Search Results: Authors starting with W from Asher Rare Books

VIII, 32 pp.First and only edition of a catalogue describing the ancient artefacts, fossils and minerals contained in the immense Egyptian collection of cardinal Stefano Borgia, in Rome and Velletri. The core of the collection was assembled in the early part of the 17th century by cardinal Scipione Borghese, and was later expanded by cardinal Borgia through his office as secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and financed by the sale of his jewels and his yacht. While the main part of the collection is described by the Danish mineralogist and zoologist Gregers Wad, the descriptions of items with hieroglyphs and art (primarily gems) are by the Danish archaeologist Jörgen Zoëga.With the lovely near-contemporary engraved bookplate of Joachim Moritz Wilhelm Baumann on the back of the title-page, covering a library stamp, and an early presentation inscription to Joan D. Schaeffer on pastedown. In very good condition. Boards slightly soiled.l Curtis Schuh's Bibl. of Mineralogy, Wad… Read More

[4], 254, [2 blank] pp.First and only edition in French of the memoirs of a German postmaster, who spent the Seven Years' War as a prisoner in Siberia. After the capture of Prussian Pillau (modern Baltiysk) by Russia in 1759, Wagner (1735-1820) had unknowingly been sending Russian troop movements to the Prussians but was betrayed, arrested and subsequently deported to Siberia. Wagner was first sent to Tobolsk and then to Mangazeya, where he arrived more than a year after his arrest and would spend another three years. In the memoirs he "describes the hardships of living there without any self-pity. His observations and experiences during the transportation and finally in the Far North of Siberia are given to the reader in graphic details" (Robel). Wagner was released in 1763 and returned home after a journey lasting a year and a half, but denied any financial support by the Prussian king. The memoirs are followed by a description of the Russian Empire, drawing on earlier accounts but also containing… Read More

[4], VII, [1], 495, [1 blank] pp.First edition of a flora of Uppsala, giving Latin description of the local flora found within approximately 20 kilometres of the city, with additional territorial information given on the map.In his time, George Wahlenberg (1780-1851), a Swedish botanist and professor at Uppsala, was the leading expert on Scandinavian mountain flora. Swedish provincial floras in the full sense of the word begin with his. His understanding of botanical geography and inclusion of locality information in floras were innovating and Flora Upsaliensis is considered a masterpiece of the genre.With bookplates. Very good copy, with a faint waterstain and minor foxing in the title-page and one small tear. The leaf with notes to the map and with the corrigenda is bound after the title-page. Binding scuffed. Wahlenberg's masterpiece on Uppsala's flora.l Krok, p. 743; Stafleu & Cowan 16521; Watsonia XXIV, pp. 331-336.

[2], 76 [=78] pp.Fifth edition, the first containing the plate showing six scenes, of this account of the famous circumnavigation of the Dutch fleet under command of Admiral Jacques l'Hermite (Jacques de Clerck, ca.1582-1624) during the years 1623-1626. The account t is combined with a description of Lima, an account of an expedition to Guyana and a discourse on VOC trade. Added to this edition is the description of Peru and Chile by Madriga and Spilbergen and the 'memoir' of Pedro Fernando De Quir. The plate shows 6 views of the fleet in various bays and harbours, including the harbours of Lima and Acapulco, on the roads of the Ladrones islands and Puna, and Indians without a neck.With a bookplate on the front paste-down. Restorations at the bottom of the margins of the first quire and in the margin of the engraved plate. Spine slightly damaged. Good copy.l Landwehr & V.d. Krogt, VOC 251; Tiele, Bibl. 667; Tiele, Mem. 77.

[2], 76 [ i.e 78] pp.Fifth edition, the first containing the plate showing six scenes, of this account of the famous circumnavigation of the Dutch fleet under command of Admiral Jacques l'Hermite (Jacques de Clerck, ca.1582-1624) during the years 1623-1626. The account t is combined with a description of Lima, an account of an expedition to Guyana and a discourse on VOC trade. Added to this edition is the description of Peru and Chile by Madriga and Spilbergen and the 'memoir' of Pedro Fernando De Quir. The plate shows 6 views of the fleet in various bays and harbours, including the harbours of Lima and Acapulco, on the roads of the Ladrones islands and Puna, and Indians without a neck.Waterstain troughout. Very good copy.l Landwehr & V.d. Krogt, VOC 251; Tiele, Bibl. 667; Tiele, Mem. 77.

[1], [1 blank], [45], [1 blank] pp. plus 1 loosely inserted leaf.A carefully planned and skilfully executed calligraphic copy-book, including a calligraphic title-page and colophon. Although it was made by a student, Willem Walbeek, over a period of 2½ months in one academic year, it is not merely a daily exercise book. It has the appearance of a writing master's copy-book and Walbeek probably produced and presented it to demonstrate his mastery. Most of the texts on the rectos are 2- to 4-line proverbs and aphorisms in verse, some about penmanship, other of a religious or moral nature. Most of the examples are executed in a round-hand sloped cursive script, with a few in upright cursive, roman capitals (occasionally with some minuscules), textura, fraktur and some decorative gothic hands.With two leaves removed (possibly by Walbeek himself), the ink shows through on most leaves, there are some water stains, and the head of the loosely inserted leaf is tattered, but the calligraphic samples are… Read More

[4], 321, [1] pp.First edition of a thesis on the role of chemistry in the development of agriculture, by the Swedish Count Gustaf Adolf Gyllenborg (1743-1789) and with the Swedish chemist and mineralogist Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (1709-1785) as praeses. It established the notion that the chemical composition of both the plants and the soil were to be comparatively studied, which became the basic principle of agricultural chemistry. "In accord with the utilitarian tendencies of the time, Wallerius, as professor of chemistry, was called upon to show what his knowledge could contribute to economic social life. ... Wallerius' interest in agriculture naturally led him to pursue agricultural chemistry, especially since agriculture was of great importance for the national economy. His research proved so basic and of such scope that he was called the father of agricultural chemistry" (DSB). The text is included in Latin with the Swedish text on the parallel page. With a manuscript owner's inscription on… Read More

[4], 72 pp.First edition of "an important Dutch publication on the sector" (Roëll), instructing its reader in the use of the instrument. The sector or proportional compass, a calculating instrument consisting of two rulers joined by a hinge, was invented at the beginning of the 17th century and used for solving a large variety of mathematical problems in gunnery, surveying, navigation and (military) architecture. The author notes in his introduction that he came across a sector, which he thought would be a useful instrument, if it were accompanied by instructions in its use. Since no simple instructions could be found - at least not in Dutch - Warius decided to write his own treatise. After finishing several sets of instructions, he was given a copy of the Tractatus de stylometris (1661/1662) by Nicolaus Goldmann, which also contained instructions for the use of the sector, and he decided to incorporate parts in his own treatise. In the resulting book, Warius first introduces the different scales to… Read More

XVI, 267, [1 blank] pp.First edition of Lord Warkworth's travel accounts of his journey through Anatolia. He is better known as Henry Algernon George Percy, Earl Percy (1871-1909), a British conservative politician, who held office as under-secretary of state for India and under-secretary of state for foreign affairs. He was the eldest son of Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland (1846-1918), but he never succeeded his father due to his early death in 1909. Earl Percy was also known as Lord Percy or - until 1899 - as Lord Warkworth; he wrote and published the present work under the latter name.Percy first visited parts of Anatolia, or Asia Minor, shortly after his election to Parliament in 1895, he returned in 1897 and wrote the present book on his return to England. In the present book he not only gives detailed descriptions of the places he visits while travelling - from Constantinople through northern Turkey to Mosul, Aleppo and on his return to the west - but also speaks out about the Armenian… Read More

[4], 204 pp.Rare first edition of the first American conchological manual, following the classifications of both Linnaeus and Lamarck. Warren gives an introduction discussing shells and their beauty, the three classes and the several conchological genera in them, including their scientific names. He describes not only the shells, but also where and when one could find them. John Warren was an Englishman who sold shells and other curiosities in Boston and to collectors elsewhere in the United States, supplying them with handsome shells at high prices.Considerable foxing to the plates, as often, but otherwise in very good condition. A rare publication on shells.l www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/10944209; cf. WorldCat (electronic facsimile); not in BM NH; Nissen ZBI; Sabin.

[6], “70” [= 74 including or 64 excluding the lithographic leaves], [32] pp.Rare first and only edition of the first English grammar of the Sindhi language, the principal language of the province of Sindh in Pakistan, but also spoken by a large Sindhi minority elsewhere in Pakistan and neighbouring parts of India. In addition to the standard elements of grammar it includes handy phrases and dialogues with translations from Sindhi to English and English to Sindhi, and extensive vocabularies also translating in both directions, with an emphasis on commercial transactions. Although the book nowhere mentions the author’s name, he has been identified as William Henry Wathen (1794/95-1866), chief secretary to the British government at Mumbai (Bombay) and a member of the Mumbai branch of the Royale Asiatic Society since 1821.The lithographic pages include 32-character “alphabets” (to some degree syllabaries) of the “Multànì” or “Saràì” (Multani) and the “Khudàwàdì” (Khudabadi) script, each… Read More

XIX, [1], 301, [1 blank]; VI, 512 pp.Extensive work on shells in the Mediterranean Sea by the zoologist, conchylogist and malacologist Heinrich Conrad Weinkauff (1817-1886). During his life. Weinkauff became "an acknowledged authority" on conchology, because he spent all his spare time to the subject "and for the sake of his health spent much time collecting Medditerranean marine shells" (Dance, A history of shell collecting, p. 157). The present work is the result of his effort, being a very useful work on the topic because of the numerous references, huge synonym lists and notes on the distribution and variability of the discussed species, including many tables.With two owner's inscriptions on the first endpaper (one repeated on the title-page) and an erased inscription on the title-page. Binding only slightly worn around the edges. Some browning and some small spots, some red paint in the margins caused by painting the edges, otherwise in very good condition.l BM NH V, p. 2285; not in Nissen ZBI.

[10], 208 pp.First and only edition of a contemporary description of Batavia (Jakarta), then the capital of the Dutch East Indies, by the Dutch general and minister of war August Wilhelm Philip Weitzel (1816-1896), who visited the city in 1858. It opens with a ground plan of the city and its surroundings, a dedication and a table of contents. The text is divided into four parts, each subdivided into several chapters. The first part contains a general description of the city, its topography, transportation and customs, architecture, neighbourhoods, sights, etc. The second part contains a history of the way of life in Jakarta, often referring to other texts. It describes the first colonists, the conduct and misconduct of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and the various peoples living in the city with their costumes, religions, occupations, etc. In the third part Weitzel describes contemporary life in the city and the fourth part deals with the scientific institutions in Batavia.A few stains and… Read More

[12], 88; 74, [2] pp.Rare second edition (1st issue, in 2 volumes), extensively revised and enlarged, of a mathematical study of the construction of sundials, by Eberhard Welper the elder (1590-1664), first published in 1625 and here with useful additional observations and enlarged with a second part by Johann Christoph Sturm. Welper was born in Lohr (near Marburg), but studied in Strasbourg where he worked as a bookseller, printer, mathematician, astrologer and astronomer. The first edition of the present work was one of his earliest publications. Sturm greatly expanded Welper’s Gnomonica for the 1672 edition, which was originally complete in the present two volumes. In 1681 Sturm added a third volume, so the present two volumes were reissued with the third. Doppelmayer added a fourth volume in 1708.Occasionally browned, but still in good condition. A rare 17th-centry work on sundials.l BMC STC (17th cen.), W815, vols. 1-2; VD17 39:119761M & 39:119760D, vols. 1-2 (6 copies); Zimmer, Astronomische… Read More

Pen and ink drawing of a scenic woody landscape with two huts, a cart, a walker and two persons and a dog near the huts. The landscape and clouds are drawn with a certain flair but the small people, clearly of less importance than the landscape, are less convincing.The drawing is signed "G.P. Westenberg" which suggests the Dutch artists George Pieter Westenberg (1791-1873) and the watermark is dated 1838. However, the signature does not match the signature on other drawings of Westenberg, who mostly signed "P.G. Westenberg". It does however match with a drawing in the Fléhite Museum in Amersfoort (inv. no. 1000-730), dated 1838-1839. Perhaps these drawings were done by Westenberg's son, also named George Pieter (1829-1880).George Pieter Westenberg was a Dutch painter of landscapes and city views. Between 1838 and 1857 he was curator of paintings at the museum for contemporary art in Haarlem, after which he departed for Batavia in the Dutch East-Indies to become keeper of the privy seal. His identical… Read More

[1], [2 blank], [1] pp.Manuscript letter ordering Hans Hartwich (1630-1692), captain of the warship Harderwijk, to set sail for the island of Texel. Hartwich was a captain in charge of the Amsterdam admiralty and was present at the burial of Cornelis Tromp in 1691. At the time of the order the Dutch Republic took part in the Nine Years' War, a conflict between Louis XIV of France and a European coalition of the Holy Roman Empire (led by Austria), the Dutch Republic, Spain, England and Savoy. Earlier that month Rear Admiral Jan van Brakel was killed in the Battle of Beachy Head. The order is signed by Wicher Wichers (1651-1715), a member of the States General.In very good condition.

[1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], 98 pp.First edition of the French translation, published simultaneously with the original English, of an open letter by the famous English abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833), addressed to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838). Wilberforce gives in great detail the many considerations that led Britain to abolish the slave trade, hoping to persuade France to abolish it as well and even join Britain in its civilizing projects in Africa. However, France did not consent to Wilberforce's proposals and officially abolished the slave trade only in 1848. Included at the end is an appendix with extracts from various others, supporting the statements made by Wilberforce in the letter.Some water stains throughout. Binding slightly worn along the extremities. Overall in good condition.l Hogg, The African slave trade and its suppression 2488b; Ragatz, British Caribbean history, p. 569.

[1], [1 blank], [11], [1 blank] pp. and 60 numbered engraved plates.First and only edition of an attractive display of the statues of the Museum Wildeanum, once housed on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. The Dutch tax collector Jacob de Wilde (1645-1721) began the collection, containing gems, coins, scientific instruments and statues. "This attractive account of a Dutch cabinet of the late seventeenth century is as much a eulogy of Maria de Wilde's gifts as an engraver as of her father's museum" (Grinke). The 60 plates by Maria de Wilde (1682-1729) show the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman statues in the museum, including Egyptian figures of Isis, Horus, etc., some of which are now believed to be Renaissance copies of antique originals. The 6 text leaves include a brief introduction and several laudatory poems directed at Maria de Wilde and her engravings. The collection drew some important visitors, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great in 1697. His visit is illustrated on the engraved folding… Read More

[18], 328 pp.Fourth edition of this attractively illustrated work on amphibians and reptiles: frogs, turtles, lizards and snakes. It was written and published in the educational, encyclopaedic tradition of the Enlightenment by the Bavarian clergyman and naturalist Gottlieb Tobias Wilhelm (1758-1811), who lived in Augsburg. He began publishing his well-known series on various parts of natural history under the title Unterhaltungen aus der Naturgeschichte ("Discourses on Natural History") in 1792 in weekly instalments from his brother’s publishing house, the Martin Engelbrechtschen Kunsthandlung. Boards shaved, corners and edges of the boards worn, without affecting the integrity of the binding, with ownership’s entry: "Ex librio Bertrando Gatti" and a bookplate of Oberst Carl Koralek, both on the front pastedown, some staining and soiling throughout, right margins of the plates frayed, some with small tears, top-corner of pp. 185-86 damaged with loss of page numbers and some text, plates with untidy… Read More

[2], 33-64 [= 32] pp.A very rare pamphlet containing a missionary's essay by Reverend M. Wilkinson, in which he contrasts Hindu religious practices with those of Christianity. The study refers to the teachings of the Rigveda, and comments on the rituals of heathenism such as sacrifice, idolatry, ablution and offerings of expiation that are observed to achieve salvation. Slightly foxed, otherwise in very good condition.l WorldCat 930689395 (1 copy).