Description

The French orientalist Antoine Galland (1646-1715) held the chair of Arabic at the Collège de France from 1709 until his death. He was the first European translator of The Thousand and One Nights, which he published between 1704 and 1717. A hugely influential work, it provided the basis for later translations in English and German. Between 1670 and 1675, Galland worked as a librarian and private secretary to the marquis de Nointel, who had been appointed as the French ambassador in Istanbul. This book, first published in 1881, is the record of Galland's daily life at the embassy. It is a personal diary covering the period 1672-3 that includes details of Galland's research and of the manuscripts he purchased on behalf of the ambassador. An introduction by Charles Schefer (1820-98) provides details of the political and diplomatic relations between France and Turkey at the time.