Beschreibung:

Clark (John Heaviside). The Military Costume of Turkey, 1st edition, published by T. McLean ... B. R. Howlett, printer, 1818, half-title, advertisement leaf, title-page, dedication leaf, preface (vi pp.), contents leaf, 31 fine hand-coloured aquatint plates including frontispiece and vignette title-page, all by Clark except frontispiece (by Thomas Charles Wageman), letterpress description leaf to each plate except the frontispiece (as issued), binder's ticket ('J. Wier, Binder & Fancy Boarder') to half-title, a little light very finger-soiling to margins and to versos of plates, front free endpaper creased and spotted, a few other trivial marks, edges untrimmed, original pink paper boards, printed paper label to front board, wear to spine and extremities, large folio (49 x 34 cm) (Qty: 1) Colas 2059; Lipperheide 2388; cf. Abbey Travel 373 & Blackmer 1125. First edition, with text watermarked 'W Balston 1813' and plates watermarked 'J Whatman 1816', a very good copy in its original binding; Abbey and Blackmer's copies were both later issues (c.1820). 'The artist who produced the costume drawings for this work appears to be unknown although the preface states "the subjects which compose this selection have been furnished at the liberality of a gentleman, who had stored his porfolio during his residence at Constantinople"' (Blackmer). It is possible that this gentleman was William Wittman, member of the British military mission which joined the Ottoman forces at Constantinople in 1799 with the aim of repelling Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria.