Search Results: Authors starting with O from Asher Rare Books

[6], 581, [34], [10]; [2], 35, [1]; [12], 195, [12]; [2], 302, [7] pp.Complete text of a highly important historical work in 4 separately published volumes - here bound together - on the military history of the Austro-Hungarian region, including Transylvania, during the years 1395 -1612, describing all the wars, sieges of cities and fortresses, battles with the Turks and other noteworthy events in Hungary, written and assiduously recorded by Hieronymus Ortelius or Oertel (1543-1614). Nothing like this was ever printed before. Especially the period 1592-1612 is treated in great detail since the author included eyewitness reports on the Turkish invasions in the region. The author, a notary at the imperial court, was encouraged to write the work by his brother-in-law, Johann Sibmacher, a Nuremberg engraver and publisher, who was also responsible for the engraved plates in the first volume which includes a large engraved folding map of Hungary, Transylvania, and Moldavia (28×51 cm).The 30 double-page… Read More

24, 454, [25], [1 blank] pp.First edition of Agelli's translation (and first separate edition of any version) of Cyril's "the adoration and worship of God in spirit and in truth", a commentary on the Old Testament concerning Mosaic law, written in the form of a dialogue between Cyril and Palladius. It is the first commentary by the patriarch of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria (ca. 376-444), whose "precision, accuracy, and skill … as a theologian has often been remarked" (The Oxford Dictionary of Saints). "St. Cyril uncovers this mysterious, allegorical, and immutable sense of Mosaic Law and adds a coherent sketch of Old Testament foundations of spiritual preparation. In particular he dwells on the Old Testament prototypes of the Church" (Florovsky). It is published by the female printer Sybille de la Porte (1540-1608), widow of the printer Henry de Gabiano.With 17th-century owner's inscription on title-page. In very good condition with a minor water stain in the outer margin of ca. 20 leaves, some… Read More

76 pp.18th-century French chapbook edition of one of the most popular picture books in Europe since the Middle Ages. It depicts two Dances of Death: first the Dance of Death of men of all ranks and professions, followed by the Dance of Death of women of various ranks and stations in life. These Dances of Death were meant to remind people that everybody was mortal however powerful in life, and to warn people to be prepared to die at any moment.Browned throughout, some occasional foxing and a small piece torn from the margin of page 19, not affecting text or illustration. Overall a good copy.l Oberlé, La Bibl. Bleue, 1; Nisard II, p. 284: "Le plus beau des livres de la Bibliothèque Bleue".

pp. 313-386.The fourth report by the Committee of the Public expenditure of the House of Commons on the Commissioners for Dutch Prizes: prizes refers to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law for the capture of enemy ships or of cargoes belonging to an enemy in times of war. Claims for the award of prize money were usually heard in a Prize Court, which had to adjudicate the claim and condemn the prize before any distribution of cash or goods could be made to the captors. In the past the capturing force would commonly be allotted a share of the worth of the captured prize. Nations often granted letters of marque that would entitle private parties to capture enemy property, usually ships. Once the ship was secured on friendly territory, it would be made the subject of a prize case, an in rem proceeding in which the court determined the status of the condemned property and the manner in which it was to be disposed of. In this… Read More

69, [1 blank]; 78 pp.Greek and Latin edition of 12 epistles of St. Ignatius. The Greek and Latin texts are presented as two separate editions, each having its own title-page and its own series of quire signatures and page numbers, but only the Greek has a colophon and they were normally bound and sold together. The Greek text was first published in 1557 and reprinted in 1558, then accompanied by a Latin translation. The Latin translation was made by Hieronymus Vairlenius.Ignatius of Antiochia, also known as Theophorus, was born in Syria, around the year 50 and died at Rome between 98 and 117. He is said to be the third Archbishop of Antioch after St. Peter and Evodius. After his long and difficult travels to Rome he was declared holy martyr. His letters are of very great importance.With some manuscript notes in the margins. Ad 1 lacking the blank final leaf E4, ad 2 lacking the blank final leaf E8. In good condition.l USTC 404502 & 407631; Voet 1435 & 1436.

(26), 300 (i.e. 296); (2), 327 (14, 1 blank) pp.Dutch translation of The British Empire in America (London 1708) by John Oldmixon, containing an account on coffee and coffee plantations that is not present in the English edition. In the first part, the author describes North America (New Foundland, Nova Scotia, New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Carolina, Hudson Bay) and part two deals with the British colonies in Central America (Barbados, St Lucia, St Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, St Christopher, Barbuda, Anguilla, Jamaica and Bermuda). The author discusses the discovery, history, geography, population and economy of each of these regions. He is very well informed, providing many interesting details. The maps show New Foundland (17.5 x 25 cm), New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania (17.5 x 25.5 cm), Virginia and Maryland (25.5 x 17 cm), Carolina and Bermuda (two maps on one plate), North America (depicting California as an island!),… Read More

72, [14], VIII pp. plus [2] ll. with engravings.First and only edition of an instruction manual for the compositors of the Portuguese royal printing office on the proper setting of Greek, Hebrew and Arabic type. It was written during the reign of King Pedro III by Custodio José de Oliveira (d. 1812), professor of Greek at the Colégio Real dos Nobres in Lisbon and one of the Directores Litterarios of the Impressão Regia, serving until 1807, for which he wrote the present work. Innocencio calls it "very useful" and the only Portuguese manual on typesetting he knew ("Trabalho mui aproveitavel, para o tempo em que sahiu, e o unico que sobre o assumpto temos até agora escripto orginalmente em portuguez"). Oliveira shows in both the tables and inserts within the text the alphabets and numbers in Greek, Hebrew and Arabic with their roman equivalents. The last four plates (printed on both sides of two leaves) show common ligatures and abbreviations in Greek. The present copy of this very rare work is… Read More

[1], [1 blank], 36 pp.Very rare report to the governing board of Cuba about a trial sugar mill, brought from France to Cuba by Alejandro Oliván (1796-1878). In the early 1830s the Cuban Real Junta de Fomento commissioned Oliván, then one of Cuba’s leading experts on sugar production, to travel to Jamaica and Europe in search of the best system for manufacturing sugar. He returned with plans for a new kind of sugar train (the series of kettles used to boil down the extracted juice), recommended by the French engineer Derosne. This new train differs from the existing Jamaican trains because it used a vacuum apparatus to evaporate a sugar solution, concentrating it for crystallization, rather than passing the sugar through a series of pans with holes of decreasing size. Nevertheless, up to at least 1840, the Jamaican trains dominated the Cuban sugar production.Wrappers lacking, otherwise in very good condition. A very rare pamphlet.l Fraginals, The sugarmill: the socioeconomic complex of sugar in Cuba… Read More

[4], LXVIII, 108; [4], 216 pp.Second edition of an interesting financial history by an even more interesting, extravagant and intriguing author. Louis Pierre Mortier published the first edition in 1758 at “London” (= Paris). The full name of the author - referred to on the title as 'Mr. Deon de Beaumont' - is Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Thimothée d'Eon de Beaumont, a French diplomat, writer, spy, and Freemason, a member of the elite Dragoons and one of the best swordsmen of France, whose true gender was a source of speculation and provoked public bets in the late 18th century. Many believed that d'Eon was born female, but had started to dress as a man in his childhood, and changed back from “a bad boy into a good girl” when his secret was revealed decades later. After his death it turned out that he was a man who had dressed as a woman. D'Eon is often called the patron saint of transvestites.With manuscript owner's inscription P. Lemarie 1861 on first blank. Spine slightly damaged,… Read More

[6] including the frontispiece, plus 100 collotypes.1895 edition of the first volume of Ongania's collection of collotype views of Venice in an impressive imperial folio format and in the original publisher's binding. Its Venetian publisher and bookseller Ferdinando Ongania (1842-1911) was especially known for using the latest photographic techniques and the clarity of the collotypes in his publications. This series of views shows the canals, waterways and the lagoon of Venice, but also remarkable places such as the Piazza San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale, the Ponte dei Sospiri and the Canal Grande. But Ongania didn't show only the city’s majestic sights, boats and gondolas: he also shows the ordinariness and serenity of 19th-century Venice, sharply contrasting the tourist attraction Venice has become today.The present first volume of Ongania's collection was already issued in 1891 under the title Calli et canali in Venezia, also containing 100 plates, particularly of the main island of Venice. Several… Read More

[12], 312 pp.Popular horticultural work by the Dutch florist Hendrik van Oosten, first published in 1700. Here in the very rare undated second issue of the last, seventh, edition, printed in Amsterdam. The first issue of the seventh edition appeared in 1792 in Rotterdam. It discusses the sowing and harvesting of numerous flowers, including tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, anemones, roses, etc., planting bulbs, curing flower diseases, cultivating fruit trees, taking care of flowers and plants in winter, and more. Also included are many "secrets" to grow the most beautiful tulips. Translations appeared in German, French and English. The plates depict ways of pruning and grafting of different types of plants. The cultivation of flowers and the laying out of gardens had long been very popular in the Netherlands. The book was translated into English (1703), German (1706) and French (1714), and went through at least seven Dutch editions to 1792. Little is known about the author, but the title-pages note that… Read More

[6], 14; [4], 16-39, [5]; [4], II, 27, [1 blank]; [4], 29-88; [4], 89-159, [1 blank] pp.Descriptions of fossils from Switzerland in the natural history museum of Bern. Although the title may suggest otherwise, this work is on fossils and not protozoa and includes many molluscs, mainly from the Mesozoic (Pteropodenschichten, Taviglianazsandstein, Korallenkalk, etc.). Plates foxed as usual, wrappers worn (one part has a split along the spine and another has the back wrapper detached) and the front of the first part a bit soiled; text in good condition.l BMC NH, p. 1618.

[8], 294 pp.First edition of a work on clinical medicine and various diseases, including women’s and children’s diseases, by the professor of medicine at Leiden University, Nicolaas George Oosterdijk (1740-1817), the son of the Utrecht prof. of medicine Johan Oosterdijk Schacht (1704-1792) and grandson of the Leiden prof. of medicine and colleague of Boerhaave, Herman Oosterdijk Schacht (1672-1744).Nicolaas George was physician of the city of Utrecht until he became professor of medicine, chemistry and botany at the University of Harderwijk; in 1775 he moved to Leiden University where he, together with the famous professor Paradijs, after a long period of neglect, restarted the clinical lessons at the sickbed, initiated by Boerhaave at the end of the 17th century. His experiences and lessons found their concrete shape in the present Praecepta. A second edition was published at Leuven in 1786.Top of front hinge broken.l Blake 332; BMN p. 558 (as 1780?); NNBW, 3, cols. 935-936; Vaderl. letteroef.,… Read More

VI, [2], 224; [6], 200 pp.First and only edition of a collection of Dutch sea voyages for children, edited by the school teacher Jan Antonie Oostkamp (1778-1845), who wrote about 30 widely-read books. The voyages include Willem Barentsz's first three voyages in search of a northeast passage (1594, 1595 & 1596), the third under the command of Jacob van Heemskerk, and their winter camp on the island Nova Zembla; the first Dutch voyage to the East Indies, by Molenaar, Dignumsz, Schellinger and Mau (1596); Jacob van Neck and Wybrand van Warwyck's first voyage to the East Indies (1598); the first Dutch circumnavigation of the globe by Olivier van Noort (1598); Paulus van Caerden and Pieter Both's voyage to the East Indies (1599); Joris van Spilbergen's voyage to the Moluccas (1614); Schouten and Le Maire's voyage to the East Indies (1615); Bontekoe's disastrous voyage to the East Indies (1618); Jacob Heremiet's circumnavigation of the globe (1623); and Abel Tasman's first pacific voyage (1642). Leaves H4.5… Read More

[88], 376, [40], 344 pp.A beautiful edition printed in Leiden, nominally published by Franciscus Raphelengius the elder, but in fact printed by his son Franciscus the younger and published by Christophe Raphelengius (1566-1600), grandsons of Christoffel Plantin, featuring parallel Latin and Greek texts, with commentary and translation by Konrad Rittershausen, a German publisher, jurist, and philologist. This work contains the Greek poems of Oppian of Anazarbus on fishing and those devoted to hunting by Oppian of Syria. The two poets were long confused. With the owner’s inscription of Johann August Bechmann (1570-1632) on the title page, partially erased but still legible. He bought it in 1602 from the bookseller Froben in Hamburg, as noted in the volume and on the binding. At the time of his death in 1632, Beckmann was the rector of the princely school of Meissen, which still exists today as the Sächsische Landesgymnasium Sankt Afra zu Meißen. Bechmann made annotations throughout the work, with a… Read More

[4], 584 pp.First edition in this form of a detailed account of an important series of scientific expeditions in central South America, mostly in the Bolivian provinces of Chiquitos and Moxos, by Alcide d'Orbigny (1802-1857). He organized expeditions in South America carried out in the years 1826 to 1833 under the auspices of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, established in Paris in 1793. He covered Brazil, Uruguay, Paraná, the pampas of Argentina, Patagonia, Chili, Bolivia and Peru, publishing the results in three volumes: Voyage dans l'Amerique Meridional, Strasbourg and Paris, 1835-1845. The present single volume, by the same Strasbourg publisher with a different Paris collaborator, is extracted from the larger work. The folding map, covering Bolivia and surroundings, includes an inset map showing its location within South America.Somewhat browned and the map with one large and some small tears along folds (some small ones repaired with tape). In good condition.l Borba de Moraes, p. 632;… Read More

[4] ll.Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os (1782-1861), not to be confused with his nephew George Jac. Joh. Van Os (1805-1841), also a painter, was as a member of a Dutch family of artists. He studied with his father, Jan van Os, a painter of flowers and maritime views. In 1812 Georgius entered the Salon de Paris for the first time. In the following period he not only worked in Paris, but also in The Hague and Amsterdam. In Sèvres, a southwestern suburb of Paris, he worked for the famous porcelain factory. After 1826 he settled definitively in Paris where he died in 1861. He is mainly known for his exquisite “natures mortes”, specializing in still lifes of flowers, fruit and game. From early on he demonstrated such exceptional talent that he was asked to paint several flowers for the plates of Jan Kops’s famous Flora Batava (1800-1822). He soon developed into one of the most celebrated still life painters of the 19th century.These four exquisite watercolours show well-considered arrangements of (1) a… Read More

[18] 140, 147, [3] pp.First and only edition of a small polyglot Bible. Although this only contains the first four chapters of Genesis, it does so in seven languages printed in five different scripts. The publication of polyglot bibles in the 16th and 17th centuries was an important aid in comparative Bible studies. By comparing the eldest versions of the Bible available, written in the languages in use in the Middle-East, scholars hoped to better understand the text. Most of the text in this edition was reprinted from the London Polyglot published in 1654-57, but apparently the Ethiopic text was published here for the first time.Georg Otho (1634-1713) was professor of Greek and Oriental languages at the University of Marburg and published a number of books on this subject. Contemporary ownership entries on the front pastedown; pencil marks in the second part; binding slightly worn; last ten leaves with small waterstains, somewhat browned. An interesting polyglot bible printed in five different… Read More

First state of a topographical wall map of the Vijfheerenlanden, a Dutch (polder) district south of Utrecht and the river Lek. Here including the very rare engraved borders, containing the coats of arms of the water district and its board members. The area is bordered by the Lek at the right (the north), the river Linge at the left, the Diefdijk at the foot and the Zouwendijk at the head, and includes the cities Vianen and Leerdam, and the towns and villages Ameide, Oosterwijk, Leerbroek, Lexmond, Nieuwland and Everdingen.The 14 coats of arms of the members of the water district board are those of: Hendrik Verboom, Abraham van Hoey, Simon Brand. Abraham Cleyn, Paul van Alen, Jacob Pieter Balguerie, Georg Robbert van Croin, Gerard Callenburgh Baertmans, Joan Host, Frederik Kuenenn, Testard Jan de Lille, Hendrik Cleyn, Carel de Lille and Willem Kelderman. The four leaves of the map have visible folds, one leaf has a restored tear along the fold (not touching image itself), and some faint spots,… Read More

A detailed ink drawing of the harbour of and fortifications of Edremit, an Ottoman port city on the west coast of Turkey. The drawing is made after Johannes Peeter's print Ladimistri nel' archipelago, originally engraved by Lucas Vorsterman the younger and first appearing 1664/65 in the series Diverse vis te[!] delli Dardaneli del' dtrecio come delle città e castelli nel archipelago. The series was published by Jacob (Jacques) Peeters (1637-1695), and the prints were engraved after drawings by his brother Jan (Johannes) Peeters (1625-1677), best known for his drawings of city views engraved by Merian. Johannes Peeters was a pupil of their eldest brother Bonaventura Peeters, a well-known painter and draughtsman, and specialized in maritime scenes.Slightly browned and with a few small and mostly marginal stains. The foremost canon appears to have lost some of its ink, but the drawing is otherwise in good condition. The corners are damaged or discoloured from a previous mounting, far outside the border… Read More