Abu Dhabi: The final day of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) was a particularly busy one as thousands of people from all ages and backgrounds enjoyed finding their favourite books from the hundreds of thousands of books available as well as taking part in the cultural activities.
The Inlibris Association with Antiquariaat Forum stand was a particularly busy space as students and collectors rushed to get a peek at the first printed book that refers to the Bani Yas tribe as well as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which Gulf News reported on Sunday. The report on the Dh600,000 book, ‘Viaggio dell’Indie Orientali’ by Gasparo Balbi, which translates to Travels of Balbi, had also led some teachers to task their students with locating the 1590 book at the fair.
Those who found the antique were in for a treat as they discovered some of the other rare and valuable items on display, such as handwritten notes by Beethoven, Das Kapital inscribed by Karl Marx, an Dh11.2-million manuscript of birds, an early photo album of Makkah by an Arab photographer and an early woodcut hand-painted map of the Arabian peninsula.
The owners of the stand, which represents two European antique sellers from Vienna and Holland, patiently explained what made the items valuable.
Beethoven composition and letter
Beethoven (1770-1827) autograph sketchleaf to op.117 (Photos: Atiq ur Rehman/Gulf News)
Laurens Hesselink, owner, Antiquariaat Forum, carefully removed Beethoven’s two-sided hand-marked composition, containing music to opus 117, “Konig Stephan” (or “Hungary’s first Benefactor”), from its green velvet box to show how delicate it is. Marked in ink and pencil, it is priced at €450,000 (Dh1.8 million). There is also a framed note to his publisher in German, barely readable due to Beethoven’s bad handwriting, which is priced at €175,000 (about Dh700,000).
Hugo Wetscherek, owner, Antiquariat Inlibris, explained that the two pieces provide an insight into how the artist worked.
“The process of publishing a composition was that Beethoven sent his original manuscript to the printer, and as you can see his writing was not so easy to decipher. It was absolutely necessary that after the printer had put this on paper that he sent it back to Beethoven so he could check it,” Wetscherek said.
“If you see the handwriting, you will see that this was a very time-consuming process as the handwriting was so bad that the composition had to go back and forth to the publisher, and that’s what the letter is about,” he added.
The composition is also rare as it was written to honour the Hungarian king which then became the country’s national anthem for five decades. “It is one of the few pieces he [Beethoven] made to honour a ruler,” Wetscherek said.
Karl Marx’s Das Kapital
First edition given by Marx to Belgium’s party leader.
The first edition of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital (1867) which was given by him to the leader of Belgium’s communist party in 1868 looked very fragile and was priced at €1.5 million (Dh6 million). It is only one of four copies to have been inscribed by the author.
“This is the only one in private possession; all the other copies are already in institutional possession,” Wetscherek said.
“The book is considered to be one of the most important pieces of writing in the history of the 20th century. There is no title that has had so much influence on the lives of millions like this very book, which is known as the foundation of communism,” he added.
Earliest Map of Arabian Peninsula
One of the earliest maps of Arabia.
Printed in 1482, the map is the earliest map of Arabian Peninsula on woodcut, a specific printing technique, and is priced at €185,000 (about Dh740,000).
Wetscherek said what made the map particularly interesting is that a Western contemporary artist added a gigantic Ababeel bird above the city of Makkah, engulfed in flames. The drawings refer to a story from the Quran [surah 105, Al-Fil] where Makkah, besieged by Abrahah, is saved by the Ababeel birds who pelted the attacking army with burning stones.
“What is unusual is that the German artist of the 15th century had such a deep knowledge of the Quran and the related story,” Wetscherek said.
If you missed the rare items at ADIBF, you will be able to catch them at the Sharjah International Book Fair where they will be exhibited again in November.
Earliest photo album of Makkah
One of 20 original photographs of Makkah.
The album, priced at €125,000 (about Dh500,000), contains early pictures of Makkah and Haj by one of the first Arab photographers, Mohammad Sadiq Bey. It was published in 1889 by Dutch photographer Christian Hurgronje Snouck.
Wetscherek explained that Snouck had photographed Makkah a year earlier and published his work when he returned home. He left his camera in the position of Sadiq Bey in Makkah, who later decided to send his signed photographs of the city and other figures to the Dutch photographer. However, Snouck removed Sadiq Bay’s name from the photographs and published them under his own name.
“It is valuable because it is the earliest photos of Makkah made by an Arabian photographer,” he said.
