Melling

In 1795 the Alsace-born Antoine Ignace Melling, who had come to Constantinople to seek his fortune, was appointed imperial architect by the Ottoman Sultan Selim III. During his tenure in that position, he also designed and landscaped a seaside palace for Selim’s sister, Princess Hatice. While in Constantinople, Melling executed a number of astonishing panoramic views of the city and its environs. Melling returned to Paris around 1803. In 1809, he set up an engraving studio for the purpose of reproducing these drawings.

The completed images were published as a series of fascicles that were sent out to subscribers. The last one appeared in 1819. The Ertuğ & Kocabıyık facsimile edition of the complete book is reproduced from the original “elephant folio”, an unfolded first edition in the collection of Ahmet Ertuğ. The technical aspects of the project were undertaken in Switzerland by some of the world’s leading facsimile specialists under the careful supervision of Mr Ertuğ.
This outstanding facsimile edition is available in two different bindings. One is bound in sturdy Japanese cloth and the other is a very limited edition of only 50 copies bound in leather that is intended for discriminating connoisseurs of exceptionally fine books. The binding and decoration of all the leather-bound copies was done by hand.