The Northern Hegaz [With] Arabia Deserta [and] The Middle Euphrates [a

MUSIL (Alois).

The Northern Hegaz [With] Arabia Deserta [and] The Middle Euphrates [and] Palmyrena [and] Northern Negd [and] The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins [plus] A. Musil Map of Northern Arabia (in case).

With the scarce map case

First editions. 6 volumes and a map case. Each vol. has a frontispiece and numerous maps and illustrations in the text. Some also have loose maps in end-pockets, a total of two large folding maps, 2 (of 4) index maps and a genealogical table of the Al Saud. (Vol.1 and vol.2 are lacking the index maps; vol.2 Arabia Deserta calls for a loose index map but this copy, as with most others, was issued without it & the corresponding end-pocket.) The map case contains a large four-part folding colour map of Northern Arabia. Large 8vo. Original grey cloth, with black labels to spine and upper board; marks to spine of vol.2, spine of vol.3 sunned and scuffed, a few small stains to covers, some corners bumped, a few labels abraded, light foxing to endpapers, otherwise good. xii 374pp; xviii, 631; xvi, 426; xiv, 367; xiv, 368; xiv, 712pp. New York, The American Geographical Society, 1926-, 1928.

£2,750.00

A good set of Musil’s important expeditions in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), Jordan, Syria and Central Arabia (now Saudi Arabia), with the oft-missing map case containing a large four-part map of Northern Arabia.

Alois Musil (1868-1944) was a remarkable scholar and explorer whose achievements were initially quietly registered outside German-speaking Europe, but have since garnered increasing attention. Born into a farming family in Moravia, his academic ability set him on course for the Church, leading to a doctorate in theology in 1895. That same year he continued his studies at the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, where his fascination with the Middle East truly took hold. Further study in the library of St. Joseph University (Beirut) prepared him for field work and he commenced the first of many journeys into the deserts of Syria, Jordan, Sinai and Northern Arabia. Though those travels yielded myriad rediscoveries, that of Qusayr ‘Amra, an eighth-century Umayyad lodge, is best known, as the walls, much to Musil’s own incredulity, bore figurative frescoes.

The present set documents his expeditions between 1896 and 1914, with the first five volumes organised geographically and written as topographical itineraries. A significant part of the content covers what is now northern Saudi Arabia and volume five, Northern Negd, includes a history of the Al Saud (see Appendix IX). The sixth volume, devoted to the Ruwallah, is arguably the most important as it was the most in-depth study of an Arab tribe produced in the period. Musil spent long periods with the Ruwallah, including their migration of 1909, and became firm friends with their foremost leader Prince Nuri ibn Hazza ibn Sha’lan. It was Ibn Sha’lan that bestowed an honorary title on the outsider in his midst, “Shaykh Musa al-Ruwayli” (Cf. Harrigan, Peter, ‘From Moravia to Arabia’ in Saudi Aramco World, Nov.-Dec. 2009, pp.8-16).

Macro, 1666 (Arabia Deserta), 1671 (Rwala Bedouins), 1673 (Northern Arabia), 1674 (Northern Hegaz), 1675 (Northern Negd).

Stock No.

214584

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The Northern Hegaz [With] Arabia Deserta [and] The Middle Euphrates [and] Palmyrena [and] Northern Negd [and] The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins [plus] A. Musil Map of Northern Arabia (in case).

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