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FRAYSSE ET ASSOCIES

228 - SABBAGH, Michel. Kitab Musabaqat al-barq wa-al-ghamam fi su'…
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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Description
SABBAGH, Michel. Kitab Musabaqat al-barq wa-al-ghamam fi su'at al-hamam. La Colombe, messagère plus rapide que l'éclair, plus prompte que la nue. Translated into French by A. I. Silvestre de Sacy, Paris, Imprimerie Impériale (J. J. Marcel), year XIV, 1805. Small in-8 (22 x 14 cm). Bilingual French-Arabic text, 95 pp, handwritten inscription on title page. Bound in green half-chagrin, smooth spine with gilt fillets and titling (some foxing, minor wear to edges of binding, otherwise good condition). Provenance: Bibliothèque orientaliste Maisonneuve, Paris First edition. Michel (Mikhail Ibrahim) Sabbagh was an orientalist who was born in Saint-Jean d'Acre in 1784 and died in Paris in 1816. He wrote a treatise on pigeon racing. His opuscule on carrier pigeons was translated into French by Baron Silvestre de Sacy, who recognised him as "a scholar with a perfect knowledge of the Arabic language and a real talent for poetry". His book, "La colombe messagère plus rapide que l'éclair" (The messenger dove faster than lightning) was published by the Imperial Printing House in the year XIV (1805). During Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition, Mikhail Ibrahim Sabbagh served as "librarian for the communication of Arabic books to the inhabitants of the country; known to all the members of the Institute, he acted as secretary to the French scholars on the Science and Arts Commission". When the Turks retook Cairo. Mikhail embarked in August 1801 with the French troops, the last of whom left Egypt. In 1807, the Minister of the Interior created a post of copyist at the Imperial Library especially for Sabbagh. He copied and corrected around sixty ancient Arabic manuscripts that had been altered over time, earning him the admiration of specialists: "he was in fact so erudite that our most learned orientalists often had recourse to his insights", according to Professor Jean Humbert.
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About the sale BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS - FROM THE LIBRARY C. MAISONNEUVE
Auction location
Auction time 06/04/2026 at 2:15 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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