[RARE FRENCH EDITION OF COMMEMORATIVE BOOK OF ERTUGRUL] Note commemorative de l'Infortune "Eltgroul" vaisseau de Guerre Turc. [i.e., Commemorative note of the misfortune "Eltgroul" Turkish warship]

ASSOCIATION COMMERCIALE TURCO-JAPONAISE.

Association Commerciale Turco-Japonaise [i.e., Turkish - Japanese Trade Association], Osaka, 1930.

Original wrappers. Roy. 8vo. (22,5 x 16 cm). In French. [23] p. of reproduced b/w photographic plates separated by tissue guards, 41 p. of text. A very good copy.

The very rare first and only French edition of this richly illustrated book commemorating the 40th anniversary of the unfortunate accident of the Ottoman frigate Ertugrul (she encountered a typhoon off the Kushimoto coast of Wakayama Prefecture while returning from a goodwill voyage to Japan in 1890) and its sinking off the coast of Japan. The book was published in Osaka, by the Turkish - Japanese Trade Association located at “Dojimahama Dori 2, Chome Kitaku” at that time.

After a preface (pp. 1-2) written by Japanese industrialist and film pioneer Inabata Katsutaro (1862-1949) (who worked with the Lumiere Brothers) and also the term president of the Turkish-Japanese Trade Association, the text includes a short but detailed account (pp. 3-41) of the route of Ertugrul, the disaster that occurred in Kisio, Kashinozaki and the sinking of the Turkish frigate Ertugrul, the shipwreck, the selfless Ohshima people's heroic efforts to rescue Turkish sailors after the accident, the political situation between the Japan and the Ottoman Empire, return of wrecks to Turkey, building a memorial to the deceased sailors, the memorial service celebrated under the auspices of the Turkish-Japanese Trade Association, and important political correspondence on the subject between Republic of Turkey and Japan.

This book is richly illustrated with unnumbered reproduced black-and-white photographic plates, depicting scenes from Ertugrul’s voyage, including the frigate’s crew, Japanese officials, various authorities, and other moments related to this historical journey, offering a vivid visual account.

In November 1878, the sloop Seiki of the Japanese Imperial Navy arrived in Istanbul en route to a training mission in Europe, and the envoy was received by Sultan Abdul Hamid II and honoured with various medals. In 1881, a mission led by diplomat Masaharu Yoshida came to the Ottoman's Yildiz Palace, to conclude agreements relating to trade and wartime status. Upon the visit of Prince Komatsu Akihito to Istanbul in October 1887 and the presentation of Japan's highest order, the Order of the Chrysanthemum, to the Sultan, the government of the Ottoman Empire decided to send a ship on a goodwill voyage to Japan in return. While returning from this voyage to Japan in 1890, she encountered a typhoon off the Kushimoto coast of Wakayama Prefecture. It subsequently drifted into a reef and sank. The shipwreck resulted in the loss of more than 500 sailors and officers, including Rear Admiral Ali Osman Pasha. Only 69 sailors and officers survived and returned home later aboard two Japanese corvettes. The event is still commemorated as a foundation stone of Japanese-Turkish friendship. (Wikipedia).

As of November 2024, OCLC locates just two copies worldwide in Bogaziçi University Library in Turkey & University of Haifa Library in Israel.