52. Today in 1920s Turkey: 15 January 1925 (Alcohol and Astronomy Don’t Mix)

(Cartoon by Cemal Nadir Güler, Resimli Dünya or “The Illustrated World,” 15 January 1925, no. 7, page 1.)

English:
Drunkard: How they found the moon and the stars does not surprise me, it’s how they found their names that I cannot understand!!

Türkçe:
Sarhoş: Şu ayla yıldızları nasıl keşf ettiklerine şaşmıyorum, isimlerini nasıl bulmuşlar ona aklım ermiyor!!

Comments:
This cover of Resimli Dünya, a weekly children’s magazine, features a full-page, color illustration of a star-gazing drunkard. Reclining on a rocky outcrop like a magnificent male odalisque, the inebriate raises an open wine bottle to the stars in a toast. The text below the cartoon includes the drunk man’s comical thoughts regarding man’s audacious “naming” practices of celestial bodies so far from the home domain, Earth.

The cartoonist, Cemal Nadir Güler’s signature can be found close to the man’s extended foot, near the lower left corner of the image. In this period, the cartoonist explores a range of themes including substance abuse and poverty and he leans toward a flavor of dark humor. In today's case, the theme of alcoholism is meant to discourage this magazine's readership (i.e. children) from partaking in such self-destructive habits. He uses a satire and humor, a more light-hearted approach, to deliver his message while entertaining his readers.

Since this is a cover page, the journal’s masthead is located above the cartoon. The globe fitted with telegraph wires and centered between the words [رسملی] Resimli and [دنیا] Dünya relates directly to the journal’s name, “The Illustrated World.” Above the masthead illustration is pertinent information related to the issue, from right to left it reads:

“Number: 7 first year | Its price is 5 kuruş everywhere. | 15 January 1925”
“Sayı: 7 birinci sene | Fiyatı her yerde 5 kuruştur. | 15 Kanun-ı Sani 1341”