[THE LONGEST MEDICAL AGENDA / THE MULTIPLE FIRSTS] Istanbul serîriyâti. Simdilik ayda bir çikar tibbî mecmua = Clinique de Stamboul. Revue mensuelle = Stamboul seriryati. Revue medicale. 105 issues of 120. [i.e., The Istanbul clinical journal]

Complete title: [THE LONGEST MEDICAL AGENDA / THE MULTIPLE FIRSTS] استانبول سريرياتى: شمديلك ايده بر چقار طبّى مجموعه / Istanbul serîriyâti. Simdilik ayda bir çikar tibbî mecmua = Clinique de Stamboul. Revue mensuelle = Stamboul seriryati. Revue medicale. 105 issues of 120. [i.e., The Istanbul clinical journal].

[USMAN], MAZHAR OSMAN (1884-1951); NUREDDIN RAMIH [ENER] (1880-1951).

Istanbul, 1919-1929.

Three years (1, 9, and 10) of run (36 issues) bound in modern full brown morocco with Arabic letters gilt on the spines and front boards, with volume numbers and “C.H.B.” initials of the collector. Other issues are in original greenish, brownish, and pinkish wrappers. 4to. (27,5 x 21 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). Each issue 16 or 35 pp. with addenda and illustrated advertisement pages. Illustrated. Year 1: 1-12 (1 May 1335 [14 May 1919] - April 1336]. Front covers of the first and second issues, and the rear cover of the second issue, are xeroxing copies.; Year 2: 1-6 & 12 (Issue numbers 7 and 11 are missing). The front cover of the fifth issue and the rear and front covers of the sixth issue are missing.; Year 3: 4-12 (1-3 are missing). The covers of issue nos 9-12 are missing.; Year 4: 1-12 (May 1338 - April 1339). The covers are missing.; Year 5: 1-12 (May 1339 - April 1340). The covers are missing.; Year 6: 1-12 (May 1340 - April 1341). The covers of all issues are missing.; Year 7: 1-5 & 7-11 (6 and 12 are missing).; Year 8: 2-5 & 8, 11, 12 (1, 6, 7, 9, 10 are missing).; Year 9: 1-12. Small tear on the bottom left corner of the fifth issue’s front cover; the cover of the twelfth issue is a xeroxing copy.; Year 10: 1-12 (May 1928 - April 1929). The last four issues (9, 10, 11, 12) are in Turkish with Latin letters, accepted after the Letter Revolution in November 1928. All covers are xeroxing copies. Overall, a good/very good collection.

Corpus of ten years of this extremely rare collection (105 of the first 120 issues are present, published in Ottoman Turkish prior to the Alphabet Reform in 1928), containing hundreds of multiple firsts and groundbreaking articles in various fields of medicine, such as psychiatry, neurology, dermatology, public health, radiology, and microbiology. Istanbul Seririyatı [i.e., Istanbul Clinical Journal], of unparalleled significance in Ottoman Turkish medical history, ranks among the longest-running and most comprehensive medical periodicals of its kind.

Istanbul Seririyatı is the most important periodical for tracing continuity, rupture, and transformation in the field of health from the late Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey. It enables close monitoring of the health agenda not only of Istanbul but of the whole Ottoman and Turkish land.

This richly illustrated journal is divided into two main sections: medical and paramedical. The medical (clinical) section features developments in medicine, original articles, clinical studies, case reports, and discussions of current issues in various medical fields in both Turkey and abroad, along with translations and critical commentary. It also includes news from health institutions in Istanbul and across Turkey, popular medical articles, brief notes, obituaries, and biographies of physicians, cartoons, short literary texts, and poems. The paramedical section, published as a “Supplement,” and particularly under the heading “Reflections of the Month,” covers broader professional and intellectual life, including developments in medicine, conference and book news, letters to the editor, reviews, travel notes, obituaries, announcements, and advertisements.

After the Alphabet Reform and the adoption of the Latin script, a further 269 issues were published. Issued regularly every month for 33 years between 1919 and 1952, Istanbul Seririyatı constitutes a major corpus comprising a total of 389 issues and more than 10,000 pages. The journal began publication in May 1919, at one of the most critical turning points in the country’s history, under the leadership of Mazhar Osman, initially featuring contributions by his close friends and young assistants. Over the course of its 33-year run, the journal’s circle of contributors expanded, evolved, and was continually renewed.

Bringing together physicians from various branches of medicine (above all, neuropsychiatry), Istanbul Seririyatı also functioned as a distinct intellectual school. It served as a platform where young physicians, many of whom would later rank among the most important figures in their fields in Turkey, were able to publish their first articles and studies. Istanbul Seririyatı is the only journal that began publication before the Republic and continued thereafter without affiliation to any institution; in terms of scientific content, it stands as the most distinguished of Turkish medical journals. Its paramedical section, no less significant than its medical section, offers a panoramic view of the history of medicine in Turkey as seen through the eyes of medical circles themselves.

RICH CONTENT:

The journal published writings by many figures, including the leading physicians of the period as well as young assistants who would later become prominent authorities in their respective fields. Istanbul Seririyatı may be regarded as the continuation of the journal Şişli Müsamereleri and, at the same time, as the most important precursor of the numerous specialized medical journals (such as those in general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, and others) that began to appear after 1928. Among the contributors were Mazhar Osman Uzman, İhsan Şükrü Aksel, Ahmet Şükrü Emed, Fahrettin Kerim Gökay, Şükrü Hazım Tiner, Hüseyin Kenan Tunakan, Hulusi Behçet, Musa Kazım, Nazım Şakir Şakar, Ahmet Burhanettin Toker, Ali Şükrü Şavlı, Süheyl Ünver, Kazım İsmail Gürkan, İhsan Sami Garan, Osman Şerefettin Çelik, Ahmet Asım Onur, Ahmet Fahri Arel, Kazım Dağyolu, and Rıdvan Cebiroğlu.

The articles published in the journal provide a direct and remarkably detailed record of the development of clinical medicine in Turkey from the late Ottoman period through the early decades of the Republic. Original clinical studies, case reports, and therapeutic discussions address a wide range of disciplines, including internal medicine, surgery, psychiatry, neurology, dermatology, paediatrics, and infectious diseases. Particular attention is given to newly introduced diagnostic and therapeutic methods (such as insulin shock therapy, modern anaesthesia techniques, radiology, bacteriology, and laboratory-based diagnostics) reflecting the rapid integration of contemporary European medical practices into local clinical settings.

The journal's articles also document the medical community’s engagement with pressing public health concerns of the period. Numerous contributions analyse epidemic diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, measles, syphilis, and influenza, often combining statistical observations with practical recommendations drawn from hospital experience. Surgical articles frequently present operative techniques and postoperative outcomes, while psychiatric and neurological studies reveal early debates on diagnosis, classification, and treatment methods. Translations and summaries of foreign medical literature further underscore the journal's role as a conduit between international medical science and Turkish clinical practice.

Beyond strictly scientific content, the articles collectively illuminate the institutional and intellectual environment of medicine in Turkey during a period of profound transformation. Reports on medical congresses, hospital administration, medical education, and professional ethics appear alongside scientific contributions, offering insight into the organization of healthcare and the formation of a modern medical profession. Taken together, the issues of Istanbul Seririyatı constitute a primary source of exceptional value for the history of medicine, documenting not only evolving medical knowledge but also the social, institutional, and pedagogical foundations of clinical practice in the early twentieth century.

INSTITUTIONAL HOLDINGS AND RARITY:

Duman 0983. As of January 2026, we couldn't find any physical copies of issues of this rare journal worldwide, outside of Turkey. Ankara İl Halk Kütüphanesi (AİHK) holds an unspecified number of issues in four volumes covering the years 1910 =1926; Bursa İl Halk Kütüphanesi (BİHK) holds 66 issues from various early years; and Bilkent University Library (BK) holds two issues (February 1337, no. 4 and December 1927, no. 9).