Illustrated biography of the Prophet

[Muhammad]. Historie van den oorsprongh, geslacht, geboorte, opvoedinge, en leere des grooten valschen propheets Mahomets.

€ 7,500.00

Very rare, prettily illustrated biography of the Prophet Muhammad. Second edition, previously published in 1627 and based on de Bry's "Acta Mehmeti" from 1597. The engraved title page shows ten different scenes which enframe the worlds of the title. Nine of these are taken directly from de Bry and are repeated throughout the book, enlarged and with much greater detail; only the Ottoman army train at the top is likely based on a different source. The book also comprises the divinations of the Byzantine Emperors Leo and Severus about the fall of Constantinople.

An appealing and well-preserved copy from the library of the adventurer, linguist, diplomat, and collector Charles Schefer (1820-98) with his bookplate on the front pastedown. Schefer, who held a chair at the Ecole des Langues Orientales, was perhaps best known in his day as the most prominent Orientalist of his generation.