1843 — Very Good French Original handsome leather bindings. Demy 8vo. (22 x 14 cm). In French and Ottoman script. 4 volumes set: ([vi], [2], 784, 125 p., [vi], 1372 p.; [xxx], [2], 1097 p., [vi], 1320 p.). Slight foxing on pages, faded on boards, otherwise a very good set. Ex-libris of Izzet Gündag Kayaoglu. First edition of the complete set of this early dictionary from French to Turkish and from Turkish to French, published in Paris, in London Oriental Translations Committee Printer. Bianchi visited Istanbul at the beginning of the 19th century and prepared dictionary and phrasebooks in Turkish after he had returned to his country. One of his most significant works occurs to be this dictionary. What makes this dictionary noteworthy among other his works is the fact that Turkish words are written together in both Arabic and Latin characters. Turkish words with Arabic letters are written as to stereotyped pronunciation in the work. Therefore, they do not indicate the changes in the language. Bianchi reflects the pronunciation of writing in Turkish letters with Latin characters; and thus, the differences between spelling and pronunciation are highlighted. Thomas-Xavier de Bianchi (1783-1864), born in Paris on June 25, 1783, was the younger brother of the Austrian Field Marshal de Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza. He studied at the Central School of the department of Seine-et-Marne and followed, in Paris, oriental language courses at the College de France and at the Imperial Library under Sylvestre de Sacy. In 1807, he was appointed a pupil at the French school of young people of language in Constantinople, then directed by the scholar Ducaurroy and completed his improvement in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Sent to Izmir in 1811, he was second there, and then the first dragoman of the Consulate General, and was noted for his dedication during the plague epidemic of 1812. In 1816, he was appointed assistant to the King's secretary-interpreters in Paris and was in charge to accompany the Persian envoy to Louis XVIII in 1819. In 1829, he was sent on a mission to the last day of Algiers, Hussein-pasha. The following year, France intervened in Algeria. He was appointed secretary-interpreter in the title and served as professor of Turkish at the School of Oriental Languages until 1842. After his retirement, he devoted himself to lexicographical and bibliographical work. He was an officer of the Legion of Honor, decorated with the Nichan-Iftikhar, as a member of the Imperial Academy of Constantinople. Tout exemplaire de ce Dictionnaire qui ne serait pas revetu de la signature de l'un des auteurs et editeurs sera repute contrefaçon, et poursuivi cmme tel, en vertu de la loi du 19 juillet 1793. [i.e. Any copy of this Dictionary which does not bear the signature of one of the authors and publishers will be deemed to be counterfeit, and prosecuted as such, under the law of July 19, 1793].
