BRY Jean Théodore de [MOHAMMED] I. Acta Mechmeti I Saracenorum Principis. Natales, Vitam, Victorias, Imperium et Mortem eius ominosam complectentia… II. Vaticinia. Severi et Leonis in Oriente… regni Turcici sub Mechmete hoc III. praedicentia.

Atabey 331 (incomplete) ; Göllner 2286 (“Beachtung verdienen die Kupferstiche… von Johann Dietrich und Johann Israel”) ; Adams B-2978 ; not in Blackmer nor the Koç Collection.

First edition.

A very beautiful edition, richly illustrated with a beautiful title in a large engraved frame and 26 engravings in the text, published by the famous De Bry brothers in Frankfurt, who are also known for their famous illustrated editions of the great and small voyages to the Americas.

The illustrations in this edition begin with a beautiful allegorical title page showing Muhammad and Emperor Leo III, followed by 10 large copperplate engravings accompanying the biography of the Prophet. The following 16 engravings illustrate the second part of the volume, devoted to the prophecy of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. This important biography of Muhammad and the engravings by the de Bry brothers were reproduced in the 1664 edition of the Chronica Turcica by Wilhelm Serlin.

“The first section concerns Mohammed the Prophet, with 10 engravings which illustrate scenes from his life… The second part, which includes 16 emblematical engravings, records a prophecy of the fall of the Turkish empire” (Blackmer).

“It was not until the very end of the 16th century that the Prophet was first represented in the guise of an Ottoman sovereign. The first printed image of Muhammad in distincly Ottoman dress is to be found in the I. Acta Mechmeti I. Saracenorum Principis published by Johann Theodor and Johann Israel de Bry in 1597 in Frankfurt… Muhammad is described as a historical figure given the name ‘Mehmet I’ and is depicted according to conventional representations of Turkish sultans, wearing a moustache and dressed in a lavish royal caftan and a large ottoman turban” (Avinam Sheilem: Constructing the Image Muhammad in Europe, p. 107-108).

“The Acts were distinguished as the first printed Western book to illustrate the life of the Prophet Muhamad. The circumstances of the book’s 1597 publication suggest that this innovative project was a Protestant initiative. The book was first dedicated to Frederick IV, Elector Palatine (1574-1610), a stern supporter of Calvinism and a leading figure in the union of German protestant princes… In the second half of the sixteenth century, publishing a book on the life Muhammad and Islamic religious laws carried a certain risk for the author as well as for the editor… In the case of the acts, the editor de Bry was not alone in acting with caution. The compiler of the text showed an even greater reserve: nowhere in the book does he reveal his identity – probably for the same reason as Theodore de Bry. Nevertheless internal evidence suggests that the anonymous author was Jean-Jacques Boissard… The text of the title page suggests that the book consists of only two parts, a biography of the prophet, and a series of prophecies, attributed to the Byzantine emperor Leo VI, on the imminent downfall of the Ottoman Empire. The engraved title page alludes to both of the sections of the book: the left side features the figure of Muhammad; the right a Byzantine emperor in his official robes. However, an examination of the text reveals the works organization into five segments of unequal length: the first section includes a biography of Muhammad as well as a presentation of the basic principles of the Islamic religion. The following section provides brief information on the sequence of the Saracen rulers and the Tartar kings. This second section also summarizes the most important events related to their reigns up to the year 1300. Part three consists of a short summary of the religion and customs of the Armenians and the Georgians. The following chapter contains an abbreviated history of the Ottoman sultans from 1300 to 1595, most of which is reserved for the deeds of Suleiman the great and his grandson Murad III. The remaining half of the book discussed the aforementioned prophecies allegedly of Byzantine origins” (Ulrike Ilg, in : Religious Polemics and Visual Realism in a late 16th Century Biography of the Prophet Muhammad; de Gruyter).

A fine copy, nicely bound, complete with the blank leaf H2 and the index leaves (which were missing from the copy in the Atabey collection). Six leaves with the lower corner formerly repaired (including two affecting the text of the index).

Provenance: Joh. Piscator (signature at the bottom of the title page) – German or Austrian princely library (crowned stamp with the initials “FID.C” and “F.I” on the reverse of the title page). This is probably Johannes Piscator (1546-1625), a German theologian and writer, author of religious works and compiler of a new translation of the Bible, published in seven volumes in Herborn in 1604.