CASTELLAN, Antoine Laurent.
Moeurs, usages, costumes des Othomans, et abrégé de leur histoire. Avec des éclaircissemens tirés d'ouvrages orientaux, et communiqués par M. Langlès.
Paris, Nepveu, 1812. 6 volumes. 18mo (14 x 9 cm). With 75 hand-coloured engraved plates: a frontispiece in each volume and 17, 17, 9, and 26 plates in volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively. Most plates depict costumes, but also tools and instruments are shown. All plates are very detailed and beautifully coloured by hand, in very fresh contemporary colouring, some even finished with gold. Contemporary gold- and blined-toole purpleish-black morocco.
€ 6,500
Beautifully illustrated 6-volume work on the customs, habits and costumes of the people in the Ottoman Empire. The work gives an elaborate account of Ottoman history, the emperors, people, religion, arts and professions, which are shown in the handcoloured detailed full-page engravings.
The present work was written by Antoine-Laurent Castellan (1772-1838), a French painter, architect, and engraver. After having studied landscape painting under Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1750-1819), Castellan travelled through Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland. These travels inspired him to publish several series of letters concerning these regions, which he illustrated with views drawn and engraved by himself. In 1815, a German edition appeared in 3 8vo-volumes and an English edition was published in 1821 by Shoberl as the division Turkey in his series The world in miniature.
Colas, Lipperheide, Hage Chahine as well as Atabey and Blackmer (73) all mention copies with only 72 plates as is called for on the title-page; our copy has 75 plates. Two of the extra plates can be found in volume 3 (one depicting "Capydjy-Bachy Chef des Concierges" and one depicting "Bostandjy-Bachy Intendant des Jardins") and the other can be found in volume 4 (depicing a man on a camel with a portable canon by its side).
With the armorial book plate of Lord Northwick on the front pastedown of each volume. The corners of the bindings are very slightly rubbed, the frontispieces of volumes 2 and 3 are somewhat loosened, but still attached, with some occasional very slight foxing and browning, but overall internally fine and clean and with the colouring remaining bright. Overall in very good condition. Atabey 204; Blackmer 300; Colas 545; Hage Chahine 820; Lipperheide 1427; not in Chadenat.
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