Orlin Sabev - Böcker

This book is a study of the first Ottoman/Muslim printer Ibrahim Müteferrika and his printing activity in the first half of the eighteenth century. By reviewing the existing views in narratives dating from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century and modern scholarly works, most of them quite critically discussing the relatively late introduction of Ottoman Turkish/Muslim printing, the book argues that the delay was mainly due to the lack of an appropriate printer who would be capable and eager enough to set a printing house and whom the Ottoman authority could trust. By focusing on Müteferrika’s western-formed mindset the book detects the influence of his printing enterprise upon the transition from scribal tradition to print culture.

This book provides an overview of the activity and the output of the first Turkish press in the Ottoman Empire. Known as the Müteferrika Press, it was founded in Istanbul and was operated most actively from 1726 until 1747 when its founder Ibrahim Müteferrika passed away, though there were some printing efforts before this period and they continued after his death. This volume retells the foundation story and activity of this press, focusing on its publications that were printed in Turkish but in Arabic script. These publications are discussed in terms of publication objectives, authors, contents, format and graphic layout, print run, sales, and later reprints and translations into European languages. The book also includes images of the opening and colophon pages of all 17 publications, as well as images of all the engravings, geographical maps and charts included in them or printed separately. This information will be of particular use to scholars of the history of printing and Arabic typography, as well as to librarians, collectors, and curators who need to identify and catalogue surviving Müteferrika publications (books, maps and charts).