Reading War Placards in Stamboul

Description

This engraving, published on the April 21, 1877, cover of The Illustrated London News with the headline "Reading War Placards in Stamboul," visualizes the circulation of information within the Ottoman public on the eve of the War of '93 (the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78). The engraving records a threshold immediately following the accession to the throne of Abdülhamid II, the proclamation of the Constitution, and the opening of the Chamber of Deputies (first session in the spring of 1877), when extraordinary security and mobilization measures were announced to the public through official proclamations. In the engraving, people gather around placards (proclamations in Arabic script) hung on the wall, reading the texts aloud and discussing them together. In the composition, different headdresses (fez, turban, kalpak-like covers), tradesman's clothing, figures of police with swords, and a street dog are brought together to present the ethnic and social diversity of Istanbul and the texture of daily life. The expressions of excitement, anxiety, and curiosity among the readers powerfully convey the pre-war atmosphere. The wooden cantilevered house facades, eaves, gas-lamp-type lanterns, and small domed architectural structures (most likely fountains) in the background are all depictions of Ottoman urban landscape details. Thus, the engraving captures the relationship between public information, public order, and war mobilization in a single frame.