VANKULI, Mehmed b. Mustafa. Kitab-i Lugat-i Vankuli , in Turkish. Constantinople: press of Ibrahim Müteferikka, 1141 H [1729]. 2 volumes, 2° (340 x 215mm). Volume I [9+7+6]+666 pages, volume II [4]+756+[5+1] pages (and additional two leaves between pp.720 and 721, numbered 721/2 and 761/2), single column within printed line border. (Vol.II lacks pp.483/4 and 497/8 [conjugate pair of leaves], some leaves waterstained, a few small tears, mostly marginal.) Contemporary Turkish sheep, not uniform, covers of vol.I with stamped oval medallion in brown, vol.II with medallion in blind (worn, stitching to some gatherings weak). THE FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN TURKISH AT CONSTANTINOPLE. Mehmed b. Mustafa Vankuli's translation into Turkish of al-Sihah , the Arabic dictionary of al-Jawhari, with the Persian roots printed in the margin. The present copy includes the biographies of al-Jawhari and Vankuli, the texts of the Imperial decree (firman) and the fatwas authorising the opening of the press, Ibrahim Müteferikka's justification of printing, and the lists of corrigenda. There is no complete and authoritative description of all the preliminary leaves in this work. The copies described by Toderini, by Watson and others all differ. Ibrahim Müteferikka (circa 1674-1744), the father of Islamic typography, was of Hungarian Calvinist origins. Captured by Ottoman troops on a foray into Hungary, he was brought to Constantinople at the age of eighteen, converted to Islam and became a dragoman at the Sublime Porte. Printing wa introduced into Turkey by Jewish refugees in the late 15th century, and Armenian and Greek presses followed. They were authorised on the strict condition that no works would be printed in Turkish or Arabic. This ban was abandoned largely as a result of the efforts of Said Mohammed Efendi, who had accompanied his father on a diplomatic mission to France in 1721 and was convinced of the great importance of printing for the advancement of learning. He was assisted by Ibrahim Müteferrika, who had probably acquired a knowledge of printing on various foreign missions he had undertaken for the Porte, and had obtained the support of the enlightened Grand Vizier, Damad Ibrahim Pasha. Ibrahim Müteferrika obtained a firman from Sultan Ahmed III in July 1727 for the foundation of the Imperial printing house, and the Vankuli Dictionary was published on 31 January 1729. Between 1729 and 1742, when it was closed down, the press published seventeen books, mostly on history, geography or language. These constitute the incunabula of Islamic typography. In 1755 Kadi Ahmed Efendi, Müteferrika's foreman and son-in-law, obtained a new firman from Sultan Osman II, but he died in the following year. The press was re-established in 1784, under Abdul Hamid I. (2)
VANKULI, Mehmed b. Mustafa. Kitab-i Lugat-i Vankuli , in Turkish. Constantinople: press of Ibrahim Müteferikka, 1141 H [1729]. 2 volumes, 2° (340 x 215mm). Volume I [9+7+6]+666 pages, volume II [4]+756+[5+1] pages (and additional two leaves between pp.720 and 721, numbered 721/2 and 761/2), single column within printed line border. (Vol.II lacks pp.483/4 and 497/8 [conjugate pair of leaves], some leaves waterstained, a few small tears, mostly marginal.) Contemporary Turkish sheep, not uniform, covers of vol.I with stamped oval medallion in brown, vol.II with medallion in blind (worn, stitching to some gatherings weak). THE FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN TURKISH AT CONSTANTINOPLE. Mehmed b. Mustafa Vankuli's translation into Turkish of al-Sihah , the Arabic dictionary of al-Jawhari, with the Persian roots printed in the margin. The present copy includes the biographies of al-Jawhari and Vankuli, the texts of the Imperial decree (firman) and the fatwas authorising the opening of the press, Ibrahim Müteferikka's justification of printing, and the lists of corrigenda. There is no complete and authoritative description of all the preliminary leaves in this work. The copies described by Toderini, by Watson and others all differ. Ibrahim Müteferikka (circa 1674-1744), the father of Islamic typography, was of Hungarian Calvinist origins. Captured by Ottoman troops on a foray into Hungary, he was brought to Constantinople at the age of eighteen, converted to Islam and became a dragoman at the Sublime Porte. Printing wa introduced into Turkey by Jewish refugees in the late 15th century, and Armenian and Greek presses followed. They were authorised on the strict condition that no works would be printed in Turkish or Arabic. This ban was abandoned largely as a result of the efforts of Said Mohammed Efendi, who had accompanied his father on a diplomatic mission to France in 1721 and was convinced of the great importance of printing for the advancement of learning. He was assisted by Ibrahim Müteferrika, who had probably acquired a knowledge of printing on various foreign missions he had undertaken for the Porte, and had obtained the support of the enlightened Grand Vizier, Damad Ibrahim Pasha. Ibrahim Müteferrika obtained a firman from Sultan Ahmed III in July 1727 for the foundation of the Imperial printing house, and the Vankuli Dictionary was published on 31 January 1729. Between 1729 and 1742, when it was closed down, the press published seventeen books, mostly on history, geography or language. These constitute the incunabula of Islamic typography. In 1755 Kadi Ahmed Efendi, Müteferrika's foreman and son-in-law, obtained a new firman from Sultan Osman II, but he died in the following year. The press was re-established in 1784, under Abdul Hamid I. (2)
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