OHSSON (Ignace Mouradja d'). Tableau général de l'Empire othoman. Paris, Imprimerie de Monsieur puis Firmin Didot, 1787-1820. 3 volumes in-folio, half Russian fawn leather with corners, large diamond-shaped Russian leather title-piece on first board, spine ornate, untrimmed (Period binding). First edition of this fundamental work on the Ottoman Empire, considered by Burckhardt to be "the only source of perfect information concerning the laws and constitution of the Turkish Empire". The second volume gives a very precise description of the Muslim religion, its rites, holy places and pilgrimages. The third volume was published thirty years after the second by the author's son. The illustrations consist of a title-frontispiece and 236 numbered engravings of views, scenes, ceremonies, Ottoman costumes, etc., interpreted on copperplate after drawings by Cochin, J.-B. Hilaire, Le Barbier, Moreau le Jeune and others. Of these figures, printed on 95 plates, 15 are double-page spreads and 2 fold-outs. The three plates "missing from many copies", according to Cohen, are present, in particular the extremely rare view of the interior of Sainte-Sophie (plate no. 19), which was missing from the Atabey copy. A very rare complete copy of the three volumes in uniform contemporary bindings, produced around 1820. Joints split and a few incidents to the bindings, small lack to the spine of volume I, tear on a box of volume III, repairs to the false-title and to the title of this volume, a few stains and scattered freckles. Atabey, n°846 - Blackmer, n°1164 - Hage Chahine, n°3475 - Cohen, 763 - Brunet, III, 1932.