Rare books from Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Rare Books

Haag, Martinus Nijhoff, 1930-32. 13 volumes. Original half cloth. With plates.Voyages ordered by the VOC and the WIC undertaken by German sailors: J.G. Aldenburgk (Brasil 1623-1626), J. Verken (the Moluccas 1607-1612), J.J. Merklein (Java, China, Japan 1644-1653), J. von der Behr (Java, Persia, Ceylon 1641-1650), J.J. Saar (Java, Banda, Ceylon, Persia 1644-1660), J.S. Wurffbain (the Moluccas, India 1632-1646), E. Hesse (Sumatra 1680-1683), etc. - A fine set.

Leeuwarden, Hendrik Halma, 1725.2 volumes. Large folio. Contemporary blind-tooled vellum. With allegorical frontispiece, 2 title-pages printed in red and black, engraved portrait of the author, 27 engraved double-page maps and 37 engraved portraits. (12),470; 408 pp. 'François Halma (1653-1722) was boekhandelaar en academiedrukker, eerst te Utrecht, later te Amsterdam en vanaf 1710 te Leeuwarden. Het ‘Tooneel’ is een soort encyclopedie op plaatsnamen en persoonsnamen. Bij zijn overlijden was Halma bijna gereed met de tekst. Brouërius van Nidek nam toen de letters W, Y en Z voor zijn rekening en voegde een levensbeschrijving van Halma toe (Haitsma Mulier & Van der Lem 202b). With fine portraits of the earls of Holland and maps of the Netherlands. - Age-browned otherwise a very fine copy.

Amsterdam, Jacob Beniamin,1653.4to. Later marbled boards. With engraved title, 3 engraved plates and 26 full or half-page engravings in the text. 292 pp.First Dutch edition, first published in London in 1615: A relation of a journey begun an.Dom. 1610. Foure bookes, containing a description of the Turkish Empire, of Egypt, of the Holy Land, of the remote parts of Italy, and islands adjoyning - George Sandys (1578-1644) was the son of the Archbishop of York and a literary figure of some standing. In 1609 he set sail for the East and he spent the next year travelling in Turkey, Egypt and Palestine and later studied antiquities in Rome. His observations first appeared in English in 1615 and his text was soon regarded as a special authority on the Levant. He has been called the first 'classical tourist' of England. Sandys also was interested in colonial promotion, and was one of the undertakers named in the third charter of the Virginia Company in 1611, and later treasurer and a member of the Council. He… Read More

Amsterdam, P.N. van Kampen, 1853-1854.2 volumes in 1. Contemporary half calf, spine gilt. With 2 folding maps and 7 lithographed plates (4 tinted). VIII,274; 292 pp.First edition. - Miscellaneous pieces on Indonesia of historical interest especially on Java from an archaeological point of view. Brumund's (1814-1863) 'beste opstellen en verhalen (staan) in de bundel Indiana. Hij toont hierin een kennis van land en volk, van de Javaanse cultuur en het maatschappelijke leven die zonder meer imponerend is als we bedenken hoe weinig toen nog maar bekend was en hoe Brumund zijn kennis bijna uit het niets heeft moeten vergaren' (Nieuwenhuys, Oost-Indische Spiegel, p.130). - With small library stamp on title-page, otherwise fine.Bastin-Brommer N643; Landwehr, Coloured Plates, 246; Tiele 203.

Harlingen, Hero Galama, (ca. 1665).Engraved half length portrait with heading Vivit post funera virtus, baton and naval battle in the background, after Lodewyck vander Helst by Abraham Blotelingh. With 8 line poem in 2 columns by I. de Decker. Ca. 45 x 35 cm.Fine portrait of Auke Andriesz Stellingwerf (1635 -1665), a Dutch admiral who served the Frisian admiralty and died while commanding a squadron in the battle of Lowestoft. - (Skilfully remargined).Muller, Portretten, 5148a: zeer fraaije gravure.

London, James Duncan, 1828.2 volumes. Later half green morocco, with red title-labels to spines. With engraved view of Bethelsdorp, folding map of South Africa (top missing), and sketch of the institution of the Theopolis. XXXV,403; VIII,450 pp.First edition. - Few books on South African matters have been the subject of such fierce denunciation and bitter criticisms as these volumes. The author proceeded to South Africa in the service of the London Missionary Society in 1819, and soon became a most drastic censor of the methods pursued towards the nativs by the colonists, and the policy of the colonial government with regard to native affairs. When the Researches in South Africa were published a large amount of public indignation was aroused, and the subject was brought before the Houses of Parliament, considerable changes in the administration of native affairs in South Africa being eventually brought about. The volumes afford considerable information respecting the natives and colonists in the… Read More

Leyden, A. en J. Honkoop, 1793.2 volumes in 1. Contemporary half calf, with red morocco title-label to spine. With folding map of the Ganges and the Cape of Good Hope by C. van Baarsel. XXIV,294; 146,(2) pp.First edition; with bookplate of Percival J.G. Bishop. - Stavorinus (1739-1788), captain and rear admiral of the Admiralty of Zeeland, commanded the ship Goes, which was part of the relief fleet under Commander Jacob Pieter van Braam, which succeeded in relieving the besieged Malacca in the battles from 29 May to 21 June 1784. In battles from 2 to 12 August and 29 October to 27 November 1784, Selangore and Riouw were successively liberated when the VOC got into serious difficulties there. 'This work affords an accurate and valuable account of the Cape in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, with an interesting description of Cape Town and its inhabitants' (Mendelssohn). Including also large accounts of Batavia and Bengal. His accounts were published by his son. - A key work on the Dutch in… Read More

Lugduni Batavorum, apud Sam. et Joh. Luchtmans, 1784.4to. Contemporary half calf, spine gilt, with red morocco title-label. XVI,824 pp.First edition. - The Arabic-Latin dictionary by Joannes Willmet (1750-1835) was primarily printed for educational purposes. This work is compiled chiefly from that of Golius, but with many important additions. Though it states to be constructed only for the Koran, Hariri and Ibn Arabshah’s Life of Timur, yet the Arabic student will seldom be at loss for any root he may meet with any other author. For the Koran it is particularly useful, as it contains not only all the words but refers also to the chapter and verse in which they occur (Ras Al Khaimah).- (Blank margin last page restored). - A fine interleaved copy with text in Arabic and Latin in double column.

Leide, Friderik Harring, 1688.Sm.8vo. Contemporary vellum, with rased bands. With woodcut title-vignette. 381 pp.First French edition. - The original manuscript is in Latin, an Italian translation was published in 1697. Augustin von Mayern, Freiherr von Meyerberg, a German diplomat, travelled together with Horace Guillaume Calvuccius to the Russian czar in Moscow, in 1661-1663. Mayerberg's account of his experiences contains much useful information on seventeenth century Russian manners and customs.- (Stamp partly erased from title-page; age-browned). - An early and rare ambassy.Cat. Russica M 623; Cf. Adelung 100 and Muller, Bibl. Neerl.-Russe, 888.

Paris, Costard, 1771.2 volumes. Sm.8vo.Contemporary calf (spines and boards rubbed). (4),XII,450,(2); (2),444,(6) pp. First edition. - Important work on Siam based on manuscripts from the bishop of Tabraca and other missionaries in Siam. A year later the work was suppressed at the request of the bishop, who claimed the author had taken too many liberties with his interpretation of the manuscripts. 'Cet ouvrage, devenu très rare, a été condamné à être détruit par arrêt du Conseil du Roy en date du 5 janvier 1772' (Chadenat 1001) . 'Le plus grand mérite de cet ouvrage, est le tableau qu'il renferme des révolutions survenues à Siam depuis la chutte de Constantin Faulcon jusqu'en 1770. Ce tableau embrasse les événemens qui suivirent cette catastrophe, tels que les démêlés des Français avec l'usurpateur des trône de Siam' (Boucher de la Richarderie V, p.108). - (Some age-browning; small library stamp on titles).Cordier, BI, col. 732; Cox I, p.347; Brébion p.163; Satow 102.

London, W. Bulmer and Co., 1799.4to. Contemporary mottled calf, skilfully rebacked with the original spine laid down, spine richly gilt. . With engraved portrait, 2 plates with musical scores, 3 folding maps (1 tear rep.) and 5 engraved plates (2 folding). XXVIII,372,XCII,(2) pp.Published in the same year as the first edition; with bookplate of J.S.W.S. Erle Drax. - Mungo Park (1771-1806) was the first European to reach the well-nigh fabulous waters of the Niger. He followed the river almost to the Senegal valley. He finally reached Gambia after a lengthy return journey. His journal included a detailed description of travel conditions, the nature of the area, rivers, and customs of various tribes. 'Park's Travels had an immediate success and was translated into most European languages. It has become a classic of travel literature, and its scientific observations on the botany and meteorology of the region, and on the social and domestic life of the negroes, have remained of lasting value. Park's… Read More

Haarlem, Johannes Enschedé en Zonen, 1826.4to. Modern half cloth. (3),432 pp.Famous Malay dictionary by William Marsden (1754-1836) translated by Cornelis Pieter Jacob Elout (1795-1843) into Dutch. William Marsden was an English orientalist, linguist, numismatist, and pioneer in the scientific study of Indonesia.- (Dutch title-page rep.).Teeuw, A critical survey of studies on Malay and Bahasa Indonesia, p.16-17.

Dordrecht, Amsterdam, Joannes van Braam, Gerard onder de Linden, 1724-1726.5 parts in 8 volumes. Folio. Contemporary half calf, spines gilt and with black title-labels (later boards). With engraved allegorical frontispiece, printed title-page in red and black, folding portrait of Valentijn, 19 portraits of the Governors-General, and 326 illustrations, maps, plans, bird's-eye views and plates (most of them double-page or folding; including fragments of Javanese manuscripts).First edition. -The most important early work documenting the history of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the East Indies and the Far East, which never can be superseded as many of the documents of which the author made use, do not longer exist. François Valentijn (1666-1727) was a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church who lived for many years on Amboyna and Java. During this period he collected an enormous mass of information, especially in the fields of history, geography and ethnology, concerning all parts of the world… Read More

Frankfurt, Jäger, 1796.Sm.8vo. Original speckled boards. XII,320 pp.First edition. - Rare early work on climate, topography and deseases in the Dutch colony of Essequebo, Guyana. With ample chapters on native's customs. The German physician Ernst Carl Rodschied who practised in Essequibo in the 1790s, found that classical European medicine could not be used in the treatmen of African slaves without making modifications. Rodschied, who apparently had only had limited contact with Africans, thought that slaves had few passions, did not mind being slaves and were really only interested in keeping themselves alive and (if male) in sexual contact with women. According to Rodschied, Africans had brought 'strange' diseases from Africa and their constitution was quite different from that of the Europeans owing to their distinct customs and habits (Snelders, Leprosy and Colonialism: Suriname Under Dutch Rule, 1750-1950). - (Age-browned).Suriname-Catalogus U.B. Amsterdam 5714; Sabin 72571; Muller, America,… Read More

Paris, Daumont, ( ca. 1780).Contemporary handcoloured perspective view (vue d'optique or Guckkastenbild) depicting the Cape of Good Hope by Jan van Ryne. Ca. 25,5 x 41 cm.Fine view by the Dutch artist Jan van Ryne (ca. 1712-1760), he was believed to have worked in London about 1752-54, when he made an interesting engraving of Table Mountain and Bay, first published by Robert Sayer of Fleet St., London, in 1754, and provided the basis from which other prints were made, one being engraved in reverse in Paris (Gordon-Brown, Pictorial Africana, p.234). We offer the French version of this very attractive view of the Cape of Good Hope from the sea showing the Table Mountain and the company's buildings and many ships in Table Bay. It was an obligatory stop for all European ships going to the Indian Ocean or returning from there to Europe. They stayed a long time to reprovision and to let their crews rest. - A fine engraving.Scheen II, p.277.