[SAMMELBAND: FOUR FIRST OTTOMAN TRANSLATIONS OF JULES VERNE] Iki sene mekteb tatili [i.e., Two years vacation = Deux ans de vacances].; Cevv-i havada seyâhât [i.e., Five weeks in a balloon, or a journey of discovery by three Englishmen in Africa...

VERNE, JULES (1828-1905).

Ahmed Ihsan ve Sürekâsi / Âlem Matbaasi, Istanbul AH 1308 = [1891].

COMPLETE TITLE: [SAMMELBAND: FOUR FIRST OTTOMAN TRANSLATIONS OF JULES VERNE] Iki sene mekteb tatili [i.e., Two years vacation = Deux ans de vacances].; Cevv-i havada seyâhât [i.e., Five weeks in a balloon, or a journey of discovery by three Englishmen in Africa = Cinq semaines en ballon].; Seyahât-i Harikûlâde: Çinde seyahât. Bir Çinli’nin Çin’deki mihneti [i.e., Tribulations of a chinaman in China: Extraordinary Voyages = Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine].; Üç Rus ve üç Ingiliz seyahâti. Cenûbî Afrika’da [i.e., The adventures of three Russians and three Englishmen in South Africa = Aventures de trois Russes et de trois Anglais dans l'Afrique austral]. Translated by Ahmed Ihsan Tokgöz.

Contemporary handsome burgundy quarter morocco. Five raised bands to spine, second lettered title gilt of “Iki sene mekteb tatili”. Fine endpapers. Other compartments are gilded decoratively. Art-nouveau blind tooled onto the upper front and rear boards. Roy. 8vo. (23 x 16 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). Each book in the volume is richly illustrated with reproduced woodcuts.

1. Iki sene mekteb tatili [i.e., Two years vacation = Deux ans de vacances].

Ahmed Ihsan ve Sürekâsi / Âlem Matbaasi, Istanbul AH 1308 = [1891].

472 p., profusely illustrated. Özege 8692.

The very rare first Ottoman translation, of Verne’s famous Robensonad, titled “Deux ans de vacances”, of the fortunes of a group of schoolboys stranded on a deserted island in the South Pacific, and of their struggles to overcome adversity. In 1964, Turkish Filmmaker Yilmaz Atadeniz produced a movie titled Iki Sene Mektep Tatili.

2. Cevv-i Havada Seyâhât: Muzaffer Robur [Robur Le Conquerant].

 Ahmed Ihsan ve Sürekâsi / Âlem Matbaasi, Istanbul, AH 1308 = [1891].

223 p., profusely illustrated. Özege 2989.

The very rare first Ottoman translation, of Verne’s famous book titled “Cinq semaines en ballon”, the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of his later work, skillfully mixing a storyline full of adventure and plot twists that keep the reader's interest through passages of technical, geographic, and historic description. The book gives readers a glimpse of the exploration of Africa, which was still not completely known to Europeans of the time, with explorers traveling all over the continent in search of its secrets.

3. Çin'de Seyâhât. Seyahat-i Harikûlâde.

Ahmed Ihsan ve Sürekâsi / Âlem Matbaasi, Istanbul, AH 1308 = [1891].

230 p., profusely illustrated. Özege 3365.

The very rare first Ottoman translation, of Verne’s famous book titled “Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine”, is an adventure novel about a rich Chinese man, Kin-Fo, who is bored with life, and after some business misfortune decides to die.

4.Üç Rus ve üç Ingiliz seyâhâti: Cenubi Afrika’da. Translated by Selânikli Tevfik.

Mahmud Bey Matbaasi, Istanbul, AH 1307 = [1890].

229 p., profusely b/w ills. and a map. Özege 22353.

The very rare first Ottoman translation of Verne’s famous book titled “Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine”, by Selânikli Tevfik (1860-1910). It’s an adventure novel published classically by Parisien publisher “Hetzel”, narrating the story of three Russian and three English scientists’ departure to South Africa to measure the 24th meridian east. As their mission is proceeding, the Crimean War breaks out, and the members of the expedition find themselves citizens of enemy countries. This novel can be found under alternate titles such as Adventures in the Land of the Behemoth, Measuring a Meridian, and Meridiana or Adventures in South Africa. Interestingly, the travelers, on their homeward journey, reached Victoria Falls on 25 May 1855, thus anticipating the discovery by David Livingstone by nearly six months.

Ahmed Ihsan Tokgöz (1868-1942) was a journalist, publisher, and translator. He was the first person to introduce Jules Verne to Turkish society with his translations. “Around the World in Eighty Days” was the first Jules Verne novel translated into Turkish by Ahmed Ihsan. After publishing this work in 1888, he also translated another sci-fi novel by Jules Verne, titled “The Mysterious Island”, into Turkish. When “Around the World in Eighty Days and The Mysterious Island” received more attention than expected, he contacted Hetzel Publishing House, the publisher of the Verne novels in Paris; The pictures used in the original work were sent by the publishing house in the form of galvanized cliches, and thus Verne's novel titled “20000 Leagues Under the Sea” was printed with illustrations. He translated “Captain Grant's Children” upon the order of Arakel Bookstore. Ahmed Ihsan has translated a total of twelve works by Jules Verne.