Abdu El-Yezdi, Haji

[Title in Arabic.] The Kasidah (couplets) of Haji Abdu El-Yezdi: a lay of the higher law. Translated and annotated by his friend and pupil, F[rancis] B[urton]

London: privately printed, [1880]. First edition, first issue; 4to, pp. [4], 33; original yellow printed wrappers bound in; contemporary olive buckram lettered in gilt on upper cover; extremities browned, mild red ink transfer on the upper wrap, a number of erudite pencil annotations; very good copy. Penzer, noting that the yellow wrappers contained a printed half-title, is frequently misinterpreted as suggesting that there is a half-title page. This is not the case. There is no half-title page, only the half-title as printed on the front wrapper. The first two issues of this title were published by Bernard Quaritch, the first issue omits the Quaritch name and the date from the title. The two issues together did not comprise more than 200 copies, "and Messrs. Quaritch state that under a hundred were sold." Ostensibly translated by Burton, he in fact was its author; written in 1857 under his nom-de-plume Hâjî Abdû Al-Yazdi but it was not published until 1880 by Quaritch. Penzer, p. 97. Casada 84. Item #30226

Price: $3,500.00