ABSTRACT
In many respects, printing and publishing hold a special place in late Ottoman cultural and intellectual history. The effects of the changes that occurred during the Tanzimat period were, perhaps, nowhere more apparent than in this domain. All communities alike benefited from these new conditions, and whereas progress in the political and economic field was slow and many initiatives proved abortive, there was a steady and continuous rise in printing and publishing. Even the ‘Era of Despotism’ (İstibdad dönemi), that is, the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876–1909), witnessed a remarkable increase in activity in this field. This trend reached a climax of sorts after the Young Turk revolution. Furthermore, those who were involved in printing and publishing – as well as those who supervised and controlled these activities – figure among the most important men of letters. In a society without universities, academies or public libraries, much of the role of such institutions was left to these ‘cultural workers’.
