Formation and Dispersion of a Personal Library in the 18th Century: The Case of Mehmed Ismet Efendi’s Library

Abstract

This article presents the personal library of Mehmed Ismet Efendi (d. 1747), an understudied Ottoman intellectual from the eighteenth century. Mehmed Ismet Efendi was a proficient madrasa professor in Islamic sciences, a well-trained poet who was capable of composing Turkish, Arabic, and Persian poetry, an astronomer who engaged in issues related to astronomy and prepared annual calendars for statesmen, a Sūfī master who had authorization in at least five Sūfī orders, and one of the leading calligraphers of the period. The present article examines the strategies this polymath adopted during his library formation. It is argued that thanks to the wealth he possessed, he expanded the manuscript collection inherited from his father until his death. He paid special attention to collecting books related to the branches of science that interested him. As a calligrapher, he copied books and pamphlets to add them to his library and also attempted to embezzle others’ books. The last section of this paper focuses on the aftermath of the library. It reveals that after Mehmed Ismet’s death, his manuscript collection was quickly scattered, and his books were acquired either by his friends or by book collectors of the period.