Search Results: Titles starting with B from Asher Rare Books

Attractive colour-plate book depicting the spa towns of Bagnères-de-Luchon, an area in the Pyrenees of southern France, adjacent to Spain. The illustrations show waterfalls, lakes, mountains, valleys, glaciers and some villages, each with a caption below the image and sometimes mentioning in the margins the names and heights of the mountains depicted. The plates are drawn and lithographed by the French artist Victor Petit (ca. 1817-1871) and printed by the Thierry brothers in Paris. Some of the plates were also inlcuded in Petit's Souvenirs des Pyrénées (1850).Some occasional minor foxing, a water stain in the outer margin of the last plate (no. 29), not affecting the image, but otherwise in good condition. Binding rubbed along the extremities, hinges weak and partly cracked, and spine damaged.l Bobins collection 956 (25 plates); WorldCat (4 copies); for Petit: Benezit VIII, pp. 256-257.

[1], [1 blank], [2] pp. + 64 ll. + [4], [1 blank], [1] pp.; ll. 65-137; [1], [1 blank], XLVIII, 88 pp.Only published edition of the original version of the Kitâb-I Bahriyye (Book of the sea) by the great Ottoman navigator and cartographer Piri Reis (1465/79-1553). In 1513 he made an important map that still survives, including the European, African and North and South American Atlantic coasts based on numerous sources, including a lost map drawn by Columbus. He then decided to collect "all his own observations and all previous information that he could not fit onto the maps" in a book. "It is basically a naval guidebook with essential data on the most important coastal routes and large maps and detailed charts … The main portion of the book is devoted to the Mediterranean coasts and islands. … Piri first gives historical and geographical information and then discusses the necessary practical navigational data. The accuracy of many of his statements is indisputable." (DSB). The final chapter of the… Read More

[13] ll.First edition of a splendid series of sepia aquatints with battle scenes, engraved by Skjöldebrand (1757-1834) after drawings by Count Erik Johansen Dahlberg (1625-1703), as painted by Johann Philip Lembke (1631-1711). They glorify the military victories of Charles X Gustavus, King of Sweden (1622-1660), in the war against Poland and Denmark, 1655-58. Dahlberg was one of the most important generals to Charles Gustavus during the war, and played a major role in planning the famous crossing of the frozen Belts. Depicted here are the battles of Czarnova, Columbi, Guesne, Varsovie (Warsaw) (three), Philippova, Ivarnaes, and the crossing of the Saane and Grand Belt. Another aquatint portrays Charles Gustavus defending himself against seven Tartars. The portrait of the Swedish King, regally mounted on horseback, is engraved by Sandrart after a painting by David Klöcher von Ehrenstrahl (ca. 1620-1698).With bookplate. Top and lower part of spine damaged, binding edges rubbed and bumped; some very… Read More

[4], 15, [1 blank] pp.A manuscript containing several summaries of reports on experiments with mines, executed during a military exercise in 1824-1825 by the Dutch military engineers, specifically the battalion of miners and sappers (combat engineers). The exercise took place near the fortified city of Grave and the goal was to test what size and number of mines would be necessary to undermine certain fortifications and to discover methods to further improve existing fortifications so that they could withstand similar attacks. Existing forts with bastions proved to be vulnerable and were transformed into polygonal forts, which were stronger and more adaptable to withstand different types of artillery used in attacks. These forts successfully protected cities well into the 20th century. The summary was compiled by Johan Jacobus Hennequin (1796-1880), a lieutenant adjutant with the miners and sappers and was mainly based upon the work of a lieutenant colonel of the same battalion, Abraham Eichholtz… Read More

[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

Beautiful collection of 10 views of the capital of the Dutch East Indies, Batavia, drawn by Charles Theodore Deeleman (1823-1884), lithographed by G.J. Bos and printed by P.W.M. Trap at Leiden. The 10 views depict the harbour of Batavia, the gate of the former castle of Batavia, the Chinese camp nearby Pintoe Kitjil, Molenvliet en Rijswijk with the building of the Union 'De Harmonie', the post office at Weltevreden, the Waterloo-square, the official residence of the general of the army, view of the north side of the cemetery of Batavia, the military school at Meester Cornelis, Goenong Sahari and the road to Jakarta.Title-page pasted on larger leaf of blue paper; some occasional foxing and staining. Good copy.l Bastin & Brommer 602; Haks & Maris, p. 69; Landwehr, Coloured plates 267.

[16] ll.Complete set of all 16 engravings of Marcus de Bye’s bear print series, depicting bears in various poses, here in its third state. Marcus de Bye (sometimes spelt De Bie or De Bije; 1638/39-1688) was a German painter and engraver known especially for his prints of animals, such as bears, lions, wolves, etc. He produced the present series with engravings of bears after designs by the Flemish (Bruges) painter, printmaker and engraver Marcus Gheeraerts (I) (also known as Marcus Gerards, ca. 1520-1590/91) and is the most extensive De Bye print series recorded by Hollstein, along with with another series of 16 engravings of sheep. The bear series appears here in its third state, printed by Nicolaas I Visscher, identifiable by the "No. 10" that appears below the date in the title of the first print (depicting a bear next to a stone wall).A little frayed and slightly browned along the edges, and with a few spots, but otherwise in good condition. A complete set of 16 engraved prints showing bears.l… Read More

XX, 360; [4], 388 pp.First edition of an illustrated account of the finest and most glorious moments in the history of the Austrian Habsburgs and their successors, from Rudolph of Habsburg in the early 13th century, to François II, whose daughter Marie Louise became Empress of France by marrying Napoleon in 1810. It aims to inspire young people's imagination and excite their courage and admiration, while publicising Napoleon's high connections and legitimacy as Emperor. The author based his facts mainly on William Coxe's History of the House of Austria, translated into French by M. Henri. The book is well produced with lively illustrations.With the book-label of the "Catalogue" of d'Yernault & Gabin, booksellers of the academy of Lyon. In very good condition.l Quérard 7, p. 53; not in Gumuchian.

5, [1], 339, 5; 68 pp.Rare first and only edition of the much expanded Dutch translation of a philosophical treatise for law students, on natural morality as the basis for all law, together with the second edition of the same treatise in the original French. The Monthly review (vol. LII, 1775, p. 596) praises the author's "penetration, wit, and erudition" but on the other hand the original treatise "is one of those productions, which even an attentive reader totally forgets the very moment he has done perusing it". The Dutch translation is followed by four other philosophical treatises by the author, also concerning natural law, discussing the problems of divine law, moral obligations, moral sense, and the question whether the existence of God can be proved by reason.Abraham de Perrenot (1726-1784), was a Swiss lawyer of Huguenot-descent who worked as councillor for the Prince of Orange in the Netherlands.With the bookplate of Thomas Otho Travers (1785-1844), friend of Stamford Raffles. With some… Read More

Colourful panel painting by the leading orientalist painter Henri-Émilien Rousseau of a mounted Bedouin falconer, one of Rousseau's favourite subjects. While the sport of falconry was an important status symbol in the Middle East and Europe generally, for the Bedouins it was a means of survival.Rousseau (1875-1933) was a Cairo-born French painter who divided his childhood between North Africa and France, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under the great Orientalist painter, Jean-Léon Gérôme. He broke from the style of his master, however, and started to paint in a more impressionistic style. Between 1920 and 1930 he travelled extensively through the Rif and Atlas mountains of Morocco, where he befriended the chiefs of several nomad tribes. It was probably here that Rousseau fell under the spell of the Bedouin horsemen, which came to characterize his compositions. In 1927 more than 80 of his works from this period were displayed at the gallery of the influential Parisian art dealer… Read More

Interesting collection of maps of the Beemster polder, which in the 16th century was an eight by nine kilometre inland sea north of Amsterdam. Its reclamation in the years 1607 to 1612, financed largely by the Dutch East India Company, was one of the most ambitious of the early 17th-century drainage projects. Dykes were built and the water was pumped out by 41 windmills, creating a large polder with sorely needed residential and above all farming land near the rapidly expanding city of Amsterdam. Including: (Ad 1:) Apparently the last reprint, not reported in the literature, of a magnificent map of the Beemster Polder, on a scale of about 1:11,500, which "may be called the finest water-authority map of this era" (Fockema Andreae, Gesch. Kartografie Nederland, p. 36). The land was surveyed and the map drawn in 1640 by Balthasar Florisz. van Berckenrode and engraved in 1644 by Daniel van Breen. (Ad 2:) Rare reduced version, in its first state, of the map of the Beemster by Balthasar Florisz. van… Read More

324 pp.Second edition by Trachsler at Zürich, but the first with the Leipzig address added, of the German translation of the popular French Robinsonade for children by Jeanne-Sophie Mallès de Beaulieu, Le Robinson de douze ans, first published at Paris in 1818. The engraved plates show exceptionally fine colouring, each plate in its own way is transformed into a real work of art. All early editions, both in French and in German, are very rare. The earliest German edition listed by Gumuchian is a new translation from 1836, which he labels "très rare".Binding very llightly rubbed, otherwise in fine condition.l Otto Brunken et al., eds., Handbuch zur Kinder- und Jugendliteratur. Von 1800 bis 1850, 582 note; Ullrich IV, 117 f; WorldCat (2 copies); cf. Gumuchian 4946 (new German translation of 1836.

[22], 236 pp.Second (but first illustrated) edition of this well-known work on medieval legal claiming (Rechtsvordering) and justice by means of duels and single combats. It is partly a re-issue - quire A-O - of the first edition of 1699 with the same Delft publisher. Only the title-page and the introduction are different and the last quire (P) is reset accurately including the mistakes in the text and pagination; a dedication to the Rotterdam ex-burgomaster Adriaan Vroesen is added.Cornelis van Alkemade (1654-1737) published a fair number of historical studies, later together with his sun-in-law Pieter van der Schelling who also published the third, much enlarged edition of the Kamp-Regt in 1740 (Rotterdam, Philip Losel), adding his own treatise on dueling: Verhandeling over … het geregtelijk kampen, mitsgaders van de Duëllen.With the book-plate of Claude André Hartman (1886-1975), a dutch officer and since 1953 director of the Dutch army museum at Delft. In very good condition.l NNBW, 6, cols.… Read More

X, 140 pp.First edition of a detailed work on the genus Tarsius (tarsiers) by the German zoologist Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (1807-1892). Today Tarsius species can only be found on Sulawesi and a few other Indonesian islands. The work contains a historical introduction to the genus, which was first described by Buffon; a chapter on the tarsier's appearance, describing its fur and skeleton; and very detailed chapters on the animal's organs, muscular and nerve systems. The hand-coloured plate depicts a tarsier holding on to a branch, the other plates show its skeleton, muscles, nerves and organs, all with details. Some foxing, mostly on the first and last few leaves. Binding rubbed along the extremities. Otherwise in good condition.l BMC NH, p. 290; Nissen, ZBI 757.

152, [4] pp.Only copy located of the second edition of a very rare manual explaining how to tell fortunes using 36 playing cards. It contains detailed descriptions of the meaning of each card, together with the interpretation of all the combinations. Telling one's fortune from cards was a very popular pastime at winter. A preface by the publisher assures people that educated and religious people do play the game as well. According to the title-page it is a translation from the French. The first editions were published by Geysbeek, followed by later editions by Moolenyzer, who started the numbering of the editions anew and added the fictitious name P.B. Bohemillon.Only some faint thumbing and a minor stain in the fore-edge margin of the first two leaves, but otherwise in very good condition. Both ends of the spine missing, affecting the first two letters of the letterpress spine title, but the sides still good.l Cf. NCC (4 copies in total of 1st, 3rd & 4th eds.); Saakes IV (1807), p. 306 (1st ed);… Read More

[6], 52 pp. + 21 plates.Third copy located of the first and only edition of an epitome of ornithology, with 117 hand-coloured illustrations newly printed from the 21 plates originally produced by Jan Caspar Philips (pre-1700-1775) for the ornithological parts of Martinus Houttuyn's great Linnean Natuurlijke Historie (vol. I, parts 4 & 5, 1762-1763). The title-page notes that the book covers the "rarest and most important domestic and foreign birds" with the plates "carefully coloured from life." In Houttuyn's natural history, the plates were coloured only in some copies.With a tear into one plate (II), but otherwise a good copy, with slight browning along a vertical fold in one plate, two vertical folds in each plate and a small marginal tear and a couple minor stains in the text volume. Manuscript annotations in ink. A very rare ornithological treatise and new printing of Houttuyn's ornithological plates.l Saakes IX (1829), p. 3; WorldCat (1 copy); cf. Landwehr, Coloured Plates 82, plates 29-49; not… Read More

[20], "343" [= 363], [1 blank] pp. plus engraved title-page and plates.Undated second edition, the first with an engraved title-page and engraved illustrations, of an important but rare work on mining and mineralogy, giving valuable information on the organization of mining and its employees. It first appeared in 1617 under the title, Bericht, vom Bergkwerck, ..., illustrated with woodcuts. Löhneysen or Löhneiß (1552-1622) borrowed from better known works by Georgius Agricola (1556) and Lazarus Ercker (1580), but he added a great deal of new information on the economic aspects of mining, as well as many other new details, for example, first describing the European smelting of zinc: he refers to it as an accidental condensate in chinks and cracks of furnaces smelting the Goslar lead ores. The very detailed plates clearly illustrate of the practise of seventeenth-century mining.The present second edition is generally the first that can be found on the market. It for the first time has an engraved… Read More

(12) ll.Original edition of this rare pamphlet in which the comet of 1664 is described. The year '1664' is also consealed in a chronogram on the title: "Anno, quo Seraph CVM gLaDIo VIbrante tIbI astat". All the astronomical, theological and astrological implications of the appearance of the comet are discussed at great lenght by Christophorus Richtern, a protestant minister in Gnandstein in Meisssen. The text is dated 27 December 1664.Good copy of this very rare pamphlet, some browning.l Brüning, Bibl. D. Kometenlitt. (Stuttgart 2000), 1220; Serlin, p.160-80.

IV, 79, [1 blank] pp.Willem Broes (1766-1853), a minister of the church who had been appointed by the court to give spiritual counsel to the condemned woman, visited her in prison multiple times. In his book, he describes the crime, but gives even more attention to the Hester's character, almost providing a psychological profile seen through the lens of his Christianity. In Amsterdam, four months after her arrest, Hester was executed by the guillotine along with her maid and lover. The guillotine had been introduced in the northern part of the Netherlands after the old Kingdom of Holland had been integrated in the French Empire in 1810. Although this execution is often considered the first execution by guillotine in the Netherlands, the guillotine was used in Maastricht, then an integral part of France, as early as 1798.This copy of the Berigt contains several neat contemporary annotations, striking through several lines and giving improvements in the margin. It is quite possible that this copy was… Read More

16, 274, [14] pp.Enlarged second edition of the German translation of A lapidary, first published in English in 1652, compiled by Thomas Nicols, and in German in 1675: ''the first independent gemological book by a British author ... based firmly upon Boetius de Boodt'' (Sinkankas). Nicols lists all the true gems, but also covers fossils, coral, pearls, amber, etc. For each he discusses the forms, appearance, properties (diligently but somewhat sceptically reporting magical, mystical and medical claims), origins, classification, uses, prices, engraving on gems, etc. Nicols makes an intelligent synthesis of the earlier literature, as well as original contributions primarily in practical aspects related to jewellery, such as enhancing stones with reflective foils or dyestuffs, hardening softer stones, and the related subjects of falsification and adulteration. In the present edition the first section has been expanded to 35 chapters (instead of 25) and the second has 89 unnumbered chapters, as in the… Read More