A. Asher & Co. B.V. — Libri

Zeven spelen, van die wercken der bermherticheyd. In rym ghemaeckt en nu tot Aemstelredam opentlyck ghespeelt, Anno 1591.Amsterdam, H. J. Muller, 1591. 8vo. With a woodcut vignette on the title-page, and 6 woodcut illustrations at the beginning of the plays. Contemporary vellum, sewn on 3 supports laced through the joints, with the manuscript title on the spine.

[DUTCH MORALITY PLAYS - REDERIJKERS]. · 1591

€9,500.00 ($10,470.73 | £7,925.53 | ¥1,672,040)

[302] pp.A collection of seven morality plays, performed at the Amsterdam rhetoric chamber De Egelantier in 1591. The plays revolve around Christian virtues and put exemplary behaviour on the stage. The Zeven spelen van die ercken der bermherticheyd are so rooted in Amsterdam ...

Een boeck vande spoocken ofte nacht-gheesten ...Amsterdam, Jan Evertsz. Cloppenburgh, 1610. 8vo. With an oval woodcut vignette on the title page, a large 8-line woodcut decorated initial at the start of the preface and smaller woodcut decorated initials throughout. Contemporary vellum, sewn on three tapes laced through the joints, with the manuscript title and a precious shelfmark(?) in brown ink on the spine, red edges.

LAVATER, Ludwig and Sibrandus VOMELIUS (translator). · 1570

€9,500.00 ($10,470.73 | £7,925.53 | ¥1,672,040)

[1], [1 blank], [14], 287, [1 blank], [8] pp.The first Dutch translation of Ludwig Lavater's De Spectris, lemuribus et magnis atque insolitis fragoribus, first published in Geneva in 1570, is an exceptionally rare find with only four other copies known in public libraries and ...

De vermakelyke heydin, of wonderbare goedergelukzegster, zeggende op een vermakelyke wys, een yder zyn geluk, of ongeluk, wat hem overkomen zal, op twee duyzent, drie hondert en sestig differente manieren.The Hague, Burger Vermeulen, [second half of the 18th century]. 8vo. With an engraved frontispiece and the title-page printed in red and black. Later red and white floral-patterned decorated paper wrappers.

[POPULAR LITERATURE - FORTUNE TELLING].

€2,950.00 ($3,251.44 | £2,461.08 | ¥519,212)

(12),118,(6) pp.Very rare second edition, the third known copy(?), of a chapbook used in a game of fortune-telling to amuse and entertain company at parties, weddings and other festive occasions. The book starts with a "necessary preface" explaining the rules of the game. It t...

Verhandelingh der toover-sieckten. Geschil van de schôot- en steeck-vrije. Geschil van de wapen-salve. Paracelsi vrye-konst. Uyt verscheyde Latijnsche boecken vertaelt, en by een geschikt door D. Jonctys.Amsterdam, Jan van Hilten (colophon: printed by Pieter Dircksz. Boeteman), 1646. 4 parts in 1 work. 8vo. With an engraved title-page showing a magician laying magic bones at a person's sickbed, a small vignette on the title-page, 3 typographical divisional title-pages, 1 small woodcut illustration in the text (p. 200), 3 decorated initials (3 different series) and 3 ornamental tail-pieces. Contemporary overlapping vellum.

SENNERTUS, Daniel and Daniël JONCTYS (translator). · 1638

€3,250.00 ($3,582.09 | £2,711.36 | ¥572,014)

[1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], [24], 331, [8], [1 blank] pp.Rare Dutch translation of this popular work on sorcery and witchcraft, magic potions, the power of imagination on (imagined) diseases, and more. The first edition was published in 1638 but this edition includes a tre...

De Silesische Robinson, behelzende deszelfs geboorte, opvoeding ... minnenhandel, betoonde dapperheid in verscheide belegeringen, gevangenneming en elendige slaverny onder de Turken ... zyne reizen ... dienstneming by de Oostindische Compagnie ... dienstbaarheid onder de Boecaniers ... droevige schipbreuk en elendig eindeAmsterdam, S. van Esveldt 1755, 2 volumes. With a frontispiece by J. C. Philips and 7 full-page engraved plates. Contemporary gilt half-calf, dark brown moroccan letterpiece to spine.

STIEFF, Christian. · 1723

€3,500.00 ($3,857.64 | £2,919.93 | ¥616,015)

[12], 267, [1]; [4], 308 pp.The Silesische Robinson is a very rare Dutch translation of Christian Stieff’s Schlesischer Robinson Oder Frantz Anton Wentzels v. C. eines schlesischen Edelmanns Denkwürdiges Leben, first published in Breslau and Leipzig in 1723/24, one of the firs...

Relatione delle missioni, e christianità che appartengono alla privincia di Malavar della compangia di Giesu.Rome, Francesco Cavalli, 1645. 8vo. With a woodcut Jesuit device on the title page and two woodcut decorated initials (two different series). Contemporary vellum, with remnants of a manuscript title on the spine.

BARRETO, Francisco. · 1598

€9,500.00 ($10,470.73 | £7,925.53 | ¥1,672,040)

[4], 132 pp.A valuable panorama of Christian communities throughout the Indian subcontinent in the middle of the 17th century, written by the Portuguese Jesuit missionary to India, Francisco Barreto. His accounts are based on his own experiences in Malabar, the core region of ...

[MANUSCRIPT]. Catalogue général des plantes cultivées a l'école de botanique du jardin du roi. Selon la classification adoptée par M. Ad. Brongniart, et indiquant en synonymes les noms des plantes de l'ancienne école de desfontaines.Paris, 1848. 4to. In a dark green custom case with thte title on the spine in gold lettering, interior of red calfskin lined with suede. Dark green morocco.

SALLERON, Louis. · 1843

€28,000.00 ($30,861.10 | £23,359.45 | ¥4,928,118)

[10], 17, [1], 425, [31] pp.Wonderful mid-nineteenth century French work on botanical classification. Louis Salleron describes the the purpose of his work as follows: "The replanting of the Botanical School of the Jardin du Roi in 1843 by the care of M Adolphe Brongniart and t...

Essai sur la coca (erythroxylon coca) du Perou.Paris, Rignoux, imprimeur de la faculté de médicine, 1862. 4to. Side stitched through two holes.

DEMARLE, Louis-Gustave. · 1827

€3,250.00 ($3,582.09 | £2,711.36 | ¥572,014)

52 pp.Rare 19th-century work about the medicinal properties of the coca plant, specifically Erythroxylum coca or Amazonian coca, which is native to Peru and Bolivia. The work is an academic (doctoral) thesis and was written by Louis-Gustave Demarle (1827-1890), to receive his ...

Recherches chimiques et physiologiques sur l'erythoxylum coca du Perou et la cocaïne.Paris, A. Parent, imprimeur de la faculté de médecine, 1868. 4to. With a lithographic plate of coca leaves and 7 figures in the text showing the tension on the arteries after ingesting coca in various ways. Side stitched through 2 holes.

MORÉNO Y MAÏZ, Thomas. · 1860

€3,500.00 ($3,857.64 | £2,919.93 | ¥616,015)

[8], 90, [2] pp.This exceptionally rare doctoral thesis is widely considered to be the first ever study on the physical effects of cocaine. It was published less than a decade after cocaine was first created (1860). The research was conducted by Thomas Moréno y Maïz (dates unk...

Dell'historia dei semplici aromati, et altre cose: che vengono portate dall'Indie Orientali pertinenti all'uso della medicina.Venice, Francesco Ziletti, 1589. 2 volumes bound as 1, the first in 4 parts and the second in 2 parts. 8vo. With a woodcut printer's device on the title page of volume 1 and the divisional title page of volume 2, 28 woodcut illustrations in text.Later yellow painted (sheepskin) parchment.

ORTA, Garcia de, Nicolás MONARDES and others. · 1567

€5,250.00 ($5,786.46 | £4,379.90 | ¥924,022)

[32], 347, [5], 131, [13] pp.This herbal, which is very rare on the market, is a translation of Aromatum et simplicium aliquot medicamentorum, which was first published by Plantin in 1567. Although this is the third Italian edition, it includes a letter about foreign drugs, wh...

Petri Laurembergii Rostochiensis, Apparatus plantarius primus...Frankfurt am Main, Matthaeus Merian, [1632].With: (2) LAUREMBERG, Peter. Petri Laurembergii Rostochiensis, Horticultura libris II. comprehensa;...Frankfurt am Main, Matthaeus Merian, [1631].2 works bound in one volume. 4to. Illustrated title pages (18,0 x 13,5 cm), headpieces, initials, 63 copperplate illustrations, endpieces. Vellum with a manuscript title on the spine.

LAUREMBERG, Peter. · 1585

€6,500.00 ($7,164.18 | £5,422.73 | ¥1,144,027)

168, [44]; 196 pp.First editions of the two primary botanical works by Peter Lauremberg, a scientist from Rostock (1585-1639), feature copperplate illustrations engraved either by Matthäus Merian the Elder or from his workshop. These works provide guidance on garden design, in...

Due libri dell'historia de i semplici aromati..Venice, Francesco Ziletti, 1582. 8vo. With a woodcut printer's device on the title page, 17 woodcut illustratons in text and numerous woodcut decorated initials (at least 4 series). 18th-century limp parchment, sewn on 2 leather supports, laced through the joints.

ORTA, Garcia de, Carolus CLUSIUS and Nicolás MONARDES. · 1567

€4,750.00 ($5,235.36 | £3,962.76 | ¥836,020)

[24], 347, [5] pp.Second, expanded Italian edition of De Orta's herbal describing Indian herbs and diseases. The present work is a translation of Aromatum et simplicium aliquot medicamentorum, which was first published by Plantin in 1567, the first Italian edition (1576) was o...

Relatione della nuova missione delli pp. della Compagnia di Giesu, al regno della Cocincina, scritta dal padre Christoforo Borri Milanese della medesima Compagnia, che fù uno de primi ch'entrarono in detto Regno. Alla santita di N. Sig. Urbano PP. Ottavo.Rome, Francesco Corbelletti, 1631. 8vo. With a woodcut Jesuit IHS device on the title-page and woodcut decorated initials. Contemporary vellum with the manuscript title on the spine.

BORRI, Cristoforo. · 1617

€12,500.00 ($13,777.28 | £10,428.32 | ¥2,200,053)

231, [1 blank] pp.First edition of the earliest detailed account of Cochin China (primarily modern Vietnam), written by a Jesuit missionary who lived there in the years 1617 to 1622: "considered one of the best sources of information for the region" (Howgego). It covers the co...

[Late 16th- and early 17th-century album amicorum].[North-western Europe (specifically the vicinity of Brussels?)], [1585-1615]. 4to. With 45 hand-coloured and highlighted in gold engraved plates of horses and their riders from Europe, North Africa, and the Near and Middle East, numbered 1-50 (skipping nos. 2, 21, 27, 35, and 36), 46 hand-coloured and highlighted in gold engraved heraldic plates (sometimes filled in with manuscript notes), 2 hand-coloured manuscript coats of arms on l. 15v, and 1 black and gold hand-coloured manuscript coat of arms on the back pastedown. Contemporary elaborately gold- and blind-tooled mottled calf, with gold lettering on both boards (front: RVB HZC VFB C.) (back: 1590).

[ALBUM AMICORUM - EQUESTRIANISM - HERALDRY]. · 1590

€35,000.00 ($38,576.37 | £29,199.31 | ¥6,160,148)

164 ll.A remarkable album amicorum containing numerous late 16th- and early 17th-century inscriptions, bound in an elaborately decorated binding (dated 1590) and including more than 90 expertly hand-coloured and highlighted in gold engraved plates on equestrianism and heraldry...

R.P. Prosperi Intorcetta societatis Jesu missionarii sinensis testimonium de cultu sinensi, datum anno 1668.Paris, Nicolas Pepié, 1700. 8vo. With a small woodcut ornamental vignette on the title page and some head- and tail-pieces built up from typographical ornaments. Contemporary vellum with the manuscript title on the spine, blue sprinkled edges.

INTORCETTA, Prospero. · 1668

€12,500.00 ($13,777.28 | £10,428.32 | ¥2,200,053)

[2], 318, [10] pp.This particular account on Chinese cults, known as the De cultu sinensis, was authored in 1668 and published posthumously. It was written by Prosper Intorcetta (1625-1696), who embarked on a journey to China in 1656 alongside Father Martini and a group of fif...

[Album containing illustrations and photographs of Australia and India]. [Illustrated title-page:] Contributions thankfully received.Australia [and England and India?], 1870s. Oblong album (ca. 23 x 30 cm). With 36 albumen prints, including 14 photographs of Australia. These include houses, churches, buildings in Springsure, Queensland around 1870, photos of Charles with his horse, a wonderful picture of an "Alligator killed in the Mackay River" and "bottle trees near Taroon", 5 photographs of India: Bengal Camp Delhi, multiple group photos in Darjeeling, a group photo in front of the government house in Calcutta, and the crew of the H.M.S. Narcissus, 17 photographs of Gibraltar, America, Switserland, art pieces and the Dicken family. Further with 24 watercolour paintings of flowers, landscapes and people, including two of the Taj Mahal, and 17 coloured pencil and ink drawings of people. The drawings and paintings are almost all signed S. P. D. or F. E. D., who were likely members of the Dicken family. Most photographs and art pieces are captioned in pencil or brown ink, several leaves are decorated with additional drawings or dried plants. Contemporary maroon cloth, embroidered with yellow flowers. Comes in a custom-made black-cloth clamshell box (internally covered in burgundy cloth), with a black morocco title-label on the spine, lettered in gold, and a folding liner of the same burgundy cloth.

DICKEN, Charles Shortt and DICKEN FAMILY. · 1870

€12,500.00 ($13,777.28 | £10,428.32 | ¥2,200,053)

[50] ll.Album amicorum of a settler in Australia and his family, with rare photographs of Queensland (Australia) and India in the 1870s.The photographs in the album are extraordinary, especially those of the small town of Springsure. In 1841, the first photograph was taken in ...

[Title volumes I-VI:] Flora Batava, afgebeeld door en van wegens J.C. Sepp en Zoon; beschreven door Jan Kops. [Title volumes V-XXIV:] Flora Batava of afbeelding en beschrijving van Nederlandsche gewassen.Amsterdam, J.C. Sepp en Zoon; Leiden, De Breuk & Smits; Haarlem, De Erven & Vincent Loosjes; Den Haag, Martinus Nijhoff, [1800], 1807-1915. 24 volumes and 2 index volumes. Large 4to (30 x 24 cm). With 11 engraved title-pages for volumes 1-11 (the first with a hand-coloured vignette and with letterpress title pages for volumes 12-24) and with 1920 full page (and some double-page) engraved and lithographed botanical plates, all beautifully coloured by hand. With:(2) TRAPPEN, J.E. van der. Algemeen register op de thans uitgegeven acht deelen van de Flora Batava met eenige aanmerkingen. (Preface:) Utrecht, 1844. [Probably published in Amsterdam, J.C. Sepp & Zoon, 1844].(3) [KOPS, J., F.W. van EEDEN and others (eds.)]. Flora Batava. Afbeelding en beschrijving der Nederlandsche gewassen. ... Alphabetisch register, deel I-XIV. Leiden, De Breuk & Smits, 1874.Contemporary(?) uniform half gold-tooled tree marbled calf portfolios, marbled paper sides, with gold-tooled red morocco spine labels bearing the general title and the volume number, all with (remnants of) green ties at all edges. Loose as issued in the portfolios.

KOPS, Jan. (With: P.M.E. GEVERS DEYNOOT; Jhr. F.A. HARTSEN; F.W. van EEDEN; L. VUYCK; and others). · 1920

€17,500.00 ($19,288.18 | £14,599.65 | ¥3,080,074)

The very first beautifully illustrated comprehensive description of the wild flora of the Netherlands: an absolute highlight of 19th-century botanical book production. The present set consists of the first 24 (of 28) volumes, complete with all 1920 hand-coloured engraved and l...

Cruydt-Boeck ...Antwerp, Balthasar II Moretus in the Plantin printing office, 1644. Large folio (ca. 25 x 41 cm). With an integral, richly engraved title-page, with 1470 botanical woodcuts in the text, woodcut decorated initials, woodcut tailpiece with the Plantin compasses device at the end of the index and larger woodcut publisher’s device with the compasses and motto on the last, otherwise blank leaf. Set in textura types with extensive roman, italic and civilité. Contemporary gold- and blind-tooled calf over boards, with brass catch- and anchor-plates and one brass clasp.

DODONAEUS (DODOENS), Rembertus. · 1492

€6,500.00 ($7,164.18 | £5,422.73 | ¥1,144,027)

[1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], [32], 1492, [59], [1 blank] pp.Third and last revised Dutch edition of a classic herbal. The Cruydt-Boeck, not to be confused with the Cruydeboeck first published in 1554, was largely a Dutch translation of the Stirpium historiae pemptades sex, ...

Gerardi de Lairesse, Leodiensis pictoris, opus elegantissimum, Amstelaedami ipsa manu tam aeri incisum, quam inventum.Including: [LAIRESSE, Gerard de, and Nicolaas VISSCHER II]. Appendix. Diversae de signationes, Lairessaea quidem manu inventae et pictae, at aliorum sculptorum manibus artificiosissime aeri incisae et sumptibus Nicolai Visscher editae.[Amsterdam], [Nicolaas Visscher II], [ca. 1690?]. 1mo (52 x 39 cm). With a double-page engraved title-page, an engraved title-page of the appendix and more than 100 engraved illustrations on 56 large double leaves, including 31 double-page engravings. 18th-century half gold-tooled, sprinkled calf, decorated paper over boards, with a gold-tooled red morocco title-label on the spine.

LAIRESSE, Gerard de. · 1641

€27,500.00 ($30,310.00 | £22,942.32 | ¥4,840,116)

[50]; [8] double ll.Beautiful set of engraved illustrations by the Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver Gerard de Lairesse (1641-1711) in its first state, with the engravings bearing the imprint of N. Visscher. Almost all known copies of the present work show differences in c...

Guia medica para prevenir, e tratar o cholera-morbo offerecida ao provedor, e irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericordia.Santos, Typographia commercial de G. Delius, 1855. With the title on the front wrapper set within a decorative frame and the front wrapper and the title page show the same decorative device, including medical instruments, books, the profile of a head with a name(?) in Greek letters. Original publisher's green wrappers.

MOUTINHO DOS SANTOS, Joaquim. · 1811

€2,750.00 ($3,031.00 | £2,294.23 | ¥484,012)

20 pp.Incredibly rare medical guide to prevent and treat cholera morbo (cholera morbus). Apart from the present copy, no other copies have appeared on the market in the last century and only two other copies are held institutionally, one in the United Kingdom (the Wellcome Lib...