Search Results: Titles starting with U from Asher Rare Books

[2], 48 pp.The German missionary to India Ferdinand Kittel (1832-1903), presented in 1876 with his Ueber den Ursprung des Lingakultus in Indien a study on the origins of the cult around the lingam in India. The lingam is a sacred object in Hinduism that represents the god Shiva and is considered a symbol of generative power. It is commonly found in Shaivite temples and private shrines across India and is often placed in the centre, surrounded by other deities. Ferdinand Kittel was a missionary of the Basel Mission who made significant contributions to the study of the South Indian language Kannada through his linguistic work. Between the ages of 17 and 21, Kittel attended the Basel Mission Seminary. In 1853, he was sent to India. Unlike other missionaries, he focused more on the language and culture of the local population, leading to the creation of a Kannada dictionary that was published in 1894 with around 30,000 entries.The wrappers are slightly browned and slightly damaged at the head of the… Read More

[2], 48 pp.The German missionary to India Ferdinand Kittel (1832-1903), presented in 1876 with his Ueber den Ursprung des Lingakultus in Indien a study on the origins of the cult around the lingam in India. The lingam is a sacred object in Hinduism that represents the god Shiva and is considered a symbol of generative power. It is commonly found in Shaivite temples and private shrines across India and is often placed in the centre, surrounded by other deities. Unlike the sacred images of deities (murtis), the lingam is aniconic, being simply a cylindrical shape. It is typically paired with the yoni, a disk-shaped emblem of the goddess Shakti, to symbolize the union of the male and female principles and all of existence. TFerdinand Kittel was a missionary of the Basel Mission who made significant contributions to the study of the South Indian language Kannada through his linguistic work. Between the ages of 17 and 21, Kittel attended the Basel Mission Seminary. In 1853, he was sent to India. Unlike… Read More

IV, 62 pp.First edition of a work on polyps (coral and sea anemones), and in particular on the genus Actinia (sea anemones), by the German doctor and zoologist Wilhelm Rapp (1794-1868). It opens with a brief preface and an introduction to coral and its classification. The first half of the main text describes different orders and families of coral, both stony and soft coral, including Milleporidae, Pennatulacea, Zoanthus, Madrepora, and more. The second half covers the genus Actinia, with descriptions of 23 different types of anemones, several of which are depicted on the colour plates.In very good condition, with only a few faint spots. Boards slightly rubbed.l BMC NH, p. 1646; Nissen, ZBI 3295.

[2], XIV, 242, [2] pp.First edition in German of a detailed account of waves, concentrating on ocean waves. It covers both practical and theoretical aspects, with chapters on the motion of waves and of water within waves, the theory of travelling waves, new developments in wave theory, various phenomena, the influence of the form of the sea floor on waves, the effects of wind and causes of floods, their effects on the coast and the silting of harbours, the theory and practice of sea walls and other constructions, harbour improvement, and a more detailed discussion of various sorts of constructions. The illustrations include diagrams illustrating the theory of wave flow, cross-sections of various shapes of sea floors and their influence on the waves, plans and sections of protective constructions (wharves, dams, sea walls, etc.) and hydraulic devices. It makes use of specific historical examples, such as the destruction of the dam at St. Jean de Luz in 1822.A good copy, with the text leaves slightly… Read More

[2 blank], [10], 236 pp.First and only edition of a description of Japan by the Dutch naval commander Willem Johan Cornelis Huyssen van Kattendyke (1816-1866), recording events of his service in Nagasaki and surroundings in 1857, 1858 and 1859. It is a revised excerpt from his diary, with a lithographed map by H.O. Wichers, based on the maps and surveys of Von Siebold and recent surveys by Huyssen van Kattendyke's colleagues. The author went to Japan to deliver the steamship Japan, built for the Japanese emperor, and to relieve the Dutch navy unit that had been stationed there since 1855. During his stay in Nagasaki he recorded information about the people he met, the expeditions he made to surrounding islands, etc. It describes the last years of Japan's sakoku policy.Faint browning along the extremities, first blank slightly foxed, and the map mounted on Japanese paper restoring a tear, with some spots; good copy. Binding slightly rubbed along the extremities and the head of the spine slightly… Read More

29, [1 blank] pp.Reprint of two dissertations: one by Carl Bruzelius on cultivation experiments with oats (Avena elatior), and the other by P.J. Monthans on the alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum), both with Engelbert Jörlin as praeses. Slightly browned with some minor foxing, engraved plate somewhat faded.l Krok, p. 334 (Jörlin, sub 6); WorldCat (2 copies).

[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

[8], "259" [= 267], [1, 4 blank] pp.First illustrated edition in any language of Jocelin’s famous Legacie, intended for children and adults, with 25 beautiful engravings, mostly made for this edition by Jan Luyken, and the first edition to supplement the Legacie with an earlier related Anabaptist work presented as a children's book - each of the two presents a mother's spiritual legacy to her child(ren) - together with a new children's hymnbook (songs for morning and evening prayer). They were published together as a single edition, each of the three main works with its own title-page (with imprint), but with a single series of page numbers and quire signatures. They are also here for the first time accompanied by additional verses, at least mostly written for this edition by the Mennonite poet Gezine or Geesje Brit (1669?-1747) and Mennonite preacher Adriaan Spinneker (1678-1745), apparently the moving spirits behind the present edition. Brit contributed a laudatory verse to the first work and added… Read More