75 SOUBHY, Saleh. Pèlerinage à la Mecque et à la Médine. Cairo: Imprimerie Nationale, 1894 the first work to collect the earliest photographs of mecca and medina First and only edition. Saleh Soubhy was an Egyptian public health official commissioned by Khedive ‘Abbas II to write a report on the sanitary conditions experienced by pilgrims travelling to Mecca. He performed the hajj twice, in 1888 and 1891, producing this detailed account, to which are affixed a response to European criticisms of Islam and an appendix making several suggestions with regard to improving hygiene practices en route. The Pèlerinage notably collects the work of the first two men to photograph the holy cities of Arabia. Muhammad Sadiq Bey was an Egyptian military engineer who had performed the hajj several times as treasurer of the Egyptian mahmal, or official caravan. His photographs of Mecca and Medina, the first ever, appeared in his work Mash’al al-Mahmal (“The Torch of the Mahmal”), published in Cairo in 1881 and now with only two copies extant in libraries worldwide (NY Public Library and the National Library of Morocco). ‘Abd al-Ghaffar was a medical doctor and the first Arab photographer of Mecca, taught the craft by Dutch orientalist Snouck Hurgronje; his images were first published in Hurgronje’s Bilder aus Mekka (1889). Octavo (225 × 150 mm). Black crocodile-skin-textured paper sides, red-brown cloth backstrip, black morocco label lettered in gilt to spine. Photographic frontispiece and finispiece, 17 plates after the photographs of Muhammad Sadiq Bey and al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Ghaffar al-Baghdadi. Bound without half- title. Extremities lightly rubbed with small area of wear to corner of front board, contents toned, old tape-repair to verso of contents page. Altogether a more than presentable copy of an uncommon publication. ¶ Burrell 725; Macro 2096. Not in Gay, Blackmer, or Hamilton, The Arcadian Library . £4,000 [99252]
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76 TARCICI, Adnan. Yemen. [New York: Yemen Delegation to the United Nations], 1947 “this is the land where the queen of sheba reigned” First edition in English of this French pamphlet published to celebrate Yemen’s admittance to the UN in 1947, representing the international ambitions of this nascent state. It comprises a superb collection of photographs documenting life in Yemen as it emerged from international isolation. This edition is very scarce, with no entries on WorldCat and only 11 of the French edition. This work is illustrated with photographs showcasing Yemeni geography, history, architecture, education, and infrastructure. Fears of Western imperialism sparked by the recent discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia saw a policy of international isolation in Yemen, and the photographs show a country hardly touched by heavy industrial development. Ironically, they are credited to American mining engineer Karl Twitchell, an oil prospector and negotiator in Saudi Arabia, and the US Army Colonel Jack Nahas, who had worked on a diplomatic mission to Yemen in 1946 and also as a representative for oil companies. Yemen had long been an isolated country with a conservative ruling class, only recently consolidated under the Mutawakkilite dynasty. The country’s ascension to the UN represents the beginning of a period of comparative openness, led by the son of King Yahya Muhammad, Prince Abdullah. The author is a key member of Prince Abdullah’s team at the UN, and a proponent of opening Yemen up to foreign investment, playing a key role in oil exploration expeditions in the country. Octavo. Original photographic wrappers, lettered in white. With half-tone photograph of Mocha coffee tipped in to first leaf. A very good copy, covers and spine discreetly reattached, extremities rubbed, nicked and chipped, small closed tear to front panel, spots to rear panel, well-preserved for an ephemeral publication. £2,000 [159010]
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