Memalik-i Osmaniye Pocket Atlas 1905 Rare Ottoman Atlas by İbrahim Hilmi
Memalik-i Osmaniye Pocket Atlas (1905) Rare Ottoman Atlas by İbrahim Hilmi
Description
It is an original Ottoman atlas titled “Memalik-i Osmaniye Cep Atlası”, written in 1323 AH (1905 AD) by Tüccarzade İbrahim Hilmi. This remarkable work was published by the Kütüphane-i İslami ve Askeri (Islamic and Military Library), one of the most influential publishing houses of its time.
The atlas originally contained 64 maps, but this copy includes 63 maps, with maps No. 11 and No. 12 missing. Despite this missing section, it remains an exceptionally valuable historical item due to both its rarity and the significance of its contents.
The atlas comprises 328 pages and features maps not only of Ottoman provinces and territories but also of many other world regions some printed for the very first time in Ottoman Turkish. This makes the work highly significant for collectors, cartography scholars, Ottoman historians, and institutions.
Its author, İbrahim Hilmi Çığıraçan (b. 1876, Tulcea - d. June 12, 1963, Istanbul), was among the pioneering publishers of the late Ottoman Empire. Opening his first publishing house in 1896 as Kitaphane-i İslami, he initially focused on religious works. During the Second Constitutional Era, he expanded into military, geographic, and historical publications, renaming his press Kitaphane-i İslam ve Askeri.
Over his career, he published around 200 military books, as well as numerous school textbooks many distributed free of charge to impoverished children in Anatolia during wartime. His contributions significantly shaped Ottoman education and publishing.
Key Features
• Type: Ottoman pocket atlas (Cep Atlası)
• Title: Memalik-i Osmaniye Cep Atlası
• Author: Tüccarzade İbrahim Hilmi (İbrahim Hilmi Çığıraçan)
• Publication Date: 1323 (1905)
• Publisher: Kütüphane-i İslam ve Askerî
• Pages: 328 pages
• Maps: Originally 64 maps, 63 present (Maps No. 11 and 12 missing)
• Coverage: Ottoman territories and various world regions
• Special Feature: Some maps printed for the first time in Ottoman Turkish
• Significance: Rare and highly valuable historical atlas, important for collectors, scholars, and institutions