Armenian Books

  An amazing survivor – an early Istanbul opera broadside advertising the 1855 single-show performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s ‘Don Pasquale’ at the famous Naum Theatre in Pera (Beyoğlu), Constantinople, headlined by the legendary basso buffo singer Vincenzo Galli, published locally in Italian, Ottoman Turkish, Greek, Armenian and Armenian printed in the Ottoman Alphabet!

  A rare ephemeral program written in French, Armenian and Ottoman, was published for a for the matinée and evening performance of the Ottoman operetta Leblebici Horhor Aga, written by an Armenian author Tigran Tchoukhajian.

  A rare Armenian almanac, issued in 1905 in Istanbul by the Armenian Hospital, including folding maps and valuable information on the Armenian minority.   8°, 512 pp. with portraits in text and interleaved 6 folding black and white maps, [20 pp.] advertisements on thin yellow paper, original blue cloth blinding with debossed black decoration and gilt lettering (title with…

This manuscript broadside is a stunning example of artistry, seamlessly blending Armenian calligraphy with its distinctive letters and rich Christian symbolism that is deeply embedded in the nation’s identity. The inclusion of a traditional labyrinth form elevates the piece, serving as a profound tool for meditation and concentration.   Drawing and manuscript in various colours on paper, 62 x 44…

  A book on the founder of Armenian diaspora poetry in the United States Hamastegh was drafted by an Armenian designer Minas Minasian published in New York a year following the poet’s death.

  A scarce pamphlet in French language is a translation of an Armenian text with the analysis of the current political situation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. It was written during WWI in Istanbul, shortly after the Armenian genocide, where over 1 million Armenians were murdered, as many more were deported or imprisoned.   8°. 70 pp., [2 pp.],…

  Small 4°, 416 pp., [2 pp.], 146 pp. with black and white photos, maps and reproductions of documents.  

  A rare book in French language, written during World War I, in the time of the Armenian genocide, analyses contemporary situation of the Armenian Church in the Ottoman Empire and in the world.   Large 12°. 96 pp., original green wrappers with lettering (good, uncut example, wrappers with minor staining and tiny tears).  

  8°, 96 pp., original wrappers with lettering (wrappers stained with tiny tears, inside in a good condition with minor staining to the margins).  

  A rare early edition of Agathangelos’es History of Armenia, one of the most influential texts on the early Christianity in the country.

  A book on Armenian history with a folding map, showcasing the historical territory of Armenia, was printed during WWI in Istanbul, on the eve of the Armenian Genocide.

A rare first edition of Armenian poetry with a beautiful art nouveau cover design, printed in colour, was published by the Mekhitarists’ press in Venice.

  A rare book of poems in Armenian language were written by Gusan Ashot, an author and performer of Armenian lyrics. First edition.  From the library of an Armenian author and researcher Levon Mikirtitchian.

  A uncommon collection of Armenian poetry by an Aleppo-born Harutiun Berberyan was published in Bairut, Lebanon. Signed by the author and with a collector’s stamp by an Armenian author and researcher Levon Mikirtitchian (Lewon Mkrtchʻean).

A rare first edition of an Armenian novel by Mesrop Taghiadian, printed in Calcutta.   12°, [4 pp.] blank, [6 pp.], 177 pp., [5 pp.] blank, original green wrappers, later spine (two tiny wormholes in margins in the first part of the book, light brown ink lines on the title pageotherwise in a good condition).  

  Small 8°, 4 full-page black and white maps, double-page black and white map, 635 pp. with black and white illustrations, original blue cloth with debossed lines on the covers and gilt lettering on the spine (minor foxing and light staining in the upper part of the edge, spine slightly age-toned with minor cracks on the side, but overall in…

A charming rare pamphlet with religious text in Armenian language, printed by the Mekhitarist Press in Trieste.   12°, 98 pp. with vignettes and illustrated initials, later marbled paper wrappers (mispagination without pp. numbers 43-44, but complete and corresponding to the example from the National Library of Armenia, tear in the lower inner corner of the title page repaired with…

  [Albom hay nshanagreru : aṛtʻiw 1500-ameaki hay tareru giwtin ew 400-ameaki hay tpagrutʻean / Album on the Armenian Letters on the 1500th Anniversary of the Invention of the Armenian Letters and the 400th Anniversary of the Armenian Printing]   A charming ephemeral pamphlet with a series of Armenian letters, composed of portraits and images of monuments and important places…

  An attractive, seemingly unrecorded typewritten thick work on the Communism in Armenia.

  A rare Turkish version of an award-winning text on the role of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

  [Patmutʻiwn mardkayin patuastman / History of Human Vaccination].   An exceedingly rare, detailed book on the history and importance of vaccines written by a prominent Ottoman Armenian doctor Dikran Paşa Peştemalciyan, published on the eve of the Sublime Porte’s decree on the mandatory application of the smallpox vaccine.   4°: [2 pp.], portrait, [16pp.], 237 pp., with interleaved plates…

An exceptionally rare book containing the Austrian national anthem, written in ten languages of the Austrian Empire and published in Lemberg, now known as Lviv in Ukraine.   16º. Mispaginated and wrongly bound, but complete: original front wrapper, [1-2] title page, [7]-8, [3]-4, [5]-6, [17]-18, [9]-10, [11]-12, [13]-14, [15]-16, but wrongly numbered as 15, [19]-20, [23]-24, portraits, original rear wrapper.…

[Chalma la tuplě, kam, Zoyg Chalmanere / Jalma la Double. Mysterious Stories]   A rare book in Armenian language, printed in Alexandria, Egypt, is a translation of a French orientalist novel and is accompanied with monochrome photographs from a contemporary popular French silent movie Jalma la Double.   8°. 365 pp. with 16 interleaved colour photographs, [1], newer three-quarter calf…

[Album of Monogramms. Contaning 522 Monograms (Two Interlaced Letters) Which are Made Alphabetically in Gothic, Renaissance, 14th-15th Century, Modern and Art Nouveau Styles]   A rare book, representing monograms in 522 combinations of Armenian letters in five various fonts.   Oblong small 4°.[3 pp.] with title, introduction, index and plate with 28 coats of arms, 29 pp. with 522 monograms…