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A study on the evolution of antique books prices.
«Fine books are the best investment», both in a financial and in a cultural viewpoint.
(Madame de Pompadour and Damascène Morgand.)
A STUDY ON THE EVOLUTION OF ANTIQUE BOOK PRICES, COMPARED TO VARIOUS INVESTMENTS :
« Dow Jones » Index of the New York Stock Exchange
The evolution price of American real estate since 1890
« twenty-franc piece »
« hectare of ploughable soil in Ile-de-France »
« French cost of building index »
« real purchasing power in 2008 real terms »
This study made with the help of the Bank Lazard’s services is the first one dedicated to the evolution of the real prices of rare and precious books from the 19th century to nowadays. It should catch the attention of book lovers and wise financiers and increase the interest in our books of “upper culture” so great the results of mid and long-term are striking.
If you want to read this study written in French, click on the following image :
SOON AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH !
Travels through the Ottoman Empire.
The rare first edition of this work dedicated to the Ottoman Empire,
handsomely illustrated by the de Bry brothers.
Frankfurt, 1597.
BRY, Johann Theodor et Johann Israel. I. Acta Mechmeti i Saracenorum Principis natales, vitam, victorias, imperium et mortem eius ominosam complectencia. Genealogia successorum eiusdem ad modernum usque Mechmetem III.
II. Vaticinia. Severi et Leonis in Oriente…
Frankfurt, Jo. Theodorum & Jo. Israelem de Bry, 1597.
2 parts in 1 volume 4to [18.9 x 14.7 cm]. (1), (8) pp. with the frontispiece, the dedication and the notice to the reader, pp. 1-58, (1) bl.l., pp. 59-96, (6) pp. with the index, (1) bl.l.
Contemporary limp vellum, title handwritten on the spine, ties.
Rare first edition of this important work dedicated to the Ottoman empire.
Cicognara 1863 ; Praz S. 291 ; Göllner 2286 ; Blackmer Coll 464 ; Atabey 331.
The text is divided into 2 distinct parts. The first one recounts the history of Islam since its creation by Mahomet until the sultanate of Mahomet III from 1595 to 1603; the second part relates a prophecy of the fall of the Ottoman Empire. 
The rich and superb illustration by the Bry brothers consists of 9 plates in the first work illustrating the life of the prophet and 16 finely engraved emblems in the second text.
« Dieci tavole oltre il bellissimo frontespizio ornano il primo opusculetto, e 16 emblemi intagliati con grande accuratezza trovansi nel secondo. In tutto tavole 26 accompagnate dal testo relativo ». (Cicognara 1863).
A very fine copy of this rare work dedicated to the Ottoman Empire, preserved in its contemporary vellum.
The last copy to appear at auction was sold by Sotheby’s London on the 28th of May 2002 for £ 9 560 (= € 15 000). It was bound in 19th century morocco by Hardy and was missing 3 leaves.
Price: €16 500
*****
First edition of the most important work from the 18th century
dedicated to the Ottoman Empire.
Prestigious copy with the first volume contemporary bound with the posthumous arms
of Maria Theresa of Austria, Holy Roman Empress and queen of Hungary and Bohemia.
MOURADJA D’OHSSON, Ignace de. Tableau général de l’empire Othoman, divisé en deux parties, dont l’une comprend la Législation Mahométane ; l’autre, l’Histoire de l’Empire Othoman. Dédié au roi de Suède.
Paris, de l’imprimerie de Monsieur, 1787-1790.
2 parts in 2 volumes large folio (505 x 330 mm) of: I/(4) ll. including the frontispiece, x pp., (1) l., 324 pp., (2) ll., 2 charts on double-page (marked A and AA), 1 folding-pl. (B), 1 pl. of writings (C), and 23 plates out of pagination representing 37 figures including 3 on double-page; II/ (1) l., viii pp., 357, 41 plates including 4 folding plates representing the subjects 41 to 137.
Part 1 bound in contemporary red Russian young goat , triple gilt filet on borders of the covers, arms gilt-stamped in the centre, spine ribbed and decorated, green morocco lettering-pieces, inner gilt border, blue watered silk doublures and endpapers, gilt edges. Part 2 bound in contemporary green quarter-calf, spine ribbed.
First edition of this fundamental work for the understanding of the Ottoman Empire.
Brunet, III, 1932 ; Cohen 763 ; Graesse 618 ; Blackmer 1164 ; Atabey 846.
« The only perfect source of information regarding the laws and constitution of the Turkish Empire ». Burckhardt
The second volume is dedicated to the Muslim religion and its rituals. It comprises details about the two holy cities and the pilgrimages, and shows a superb view of the Mecca.
« A very well executed work. The first two volumes deal with religion and Mahometan legislation. [… »] (Brunet)
« For Turkey, the excellent work of Mouradja d’Ohsson must not be omitted. The plates are beautifully executed in the line manner, and the testimony of Burckhardt to the valuable and interesting information this work contains, should alone secure it a place in every well chosen library. It is a noble work in all respects, and I give it an earnest and hearty recommendation to every collector of spirit and taste” (T. Frognall Dibdin, The Library Companion, p. 436).
Mouradja d’Ohsson, born in Constantinople, was the secretary and first interpreter of the Swedish ambassador in Constantinople. He became a chargé d’affaires in 1782 and was appointed chevalier of the order of Wasa, then plenipotentiary minister and extraordinary envoy.
« He offered to write Selim II’s reign, but soon he conceived the plan of a ‘Tableau général de l’empire ottoman’, from then he devoted himself without reservation to this venture. In 1784, as d’Ohsson had managed to obtain not without difficulty a definite knowledge about uses, habits, customs, internal practices of the seraglio that had always missed to the rest of Europe, about a nation that has always been unable to become familiar with, he went to Paris to implement his rich materials. In 1788 he published the first folio volume of the ‘Tableau général de l’empire ottoman’; he published the second one the following year. The revolution that arose in France suspended his literary enterprise; he went to Constantinople […]. This work was about to be finished when d’Ohsson died in 1807, and this great project was let incomplete. » (Peignot, Dictionnaire biographique et bibliographique, 557)
A third volume, published by courtesy of the author’s son desirous to continue the project of his father, will appear 30 years later, in 1820.
The excellent and abundant illustration comprises 1 frontispiece and 68 plates representing 138 subjects, including 9 on double-page and 2 folding. A large part of the illustrations was engraved after drawings by J. B. Hilaire, the artist who went with Choiseul-Gouffier in 1776. Other plates are engraved after drawings by Moreau le jeune and Cochin.
As plates 13, 19 and 36 of the first volume were printed late, and consequently delivered after the publication of the volume, they are not present in our copy that was bound as soon as the printing of the volume ended.
« As plates 13, 19 and 36 of the first part were executed after the volume, they are missing […]. » (Brunet)
« This work has not been finished. The first volume encloses besides an engraved title and 4 plates marked A, AA, B and C 40 plates numbered 1-40 (pl. 13, 19 and 36 have been executed after the volume and are usually missing), the second one pl. 41-137 ». (Graesse)
« Plates 13, 19 and 36 are missing in many copies » (Cohen).
A prestigious copy of the most important publication from the 18th century dedicated to the Ottoman Empire. The first volume that was published shortly after the death of Maria Theresa of Austria was contemporary bound in red morocco with her posthumous arms.
Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780) has been Holy Roman empress, archduchess of Austria, and queen of Hungary and Bohemia. She led the War of the Bavarian Succession (1740-1748) against Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony as well as France and Spain. This war made her lose Silesia. In 1745, she had her husband Francis I elected Holy Roman emperor, because she could not officially have this title. Impressed by her outdoing personality her contemporaries soon named her « the great Maria Theresa ». Then she led the war against Frederick II in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1762), in order to get back Silesia, but she failed. Maria Theresa of Austria is the mother of 16 children, including Marie-Antoinette, who married Louis XVI in 1770.
The second volume which was published at a later date was bound in a simple green quarter-calf binding.
Price: € 19 500
*****
First edition of this important book dedicated to the Ottoman Empire
at the very beginning of the 19th Century.
POUQUEVILLE, F.C.H.L. Voyage en Morée, à Constantinople, en Albanie, et dans plusieurs autres parties de l’empire Othoman, pendant les années 1798, 1799, 1800 et 1801. Comprenant la description de ces pays, leurs productions, les mœurs, les usages, les maladies et le commerce de leurs habitans ; avec des rapprochemens entre l’état actuel de la Grèce, et ce qu’elle fut dans l’antiquité […].
Paris, chez Gabon, 1805.
3 parts in 3 volumes 8vo [200 x 123 mm]: I/ (3) ff., vii pp. for the preface, 542, 1 plate, 1 folding map and 1 folding table; II/ (2) ff., 287 pp., xv pp., 1 plate and 1 folding plate, III/ (2) ff., xxi pp., 344, 1 folding plate.
Bound in contemporary full calf in a design resembling tree roots, flat spines decorated with gilt urns and suns, red and green morocco lettering pieces, marbled edges.
First edition of this pioneering book about Greece.
The French Librarian of Literary guide, p. 417; Bibliothèque de M. le Baron Silvestre de Sacy 4546; Atabey 988; Blackmer 1344; Weber, I, 5.
Pouqueville (1770-1838) was given the permission to take part in Bonaparte’s expedition to Egypt in 1798, as a member of the committee of sciences and arts. On his return to France, he was captured by pirates and delivered to the pasha of Tripoli, a vassal of the sultan that France was fighting. Pouqueville became a prisoner of war. The pasha of Tripoli sent him to Constantinople, where the sultan kept him shut up in the Castle with Seven Towers during 2 years.
Released in 1801, Pouqueville went back to France and published his Voyage en Morée.
His book gives very interesting ethnographic information.
« The first and probably the best of all Pouqueville’s books on Greece… the work contains a great deal of information on popular customs, superstitions, songs etc. » (Blackmer).
“We had not, as yet, a work that gave a just idea of the peninsula, so celebrated in antiquity, as the Peloponesus, and which is now one of the most important possessions of the Turks in Greece. The ‘Voyage’ of M. Pouqueville now supplies this want, and furnishes all the knowledge that could be desired respecting this peninsula”.
The illustration consists of a folding table and 5 engraved plates including 3 folding.
A fine copy preserved in its contemporary uniform bindings in calf with decorated flat spines.
Atabey’s copy, also bound in contemporary calf, was sold for £ 8 300 by Sotheby’s on the 29th of May 2002 (lot 963) (that is to say 13 000 euros).
Price: € 6 500
International Antiquarian Book Fair Grand Palais
From June 19th to 21st 2009,
the International Antiquarian Book Fair occupied the Grand Palais.
It is from June 18th to 21st 2009 that took place the last International Antiquarian Book Fair in the outstanding setting of the Grand Palais, gathering 150 exhibitors from all around the world for the delight of book lovers.
You can find more information concerning the International Antiquarian Book Fair if you click on the previous logo.
Publication of the catalogue 5
Catalogue of fine books from the 16th to the 20th century.
From Seyssel to Staline.
We are happy to inform you that the new catalogue of the bookshop Camille Sourget will be available for consultation on our website next week.
You are welcome to visit our bookshop located 93 rue de Seine in Paris, from Tuesday to Saturday, to have a look at these books and enjoy our collection.
A selection of great 20th century French first editions.
A masterpiece of French modern prose.
En Français dans le texte, n° 323.
VALERY, Paul. La Soirée avec Monsieur Teste.
Paris, Bonvalot-Jouve, 1906.
Large 8vo [251 x 158 mm], (1) bl.l. and (9) ff. Preserved in the original red printed wrappers.
First separate edition of one of the most famous works in prose from the end of the 19th century.
The present work was first published in 1896 in the Revue Centaure.
« Paul Valéry, qui a profondément renouvelé la tradition intellectuelle de son pays, a laissé une des œuvres les plus importantes du point de vue quantitatif et qualitatif de toute l’histoire de la pensée française. ‘La Soirée avec Monsieur Teste’, un des textes les plus étroitement liés au nom de Valéry (Teste étant à tort identifié avec lui), est aussi une des œuvres en prose les plus célèbres de la fin du XIXe siècle et, en fonction de l’époque à laquelle elle a été le plus lue, de la première moitié du XXe.Son héros, une sorte de quintessence de l’intellectualité, de la volonté de rigueur, de la maîtrise de toutes les opérations de l’esprit et du refus des à peu près trompeurs des émotions convenues comme des normes sociales- d’où son influence sur les surréalistes- continue à fasciner des générations successives de lecteurs […]. Le drame qui se joue dans ‘La Soirée’, surtout à partir du moment où les analyses abstraites de Monsieur Teste sont traversées par une vive et mystérieuse souffrance, c’est celui même de notre époque, qui s’aperçoit que l’intellect, si lucide qu’il soit, ne domine pas tout, ne résoud pas tout et ne s’applique pas à toutes les dimensions de l’existence, à commencer par celle du subconscient.
Ecrit avec une extrême concision dans un style elliptique qui juxtapose d’une façon abrupte, presque hachée, les notations et les concepts les plus variés, ce texte très novateur qui respire une intelligence à la fois aiguë et inquiète est un des chefs-d’œuvre de la prose française moderne, à mi-chemin entre l’essai philosophique et le conte abstrait ».
(Judith Robinson-Valéry, En Français dans le texte n° 323).
A fine copy of this major work preserved in its original red printed wrappers.
Price: €4 500
******
1908-2008: we are celebrating the centenary of the birth of Simone de Beauvoir
by presenting an exceptional copy of Situations II from Sartre
which testifies to the unique relationship of this legendary couple.
SARTRE, Jean Paul. Situations, II.
[Paris], Gallimard, 1948.
8 vo [187 x 107 mm], 330 pp., (6). Sewed, untrimmed.
One of 5 copies printed on velin pur fil navarre (marked E) from a total edition of 1109, the second paper after 14 copies printed on velin de Hollande.
“Situation II (1948) assembles three texts: “Présentation des Temps modernes”, “La nationalisation de la littérature” and “Qu’est-ce que la littérature?” all published between 1945 and 1947 and all about the role of literature in society. “Présentation des Temps modernes” is the manifest of this review, which Sartre created in 1945. Sartre expounds his plans and his intentions.“La nationalisation de la littérature” exposes the situation of literature after the war. Literature played an important part during the Resistance, that’s why we tend to consider it as a national property, as an official speech. (…)
The most important article of this collection ”Qu’est-ce que la littérature?” was published in the “Temps modernes” in 1947. Sartre analyses his matter in three questions, “Qu’est-ce qu’écrire?” (“What is it to write?”), « Pourquoi écrire? » (“Why to write?”), “Pour qui écrit-on?” (« Who do we write for? »), that form the three parts of this work, ended with a fourth survey, “Situation de l’écrivain en 1947” (“Situation of the writer in 1947”). In the first part, “Qu’est-ce qu’écrire?” (“What is it to write?”) Sartre underlines the specificity of literature in comparison with other arts. Literature is responsible for the senses that it develops (…). The writer has to be fully aware of his means and his intentions, which leads to the question: “Pourquoi écrire?“ (“Why to write?”) . First of all the writer writes to be read. (…) Writing refers to a lecture, which leads to this third question: “Pour qui écrit-on?” (« Who do we write for? »). Sartre insists on the contradictions caused to the writer by his usually “bourgeois” origins and the universality to which he aspires: he wants to apply to everybody. […] In the last part, “Situation de l’écrivain en 1947” (“Situation of the writer in 1947”), Sartre defines in a more precise way the role of the French writer.” (Dictionnaire des Oeuvres, VI, 154).
Exceptional copy dedicated by the author to Simone de Beauvoir. Jean-Paul Sartre judiciously used the term “Situations” of the half-title to write a very personal dedication: “To Simone in remembrance of all the painful or pleasant [Situations] in which we found ourselves together with best wishes from Jean-Paul.”
It was in 1929 that Simone and Sartre met at the Sorbonne and began their communal life as well as their permanent collaboration and intellectual dialogue, which lasted for over fifty years. The couple Beauvoir-Sartre represents an ideal: this unique relationship relies on the respect of each other freedom and on the intellectual equanimity of the two lovers. This couple put his stamp on the 20th century and continues to fascinate.
Price: € 12 000
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First edition of Cesar,
a copy bearing a moving double-dedication from Marcel Pagnol to the actress Josette Day.
PAGNOL, Marcel. César.
Paris, Fasquelle éditeurs, 1937.
12mo [183 x 116 mm], 246 pp., (1) l. Bound in half-vellum, flat spine, blue marbled paper covers, original wrappers and spine bound in.
First edition, review-copy, after 25 copies printed on Japanese paper and 50 on Dutch paper.
Precious association copy, dedicated to the author’s wife Josette Day, with this moving double dedication signed by the author on the half-title: “Pour Josette Day, en souvenir de Brotonneau. Marcel Pagnol. (18/01/39)”, followed by “qui est devenu ton mari. Je t’aime. Marcel. 25 oct. 1939 » (= « For Josette Day, in remembrance of Brotonneau. Marcel Pagnol. (01/18/39)” and “who became your husband. I love you. Marcel. 25th of October 1939. »)
Marcel Pagnol met Josette Day (1914-1978) on the shooting of his film Monsieur Brotonneau, in January 1939. They got married few months later hence the double dedication, written before, and after the wedding (January, then October 1939).
The choice of this novel by Pagnol to dedicate it to his beloved is moving as Cesar relates the reunion and the wedding of Marius and Fanny.
Price: €2 500
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First edition of the Grand Meaulnes,
one of 10 copies printed on Japan vellum.
ALAIN-FOURNIER. Le Grand Meaulnes.
Paris, Emile-Paul Frères, 1913.
8vo [185 x 114 mm], (4) ff., 366 pp., (1) bl.l.
Bound in blue full morocco by Semet and Plumelle, spine ribbed, brown morocco decorated doublures, blue silk endleaves, gilt over untrimmed edges, original green wrappers and spine bound in.
First edition of the “Grand Meaulnes”.
One of 10 precious copies printed on Japan vellum (this copy is n°4), gilt over untrimmed edges, with the original green wrappers bound in.
Provenance: from the collection Brayat with ex libris.
Price: €33 000
Bindings with arms.
Turkey, Syria, Palestine.
First edition printed in Paris in 1518.
MAMEROT, Sébastien. Les passages doultremer faitz par les francoys. Nouvellement imprimé.
[A la fin : Cy finist les passages doultremer faictz par les francoys avecques plusieurs addicions recueillies de plussieurs operations dudict voyage et faictz darmes faictz par les dictz francoys et aultres seigneurs ayans eu la devotion de deffendre ladicte terre Saincte.
Paris, le vingtseptiesme iour de Novembre Lan mil cinq cens et dixhuyt. Par Michel le Noir libraire…]. (Paris, Michel Le Noir, 1518).
Small folio [257 x 186 mm], (6) ff., 227, (1) l. with Michel Le Noir’s mark on the back. A small restoration in the upper margin of the title-page without loss and in one page of tables.
Bound in English 18th Century calf, gilt fillet on covers, crowned arms gilt-stamped in the center, spine ribbed and decorated, red morocco lettering-piece, sprinkled edges.
Rare first edition of this important book about Turkey, Syria and Palestine.
Catalogue des livres rares du Baron Ruble, 377 ; Rahir, La Bibliothèque de l’amateur, 587 ; Brunet, IV, 415 ; Brun, Le livre français illustré de la Renaissance, 243 ; Mortimer, Harvard French, 363 ; Roehricht, 371.
That’s a chronicle of the expeditions to the Holy Land since Charlemagne until the fall of Constantinople to Mahomet II.
Mamerot visited holy places in Jerusalem and on his return in 1488 he wrote his description of the countries he had seen. He describes Venice, Cyprus, Jerusalem, …
The superb illustration consists of an engraved title-page, 6 vignettes of battles in the text and 6 other woodcuts showing Breydenbach’s alphabets.
The last leaf bears Michel Le Noir’s mark on its back.
A precious copy of this rare volume, bound in the 18th century for George John Spencer, the 2nd Earl Spencer, with his crowned coat of arms in the center of covers.
Only five copies are recorded in worldwide institutions: 2 in France, 1 at the NYPL, 1 at the Koninklijke Bibliothek and 1 at the British Library.
Only another complete copy of this work has appeared at auction in the past 30 years.
Harvard’s copy described by Mortimer had the title-page in facsimile.
Provenance: George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834) (the copy was bound with his arms), George Horace (1882-1960) and Alison Johnstone, Trewithan (with their ex libris dated 1933).
Price: €25 000
******
An exceptional copy of the Braun & Hogenberg
preserved in its contemporary uniform decorated bindings.
Cologne, 1575-1588.
BRAUN, Georg and HOGENBERG, Franz. Civitates Orbis Terrarum.
Cologne, G. von Kempen, 1575-1588.
4 volumes folio bound in contemporary full calf, spines decorated with gilt fleurons, later arms gilt-stamped in the center of covers. Contemporary uniform bindings.
1 preliminary. leaf of volume 4 bound in volume 3, pl. 43 of volume 1 and 25 of volume 4 come from another copy and were bound in the present copy a long time ago, slight browning and waterstaining, pl. 31 and 1 of volume 4 slightly stained, loss in the margin of pl. 54 of volume 2.
The earliest printed book showing all the Western and Mediterranean towns at the end of the Renaissance.
Koeman, II, B & H 1-4.
Volumes 2 and 4 are from the first edition, volumes 3 and 1 are from the second and the fifth Latin editions respectively.
Two other volumes were published few years later, between 1598 and 1617.
The illustration consists of 4 frontispieces and 236 engravings depicting 374 views of towns and plans.
All the engravings were finely contemporary hand-coloured.
The authors of this work are Georg Braun (1541-1622) from Cologne and the engraver Franz Hogenberg (1540-1590).
The “Civitates” were one of the major works from the last quarter of the 16th Century. The publication of this great work spread over 45 years and most of recorded copies are incomplete.
The present work describes towns of France, Italy, Spain and the Levant (volume 1), from the Netherlands, the Channel Islands, Central Europe and Russia (volume 2).
« The supreme value of this work lies in its survey of European towns and cities jus tat the time when draughtsmen were capable of conveying a wealth of information in a single portrayal ».
The earliest, the most beautiful and the most spectacular book of architecture from the Renaissance, dedicated to the representation of towns of Western and Mediterranean world, coloured at the time.
An exceptional copy, complete with all the engravings, preserved in its contemporary uniform decorated bindings, with the frontispieces and the 236 plates finely contemporary hand-coloured.
Provenance: ex libris and arms of the Tempsford Hall Library (from 19th Century).
Price: €275 000
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The Tapestries ordered by Louis XIV for his apartments in Versailles,
a precious copy bound in red morocco with the king’s arms and monogram.
Tapisseries du Roi, où sont représentez les quatre éléments et les quatre saisons.
A Paris, de l’Imprimerie Royale, 1670.
Large folio [560 x 405 mm], (4) ff., 43 pp., (1) bl.l., (1) l., 47 pp., (1) p., 8 double-page plates.
Bound in contemporary red morocco, wide gilt border on covers, arms gilt-stamped in the center, spine ribbed and decorated with the crowned monogram, inner gilt border, edges gilt.
First state of this wonderful collection of engravings executed on the order of louis XIV in order to celebrate his glory.
Brunet, II, 727 ; Lipperheide, 3757 ; Catalogue de la Bibliothèque Pichon, 473.
In 1663, the academy recently started by Colbert was made responsible for choosing the emblems that would be represented on the tapestries ordered by the king for his apartments.
The present volume contains 3 frontispieces engraved by Bailly and Sébastien Le Clerc, 8 large plates after Le Brun, engraved by Sébastien Le clerc and Goyton, 10 fleurons and tailpieces by Sébastien Le Clerc and Bailly and 32 figures of emblems with French verses by Perrault, Chapelain, Charpentier, … at the bottom of the plate.
A magnificent copy illustrated with the tapestries ordered by the king Louis XIV for his apartments of Versailles, contemporary bound in red morocco with his arms and monogram.
Price: €15 000
******
First edition of the most beautiful book ever published about butterflies,
illustrated with more than 1650 contemporary hand-coloured specimens.
CRAMER, Pierre. Papillons exotiques des trois parties du monde l’Asie, l’Afrique et l’Amérique.
A Amsterdam, chez S.J. Baalde, à Utrecht, chez Barthelemy Wild, [1775-] 1779-1782 [-1784].
[With:] -STOLL, Caspar. Supplément à l’ouvrage, intitulé les Papillons exotiques, des trois parties du monde l’Asie, l’Afrique et l’Amérique ; par M. Pierre Cramer.
Amsterdam, chez Nic. Th. Gravius, [1787-] 1791.
5 volumes 4to [296 x 228 mm] bound in red straight-grained full morocco, wide foliage border on covers, arms in the centre, spines ribbed lightly faded and decorated with fleurons and gold dots, gilt edges, sea green doublures and endpapers. Bozérian jeune.
First edition of this masterpiece of entomology.
Nissen 985; Graesse, Trésor de livres rares et précieux, 294; Sabin 17382; Cohen, 262; Brunet, II, 404.
It is the first work dealing with tropical butterflies to be arranged in accordance with the Linnaean system. It contains the description of more than 1650 butterflies species, most of them being described here for the first time.
It is a « great work which was highly expensive at the end of the 18th century » emphasizes Cohen.
Pierre Cramer (1721-1776) was a rich wool dealer and a great entomologist collector. He formed a magnificent natural history cabinet abounding with butterflies coming from all around the world, enlarged thanks to his relations with the Dutch traders and settlers established abroad and the sailors of the Compagnie des Indes.
When Cramer undertakes the catalogue of his collection, he calls on the painter G. W. Lambertz to draw the specimens he owns, as well as some from other cabinets.
Cramer dies in 1776, after the publication of the eighth part, and the work is then continued by Stoll.
Caspar Stoll gives the description from nature of caterpillars and chrysalis of Surinam bred by Renaud, an amateur who stayed for a long time in these countries, as well as by Vaillant, collected during his travels to the Cape of Good Hope. He also shows butterflies and phalenes, some of which described for the first time, from Surinam, Guinea Cost, Brazil …
The supplement, published 9 years after the fourth volume of the Papillons exotiques, is rare and is missing from most copies.
The superb and rich illustration contains 2 frontispieces engraved by Th. Koning and C.J. de Huyser, and 442 outstanding plates (including 42 in the supplement) representing 2709 full-size species, drawn from the originals by Lambertz and copperplate engraved. All the illustrations were finely contemporary hand-coloured under the supervision of Cramer himself.
« Pierre Cramer, from Amsterdam, published in Dutch and French 400 plates of exotic butterflies from the three parts of the world. It is a splendid work for the sharpness and elegance of the figures. It is much sought-after by natural history lovers. » (F. Cuvier, Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles, 34)
A very beautiful copy of the most beautiful book ever published about butterflies, complete with the rare supplement and uniformly bound at the time in straight-grained red morocco by Bozérian jeune.
Provenance: arms of Pavée de Vendeuvre stamped towards 1830 on covers. Pavée de Vendeuvre was a deputy under the Restoration and he was peer of France in 1837.
Price: € 45 000
******
First edition of the most important work from the 18th century
dedicated to the Ottoman Empire.
Prestigious copy with the first volume contemporary bound with the posthumous arms
of Maria Theresa of Austria, Holy Roman Empress and queen of Hungary and Bohemia.
MOURADJA D’OHSSON, Ignace de. Tableau général de l’empire Othoman, divisé en deux parties, dont l’une comprend la Législation Mahométane ; l’autre, l’Histoire de l’Empire Othoman. Dédié au roi de Suède.
Paris, de l’imprimerie de Monsieur, 1787-1790.
2 parts in 2 volumes large folio (505 x 330 mm) of: I/(4) ll. including the frontispiece, x pp., (1) l., 324 pp., (2) ll., 2 charts on double-page (marked A and AA), 1 folding-pl. (B), 1 pl. of writings (C), and 23 plates out of pagination representing 37 figures including 3 on double-page; II/ (1) l., viii pp., 357, 41 plates including 4 folding plates representing the subjects 41 to 137.
Part 1 bound in contemporary red Russian young goat , triple gilt filet on borders of the covers, arms gilt-stamped in the centre, spine ribbed and decorated, green morocco lettering-pieces, inner gilt border, blue watered silk doublures and endpapers, gilt edges. Part 2 bound in contemporary green quarter-calf, spine ribbed.
First edition of this fundamental work for the understanding of the Ottoman Empire.
Brunet, III, 1932 ; Cohen 763 ; Graesse 618 ; Blackmer 1164 ; Atabey 846.
« The only perfect source of information regarding the laws and constitution of the Turkish Empire ». Burckhardt
The second volume is dedicated to the Muslim religion and its rituals. It comprises details about the two holy cities and the pilgrimages, and shows a superb view of the Mecca.
« A very well executed work. The first two volumes deal with religion and Mahometan legislation. [… »] (Brunet)
« For Turkey, the excellent work of Mouradja d’Ohsson must not be omitted. The plates are beautifully executed in the line manner, and the testimony of Burckhardt to the valuable and interesting information this work contains, should alone secure it a place in every well chosen library. It is a noble work in all respects, and I give it an earnest and hearty recommendation to every collector of spirit and taste” (T. Frognall Dibdin, The Library Companion, p. 436).
Mouradja d’Ohsson, born in Constantinople, was the secretary and first interpreter of the Swedish ambassador in Constantinople. He became a chargé d’affaires in 1782 and was appointed chevalier of the order of Wasa, then plenipotentiary minister and extraordinary envoy.
« He offered to write Selim II’s reign, but soon he conceived the plan of a ‘Tableau général de l’empire ottoman’, from then he devoted himself without reservation to this venture. In 1784, as d’Ohsson had managed to obtain not without difficulty a definite knowledge about uses, habits, customs, internal practices of the seraglio that had always missed to the rest of Europe, about a nation that has always been unable to become familiar with, he went to Paris to implement his rich materials. In 1788 he published the first folio volume of the ‘Tableau général de l’empire ottoman’; he published the second one the following year. The revolution that arose in France suspended his literary enterprise; he went to Constantinople […]. This work was about to be finished when d’Ohsson died in 1807, and this great project was let incomplete. » (Peignot, Dictionnaire biographique et bibliographique, 557)
A third volume, published by courtesy of the author’s son desirous to continue the project of his father, will appear 30 years later, in 1820.
The excellent and abundant illustration comprises 1 frontispiece and 68 plates representing 138 subjects, including 9 on double-page and 2 folding. A large part of the illustrations was engraved after drawings by J. B. Hilaire, the artist who went with Choiseul-Gouffier in 1776. Other plates are engraved after drawings by Moreau le jeune and Cochin.
As plates 13, 19 and 36 of the first volume were printed late, and consequently delivered after the publication of the volume, they are not present in our copy that was bound as soon as the printing of the volume ended.
« As plates 13, 19 and 36 of the first part were executed after the volume, they are missing […]. » (Brunet)
« This work has not been finished. The first volume encloses besides an engraved title and 4 plates marked A, AA, B and C 40 plates numbered 1-40 (pl. 13, 19 and 36 have been executed after the volume and are usually missing), the second one pl. 41-137 ». (Graesse)
« Plates 13, 19 and 36 are missing in many copies » (Cohen).
A prestigious copy of the most important publication from the 18th century dedicated to the Ottoman Empire. The first volume that was published shortly after the death of Maria Theresa of Austria was contemporary bound in red morocco with her posthumous arms.
Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780) has been Holy Roman empress, archduchess of Austria, and queen of Hungary and Bohemia. She led the War of the Bavarian Succession (1740-1748) against Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony as well as France and Spain. This war made her lose Silesia. In 1745, she had her husband Francis I elected Holy Roman emperor, because she could not officially have this title. Impressed by her outdoing personality her contemporaries soon named her « the great Maria Theresa ». Then she led the war against Frederick II in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1762), in order to get back Silesia, but she failed. Maria Theresa of Austria is the mother of 16 children, including Marie-Antoinette, who married Louis XVI in 1770.
The second volume which was published at a later date was bound in a simple green quarter-calf binding.
Price: € 19 500
Virtual Tour
This the room where you can spend some time consulting our entire collection.
Our bookshop is setup in the heart of the bibliophile area since Automn 2008
at the 93 rue de Seine in Paris.
We wanted to propose a warm and peacefull place to our visitors so they can consult freely our collection.
New York Antiquarian Book Fair
Here are a few pictures showing the last day of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. Sunday the 5th of April 2009.
The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2009
The bookshop Camille Sourget will participate in the New York Antiquarian Book Fair that will take place in April 2009 :
- April 2nd, benefit preview (preview tickets $50 each) from 6pm to 9 pm.
-April 3rd, from noon to 8pm.
- April 4th, from noon to 7pm.
- April 5th, from noon to 5pm
The bookfair will be held at the at the Park Avenue Armory.
643 Park Avenue, at 67th Street, New York City - USA.
If you need more information, you can visit the official website by clicking on the following link : New York Antiquarian Bookfair.
Travels in North America
The rare first edition of the earliest book
relating to the religions of the varied nations of the world,
with a passage mentioning the discoveryof the New World
by Christopher Columbus.
STAMLER, Johannes. Dyalogus Johannis Stamler Augustn. De Diversarum Gencium Sectis et Mundi Religionibus. [au colophon on lit :] Impressum Auguste : per Erhardum oglin. & Ieorgiu Nadler Cura correctone et diligentia venerabilis domini Wolfgangi Aittinger pspiteri Augusten. Ac bonarum Artium zc. Magistri Colloniens Anno nostre salutis 150. & . 8. die. 22. mensis May. Zc. [i.e. 1508].
Augsburg, Oeglin et Nadler, 22 mai 1508.
Folio [308 x 212 mm], (1) bl.l., (3) ff. with the frontispiece and the title, ff. numbered 2 to 32, (2) ff. of index, (1) bl.l.
Pale waterstain in the margin of 5 ff. A tear without loss at the frontispiece. An owner’s stamp in the margin of the frontispiece. Bound in 16th Century limp vellum, handwritten title on spine.
Rare first edition of the earliest work relating to the religions of the varied nations of the world.
Graesse, Trésor de livres, p. 477 ; Sabin 90127 ; Brunet, supp. II, 685; Harrisse 51 ; Historical Nuggets 2603.
The present text is also of the highest interest as it contains a passage mentioning the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus.
« A dramatic composition relating to the religions of the Tartars, Saracens, Turks, Jews and others, and their confutation. The American interest is found on the verso of the third leaf, in a letter from Stamler to Joseph Lorcher, dated, “13. klas Junii Anno. 6.” which is translated by Harrisse as follows: “I do not make any mention of the newly discovered islands, but of Christopher Colom, the discoverer of a world, and of Albericus Vespucius: On the discovery of the new world (to whom our age is chiefly indebted) behold what treatise I send you.” See Harrisse, B.A.V., n°51. The elaborate woodcut title page was engraved by Hans Burgkmaier, and is repeated on the reverse of the leaf”. (Sabin 90127).
« An extremely rare and curious Drama described on the leaf following the title as ‘Dyalogus in modum comici dramatis formatus a J. Stamler de Tartarorum, Saracenorum, Turcorum, Judeorum et Gentilium Sectis et Religionibus ac eorundem Confutatione, &c.’ The letter from Stamler to Jacob Lorcher, dated 13 Kal. Junii 1506, is of the highest interest to American collectors, as he mentions by name Christopher Columbus and Albericus Vespucius as the discoverers of the New World. The Drama has a marginal Commentary, which is important not only to theologians as pointing out heresies, but also to the astronomer. Stamler seems to have been an enemy to judicial astrology.” (Harrisse).
This work is also the first book to be illustrated by Hans Burgkmair. The superb frontispiece, here in the first state, represents the varied religions, Pope Julian II and the Emperor Maximilian I. This engraving is only present in the first edition.
« The woodcut was used only in the first edition, of which twenty-five copies have been located so far.” (Elizabeth M. Nugent, PMLA, 1938, ‘Johannes Stamler’s Dyalogus’, p. 989).
Only 25 copies of this first edition were known in 1938.
A beautiful copy of this rare work preserved in its 16th century limp vellum.
Price: €12 000
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A rare relation describing the massacre of the Christians by the Iroquois in Canada.
A genuine copy preserved in its contemporary limp vellum.
RAGUENEAU, Paul. Relation de ce qui s’est passé en la Mission des Pères de la Compagnie de Jesus aux Hurons, pays de la Nouvelle France, és années 1648 & 1649.
Envoyée au R. P. Hierosme Lalemant, Supérieur des Missions de la Compagnie de Jesus, en la Nouvelle France. Par le P. Paul Ragueneau, de la mesme Compagnie.
Paris, Sébastien Cramoisy et Gabriel Cramoisy, 1650.
8vo [169 x 105 mm], (4) pp., 116. Bound in full contemporary limp vellum, handwritten title on spine.
Second enlarged edition of this rare Jesuit relation describing the massacre of the Hurons by the Iroquois.
Streit 2577 ; Sabin 67492 ; Church 506 ; Harrisse 91 ; Brunet, Supp. II, 455.
Ragueneau (1608-1680) is one of the main authors of the “Jesuit Relations” relating the story of the Canadian martyrs. He went to the Huron country in 1637 in order to try to convert the people. Five of the missionaries who worked with him were martyred: Antoine Daniel was killed on the 4th of July 1648, Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant were tortured and killed in March 1649. Ragueneau became the Father Superior of the mission in 1645.
« The ‘Relation’ furnishes an interesting account of the state of the mission in the years 1648, and 1649, and gives a thrilling sketch of the horrors attending the destruction of the Christian villages of St. Joseph and of St. Ingnatius, by incursions of the Iroquois, the most deadly enemies of the Hurons, and of the Christian name”. (The Catholic Cabinet, p. 22).
The present edition is of the utmost interest as it comprises a passage of 13 pages printed at the end of the volume that appears here for the first time. It contains interesting new information about the missions to Canada.
A fresh and crisp copy of this sought after relation, preserved in its contemporary vellum.
ABPC doesn’t list any copy of the first edition of this text.
Only one copy of this edition has appeared at auction since 1975: the Lionel Robinson’s copy, sold by Sotheby’s London on the 26th of June 1986 to Lake. That same copy was sold again by Sotheby’s NY at the Frank T. Siebert sale on the 21st of May 1999 for $ 16 000 (about € 15 000). It was described in those terms in the auction catalogue: “bottom margin on title-page expertly extended, later stiff vellum”.
Price: € 23 000
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First edition of this commercial treatise dedicated to America and the colonies.
MARQUARD, Johanne. Tractatus politico-juridicus de jure mercatorum et commerciorum singulari. Libri IV.
Francfort, Thomae Matthiae Gotzii, 1662.
2 parts in 1 volume folio [316 x 190 mm], (7) ff. with the engraved frontispiece by Daniel Theobald, title, preface, table, …, 572 pp.; (2) ff., 744 pp. and (69) ff. Some slight browning.
Bound in contemporary stiff vellum, flat spine with handwritten title, edges blue.
Rare first edition of this important commercial treatise dedicated to America and the colonies.
Leclerc 948; Sabin 44661; Brunet, Supp. I, 969.
Mainly written in Latin, this treatise also has some passages in French, Spanish and German.
Pages 375 to 540 of the second part contain the exact reprinting of the exceedingly rare first edition of the “Argonautica Gustaviana” by W. Usselinx.
Sabin describes it as follows: « A politico-juridical treatise on commercial law. It is one of those books whose importance is by no means indicated by the title, and is of interest for the history of the Swedish South Company and its settlement in Pennsylvania. The original editions of some documents reprinted in this collection are lost ».
A fine copy bound in contemporary stiff vellum.
None copy of this work has appeared on the public market for the last 30 years.
Price: €7 500
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The Indian tribes from Canada at the end of the 17th Century.
Paris, 1688.
[SAINT-VALLIER (Jean Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de)]. Estat present de l’Eglise et de la colonie françoise dans la Nouvelle France, par m. l’Evêque de Québec.
Paris, chez Robert Pepie, 1688.
8vo [185 x 117 mm], (1) l., title, 267 pp., (1) l. Bound in contemporary granite-like calf, spine ribbed and decorated, with the letter “P” stamped in the lower compartment, mottled edges. Two old manuscript ex libris on title-page.
Rare first edition of this great description of the Indian tribes from Canada and their relationships with French colonists.
Brunet, supp., II, 567; Church 707 ; Harrisse, 159 ; Leclerc, p. 331, 1358 ; Chadenat, 4947.
Jean de Saint-Vallier was appointed bishop of Quebec and decided to visit his diocese from May 1685 to January 1687. The following year, on his return to France, he published the account of his impressions in the form of a long letter addressed to one of his friends.
The trip to Acadia occupies a large part of the work, and then the author describes the Hurons and other people.
This very rare first edition was also published the same year under a different title (Relation des missions de la Nouvelle France), and it was reissued in 1856.
Very fresh and wide-margined copy, preserved in its original binding in brown calf.
Price: €6 500
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First edition of the « Histoire générale des voyages » printed from 1746 to 1789
and illustrated with more than 590 engravings.
[PREVOST D’EXILES, Antoine François]. Histoire générale des Voyages, ou Nouvelle Collection de toutes les Relations de Voyages par Mer et par Terre, qui ont été publiées […] Avec les mœurs et les usages des habitans, leur Religion, leur Gouvernement, leurs Arts et leurs Sciences, leur Commerce et leurs Manufactures ; pour former un système complet d’histoire et de géographie moderne […].
Paris, chez Didot, 1746-1789.
20 volumes 4to [255 x 185 mm] bound in contemporary marbled calf, spines ribbed and decorated, light brown morocco lettering pieces, edges red. Two corners rubbed. As the publication of this work spread over more than 40 years, the fleurons on the spines of volumes 13 to 20 present a slight difference. Discreet wormholes in the white margin of volume 1.
First edition of this « véritable encyclopédie des voyages, base indispensable de toute bibliothèque américaine ».
(Chadenat, 1188 ; Brunet, IV, 868).
The first edition of the 20th volume, which was published in the first days of the French Revolution, is difficult to find.
The present work is illustrated with a portrait engraved by Schmidt and more than 590 engravings (about 260 maps and plans and 330 figures).
« The first seven volumes are a translation of the four volumes of Green’s Collection, published at London in 1745-7, vol. VII. Vols. VIII-XV were compiled by the Abbé Prevost. Vol. XVI, Paris, 1761, is a general index to the fifteen volumes. Vol. XVII, entitled “Suite de l’Histoire Générale des Voyages”, Amsterdam, 1761, contains accounts of the Dutch East Indies, taken from the edition printed at La Haye. Vols. XVIII, XIX and XX, entitled “Continuation de l’Histoire Générale des Voyages”, and dated respectively Paris, 1768, 1770 and 1789, are a continuation of the work by MM. Querlon and De Surgy. An extensive and important collection, including most of the early American voyages and travels. A list of the contents of this and the following editions is given in the catalogue of the Boston Public Library”. Sabin, 65402.
« An important and scarce collection which includes accounts of all the principal early Australian voyages, as well as an account of the discovery of Australia by the Dutch, early voyages to New Guinea and the Palau Islands, and Roggeveen’s voyage to Terres Australes, African voyages including the early Portuguese and English voyages to West Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, with a general account of the Dutch at the Cape. Pacific voyages include those of Magellan, Schouten, and Le Maire, Drake, Sarmiento, Cavendish, Spilbergen, Narborough, Rogers Cowley, Frazier, and Anson. Particularly full accounts are given of the Dutch and French voyages to the East Indies, voyages to China, and the British East India Company’s voyages to India and Ceylon”. (Hill [2004] 1391).
A fine copy preserved in its almost uniform contemporary bindings, even though it took 43 years to publish it.
Price: €17 500