Folio. engraved title, [3 preface], [1 avertissement], 26 pp., (Explication des Estampes + Enterrement Turc, [1 engraved leaf of music, title within border slightly soiled, + 102 engraved plates by Simonneau, Scotin, Haussard of Franssières (comprising 100 numbered plates and 2 unnumbered, 3 double-page), full morocco in the spirit of "From the Threshold", backpacks ornate spine, roulette on the fields and inside, gilt edges, Le Hay et Collombat, Paris, 1714-1715.

Synopsis

First edition of both parts. Part II appeared in 1715 and contains the explanation of the plates plus two supplementary plates of Turkish ceremonies (depicting the dance of the Derwishes and a Turkish funeral). Because the two parts are frequently bound together, and the two supplementary plates are bound in with the rest of the plates, this second part, containing the only printed title, is often referred to as the second or even the third edition. This is incorrect: it is the first edition of the text, as its preface clearly states: “Je souhaite que le Public soit aussi content de ce nouveau travail…” A second edition of both parts, with engraved letterpress in which the preface has been changed, and with an added leaf ‘Anecdotes de l’Ambassade de M. De Ferriol’, appeared with the imprint ‘L. Cars À Paris chez Basan Graveur’ and the date 1714. The date is puzzling since this edition, which Boppe refers to as the second edition of Part I, in fact contains the explication of the plates (Part II) which first appeared in 1715. Laurent Cars had bought the plates and it is clear from his preface that the explanation had already appeared: “Il a fait retoucher le discours qui avoit des longueurs et des inutilites, ajoutes des choses importantes”. The work was translated into German and printed in Nuremberg in 1719-21 (q.v.). Italian and Spanish copies exist, and the plates were used by Viero in his Raccolta, Venice, 1783, and in Thomas Jeffery’s Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, 1757. The text was written either by Charles de Ferriol, the French ambassador to the Porte from 1699 to 1710, or he gave Le Hay the necessary information. The plates are after drawings by J. B. Van Mour who had lived in Constantinople for many years during the first half of the 18th century. It has been suggested that he arrived in Constantinople in 1699, possibly as part of Ferriol’s entourage. He is known to have died there in 1737 at the age of 66. Much of his work was done for Cornelis Calkoen, who was the Dutch ambassador to the Porte, and some of these paintings are now in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum. This publication contained the most popular and influential illustrations of Turkish dress to date. Its use as a source book was widespread.
Bibliographic references: Atabey 429; Brunet III 947-8; Cohen 392; Colas 1819-20; Vinet 2335; Blackmer 591.