Mehmed Sünbülzâde Vehbî (d. 1809)

Dîvân-ı Vehbî, with Lutfiyye-i Vehbî

Būlāq, Cairo: Maṭbaʿat Ṣāḥib al-Saʿāda al-Abadiyya, 1253 AH [1837].

The edition comprises seven separately paginated sections in one volume: 20, 17, 43, 131, 16, 97 and 61 pages. Ottoman Turkish, with Arabic and Persian sections. Ornamental headings and ruled verse compartments.

Dark cloth-covered boards with a dark leather spine. Orange-and-cream geometric patterned endpapers; manuscript title on the fore-edge.

Manuscript notes, shelf numbers and ink seals on the preliminary leaves.

This substantial Būlāq volume brings together the multilingual poetry of Vehbî and the Lutfiyye, his verse advice to his son Lutfullah. Its separately paginated divisions encompass an introductory section, an Arabic poem responding to the celebrated Burda, Persian verse, Ottoman Turkish qaṣīdas, chronograms and ghazals, followed by the Lutfiyye. It makes visible the movement between Arabic, Persian and Turkish within Ottoman literary culture.

Vehbî combined poetry with service as a judge and diplomat, including an embassy to Karim Khan Zand in 1775. His Lutfiyye offers selective advice on education: a 2025 study by Sinan Urhan and Ayşe Farsakoğlu Eroğlu draws attention to its praise of logic alongside reservations about geometry and other pursuits. The printed Dîvân omits poems found in manuscripts; it is not an exhaustive collection.

An inscription on the patterned endpaper labels the volume no. 214 and attributes it to the books of Grand Vizier Said Pasha, followed by “İstanbul Nişantaşı 1914”. The attribution to Said Pasha is unconfirmed; the writer, date of the inscription and accompanying seals remain unidentified.

Condition

Binding rubbed and abraded, particularly at the spine and extremities. Marginal dampstaining, chipped and creased edges, and small losses in the preliminary leaves. Opening inner joint weakened, with exposed lining, paper reinforcement and tears at the gutter.

References

• Türk Tarih Kurumu Kütüphanesi. “Dîvân-ı Vehbî.” Shelfmark A/1125, catalogue record 482572. Source
• Kuru, Selim Sırrı. “Sünbülzâde Vehbî.” TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2010. Source
• Gürgendereli, Müberra. “Sünbül-zâde, Vehbî Mehmed Efendi.” Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü, 2014. Updated 2020. Source
• Urhan, Sinan, and Ayşe Farsakoğlu Eroğlu. “Sünbülzâde Vehbî Efendi’nin ‘Lütfiyye-i Vehbî’ Adlı Eseri Özelinde İlim ve Âlime Bakışı.” İLSAM Akademi Hakemli Dergisi, vol. 5, no. 1, 2025, pp. 105–31. Source

Artem reference: 210.