[TEACHING THE NEW LETTERS / PROPAGANDA OF THE NEW REPUBLIC] Köroglu + Yeni Köroglu. No: 1-104 (1928-1929)

Published by BURHAN CAHID [MORKAYA], (1892-1949), Köroglu, Istanbul, 1928-1929.

Contemporary quarter leather bdg. Handsomely bound. Six raised bands to spine, the second compartment has the title, the fifth has "issue 1-104", and the sixth has ex-owner's name of the volume, "Semseddin" lettered gilt. Original end-papers of the period. Slightly age-toned on the lower pages, fading on extremities of boards, overall a very good volume. Folio. (41 x 29 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters) and Turkish with Latin letters. This folio volume consists of 104 issues of the periodical, each issue has 4 pages, which has mostly color illustrated covers as well as several b/w ones.

A rare togetherness of the first 104 issues of this Turkish satirical magazine, richly illustrated with thousands of attractive illustrations and caricatures, was published in Istanbul twice a week every Wednesday and Saturday with at least four, at most eight pages, during the Letter Revolution 1928, when the transition from the Arabic alphabet to new Latin letters was ensured. The collection provides an invaluable resource, reflecting the changes in society during and after the Letter Revolution in New Turkey, 1928, placing the new Latin alphabet instead of old Arabic letters and contributing to the development of reading and writing skills of the new Turkish society, as well as "creating the basis for the rapid social evolution in the young Turkish Republic Revolution" soon after the proclamation of the Republic in 1923.

The newspaper had a printing house with the same name headquartered in Bab-i Ali (The Sublime Porte of Constantinople), the place where the heart of the Ottoman press was. Burhan Cahid Morkaya left Karagöz Newspaper and founded Köroglu Newspaper in 1928 and wanted the people living in Istanbul and Anatolia to be able to read and write new letters. Indeed, during the period of its publication, Köroglu Newspaper reached the most remote corners of the New Turkish Republic with its attractive cartoons covering local and mostly international subjects. In addition to this news and cartoons, Morkaya also published Turkish reading passages with Arabic letters that were transcripted into Latin letters. Therefore, he created a great positive effect that facilitated the transition to new letters during the Turkish Alphabet Revolution.

Duman 1155.