A classic description of Islam 17th century

Michel Baudier

PaperHandmade paperLeather
Currently unavailable via Gallerease

• About the artwork
  Histoire generale de la religion des Turcs. Avec la naissance, la vie, & la mort, de leur prophete Mahomet; et les actions des quatre premiers caliphes qui l'ont suivy.
  Paris, Jean Guignard, 1632. 8vo. With the controversial half-page engraved portrait of Muhammad. 17th-century(?) vellum, later endpapers.
  
  Second edition of "the most complete treatment of Islam up to its time in France" (Atabey). Written by Micheal Baudier (ca. 1589-1645), historiographer to the Court of France. The book is presented as a history of the religion of the Turks, who controlled, at that time, a large part of the Islamic world, and gives a detailed description of Islam and its prophet Muhammad.
  Bottom of title-page restored, covering a fraction of a millimetre of the date in the imprint, and a small corner torn off, another corner torn from leaf K3, just touching the text. Further some thumbing, several wormholes and a few water stains. Still a good copy of a classic description of Islam.
  WorldCat (9 copies); cf. Atabey 73-74 (1625 & 1641 eds.); not in Blackmer.
• About the artist
  Michel Baudier (c. 1589, Montpellier – 1645) was a historiographer to the Court of Louis XIII. He took part in campaigns in Italy in 1623 and 1633, and in the siege of Turin in 1640. He was an erudite traveller, having mastered Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Persian, Arabic and Hebrew. He translated oriental documents and was the first one to translate suras of the Koran in French. He wrote many historical works, among others Histoire de la guerre de Flandre 1559-1609 (Paris, 1615; History of the war in Flanders 1559-1609); Inventaire général de l’histoire des Turcs (Paris, 1619; General inventory of the history of the Turcs); Histoire générale dela religion des Turcs avec la vie de leur prophète Mahomet ( Paris, 1626; general history of the religion of the Turks with the life of their Prophet Muhammad).