Voyage pittoresque de Constantinople et des rives du Bosphore.

A finely bound example of the first edition of the grandest book of engraved views of Constantinople. 'One of the finest topographical illustrated books ever produced' (Koç).

Antoine Ignace Melling, who was born at Karlsruhe in 1763 and died in Paris in 1831, studied painting and architecture. At the age of nineteen years he went to the Levant via the Archipelago, staying at Constantinople for several years. There he was introduced to the Sultan's sister by the Danish ambassador. She wished to renovate her palace at Ortakeui, and in 1795 Melling was appointed as architect. Melling was given the freedom of Selim III's palaces, including the Harem, and he produced several drawings of these properties.

After completing a number of building projects for Selim, Melling returned to Paris in about 1803, where, in 1804 he issued a prospectus for the Voyage pittoresque. Publication eventually began in 1809, issuing over a number years thirteen livraisons, being completed by 1819. The outstanding success of the exhibitions of the paintings on which the Voyage pittoresque was based earned Melling the title of painter to the Empress Josephine.