92. Today in 1920s Turkey: 7 June 1923 (Turkish Cartoonist Portraits and Profiles: Part I)

(A caricature of the magazine’s cartoonists, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 7 June 1923, no. 53, page 5.)

Comments:
Over the past 91 editions of Today in 1920s Turkey we have been exposed to the inventive and entertaining works of numerous Turkish cartoonists of this era. Many of them have been identified from the signatures they leave on their works. Moreover, many of these artists went on to become major contributors to 20th-century modern Turkish visual culture: some became art teachers and illustrators and others remained lifelong veterans of the trade. Many of these artists laid the foundations of their oeuvres in the pages of popular satirical journals such as Akbaba and other publications from the 1920s.

This caricature, which was published ninety-four years ago today in Akbaba, happens to represent all seven of the magazine’s illustrators. The fact that Akbaba was able to employ or patronize so many artists should stand as an indicator of how seriously this particular magazine took its commitment to art and visual appeal. The text above the cartoon reads “Akbaba’s Illustrators” or Akbaba’nın Ressamları. Below each portrait is that artist’s name. Read from right to left (as an Ottoman reader would), we have: Ramiz Bey, İ. Hakkı Bey, Ratip Tahir Bey, Hüsammetin Haşim Bey, Sadi Nuri Bey, Muhittin Bey, ve Hasan Rasim Bey.

The next seven editions of Today in 1920s Turkey will consist of overviews of each one of the artists featured in this cartoon. Be sure to follow @yasemin-gencer if you do not want to miss out on the next installment of this series.

Until next time…

(Entire page, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 7 June 1923, no. 53, page 5.)