BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Some of the rarest and most valued books can be found at the 25th Doha International Book Fair at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC).
Rare book dealers Antiquariat Inlibris and Antiquariaat Forum have brought over 100 copies of ancient books, maps, drawings, atlases, prints and manuscripts.
“The most expensive book we have brought is American artist John James Audubon’s 150-plate book on four-legged animals of North America, all printed and coloured by hands,” Laurens R Hesselink, owner of Antiquariaat Forum, told this daily yesterday.
Priced at €950,000, The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America is the most expensive book at the fair. The author was also famous for The Birds of America which was sold at $11.5m at a Christie’s auction in 2000. The first edition of The Middle East in Early Photographs by English photographer Francis Frith is also one of the most expensive in the collection displayed at the Inlibris stand.
With a price tag of €450,000, the first edition of Frith’s mammoth masterpiece is one of the most renowned 19th century photo books.
“This is a very beautiful portfolio by Frith. It is a very rare album that only 20 were made at that time. This 19th century work contains 20 photos depicting some Middle Eastern cities,” explained Hesselink.
Another must-have item for Qatari bibliophiles is Traité de Fauconnerie, said to be the rarest and most sought-after book on falconry ever published. Probably no more than 100 copies of this €85,000 book were printed, of which no more than 50 can be located today.
“This is also the first in which falcons are depicted on their real-life size. The book was printed in mid-19th century dedicated to the Dutch King who was also a falcon hunter. It contains the different types of falcons and the various items needed in falconry,” he explained.
An extremely rare book, which could be of interest to local collectors, is Portraits of the Winning Horses of the Great St Leger Stakes. Published in London in 1829, the John Frederick Herring book is priced at €95,000.
“The first Islamic atlas made in Istanbul Turkey, Islamic prints from Europe, a very famous depiction of Madina in 1721 and books on military history are some other highlights of our collection here,” he said.
“We have also brought a collection of 34 maps of Arabia from the 15th to the 19th century in which Qatar is mentioned,” he added.
We have been participating at the fair since 2009 and last year was a good Fair. We sold to some private collectors and we hope to meet them again this year,” he said.
The Fair is open to the public until January 17 at QNCC. Today it is open from 4pm to 10pm.
The Peninsula
