With a slightly cracked, eggshell-coloured hardcover, the Viaggio dell'Indie Orientali is unremarkable at first glance.
Sure, the book looks old with its yellowed pages and discoloured spine – and you can imagine a whiff of its smoky time-worn scent merely by looking at pictures of it – but, for the most part, the 16th century book by Venetian state jeweller Gasparo Balbi looks unexceptional.
That is, until you know what is in it and how much it is worth.
The Viaggio dell'Indie Orientali – published in 1590 – is the first record in print of place names along the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
It is also the first printed mention of the Bani Yas tribe, one of the largest and most important of the Arabian Peninsula, from which both the Al Nahyan and Al Maktoum dynasties – today’s ruling families of Abu Dhabi and Dubai – are descended.
The book was sourced and acquired by Peter Harrington Rare Books for a regional collector in 2017, who bought the title for a whopping $80,000 (Dh293,800).
The company specialises in finding seminal works about the region and caters to some of the most dedicated book experts from the Gulf.
‘Rare books are, by definition, hard to find’
Established in London in 1969 by Peter Harrington, the business is one of the leading rare booksellers in the world, with stock ranging from the 15th century to the modern day.
The company's current owner is Peter's son, Pom Harrington, who has been in the business since 1994 and took it over after his father died in 2003. He tells The National that it has sourced and sold several seminal literary works, including copies of each of the four 17th century folios of Shakespeare and the pocket diaries of Virginia Woolf that detail the last eight years of her life.
Peter Harrington has also compiled its newest catalogue on rare books and manuscripts from the Islamic and Arabic-speaking world, curated specifically for collectors from the Gulf.
The company is no stranger to regional tastes and demands. It has been coming to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair since 2016 and took part in last year's Sharjah International Book Fair.
“This is the fifth catalogue we have created for this market,” says Harrington.
“The main challenge in putting together a catalogue is having enough high-quality rare books that would be interesting to this region. Rare books are, by definition, hard to find. We always look to bring something unique and interesting to the region, and it can take time to build a good selection of books and manuscripts.”
Works in the company's newest catalogue include a beautiful Quran from the Mughal period, set at £62,000 (Dh281,500); an inscribed first edition of Twenty Drawings, the only collection of Kahlil Gibran's drawings, set at £12,500; and an inscribed first edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom by TE Lawrence, which includes a personal account of his role in the Arab Revolt, going for £85,000.
Harrington says a 13th-century Arabic translation of Aristotle's Book of Politics of Management of Leaders is one of the catalogue's most captivating works. Also known as The Secret of Secrets, it was translated by Abu Yahya Ibn Al Batriq, a Syrian scholar who lived between the years 796 and 806.
Works that document Makkah and Madinah or early city infrastructure continue to be very popular
“It is intriguing because it is so rare to have such an early text in Arabic as well as one with such extraordinary provenance that can be traced all the way through,” he says.
There are also several titles regional collectors consider essential to starting a strong collection, such as books by David Roberts, who toured the Middle East, the Levant and Egypt in the mid-19th century.
“We do bring these seminal works to the region each time we come out to meet new collectors,” Harrington says, pointing out there is a small, but very strong, book-collecting market in the Middle East.
"Those that do it, do it very seriously," he says. "We have seen a rise in recent years."
Most sought-after works by Middle East collectors
Harrington says there is great interest among regional collectors in books written about the Arabian Peninsula – particularly first-hand travel accounts from the 16th to the early 20th centuries.
Manuscripts and maps that document the development of the region in the early and mid-20th century are also highly sought after – these include maps on trade and shipping routes, and information on political developments and oil exploration.
“There is also a strong interest in early photography of the region. Works that document Makkah and Madinah or early city infrastructure continue to be very popular,” Harrington says. “Additionally, landmark economical, philosophical or literary works from the western canon are also sought after by Middle Eastern collectors.”
The Middle East accounts for almost 20 per cent of Peter Harrington’s international sales, across a mix of private collectors, and those building public collections, such as libraries.
“The UAE currently accounts for the largest share of our Middle East business, with collectors from all across the Gulf regularly contacting us to assist with curating, appraising and acquiring items for their collections,” Harrington says.
But it isn't all maps and Aristotle translations. The firm also helps those who want to build a collection of special-edition Game of Thrones or Harry Potter books.
“Once we’ve met a customer and understand and learnt what their interests and their collecting ambitions are, we work with them to source books that would appeal and enhance their collections,” Harrington says.
Setting a price and checking for forgeries
The rare books industry is long established, but as with any market, prices move and change. Harrington says price is influenced by “a variety of factors”, from age to desirability.
Naturally, the condition of the book is important – a title in fine condition with its original bindings and dust jacket can be worth significantly more than the same edition in a poor condition.
“That is why we tend to only focus on choosing the best examples of a rare book. Each book we buy is personally chosen by a member of our team, its provenance is researched and it is checked for authenticity and completeness, photographed and catalogued.”
The Peter Harrington team is made up of specialists with 25 to 30 years of experience in the business – many of them have come from other rare and antiquarian dealers and have dealt with thousands of books over the course of their careers. Experience is necessary to spot forgeries.
One should always be wary of books that only contain a signature with no further inscription unless it has a strong provenance
“Thankfully, in the antiquarian book trade, forgeries are relatively rare,” Harrington says.
He says that although it is hard to truly fake an old, rare book, there do tend to be forgeries when it comes to signatures, “which is why one should always be wary of books that only contain a signature with no further inscription unless it has a strong provenance”.
“Signatures are easier to fake but rare books less so,” he says.
For this reason, every book sold by the dealer is guaranteed to be authentic.
For a detailed look at the latest Peter Harrington catalogue, visit its website at www.peterharrington.co.uk
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Suad%20Amiry%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Pantheon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20304%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score)
Porto (0) v Liverpool (2), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier, in Bangkok
UAE fixtures Mon Nov 20, v China; Tue Nov 21, v Thailand; Thu Nov 23, v Nepal; Fri Nov 24, v Hong Kong; Sun Nov 26, v Malaysia; Mon Nov 27, Final
(The winners will progress to the Global Qualifier)
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
RECORD%20BREAKER
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
More from UAE Human Development Report:
BLACK%20ADAM
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Freezer tips
- Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
- If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
- Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
- The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The%20specs
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15
Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered
UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered
Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered
Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered
Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered
Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3 (Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)
More on Quran memorisation:
