CHÉNIER (Louis) - Révolutions de l'Empire ottoman, et observ - Lot 418

CHÉNIER (Louis) - Révolutions de l'Empire ottoman, et observations sur ses progrès, sur ses revers, sur l'état présent de cet empire. Paris, Chez l'auteur et Bailly, 1789; in-8, XL-388 pp, bound in full contemporary calf, smooth spine decorated, red morocco title page, fillets on covers. An important work - his last - on the Ottoman Empire and its politics, by the French consul under Louis XVI, Louis de Chénier (1722-1796). "In his book, Chénier describes the rebellion that overthrew Ahmed III and Damad Ibrahim as an impoverished population rising up against its pleasure-hungry, spendthrift rulers" (C. Erimtan, Ottomans Looking West). Chénier's eldest son, the poet André Chénier (1762-1794), a precursor of Romanticism, was guillotined on July 25, 1794 for denouncing the excesses of the Revolution (Wikipedia). This is a very rare first edition.