TURKEY. - Lot 33

TURKEY. MÜTEFERRIḲA (İbrāhīm). Usul al Hukum fi Nizam al-Umam. In Ottoman Turkish. Constantinople, [Printed by] Ibrahim Müteferrika, 1144 H. [1732]. In-12, 38 pages, early 20th-century green percaline, reproduction of the gilt tughra in the center of the upper cover (hinges cracked, leaves 2 and 3 unbound, leaves 46-47 lacking). Rare first edition. A seminal work on the beginnings of Ottoman Turkish printing in Constantinople. One of the most important works by Ibrahim Müteferrika (1674?-1745), in which he argues that the Ottoman Empire must draw inspiration from European military and administrative reforms to halt its decline and regain its state power. Woodcut vignette bearing the title at the head of the first leaf.