Catalogus Centuriae Librorum Rarissimorum Manuscript. & partim Impressorum, Arabicorum, Persicorum, Turcicorum, Graecorum, Latinorum. Academiae Upsalensis auxit .

[Benzelius, Eric (the younger) & Olof Celsius (the Elder) compilers]. Catalogus Centuriae Librorum Rarissimorum Manuscript. & partim Impressorum, Arabicorum, Persicorum, Turcicorum, Graecorum, Latinorum, &c. Qua anno MDCCV Bibliothecam Publicam Academiae Upsalensis auxit & exornavit Ioan. Gabr. Sparvenfeldius, S:ae R:ae a ceremoniis Legatorum publicis Primarius. Upsala, Joh[n]Henr[ik] Werner, 1706. 4to. [6] + 74p. Roman, italic, Arabic & Greek type. Engraved title vignette with floral & fruit motif, 1st text page with ornamental headpiece & initial.Untrimmed. Wrappers. Catalogue raisonné of the outstanding collection of oriental manuscripts and books donated to Upsala University Library in 1705 by the Swedish scholar Johan Gabriel Sparvenfeldt (1655-1727). The treasures were selected by him during extensive travels in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, undertaken as part of a royal commission to search for source material on the history of Sweden. The Sparvenfeldt gift was the most significant single acquisition by Upsala University Library, already famous for its exceptional holdings of early Greek manuscripts at the time. The donation comprised fortyone codices in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, eight in Greek (including an 8th century text - one bought in Venice and the rest in Spain), one in Chinese, and twelve in Latin and western languages (including an Italian Bible of 1474). The fortyone printed books in exotic languages include titles in Arabic, an early Slavonic Bible, and two Chinese imprints (given to the donor in 1691 by the Philippe Couplet, Procurator of the China Jesuits in Rome). This is the earliest catalogue of the Upsala University collections and it is typographically the most remarkable, as it is set in roman, italic, Arabic and Greek type; The handsome, bold Arabic type apparent throughout, was cut for the German orientalist Peter Kirsten a century earlier see Smitskamp PO 113. Most if the Greek type occurs in the section on pp50 to 61. Edited by the distinguished scholars Eric Benzelius the Younger (1670-1756), the librarian, who had already made important acquisitions earlier, and Olof Celsius the Elder (1675-1743). A fine, fresh copy with its wide margins untrimmed and almost entirely uncut. Almquist, Sveriges bibliografiska litteratur förtecknad 2838; Bestermann 17 & 25.…