171 - [Turkey]. TAVERNIER, Jean-Baptiste.

[Turkey]. TAVERNIER, Jean-Baptiste. A New Account of the Inner Workings of the Grand Vizier’s Seraglio Paris: Olivier de Varennes, 1675. In-4, (8) ff., 277-(1) pp. Contemporary mottled tan sheepskin, decorated ribbed spine, gilt title (scuffing and wear on the binding, top cap missing, corners worn, slight oxidation of the paper and a few small foxing spots, marginal wormholes on the last 2 leaves). First and only early edition of the travelogue by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689), the famous traveler and gemstone hunter-merchant. The account is based on his visits to Constantinople during his first and sixth journeys under the reign of Mehmed IV. In it, Tavernier describes the rituals and secrets of the private life at a sultan’s court, even though he was never able to enter the harem himself (he purchased the accounts of a physician and a eunuch to include in his narrative). The publishing rights were shared with those of Gervais Clouzier, which reduced the number of surviving copies from each print run. The dedication to Louis XIV—to whom Tavernier sold the famous 118-carat “celestial” diamond in 1668 (known as Louis XIV’s Great Blue Diamond and later renamed the Hope Diamond)—proudly states: “Various authors have written on the same subject; but I can say that no more accurate or truthful description of the Seraglio has yet been given to the public.” Atabey 1199 (which refers only to Clouzier). Blackmer 1630.