During the first third of the 19th century, the APS acquired a large number of books and manuscripts in non-western languages, thanks to Peter Stephen Duponceau's philological and comparative linguistic interests. One of his correspondents, John P. Brown (APS 1856), donated a series of books in Turkish and Arabic.

These two manuscripts were among those donated by Brown in 1836 as examples of the Turkish language and Ottoman Turkish (Perso-Arabic based) writing system. Associated with the Ottoman Department of State, one volume is entitled "Inscha, or Turkish Letter Writer" and contains forms of business letters; the other is docketed as "Turjiman Nameh," or the "Turkish Interpreter's Assistant. Forms of letters."

Physical description

2 vols.

2 vols.

Provenance

Gift of John P. Brown, 1836.

Preferred citation

Cite as: Turkish Manuscripts, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Recatalogued 2003.

Early American History Note

These Turkish manuscripts reflect Stephen DuPonceau's attempt to acquire a wide-array of language materials for the APS's archives in the early 19th century

• Foreign Language
• Handbooks
• Language Material

• Anonymous
• Brown, John P.

• Beyond Early America
• Language and Linguistics
• Letter-writing, Turkish
• Turkey -- Politics and government
• Turkish language