Description

8°. 22 pp., [1], 320 pp., reverse collation in Ottoman script, contemporary red cloth binding, red morocco spine with gilt lettering in Ottoman script (paper slightly age-toned, first two pages with stronger age-toning and staining in margins, title on the first page written in black ink, a tiny loss of white margin on the first page, old annotations in black ink and pencil on some blank spaces between the text, otherwise in a good condition).

This is a first Ottoman translation of Victor Duruy’s Histoire du moyen âge, made by a young Ahmet Tevfik Pasha (1845 – 1936) in the last years of the Tanzimat, and one of the pioneering translations, which influenced the interest for the local history and patriotism among the new, progressive generation of Ottoman authors.

The translator of the text was Ahmet Tevfik Pasha (1845-1936), in 1909 and between 1918-1922 the last Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. He also served as an ambassador in Rome, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Athens, and Berlin, and was a minister of foreign affairs between 1899 and 1909.

We could only find two or three examples on Worldcat (Boğaziçi University Library and 1 or 2 Examples in University of California Los Angeles).

An example in a beautiful contemporary red binding with a red morocco spine.

References: OCLC 927183861 & 1085660056.