[JAPAN / RUSSIA] Rus-Japon Harbi’nden alinan maddî ve manevî dersler ve Japonlar’in esbâb-i muzafferiyeti [i.e., Material and moral lessons learned from the Russo-Japanese War and the reasons for the Japanese victory]

[DEMIRHAN], PERTEV (1871-1964)

Kanaat Kütübhânesi ve Matbaasi, Istanbul, AH 1329 = [1913].

Modern brown and non-aesthetic cloth. Original wrappers are saved inside. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 140 p. Ex-owner’s inscriptions on title pages, occasional stains and foxing on pages. Else, a good copy.

Excessively rare first edition of this firsthand account of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 describing rising Japanese nationalism at the beginning of the 20th century, by Demirhan (1871-1964), sent with reference by Goltz Pasha (Colmar von der Goltz, 1843-1916) to Manchuria to observe the war in the ranks of the Japanese army as a Turkish colonel.

Demirhan stayed for two months in Japan and more than a year in Manchuria. In addition to writing down his observations in the field of war in detail, he also took on the duty of ambassador due to the Ottoman Empire's lack of diplomatic relations with Japan and contributed to the development of relations between the two countries. He received a medal from the Japanese Emperor Meiji and returned home with the gifts that Emperor Meiji presented to Sultan Abdulhamid. His account was published first in 1913 in book form. The enlarged second edition would be appeared in 1937.

Following the statement on the title page that the unsealed copies are fake, sealed two times by the author.

Sait Pertev Demirhan, (1871-1964), was a Turkish soldier and politician. He is a graduate of Erkân-i Harbiye. He was an author, intellectual, Erkân-i Harbiye School teacher, 6. Army chief of staff, Harbiye Undersecretariat, 3rd Army Chief of Staff, 1st Corps, and 4. Corps Commands, Military Schools Inspector, Member of History and Geography Councils, Member of Military Appeals Court, a deputy of Erzurum. He was the son of Yanyali Mustafa Pasha. He graduated from Harbiye as a staff captain (1892). In 1894 he was sent to Germany to advance his military education. After becoming a colonel, he was appointed to the Staff School as a teacher (1904). He was sent to the Russo-Japanese War as an observer. He returned to Istanbul in 1906 and was promoted to "Pasha” and was appointed as the 6th Army Chief of Staff. He participated in the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and was in the Caucasian Theater during the First World War. He was sent to Vienna as a military diplomat. Upon his return, he moved to Anatolia to participate in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922).

TBTK 8341., MK 942376., As of January 2024, we could trace three copies and all copies are in the North American libraries: University of Chicago Library, University of Washington Libraries, Library of Congress. Karl Süssheim Collection, no. 1505.