[FRANCOIS PARADIS DE MONCRIF ]: LETTRES SUR CONSTANTINOPLE DE L ABBE SEVIN SUIVIES DE PLUSIEURS LETTRES DE PEYSSONNEL. PARIS 1802 First edition, in 8vo, contemporary boards rubbed at edges, very few isolated spots, text clean and bright, complete [16],452p., overall in very good condition. Written by Moncrif at the turn of that century is based on the observations of Sevin (1682-1741), a French scholar who was sent in 1728 to Constantinople to discover the library of the Byzantine emperors, it was rumored that the ancient manuscripts were still hidden in the Seraglio. He failed to find the library but he spent years collecting hundreds of Greek manuscripts. Sevin focuses on the history, libraries and the state of learning in the Ottoman Levant. A very important book for the understanding of the level of education of the 18th century Greeks