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Asia / China

Highly detailed wall map of Asia and the Arabian peninsula, from the collection of the Governor of Ceylon

ARROWSMITH, Aaron. Asia.
London, Aaron Arrowsmith, 1 January 1801. Engraved wall map, hand coloured in outline, on 4 sheets joined as 2 (measuring 124 x 147 cm in total) on a scale of ca. 1:6,490,880, with an elaborately decorated cartouche at the head left, a dedication below ("To major James Rennell, Esqr. F.R.S. &c. &c.") and the name of the engraver at the foot right (George Allen). Mounted on cloth and divided into 32 sections. Contemporary slipcase, covered with marbled paper and a manuscript title-label on front. Full description
€ 7,500
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Collection of autograph letters by the leading French sinologist Stanislas Aignan Julien

[AUTOGRAPH LETTERS]. JULIEN, Stanislas Aignan. [Collection of 28 autograph letters by Stanislas Julien to several correspondents].
Paris, 17 January 1839 - 13 April 1869. Varying sizes, most on similar paper 21 x 13.5 cm. Autograph letters written in French, in a neat cursive in brown ink, signed and dated, many of the letters have been written on paper with a "Collége[!] Imperial de France" letterhead. One with Paris postal stamps on the back (addressed to Monsieur Desnoyers, 17 January 1839). 5 letters are mounted on additional leaves (4 letters in 2 pairs, each pair on a separate leaf and 1 dated 13 April 1869 on a separate leaf). The whole collection is kept together in a clear plastic cover. 28 letters on 28 (folded) leaves. Full description
€ 12,500
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Collection of Greek, Arabic, Latin, Egyptian and Asian medical and chemical theories,
both ancient and contemporary, including Chinese acupunture

BARCHUSEN, Johann Conrad. De medicinae origine et progressu dissertationes. In quibus medicinorum sectae, institutiones, decreta, hypotheses, praeceptiones, &c. Ab initio medicinae usque ad nostra tempora traduntur.
Utrecht, Gysbertus Paddenburg and Guilielmus Croon, 1723. 4to. Title-page printed in red and black, few woodcut illustrations in text. Contemporary half calf, gilt spine divided in five compartments, light brown morocco title label, red edges. (16), 680 pp. Full description
€ 3,500
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Dutch edition of Barrow's Travels in China

BARROW, John. Reizen in China, ...
Haarlem, François Bohn, 1807-1809. 3 volumes. 8vo. With 10 engraved plates (6 folding, 1 double-page), the double-page plate with 2 portraits hand-coloured, 4 leaves with engraved music, and several woodcut and engraved illustrations in the text. Original publisher's boards. VIII, 288; VI, 334; VI, 341, [1] pp. Full description
€ 950
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An important surveying voyage to the Pacific

BELCHER, Edward. Narrative of a voyage round the world, performed in Her Majesty's ship Sulphur, during the years 1836-1842, including details of the naval operations in China, from Dec. 1840 to Nov. 1841.
London, Henry Colburn, 1843. 2 volumes. 8vo. With a folding map of the Canton river, folding map with the routes of the H.M.S. Sulphur, large world chart also showing the route of the Sulphur, 19 steel-engraved views and several illustrations in text. Gold-tooled blue sheepskin, shell-marbled sides. Rebacked. In modern slipcase. XXII, 387; VI, 474 pp. Full description
€ 2,950
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Rare collected works of Portugal's greatest poet

CAMÕES (CAMOENS), Luis de & João Franco BARRETO. Obras de Luis de Camoès principe des poetas Portugueses. Com os argumentos do Lecenceado João Franco Barreto & por elle emédadas em esta nova impressaõ, que comprehende todas as obras, que deste insigne autor se achàraõ impressas, & manuscritas, com o index dos nomes proprios. Offerecidas a D. Francisco de Sovsa capitão da guarda do Principe N.S.
Lisbon, Antonio Craesbeeck de Mello, 1666-1669. 8vo. With 8 woodcut tailpieces. Later mottled calf, red spine labels, red edges. 376, 368, 208, 108, [22], [ 2 blank]. Lacks the individual title-pages. Full description
€ 9,500
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17th-century Chinese drawings (some in colour) and a Japanese(?) woodblock print

[DRAWING - CHINA - JAPAN]. [A series of 8 Chinese drawings plus a watercolour drawing and a woodblock print].
[China, the main series ca. 1660/75?]. A series of 8 Chinese drawings (ca. 24 x 14.5 cm: 5 coloured, 1 also highlighted in gold), showing scenes from a Chinese novel, many military or diplomatic, plus a Chinese watercolour drawing and a Japanese(?) woodblock print. Full description
€ 3,950
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Secret reports from the South China Command to the British War Office, with reconnaissance photos, written as Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek rose to power and veered toward civil war

[CHINA - SECRET BRITISH MILITARY REPORT]. Reports on Kwangtung and Fukien Provinces.
Hong Kong, British War Office, 1926-1928. Folio (22.5 x 35 cm). Five secret military reconnaissance reports totalling 138 numbered leaves in typescript (some in carbon copies or duplicated) with insertions and manuscript additions, with 47 original photographs (3.5 x 6 to 8 x 13 cm) mounted on the leaves (3 of the 47 are longer panoramas, each built up from 2 to 3 photos) and a folding blueprint plan (26 x 48.5 cm). Contemporary brown half cloth. [II], 11; [II], 12-35; [I], 36-60; [I], 61-101; [I], 103-138 ll. Full description
€ 36,000
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17 delicate Chinese drawings in bright colours: 5 botanical, 8 zoological and 5 portraits

[CHINA - WATERCOLOUR]. [17 Chinese watercolours made for the export market].
[China, first half of the 19th century]. Collection of 17 Chinese watercolours on Asian paper with chain lines, including 3 of birds seated on a branch, 3 of ensembles of fruit and flowers and 5 of fishes (all ca. 30 x 37 .5 cm); 2 further watercolours, each showing 2 branches of flowers and trees in a drawn oval border (ca. 39 x 30 cm); and 4 watercolours of Chinese people posing with objects (ca. 25 x 21 cm). In a modern gold-tooled dark green morocco clam shell box, in contemporary style. Full description
€ 25,000
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Very rare and little known collection of Italian Renaissance merchant voyages to India

CIGNANO, Ludovico. Quieta solitudine di varii ragionamenti, discorsi, et concetti, ove si narra quattro navigationi ...
Bologna, Alessandro Benacci, 1587. Small 4to. With the woodcut coat of arms of the dedicatee Giovanni Luigi Scappi, elaborately helmed, crested and mantled, on the title-page, a woodcut tailpiece (plus 1 repeat), woodcut decorated initials (at least 4 series), decorations built up from cast typographic ornaments.
Goatskin morocco (ca. 1870/80?), richly gold-tooled spine and turn-ins, signed in foot of front turn-in by the Paris bookbinders "DARLAUD FRÈRES", gold fillets on sides and board edges, combed curl-marbled endpapers, edges gilt over marbling, headbands worked in white and beige, and a yellow, red and green ribbon marker. 166 pp. Full description
€ 45,000
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French translation of William Dampier's travels in the south seas,
including the first successful English landing in Australia

DAMPIER, William. Nouveau voyage autour du monde, où l'on décrit en particulier l'Isthme de l'Amerique, plusieurs côtes & isles des Indes Occidentales, les Isles du Cap Verd, le passage par la Terre del Fuego, les côtes meridionales du Chili, du Perou, & du Mexique; l'Isle de Guam, Mindanao, & des autres Philippines, les isles orientales qui sont prés de Cambodie; de la Chine; Formosa, Luçon, Celebes, &c. la Nouvelle Hollande, les isles de Sumatra, de Nicobar, & de Sainte Helene & le Cap de Bonne Esperance.
Amsterdam, Paul Marret, 1698. 2 volumes. 12mo. With the same engraved frontispiece in both volumes, 6 engraved maps (including 4 folding), and 7 engraved plates (including 3 folding). Contemporary sprinkled calf, gold-tooled spine and board edges. [10], 315; [1 blank]; [2], "316", [1], 317-616, [4] pp. Full description
€ 14,500
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Account on the confinement and death of one of the leading men in the rites controversy in China

[DANDI, Giovanni Pellegrino]. Relazione del penosissimo carcere, e della preziosa morte dell' eminentissimo Sig. Carlo Tomaso Maillard di Tournon ... con la facoltà di Legato a Latere nell' impero della Cina, e regni dell' Indie Orientali seguita nella citta di Macao, li 6 del mese di Guigno dell' anno 1710.
Forli, Fasti, "17012" [= 1712]. Small 8vo (14.5 x 10 cm). Contemporary stiff wrappers covered with brocade paper. [8], 56 pp. Full description
€ 9,500
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Incunable edition of an influential second century description of the antique world,
including early mentions of China and Arabia

DIONYSIUS Periegetes. [incipit :] ... de situ orbis habitabilis ...
[Colophon:] Venice, Franz Renner, 1478. Small 4to (19 x 14 cm). With the first four lines printed in red and 9 white on black decorated woodcut initials (1 series), plus 1 repeat. Set in roman type, 26 lines to a page, with two words in Greek. Modern blind-tooled calf. [36] ll. Full description
€ 35,000
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Travels in Siberia and China

DOBELL, Peter. Travels in Kamtchatka and Siberia; with a narrative of a residence in China.
London, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley (back of title-page: J.B. Nichols and son), 1830. 2 volumes. 12mo. With two hand-coloured aquatint frontispieces by J. Clarck. Contemporary boards. IX, [1 blank], 351, [1]; X, 341, [1 blank], [2] pp. Full description
€ 2,250
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Beijing in the late 19th century, illustrated with numerous photographs

FAVIER, Alphonse. Péking histoire et description.
Peking, Imprimerie des Lazaristes au Pe-Tang, 1897. 35.5 x 25.5 cm. 2 volumes bound as 1 (continuous page numbers). With a frontispiece to each part, 51 plates with photolithographs and collotypes, 1 tinted map and 660 wood engraved illustrations in text. Modern half cloth, with the original wrappers bound in. XII [4], 336, [4], 337-“562” [=552], [2] pp. Full description
€ 6,500
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A standard navigational directory for the Indian Archipelago

FINDLAY, Alexander George. A directory for the navigation of the Indian archipelago and the coast of China, from the Straits of Malacca and Sunda, and the passages east of Java, to Canton, Shanghai, the Yellow Sea, and Korea. With the descriptions of the winds, monsoons, and currents, and general instructions for the various channels, harbours, etc. Third edition.
London, Richard Holmes Laurie, 1889. Royal 8vo. With 11 folding maps and charts. Original publishers blindstamped cloth, lettered in gold. XLVIII, IV, 1478; [2], 8 pp. Full description
€ 2,500
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Exploring central China, with a large folding map

GARNIER, Francis. Voyage dans la Chine centrale, Vallée du Yang-Tzu, fait de mai à aout 1873.
Paris, E. Martinet for Ch. Delagrave, 1874. 8vo. With a large lithographed folding map (26 x 58 cm), with highlights in red, and several letterpress tables. Original publisher's printed yellow wrappers. [3], [1 blank], 39, [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 1,250
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One of the first European books printed with Chinese type

GONZALES DE MENDOÇA, Juan. Historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del Gran Reyno de la China, sabidas assi por los libros de los mesmos Chinas, como por relacion de religiosos y otras personas que an estado en eldicho reyno.
Antwerp, Pierre Bellère I, 1596. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. With a woodcut printer's device and some woodcut initials. With a few (woodcut?) Chinese characters in the text. Contemporary mottled calf. [24], 380, [1], [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 9,000
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The first Chinese grammar book in Portuguese, printed by and for missionaries in Macao

GONÇALVES, Joaquim Affonso. Arte China constante de alphabeto e grammatica comprehendo modelos das differentes composiçoens.
Macao, Real collegio de S. José, 1892. 4to. The text is set in roman type and Chinese characters. Half blue cloth, marbled paper sides and pink paste paper endpapers. [1], [3 blank], VIII, "502" [=503], [1 blank], 46, [2] pp. Full description
€ 7,500
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The shells of Beidaihe, China

GRABAU, Amadeus William and Sohtsu G. KING. Shells of Peitaiho.
Beijing, Peking Laboratory of Natural History, 1928. 8vo. With 11 plates with photographic reproductions. Contemporary red cloth. [1], [1 blank], VI, 279, [2], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 250
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Rare account of the efforts of Jesuit missionaries in India (Goa, Cambay, Malabar Coast, Kochi, Madurai, etc.), South East Asia, the East Indies and Africa

[GUERREIRO, Fernão (ed.)]. and Christobal SUÁREZ DE FIGUEROA (transl.). Historia y anal relacion de las cosas que hizieron los padres de la Compañia de Jesus, por las partes de Oriente y otras, en la propagacion del Santo Evangelio, los años passados de 607. y en 608.
Madrid, Imprenta Real, sold by Juan Hasrey, 1614 (colophon 1613). 4to. With a woodcut IHS Jesuit device in a decorated cartouche on the title-page, the whole in a border built up from typographic ornaments and acorns; the large woodcut coat of arms of the dedicatee, Don Geronimo Corella y Mendoza; a large woodcut scrollwork tailpiece; 6 woodcut decorated initials (6 series); and headpieces built up from arabesque typographic ornaments. Set in roman types with extensive italic, some cut by François Guyot in Antwerp. 20th-century sheepskin parchment over flexible boards, turned in at the fore-edge, sewn on 3 alum-tawed thongs laced through the joints, with the title in thin textura lettering down the spine. [16], 566, [1], [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 9,000
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A 1718 voyage from Goa to Macao, published in Lisbon

GUERREIRO, João Tavares de Velez. Jornada, que Antonio de Albuquerque Coelho, governador, e capitaõ[!] general da cidade do Nome de Deos de Macao na China, fez de Goa atè chegar á dita cidade no anno de 1718.
Lisbon, Officina da Musica (Jaime or Jayme de la Te y Sagau), 1732. 8vo. Contemporary tanned sheepskin, gold-tooled spine, rebacked. [16], 427, [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 9,500
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Travels in, and history of China and the Philippines

GUIGNES, Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de. Voyages à Peking, Manille et l'Ile de France, faits dans l'intervalle des années 1784 a 1801.
Paris, l'Imprimerie Impériale (J.J. Marcel) for Treuttel and Würtz, 1808. 3 text volumes and 1 atlas volume. 8vo (text) and folio (atlas). The atlas with 92 engraved illustrations on 61 leaves by De Guines after Deserve and 6 engraved maps (4 folding) by D'Houdan. Text volumes in 19th-century half calf, atlas volume in contemporary half calf. [4], LXIII, 439; [4] 476; [4], 488 pp.; atlas: 4 pp. text (title and index). Full description
€ 9,500
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To bring the Embassy of Lord Amherst to China

HALL, Basil. Account of a voyage of discovery to the west coast of Corea and the great Loo-Choo Island. With an appendix, containing charts, and various hydrographical and scientific notices. And a vocabulary of the Loo-Choo language.
London, John Murray, 1818. Large 4to. Coloured plates of Sulpher Island, Korean Chief and his secretary, Napakiang, Loo Choo Chief and his two sons, Priest and Gentlemen of Loo Choo, the Prince of Loo Choo, scene after the Prince of Loo Choo's feast, Gentlemen of Loo Choo in his Cloak, some items of daily use for the inhabitants and the bridge at Napakiang. Later three quarter leather with spine raised in six compartents with gilt ornaments and two green leather title labels. XV, 222; CXXX, 64 pp. Full description
€ 3,950
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Deluxe issue of two print series illustrating the Chinese emperors and the life of Confucius

HELMAN, Isidore-Stanislas. Faits memorables des empereurs de la Chine, tirés des annales chinoises... gravées ... d'après les dessins originaux de la Chine ... tirés du cabinet de mr. Bertin.
Paris, Helman and Nicholas Ponce, 1788. Wholly engraved series, consisting of a title-page, dedication, 24 illustrations and 24 text pages, all printed on one side of a leaf.
With: (2) HELMAN, Isidore-Stanislas. Abrégé historique des principaux traits de la vie de Confucius célebre philosophe chinois, ... gravées ... d'après des dessins originaux de la Chine envoyés à Paris par M. Amiot missionaire à Pékin ...
Paris, Helman and Nicholas Ponce, [1788]. Wholly engraved series, consisting of a title-page, 24 illustrations and 28 text pages, all except 8 of the text pages, printed on one side of a leaf. 2 works in 1 volume. 4to. Contemporary mottled calf, gold-tooled spine, sides, binding edges and dentelles, gilt edges. Full description
€ 18,000
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Massive navigational directory, with sections on the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Gulf

HORSBURGH, James, Gerrit KUIJPER and D. BOES LUTJENS. Zeemans-gids, naar, in en uit Oost-Indiën, China, Japan, Australiën, de Kaap de Goede Hoop, Braziliën en tusschenliggende havens, volgens de vierde Engelsche uitgave van James Horsburgh, ...
Amsterdam, C.F. Stemler, (back of half-title: printed in Haarlem by H. Bakels), 1841. 4to. Contemporary half calf, spine lettered in gold, marbled sides. I-XII, [2], XIII-XXIV, XXVIII, 1376 pp. Full description
€ 3,750
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Important guide to navigating the seas to the far reaches of Asia

HUDDART, Joseph. The oriental navigator; or, new directions for sailing to and from the East Indies, China, New Holland, &c. &c. &c. Also for the use of the country ships, trading in the Indian and China seas, Pacific Ocean, &c. &c. &c...
London, printed and published by Robert Laurie and James Whittle, map, chart, and printsellers, 1801. 4to. With an engraved frontispiece portrait of Huddart by James Stow after John Hoppner and small woodcut coastal views in the text. Contemporary tree calf. [2], XII, 656 pp. Full description
€ 7,500
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Revised and enlarged edition of a 1933 master's thesis on Arabian-Far Eastern relations to ca. 1500

HUZAYYIN, S.A. Arabia and the Far East. Their commercial and cultural relations in Graeco-Roman and Irano-Arabian times.
Cairo, printed by l'institut français d'archéologie orientale, 1942. 27.5 x 18 cm. With 12 relief-printed folding maps with trade routes, some regions, etc. printed in several colours and with the coat of arms of King Fouad I of Egypt on the title page. Original brown publisher's printed paper wrappers with the title of the work and the coat of arms of King Fouad I of Egypt on the front wrapper and the logo of "la Société Royale de Géographie d'Égypte" on the back wrapper. [2 blank], XXIX, [1 blank], 319, [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 1,800
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Jesuit scholars in Asia: two contemporary transcripts of letters by renowned Jesuits

[JESUIT - LETTER - TERENTIUS (or SCHRECK), Johannes]. (drop-title 3r:) Exemplum l[ite]rar[um] R. P. Terentii ad R. Patrem Jacobum Köllerum ...
[in or shortly after 1623?]. Folio. The Latin text of both letters is written in a neat, uniform cursive hand in brown ink. Including: [JESUIT - LETTER - GALL, Johann Chrysostomus]. (drop-title 1r:) Literae P. Jo. Chrysostomi Gall Olyssiponae datae. 18th-century stiff blue paper wrappers. [8] pp. Full description
€ 8,500
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The main source of early knowledge of the Pelew or Palau Islands in Micronesia, in Dutch translation

KEATE, George. Beschryving van de Pelew Eilanden ...
Rotterdam, Gerard Abraham Arrenberg, 1789. 4to. With 8 plates: 4 mixed technique (partly stipple-engraved) portraits, 1 large folding engraved map of the Palau Islands and western equatorial Pacific, and 3 folding engraved views. Contemporary boards. XXXII, 365, [1] pp. Full description
€ 2,500
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Dutch edition of a detailed account of an important circumnavigation

LAPLACE, Cyrille Pière Théodore. Reis rondom de wereld door de zeeën van Indië en China; . . .
Zaltbommel, Johannes Noman and sons, 1834-1836. 7 volumes bound as 3. 8vo. Each volume with a lithographed title-page, each with a different topographic view, folding engraved map tracking Laplace's journey, 13 lithographed plates (7 folding). Near contemporary uniform blue-black half calf, gold- and blind-tooled spines. XXXVI, 511, [1]; [II], 328; [II], 272; [II], 288; IV, 272; [II], 262, [1], [1 blank]; IV, 323, [1] pp. Full description
€ 2,750
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Important scientific and trade voyage around the world

LAPLACE, Cyrille Pierre Théodore. Voyage autour du monde par les mers de l'Inde et de Chine ... exécuté sur la corvette de l'état La Favorite pendant les années 1830, 1831 et 1832.
Paris, Imprimerie Royale (views volume: Arthus Bertrand; map volume: Dépôt-Générale de la Marine), 1833-1835. 4 text volumes (8vo), 1 views volume (folio) and 1 atlas volume (1mo, 66 x 51 cm). With 1 folding engraved map in the first text volume, 2 full-page maps and 10 maps on 9 double-page plates in the "atlas hydrographique", and 72 extraordinary aquatint plates (ca. 27 x 36 cm) in the "album historique", most of them with the blind-stamped image of the ship La Favorite (15 x 28 mm). Contemporary half dark green calf, gold-tooled spines. [4], XLI, 558, [2]; [4], 481, [1]; [4], 510, [2]; [4], 480; [4] pp. Full description
€ 69,500
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Archaeological account and artefacts from the Turfan area, China, with numerous plates

LE COQ, Albert von. Die buddhistische Spätantike in Mittelasien. Ergebnisse der Kgl. Preussischen Turfan-Expeditionen.
Berlin, Dietrich Reimer, 1922-1933 [facsimile: Graz, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 1973-1975]. 6 text volumes and 1 atlas. 35,5 x 26 cm; atlas 54 x 36,5 cm. With a total of 185 plates in the text volumes, 22 plates in the atlas volume, mostly in black and white, some in colour, and numerous illustrations in text. Uniform decorated brown cloth. 29; 62; 53; 29; 32; 89; 80 pp. Full description
€ 2,500
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Detailed eye-witness reports of a voyage around the world as it unfolded, 1847-1851

LORGE, Louis Anne Paul de Durfort Civrac, Comte de. [46 letters].
Chili, Macao, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Batavia, Ceylon, Calcutta, Delhi, etc., 1847-1851. 8vo & 4to. 46 autograph letters, mostly signed, written during a voyage around the world by the Comte de Lorge, to his father, the Duc de Lorge. Loose letters in clear plastic sleeves in a modern notebook. Full description
€ 9,500
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Maffei's account of the East and West Indies, together with his life of Ignatius of Loyola

MAFFEI, Giovanni Pietro. Historiarum Indicarum Libri XVI.
Antwerp, Martinus Nutius, 1605.
With: (2) [MAFFEI, Giovanni Pietro]. Ignatii Loiolae vita, postremo recognita.
Antwerp, Martinus Nutius, 1605. 2 works in 1 volume (the first in 2 parts). 8vo. Contemporary vellum, remains of ties. [72], 478, [2 blank]; 401, [7]; 152, [12] pp. Full description
€ 3,500
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A French translation of Maffei's renowned description of the East and West Indies

MAFFEI, Giovanni Pietro. L'Histoire des Indes Orientales et Occidentales ...
Paris, Robert de Ninville, 1665. 2 volumes bound as 1. 4to. Each volume with a (different) woodcut coat-of-arms of France and Navarre on the title-page. Contemporary mottled calf, gold-tooled spine and board edges. [32], “353” [= 351], [1 blank]; [2], "292" [= 296], [24] pp. Full description
€ 1,250
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Martyrdom and persecutions of Jesuits in China and Japan

MAJORICA, Girolamo, Nicolas TRIGAULT and Alvaro SEMEDO. Lettere annue del Giappone dell'anno MDCXXII e della Cina del 1621 & 1622 al molto Reu. in Christo P. Mutio Vitelleschi preposito generale della Compagnia di Giesu.
Roma, Francesco Corbelletti, [1627?]. 8vo. With a woodcut "IHS" Jesuit device on title-page, woodcut headpiece, tailpiece and decorated initials. 18th-century flexible boards. 312 pp. Full description
€ 9,500
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Secret military expedition to China

MANNERHEIM, Carl Gustav. Across Asia from West to East in 1906-1908.
Helsinki, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 1940. 2 volumes. (30.5 x 22 cm). With numerous illustrations in text, one small map after the preface, and 15 folding maps in the second volume. Half sheepskin, cloth sides. IV, 741; IV, 54, 16, 48, 36, 36, 12, 6, 30, 12 pp. Full description
€ 9,500
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Muslim prayerbook from Quanzhou, glosseed in xiaojing script

[MANUSCRIPT - CHINESE MUSLIM PRAYERBOOK]. Al-salamu 'alayka. [= Peace be unto you].
Quanzhou, 990 AH [= 1582 CE]. Folio (ca. 20.5 x 30 cm). Arabic manuscript on paper. Black sini script in nine lines with red verse markers, titles in red, glossing in black. With beautifully illuminated full-page 'Unwan with Chinese influence on designs, in gold, blue, red, green, and black. 18th-century cloth and paper wrappers. 46 ll. Full description
€ 35,000
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First edition of one of the earliest grammars featuring a Romanisation of Chinese characters

MARSHMAN, Joshua. Elements of Chinese grammar, with a preliminary dissertation on the characters, and the colloquial medium of the Chinese, and an appendix containing the Ta-Hyoh of Confucius with a translation.
Serampore, printed at the mission press, 1814. Large 4to. With one woodcut illustration of a suanpan (abacus of Chinese origin) on p. 318. Text is set in roman type (Latin alphabet) and Chinese characters and occasionally in Bengali characters. Contemporary half red calf and black cloth sides with the title in gold on the spine. [1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], XVI, VII, [1 blank], 2, 566, 56 pp. Full description
€ 5,500
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Unrecorded trilingual Hong Kong publication of Ya Sin, the chapter that is considered to be "the heart of the Qur'an"

[QUR'AN]. MA TAT NG, Imam Muhammad Yaqub bin Ibrahim, editor. Ya-Sin. A chapter in the Holy Quran.
Hong Kong, [on the back wrapper:] Hong Kong Muslim Press, 1385 AH [= 1965 CE]. 8vo (19 x 13 cm). With the upper half of each page opening with the text in Arabic, followed by a transliteration in the Latin alphabet and the Chinese, while the lower half has 2 columns of text: translations into English (right column) and Chinese (left column). With a small overview of the system of transliteration on the inside of the front wrapper and a vignette of the Hong Kong Muslim Press on the back wrapper. Original publisher's orange printed wrappers. [1], 26, [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 2,250
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First edition of a report - with the rare folding map - from Commodore Perrys expedition containing directions for U.S. merchant ships navigating the coasts of China and Japan

MAURY, William Lewis & Silas BENT. Sailing directions and nautical remarks; by officers of the late U.S. naval expedition to Japan, under the command of Commodore M.C. Perry.
Including (with a divisional title): Fac-simile of the original treaty with Japan, with the English version.
Washington, A.O.P. Nicholson, public printer, 1857. Large 4to (ca. 29.5 x 23 cm). With a large folding map of the coast of China and of the Japanese and other islands, including the Marianas and the Philippines; and the facsimile of the 14-page treaty in Japanese printed on both sides of 7 integral leaves, with the English text printed letterpress on both sides of the following leaf. Original publishers half purple cloth, Spanish-marbled paper sides (grey with red, blue, black, yellow and white veins), letterpress paper label with the title in a built-up decorative border on the front board: "Sailing directions for the coasts of Japan and China". 22, [2], 14, [2] pp. Full description
€ 5,000
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First edition of a very rare and little-known journal of an important voyage to the Pacific

MICHELENA Y ROJAS, Francisco. Viajes científicos en todo el mundo, desde 1822 hasta 1842; durante los cuales fueron visitadas ... Dedicados a la nacion Venezolana.
Madrid, I. Boix, 1843. 4to. With full-page author's portrait by Leopoldo Lopez, woodcut coat of arms on dedication, 12 full-page lithographed illustrations by J. Aragon after J. Abrial, and 2 large lithographed folding maps (showing Sydney and the route of the voyage). Contemporary gold-tooled half sheepskin. 408, [4] pp. Full description
€ 10,000
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The account of a voyage of a Swedish privateer together with a vivid account of travels in Germany

MORTIMER, George. Engelsmannen Joh. Hindric Cox Resa Genom Söderhafvet Till On Amsterdam, Marien-Oarna, O-Taheiti, Sandvichs-och Räf-Oarna, Tinian, Unalaska och Canton i China.
Nyköping, Peter Winge, 1798.
With: (2) RISBECK, Gaspard. Bref, Rörande Tyskland, Scrifne af en resande Fransos til sin broder i Paris. Ofwersättning. Andra Uplagan.
Götheborg, Samuel Norberg, 1797-1798. 2 works in 1 volume. 8vo. Contemporary half calf. 77, [3 blank] pp. Full description
€ 5,000
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Essays on chronometry resulting from Roquemaurel's circumnavigations
to the Pacific, South East Asia and South America (Brazil)

MOUCHEZ, Amédée Ernest Barthélemy. Observations chronométriques faites pendant la campagne de circumnavigation de la corvette La Capricieuse, commandée par M. Roquemaurel, capitaine de vaisseau.
Paris, Firmin Didot frères, 1855. With 4 folding plates. With:
(2) MOUCHEZ, Amédée Ernest Barthélemy. Longitudes chronométriques des principaux points de la cote du Brésil, rapportées au premier méridien de Rio-Janeiro. Paris, Paul Dupont, 1863.
(3) MOUCHEZ, Amédée Ernest Barthélemy. Positions géographiques des principaux points de la cote orientale de l'Amérique du Sud comprise entre la Guyane Française et le Paraguay. Paris, Paul Dupont, 1868.
3 works in 1 volume. 8vo. Contemporary grained red half sheepskin. VIII, 139, [1]; 32; [4], 35, [1] pp. Full description
€ 3,500
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Bibliography of Portuguese and Spanish works on Chinese and Japanese linguistics, one of 150 copies

[MUÑOZ Y MANZANO, Cipriano], CONDE DE LA VIÑAZA. Escritos de los Portugueses y Castellanos referentes a las lenguas de China y el Japon. Estudio bibliográfico por el Conde de la Vinaza.
Lisboa; Madrid; Londres, M. Gomes; M. Murillo; B. Quaritch, 1892. 8vo. Contemporary half calf; spine ribbed with gilt title. 139 pp. Full description
€ 850
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Against the Jesuits: funeral oration for Claude Visdelou, important in the "struggle on the Chinese rites"

NORBERT de Bar-le-Duc (= Pierre PARISOT or NORBERT von Lothringen). Oraison funebre de Monseigneur Visdelou Jesuite, Evêque de Claudiopolis, vicaire apolostique de la province de Kuey-cheu dans l'empire de la Chine, & administrateur de la province de Huguang dans le même empire, &c. décéde le onze Novembre 1737. & inhumé dans l' eglise des RR. PP. Capucins de Pondichery, missionaires apolostiques, & curés en lad. ville. Prononcée le onze Décembre de la même année par le R.P. Norbert de Bar Le Duc, Capucin missionaire apolostique.
[Avignon?], [no publisher], 1742. 8vo. Contemporary calf, gold-tooled spine with red label, marbled endpapers, red edges. [12], 201, [1], XVI pp. Full description
€ 2,500
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Gunboat diplomacy in China and Japan

OLIPHANT, Laurence. Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's mission to China and Japan in the years 1857, '58, '59.
Edinburgh, William Blackwood and Sons, 1859. 2 volumes. 8vo. With 20 chromolithographed plates, 50 wood-engravings in text and 5 engraved folding maps. Contemporary gold-tooled green morocco, richly gold-tooled spine. XIV, 492; XI, [1 blank], 496 pp. Full description
€ 1,200
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Two journeys to China described by two pupils of Linnaeus

OSBECK, Peter and Olof TORÉN. Dagbok öfwer en Ostindisk resa åren 1750, 1751, 1752. Med anmärkningar uti naturkunnigheten, främmande folkslags sprak, seder, hushållning m.m. jåmte 12 tabeller och afledne skepps-predikanten Torens bref.
Stockholm, Lorentz Ludwig Grefing (printed by N. von Oelreich), 1757. 8vo. With 12 folding engraved plates (numbered 1-12), a small woodcut ornament at the start of the dedication and a decorated initials and an elaborate head-pieces, both built up from typographical ornaments. Contemporary(?) gold-tooled half sprinkled calf, with a beige title-label lettered in gold on the spine, sprinkled paper sides, red edges. [8], 376, [16] pp. Full description
€ 2,950
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A celebrated description of Tibet

PALLAS, Peter Simon. Description du Tibet, d'après la relation des Lamas Tangoutes, établis parmi les Mongols.
Paris, Bossange, Masson et Besson, 1808. 8vo. With engraved illustration on title-page. Modern half calf, gold-tooled spine. [5], VIII-XII, 89 pp. Full description
€ 5,500
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Rare pamphlet on the fierce persecution of Catholic missionaries in China, illustrated by two martyrdoms

[PAMPHLET - CHINA]. Noticia certa de hum successo acontecido no Imperio da China aeonde se referem os tormentos, trabalhos, e martyrios que alli padessem os Catholicos; e os que passou, o muito reverendo padre Fr. Joam de Santa Maria, religioso da vernavel ordem de S. Domingos. E onde tambem morreraõ martyres o illustrissimo bispo de Maricastro, dignissimo filho da mesma sagrada religiaõ; e outros religiosos: escrito tudo para mayor honra, e gloria de nossa santa fé.
Lisbon, 1757. 8vo. Sewn but never bound, loosely inserted in a modern paper wrapper ("etlina" in black ink and a white paper label with the number 92 taped on front wrapper). 7, [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 3,750
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"Some of the most accurate information on China to be found in the first half of the seventeenth century"

PANTOJA, Diego de. Advis ... envoyé de Paquin cité de la Chine, au R.P. Loys de Gusman ... Sur le succes de la religion chrestienne au royaume de la Chine. De l'entree d'aucuns peres de ladire compagnie en la cour du roy, & de plusieurs choses memorables, qu'ils ont veu en ce païs.
Lyon, Pierre Rigaud, 1607. 12mo. Contemporary limp sheepskin parchment, remains of ties. [8], 145, [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 19,000
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The first Chinese drama and other intriguing Chinese customs in 18th-century Europe

PERCY, Thomas (editor). Miscellaneous pieces relating to the Chinese.
London, printed for R. and J. Dodsley, 1762. 2 volumes. Small 8vo. With an engraved frontispiece with Chinese characters in volume 1 and a quote from Confucius in Chinese characters and a Latin transliteration and translation serving as a vignette on both title-pages. Contemporary sprinkled calf, sewn on three supports with 5 false raised bands on the spine, gold-tooled volume numbers and double-fillet lines on the spines, gold-tooled board edges, red edges. [1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], [15], [1 blank], [2], 232; [1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], 248 pp. Full description
€ 3,750
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One of the first photographic albums on China.

[PHOTOGRAPHY - CHINA]. [Chinese photographic album]. Album Chinois.
[Shanghai?], ca. 1860. 4to. 41 albumen printed photographs (most measuring 11 x 8 cm). Original publisher's black calico cloth, rebacked with black leather, blind-tooled boards with the title lettered in gold on the front board, gilt edges, yellow endpapers. [42] pp. Full description
€ 35,000
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The wondrous travels of Pinto according to radical enlightenment philosophy

PINTO, Fernão Mendes and Jan Hendrik GLAZEMAKER (translator). De wonderlyke reizen van Fernando Mendez Pinto; die hij in de tijt van eenëntwintig jaren in Europa, Asia en Afrika... gedaan heeft.
Amsterdam, printed for Jan Rieuwertsz I and Jan Hendricksz Boom, 1653. 4to. With an engraved title-page and 7 engraved plates. Modern vellum. [8], 280 pp. Full description
€ 4,500
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First Dutch editions of 8 accounts of the Middle & Far East, from Marco Polo’s voyages to the capture of Formosa by the pirate Zheng Chenggong

POLO, Marco. Reisen, en beschryving der Oostersche lantschappen; ...
Including:
-HETOUM of Corycus. Historie der Oostersche lantschappen; ...
-[BRACCIOLINI, Poggio, and Girolamo di SANTO STEFANO]. Reysen naar Indien, en d'oostersche landen; gedaan by Nicolaus Venetus, en Jeronymus van St. Steven.
-[Anonymous VOC officer in Formosa]. Verhaal van de verövering van 't eylant Formosa door de Sinesen.
Amsterdam, Abraham Wolfgang, 1664. With 4 engraved plates.
With:
(2) BOURGES, Jacques de. Naaukeurig verhaal van de reis des Bisschops van Beryte uit Frankryk te lant en ter zee naar China.
Amsterdam, Abraham Wolfgang, 1669. With 8 half-page engraved illustrations in text.
(3) Verhaal van drie voorname reizen naar Oostindien, te weten van Johan Jacobsz Saar, Volkert Evertsz, en Albrecht Herport.
Comprising:
-SAAR, Johann Jacob. De reisbeschryving ... naar Oostindien, sedert ... 1644. tot ... 1659. ...
-OLEARIUS, Adam. De beschryving der reizen van Volkert Evertsz. [= Volquard Iversen] naar Oostindien. ... uitgevaren in ... 1655. en in ... 1668 ... gekeert.
-HERPORT, Albrecht. De beschryving der Oostindische reizen ... sedert ... 1659. tot ... 1668. ...
Amsterdam, Jan Rieuwertsz & Pieter Arentsz, 1671 (works 2 and 3 dated 1670 on their title-pages). With 8 engraved plates, the last 4 sometimes attributed to Romeyn de Hooghe or his school.
3 editions (the 1st containing 4 works and the 3rd containing 3 works) in 1 volume. 4to.Contemporary vellum. [12], 99, [8], [1 blank], 70, [2], 25, [1 blank], 12; [2], 126; [6], 198 pp. Full description
€ 28,000
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The first English voyage to Hawaii after Captain James Cook's

PORTLOCK, Nathaniel. Reis naar de noord-west kust van Amerika. Gedaan in de jaren 1785, 1786, 1787 en 1788.
Amsterdam, Matthijs Schalekamp, 1795. 4to. With folding engraved map (34.5 x 46 cm) showing the routes of the ships King George and Queen Charlotte, 1 plate with engraved music and 8 folding engraved plates (last plate partly hand-coloured). Modern red half leather. XII, [4], 265, [1] pp. Full description
€ 2,750
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Ichthyology of western China

PRZEWALSKI, Nicolai Michailovich. Wissenschaftliche Resultate der von N.M. Przewalski nach Central-Asien unternommenen Reisen auf Kosten einer von seiner Kaiserlichen Hoheit dem Grossfürsten Thronfolger Nikolai Alexandrowitsch gespendeten Summe herausgegeben von der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Zoologischer Theil. Band III, Abth. 2. Fische. Bearbeitet von S. Herzenstein. Lieferung 1[-3].
St. Petersburg, for the Royal Academie of Science, 1888-1891. 3 parts in 1 volume. Folio. With 3 title-pages, recto printed in cyrillic, verso in German, and 25 lithographed plates by R. and I. (or J.) Koch, and several illustrations in text. Later cloth. [2], VI, 91, [1]; 91-180; 181-262 pp. Full description
€ 1,950
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A French voyage to the Far East, presentation copy

RENOUARD DE SAINTE-CROIX, Felix. Voyage commercial et politique aux Indes Orientales, aux Iles Philippines, a la Chine, avec des notions sur la Cochinchine et le Tonquin, pendant les années 1803, 1804, 1805, 1806 et 1807.
Paris, Clament frères (printed by Crapelet), 1810. 3 volumes. 8vo. With 2 folding engraved maps (India and Southeast Asia, coloured in outline), and 4 folding letterpress tables. Contemporary gold-tooled tree calf. X, 301, [1]; [4], 390; [4], 291, [1] pp. Full description
€ 7,500
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Complete set of articles from the first ten years of the Royal Asiatic Society

[ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY]. Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
London, 1824-1834. 3 volumes in 8 parts. 4to. With 80 lithographed plates, including several folding plates and 2 chromolithographed plates, and some smaller illustrations in text. Contemporary blue and grey paper wrappers, kept in two modern half morocco boxes. Full description
€ 18,000
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Enlarged Dutch edition of a description of Southeast Asia

SALMON, Thomas and Matthias van GOCH. Hedendaegsche historie, of tegenwoordige staet van alle volkeren; ... I. deel. Behelzende de tegenwoordige staet der keizerryken China en Japan, als mede van de Ladrones, Filippynsche en Molukkische eilanden, en van Makassar.
Amsterdam, Isaak Tirion, 1729. 6 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. With engraved frontispiece by Jan Caspar Philips, 3 engraved folding maps and 7 engraved plates (2 full-page and 5 folding, including 4 signed by Philips and dated 1728-1729). The maps show: (1) China, (2) Japan and (3) the Philippines, including the greater part of Indonesia. Contemporary blind-tooled vellum. [20], 88, [2], 91-200, [4], 203-318, [2], 319-442, [4], 443-554, [8], 555-645, [19], [2 blank] pp. Full description
€ 2,500
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Chinese archaeology in the early 20th century, with 144 collotype plates

SEGALEN, Victor, Gilbert de VOISINS and Jean LARTIGUE. Mission archéologique en Chine (1914). L'art funéraire a l'époque des Han.
Paris, Paul Geuthner, 1923-1935. 1 text volume (4to) and 2 atlas volumes (38.5 x 28 cm). With 121 illustrations in text and 144 collotype plates in the atlas. Text volume in original printed paper wrappers. Atlas in original half cloth, printed paper sides. [3] ll., 304 pp.; XI, [1 blank], [3], [1 blank] pp.; 4 ll. Full description
€ 6,500
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274 photographic reproductions showing art and architecture from early 20th-century Beijing

SIRÉN, Osvald. Les palais impériaux de Pékin. Deux cent soixante-quartorze planches hors texte en héliotypie d'apres les photographies de l'auteur, douze dessins architectureaux et deux plans, avec une notice historique ...
Paris & Brussels, G. Vanoest, 1926. 3 volumes. With 12 plans and 2 maps (mostly folding), and a total of 274 collotype plates. Publisher's original, printed, blue paper wrappers. VI, 73, [3 blank]; [3], [1 blank]; [3], [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 15,000
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Newly discovered shells from the Arabian Gulf, Taiwan, China and Japan, with a chromolithographed plate

SMITH, Edgar. Descriptions of five new shells from the Island of Formosa and the Persian Gulf, and notes upon a few known species.Including: BOCK, Carl. Descriptions of two new species of shells from China and Japan.
[London], 18 June 1878. With a chromolithographed plate depicting 14 shells. Modern paper wrappers. 727-732 pp. Full description
€ 850
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Much enlarged edition of a classic of natural history and discoveries in the Far East

SONNERAT, Pierre. Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine, fait par ordre de Louis XVI, depuis 1774 jusqu'en 1781; dans lequel on traite des moers, de la religion, des sciences et des arts des Indiens, des Chinois, des Pégouins et des Madégasses; suivi d'observations sur le Cap de Bonne-Espérance, les îles de France et de Bourbon, les Maldives, Ceylan, Malacca, les Philippines et les Moluques, et de rechereches sur l'histoire naturelle de ces pays, etc, etc. ... Nouvelle édition.
Paris, Dentu, 1806. 4 text volumes (8vo) and 1 atlas (4to). With 140 numbered engraved plates: a double-page plan of the city of Pondichéry, India, 19 double- and 120 single-page views and plates. Contemporary red half sheepskin (text) and modern red half cloth (atlas). Text volumes: XXVIII, 372; [4], 445; [4], 412, [2]; [4], 488, [1] pp. Full description
€ 4,500
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From a series of "the finest engravings of flowers ever made" by the teacher of Redouté

SPAENDONCK, Gerard van. Reine-marguerite. Aster chinensis L. [From: Fleurs dessinées d'après nature,... Recueil utile aux amateurs, aux jeunes artistes, aux élèves des écoles centrales et aux dessinateurs des manufactures].
[Paris, 1799-1801]. Stipple engraving on unwatermarked wove paper (56 x 37.5 cm), printed in colour à la poupée and finished by hand, of a Callistephus chinensis showing three fully opened and two half opened flowers, signed "P.F. Le Grand sculp."In passepartout. Full description
€ 2,750
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First-hand accounts of Russia ca. 1670 and life in the Mughal army;
from the library of a famous German explorer

STRUYS, Jan Jansz. Drie aanmerkelyke reizen, door Italien, Griekenland, Lyfland, Moscovien, Tartaryen, Meden, Persien, Oostindien, Japan, en verscheiden andere gewesten.
Including: HEIDEN, Frans Jansz. van der. Vervaarlyke schipbreuk van 't Oostindiesch jacht Ter Schelling, onder het land van Bengale, ...
Amsterdam, Steven van Esveldt, 1746. 4to. 2 parts in 1 volume. Part 1 with an engraved title-page, 19 engraved folding plates and 1 engraved folding map; part 2 with an engraved title-page and 12 engraved plates. 19th-century red half sheepskin. [6], 382, 28, [15], [1 blank]; 134 pp. Full description
€ 4,000
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Arabic travel account from the early Abbasid era, concerning China and India: rare English edition

SULAYMAN AL-TAJIR and ABU ZAID HASAN IBN YAZID, AL-SIRAFI. (Eusèbe RENAUDOT, editor). [Silsilat al-tawarik - English]. Ancient accounts of India and China, by two Mohammedan travellers, who went to those parts in the 9th century.
London, Samuel Harding, 1733. 8vo (ca. 12 x 20 cm). With a wood-engraved printer's device and the half-title-page and title-page printed in red and black. Contemporary blind-tooled panelled calf, sewn on 6 supports creating 6 compartments on the gold-tooled spine. With a red morocco title-label lettered in gold on the spine, red sprinkled edges. XXXVII, (1), 260, VII pp. Full description
€ 28,000
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14 Chinese colour drawings on pith paper, showing 72 fish and seashells, some in metallic colours

[SUNQUA?]. [Chinese fish and seashells].
[Guangzhen (Canton)?, Sunqua?, ca. 1845/55?]. Oblong folio album (26.5 x 34.5 cm). 14 drawings depicting 72 fish and seashells in coloured gouaches, the fish with gold and silver speckles to give a metallic effect to the scales, executed on pith paper (18 x 29 cm), framed with 4 strips of blue silk, and with a loose tissue leaf inserted before each drawing. Contemporary boards, covered with yellow-green silk. [14] ll. Full description
€ 18,000
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Russian mission to China, with a plan of Beijing

TIMKOWSKI, Egor Fedorovitch. Voyage à Peking, à travers la Mongolie en 1820 et 1821.
Paris, Dondey-Dupré père et Fils, 1827. 2 text volumes (8vo) and one atlas volume (folio). With lithographed title-page, 3 lithographed maps and plans, 8 lithographed plates with copies after Chinese and other drawings. Text volumes in contemporary half calf and atlas in original brown wrappers. [8], XII, 480; [4], 459; 32 pp. Full description
€ 4,500
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12 stunning and detailed drawings of Chinese deities, in many bright colours plus gold and silver

TINGQUA. [Twelve Chinese gods].
[Guangzhen (Canton)], Tingqua, [ca. 1870?]. Imperial 4to album (33 x 24.5 cm). 12 drawings in numerous brightly coloured gouaches plus gold and silver, on pith paper (30 x 21.5 cm), each drawing mounted by its corners in an album of mulberry-bark(?) paper and framed with 4 strips of blue silk, and with a loose tissue leaf inserted before each drawing and an extra blank album leaf before the first drawing. Contemporary rice-straw(?) pasteboards, with the contemporary "Tingqua" label. [12] ll. Full description
€ 38,000
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Chinese botany and agriculture, North America, Linnaeus and Benjamin Franklin

TORÉN, Olof. Voyage de Mons. Olof Torée[,] Aumonier de la Compagnie Suedoise des Indes Orientales, fait à Surate, à la Chine &c.
Milan, Reycends brothers, 1771.
With:
(2) ECKEBERG, Carl Gustaf. Précis historique de l'économie rurale des Chinois.
Milan, Reycends brothers, 1771.
(3) BLACKFORD, Dominique de. Précis de l'état actuel des colonies Angloises dans l'Amérique Septentrionale.
Milan, Reycends brothers, 1771. 3 works in 1 volume. 12mo. Contemporary French mottled calf, gold-tooled spine. 92; [4], 47, [1 blank]; 99, [1] pp. Full description
€ 3,250
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Extensive Italian handbook for missionaries to India, southeast Asia and China

TOSI, Clemente (TONSUS, Clemens). L'India Orientale. Descrittione geografica, & historica. (vol. 1:) Dove si tratta della parte intra Gangem contenente li regni soggetti all' Impero del Gran Mogol ... Con la confutatione dell'idolatie, superstitioni, & altri loro errori. (vol.2:) Dove si tratta della parte extra Gangem ...
Rome, Felice Cesaretti, 1676. 2 volumes. 4to. With the full-page portrait of the author by A. Clouet, many woodcut initials and head- and tail-pieces. Contemporary vellum, with a manuscript title on the spines, sprinkled edges. [8], 896, 58; [8], 927, [1] pp. Full description
€ 4,500
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Brief history of the Zhou dynasty

TSCHEPE, P. Albert S.J. Histoire du Royaume de Ou (1122 - 473 av. J.- C.). Variétés Sinologiques no.10.
Shanghai, Librairie de la Mission Catholique, 1896. 8vo. With 17 illustrations in text and one folding map. Publisher's printed paper wrappers. XVII, 175 pp. Full description
€ 275
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Richly illustrated journey of Nicholas II of Russia through Asia

UKHTOMSKY (UCHTOMSKIJ), Esper Esperovich and Hermann BRUNNHOFER (translator). Orientreise seiner kaiserlichen Hoheit des Grossfürsten-Thronfolgers Nikolaus Alexandrowitsch von Russland, 1890-1891.
Leipzig, F.A. Brockhaus, 1894-1899. 2 volumes. 4to. With engraved portrait of Nicholas, 7 photogravures, 541 wood engravings after drawings and photographs and 5 chromolithographed maps. Publisher's cloth, richly blocked in black, gold and grey, gilt edges. [4], 476; [4], 482 pp. Full description
€ 8,500
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"This work ranks with the voyages of Cook and La Pérouse among the most important of the 18th and 19th centuries"

VANCOUVER, George. Reisen nach dem nördlichem[!] Theile der Südsee während der Jahre 1790 bis 1795. Aus dem Englischen übersetzt und mit Anmerkungen begleitet von Joh. Friedr. Wilh. Herbst.
Berlin, (colophon: printed by Johann Wilhelm Schmidt) for the Vossische Buchhandlung, 1799-1800. 2 volumes. 8vo. With a large folding engraved map (52 x 42 cm) by Ferdinand Sprögel (Berlin, 1800) of the northwest coast of America, and 2 folding aquatints. Contemporary half calf. [2], 386; VIII, 406 pp. Full description
€ 2,950
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In search of a northeast passage

VEER, Gerrit de (et al.). Verhael van de eerste schip-vaert der Hollandische ende Zeeusche schepen door 't Way-gat, by Noorden Noorwegen, Moscovien ende Tartarien, na de coninckrijcken Cathay ende China. Met drie schepen, uyt Texel gezeylt in den jare 1594. Hier achter is by-ghevoeght de beschrijvinghe van de landen Siberien, Samoyeda, ende Tingoesa. Seer vreemt en vermaackelijck om lesen.
Amsterdam, for Joost Hartgers, 1648. 4to. With woodcut illustration on title-page and a double-page engraved plate with 6 illustrations. Old marbled wrappers. [2], 57, [1 blank] pp. Full description
€ 3,950
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An interesting unbiassed lecture on the history and culture of China
by the vice-president of the Bataviaasch Genootschap at Batavia

VINNE, Jan van der. Bijdragen tot de kennis van het Rijk van China, voorgelezen in de Algemene vergadering van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, op den 25sten mei 1842.
Batavia, [Landsdrukkerij/Drukkerij van het Bat. Genootschap], 1842. 8vo. Half green cloth, marbled sides. [2], 62 pp. Full description
€ 450
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Famous Dutch voyages of discovery, with 2 maps, 1 plan and 61 plates

[VOC - WIC]. Nederlandsche reizen, tot bevordering van den koophandel, na de meest afgelegene gewesten des aardkloots. ... Met plaaten. Eerste[-veertiende of laatste] deel.
Amsterdam, Peterus Conradi; Harlingen, W. van der Plaats, 1784-1787. 14 volumes bound as 6. 8vo. With 2 engraved folding maps, 1 engraved folding city plan and 61 engraved plates (56 folding) including many topographic views. Uniform half tree calf (ca. 1820?), gold-tooled spines. Full description
€ 9,500
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Early edition of the 1588 Korean translation of a classic Confucian schoolbook

ZHU XI (CHU HSI). [In Korean:] Sohak eonhae [In Chinese:] Xiaoxue jizhu [= Elementary learning].
[Korea], [1744?]. Folio (32.5 x 21.5 cm). With the pages printed in pairs (each page 17 x 10 characters) from 2-page woodblocks, each in a frame of thick rules, with thin rules between the columns, the title and leaf number between the pages on the fore-edge fold, with 2 decorations (4 leaves in white on black above the title and below the leaf number). Printed on Asian (probably paper mulberry bark) paper, with clear chainlines (about 20 mm apart) and laidlines (about 2.1 mm apart), with the text in a mixture of hanja (Chinese characters) and hangul (the Korean alphabet). Contemporary Korean spineless wrappers with an embossed diaper pattern (made from interwoven diagonal triple lines) on the inside (mostly covered by the paste-down), side-stitched and oversewn through 5 holes, with manuscript title on the front wrapper and the spine edge. 66 double ll. Full description
€ 25,000
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