["WEIRD ART OF A FRENCH NAMED DAGUERRE": DAGUERRE'S INVENTION IN THE FIRST OTTOMAN OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER] Takvim-i Vekâyi: Def'a 186, fî 19 S[aban] sene 1255 [i.e. Calendar of events: No 186, October 28, 1839

TAKVÎM-I VEKÂYI [THE FIRST OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE IMPERIAL OTTOMAN], Takvîm-i Vekâyi, Kostantiniyye (Istanbul), [AH 1255] = 1839.

Original newspaper taken from a volume. Folio. (42,5 x 28 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). [5] p. 

Extremely rare early issue of this first official newspaper of the Ottoman Empire after the proclamation of Reform (Tanzîmât) in 1839, 
informed Daguerre's new and weird invention ("photography" as it would be called in the 1850s) to the Ottoman peoples.

The article reads: "It is the talk of the town, steam engines have been able to run on rails in factories in recent years. Meanwhile, a man carefully focused on his thoughts so much and the craft turned into a strange art, and finally, a coquettish mirror (surface) appeared. This skillful Frenchman named Daguerre drew the lines of objects by reflecting the sunlight with the methods of the different science of art he learned, drew the contours of the objects, and gave 20 years secretly and openly to the formation of this strange art. Finally, he reached the goal and this event won the appreciation and admiration of everyone. This is to say, the image of the object, in the form of a large or small box free from light, is pictured inside by passing through the glass in front of it. In order for the reflected picture to be captured on a surface, some chemicals must be prepared. Daguerre has achieved this mix based on his experience. This substance applied on the plate is called iodine. After the plate is kept in the vapor of the iodine for a few minutes, it is immediately placed in the dark box, and the image passing through the window of the box is pictured for five minutes. Considering that some of the things that should be hidden are captured like this, it will be understood what a valuable invention this is...". In the continuation of the article, it is written that an Englishman named Talbot (Henry Fox Talbot) found the same thing with almost the same processes (!), but Daguerre had taken pictures before.

Takvim-i Vekâyi was the first fully Turkish-language newspaper. It was launched in 1831 by Sultan Mahmud II, taking over from the Moniteur ottoman as the Official Gazette of the Ottoman Empire. With the beginning of the Tanzimat reform period, Takvim-i Vekayi produced versions in multiple language editions. It ceased publication in 1878, resuming in 1891-2, before being closed again. It resumed in 1908 until around 1922. In the 1831-1878 period it published a total of 2119 issues - an average of slightly less than one a week.