Rare books from Khalkedon Rare Books, IOBA, ESA

Istanbul: Altin Kitaplar, 1977. 1st Edition . Dust jacket. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Original bdg. With its rare dust wrapper. Demy 8vo. (21 x 14 cm). In Turkish. 410, [4] p. [RARE FIRST TURKISH EDITION: PSYCHEDELIC COVER] Medyum. [= The shining]. Translated by Mehmet Harmanci. Cover design by Oral Orhon. Mehmet Harmanci (translator), (1932-), was a Turkish translator, author, and the founder of 'Koza Publishing House' together with Tarik Dursun K., (1931-2015). He is known for his translations from American contemporary and modern literature to Turkish as well as Stephen King's books. Oral Orhon was a famous contemporary Turkish graphic designer. He was a productive illustrator between the years 1930-1970, has also drawn many comic books, cartoons, covers, advertisements, movie posters. This book's dust jacket is designed by Orhon in psychedelic photographic style. Extremely rare first Turkish Edition. With its original dust jacket, very difficult to… Read More

Istanbul: Milli Nesriyat Yurdu, 1935. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Paperback. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 17 cm). In French. 37, [1] p. Le couvent et l'eglise des Saints-Pierre et Paul a Galata. Avant-propos par le R. P. V. Laurent A. A. D'Allessio was born in the Ottoman Empire who belongs to a former Catholic family on the island of Syra in the Aegean Sea, Archipelago. He worked at the Ottoman Bank, had some mining privileges in the last years of the Ottoman state, and published many articles and books on the history and archeology of Istanbul and especially Galata and Pera. He immigrated to Athens in 1936 and died there.

Kostandnupolis (Constantinople): Typ. H. Matteosean, 1914. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Contemporary leather bdg. 16mo. (14 x 10 cm). In Armenian (Modern West Armenian). 238 p. [PSALMS IN ARMENIAN] Girk' Saghmosats'; Girk Arakats. A.B.C. 53,000. [A.B.S. 49,000 on colophon]. OCLC 988094270. The book of the Psalms in Armenian printed in Istanbul.

Tehran: Ketabha-ye Perstav., [Sh.: 1344], 1965. Soft cover. Fine. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Paperback. Foolscap 8vo. (17 x 11,5 cm). In Persian. 200 p. Sadegh Hedayat [Sadiq - Sadigh Hidayet], (1903-1951), was an Iranian writer, translator, and intellectual. Best known for his novel The Blind Owl, he was one of the earliest Iranian writers to adopt literary modernism in their career. Hedayat subsequently devoted his whole life to studying Western literature and to learning and investigating Iranian history and folklore. The works of Rainer Maria Rilke, Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, and Guy de Maupassant intrigued him the most. During his short literary life span, Hedayat published a substantial number of short stories and novelettes, two historical dramas, a play, a travelogue, and a collection of satirical parodies and sketches. His writings also include numerous literary criticisms, studies in Persian folklore, and many translations from Middle Persian and French.… Read More

Istanbul: And Yayinlari, 1955. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. Original pictorial wrappers. 12mo. (16 x 12 cm). In Turkish. 96 p., richly ills. Slight wears on spine and a small tear on a page. Otherwise a very good copy. First and Only Edition of this rare compilation by a Turkish female author about all dances and their choreographies. As the author states in her preface to the book, she says that she wrote this book about an incident experienced by a friend who has been a dance teacher for 25 years. This event, which the author herself witnessed, begins with a young man waiting for the dance course asking whether there is an instructive dance book in Turkish literature. When Semra Dikmen finds out that there is no such book, she decides to do this compilation. This small, but to the point and one of the earliest examples in the Turkish language, includes a short history of dances, Fox Trot, Waltz, Rumba, Swing, Mambo, Samba, and Tango.

Istanbul: Necm-i Istikbâl Matbaasi, 1926. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Original wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (19 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 102 p. First and only edition of this adaptation from Russian playwright, novelist, and short-story writer Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (1871-1919), adapted by Turkish director Muhsin Ertugrul (1892-1979), in the early period of the Turkish Republic. Muhsin Ertugrul adapted Turkish names for the characters in his book. The early 20s coincided with a period when Muhsin Ertugrul's relations with Nazim Hikmet [Ran] got closer in Moscow, where he also met famous theater actors such as Konstantin Stanislavski. Poyraz - Tugrul V.1, 73.; Özege 8532.; TBTK 4490.; OCLC 777176387, 80609909 (3 copies worldwide).

Istanbul: Yanki Dergicilik ve Gazetecilik, 1976. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Original wrappers. 4to. (27 x 21,5 cm). In Turkish. 31 p., ills. Small chipping on the cover. Overall a very good copy. 287th issue of Turkish weekly news magazine with its cover art depicting Mao as a caricature. The title on the cover reads "China with no Mao?".

Istanbul: Kenan Matbaasi, 1946. Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Original wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Turkish. 34, [1] p., b/w plates. First and only Turkish edition of "The Shakespeare myth and the Stratford hoax" by Walter Ellis. Five copies are located in OCLC (1275070658 and 315076635). Four copies in the UK, one in Turkish libraries. Not located in American libraries.

Istanbul: Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Hükümeti Maarif Vekâleti Nesriyâti / Matbaa-yi Âmire., [AH 1339], 1923. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Original wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (19,5 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 14 p. First and only Turkish edition of this important, rare, and the first work on eugenics in Turkey in book form, translated by Balaban from English, from a lecture Pearson gave at Oxford University, including the idea of the human race can be grown more perfectly in the future as well as the species of animals and plants. Balaban indicated in his preface of the work that Eugenism is discussed in the western world under the leadership of Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), and it should be progressed in Turkey as well. Especially in this period when epidemics are common, the book emphasizes how important it is to combat these diseases. Mustafa Rahmi Balaban (1888-1953),… Read More

Kostantiniyye [Constantinople - Istanbul]: Ali Riza Efendi Matbaasi., [AH 1286], 1870. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Contemporary cloth bdg. Rebacked spine. Roy. 8vo. (23 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 143 p. Slight tear on two leaves, wear on extremities of original marbled boards, otherwise a good copy. Early printed edition of this exceedingly rare collection of early Ottoman erotic poems of homosexuality and bisexuality, of the 18th century including the multiple works of Enderunlu Fazil and Sünbülzâde Vehbi. This book includes five works originally: Defter-i ask [i.e. The book of love] (pp. 1-21); Hubannâme [i.e. The book of male lovers] (pp. 22-55); Zenannâme [i.e. The book of beautiful women] (as well as "Çenginâme" of Fazil Bey in Zenannâme, pp. 102-111); and Sevkengiz [i.e. Inspiring] (pp. 112-143). "Defter-i ask" [i.e. The book of love] by Fazil, in… Read More

Constantinople (Istanbul): Neologos Litografyasi - Votîra ve Sürekasi Matbaasi., [AH 1292], 1875. 1st Edition . Leather. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Contemporary 1/4 leather bdg. with marbled boards. Small 4to. (27 x 19 cm). 23 p. (11 p. in Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters; 12 p. in French), with rare 4 folded maps. A very good copy. First and only edition of this extremely rare bilingual book in French and Ottoman Turkish, including the first records on the formation and characteristics of storms to explain how storms and hurricanes occurred, which route they followed, and how they were conveyed to the regions that need to be warned by telegraph, for the vessels sailing in the seas, by French expert Coumbary who was founded the Rasathâne-i Âmîre [i.e. Ottoman Imperial Observatory]. Both the original French and Turkish translations of the work were published together in one volume. The work also included four maps which were… Read More

Istanbul: Matbaa-i Âmire., [AH 1271], 1855. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. Modern cloth bdg. Marbled boards. Foolscap 8vo. (18 x 12 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic script). 83 p. Traditionally framed text. Very calligraphic head title in very decorative heart-shaped border and traditional flowers, a couple of scepters with two snakes. Orthography with 'haraka' [i.e. Arabic diacritics]. The heads of each chapter are surrounded by very decorative flowers and borders. An early printed lithographed book designed as a manuscript with its 'kataba' [i.e. imprint]. Slightly stained on pages, minor chipped on upper corners of two pages. Otherwise a very good and very clean copy. Lithographed edition. First and only edition of the first printed Turkish book on the antidotes and poisons. It's written by Mirliva Mustafa Hâmi Pasha, one of the early Ottoman physicists, during the reign of Sultan Abdulmecid II.… Read More

Istanbul: Sabah Gazetesi / Mihran Matbaasi., [AH 1316], 1899. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Fine brown quarter leather bdg., brown boards with decorative embossing. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 17 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic script). 176 p., 33 unnumbered b/w plates of views of the Middle Eastern cities, Kaiser and queen's portraits, ills. of their maritime voyages, a general view of Beirut, a panorama of Jerusalem (in two pages), The Government House and Lake Tiberia in Beirut, a general view of Jaffa, churches and castles and Masjid-i Aksa of Jerusalem, Idlib, the interior of the Umayyad Mosque in Jerusalem, The Government House of Jaffa, Beirut - Damascus railways, street views and architectural buildings from Damascus, the market place of Jaffa, Bethlehem and the church, views of Trablus-Sam [i.e. Tripolis], ruins of Baalbek, and other numerous b/w photos, published for only this book. Slight stains on pages, a modern repair on a leaf… Read More

Aleppo: Wattar Freres., [ca. 1920's], 1920. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. Eight panels of panoramic photograph folded into original printed light brown card wrappers titled "Souvenir d'Alep (Syrie). / Panoramique d'Alep" and "Editeur Wattar Freres, Alep (Syrie)" on the cover. Open size: 9x112 cm. In French. Contemporarily repaired verso of hinges by tape, overall a fine copy. Scarce wide-angle black and white photo-lithographic panoramic view of one of the oldest and most important cities of the Islamic Middle East, Aleppo of Syria, taken at twilight time, in the 1920s, when the country was under the French Occupation between 1920-22. This attractive photograph was edited and also probably taken by the Wattar Brothers, who were the famous and prolific editors and photographers of Syria and Southeast Anatolia including Kilis, Aintab (today: Gaziantep), etc. The Wattar Freres' descendants were present in Syria until the early 2000s (Serifoglu). This panorama… Read More

Qirkuk: Al-Shirket al-Islamiyye., [c. 1956], 1956. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Original wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Arabic. 63, [1] p., 1 portrait of Atilhan. First edition of this Arabic edition of Turkish "Kendi vesikalarina go?re Masonluk nedir?" [i.e. What is Freemasonry according to their own documents?], written by Atilhan who was a Turkish career officer and antisemitic writer, who was one of the initiators of the 1934 Thrace pogroms. It was published in Iraq, probably Qirkuk (The phone number of the publishing house is written on the cover). During the Turkish War of Independence, Atilhan was appointed as the commander of the Zonguldak-Bartin and Havalisi Fronts. It prevented the spread of the French Army in this region. Upon the victory of the War of Independence, he left the army and went into writing. In his anti-semitic book "Suzy Liberman, Jewish Spy", in 1935 the Turkish Army gave the order to buy… Read More