1927 Kitabhane-yi Sudi Map of North and Central America

A large-format separately issued 1927 Ottoman map of North and Central America published by the Aladdin Matba-sı Printing House for the Kitabhane-yi Sudi Bookshop. Aside from its aesthetic qualities, this map is important for its role in the diffusion of knowledge about the Americas in Turkey as well as being among the last maps published in Ottoman Perso-Arabic script, before Turkey adopted a Latin-based script in 1928.

A Closer Look

Using a conic projection, coverage extends from the Arctic to northern South America. Cities, railroads, waterways, and mountains are identified. The left and right-hand margins include flags of countries, including from top-left: Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras, the U.S.A., Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Canada.

Publication History and Census

This map was published in 1927 (١٩٢٧) in Istanbul for the Kitabhane-yi Sudi Bookshop (كتابخانه سودى،), and was printed by the Aladdin Matba-sı Printing House. It was part of series of continent maps printed for the bookshop, among the last maps using the Ottoman script published in Turkey before the writing reforms of 1928, wherein the country adopted a Latin-based script. The maps from this series (all titled 'New' followed by the continent name) are scarce, and this is the only known surviving example of the North and Central America map.