Search Results: Titles starting with D from Antiquariaat FORUM BV

Engraved title-page plus [17], [1 blank] pp.Laudatory poem in praise of the new stadholder William IV also known as Willem Karel Hendrik Friso of Orange-Nassau (1711-1751), son of Johan Willem Friso, stadholder of Friesland and Groningen, who drowned at Moerdijk in the year of Willem Karel's birth. The family tree on the engraved title-page shows the coats of arms of the successors to the houses of Orange (left) and Nassau (right) and their wives, both beginning with William of Nassau (1487-1559) and his wife Juliana van Stolberg, the parents of William the Silent, and ending with Willem Karl and his wife. The poem celebrates the fact that Willem Karel, having already inherited the stadholdership of Friesland, Groningen and Drente from his father, and being stadholder of Gelderland since 1720, was proclaimed stadholder of all seven provinces of the Republic in May 1747, after the French had invaded Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and Brabant and had captured Maastricht and Breda. The Van Damme bindery in Amsterdam… Read More

[8], 376, [16] pp.First edition of an account of two Swedish voyages to China and the East Indies, the first by the Swedish minister, botanist and explorer Peter (Pehr) Osbeck (1723-1805) and the second by the Swedish naturalist Olof Torén (1718-1753). Osbeck's journal contains interesting observations on the languages, cultures and domestic economy of the area's he visited, but the work's main value lies in the sections on foreign plants and fish, depicted in the engravings. The book opens with a preface by Osbeck, dated Stockholm, 25 April 1757, followed by Osbeck's journal of his voyage to Java and China (pp. 1-311). His journal has "definite scientific merit" (Stafleu) and appeared in an English translation in 1771. Included on page 312 is a letter from Linnaeus to Osbeck. Osbeck's journal is followed by Torén's En Ostinsie Resa til Suratte, China &c., narrating in seven letters to Linnaeus his voyage to China, from 1 April 1750 to 26 June 1752.The binding shows very slight signs of wear,… Read More

XVI, 496; [4], 622 [= 582] pp.First Dutch edition of Caillié's travels to Timbuktu. In 1826 the Société de Géographie had offered a reward of 10,000 francs to the first European to visit Timbuktu (and return alive). Caillié, by that time already travelling in Africa, was determined to reach the fabled city. Dressed as a Muslim and well-versed in Arabic, he embarked on his journey in April 1827, reaching Timbuktu on 19 April of the following year. "Caillié was sorely disappointed with what he saw: a dreary, sleepy little town on the edge of the desert ..." (Howgego). Nothing was left of the legendary riches of the city, and the population lived in constant fear of Tuareg attack. Caillié remained in Timbuktu for only two weeks, leaving for Morocco on 4 May. He crossed the Sahara, and after many hardships reached Morocco's Tafilet region on 23 July. By way of Fez, Meknes and Rabat he arrived in Tangier from where he sailed for France.Caillié was preceded Benjamin Rose and by Alexander Gordon… Read More

44, 318, [4] pp.First and only edition of the Dutch translation of a journal of a journey through North America and southern Canada by John Palmer, illustrated with an engraved map of North America, hand-coloured in outline. The extensive introduction gives a short statistical survey of North America. On 28 March 1817 Palmer set sail from Liverpool bound for the United States, together with William Cobbett. He visited New York, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, Quebec and more. The journal is of special interest for the contemporary prices of land and provisions, the observations on the country and the people, and the descriptions of the trade and commerce of the principal towns. "Mr. Palmer travelled through ... the greater part of the country he describes; but he confesses that the outlines of his travels were filled up from other books. A plain man of good sense and slow judgment" (Sabin).With a note from the manager of the publishing house… Read More

[1], 337 pp.An extremely rare early 17th-century Turkestani example of the famous Sunni prayerbook “Dala’il al-khayrat”: an Arabic manuscript written in what is today Xinjiang, China.The Dala’il al-khayrat (“Waymarks of benefits” or “Proofs of good deeds”), an extensive book of poems in praise of the Prophet Muhammad, was compiled by the Moroccan Sufi scholar Muhammad ibn Sulaiman al-Jazuli (807-870 AH / 1405-1465 CE) and was quickly received throughout the Islamic world, functioning as a kind of Muslim catechism. The present manuscript, written in so distant an Islamic community as that of Eastern Turkestan, a territory dominated throughout by Mongols or Chinese, where Muslims were commonly viewed as strangers, gives striking evidence of the range and scope of a tradition lasting for almost six centuries: the utopia of Islam as the religion of oneness, aiming to unite all the Muslim peoples in a single community reaching from Europe to the Far East.Occasional notes and/or corrections in the… Read More

Extremely rare British map of Damascus, with a more detailed inset map of the area around Kadem Station (to the west of the city centre), the northern terminus of the Hejaz railway between Damascus and Medina, especially rare in its present first state, published by the British forces only a week after the fall of Damascus. Drafted by the Royal Engineers “from a captured enemy map (dated June 1918) with additional detail of Kadem Station from aeroplane photographs taken by the R.A.F.” and printed under the surveyors’ supervision in the field, probably in Damascus, on a portable press carried by the Field Survey Company.The ancient city of Damascus, one of the final prizes taken by the British and allied forces in World War I, was long a great cultural centre, the head of the Syrian Hajj Road, and more recently the northern terminus of the Hejaz Railway and the headquarters of the Ottoman-German forces in the Middle East. In the last months of the war, British forces met stiff resistance in… Read More

[8], 181, [3 blank] pp. plus folding table and separate map.A fine copy of a detailed and important archaeological survey of sites along the Nile and on its islands, between the first and second cataracts (now at the bottom of Lake Nassar). It covers many important ancient Egyptian and Nubian sites in detail. The map itself shows a 270 km stretch of the Nile from 21° 41' to 24° 9' N latitude from south of Wadi Halfa around what is now the border between Egypt and Sudan to Aswan around the ancient border between Egypt and Nubia. The sites covered include Abu Simbel, Wadi Halfa, the temple of Kalabsha, the island of Philae and many other famous cities and temples. Many copies lack the map, which was probably published separately as well. Book and map in fine condition and virtually untrimmed as they came from the publisher, with only a few minor smudges on the wrapper and edges of the book. Splendid copy.l D. Bertsch, Anton Prokesch von Osten (2005), pp. 171-176 & passim; for the map: IKAR (2 copies);… Read More

[88] ll.Rare enlarged third edition of a well-illustrated work by the often overlooked Franciscan mystic author Frans Vervoort (ca. 1490-1555), "one of the greatest religious lyrists" (Schmitz) and generally said to be "the greatest follower of Ruysbroeck in the 16th century". In 16 chapters he describes how the human soul is threatened from all sides by the enemy's net ("vyants net") and he urges the reader to be careful.Vervoort's works circulated in manuscript until at the end of his life he was "discovered" by Henricus Helstanus, his Franciscan superior who sent some of Vervoort's manuscripts to his friend the Archbishop of Trier (this letter is added at the end of our edition). Vervoort did not want his works to be published under his own name, therefore they appeared under the names of the editors - here Jan Verbrugghen, who also lived at Malines. Before his death, three of Vervoort's works were published, including the present one, first published in 1552 at Antwerp by Hans van Liesveld with 14… Read More

3, [1 blank] pp.Rare first edition of an official decree of the French Revolutionary government declaring that Voltaire "est digne de recevoir les honneurs décernés aux grands-hommes" (is worthy to receive the honours awarded to great men) and that his remains are therefore to be transferred from the Abbey of Sellières, first to the local parish church in Romilly-sur-Seine and then to the Basilica of St Geneviève in Paris. Three days after the present decree, the Assemblée Nationale ordered St Geneviève transformed into a secular temple of French genius, now the Panthéon, where Voltaire was buried alongside Descartes, Rousseau and many others. Finely bound in a simple and elegant style for and with the bookplate of Jankarel Gevers (1944-1998). In very good condition, with only some reinforcing in the fold and some very faint marginal stains, not approaching the text. The binding fine. A fascinating document of Voltaire's symbolic role in the French Revolution.l De Baecque, Glory and terror… Read More

[20], 165, [16], [3 blank] pp.Very rare sixth edition of the Dutch translation of the Pharmacopoea Leovardiensis first published in Latin in 1687 and completely revised and expanded for the Dutch translation by Feyo Johannes Winter. The Dutch translation of this pharmacopeia proved very popular throughout the country, superseding those of Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. The translation of the present edition seems to be altered in comparison with the third edition.With the bookplate of Wilhelm F. Daems (1911-1994), a pioneer of anthroposophic pharmacy and an authority on the history of medicine and pharmacy, and an inscription noting the purchase of this pharmacopeia from Daems in 1987. A restoration in the fore-edge margin of a leaf in the register and some occasional minor thumbing, otherwise in very good condition.l Daems & Vanderwiele, p. 146; STCN (3 copies); V. Eeghen & V.d. Kellen 835; WorldCat (2 copies, incl. 1 the same).

XXXII, 326, [2 blank]; [2 blank], 412 pp.Third (or second?) edition of one of the key works of the Radical Enlightenment, published in the same year as the first edition. The author had evoked huge outcry with the publication of De L'esprit (1758), a carefully argued essay on the mind, in which he roundly rejected metaphysics and the idea of Truth, replacing Christian morals by purely utilitarian ethics and stressing the importance of education as the key to moral behaviour. In De l'homme, Helvétius expanded and clarified his views, provoking even Diderot to write a Réfutation. The present edition was most likely printed in France, and, as Smith argues, it was probably this edition that the Paris Parliament condemned on 10 January 1774.Binding slightly rubbed; top of spine slightly worn. Fine copy.l Smith, Bibliography H.3; cf. Cioranescu 33651 (other edition); for Helvétius's philosophy: Blom, A Wicked Company, pp. 126-129.

VIII, 136 pp.Second edition of an account of the battle that nearly ended the voyage of the Dutch corvette Medusa on its way to Yokohama, written by the commander of the ship François de Casembroot (1817-1895), captain-lieutenant in the Royal Dutch Navy. On 11 July 1863, the Medusa was attacked by the ships and batteries of the daimyô of Chôshû, Mori Takachika, as she passed through the straits of Shimonoseki at the entrance to the Inland Sea. The daimyô opposed the official policy of the shogunate to welcome foreigners in Japan and attacked the Dutch ship. Although the crew bravely fought back, Medusa was struck 20 times and four members of the crew were killed. The incident lead to the so-called Shimonoseki Campaign in which Dutch, French, British and American ships retaliated and secured a safe passage for foreign ships through this important stretch of water. Included at the end are several appendices, including an list of the entire crew of the Medusa, letters, extracts from the ship's log,… Read More

[16], "354"[= 364], [8] pp.First edition, second issue, of a richly illustrated book on practical shipbuilding by Cornelis van Yk, a very important source for the history of the construction and equipment of Dutch ships in the 17th century.The first four chapters discuss and illustrate ancient and foreign ships, from Noah's ark, East Asian and Chinese ships to Spanish galleys and four experimental ships (all illustrated), including a boat built in Rotterdam in 1653, nicknamed "Het Malle Schip" (The Crazy Ship), that was driven by paddle-wheels. The present copy contains the cancel (2*1-2) in which the author has replaced his comment on Witsen's 1690 Architectura Navalis by a list of contemporary works on shipbuilding, mainly in French and English.With the binding worn, some plates with minor tears (restored) and frontispiece slightly soiled.. Good copy.l Bruzelius 1697; Klaversma & Hannema 1503; Landwehr & V.d. Krogt, VOC 1109; Nijhoff, "Een Variant in van Yk's Scheeps-Bouw-Konst" in Het Boek, 1921,… Read More

[1 blank], [7], 286, [2 blank]; [2 blank], [6], 55, [1 blank] pp.Second, greatly expanded edition of a popular instruction book for the planting and cultivation of flowers and fruit trees and the tending of a greenhouse, especially intended for young people and first published as De nieuwe Nederlandse bloem-hof. The text comprises five treatises, devoted to flowers in general, tulips, carnations, trees & tree fruits and orange & lime trees. Each treatise after the first has its own divisional title-page. All is taught in short chapters in clear and succinct instructions. The grafting of tree branches is illustrated with 4 engraved figures, each on a separate plate. The rarer, separately published Register lists hundreds of varieties of fruits and seeds, with extensive space left blank so that the reader can add other varieties. The preface notes that the book is especially intended for both amateurs and professionals, but especially for the young who will in the future own and care for flower gardens… Read More

[20], 423[=424], [2 blank], [18] pp.First edition of an important biography of the German philosopher and theologian of the Protestant Reformation Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), who worked closely with Martin Luther. It was written by Melanchthon's close friend Joachim Camerarius (1500-1574), a classical scholar who was able to consult a large amount of personal correspondence, which makes this work a valuable source. From the library of Neidstein castle in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria. With some manuscript notes on the first flyleaf and marginal notes throughout, some minor restorations to the title-page, slightly browned and a faint waterstain in the upper margin. A very good wide-margined copy.l Ebert 3391; IA 130.520; VD 16 C502; for the binding: Goldschmidt, Gothic & Renaissance bookbindings 227.

[12], 301 ll.Rare second edition (the first in the northern Low Countries) of the first Dutch translation of Livius’s monumental and well-known history of Rome: Historiarum ad urbe condita, in four parts, from Rome’s founding, traditionally dated to 753 BCE, through the reign of Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE). The Roman historian Titus Livius (ca. 59 BCE-17 CE) wrote it in 142 books, but only 35 are still extant. It mixes an annual chronology with a narrative, often interrupting a story to announce the elections of new consuls, following the Roman chronology and era. Livius wrote it mostly during the reign of Augustus.Haebler records only one roll with a portrait of Philipp I, Landgrave of Hessen (p. 384), and it includes Jan Huss rather than Philip Melanchthon. The roll with 3 unlabelled heads in profile is wider than any recorded by Haebler, longer than most and none of his are dated. Eindband datenbank roll r000965, a very similar roll with portraits and arms of the same four reformers, was used in… Read More

Folio-edition of Van der Aa's voluminous collection of important voyages to the East and West Indies and other countries, undertaken by all European countries, other than the Dutch. Including voyages by Acosta, Balby, Cabot, Cavendish, Chester, Columbus, Cortes, Coutinho, Da Cunha, Drake, Evesko, Frobisher, Gallonye, Da Gama, Garay, Garcia, Gilbert, Jenkinson, Harcourt, Herberer, Magallanes, Mildenhal and Cartwright, Mouette, Petelin and Andrasko, Raleigh, Saris, De Soto, etc.The work is partly based on Johan Lodewijk Gottfried's rare Historia antipodum (1631), but largely extended by Pieter van der Aa, known for his ambitious projects. Where other publishers were primarily concerned about the profits, Van der Aa wanted to publish outstanding books. For the present series of travels he either reused and revised older Dutch translations or had the original accounts translated for the first time into Dutch. In 1706 he already started publishing the translated voyages both in small (8vo) and large… Read More

[16], 347, [4] pp.Best edition of a poem on the characteristics of animals by the Byzantine author Manuel Philes (ca. 1275-1340), in the original Greek with Gregorius Bersman's 1596 Latin translation and commentary by the Dutch philologist Johannes Cornelis de Pauw. The text, based on Aelian and Oppian, deals mainly with birds and mammals.The present edition corrects the many errors of earlier editions and is dedicated to Abraham Gronovius, later librarian of Leiden University Library.Back of title-page with a stamp of the British Museum Library and a stamp of the library's 1831 duplicate sale. Title-page slightly soiled, otherwise in good condition.l Graesse V, 263; Wood, p. 518; for De Pauw: V. d. AA VI, p. 43; Biogr. Universelle XV, 143.

[4], 271, [1 blank] pp.First edition of an important mathematical treatise by Ludolf van Ceulen (1539-1610), a widely-travelled fencing master and mathematical instructor. Van Ceulen devoted much of his time to the computing of pi. In the present work, "he reached thirty-three decimal places, always enclosing pi between an upper and a lower limit" (DSB). Occasional browning, some contemporary annotations, repaired tear on title-page and a a roughy erased library stamp damaging the paper (pp. 99-100). Good copy.l Bierens de Haan 839; Poggendorff I, col. 414; Simoni C-85; DSB III, p. 181.

216 pp.A charming little agenda 12mo edition, in the original Latin, of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino's most famous and most popular work, known in English as The art of dying well. Roberto Bellarmino (1542-1621) or Robert Bellarmine, a learned and pious Italian Jesuit had a great reputation with Catholics and Protestants alike. He joined the Jesuits in 1560 and completed his studies at Louvain beginning in 1569, then served as professor of theology there until he returned to Italy in 1576. He became professor of theology at the new Roman College and was appointed Cardinal in 1598/99. Though a member of the committee that condemned Galileo's theses, when Galileo was much troubled by the fact that people thought he was under some severe penance, Bellarmino wrote him a certificate stating that Galileo was under no penance whatsoever, but only had signed a declaration that his theses were in contradiction with the words of the scripture. One of his famous sayings was "an ounce of peace is better than a… Read More