A. Asher & Co. B.V.

Arabisch Korallen.Berlin, Georg Reimer, 1876. Folio (36 x 27.5 cm). With a tinted lithographed title page, 5 lithographed plates (including 3 in colour), and 20 woodcuts in the text. Original gold- and blind-tooled green rib-grained cloth with the title lettered in gold on the front board, gilt edges, white watered silk endpapers.

HAECKEL, Ernst. · 1834

€8,500.00 ($9,368.55 | £7,091.26 | ¥1,496,036)

[4], 48 pp.First edition of this splendidly illustrated classic. The plates show corals (2), an Arabic tent camp, and the sunset over the Sinai Peninsula, as well as a genealogical tree of corals.Haeckel (1834-1919), the great biologist, was the first German to adopt the doctr...

Catalogue of articles for a whaling voyage.New Bedford, Massachusetts, E.S. Ritchie, dealer in ship chandlery, and importer of hard-ware. Rodman's Buildings, no. 61 North Water Street, [ca. 1849]. 18mo (16 x 10 cm). The work is printed on blue paper. Original quarter leather and printed stiff paper wrappers.

RITCHIE, Edward Samuel [and Robert GIBBS]. · 1849

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

32, [8 blank] pp.Very rare inventory for whaling ships from New Bedford, printed during the peak of New Bedford whaling. It offers an exhaustive list, arranged in thematic categories, of all the items that had to be packed for the multiple-year whaling voyages, including gear,...

The ferns of southern India. Being descriptions and plates of the ferns of the Madras Presidency.Madras (now Chennai), printed by Gantz Brothers, 1863. Large 4to (31 x ca. 24.5 cm). With 272 lithographed line illustrations of Indian ferns, numbered I-CCLXXI plus XXVIIIA, all signed "Govindoo del. G. Winchester Lith. Madras". Contemporary half brown leather.

BEDDOME, Richard Henry · 1873

€4,500.00 ($4,959.82 | £3,754.20 | ¥792,019)

[1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], XV, [1 blank], 88, VII, [1 blank] pp.First edition of a very scarce book on Indian ferns, published in Madras (now Chennai). It was a pioneering effort in documenting the rich pteridophyte flora of southern India. The 272 detaile...

Journal of the proceedings of the hon[oura]ble(?) East India Company ship Winchelsea.[Aboard the Winchelsea, written and drawn at sea, 1822-1823]. 3 volumes. 8vo. The two sketchbooks contain a total of ca. 100 pages of sketches of ships, done in pencil, including 1 page containing signal flags in colour. With: [Two sketchbooks with pencil drawings of ships]. Contemporary half gold-tooled brown calf.

[INDIA - SHIP JOURNAL - EAST INDIA COMPANY]. · 1822

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

[1 blank], [1], [155]; [98]; [98] ll.A neatly-written and illustrated sea journal kept by James Dudman, the second mate on board the East India Company's ship Winchelsea during a 1822-23 voyage to India. Launched in 1803, the Winchelsea was already a veteran East Indiaman, thi...

Narrative of the mission at Otaheite, and other islands in the South Seas; commenced by the London Missionary Society in the year 1797; with a map, and a geographical description of the islands.London, printed for the society, 1818. 8vo. With a folding engraved map of the islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean, dated June 26, 1818. Modern half red morocco, blue paper sides, with a red morocco title label on the front, lettered and decorated in gold.

LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. · 1795

€2,650.00 ($2,920.78 | £2,210.80 | ¥466,411)

[3], [1 blank], 8, 86 pp.Rare work on the history of Otaheite (present day Tahiti) and the work of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in the region in the late 18th and early 19th century. The present edition is the second, which was published only a few months after the firs...

Ramilletito alegorico de flores poeticas que de su simple huertecillo ofrece á nuestro amado Emperador, en el dia fausto de su coronacion, el rústico Anfriso.[Mexico City], Mexico, Imprenta Imperial del Señor Valdés [= Alejandro Valdés y Téllez Girón], 1822. 22 x 16.2 cm. Marbled paper wrappers.

EL RUSTICO ANFRISO [= Mariano BARAZÁBAL?]. · 1772

€2,500.00 ($2,755.46 | £2,085.66 | ¥440,011)

11, [1 blank] pp.Rare pamphlet of politically themed poems written and published on the occasion of the coronation of Agustín de Iturbide as the first Emperor of Mexico. The author, a certain "El Rustico Anfriso" who is sometimes identified as Mariano Barazábal (1772-?), gathe...

Les aventures de Télémaque.Paris, [Pierre François Didot le jeune], 1785. 2 volumes. Super royal 4to. With 98 hand-coloured plates, namely two engraved title pages in volume 1, 72 illustration plates engraved by Jean-Baptiste Tilliard after drawings by Charles Monnet, and 24 engraved plates with summaries of the "books" in decorative frames. Further with an elaborate armorial device on the title page of each volume. Contemporary gold-tooled dark greenish-brown morocco, a red morocco title and volume label on the spine, lettered in gold, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, gilt edges, marbled endpapers.

FÉNELON, François. · 1732

€32,500.00 ($35,820.92 | £27,113.64 | ¥5,720,137)

[3], [1 blank], [4], 309, [3 blank]; [3], [1 blank], 297, [1 blank], [2] pp.Deluxe hand-coloured edition of Fénelon’s popular didactic novel, printed with newly designed type by Didot. This is also the first edition to include the 72 beautifully engraved plates drawn by the Fr...

Exercice spirituel, ou est enseigné au Chrestien la maniere d'employer le jour au service de dieu.Paris, Pierre Rocolet, 1649. 2 parts in 1 volume. 12mo. With an engraved title, 9 full-page engraved plates, all hand-coloured and heightened with gold, 5 woodcut headpieces, and 5 decorated woodcut initials. Every page has been outlined in red, and some of the chapter headings have been traced with gold. Contemporary elaborately gold-tooled red morocco fanfare binding, with a central quatrefoil inlay of brown morocco on both boards, surrounded by geometric and pointillé designs, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, gilt pointillé edges, marbled endpapers.

V.C.P. · 1638

€8,000.00 ($8,817.46 | £6,674.13 | ¥1,408,034)

[1], [1 blank], [42], 172; 288 pp.Unrecorded edition of a rare devotional work, in a fine Parisian fanfare binding. The binding is most likely produced in the workshop of the publisher, Pierre Rocolet (fl. 1638-1662), that worked for famous collectors as Marie de' Medici, Maza...

[Drop title:] D. Luis Quintanar, Soto, Bocanegra y Ruiz, Mariscal de Campo de los Ejércitos Imperiales, Capitan General y Gefe SUperior Político inerino de esta Provincia ...[Mexico, 12 April 1822]. Ca. 43.5 x 31.3 cm.

[BROADSIDE - MEXICO]. · 1822

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

[1] l.Important, but unrecorded, decree, establishing the Second Regency of the Mexican Empire on the 11th of April 1822. The decree, signed by the Mexican politician José Luis de Quintanar (1772-1837) and effective immediately, names the members of the Second Regency, and ask...

Hippocratis magni orkoc sive jusjurandum.Leiden, Jacob Lauwijck (colophon: typ. Willem Chrisiaensz vander Boxe), 1643. 4to. With the title printed in red and black, a woodcut device on the title, and some woodcut initials and headpieces. Contemporary vellum, sewn on 4 supports laced through the joints, with the title lettered in brown ink at the head of the spine, and blue sprinkled edges.

MEIBOM, Johann Heinrich. · 1590

€1,500.00 ($1,653.27 | £1,251.40 | ¥264,006)

[1], [1 blank], [14], 232, [2 blank] pp.First edition of Johann Heinrich Meibom's (1590-1655) Hippocratis Magni Orkos sive Jusjurandum, one of the most substantial and influential early modern commentaries on the Hippocratic Oath. Meibom was professor, physician, classical sch...

Epitome praeceptorum medicinae chirurgiae cum ampla singulis morbis conuenientum remediorum expositione …Paris, by the widow of Marc Orry, 1612. 8to. With an engraved title, an engraved portrait of the author, several woodcut head- and tailpieces, and decorated woodcut initials throughout. Contemporary overlapping vellum,

PIGRAY, Pierre. · 1532

€950.00 ($1,047.07 | £792.55 | ¥167,204)

11, [1], 771, [33] pp.Rare first edition of a remarkable Latin medical manual by the French surgeon Pierre Pigray (ca. 1532-1613), also known as Petrus Pigraeus. Drawing on decades of practical experience and the teachings of his mentor, the well-known Ambroise Paré (1510-1590...

Kort begryp van de genees ende heel-konst.Amsterdam, widow of Jacob Theunisz Lootsman, 1661. 4to. With a woodcut vignette on the title page, several decorated woodcut initials and woodcut tailpieces. Contemporary overlapping vellum.

PIGRAY, Pierre and Pieter Rutgersz. VAN NIEUSTADT (translator). · 1532

€2,500.00 ($2,755.46 | £2,085.66 | ¥440,011)

[12], 450, [10] pp.Very rare corrected and enlarged edition of the translation into Dutch of this medical manual by Pierre Pigray (Petrus Pigraeus, ca. 1532-1613). Only one other copy has been recorded in institutions, which lacks the title page, which is why the present editi...

The divine classic of Nan-Hua; being the works of Chuang Tsze, taoist philosopher.Shanghai & Hongkong; Yokohama; London, Kelly & Walsh; Kelly & Co.; Trübner & Co., 1881. 8vo. With Chinese characters in the text. Contemporary blue buckram, with the title and author lettered in gold on the spine.

BALFOUR, Frederic Henry. · 1846

€1,750.00 ($1,928.82 | £1,459.97 | ¥308,007)

IX, [1 blank], XXXVIII, 425, [1 blank] pp.First edition of the first English translation of the Zhuangzi, one of the foundational texts of Taoism. The present translation played a key role in the cultural exchange between the East and West in the 19th century. As the text is n...

Fala que fes o P. Fr. Manoel da Crus, Mestre em S. Teologia, Deputado do S. Officio, & das Ordens Militares na segunda instancia, Vigairo Geral da Ordem dos Pregadores da India.(Colophon:) Lisbon, Lourenço de Anveres for Andre Godinho, 1642. Small 4to (20 x 15 cm). With the woodcut crowned Portuguese coat of arms on the title page and 2 woodcut decorated initials. Later gold-tooled vellum.

CRUZ, Manuel da. · 1641

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

[1], [1 blank], [20], [2 blank] pp.Rare Lisbon printing, after the elusive first edition printed in Goa (1641), of a speech given in Goa in October 1640, on the occasion of the formal recognition of the new King of Portugal, João IV and his son and heir Prince Teodósio. The sp...

[Tijgersgracht, Batavia].[Amsterdam?, after 1850]. Frame ca. 19.2 x 27 cm. Watercolour on paper (ca. 14.8 x 22.4 cm), signed "C Springer" in the lower right. In a (near) contemporary gold-coloured wooden frame.

SPRINGER, Cornelis. · 1817

€6,850.00 ($7,549.95 | £5,714.72 | ¥1,205,629)

Beautiful watercolour of the Tijgersgracht in Batavia (present day Jakarta), by one of the most important Dutch painters from the Romantic period. Cornelis Springer (1817-1891) is especially known for his cityscapes. He was a prolific artist, as more than 650 drawings and pain...

A syllabic dictionary of the Chinese language, arranged according to the Wu-fang yuen yin, with the pronunciation of the characters as heard in Peking, Canton, Amoy and Shanghai. Shanghai, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1874. 4to. With a lithographic title page in Chinese, and a letterpress title page in English. The introduction is printed in 2 columns, and the dictionary in 3. Contemporary gold-tooled red morocco.

WILLIAMS, Samuel Wells. · 1815

€1,250.00 ($1,377.73 | £1,042.83 | ¥220,005)

LXXXIV-1252 pp.First edition of a monumental Chinese-English dictionary, the first one of this scale by an American sinologist. It consists of 12.572 characters, arranged under 10.940 headword characters, classified alphabetically under 522 syllables, and includes the pronunci...

A tonic dictionary of the Chinese language in the Canton dialect.Canton, Printed at the Office of the Chinese Repository, 1856. 8vo. With a lithographic Chinese title page, and a letterpress English title page. The text is printed in two columns. Contemporary half brown calf.

WILLIAMS, Samuel Wells. · 1874

€2,500.00 ($2,755.46 | £2,085.66 | ¥440,011)

XXXVI, 832 pp.First edition of a Chinese-English dictionary by the first American professor of sinology, and one of the first American missionaries in China. The work contains 7850 of the most frequently used characters in the Canton dialect. It starts with an introduction, wh...

Nederduitsch en Maleisch woordenboek, gevolgd van een Fransch en Maleisch woordenboek … naar het Engelsch en Maleisch woordenboek van den Hr. W. Marsden. | Dictionnaire Hollandais et Malai, suivi d’un dictionnaire Français et Malai ... d’après le dictionnaire Anglais et Malai de Mr. W. Marsden.Haarlem, Johannes Enschedé and sons, 1826. 4to. With several wood engraving ornaments throughout. Later half black sheepskin.

MARSDEN, William and Cornelis Pieter Jacob ELOUT. · 1825

€500.00 ($551.09 | £417.13 | ¥88,002)

[8], 432 pp.Second edition of a remarkable Dutch-Malay and French-Malay dictionary, partially based on and translated from William Marsden’s famous English-Malay dictionary, and is otherwise compiled by Cornelis Pieter Jacob Elout. The Malay words are given in both Jawi script...

El intérprete chino. Coleccio´n de frases sencillas y analizadas para aprender el idioma oficial de China.Madrid, Manuel Anoz, 1861. 8vo. The text is printed in two columns. Contemporary gold-tooled quarter purple sheepskin.

AGUILAR, José de. · 2023

€2,850.00 ($3,141.22 | £2,377.66 | ¥501,612)

[2], IV, 242, [1 blank], [2] pp.First edition of the first Spanish-language textbook for learning Mandarin, published in response to the growing trade between Spain and China in the 19th century. According to David Martinez-Robles, the work "epitomises how Euro-American lingui...

Pausaniou tes hellados periegesis [= in Greek]. Hoc est, pausaniae accurata Graeciae descriptio, qua lector ceu manu per eam regionem circumducitur ...Frankfurt am Main, Heirs of Andreas Wechel [Claude de Marne, Johann Aubry], 1583. 2 parts in 1 volume. Folio. With a woodcut printer's device on the divisional title page of each part and the final leaf, 30 decorated woodcut initials, 7 woodcut headpieces, and 3 woodcut tailpieces. With: PAUSANIAS and Romolo AMASEO (translator). Pausaniae de veteris graeciae regionibus commentarii luculentissimi.Frankfurt am Main, heirs of Andreas Wechel [Claude de Marne, Johann Aubry], 1583.17th-century overlapping vellum over recycled blind tooled calf panels (from an older binding, unclear if original binding of present work or just general recycling), sewn on 5 vellum tapes previously laced through the joints, the manuscript author on the spine, remnants of closing ties.

PAUSANIAS. · 1516

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

[12], 357, [1 blank] pp., 359-374 cols., 375-377 pp., 378-507 cols., [1 (=p. 508)], [1 blank], [76]; [12], 302, pp., 303-352 cols., [1] pp.Early edition of one of the very first travel guides, providing an extensive description of mainland Greece for travellers. Written in the...