Description

Original bdg. with original dust wrapper. DJ. Folio. (39 x 32 cm). In English and Turkish. First Edition. 338 p., 291 ills. in total including b/w and colors: Color ills. of 245 maps (some of them 2 page-sized) and 46 small ills. including some of Constantinople photos and maps. The Pervititch maps that are published in this book should be interpreter from this general point of view. Istanbul realized its modernization in the second half on the 19th century. The frequent fires that occurred in the city were major disasters for its inhabitants, but at the same time created opportunities for the city administrators who intended to push through this modernization. In the aftermath of the 1870 Beyoglu fire, one of the biggest of these fires, a significant change occurered in the realitonship between society and fires. The population of Istanbul became acquainted with insurance that covered fire risks. Numerous insurance companies established branches in Istanbul. Fire insurance became a productive industry. This development turned maps showing the fire risks in the building stock of the city an extremely necessary source of information for insurance companies. Initially, insurance maps were commisioned to the C.E. Goad Company for a rahter limited area of the city between 1904-1906. Later, Jacques Pervititch prepared much more detailed maps covering almost the entire area of the city for the Central Office of Turkish Insurance Agents. Pervititch drew over 230 maps between 1922 and 1945.