Lot 08342

REDHOUSE J. W., “An ENGLISH AND TURKISH DICTIONARY, in Two Parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English. In Which the Turkish Words […] by the Author in His “Vade-Mecum of Ottoman Colloquial Language”, London: Bernard Quaritch, 1857. RARE FIRST EDITION. Two volumes in thick 8vo, p. xxvi,1-427, 428-1149. Full leather bound of the period, gilt title and numbering over spine, gilt lines over boards edges; spines dull and rubbed, bumped corners, nice condition though. Scattered spotting and foxing inside, but clean and very tight.

The author, Sir James Redhouse, was an ideal candidate to undertake the daunting task of writing the first Turkish/English dictionary. In 1826, he began his working life with a tour of the Mediterranean that brought him to Smyrna and Constantinople, where he accepted a draftsman post with the Ottoman government. After a four-year stint in Russia, Redhouse returned to England, anxious to publish a Turkish/English/French dictionary, which he had completed during his travels. He found, however, that a Turkish/French dictionary had been completed while he was away. Instead, Redhouse returned to his employment with the Turkish government, this time as a translator and confidential interpreter, first with the grand vizier and later with the minister for foreign affairs. By 1840, Redhouse was working with the Turkish admiralty and had become a member of the naval council, an engagement which, in turn, led him to Syria. It was only a matter of time until Redhouse’s services were sought by the British government and he soon was assisting a British commissioner to negotiate peace between Turkey and Persia. The dictionary was finally published in 1856. The result of his many years of study in Turkey and with distinguished members of the Ottoman government, Redhouse produced the finest Turkish dictionary extant for over a hundred years. It remains in print even today.

A Very Good copy.