The stamps belonging to Dr. Emre Madran mostly illustrating buildings of the Seljukian, Ottoman and Republican periods form a collection of exceptional interest to both stamp collectors and those interested in architecture. The first post office in the Ottoman Empire was opened in 1840, and the first stamps to be issued bore the monograms of the Sultans. In 1913 there appeared the first stamps bearing illustrations of works of architecture, such as the General Post Office at Sirkeci, the Selimiye and Süleymaniye mosques, Rumeli Hisari and the Maiden's Tower. An interesting point is that these pictures were all the work of the architect Muzaffer Bey, who had worked with Vedat Tek and later, when Vedat Tek was appointed Head Court Architect, was appointed Head Architect to the Ministry of Post and Telegraph. When the pictures he had prepared were sent to London to be printed they were regarded as artistic masterpieces and were very highly praised. In the early Republican period the works of Ottoman architecture illustrating these stamps were supplemented by pictures of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Building and greatly admired buildings such as the Türk Ocak, the Istanbul and Ankara Exhibition Houses and the Faculty of Language, History and Geography in Ankara University and, under the title "Great National Series", included all the cities in Turkey. In the 1950s these stamps replaced modern buildings with historical buildings such as Seljuk hans and kümbets. The most interesting of the more recent series was undoubtedly the "Turkish Houses" series. Another interesting feature of these stamps is that a few of them bear the signature of distinguished calligraphers such as Emin Barin. The Stamp and Architecture Exhibition, in addition to the connection between stamps and architecture, is of particular interest for those wishing to examine the economy and social psychology of a crumbling Empire and a youthful Republic.
Curator: Derya Nüket Özer
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