Imported Medium, Indigenous Perspective: The Ottoman-Turkish Paperback Series Kitabhâne-i Ebüzziyâ as a “Universal Library”

This chapter analyzes Ebüzziyâ Tevfik’s late-nineteenth-century paperback series, Kitabhâne-i Ebüzziyâ, and evaluates its position in relation to the broader context of European paperback series. While the Ottoman Empire was much less productive and relatively peripheral to Western Europe in terms of publishing, Ottoman publishers still paid close attention to the latest developments in Europe and imported foreign forms and formats. It was in these circumstances that they adopted the paperback series. Among the first few attempts, Kitabhâne-i Ebüzziyâ proved to be the most impactful. It was modeled after the universal libraries of Europe, particularly Anton Philipp Reclam’s Universal-Bibliothek, imitating their pricing policy and diversity of content. I argue that it resembled more an adaptation than a mere imitation, however, as its content was predicated on its founder’s unique vision. It promoted a western-oriented canon of modern Turkish literature while also celebrating the cultural heritage of previous centuries. The series included translations from five different languages as well as exhibiting remarkable generic diversity. Finally, through its focus on cultivating a general knowledge of the world, it also revealed the encyclopedic inclinations of Ebüzziyâ Tevfik. Having achieved significant commercial success, Kitabhâne-i Ebüzziyâ heralded a long-lasting tradition of publishing paperback series in Turkish.