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THE GREATEST JAPANESE BOTANICAL BOOK, EX-COLL. ISMA'IL PASHA, KHEDIVE OF EGYPT. Two volumes. Leiden: (vol. I) for the author, 1835[-1841]; (vol. II) "IN HORTO SIEBOLDIANO ACCLIMATATIONIS DICTO," [1842-]1870. First edition. Folio (15 ½" x 11 13/16", 393mm x 300mm). [Full collation available.] With 153 lithographed plates, of which 151 are botanical (numbered 1-124, 124b, 125-140, 151-160). Bound in contemporary half morocco over marbled boards. On the spine, 5 raised bands. Author and title gilt to the second panel, number gilt to the third, "I" beneath the khedival crown gilt in the sixth. Marbled end-papers. Chips to the tail of vol. I and the head of vol. II, with superficial cracking at the hinges. Rubbed generally, with patches of wear, especially at the edges. Passages of tanning and foxing, sometimes moderate, throughout -- affecting perhaps a third of the pages. Pl. 47 backed with a thick black film. Shelf-marks in graphite manuscript ("Tresor 1682/2" and "Tresor 1683/2") to the verso of the first free end-paper of each volume. Erased ownership signature to the lithographed title-page (vol. I). Acquisition number (?) "59188" in ink manuscript to the title-page of vol. I, with a scraped erasure wearing through the leaf. Excellent margins, the plates with many fore and lower deckles. Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) was born in Würzburg (Bavaria in modern Germany) but, through a family connection, joined the Dutch East India Company in 1822 as a medical doctor. After a time in Indonesia, he traveled to Dejima (Deshima), the artificial island off the coast of Nagasaki that allowed Western trade despite the Edo-period closure of Japan to foreigners. Siebold followed the tradition of doctor-naturalists stationed on the tiny island, his notable predecessors being Engelbert Kaempfer and Carl Peter Thunberg; indeed the lithographed title depicts a monument with their names on it, and the legend "Monimentum in memoriam Engelberti Kaempferi et Caroli Petri Thunbergii in horto botanico insulae Dezima cura et sumtibus Ph. Fr. de Siebold positum. MDCCCXXVI." (Monument placed in memory of Engelbert Kaempfer and Carl Peter Thunbergii in the botanical garden of the island of Dejima through the effort and funds of Philipp Franz von Siebold in 1826.). During his time on Dejima and occasional forays into Japan proper, Siebold collected specimens of some 2,000 species (now in Leiden), and upon his return he collaborated with the botanist Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini (1797-1848) to classify and organize the material; he is the author of the descriptions. Publication of the first volume was in 20 parts from December 1835 through June 1841 (the first 100 plates and their text), the second volume in 10; parts 1-5 appeared 1842-1844 but the rest of the project was hindered by Zuccarini's death. As explained briefly on the verso of the vol. II title-page, pp. 55-89 and plates 128-136 and 138-150 were completed by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (1811-1871), who shepherded the work through the press. The plates are by Minsinger, Kaltdorff, Popp, Unger, Veith and de Villeneuve -- though (not noted by Stafleu-Cowan) the lithographed title and dedication are subscribed "Lith. d(e) Nippon;" could this be a Japanese lithographer at work? The gilt monogram "I" with the Khedival crown (distinguished by the crescent and star at its apex) at the tail of each volume surely indicates the ownership of Isma'il Pasha (a k a Ismail the Magnificent, 1830-1895), Khedive (viceroy) of Egypt under the Ottomans. Isma'il was Egypt's great modernizer who oversaw the building of the Egyptian part of the Suez Canal. Perhaps the dedication to Anna Pavlovna (namesake of the genus Paulownia) Queen consort of the Netherlands inspired a khedival gift or purchase. A samurai mission arrived in Egypt in 1862, and a second mission in 1864 was photographed by Antonio Beato, showing samurai standing before the Great Sphinx. Nissen, BBI 1842; Pritzel2 8674; Stafleu-Cowan 11.949. Seller Inventory # JLR0633
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