[10TH ISLAMIC INCUNABLE: THE FIRST GEOPHYSICAL AND CARTESIAN BOOK IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD] Füyûzât-i miknatisiye

Comp. by IBRAHIM MUTEFERRIKA, (1674-1747), Dârü't-Tibâati'l-Mamûre [Müteferrika Printing House], Konstantıniyye [Constantonple - Istanbul], [AH Gurre-i Ramazan 1144] = 1732.

Contemporary 1/5 leather bdg. with contemporary pink boards. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 46 p. (pages are numbered as 23 leaves traditionally), two full paged copper engravings of compass. Slightly chipped on extremities of boards, marginal cuts and tears on three leaves (not missing on text), two red stamps on margins of the first two pages, and ex-owner's note on the last blank page. Overall a good copy. With mihrabiye and reddadiye, the text is not framed, the printed area is 14x8 cm, and each page has 19 lines and is printed on European paper with a watermark.

Extremely rare tenth Islamic incunable. Extremely rare first and only edition of this first Islamic and Turkish translation of "The Longitude and Latitude Found by the Inclinatory Or Dipping Needle", written by William Whiston (1667-1752) and published in Leipzig in 1721.

It's the first Cartesian geophysical book in the Islamic world. This work introduced the idea of ​​"scientific experiments" to Islamic readers. Müteferrika gives special importance to the concept of experiment and expresses this with "tecrübe-i berr" [i.e. experiment]. At the end of the book, he mentions two deviation angle measurements made in Istanbul. The first measurement was made at the time of early Turkish geographer, historian, and polymath Katip Çelebi (Hajji Khalifa) (1609-1657), at 7° east. The second measurement was taken at 11.5° west in 1727.

According to another thought, this early book is a translation of "Specimen theoriae Magneticae (or Versuch Einer Magnetissher Theorie)" written by Christoph Eberhard, published in 1721.

The work has been a source for subsequent studies, with its historical information about the magnet stone, the compass, and the determination of geographical latitude and longitude based on the deviation and inclination angles of the compass needle. Müteferrika translated the terms related to the field in Ottoman Turkish. He even wrote the proper names in his own language and did not choose to indicate the originals.

William Whiston was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularization of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to instigate the Longitude Act in 1714 (and his attempts to win the rewards that it promised) and his important translations of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus (which are still in print). He was a prominent exponent of Arianism and wrote A New Theory of the Earth.

The workshop of Müteferrika began its historical mission in 1728. They published 17 works in 22 volumes. The printing house served as a means to the long-term goal of Müteferrika, his efforts to broaden the horizon and modernize the knowledge of Ottoman society and Islamic civilization. This is evidenced by the subjects of the books selected for publishing, the motivations put forth in the publisher's introductions, as well as by the documents illuminating the background of the publication of each book, also published in print. In 1742, with the publication of the Persian dictionary of Hasan Suûrî, a chapter of Ottoman book printing came to an end. With the death of Müteferrika, the printing of Turkish books was temporarily interrupted. The first generation of Ottoman-Turkish prints was soon followed by a new series when in 1756 Ahmed and Ibrâhîm Efendi (the latter perhaps the founder's son, according to speculative sources) made an attempt to resurrect the legacy of Müteferrika through the possession of a decree obtained from the Sultan. However, this experiment did not prove to be lasting, as it did not last longer than the new edition of the first Turkish printed book, the Lugat-i Vankûlî. After this, for several decades there was no continuation of the Turkish book printing established by Müteferrika until in 1783 the workshop was put in operation again for the publication of six more works. The subjects of these late 18th century works were dominated by history and military technology, thus Müteferrika's strategy of book distribution made its way hand in hand with the efforts of modernization of the Ottoman state. The second edition of Lugat-i Vankûlî followed the principles of the first edition, and its introduction was composed on the model of the introductory pages of the two last books published under Müteferrika's supervision. The works published after 1783 display a noticeable development in typography not only as to its somewhat refined visual impression but also in its structure. For example, the d+h and r+h ligatures, characteristic of the first generation of Müteferrika's printed books, are replaced by separate letters. This extremely rare presented book is from the seven publications of this late period of the printing house. (Sources: TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi online (Izzî Süleyman Efendi).; Library of Hungarian Academy of Sciences online.; Yazmadan basmaya: Müteferrika, Mühendishane, Üsküdar; pp. 72-73).

Özege 6007.; OCLC 930866191 (Only one printed copy in Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin).