Description

This very rare and highly attractive large format map of Asia was printed as one of series of separately issued maps of the continents made for the Kitabhane-yi Sudi, a bookshop located at the Bab-ı Ali Caddesi in Istanbul.  Published in 1927, it is perhaps the last great map of Asia to have been printed in Ottoman script (which would be abolished by President Atatürk in early 1929, henceforth mandating that Latin letters be used for the Turkish language).

The map is beautifully adorned on both sides with flags, including (on the left, top to bottom:) Siam, Iraq, Palestine, Cambodia, Korea, Laos, Lebanon, India, Yemen (on the right, top to bottom:) Turkey, Annam (French protectorate encompassing Central Vietnam), Iran, Afghanistan, China, Hijaz, Russia, Japan and Syria.

All of the maps from the Kitabhane-yi Sudi series of the continents are today very rare, as due to their large size and separate issue they have a low survival rate.