Imperium orientale sive Antiquitates Constantinopolitanae in quatuor partes distributae; quæ ex variis scriptorum Græcorum operibus & præsertim ineditis adornatæ, commentariis, & geographicis, topographicis, aliisque quam plurimis monumentorum ac nomismatum tabellis illustrantur

Paris: Jean-Baptiste Coignard, 1711 2 volumes in-folio (43.5 x 28.5 cm), engraved frontispiece, [10], 54, [2], 214, [2], 444 pp; PP. 445-1017, [9], 140, [28] pp, 7 engraved maps and plans (6 folding), 7 engraved folding views, and 27 engraved plates (19 folding). Contemporary marbled calf, with spines in 6 raised bands gilt, red and brown morocco gilt-lettered labels, all edges painted red, marbled endpapers (binding slightly rubbed, corners, heads and tails repaired, joints somewhat rubbed, old label of a Parisian bookshop, Librairie Durand, mounted on the front pastedown in vol. 1, ownership entry dated 1814, numbers and a note "grand papier" on the front free endpapers, stamps of a religious institution and private stamps on title-pages, some quires toned inside, occasional foxing and spotting). Dalmatian antiquarian Anselmo Banduri (1675-1743) was born in Ragusa. Joining the Benedictine order in 1692, he pursued his studies in Naples before being sent to Florence, where he formed a notable acquaintance with the renowned Benedictine scholar Bernard de Montfaucon. Rendering valuable services to Montfaucon, Banduri earned recommendation to Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1702, he became a pensioner of the Grand Duke of Tuscany at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Honored as a foreign member of the Académie des Inscriptions in 1715, Banduri was later appointed librarian to the Duke of Orléans in 1724. The monumental "Imperium Orientale, sive Antiquitates Constantinopolitanae" was his major published work. The book, which some bibliographers consider a part of the "De historiae byzantinae scriptoribus" (Collection des Byzantine du Louvre, published from 1651 to 1711 or 1812), is based on Greek manuscripts Banduri discovered and translated into Latin. To these he added Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Agapetus, Hierocles, and other Byzantine texts but also modern descriptions of Constantinople by Grelot and Gilles. The second volume comprises Banduri's commentaries, descriptions of Turkish monuments in French, some additional documents, and illustrations. These include a frontispiece engraved by Simonneau after S. Leclerc, 14 engraved vignettes by P. Giffart, engraved tail-pieces and initials, two large folding maps ("Orbis Romani descriptio" and "Imperii Orientalis") by Guillaume Delisle, two folding maps ("Anaplus Bosphori Thracii") by Guillaume Sanson and Banduri, two folding plans of Constantinople by Banduri, a plan of Constantinople by Cristoforo Buondelmonti, a large folding view ("Veue du Grand Serail de Constantinople") by Le Blond, 6 folding views, 7 plates representing coins and medals engraved by Simonneau, an engraving of a column, and 18 folding engravings of scenes by P. Giffart, along with 17 engraved illustrations in the text. "The work was an instant success. Leibnitz admired it (...)" (Atabey), yet it also almost immediately sparked controversy. Banduri successfully defended himself against Casimir Oudin. However, in 1779, Abbé de Saint-Léger insinuated that Louis-François-Joseph de La Barre was the true author of the work. Brunet I, 640; Graesse I, 586; Atabey 52, Blackmer, 70. A very good copy of this interesting and uncommon book.