Illustrated World Atlas (Ատլաս Աշխարհացոյց պատկերաց), 1849 - Lot 266

Illustrated World Atlas (Ատլաս Աշխարհացոյց պատկերաց), 1849 Venice, impr. Mekhitariste de Saint-Lazare, 1849, published at the expense of Hovhannes Amira Dadian. 46 pages of preface followed by 10 hand-colored double-page engraved maps. Each map engraved in Paris. Illustrated title page and dedication lithographed in red, blue and gold. In-folio, 45.5 x 60 cm. The maps include the solar system, the world in two hemispheres, Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, as well as individual maps of ancient Armenia and the Ottoman Empire. and is mainly inspired by contemporary French models. Hovhannes Amira Dadian (1798-1869), from a family of prominent Ottoman civil servants, traveled extensively in Europe in search of new ideas and technical innovations. Throughout his life, Dadian worked for the education, modernization and industrialization of Ottoman society. A very fine copy, complete with all plates, in a modern blue binding. Extremely rare book. The last copy to be auctioned was sold for $37,500 by Swann Auction House in New York on June 7, 2017.