Antique 1848 Victorian History Saracens Life Mohammed Ockley Ornate Leather Book For Sale

A beautifully bound 19th-century antiquarian edition of Simon Ockley’s celebrated History of the Saracens — one of the important early English-language histories of Mohammed, the rise of Islam, the early Caliphs, and the extraordinary expansion of the Saracen empire across the Middle East.

This is a particularly handsome example, bound in full brown leather with extensive gilt tooling, raised decorative spine compartments, gilt borders to the boards, and a contrasting black leather spine title label lettered in gold:

THE SARACENS

The spine is especially attractive, with elaborate repeating gilt floral and foliate devices filling the compartments. This is very much the sort of book that looks as impressive standing on a shelf as it does opened.

Simon Ockley (1678–1720) was a noted English Orientalist and scholar of Arabic who became Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University.

Ockley went to considerable lengths to work from Arabic sources and manuscripts at a time when relatively few English scholars could do so. His history originally appeared in two parts, in 1708 and 1718, and became one of the better-known English accounts of the formative centuries of Islamic history.

The work follows the dramatic period surrounding Mohammed and his successors, carrying the history through the death of Abdalmelik, the eleventh Caliph.

Its subjects include the lives and reigns of:

Mohammed • Abubeker • Omar • Othman • Ali • Hasan • the Ommiad / Umayyad dynasty • Yezid • Moawiyah • Abdalmelik

Along the way Ockley describes the great military campaigns, battles, sieges, political struggles, revolts and personalities that accompanied the astonishing expansion of the early Islamic empire through Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt and beyond.

Later editions were advertised as being collected from authentic sources, “especially Arabic MSS.”

The work is fascinating today not only as history, but as a document of early Western scholarship concerning Islam and the Middle East. Modern scholarship has naturally superseded many of Ockley’s conclusions, but the book remains historically important for understanding how Arabic sources and early Islamic history were being studied and presented to English readers more than two centuries ago.

Of particular interest is the full-page engraved frontispiece captioned “Mohammed.”

The engraving depicts Mohammed in flowing robes and turban, standing before an architectural and military scene with figures gathered behind him.

It is an especially striking piece of 19th-century historical illustration and gives the volume considerable visual and collecting interest.

Please note that this is a historical European representation created within the artistic and scholarly conventions of its period, rather than a representation consistent with Islamic religious tradition.

The binding is outstanding.

Features include:

• Full brown leather binding
• Decorative gilt ruling around both boards
• Heavily decorated gilt spine
• Multiple ornamental spine compartments
• Repeating gilt floral / foliate motifs
• Contrasting black leather title label
• Gilt-lettered spine title
• Decorative tooling along the board edges
• Rounded spine
• Period antiquarian appearance throughout

The combination of understated brown boards and the extremely ornate spine gives the book a wonderfully old-library / gentleman’s-library appearance.

There is also an old yellow bookseller’s label inside the front board for:

A.H. Armour & Co.
Booksellers &c.
King Street
Toronto

A wonderful little piece of the volume’s provenance and its long journey through the antiquarian book trade.

Good antique condition with a remarkably attractive presentation for its age.

The full leather binding remains handsome and displays very well.

There is expected age-related rubbing, scuffing, spotting and surface wear to the leather boards, with additional rubbing along the edges, corners and extremities. The ornate gilt spine remains unusually bright and visually impressive, with the decorative tooling and lettering still very clearly defined.

The black leather title label remains intact and highly legible.

The page block shows uniform age toning / browning, particularly visible along the exposed edges. Interior paper shows expected age-related toning and occasional foxing or discoloration.

The engraved Mohammed frontispiece remains present and attractive.

Old bookseller\'s label and other old ownership/library markings are present inside, adding to the volume\'s provenance.

Please examine all photographs carefully. They form an important part of the description and show the binding, gilt decoration, page edges, endpapers, bookseller\'s label, frontispiece and overall condition.

This is the sort of antiquarian volume that crosses several collecting categories:

Islamic History • Middle Eastern History • Arabian History • Mohammed / Muhammad • Early Orientalist Scholarship • Cambridge Scholarship • Antiquarian Books • Fine Leather Bindings • Gilt Bindings • Historical Engravings

Whether purchased for its subject matter or simply as a beautiful example of the Victorian-era bookbinder\'s craft, Ockley’s History of the Saracens is an impressive piece of 19th-century bookmaking and a fascinating survival from the early history of Western Islamic scholarship.