[BULAQ IMPRINT / NAPOLEON'S FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF ST. HELENA] Sergüzest hülâsa tercümesi: Afrika Cezayirinden Santa Elene nam cezireden vasil olup ol tarafda cezire bend olan Bonaparta'nin sergüzestini sâmil Fransevîyu'l-ibare bir kita risalenin...

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, (1769-1821), Bulak Matbaasi [i.e. Bulaq Printing House, Cairo (Kahire-Bulaq), [AH 1247] = 1831.

COMPLETE TITLE: [BULAQ IMPRINT / NAPOLEON'S FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF ST. HELENA] Sergüzest hülâsa tercümesi: Afrika Cezayirinden Santa Elene nam cezireden vasil olup ol tarafda cezire bend olan Bonaparta'nin sergüzestini sâmil Fransevîyu'l-ibare bir kita risalenin hûlâsa-i tercümesidir ki Bonaparta'nin kendisi tarafindan tahrir olunup bir takrible tevârüd etmistir.

In aesthetics modern full morocco in a traditional Ottoman style. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 50 p. Hegira: 1247 = Gregorian: 1831. Framed text. Stamp with Arabic letters of 'Mehmed Cemil'. Slight stains on pages, overall a good copy.

Extremely rare first Turkish edition of this first-hand account of Napoleon Bonaparte, "telling the story of his first year on St. Helena in exile, describing the daily life on St Helena is interspersed with long sections recounting the history of Napoleon the man, Napoleon the politician, and Napoleon the military leader, making the work in many ways a kind of autobiography. The Memorial portrayed Napoleon as a liberal conduit of the French Revolution, and the book was to become a vademecum for European liberals like Heine. Stendhal’s protagonist from his novel Scarlet and Black (1830), Julien Sorel, is the quintessential model of this sort of liberal figure obsessed with Napoleon and his Empire, the Memorial always in his hand." (Hicks).

The Bulaq or El-Amiriya Press is the first official and governmental printing press to be established in Egypt, and functions according to an industrial printing basis, causing not just a qualitative but also a quantitative and knowledgeable leap in science throughout the Arab region. The Bulaq Press was part of Mohamed Aly's inclusive development plans for the modernization of Egypt. The Khedive first initiated his plans by establishing a strong Egyptian army; one that is capable of strengthening his grip on the country. It thus became essential that this army be provided with the necessary instructive and educational books and material, by which to learn military plans and techniques, as well as the different types of artillery and laws that define a soldier's duties and rights. A pressing need eventually developed for establishing a governmental press; one that should provide such material. By 1815 CE., Mohamed Aly initiated the process of bringing the art of printing to Egypt by sending the first official delegation, headed by Nicole El Masabki, to Milan in Italy, to learn the principles of printing. The same delegation was later able to return and establish the first official press in Egypt.

Printing executed: Jumada II, 1247 / November / December 1831. 2000 copies were printed. Cairo FKT 185.; DornCO 185.; VerykC3 990.; HammerGOR IX-690.; MedemNL 22.; BowringRE 52.; BianchiCG 65.; BulaqIF 8:7.; BulaqMK 6:39.; Zenker I/117-963.; Ridwan 70.; TBTK 6679.; Özege 129.; Only 1 copy in Bogaziçi University Library in World Cat. OCLC no.: 949523742.