Asher Rare Books

Detailed observations of life in the Ottoman Empire, Egypt and elsewhere in the Levant and Middle East ca. 1610

LITHGOW, William. Nineteen years travels through the most eminent places in the habitable world.
London, for John Wright & Thomas Passinger, 1682. 8vo. With a folding woodcut frontispiece and 6 folding woodcut plates and 1 woodcut in the text. 19th-century dark brown sheepskin, sewn on 3 recessed cords, brown spine label, Stormont on shell marbled endpapers. [8], 481, [7] pp. Full description

€ 3,500

Arabian Peninsula & Gulf States Balkan & Greece Eastern Mediterranean & Cyprus Egypt Italy Malta North Africa Portugal Scotland Spain Tobacco Travel & Voyages Africa Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages Europe Travel & Voyages Middle East Turkey & Ottoman Empire UK - United Kingdom

First edition of Livingstone's account of his first mission to southern Africa, with 27 plates,
including the first published view of Victoria Falls

LIVINGSTONE, David. Missionary travels and researches in South Africa; including a sketch of sixteen years' residence in the interior of Africa, and a journey from the Cape of Good Hope to Loanda on the west coast; thence across the continent, down the river Zambesi, to the eastern ocean.
London, John Murray (back of title-page: W. Clowes and sons), 1857. 8vo. With a folding tinted lithographed plate as frontispiece, a wood-engraved illustration on the title-page, a lithographed portrait of Livingstone, 20 lithographed plates, 2 tinted lithographed plates, a folding lithographed plate with a geological cross section, a lithographed folding map of southern Africa, a lithographed folding map pasted on cloth, with Livingstone's route from west to east Africa highlighted in red, and many wood-engraved illustrations in text. Original publisher's blind-blocked brown cloth. IX, [1], 687, [1], 8 pp. Full description

€ 1,350

Travel & Voyages Africa

A Swiss jurist’s account of Algeria

LOCHER, Friedrich. Nach den Oasen von Laghuat.
Bern, Haller, 1864. 8vo. With a tinted lithographed frontispiece showing the palace of the khalif in Laghouat and a folding lithographed map of the northern part of Algeria. Contemporary red half cloth. VIII, 208 pp. Full description

€ 800

Law & Politics North Africa Travel & Voyages Africa Travel & Voyages Middle East

Pioneering study of Ethiopia, by the future master of the subject

LUDOLF, Job (Hiob LUDOLPHUS). Sciagraphia historiae Aethiopicae, sive regni Abessinorum, quod vulgo perperam Presbyteri Johannis vocatur, deo volente, aliquando in lucem proditurae.
Jena, Samuel Krebs, 1676. 4to. Set in roman types with some italic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and especially Ethiopic type. Late 19th-century textured blue half cloth. [40] pp. Full description

€ 9,500

Travel & Voyages Africa

Discovery of the Canary Islands in classical Greek and Roman, Arabic and Portuguese sources

MACEDO, Joaquim José da Costa de. Memoria em que se pertende provar que os Arabes não conhecerão as Canarias antes dos Portuguezes.
Lisbon, printing office of the Academia Real das Sciencias, 1844. Folio. With a woodcut Portuguese coat of arms on the title-page. Modern brown paper wrapper. [4], 232 pp. Full description

€ 1,500

Navigation Portugal Travel & Voyages Africa Travel & Voyages Europe Travel & Voyages Middle East West Africa

Adventurous travels in the East

MANDELSLO, Johann Albrecht von. Morgenländische Reyse-Beschreibung.
Hamburg, Christian Guth, printed by Johan Holwein, Schleswig, 1658. Folio. With engraved frontispiece by Christian Rothgiesser, engraved author's portrait, double-page engraved map, and 21 large engravings in text, mostly signed by Rothgiesser. Contemporary pigskin, with boards blind-tooled in a panel design. [32], 248, [36] pp. Full description

€ 11,000

Ceylon Eastern Europe Formosa / Taiwan India & Sri Lanka Indonesia / Dutch East Indies Iran / Persia Japan & Far East Russia (incl. Siberia) Southeast Asia Southern Africa Travel & Voyages Africa Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages East Asia Travel & Voyages Europe Travel & Voyages Middle East Travel & Voyages Southeast Asia Travel & Voyages Southern Asia West Asia

14th-century tales of travels in Turkey, the Middle East, Near East, India and the East Indies,
illustrated with about 60 woodblocks

MANDEVILLE, John [= Jehan d'OUTREMEUSE]. The voyages & travels of Sir John Mandevile, Knight, ... to the Holy Land, and to Hierusalem: as also to the lands of the Great Caan, and of Prestor John: to Inde, and divers other countries: ...
London, Richard Chiswell, Benjamin Walford, Matthew Wotton, George Conyers, 1696. 4to. With a woodcut ship on the title-page and about 60 woodcut illustrations in the text (mostly about 5.5 x 8 cm) plus about 10 repeats. Gold-tooled, red goatskin morocco by Robert Riviere in London (ca. 1875/80), one of England's best binders. [4], “139” [= 135], [5] pp. Full description

€ 22,500

Arabian Peninsula & Gulf States Bindings Egypt Iran / Persia North Africa Southeast Asia Travel & Voyages Africa Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages Middle East Travel & Voyages Southeast Asia Turkey & Ottoman Empire

Cross-cultural mapping of the Red Sea: Bruce's chart in an early Egyptian manuscript copy

[MAP - ARABIAN PENINSULA]. BRUCE, James. Carte de la mer Rouge, relevée sur celle de James Bruce.
[Egypt, probably Cairo], 1827. Folio leaf (46 x 31.5 cm). Manuscript map in pen and ink with watercolour, with a French text on Middle Eastern hand-made paper. Full description

€ 15,000

Arabian Peninsula & Gulf States Charts & Maps East Africa Egypt North Africa Saudi Arabia

Blown off course: a trade mission to Vietnam ends badly

MÉNIOLLE, François Valentin. Journal et Correspondance, Septembre 1817 à Février 1819. [Narrative of a failed trade mission to Vietnam and India].
[India and other places, 1817-1819]. 4to (ca. 18 x 22 cm). French manuscript on laid paper. Contemporary half vellum. 95, [ca. 78 blank] ll. Full description

€ 12,500

Economic History & Trade India & Sri Lanka Logbooks Manuscripts & Documents Southeast Asia Southern Africa Travel & Voyages Africa Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages Southeast Asia Travel & Voyages Southern Asia

Highly detailed maritime atlas

GREAT BRITAIN METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE. Monthly current charts for the Indian Ocean. From information collated & prepared in the Meteorological Office.
London, Admiralty Hydrographic Office, under the superintendence of Rear-Admiral W. J. L. Wharton, 1895-1896. Plano. Oblong Royal 1mo (full-sheet leaves: 51 x 62 cm). An atlas of 12 large black and white nautical charts. Limp cloth with gold-tooled title on front cover. [12] ll. plus the 1-page “Advertisement”. Full description