Search Results: Rare and unrecorded from ARTEM

The rarest book from the first printing press in the Arab World
Annuaire de la République Française, calculé pour le méridien du Kaire, l'an VIII de l'ere Française.
Cairo, de l'Imprimerie Nationale, an VIII [1799/1800].
4⁰. 119 pp. With a woodcut printer's device on title. Contemporary red painted paper wrappers.
One of the first books from the first printing press in the Arab World. The first issues from the Imprimerie Nationale are true incunabula of Arab printing and all are very rare. Most elusive amongst these is the present first almanac. We traced no copies in Arab or American libraries. The press lasted only until 1801.
The Imprimerie Nationale was set up when Napoleon traveled to Egypt in 1798: "an extraordinarily important turning point" (Glass & Roper). The French Republic aimed to bring progress wherever they arrived. In the case of Egypt this permanently changed the Arab World. Progress was predominantly expressed in administrative reform, of which the present almanac is typical… Read More

Almanac from the first printing press in the Arab world
Annuaire de la République Française, calculé pour le méridien du Kaire, l'an IX de l'ère Française.
Cairo, de l'Imprimerie Nationale, an IX [1800/1801].
4⁰. 1-58, [4], 61- 68 pp., [2], 48 pp. With a woodcut printer's device on title.
Contemporary blank paper covers.
One of the first books from the first printing press in the Arab World. The issues from the Imprimerie Nationale are true incunabula of Arab printing and all are very rare. The press lasted only until 1801.
The Imprimerie Nationale was set up when Napoleon traveled to Egypt in 1798: "an extraordinarily important turning point" (Glass & Roper). The French Republic aimed to bring progress wherever they arrived. In the case of Egypt this permanently changed the Arab World. Progress was predominantly expressed in administrative reform, of which the present almanac is typical product. It was crucial for an almanac (Annuaire) to appear at the new press as soon as possible because… Read More

Bombay-printed description of Gujarat and beyond
ombay, printed at the Times' Press, by James Chesson, 1849.
Folio (29x23,5 cm.). [14], 408, VIII, [2], IX-XXIV pp. Illustrated with several plans of palaces.
First edition, printed at Bombay, of a very thorough, lengthy description of "Gujarashtra" (present-day Gujarat, India). One of the very few copies of this Bombay-printed first edition: WorldCat records only 1 copy, digitized by the University of Bradford.
Henry Briggs was born in Bombay, October 20, 1824. He travelled in South Africa in 1843, in China in1845, and settled in Bombay in 1846 to work in the office of his father: Briggs & Co. Meanwhile he started writing about India. First he edited the Sindian (1854) and in 1855 the Sind Kossid. In 1856 he became assistant secretary at Bombay to the G.I.P. Railway. His first published book was the present Cities of Gujdrashtra, "containing curious information gleaned from travellers in India: of whose rare works he made an extensive collection"… Read More

Legal documents regarding the suspension of one of the Liberators from court


Anonymous [Jose Felix de Restrepo (1760-1832)].

Coleccion de documentos que publica la Alta Corte de Justicia Nacional en Manifestacion de su conducta oponiéndose a que la Cámara de Representantes diese asiento en su seno al Dr. José Joaquín Ortiz, suspendido de su empleo de ministro de la Corte Superior de Cundinamarca.

Bogotá, Impreso por F. M. Stokes, Plazuela de San Francisco 1826.



8°. 28 pp.



Collection of documents concerning the suspension of Dr. José Joaquin Ortiz, representative of the Popayan province at the Superior Court of Cundinamarca. The president of the High Court was Dr. Jose Felix de Restrepo. The origin of this matter was a sentence in a lawsuit between the Augustinian convent and Sebastian Lopez. To For the matter of transparency regarding this controversial issue that was settled by a tight vote, the High Court has decided to publish all documents that were used in the case. José… Read More

Extremely rare, significant and pretty Yucatan imprint
Francisco de Paula Toro (1799-1840).
Contestaciones Habidas entre los Señores General D. Francisco Toro, actual Gobernador de este Estado y el Ciudadano Juan de Dios Cosgaya su Antecesor.
Mérida de Yucatán, Imprenta del Gobierno, de la Propiedad de L. Segú, 1834.
8°. [2], 21, [1 blank] pp. Wit a woodcut illustrated title and two woodcut text illustrations.
Modern blue calf with gold-tooled title on front cover, new endpapers.
Unrecorded first and only edition of a politically sensitive work by the current Governor of the State of Yucatan, General Francisco de Paula Toro. He publishes here his correspondence from April 22 to May 31 1834 with the previous Governor, "citizen" Juan de Dios Cosgaya, who was removed from his post and imprisoned in the same year as this publication. Toro took over from Cosgaya with the backing of the new President Antonio López de Santa Anna, who was also his brother-in-law. In a 2-page instruction Toro addresses… Read More

***The second book ever printed in Catania, Sicily***


Giuseppe Cumia (1531-1593).

De successione feudalium repetitio seu commentarij, nunc primum in lucem aediti.

Catania, apud eundem authorem, 1563 (colophon: Catinae, impressorum defectu idem author impressit,1563).



Folio in 6s. [4], 452 pp. Collation: [π]⁶A-2O⁶ = complete (matches copy Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma).

Contemporary limp vellum with ink title on spine.



First edition of an important legal work by Sicilian jurist Giuseppe Cumia, printed by himself at his legendary press. A recent study recorded only 17 copies of the 4 editions that were published from Cumia's press (see Aiello 2020).
There was no printing press in Catania, there never had been until Cumia set one up in his house. He spent almost all of his life in Catania, first as a law student, then as a teacher and scholar of law. In 1562 he travelled to Messina to have a collection of his poetry published at the Spira printing house, but when the owner died… Read More

Bolivar improves medical services in Venezuela
Simón Bolívar (1783-1830); José Rafael Revenga (1786-1852).
Decreto sobre el rèjimen i gobierno del hospital militar.
[Caracas, April 23, 1827].
8°. 18 pp.
Recent paper covers.
Decree by Bolivar to improve the military hospital at Caracas, Venezuela and the medical infrastructure in general. Issued by his Secretary General José Rafael Revenga, this lists 19 articles to which the hospital and all other medical establishments should adhere to. The final pages states that this decree was "Given at my headquarters in Caracas on April 23, 1827-17°". Medical services had been largely the responsibility of religious organisations. Bolivar aimed to strip monastic orders of their influence and the present decree can be seen as an example of that development.This decree was issued just after settling, temporarily, the rebellion of Jose Antonio Paez in Venezuela. In 1826 Bolivar travelled to Venezuela to subjugate the resistance instigated by General Paez.… Read More

• Extremely rare, important and early work on East Africa and the East Indies • João dos Santos (Évora, after 1560 - Goa, 1622).
Ethiopia Oriental e varia historia de cousas notaveis do Oriente.
[Including:]
Varia historia de cousas notaveis do Oriente. E da christandade que os religiosos da Ordem dos pregadores nelle fizerāo
Évora, (colophon vol. 2: Impresso no Convento de S. Domingos de Evora), Manoel de Lyra, 1609 (colophon vol. 2: printed in 1608).
2 volumes in 1. 8°. [8], 140; [3, 1 blank], 123 ll. (index bound after title in vol. 2). Collates: [pi]6, 2[pi]2, A-R8, S4; A, Q4-Q6 [= index], A2-A8, B-P8, Q3 (complete).
Vol. 1 with an engraved title-page depicting a female figure seated on a crocodile (dragon?), an elephant, a palm tree, a lion and a church in a landscape, surrounded by an architectural border with the image of Saint Dominic in a cartouche at the top. Signed Bras Nunes Fecit; vol. 2 with the title-page in a woodcut architectural border with two caryatids and an inset… Read More

12°. 11, [1 blank] pp. Later half morocco with marbled sides and gilt lettering on spine. Only known copy of a British missionary's account of his foot journey from inland Madagascar to the coast. The author, George Andrew Shaw (1842-1917), was a missionary of Tamatave, Madagascar. In the present work he describes in detail the sights and surroundings, the various churches and stations, as well as the way of life of the local inhabitants that he encountered along his journey.
Two other works on Madagascar appeared from his hand after his return to England: Madagascar and France, with some account of the island, its people, its resources and development. London, The Religious Tract Society 1885; Madagascar of to-day: an account of the island, its people, resources and development. London, Religious Tract Society, 1886.
Christian missionaries were largely responsible for the early development of printing in Africa in the nineteenth century, primarily producing works that benefitted the converting of… Read More

Meticulous description of the new royal yacht and private fleet of the king of Portugal
Manuel Luis dos Santos (?-1870).
1) Inventário do Casco, Aparelhos e mais utensílios assim de uso como de sobrecellentes da Real escuna de Sua Magestade o Senor D. Miguel I. [...] mandou riscar, desenhar, e construir para seu Real e immediato serviço, pelo engenheiro constructor do Arsenal Real da Marinha desta capital [...].
[Including:]
2) Descripção historica das figuras alegóricas mithologicas de que se compõe o baixo relevo que orna o exterior do real e naval vaso denominado Real escuna o qual Sua Magestade Fidelissima o Senhor D. Miguel I, Rei de Portugal e dos Algarves mandou riscar [...].
[Including:]
3) Descripção Historica da Camara Real, Camarim Real, Ante-Camara e tudo o mais concernente ao interior do Real e naval vaso denominado Real escuna [...].
Lisbon, Impressão Regia, 1832.
3 volumes in 1 (bound as 2-3-1). 4°. 10; 14; 71, [1 blank] pp. With the woodcut arms of Portugal on each… Read More

Unrecorded Dutch anti-Catholic treatise, with prominent Utrecht provenance


François [de la Salle] Monginot (1569-1637); Daniel Costerus (1620(?)-1646) [translator].

Ontbindinge der twijffelingen ofte corte en clare verhandelinge van de voornaemste verschillen tusschen de Gereformeerde ende de Roomsche Kercke […].

Utrecht, Amelis Janssz van Paddenburgh, 1631.

8°. [34], 83, [3] pp. A-G8, H4.

Contemporary vellum.



Rare (not in STCN) first and only Dutch edition of a plea to Catholics to convert as Protestants. First published in French in La Rochelle, 1617 as Résolution des doutes, ou Sommaire décision des controverses entre l'Église réformée et l'Église romaine, in which Monginot explains why he converted from the Catholic to the Protestant faith.
This translation was dedicated to the magistrates of Utrecht and approved by the Dutch Synod. Translator Daniël Costerus, a preacher in Houten near Utrecht, added a 14-page preface and a 3-page prayer at the end. The only STCN record of… Read More

Calvert's rarest print album
London, Hodgson & Co, 1823.
Oblong 4°
(24 x 16,5 cm.). With 24 soft ground etched plates and title. Original publisher's half morocco with printed front cover. With original tissue guards.
Very rare plate album by Irish landscape painter Frederick Calvert, complete with 24 "picturesque views" and in the original binding. Calvert moved to England in 1815 and, besides painting, produced a number of print albums and model books, a.o. The young artist's instructor (London, Hodgson and Co., 1823) and Rural scenery (London, Hodgson and Co., ca. 1825). He designed plates for Picturesque views ... in Staffordshire and Shropshire (Birmingham, William Emans, 1830-1831), and for A new and compendious history, of the county of Warwick (Birmingham, William Emans, 1830). Perhaps his most famous work was for The Isle of Wight illustrated (1846).
The present work is the rarest of Calvert's published oeuvre, with just 4 copies recorded in WorldCat and none at auction. It formed the basis… Read More

Founding Royal ordinance for the Corps of Invalids of New Spain
Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursua (1717-1779, Viceroy of New Spain).
Reglamento formado para el cuerpo de invalidos de Nueva España por el Excmo. Sr. Bailio Fr. D. Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursua Virrey Governador y Capitan General de ella, aprobado por S. M. en Real Orden de trece de Junio de 1773.
Mexico City, Joseph Antonio de Hogal, 1774.
Folio. [2], 19, [1 blank] pp. Collates: π, A-D2, π.
With the woodcut Royal coat of arms on the title. Signature of Viceroy Bucareli in ink on the final page.
Modern stiff marbled paper covers, leaves remargined in order to match the size of the volume. In linen made-to-measure case with title on front.
Very rare first and only edition of the founding document for the establishment of the Corps of Invalids in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This Royal ordinance marks a crucial step in the military organisation of the Spanish Americas and greatly expanded the colonial military presence there.The Cuerpo de… Read More

Very rare broadside announcing new taxes, this copy used in Cali


Francisco de Paula Santander (1792-1840).

Republica de Colombia. Francisco de Paula Santander etc. etc. S.E. el Libertador Presidente en ejercicio de las facultades estraordinarias con que está revestido por el decreto de 23 de noviembre último […].

Bogotá, [no name], diciembre 12 de 1826.

Folio. [3], [1 blank] pp.

With inscriptions in ink by the municipal political chief of the Cali district on the title and the back, with his autograph, dated January 17, 1827.



Broadside decree declaring the introduction of a new taxation fee. The Vice-President declares that the president has used the extraordinary powers with which he is vested by the decree of last November 23th, to order that a capitation of three pesos be required of all free men, without class exception, condition or status, and to mothers of families, from the age of 14 years onwards. The following 25 articles describe the method of collecting the tax, which was… Read More

Very large broadside statistical overview of France in 1824
Paris, Belin-Leprieur, printed by Imprimerie de Jules Didot aîné, June 1824.
Plano (69x100 cm.). Letterpress text, engraved title and illustrated with an engraved ornamental border on thick paper without watermark.
€ 2.400
Impressively large and very rare French broadside table providing a detailed overview of the statistics on population, geography and economy of the 57 départemens of France for the year 1824. It does so in an extremely structured manner. Of each administrative region the precise geographic and topographic values are given, after which the specialization in natural or industrial productivity of these regions is described. For example, the département Calvados has "excellent horses, bestieux fat, grains, cider, cider brandy, flax, hemp" etc. etc. According to a contemporary review in Revue encyclopédique (1825), this table was considered especially useful to understand the importance of each of the départements, and… Read More