Preziosi, Amadeo

PREZIOSI, Amadeo Stamboul. Souvenir d'Orient. Paris Lemercier 1858 Lge folio; lithogr. title and 28 (of 29) pl. mounted on guards (pl. "Dervish beggars" missing but with a copy from another ed. joined; extensive foxing). Contemp. half red shagreen, marbled paper boards, gilt orn. spine with raised bands, blue spr. edges (rubbed). First issue of the tinted lithogr. pictorial title and the 28 chromolithographs, with captions in French and English, depicting life scenes and views of Istanbul: a druggist's shop, Turkish ladies walking, a guard house, carriage, silk bazar, sweetmeat shop, water carrier, the Bosphorus, a coffee house, whirling dervishes, etc. The Maltese painter Preziosi (1816-1882) is known for his watercolours and prints of the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans and Romania. In 1842, he moved to Constantinople where he stayed until his death. Ref. Colas 2422. - Cp. Blackmer 1353 (1865 ed.).