as the further French volumes appeared. This complete edition was published by Claude du Bosc from 1733 to 1739, reprinting the material which had appeared in the Prevost edition and continuing the series till its completion, and consequently is preferred. Some contemporary owners bound up a mix of the two editions; this set, a uniform copy of the du Bosc editions in a handsome contemporary binding, is particularly desirable. While the English translator expurgated some of the most heretical passages, the translation is, unlike many piracies and later editions, true to Bernard and Picart’s grand vision. As a reference book it was unprecedented; “no other work before then had ever attempted, in word and image, such a grand sweep of human religions” (ibid.). But as a meditation on culture it was revolutionary. “It sowed the radical idea that religions could be compared on equal terms, and therefore that all religions were equally worthy of respect – and criticism. It turned belief in one unique, absolute, and God-given truth into ‘religion’, that is, into individual ceremonies and customs that reflected the truths relative to each people and culture” (ibid., p. 2). The work is especially sought after by Americana collectors for its treatment of the native American peoples, the first 200 pages of vol. III being devoted to them. Descriptions of idolatry, soothsayers, priests, and prophecies as well as languages, clothing, ornaments, marriage, childbirth, diseases, lawsuits, slaves, and death are provided. The 34 engravings in this section include illustrations of natives from Canada, Virginia, Florida, Hispaniola, Mexico, Venezuela, the Caribbean, and Peru engaged in a wide variety of activities. “Some of the illustrations . . . are rather fanciful, placing Indians in settings that suggest ancient Roman architecture and statuary or traditional European carpentry, furniture, and decorative wooden floors. Bernard’s collection treats such individual topics as combat, sacrifices, religion, funeral customs, romance, and marriage . . . drawing from disparate sources for their interest value” (Landis). The
remainder of volumes III and IV describe practices in India, the East Indies, Persia and Africa. Volume 7 is dedicated to the ceremonies and customs of Muslims, offering a showcase of the diverse ethnicities that made up the population of the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran. Bernard and Picart’s vision of the Islamic world reflects the keen interest of Europeans in the contemporary politics, culture, and economic affairs of the Middle East, and particularly in the interplay between Europe and the Muslim civilizations. Picart and Bernard being French Protestant refugees, the politics of the Reformation in Europe loom large in the present work; the comparative framework of the text posits the political strength of the Islamic world, chiefly that of the Ottoman Empire, as a rebuke against the spiritual and political weakness of the Catholic faith, and Shi’ite Islam is praised in particular, compared favourably with the reformist zeal of the Protestant tradition. 7 volumes bound as 6, folio (445 × 268 mm). Contemporary diced russia, twin orange and green morocco labels, richly gilt in compartments, gilt insect roll border to covers, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. Engraved dedication page in vol. I, and with all plates, as follows: I, 38 plates; II, 27 plates; III, 44 plates; IV, 58 plates; V, 19 plates; VI, 13 plates; VII, 26 plates; i.e. 226 plates in total (complete, with half-titles present); title pages printed in red and black. Contemporary bookplate of Jacob Astley of Melton Constable in Norfolk to front pastedowns, with the name clipped off. Expert restoration to bindings and consequently presenting very handsomely, light creasing to edges of first few leaves of vol. I, scattered light foxing or browning but contents otherwise clean without repairs or tears; an excellent, very attractive set. ¶ European Americana 733/66; Hiller 708; Landis, The Literature of the Encounter 31, Amsterdam 1723 ed.; Lipperheide 1808; Sabin 4934, 1731–39 ed. Lynn Hunt & others, The Book that Changed Europe: Picart & Bernard’s Religious Ceremonies of the World , 2010. £15,000 [148148]
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