EYRIÈS, Jean-Baptiste-Benoît. La Turquie, ou, Costumes, Moeurs et Usages des Turcs. Suite de gravures coloriées avec leurs explications; par J.B.B. Eyriès, Paris, Librairie de Gide Fils, [ca. 1820].

The French geographer Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès (1767-1846) studied at the College of Juilly, near Paris. He travelled in Northern Europe, and studied the flora and minerals of the places he visited. He was in charge of several commercial missions to various countries of the world. Eyriès settled in Paris in 1805.

Eyriès was a member of the intellectual circles of his time, and a collector of travel works (approximately twenty thousand volumes). He was founding member of the Geographical Society of France (Société de Géographie) and a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Fluent in nine languages and gifted with an excellent memory, Eyriès collaborated with travel reviews and encyclopaedias, published several geographical works and translated travel accounts from other European languages. A large part of his personal library, including several rare editions, is housed in the municipal library of Le Havre.

This edition, with portraits of Ottoman public and administrative officials, is a copy of a similar work published in the early 19th century.

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou