Moeurs et usages des Turcs, leur religion, leur gouvernement civil, militaire et politique

Second edition, published one year after the first, published by Coustelier in Paris. It is illustrated with 30 plates outside the text including two frontispieces engraved by Duflos after Boucher and Hallé and three folding views: the Hellespont and the Propontis, the city and port of Constantinople and a view of the grand seraglio of Constantinople. The plates represent scenes of daily life: prisoner, charity for animals, prayer, religious figures and places of worship, marriage, burial, noble figures (vizir, sultana, grand lord, bostangi, muphti, chiaou, capigi), punishments and historical scenes. Numerous ornate headpieces and decorated initials and tailpieces.
A detailed table of chapters at the head of each volume. A table of Ottoman emperors and a list of the principal authors cited in the work at the beginning of the first volume. A "Table of European princes contemporary to the Ottoman Emperors" at the end of the second volume.
Contemporary bindings in full marbled brown calf, spines with five raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and floral compartments, red and brown morocco title and volume labels, boards framed with triple blind fillets, shell paper pastedowns and endpapers, all edges red. Skillful restorations to joints, headcaps and corners with discreet gilt retouching.
Some worming tapering in the upper margin of the first volume, without loss of text or damage to the engravings. One white endpaper missing at the end of the first volume.
The preface of the work is the occasion for Jean-Antoine Guer to expound his vision of history. Humanity, to improve itself, must not turn toward obsolete regimes, but rather toward societies that are contemporary to it: « Le dix-septième siècle a changé toute la face de l'Europe : la Politique n'est plus la même qu'elle fut sous Louis XII, ni même sous le règne des descendans de François I. Un ministre se rendroit ridicule aujourd'hui, s'il prétendoit négocier sur le même pied, sur lequel on traitoit avant les dernières années d'Henri IV. Ce sont ces raisons qui m'ont encouragé à entreprendre cette partie de l'Histoire Ottomane, que je donne aujourd'hui au Public. Si les Mœurs et usages des Grecs, lorsqu'ils ont paru, si les Mœurs et usages des Romains qui les avoient précédés, ont été reçus favorablement, j'ose espérer le même avantage pour mon Ouvrage. La nation Turque, je le scay, n'est ni aussi ancienne, ni aussi recommandable par beaucoup d'endroits que ces deux Peuples ; mais elle a cela de plus intéressant, qu'elle existe encore, & que son origine, son accroissement & ses progrès nous touchent de plus près que la puissance d'Athènes ou de Rome. » ["The seventeenth century has changed the entire face of Europe: Politics is no longer the same as it was under Louis XII, nor even under the reign of the descendants of François I. A minister would make himself ridiculous today if he pretended to negotiate on the same footing as was done before the final years of Henri IV. These are the reasons that encouraged me to undertake this part of Ottoman History, which I give to the Public today. If the Customs and usages of the Greeks, when they appeared, if the Customs and usages of the Romans who had preceded them, were favorably received, I dare hope for the same advantage for my Work. The Turkish nation, I know, is neither as ancient, nor as commendable in many respects as these two Peoples; but it has this more interesting aspect, that it still exists, & that its origin, its growth & its progress touch us more closely than the power of Athens or Rome."]
He then draws up the list of other writers who have undertaken a description of Turkey in their works: Chalcondyle (Histoire générale des Turcs), Count Marsigli (état militaire de l'Empire ottoman), Prince Démétrius Cantimir (Histoire de l'Empire Ottoman), Ricaut (Gouvernement des Turcs) or the famous account by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Description du Serrail. He notes however that all these texts, although having had great success, only relate historical events and the victories and defeats of the elite. His intention is to give the reader a history of the people, their folklore and customs: « Les intérêts des Princes & leur politique, la nature & les différentes manœuvres du Gouvernement, les maximes du Droit public, les loix fondamentales de l'État, qui ne sont pas moins utiles pour la connoissance d'une nation, ne sont, pour ainsi parler, que le second objet de l'Auteur ; il n'en parle, qu'à mesure que quelque fait particulier lui en fournit le prétexte. La Religion, les Cérémonies religieuses & les fêtes publiques, le génie, l'humeur & le caractère d'un Peuple, sa manière de faire la guerre, ses armes & sa discipline militaire, sa manière de vivre, son habillement, tous ces objets sont négligés, ou dumoins fondus, pour ainsi dire, dans le corps de l'histoire. Elle ne rapporte les usages d'une nation que par occasion, & pour parler juste, en passant ; on n'y rencontre que par intervalle quelques traits, qui apprennent aux Lecteurs les coutumes des peuples dont elle traite : après l'avoir lûe, on peut sçavoir leur histoire ; pour eux, on ne les connoît qu'imparfaitement. » ["The interests of Princes & their politics, the nature & the different maneuvers of Government, the maxims of Public Law, the fundamental laws of the State, which are no less useful for knowledge of a nation, are, so to speak, only the second object of the Author; he speaks of them only insofar as some particular fact provides him the pretext. Religion, religious Ceremonies & public festivals, the genius, humor & character of a People, its manner of making war, its arms & its military discipline, its manner of living, its clothing, all these objects are neglected, or at least melted, so to speak, into the body of history. It only reports the usages of a nation by occasion, & to speak justly, in passing; one encounters there only at intervals some traits, which teach Readers the customs of the peoples it treats: after having read it, one can know their history; as for them, one knows them only imperfectly."]
It is therefore indeed a non-eventful representation of the Ottoman Empire that Guer proposes. He envisions his role as that of intermediary between historians, whose descriptions are factual, and readers "who read only to amuse themselves, who know how to amuse themselves only with trifles." This is a work of compilation of different existing sources, the author having never himself traveled to the Orient:
« Ce n'est donc point dans les Historiens, qu'on doit chercher une connoissance parfaite des mœurs & usages d'une Nation ; du moins doit-on convenir, que cette étude ne convient guères qu'à des Sçavans, ou à des personnes qui lisent avec réflexion & avec méthode. [...] Mon dessein a été d'épargner aux Lecteurs la peine & le désagrément de feuilleter tant de livres : j'ai regardé tout ce que ces Écrivains ont dit comme d'excellens matériaux. » ["It is therefore not in Historians, that one should seek perfect knowledge of the customs & usages of a Nation; at least one must agree, that this study hardly suits anyone but Scholars, or persons who read with reflection & with method. [...] My design has been to spare Readers the trouble & displeasure of leafing through so many books: I have regarded everything these Writers have said as excellent materials."]
It is in this didactic perspective that the plates and plans come abundantly to frame the text. If this type of erudite historiography, consisting of compilations of travel accounts and historical narratives, was common at the time, the picturesque subject but especially the abundant and superb iconography offer today's reader a precious document testifying to the Western view of Turkish folklore in the 18^th century.