0)30 6011955Fax: +31 (0)30 6011813E–mail: info@asherbooks.comWeb: www.asherbooks.com

Literature & linguisticse-catalogue

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v 1.01 · 04 May 2018cover image: no. 14

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Pope Clement XI’s copies of three important works concerning the Armenian language

1. AGOP, Joannes. Puritas Haygica seu grammatica Armenica ...Rome, Sacrae Congretationis de Propaganda Fide, 1675.With:(2) AGOP, Joannes. Grammatica Latina Armenice’ explicata: ...Rome, Propaganda Fide, 1675.(3) AGOP, Joannes. Puritas lingue Armenicae ...Rome, Propaganda Fide, 1674. 3 works in 1 volume. 4º. Contemporary sheepskin parchment. € 24 000

The first and only editions of three complementary manuals concerning the Armenian language and grammar, in matching format and layout, all three by the Armenian priest Johannes Agop (1635–1691) in Venice, born in Istanbul. They were printed and published by the Propaganda Fide in Rome, established in 1623 to promote the Catholic religion, primarily outside Europe. The Propaganda Fide established its own printing office in 1626 and stocked it with a wide variety of non-Latin printing types, many newly cut for them. Like many of their publications, the present ones were intended in part for missionaries working in the Ottoman Empire, the Caucasas and Iran, but also in part for Christians who lived in these regions. For that reason Agop wrote not only an Armenian grammar with the instructive text in Latin (ad 1), but also a Latin grammar with the instructive text in Armenian (ad 2) and a work entirely in Armenian on the “purity” of the Armenian language (ad 3). These linguistic pub-lications by Agop still are important for the history of the Armenian language, being among the few on the subject published in the 17th century.With the armorial stamp of Cardinal Albani (1649–1721), from 1700 Pope Clement XI, on the title-page. A few quires toward the end of the Puritas linguae Armenicae are browned, but otherwise a very good copy, with only an occasional small marginal tear or very minor foxing. Three important and complementary sources for the Armenian language, formerly owned by Pope Clement XI.

Salmaslian 89; www.armenology.net 1296 (& 19), 1298, 1295.

Frisian poem on the occasion of the election of a new Stadholder in 1747: very important for the history

of the Frisian language and literature2. A LTHU YSEN, Jan. Langaene oer dy fortziesing fin zyn trogloftigste haegheyt Willem Karel Hendrik Friso, prins fin Oranjen in Nassau, etc. etc. etc. Toa Staedhadder oer alle san Forienigde Prowintjes; Yn ‘t Friesch byrymme.Harlingen, Folkert van der Plaats, 1747. 4º. With woodcut vignette on title-page, woodcut head- and endpiece. Contemporary marbled paper over boards. € 1850

Very rare original edition of the poem written in the Frisian language in 44 six-line stanzas (aabccb), on the occasion of the election of the Stadholder of Friesland, Drente and Groningen, Willem Karel Hendrik Friso, Prince of Orange and Nasau (1711–1751) as Stadholder William IV of the Seven United Provinces (practically the present Netherlands) in 1747, making an end to the ‘Tweede stadhouderloze tijdperk’ (Second period without a Stadholder: 1702–1747). The poem is written by Jan Althuysen (1715–1763), the most important author/poet writing in the Frisian language after Gysbert Japiks, in fact the only important Frisian poet of the 18th century.This poem therefore is also very important for the history of the Frisian language and literature.Lower margin cut short: year on title and quire-signatures/catchwords trimmed. Good copy with a bookplate of the Macclesfield collection (Cat. Nr. 4).

NNBW II, cols. 20–1; STCN (3 copies).

First book in Arabic type printed in Norway3. A L-Z A M A K HSH A R I and Jens Peter BROCH . Al-Mufassal, opus de re grammatica Arabicum.Oslo, W.C. Fabritius, 1859. 8º. Near contemporary cloth with title in gold on spine, covered with protective plastic. € 4500

First edition of Jens Peter Broch’s dissertation on al-Zamakhshari’s Al-Mufassal (Arabic grammar), and the first book with Arabic type printed in Norway. The Persian scholar Al-Zamakhshari (1075–1144) was one of the most important commentators on the Arabic languages. His major work, the Al-Mufassal is “celebrated for its concise but exhaustive exposition” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The text in the present publication was based on various Arabic manuscripts collected by Broch himself, and is here printed together with Broch’s commentary on the text, which gained him international fame. Broch (1819–1886) was an orientalist and linguist from Norway, who promoted at the University of Oslo under Christopher Andreas Holmboe (d. 1882).Title-page slightly smudged and restored at the gutter, otherwise in very good condition.

I. Goldziher, On the history of grammar among the Arabs, p. 136.

Spanish translation of Campe’s Robinson der Jüngere4. C A MPE , Joachim Heinrich. El nuevo Robinson. Historia moral reducida a dialogos para instruccion y entretenimiento de ninos y jovenes de ambos sexos. Traducaida al Castellano con varias correcciones por D. Tomas de Iriarte.Paris, Garnier Hermanos, 1858. 8º. With wood-en-graved frontispiece, 13 full-page wood-engraved plates. Original richly blind-stamped and coloured cloth, gilt edges. € 350

Spanish translation of Robinson der Jüngere, the German adap-tation for use of children of Defoe’s Robinson by Joachim Heinrich Campe (1746–1818), enlightened pedagogue and director of the Philanthropinum at Dessau in Germany. The Philanthropinum was founded by Johann Bernhard Basedow in 1771 as a model-school for the new enlightened ideas on education. Spine loosening. A good copy.

Cf. Ullrich III, pp. 72–3 (other editions).

Biographies of three early Arab poets: Akhtal, Al-Farazdaq and Jarir

5. C AUSSIN DE PERCEVA L , Armand-Pierre. Notice sur les trois poetes Arabes Akhtal, Farazdak et DjérirParis, Imprimerie Royale, 1834. 8º. Later grey paper wrappers. € 1750

Offprint, with new title-page, page numbers and quire signatures, of a work on three early Arab poets: Akhtal (ca. 640–710), Al-Farazdaq (ca. 641–728) and Jarir (ca. 650–728), by the French orientalist Armand-Pierre Caussin de Perceval (1795–1871). Each poet is discussed in a separate chapter, with comments on their names and ancestors, anecdotes about their lives, their influence and rise to fame, several poems (sometimes including the text in Arabic), and their work in general. Caussin de Perceval based parts of his texts on the Kitab al-Aghani, a collection of poems and songs from the 10th century. The text was first published in volume 13 of the Nouveau journal asiatique in the same year.Second half of the book foxed, otherwise in good condition.

C.V. Frolov, Classical Arabic verse, p. 351; WorldCat (3 copies).

A history of painting in Italian verse6. CHIUSOLE di Roveredo, Adamo. Dell’arte pittorica libri VIII. Coll’aggiunta di componimenti diversi.Venice, Caroboli & Pompeati Comp., 1768. 8º (20 × 14 cm). With engraved portait of Cicero on the title-page and several interesting engraved head- and tailpieces (some signed “AF”), including scenes related to the subject of painting. In its first binding, though possibly a few decades after publication: stiff paper wrappers. € 3500

First and only edition of an extensive Italian poem on the history and techniques of painting, by Count Adamo Chiusole (1728–1787). A second issue with the date 1769 is mentioned by Morazzoni. Count Ciusole was a rather well-known painter himself and wrote several works on painting and other art historical subjects.After the dedicatory poems to members of the Venetian noble family Correr and the introduction follow the eight books of the Art of painting: Il desegno (on design), Il colorito (on colouring), la prospettiva (on perspective, 4 books, pp. 78–97), l’inventzione (on invention) and le diverse maniere dei pittori (on the different ways or manners of painting). No less than 87 painters are mentioned and discussed, making the poem a kind of who’s who of the art of painting, including many Italian artists (including Mantegna, Del Sarto, Cimabue, Giotto, Da Vinci, Rafael, Titian, Tintorretto and Vasari), but also foreign ones (including Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt and Callot).In very good condition and wholly untrimmed, with deckles intact, point holes preserved and some bolts unopened, with only a tiny marginal worm hole in the corner of a few leaves. Binding also very good, with only a couple light water stains.

Cicognara 978; Morazzoni, p. 233; Schlosser-Magnino, p. 6832.

Very rare first edition of a Latin and Dutch adaptation of a revolutionary method for learning Latin

7. COMENIUS, Johannes Amos. Vestibulum novissimum lingua Latina rerum & linguae cardines exhibens; sed nunc ab Henrico Schoof Belgicè redditum, . . . Dat is, . . . Jongste portael van de Latijnsche tale vertonende de gronden der dinghen ende spraeck; maer nu van H.S. in ‘t Nederduytsch vertaelt, . . .Amsterdam, Zacharias Webber [printed by Tymon Houthaeck?], 1651. 12º. With the Latin on the versos and the Dutch translations on the facing rectos. Contemporary vellum. € 7500

Fourth known copy of the first edition of Hendrik Schoof’s Latin and Dutch adaptation of Comenius’s Janua linguarum, an extremely influential version, aimed at a broader public, that served as the basis for the “1647” [=1657] Latin and English edition. No copy is known in any Dutch library. This revolutionary method for learning Latin contained 1000 sentences that attempted to present the basic Latin vocabulary in the context of its use, rather than teaching rules of grammar and memorizing lists of words.Schoof’s Latin and Dutch edition is based on this revised version of the simplified text. Instead of 1000 numbered sentences it contains 500 numbered groups of related words, usually opening with the most general word, followed by more specific words. Schoof’s present edition served as the model for Joseph Brookbank’s Latin and English edition, published in 1657 (“1647”on title-page). Since the book was intended for beginners, often people with relatively little education, most editions were small and inexpensive and have become extremely rare.With two owner’s inscriptions on title-page and a Latin poem(?) on an end leaf. With minor soiling and foxing, but still in good condition. The binding is soiled and rubbed, but remains structurally sound. An important and extremely rare Comenius edition intended for a popular audience.

Bibliography of the Works of J. A. Comenius: www.lib.cas.cz/kvo/bibliografie-komensky/index-en.html (3 copies); WorldCat (2 of the same 3 copies); this ed. not in Picarta; STCN; cf. ESTC R224086 (“1647” [=1657] English ed.).

Naval poems and songs from the Franco-Dutch War

8. COOPM A N, Ocke Jeyes. Zee-clio, of gedichten in ‘s lants vloot gemaeckt in de jaren 1672, en 1673.Amsterdam, Carel Allard, [ca. 1673]. 4º. With the woodcut device of the Amsterdam admiralty on title-page (Dutch garden guarded by a lion holding two anchors), 3 woodcut decorated initials (1 series). Modern half calf, marbled sides. € 1500

First and only edition of a collection of verse poems and songs about Dutch naval heroes and battles from the first years of the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678) written by Ocke Jeyes Coopman. It includes poems about Willem Joseph van Ghent, Isaac Sweers, Volckert Schram, Cornelis Tromp, the Battles of Schooneveld (7 and 14 June 1673), the Battle of Kijkduin (21 August 1673) etc. It also contains less serious poems and songs such as “Matroosen drinck-liedt op de gesontheyt van Sijn Hoogheydt den Heere Prince van Oranje” (Sailors’ drinking song to the health of His Highness the Prince of Orange).Title-page slightly soiled, otherwise in very good condition and nearly untrimmed.

Cat. NHSM, p. 425; Knuttel 10819; Scheurleer, Liedboeken, p.180; Thysius 9447; Tiele, Pamfletten 6838.

Early Dutch blank verse9. GODDA EUS, Conradus. Nieuwe gedichten. Sonder rym, naa de Griexe en Latynse dicht-maten, op allerhande soorten van verssen, ingestelt. Noit voor desen in Neder-duits gesien, noch gebruiklik.Harderwijk, Joannes Toll, 1656. Small oblong 4º (15.5×19 cm). With engraved title-page, letterpress title-page with woodcut and engraved folding portrait of the author. 19th-century sheepskin parchment. € 2950

Rare Dutch songbook, complete with the portrait of the author, being an important contribution to Dutch poetic art, with all songs strictly based on classical metrics, but not rhymed. In his dedication to the States of Gelre and Zutphen, the author presents his work as the new and perfect form for all Dutch poetry and a model for future poets. Conrad Goddaeus was a valued friend of Pieter Cornelisz. Hooft. The portrait not included in all copies.With small tears in the folding portrait (1 repaired), but otherwise in very good condition. Boards slightly bowed.

Scheepers I, 283 (“zeldzaam liedboek”); Scheurleer, Liedboeken, p. 170; STCN (7 copies, not mentioning portrait).

Music, drama, poetry, costumes & heraldic art by Dutch and Flemish rhetoricians, with 28 engraved illustrations (13 large folding)

10. HEY NS, Zacharias and others. Const-thoonende juweel, by de loflijcke stadt Haerlem, ten versoecke van Trou Moet Blijcken, in’t licht gebracht. ... In twaelf spelen van sinne.Zwolle, Zacharias Heyns, 1607. 4º. With 13 folding engraved panoramic views of the processions of the participating societies (ranging from 13 × 56 cm to 13 × 140 cm), 13 nearly full-page engraved coats of arms and 2 engraved elevations showing the stage and the triumphal arch used during the festivities. 17th-century gold-tooled vellum. Recased, later endpapers. € 8500

First issue of the first and only edition of an extraordinary record of texts, music and imagery from the greatest Dutch rhetoricians’ contest, held in Haarlem in October 1606, and a masterpiece of the book arts in the opening years of the Dutch golden age: “the most extensive and most impressive in its genre” (Ramakers). The magnificent views of the processions show about 250 people, most dressed as allegorical, historical or religious figures, many in fantastic costumes. The chambers of rhetoric also put a great deal of artistic effort into the design and execution of their coats of arms, all shown here. The “rederyker kamers” were rather broader than the usual translation “chambers of rhetoric” suggests, concerning themselves not only with rhetoric but also with poetry, song, art and especially drama. The present book gives an unparalleled view of the work of these societies.With a water stain in the head margin throughout, often only faintly visible, and a couple pages foxed; the plates are printed on somewhat thin paper and are folded several times because of their size causing a couple false folds and creases, and an occasional minor tear along a fold; the water stain in the head margin occasionally touching the image, one plate with some smudges, and curiously in the plate of the procession of the chamber of Amsterdam the letterpress poem in the foot margin below the letterpress caption has been removed and replaced with blank paper. Still generally in good condition. Recased, as noted, with a couple small restorations to the top of the spine. A landmark book for drama, music, poetry, costumes, artistic heraldry, rhetoricians and book production at the dawn of the Dutch golden age.

Bibl. Belg. III, pp. 614–618; Hiler, pp. 182; Praz, p. 307; B.A.M. Ramakers, De Const Getoond (2001).

Niels Klim’s subterranean journey, one of the major utopian novels

11. [HOLBERG, Ludvig von]. Nicolai Klimii iter subterraneum novam telluris theoriam ac historiam quintae monarchiae adhuc nobis incognitae, exhibens e bibliotheca B. Abelini.Copenhagen and Leipzig, Friedrich Christian Pelt, 1754. 8º. With engraved frontis-piece, engraved title-page, folding map and 6 full-page plates, engraved by Brühl. 19th-century boards, covered with marbled paper. € 1250

Third, corrected and enlarged edition of this influential utopian novel. Holberg uses the voyage as an instrument of philosophical and moral satire, “to correct popular error and to distinguish the semblance between vice and virtue from the reality”, as he later explained in his Memoirs. The work, first published in 1741, went through some 60 editions, it was translated into many languages and ranks among the most popular (utopian) novels of the 18th century. Among novels about fantasy worlds, only Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels was more popular.Good copy.

Gove, pp. 303–305; Stammhammer II, p. 171; cf. McNelis (ed.), The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground (Nebraska, 1960).

Extremely rare Dutch poem celebrating life on the country house Moffenschans

and hinting at the upcoming tulip craze12. HONDIUS, Petrus. Dapes inemptae, oft de Mouffe Schans, dat is de soeticheyt des buyten-levens, vergeselschapt met de boecken.[Netherlands, 1619(?) (not after 1621)]. 12º. Recased in 17th-century vellum. € 8500

Second copy located, of the first edition of a Dutch poem celebrating life on the country house Moffenschans (literally “Trenches of the Krauts”). It’s the second known Dutch poem in the genre known as “hofdicht” (country house poetry) and particularly interesting because of its autobiographical character. The author, Petrus Hondius, appears to be a permanent guest in the house owned by Terneuzen’s mayor Johan Serlippens, as he had brought his own library and helped shaping the renowned garden. The poem cele-brates the country life in contrast with life in the city, the time spent reading, the beauty of the garden, etc. Hondius is known for growing tulips and his enthusiasm is reflected in poetry celebrating their beauty. His enthusiasm for tulips was followed by many, including Maurice of Nassau, which contributed to the tulip craze which peaked in 1637.After Terneuzen was liberated from the Spaniards in 1583 by Maurice of Nassau, he had his German brother in law, Philips van Hohenlohe, built fortifications around the city, including an entrenchment just outside the city walls, which became known as the Moffenschans. After the German troops had left, the ground was bought by Terneuzen’s mayor Serlippens, who built a country house and garden, main-taining its original name.About one fourth of the title-page has been cut off and replaced with blank paper, not touching any text; some minor soiling to the title-page and the last leaf. Good copy of an extremely rare poem.

64 pp. J.G. Frederiks, “Petrus Hondius”, in: TNTL VI (1886), pp. 103–159 (this copy?); Nijhoff & V. Hattum 138 (KB copy); STCN (KB copy); WorldCat/KVK (KB copy); cf. Dash, Tulipomania (1999).

Very rare Swedish edition of French editions of German fables

13. JONCHER E , Charles Chrétien de la. Fables imitées de Lessing, Gellert, Lichtwer, Pfeffel, Dodley, et autres fabulistes étrangers suivies de fables originales.Stockholm, Johan Imnelius, 1819. 8º. Contemporary red morocco, gold-tooled spine with green morocco title label, gilt fillet border on sides, gold-tooled edges. € 3500

Very rare Swedish edition of a selection of translations and imitations of fables of German authors, by the French writer and linguist Jonchère. Parts of the book were originally published in 1812 as Fables traduites ou imitées de l’allemand in Paris, Lübeck and Hamburg, with a second expanded edition appearing in Paris in 1815, of which the Stockholm-edition was a reprint.With the binding very slightly worn and somewwhat soiled; a very good copy.

Bihl & Epting, Bibliographie französischer Übersetzungen aus dem Deutschen (1487–1944) I, 1223–1224 (1812 & 1815 editions); Hammar, Manuels de français publiés à l’usage des Suédois de 1808 à 1905, p. 101; WorldCat (2 copies); for the author: Quérard, La france littéraire IV, p. 454.

Dutch Beauty and the beast, extra-illustrated with Dutch and French plates, beautifully coloured and highlighted in gold, signed by the author

14. M A R MONTEL , Jean François and Pieter PIJPER S . Zemire en Azor, zangspel. Met konstwerken en balletten. Gevolgd naar het Fransche.Amsterdam, Jan Helders, Abraham Mars, 1783. 8º. With an engraved title-page including a vignette by H.L. Meyling, a letterpress title-page with an emblematic engraved vignette by Reinier Vinkeles. Extra added in this copy are an additional letterpress title-page, also dated “1783”, but with a portrait of Pieter Pijpers engraved by Theodorus Koning dated 1789, accompanied by the letterpress explana-tory leaf with a poem “Op myne afbeelding door Theodorus Koning”, dated 1789, signed by Pijpers in brown ink. Further with 3 extra added engraved plates, plus 1 repeated in an earlier state with no lettering, depicting scenes from the play by various Dutch artists (A. Fokke, H.L. Myling, W. Immink, A. Hulk Jacobsz), 1 dated 1784. And finally with 6 engraved plates by various French artists, made for the original French edition. The engraved title is richly coloured and highlighted with gold (incl. the lettering) by a contemporary hand. The six French plates are splendidly coloured and highlighted with gold and gum arabic by a contemporary hand. Contemporary half calf, gold-tooled spine. € 12 500

Splendid copy, luxuriously extra-illustrated 5 years after the original publication, of the first edition of Pijpers’s Dutch adaptation of Marmontel’s 1771 Zémire et Azor, a version of the fairytale, Beauty and the beast. It is signed in brown ink by the author, and on the last page by G. de Visscher as a warrant of authenticity.STCN notes that some copies, like ours, have 2 additional folia: an illustrated typographical title-page (with Pijpers’s roundel portrait on a monument) and a poem by Pieter Pijpers, entitled “Op Myne afbeelding”, dated 1789. Apart from these extra leaves, our copy is embellished with 6 plates with scenes of the play from the original French edition of Marmontel’s play, published in Paris, 1771, here all beautifully coloured, and with 3 extra plates by Dutch artists, probably made to illustrate a third edition; a second edition appeared in 1786.Zémire and Azor was a comical opera in 4 acts composed by the Belgian composer André Grétry, with a French text by Jean François Marmontel (1723–1799), based on Jean Marie Prince de Beaumont’s 1756 La belle et la bête and P.C. Nivelle de la Chaussé’s 1742 Amour pour Amour. The opera was first performed on 9 November 1771, stayed in the French repertory until at least 1821 and enjoyed worldwide success. With the circular morocco bookplate of P. May, with his interlaced monogram in gold, and the blind stamp of a private Dutch collection on the endpapers. With generous margins and many deckles intact. In very good condition, with only occasional very minor spotting and a water stain in one of the blank guard leaves protecting the coloured plates. Corners bumped and back board rubbed. Desirable, extra-illustrated Dutch Beauty and the beast, incorporating lavishly coloured Dutch and French plates.

Van Aken, Cat. Ned. Toneel II, p. 351 (mentioning only a title-vignette); Moderne Encyclopedie van de Wereldliteratuur, vol. 7, p. 239; STCN (8 copies, only 3 with engr. title).

Advice from an Ottoman divan poet to his son15. NA BI, Yusuf and Abel PAV ET DE COURTEILLE (translator). Conseils de Nabi efendi a son fils Aboul Khair.Paris, Imprimerie Impériale, 1847. 8º. Contemporary half morocco. € 3950

First edition of a poem by the Ottoman poet Yusuf Nabi (1642–1712), translated by the French orientalist Abel Pavet de Courteille (1821–1889), who was specialized in Turkish. In the poem, called Khairiyè, Nabi gives advice to his young son Abul Khair, with sections on the value of prayer, the advantages of youth, patience, danger of lies, hypocrisy, avarice, etc., also commenting on the corruption of the Ottoman government of that day. The book starts with an introduction, giving a brief biography of the author. The poem is given in both French and Turkish, together with Pavet de Courteille’s notes. Nabi was an influential divan poet, we rose to fame during the rule of Sultan Mehmet IV (1642–1693). “Deeply learned in Arabic and Persian literature and in the religious sciences, Nabi demonstrated his unusual depth of learning in his poems, which were models of technique as well as style regardless of the form he used” (Shaw).With some faint damp stains, otherwise in very good condition.

Biographical encyclopaedia of Islam III, p. 901; for the author see: Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey I, p. 285.

The first illustrated Phaedrus fables published in The Netherlands

16. PH A EDRUS. Fabularum Aesopiarum libri quinque; notis perpetuis illustrati, & cum integris aliorum observationibus, in lucem editi à Johanne Laurentio.Amsterdam, Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge and the widow of Elizaeus Weyerstraten, 1667. 8º. With engraved allegorical frontispiece by Christian Hagen, and 103 finely engraved half-page illustrations in text. Early 19th-century(?) gold-tooled tan calf. € 1850

First illustrated Phaedrus edition in the Netherlands, in the original Latin, richly and beautifully illustrated with 103 engravings. It is also the first edition edited by Laurentius. It contains the text of 92 Phaedrus fables with extensive annotations (the first edition of 1596 had only 64 fables). The fables are followed by an “index vocabularum” and an “index rerum & verborum”. The preliminaries include several laudatory poems and a letter by Conrad von Rittershausen, who was the first to provide the Phaedrus fables with scholarly commentary, especially those of use for lawyers, published at Leiden in 1598. In the 17th century, especially in the Netherlands, these learned editions were very popular, offering an increasingly growing apparatus of word explanations, variants of texts, corrections of texts and personal comments.With the 1890(?) bookplate of Dr. Felix Durosier on pastedown. With the frontispiece very slightly shaved at the fore-edge, but otherwise in very good condition. Binding with some slight wear and a small crack in the front joint.

Bodeman, Das illustrierte Fabelbuch, 75.1; Fabula Docet 68; Landwehr, Emblem books Low Countries F143; for Hagen: Thieme-Becker XV, p. 461; Wurzbach II, p. 632; not in Checklist Aesopic fables Pierpont Morgan Library; Hobbs, Fables; The fox and the grapes.

Early Flemish panel-stamped binding signed by Anthoine de Gavere17. PLINIUS SECUNDUS, Gaius. Epistolarum libri X. Panegyricus Traiano principi dictus. De viris illustribus in re militari, & in administranda Rep. Item Suetonii Tranquilli De claris grammaticis & rhetoribus. Julii Obsequentis Prodigiorum liber. ...Basel, (colophon: Andream Cratandrum, March) 1526. 8º. With publisher’s woodcut Fortuna device on verso of the last leaf and fine decorated woodcut initials. Contemporary blind-panel-stamped calf over wooden boards, with 4 different blind-stamped rectangular panels (2 on each board), each with 6 or 8 birds and animals in floral decoration, surrounded by text, 1 panel signed by Anthoine de Gavere, gilt and gauffered edges. € 9500

Fine 16th-century Flemish panel-stamped binding, signed by Anthoine de Gavere. The family De Gavere were bookbinders at Ghent and Bruges between 1450 and 1545. The panel-stamped bindings from Ghent and Bruges are among the most delicately engraved and the most carefully executed of all. According to Weale, Anthoine was active at Ghent from 1459 to 1505, but the archives of Lille contain documents proving that from 1495 to 1505 Anthoine worked at Bruges, not Ghent, and that he was the binder of many of the beautiful manuscripts from the library of Philip I (“the Handsome”), Duke of Burgundy (1478–1506). A binding with similar panels signed by Anthoine de Gavere, and containing another Plinius edition, also dated 1526, is cited by Leon Gruel.Contents: three works by Plinius II, forming the main historical source for Trajan’s ill-documented reign: his letters, presenting with considerable charm a richly varied picture of the life of the more cultured Romans under the Empire; his famous rhetorical essay, the Panegyricus to Trajan; and the lives of illustrious men of that period. At the end follow the biographies of literary men by Suetonius, and Julius Obsequens’s work on prodigies.With several early inscriptions in the endleaves, including owners’ names, and a later inscription dated 1729, early annotations in the margins. In very good condition, with only the title-page rather dirty and small corners torn off the first 2 leaves (not approaching the text). Binding with some damage to the spine and the joints cracked, brass fastenings lost (4 pins remain), some restorations, but still in good condition, the panel stamps on the front board very good and those on the back with only a crack and a few small pock marks.

Adams P-1541; BMC STC German, p. 704; VD 16, P3485; for the binding: cf. Devauchelle I, p. 60; S. Fogelmark pp. 86, 88, 126, 151, 171, 178, 185, 218, and plates XI, XXXVII R 81 (variant), and XL R 104; Gruel II, 85–87.

Plutarch’s famous schoolbook in four languages18. PLUTA RCHUS. Aureus libellus, Peri paidoon a’googès, id est, de educatione liberorum, tum interpretatione Latinam, ad verbum ferè applicatam, & paraphrasi Gallico-Germanicam… Petit livret de Plutarche,… Das güldene Büchlein Plutarchi, von der Kinderzucht.Frankfurt, Erasmus Kempffer, 1612. 8º. Set in 2 columns. Contemporary green vellum. € 1850

Rare multi-lingual edition of a famous treatise on children’s education by Plutarch, edited as a school book, printed in four different types, one for each of the parallel texts: Greek, Latin, French and German, in four columns on facing pages and with Latin notes in a fourth type in the left margins. Plutarch’s essay was edited and translated by Theodore Vietor, pedagogue and professor of Greek at the Latin School in Marburg, Germany. We have found no information about Vietor of his edition of Plutarch.Plutarch’s essay discusses the best education and care to give babies, children and adoles-cents, with specific advice for parents. The present edition starts with “Epigramma” by Christopher Mulder, a short speech by Philip Melanchton to the youth of Wittenberg, dated 1519, a dedicatory letter by Vietor to Maurits of Hessen and his son Otho, dated at Marburg, December 1597, and the author’s preface, also dated December, 1597. So the book probably appeared in 1597 and here newly published, revised and enlarged.In good condition.

VD17 23:241371Y (2 copies); not in BLC STC German (17th cent.); cf. Heltzel, Courtesy Books in the Newberry Library 1155–1159 (various early Plutarch eds. in Latin and English).

Newly edited works on rhetoric, in Aire-sur-la-Lys prize binding

19. RUTILIUS LUPUS, Publius and 15 others (François PITHOU, ed.). [Antiqui rhetores Latini.] ... Omnia ex codd. manusc. emendatiora vel auctiora.Paris, Adrien Périer (ex officina Plantiniana), 1599. Large 4º. Set in roman types with incidental italic, Greek and Hebrew. Contemporary gold-tooled calf with 18th-cen-tury restorations, with the arms of Aire-sur-la-Lys (an eagle) flanked by “S.P.Q. ... Arien[sis]”. Rebacked with the original backstrip laid down. € 2950

First edition of a collection of 15 classical and mediaeval school texts on the art of rhetoric, in a rare 16th-century French prize binding from Aire-sur- la-Lys, in the French department Pas-de Calais, on the border of French Flanders and Artois. Although most of these works had been published before in some form, the present collection was based on an unpublished manuscript. It therefore provided an independent source for these works as well as bringing them together in one convenient volume for students. The manuscripts edited here came from the library of the celebrated French lawyer, humanist and scholar François Pithou (1543–1621), a pupil of Cujas and later attorney-gen-eral at Troyes. He is believed to have edited the texts himself for the present publication.With 2 owners’ names and 2 bookplates. In very good condition and only slightly trimmed, leaving generous margins, with marginal water stains in a few leaves, reaching the text in 1 quire. Binding rebacked, with the original backstrip laid down, slightly rubbed and with superficial cracks, traces of 2 pair of leather ties. A 1599 collection of works on rhetoric, taken from a previously unpublished manuscript.

Adams R448; BMC STC French, p. 256; for Pithou: NBG XL, cols. 345–346.

First translation into English of stories from Sa’di’s famous Gulistan

20. SA’DI SHIR A ZI and Stephen SULI VA N (translator). Select fables from Gulistan, or the bed of roses. Translated from the original Persian of Sadi.London, J. Ridley, 1774. 8º. Modern half calf (period style), gold-tooled spine. € 3950

First edition of the first English translation of the Gulistan (or Golestan), written by the Persian poet Sa’di (1210–1291/1292), “probably the single most influential work of prose in the Persian tradition” (Encyclopædia Iranica). It opens with a brief preface, followed by a selection of 62 fables, varying in length. Completed in 1258, Sa’di’s Gulistan, “the rose garden”, is a collec-tion of stories and poems dealing with the major issues in human existence. Together with his Bustan (“the orchard”) it’s Sa’di’s most popular work. Both were standard texts at Persian schools for many years. The Gulistan is originally divided into eight chapters, each consisting of several stories and poems addressing a specific theme. The present translation, however, does not maintain this structure, since it only includes a selection of the stories.Lacking the half-title. With a minor restoration to the upper outer corner of the title-page, an ink stain on the title-page, an owner’s inscription on the back of the title-page, some ink in the margins of page 67 and 77, and some faint water stains. Otherwise in good condition.

The bibliographer’s manual of English literature IV, p. 2168; ESTC T147765; Katouzian, Sa’di, the poet of life, love and compassion, p. 152.

Laudatory poem on falconry and angling21. SOMERV ILLE , William. Field-sports. A poem. Humbly address’d to His Royal Highness the Prince.London, printed [by Willam Bowyer] for J. Stagg, 1742. 2º. With large woodcut headpiece and woodcut factotum. 19th-century gold-tooled mottled calf, gold-tooled turn-ins. Rebacked, with the original back-strip laid down. € 2500

First edition of a poem, praising falconry and angling, by the English poet William Somerville (1675–1742). It covers different types of falconry, including chasing stags with eagles “after the manner of the Asiatic princes” and hawking partridges and larks. It is said to be Somerville’s last poem, which can be seen as an addition to one of his most popular poems, The chase (1735).Only very slightly browned, otherwise in very good condition.

ESTC T139403; Foxon S569; Schwerdt II, p. 168; not in Thiebaud.

Lesser-known emblem book by Otto Vaenius, with 207 engraved emblems

22. VA ENIUS, Otto. Emblemata sive symbola a principibus, viris eeclesiasticis, ac militaribus, aliisque usurpanda. Devises ou emblemes pour princes, gens d’eglise, gens de guerre, & aultres.Brussels, Huybrecht Anthoon, 1624. 4º. With engraved device on title-page, and 207 numbered emblems on 23 engraved plates. 19th-century brown half cloth. € 1350

First and only edition of one of the lesser-known emblem books by the Dutch painter and poet Otto Vaenius (1556–1629). It contains a diverse selection of emblems, which, according to the title, were meant for princes, clergymen, military men and others. Each emblem is accompanied by a motto in Latin above and short captions in Latin and French can be found on the accom-panying letterpress pages.Today Vaenius is best known as a teacher of Peter Paul Rubens and for his role in the development of the genre of emblemata, in particular the love emblems. His Amorum Emblemata is “one of the most important Dutch emblematical works. It firmly established Vaenius as a leading emblematist after his glorious beginning with the famous moral-philosophical neo-stoic Emblemata Horatiana (1607)” (Van der Weij).Browned throughout with a few small spots. Binding rubbed along the extrem-ities, otherwise in good condition.

Landwehr, Emblem and fable books 840; Praz, p. 526; cf. Van der Weij, Emblems of the Low Countries (2003), pp. 45–46.

Pioneering work on Indian languages and society by an “unjustly forgotten” Indologist

23. V ESDIN, Filip. Viaggio alle Indie Orientali umiliato alla Santita di N. S. Papa Pio Sesto pontefice massimo …Rome, Antonio Fulgoni, 1796. 4º. With 12 engraved illustration plates (6 with 2 illustra-tions each to make 18 in total), engraved roundel portraits of Pope Pius VI (on the title-page) and the author (above the opening of the main text) and some small woodcut illus-trations of “Indian hieroglyphs”. Set in roman and italic types with occasional words in Greek, Arabic, East Syriac, Devanagari and more extensive texts in Malayalam, plus a Malabar song with a double staff made with built-up round-head music notes. 19th-cen-tury maroon half sheepskin, blue textured-paper sides, shell on shell marbled endpapers. € 4500

First edition, in Italian, of a pioneering work of Indian linguistics and comparative philology by the Croatian Carmelite monk Filip Vesdin (1748–1806) who took the monastic name Paulinus a Sancto Bartholomaeo, with his 6-page dedication to Pope Pius VI. Although nominally an account of Vesdin’s travels as a missionary in southern India, including Pondicherry, Verapoly (Varappuzha) and Kerala, from 1776 to 1789, the book concentrates on religious teachings and practices, society, languages and scripts, taking a comparative approach. He discusses the spread of Muslim influence in northern India and its influence on Sanskrit traditions. He is outspoken in his opinions and clashed with other scholars of his day. Vesdin learned Sanskrit and especially Malayalam, which holds a position of honour in the book. The Malayan type, used most exten-sively on pages 164–165 and 325, seems to be the first ever made for that script, cut for the press of the Propaganda Fide in Rome, which first showed it in 1772. The East Syriac, Devenagari (used for setting Sanskrit) and Coptic types and perhaps some others were also cut for the Propaganda Fide.With the engraved bookplate of Gianni Boccoli illustrating a 1567 armillary sphere by Gemma Frisius. With a few leaves slightly browned and with occasional minor foxing, but otherwise in fine condition and only slightly trimmed, preserving some deckles. A pioneering work on Indian languages and society by a Croatian monk.

ICCU, RAVE 004982; Milka Jauk-Pinhak, “Some notes on the pioneer Indologist Filip Vesdin …”, Scandinavian Conference-Seminar of Indological Studies, XII (1984), pp. 129–137; A. G. Pattaparambil, A study of Viaggio alle Indie Orientali (Roma 1796) … (2007).

Very rare edition of a satire on 19th-century falconry24. ZEGGELEN, W.J. van. De valkenvangstThe Hague, W.P. van Stockum, 1841. 8º. With a wood-engraved frontispiece by “I.B.” (= Johannes Bosboom). Contemporary boards (rebacked in modern dark brown half morocco). € 1500

Very rare first edition (a second edition was published in Antwerp in 1844) of a poem sati-rising Dutch practitioners of falconry in the early 19th Century, particularly the members of the famous Royal Loo Hawking Club. De valkenvangst (the capture of falcons) contrasts the majesty of the falcons, whose manner of hunting is described at the beginning of the poem, with the basal entertainment pursued by the “falconers”, who believed that they could easily restore the forgotten art of falconry.In the poem, a company including the Dutch baron Van Deelen and the Englishman Lord Littlewhit travels to Norway to capture some falcons, parodying a real-life voyage in 1838. After numerous perils two white gyrfalcons are captured, while the noblemen amuse themselves with hunting and fishing. However, on the return voyage one of the falcons is accidentally shot and the other released by the baron’s valet, who then puts a different bird in the cage. As the baron intends to reveal the falcon to his guests, a cockatoo is revealed.Binding worn at the edges. Foxed throughout and with water stains at the foot.

Huyskens, De vrije vogelvlugt, pp. 84–93; Schwerdt II, p. 307; not in Harting; Lindner.

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