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London, Royal Institute of British Architects, Carter cat. 91.496.11?

Microfilm

Additional Information

  • Appr. Date: 19th c. (19th c. (1860s?))
  • Genres: Varia
  • Illustrations: No

Notes

Royal Institute of British Architects. Manuscript.

A loose French translation of Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall's Constantinopolis und der Bosporos (1822). Listed on our original box as "Ms. 91 (496.111) & 72.033.2 (495.02)", this seems actually to be neither, but a single manuscript with possibly two works, belonging apparently to Charles Texier (1802-1871).

Enviable penmanship. Bound (a large notebook?) and probably the "Miscellaneous MS. (bound)" (and/or the "Papers relating to the antiquities of Asia Minor") in Hansard's catalogue (p. 269, sub lem. "Texier (C)"; see Bibliography; see also pp. 63sq., sub lem. "Constantinople"). Perhaps the second, shorter part of the manuscript (see below) contributed to his later "Asie Mineur" in L'Univers Pittoresque vol. 12 (Paris, 1862; see below). Note that, as of this writing, Google Books—see Online Resources—has at least one scan of Hansard's catalogue mislabeled as the supplement); the link however is correct.

There is no "91 (496.111)" listed in Carter's catalogue (it would in vol. 2, p. 450) and this is probably a typo in our records for "91 (496.11)" (also at Carter II.450), a general code for Constantinople. Texier is not named there, but the reader is directed to (inter alia) 72.03 ("Architectural History", vol. 2, p. 172), which includes the "72.033.2 (495.02)" on our box. (See also "72.03 (459.02 + 49.611)" in vol. 2, p. 161). Number 72.033.2 (495.02), however, is also not the manuscript in question, but a printed work by Salzenberg (Carter vol. 1, p. 916 and vol. 2, p. 172; for the work's details, see our Bibliography). Number 72.033.2 (without any addition) refers to Texier & Pullan 1864 (see Bibliography).

Perhaps our own cataloguer meant another work, such as those under 91 (56) (Carter vol. 2, p. 454, a general category "Turkey-in-Asia", which lists Texier's published Asie Mineure (1862; see Bibliography; also, Carter vol. 1, p. 1012, where also cf. no. 72.032.8, Texier & Pullan's The Principle Ruins of Asia Minor Illustrated and Described (London, 1865)).

From pp. 1-837, recto pages and odd numbers only, in a neat hand.  Page 1 is "Cahier No. 1[:] Tremblement de Terre" (incipit "Le grand tremblement de terre (sous la règne de Zénon) 478 fit tomber la statue de l’imperatrice Theodora."). In another hand, in Arabic script, apparently an abbreviation for the Ottoman (قسطنطینیه), Arabic (القسطنطينية) or possibly Persian (قسطنطنیه) version of the name Constantinople. (Our film on the first couple frames is hazy, but a clearer footnote mentions Theophanes, Cedrenus, Euthychius, Zenon and Malalas.) For the content, cf. Texier 1864 in our Bibliography and Online Resources.

From p. 839 ("Description Archéologique des Monuments de l'Asie Mineure") to p. 861, a more relaxed hand (also Texier's?) writing both rectos and versos. A forerunner of his Asie Mineur?

Kind responses to our inquiries by MicroWorld.uk.com and from the Drawings & Archives department at RIBA proved inconclusive, but the latter were able to provide us a scan of Entry #1371 (p. 444) from Mace's 1998 catalogue (see Bibliography), which we reproduce below. We doubt whether this be the manuscript in question, but include it in case it does contain something helpful (or, if it does not, to spare the reader the trouble of hunting it down) and hope that the reader will find enough information here to help him in his investigations.

"1371 TEXIER, Charles Félix Marie (1802-1871), architect, archaeologist & historian.

"Notes by Texier on various subjects (2v., ms. & hol., in French): including 'Topographie de Constantinople sous les empereurs byzantins etc'; 'Description archéologique et monumentale de l'Asie mineure' [Texier travelled in Asia Minor in 1833-1837]; 'Des français extraits de la germanie, et de leur ancienne demeure'; 'De l'illustre et très ancienne cité  d'Autun etc'; with descriptions of various antiquities in Greece and Asia Minor. Ref. TeC/1-2

"Seven letters by Texier to the RIBA, 1867-1869 (hol., signed, in French): thanks the institute for the award of the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1867; writes mainly abaout his discoveries and researches in Asia Minor; refers to his drawings of bas-reliefs at Persepolis and describes their restoration; sends the Institute his studies of historic buildings and ancient monuments in Constsantinople, which he hopes Owen Jones will find the time to arrange and catalogue; offers to send sketches of Berber hunting scenes taken from an ancient palace at Guerza, near Benghazi, and describes the area. Ref. RIBA/LC (Card Index)".

Square brackets above are in the original. Note the slight difference between their "Description archéologique et monumentale..." and our "Description archéologique des monuments..."  For more possible information, see OCLC 4946018 and 276894909 at WorldCat.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of the Royal Institute of British Architects Library (Open in Zotero)
  • The Library Catalogue of The Royal Institute of British Architects: Printed Books and Manuscripts 1834–1888 (Open in Zotero)
  • Constantinopolis und der Bosporos (Open in Zotero)
  • Alt-christliche Baudenkmale von Constantinopel vom V. bis XII. Jahrhundert (Open in Zotero)
  • Asie mineure: description géographique, historique et archéologique des provinces et des villes de la Chersonnèse d’Asie (Open in Zotero)
  • Architecture in Manuscript, 1601–1996: Guide to the British Architectural Library Manuscripts and Archives Collection (Open in Zotero)
  • Tremblement de terre, ouragan et inondation dans les départments du Cher et de la Nièvre (Open in Zotero)
  • The Principal Ruins of Asia Minor (Open in Zotero)