Search Results: Titles starting with W from Asher Rare Books

A manuscript copy of a 1568 manuscript map of what were then islands and waterways in Zeeland, covering the eastern half of Walcheren, most of Zuid-Beveland, the southern edge of Noord-Beveland and some smaller islands. It includes the cities of Middelburg, Veere, Vlissingen and Goes, and about twenty smaller towns and villages. It is executed in pen and watercolour in subtle shades ochre, blue, yellow, grey, green and pink and represents the cities and towns pictorially (with major churches and sometimes smaller buildings and fortifications), shows roads, 7 boats and ships in the water and sandbanks. The map was originally drawn by the surveyor Lieven Ruyte (ca. 1553-1601), apparently based on his own survey, and covers an area of about 19×27 kilometres. The original map of 1568 is said to have been in the hands of the town clerk of the city of Goes but is now known only from copies. With some foxing, mostly in or near the margins, but otherwise in very good condition. Some minor tears are confined… Read More

[8], 278 pp.Rare complete copy of the first and only edition of a passionate and thoroughly illustrated chronicle of the atrocities committed by Spain in the Low Countries. Although it includes an account under the date 1396 and reports various events from 1518 to 1555 (the title-page indicates that it begins with the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, which would be 1519), it quickly moves forward to the accession of King Philip II of Spain in 1556 and his draconian oppression of Protestants and of those who opposed Spanish rule in the Low Countries. It continues up to 1609, when Spain and the Netherlands agreed to a twelve-years' truce in the Eighty Years' War. The occasion for the publication was the expiration of that truce in 1621 and the resumption of the war. As a political polemic, it aimed to remind people of Spain's offenses, stoke fear and incite anti-Spanish feelings to gain support for the war. The Spanish atrocities (bad enough from any point of view) are therefore depicted as… Read More

[2], 96; [2], 10 pp.Rare first edition (here in the 1657 issue, but first published in 1655) of a political history of England written in 1610 by the famous antiquary and politician Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631). Although the title-page names no author, he signs the text on G8v: “Robert Cotton Bruceus” and The French charity, added with a separate title-page as a sort of appendix, has also been attributed to him. Although The French charity is not named on the present title-page, it was named on the 1655 title-page and is clearly intended as part of the edition. Cotton wrote this political history of Great Britain in 1610 at the request of King James I for the education of his sixteen-year-old son, the Crown Prince Henry, Prince of Wales, who died two years later. In 1657 he reissued it with a cancel title-page (still under Oliver Cromwell, but now referring to the state as the “Commonwealth”, a term now usually reserved for the period before 1653) and in some copies also a frontispiece… Read More

Characteristic original watercolour botanical drawing by Johanna Helena Herolt (1668-1728), the eldest daughter of Maria Sibylla Merian and Johann Andreas Graff. It shows a wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri) and double hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) with two inchworm moths (Geometriae) in the air, two inchworms and two pupae. She probably drew it in Amsterdam around 1700. Though she still remains in the shadow of her mother, she was a fine flower and insect artist in her own right and there is growing appreciation of her work. Her watercolours, more baroque than her mother's and often with brighter colours, radiate vigour and vivacity: the flowers, painted with intensity in every detail, really come to life. Reitsma, p. 135, notes that the prices for the flower watercolours increased with the number of insects, so the present watercolour must have been unusually expensive.Characteristic watercolour in fine state of preservation. Herolt herself may have revised the upper part of the hyacinth.l Cf.… Read More

Watercolour drawing of a column of horse artillery of the Batavian Republic during the aftermath of the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in 1799. As part of the War of the Second Coalition, an expeditionary force of British and Russian troops invaded North Holland in the Batavian Republic, the Dutch state established by and allied with the French Republic. After 5 weeks of fighting against a combined army of Batavian and French forces, the badly supplied Anglo-Russian army capitulated and was able to negotiate a strategic withdrawal.Together with his father Dirk (1748-1805), Jan Anthonie Langendijk visited the battlefield a few days before the final retreat of the Anglo-Russian troops, as well as other parts of the country where the effects of the campaign were visible, either through the mobilisation of the armies or the presence of prisoners-of-war. Both artists produced drawings of battles fought during the campaign (at which they had not been present), as well as scenes of the aftermath (at which… Read More

[2], XIV, [2], 152; XVI, 256; 8, [2], 270, [1 blank] pp.First and only edition of a very rare pioneering work of botany in Wales, cataloguing the plants of the Isle of Anglesey (off the coast of northwest Wales), bound together with a rare list of plants in the Southampton Botanic Garden. With the text in Latin, English and Welsh. Slightly foxed, ex-library stamps on the first and the last end-paper. Top of title-page cut off and repaired with the missing text written in ink.l Ad. 1: Pritzel 2076; not in Arnold Arboretum; Ad. 2: Arnold Arboretum II, p. 42.

[18], 252; [8], 127, [1], 328, 48; [8], “278”[=276], [12] pp.Penultimate edition of the most influential medical work in the Low Countries during the 17th-century, the collected works of Johannes Van Beverwijck (1594-1647). It was very popular, partly through the inserted poems by Jacob Cats and its illustrations. The three main parts contain a general survey of the several elements of medicine, varying from medical folklore and herbal knowledge to anatomy and chirurgy. At the end of the third part "Heel-konste" letters from and to Van Beverwijck as well as some other important letters are issued. Among these are letters of Descartes on the motion of the hart, written ca. 1637-1643, to and from Anna Maria van Schurman (ca. 1640), and William Harvey. Van Beverwijck was a very well-read man and all his writings include many references to ancient and contemporary authors on the subject. With owners' inscriptions on flyleaf and some modern underscoring and annotations in pencil. Front board and spine… Read More

CXXXIIII, [4] ll.Fourth Dutch edition of a description of all lands and peoples of the world and particularly their customs and religious beliefs, with chapter 4 devoted to America and chapter 3 on Asia giving extensive coverage to Syria, Arabia and the Middle East, including a description of Mecca and the Kaaba. Franck (1499-1542/43) studied at Heidelberg, became a priest and in 1527 a Lutheran minister, but was critical of Catholics, Lutherans, Zwinglians and Anabaptists, and found common ground with heretics such as Michael Servetus. His Weltbuch, first published in German in 1534, a remarkable early example of comparative religious studies, came under attack from the established church and he was accused of AnabaptismIt was translated into Dutch in 1560 and proved very popular among Dutch Lutherans and especially Anabaptists, forming a keystone in the thought and writings of Menno Simons and the Mennonites.With some mostly marginal worm holes in the first few pages, occasional browning and water… Read More

XIX, [1 blank], 659, [1 blank] pp.First and only edition of a geographical handbook to the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, published on behalf of the Naval Intelligence Division (NID) of the British Admiralty. "The text is aimed at arming British Naval officers with everything they need to know of the ways and worlds of western Arabia. They can learn the different types of myrrh; the nature and position of the port of Qunfidha in south-western Arabia; that both whooping-cough and chicken-pox 'are very common'; and that the telephone service in Saudi Arabia is 'rudimentary'" (Canton). At the end are some appendices, one containing a list of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs. Appendix D deals with plants of economic importance in the Arabian Peninsula, enlisting (fruit and nut)trees, medicinal plants, vegetables, spices and others, with a short comment on their usage.With some library and deacession marks. A few of the folding plates slightly frayed at the margin. Green cloth binding discoloured at the… Read More

VII, [1], 186 pp.First and only separate edition of the first part of Karl Martin's research voyage to the Dutch West Indies. Johann Karl Ludwig Martin (1855-1942) was a leading German-Dutch geologist and professor of geology at Leiden. He is known for his geological research in the Dutch colonies, mostly the East Indies but the present work comprises only the Dutch West Indies and in particular inner Surinam. The present first part treats the land and people of Surinam. Martin went down the Surinam River, deep into the jungle, encountering native tribes and strange rock formations. Photographs were made, of which 8 are included as collotype plates at the end of the work. They depict mostly the coastal areas and one shows a train riding along a very steep cliff.Binding a little worn and very little frayed, spine slightly cracked, head and bottom of the spine a little damaged. Some plates slightly browned, but overall in good condition with some bolts unopened.l Cat. NHSM p. 264; Van Doorne/ Van Kempen… Read More

[2], VI, 91, [1]; 91-180; 181-262 pp.First and only edition of Nikolai Michailovich Przewalski's (1839-1888) work on the comparatively small fish fauna of Western China, ca. 190 species. The work was published and edited by Salomon Markovich Herzenstein (ca. 1854-1894). This copy is from the collection of the well-known ichthyologist George Sprague Myers (1905-1985).Library stamps of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge (MA) and then George Sprague Myers (acquired from G.S. Myers, 1928) and several manuscript notes in ink mostly intended for the binder. Very good copy, the titles reinforced on the reverse with paper, sometimes repaired with tape, a few inner margins reinforced.l BMC NH, p. 1786; Dean, p. 572; Nissen, ZBI 3248.

[6], 202 pp.First edition of a biography of General Sir Edmund Allenby (later, Field Marshal and Viscount, 1861-1936). The work treats his Arabian period as commander of the cavalry division in Palestine during the First World War. Allenby made his name in Palestine. He rebuilt the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, established up-to-date Western Front standards of operations, and restored the force's confidence and morale. Allenby's forces defeated the Turks at the final Battle of Megiddo (September-October 1918) to occupy Transjordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Afterwards, he became high commissioner in Egypt. The present biography is largely based on accounts of figures connected to Allenby, such as T.E. Lawrence "of Arabia". Lowell Jackson Thomas (1892-1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveller.With the large ex libris bookplate of D.C. D'Arcy Orders (a black-and-white printed helmed coat-of-arms) on the front paste-down and a small black stamp in the upper outer corner of the first… 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

28 pp.The only known copy of the only known work by Welsh missionary in India Thomas Evans. He likely wrote and published this book, offering words of comfort based on Christian scripture, while he was on medical leave in Mussoorie, making the book a very rare specimen of nineteenth century provincial printing in India. Thomas Evans (1826-1906) was a Welsh missionary working for the Baptist Missionary Society in India from 1855 until his death in 1906. Shortly after his arrival in India, he started learning Hindi and subsequently became known as an open-air preacher. In 1861 after moving to Delhi, he was invited to join the government as secretary of the famine fund to relieve suffering caused by the draught of the previous year. Evans suffered from various health issues, which only worsened during his open-air preaching and other missionary work around India. He was granted furlough several times on account of his health. On some of these occasions he returned to visit Wales and on others he chose to… Read More

[2], [2 blank], [11], [1 blank]; 18, [6 blank] pp.Two journals kept by the Dutch Lieutenant Colonel Volkier Rudolph Bentinck (1738-1820), usually called Rudolph or sometimes Rudolphus, in the Dutch and British army, who had earlier fought alongside George Washington in the British army in America. They give an intimate and very personal view of daily life in the army, especially social life. It does show Bentinck inspecting fortifications (at least once climbing to the top) and mines in Maastricht (including the fort on “Montagne de St Pierre” [= Sint-Pietersberg]), Den Bosch (Bois-le-Duc), Bergen op Zoom, Namur (also an armaments foundry) and elsewhere. It shows his enthusiasm for Captain Schoester’s collection of battle plans (“Il me montra une fort belle collection de plans des battailles des deux derniers gueres” and later “Je passai chez Monsr de Shoester le matin, pour en tirer encore quelques informations concernant ma collection de livres et plans militaires”) and he later views… Read More

xii, 80 ll [of which 80 pp. containing 1034 Japanese characters printed in two columns].Rare original edition of one of the first - if not the first - attempt of a Japanese-German/English dictionary, with beautiful imprint of ‘Japanese’ characters, executed by the well-known printing office of the Armenian Mechitarist Order noted for their expertise in oriental printing, depicting various Kanji (Chinese script) together with the Kata-kana (sound, pronunciation) characters. On the facing pages (1-80) are printed the German (extensive) and English (shorter) translations, definitions and explications, together with the Japanese transliterated version and synonyms. Only this first part of this dictionary was published (ending with Ittan and Ittai of the ‘I-ro-ha’alphabeth) due to limited commercial success.Yellow wrappers are slightly dust-soiled and the spine and edges are slightly damaged/frayed, sewn as issued, uncut, the outer edges of the margins are very slightly browned. This rare dictionary is… Read More

VI, [4], 469, [19]; [8], 533, [1 blank], 11, [1 blank]; [8], 508, [11], [1 blank]; [8], 427, [9], [2 blank]; [8], 365, [9]; [8], 426, [10]; [10], 501, [7]; [8], 458, [11], [1 blank]; [8], 339, [10], [1 blank]; [4], 432, [13], [1 blank] pp.Second copy located, of the second edition of the Dutch translation of an extensive and widely published radical critique of European overseas expansion, written by the French author Guillaume Thomas François Raynal (1713-1796) in collaboration with figures associated with the Encyclopédie, above all the famous French philosopher Denis Diderot (1713-1784). The contents are partly based on travel accounts and data gathered from an unprecedented number of government documents, furnished by a network of officials and informants in all the colonial powers."The book was condemned by the French Parliament and church dignitaries because of its attacks on the clergy and on European civilized peoples for their conduct and policies towards the natives in the Indies. This… Read More