A Brief Survey Of The Book Trade In The Ottoman Empire

Abstract

Although we have a PhD thesis (Jamil 1985), some independent studies (Kari 1982; el-Menuni 1991; en-Nemle 1995; Said 2000; Ebu Sulcyman 2002) and many articles about the verraks, 1 professionals who copied and sold books and writing materials in the Medieval Islamic world, no serious work about sahhafs (booksellers) and their unique profession exists for the Ottoman era. This is not so much due to a lack of interest in the subject, but rather because documents and sources about booksellers are either very rare or have not yet come to light. Everything written on this topic until the present day consists of a few general accounts (which are not based on any documents or historical sources) and some memoirs from book dealers about the recent history of the book bazaar. In addition, the material is largely repetitious. This article does not claim to systematically study the development of the book trade during the Ottoman era, but rather aims at compiling documents and information about the book trade and providing a background for more detailed, future studies.

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