[FIRST CHILDREN BOOK IN THE TURKISH LITERATURE] Hayriyye-i Nâbi. 2 parts in one

NÂBI, YUSUF (1642-1712), Matbaa-yi Ebüzziya, Kostantiniyye (Constantinople), AH 1307 = [1889].

Original pictorial orange wrappers. 16mo. (16 x 11 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 80 p.

Scarce first printed and abridged edition of Nabi’s celebrated book, considered the first children's book in Ottoman literature. This early didactic text includes 1647 couplets of Nabi’s advice which was presented to his son Ebu’l-Hayr which the author completed in 1701.

Yûsuf Nâbî is from Urfa, and he is one of the most well-known poets of the 17th century. He is the pioneer of the "hikemî" style in diwan poetry. The main subject of the book is “family”, which also includes a social criticism made implicitly by the author due to the oppressive regime of his time. Nabi gives advice to his son Ebu’l-Hayr on what he should do in the future about life, how he should choose his wife and how he should get married, the sex and features of an ideal female slave, and children’s condition in the family.

Ebüzziya Tevfik was a journalist and writer who started in the path of journalism after having worked as a civil servant for a brief time. He published the newspapers Ibret, Hadika, and Sirac (1873) (1873) with Namik Kemal. Ebüzziya Tevfik, who was a member of the Young Ottoman Association, was exiled to Rhodes together with Ahmet Mithat Efendi after the incidents that arose following Namik Kemal's 'Vatan Yahut Silistre' (Country or Boatswain's Pipe) play in 1873. He returned to Istanbul after the death of Sultan Abdülaziz. He did research in publishing in Vienna where he lived during the rule of Abdülhamid. He established the Ebüzziya Publishing House after his return to Turkey and published the books of the famous writers of the time such as Namik Kemal, Ziya Pasa, Sinasi, Ahmet Rasim, Recaizade Ekrem, and Muallim Naci. He published 'Mecmua-i Ebuzziya' (1880). He was exiled to Konya in 1890 by the Abdülhamit administration because he wasn't suitable for civil service. He was elected as Antalya parliamentary deputy (1908) to the parliament that was formed on the announcement of the Second Constitutional Monarchy. Ebüzziya Tevfik, who prepared compilations and translations of anthologies, theatre plays, and memoirs, is known more for his contributions to publishing and as a famous editor of the time than as a writer. (Source: Biyografya.; Türkiye Ünlüleri Internet Ansiklopedisi).

Özege 7148, As of November 2023, the OCLC (1375277303) shows sole copy in the Koç University Library of Turkey. Not in American and European libraries.