[EARLY OTTOMAN FANTASTIC] Muhayyelât-i ledün-i ilâhî. [i.e. Divine imaginations]

GIRIDÎ ALI AZIZ EFENDI, (1749-1798), Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Hazret-i Sâhâne Matbaasi, Istanbul, [AH 1284] = 1868. Contemporary bdg. covered a special jade paper branded "siguntin". Demy 8vo. (21 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). [2], 239 p. Decorated title page with traditional motives, framed text, slight foxing on pages, and bumped backboard. Overall a very good copy. Very early edition (second) of this exceedingly rare "unique work of fiction blending personal and fantastic themes, well in the current of the traditional Ottoman prose, but also exhibiting influences from Western literature". This book has been described by some literary historians as the first Turkish fantastic work in the Western sense.Consisting of three parts and written in a laconic style contrasting with its content, where djinns and fairies surge from within contexts drawn from ordinary real-life situations, Ali Aziz Efendi often pursues by pulling the reader towards the description of