[ONANISM / ARMENO-TURKISH / MASTURBATION / EDUCATION] Erkek chochuklarin tostu. [i.e., In confidence to boys]. Translated from English to Armeno-Turkish by H. D. Stepanian

Complete title: [ONANISM / ARMENO-TURKISH / MASTURBATION / EDUCATION] Էրքէք չոճուքլարըն տօսթու / Erkek chochuklarin tostu. [i.e., In confidence to boys]. Translated from English to Armeno-Turkish by H. D. Stepanian.

BISSEKER, H[ARRY] (1878-1965).

Matbaa-yi H. Matteossian, Constantinople, 1907.

Original greenish wrappers. Foolscap 8vo. (18 x 12 cm). In Armeno-Turkish (Old Turkish with Armenian letters). 47 p. Covers and page margins lightly toned; minor tears at the upper corners of a few of the final leaves. Overall, a very good to near-fine copy.

Exceedingly rare first and only Armeno-Turkish translation of “In Confidence to Boys” by Harry Bisseker, M.A., a British public-school housemaster. The pamphlet is published in Istanbul by the Armenian publisher Matteossian, whose catalogue largely focused on Armenian editions of the Old and New Testaments.

As stated on the front cover, the book was printed under the supervision and inspection of British missionaries and was distributed in Armenian schools among the Armenian minority in Istanbul. Its purpose was to “instruct adolescent boys on the perceived harms of masturbation,” in accordance with the prevailing onanist medical and moral discourse of the period.

Originally revised by the Council of the Medical Officers of Schools Association, this pamphlet was published and distributed in collaboration with the Alliance of Honour in 1904 in Great Britain, a Christian reform organization dedicated to promoting “pure and healthy” lives. It belongs to a distinct genre of Edwardian youth literature that sought to foster physical well-being, self-discipline, and moral conduct at a time when British educators and physicians were deeply concerned with adolescent development.

In Confidence addresses subjects regarded as both medically and socially significant in the period, particularly issues related to adolescent self-abuse (then commonly termed “onanism”), and reflects the interdisciplinary involvement of educators, clergy, and medical professionals in the moral and physical guidance of youth.

“Harry Bisseker was born on 3 October 1878 and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and Jesus College, Cambridge. He served as chaplain at The Leys School and at the Leysian Mission in the London (City Road) Circuit (1904-10) before becoming tutor in NT studies at Richmond College, 1910-1915. From 1919 to 1934, he was Headmaster of The Leys School. From 1934 to 1943, he was stationed in Cambridge 'without pastoral charge', became a supernumerary in 1943, and died at Harston, Cambs, on 27 November 1965. Among his publications were Problems of Discipleship (1908), Christian Fellowship (1920), and The Way of Discipleship (1932).” (DMBI [i.e., A dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland]).

Stepanyan 1279.; As of January 2026, OCLC records only two copies (no. 73507296), held by the Columbia University Library in the NY City, and the LoC.