Memalik-i Osmaniye Pocket Atlas 1906 Rare Ottoman Atlas by İbrahim Hilmi Basra Middle East

Tüccarzâde İbrahim Hilmi – Memalik-i Osmaniye Cep Atlası (Pocket Atlas)– Kütüphane-i İslam ve Askeri Edition (1323 AH / 1906)

Description 

This is the 1323 AH (approximately 1906 CE) edition of Memalik-i Osmaniye Cep Atlası prepared by Tüccarzâde İbrahim Hilmi and published by Kütüphane-i İslam ve Askeri. Written in Ottoman Turkish and produced in hardcover format, this remarkable pocket atlas is one of the most significant geographical and cartographic publications of the late Ottoman Empire.

The work contains 328 pages together with 64 pages of maps, many of them printed in color using lithographic techniques. Beyond serving as a practical atlas, the publication functioned as a compact geographical and strategic handbook intended for military students, civil administrators, intellectuals, and educated readers seeking a comprehensive understanding of the Ottoman Empire and the wider world during the empire’s final decades.

The atlas covers the vast Ottoman territories spread across Europe, Asia, and Africa, presenting detailed provincial maps that illustrate administrative divisions, important cities, rivers, mountains, gulfs, transportation routes, and regional borders. In addition to Ottoman geography, the atlas also includes maps of many world regions, several of which were reportedly printed in Ottoman Turkish for the first time. This broad geographic scope significantly enhances the historical and scholarly importance of the work.

One of the most valuable aspects of the atlas is its inclusion of detailed statistical information accompanying the maps. The publication provides demographic data, including Muslim and non-Muslim population ratios, alongside information about agriculture, trade production, mineral resources, transportation infrastructure, and military organization. Railways, telegraph lines, and maritime trade routes — among the most strategically important networks of the era — are carefully marked throughout the atlas.

Historically, the atlas represents one of the final comprehensive visual records of the Ottoman Empire before the dramatic territorial losses of the Balkan Wars and the First World War. Regions such as Selanik, Manastır, Yanya, and Trablusgarp (Libya), which would soon be separated from Ottoman rule, still appear here as fully integrated Ottoman provinces. For this reason, the atlas is often regarded as one of the last official panoramas of the empire’s administrative and territorial structure before its dissolution.

Its author and publisher, İbrahim Hilmi Çığıraçan (1876–1963), was among the pioneering publishers of the late Ottoman period. Beginning his publishing career in 1896 under the name Kitaphane-i İslami, he initially specialized in religious publications before expanding into military, historical, and geographical works during the Second Constitutional Era. His publishing house later became known as Kitaphane-i İslam ve Askeri, reflecting the increasing demand for educational and strategic materials within the modernizing Ottoman state.

Combining cartography, statistics, military geography, and educational purpose, Memalik-i Osmaniye Cep Atlası stands today as an exceptional historical artifact documenting the political geography and intellectual culture of the late Ottoman Empire. Its rich visual content, color lithographic maps, and strategic historical context make it highly desirable for collectors, Ottoman historians, cartography scholars, and institutional archives.

Key Features

• Title: Memalik-i Osmaniye Cep Atlası

• Author: Tüccarzâde İbrahim Hilmi

• Publisher: Kütüphane-i İslam ve Askeri

• Publication Date: 1323 AH (approximately 1906 CE)

• Language: Ottoman Turkish

• Script: Ottoman Arabic Script

• Format: Hardcover Pocket Atlas

• Total Pages: 328 pages

• Map Section: 64 pages of maps

• Printing Technique: Lithographic color printing

• Geographic Coverage: Ottoman provinces across Europe, Asia, and Africa; various world regions

• Map Features: Provincial borders; Cities; Rivers; Mountains; Transportation routes; Maritime routes

• Statistical Content: Population data; Religious demographics; Agricultural production; Trade; Mining; Military organization

• Transportation Networks: Railways; Telegraph lines; Maritime trade routes

• Historical Importance: One of the last detailed atlases showing the Ottoman Empire before the Balkan Wars and World War I

• Educational Purpose: Designed as a portable strategic and educational handbook for students, officers, administrators, and intellectuals

• Publisher Significance: Produced by one of the pioneering publishing houses of the late Ottoman Empire

• Cartographic Importance: Includes some world maps printed in Ottoman Turkish for the first time

• Cultural Significance: Major document of late Ottoman geography, administration, and educational modernization

• Collector Appeal: Rare Ottoman cartographic and historical atlas with extensive color maps and statistical data