1863-65 2nd Printing Tughra stamp of the Ottoman Empire

Mehmet Ismet Başaran (born August 1953) is a Turkish-born British chemical engineer and

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

. He is an authority on the tughra (or toughra) stamps of 1863–65 of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and has won several gold medals for his collection of those issues. He has written two books on the stamps as well as a number of articles about them. He is a former fellow of the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philately, philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History ...

and president of the Oriental Philatelic Association of London.

Early life and career

Mehmet Başaran was born in Turkey in August 1953. He moved to the United Kingdom at 16 years of age for educational reasons and graduated in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

, making his home in the U.K. Birch, Brian. (2018)
Biographies of Philatelists and Dealers
'. Montignac Toupinerie: Brian Birch. p. 321. He later worked as a consultant specialising in the design and project management of floating production systems for the oil and gas industries."About the author" in "The 1862 Tughra Proofs of Turkey", ''The London Philatelist'', Vol. 115 (2006), pp. 58–66.

Philately

Başaran has specialised in collecting the tughra stamps of the Ottoman Empire (1863–65) since the 1970s, a task made more difficult by the absence of any contemporary official records about the issue. The stamps are the first stamps of the empire and regarded as the first stamps of Turkey. Proofs were produced in 1862 and the final stamps released in 1863. They acquired their name because the central part of the design shows the

tughra A tughra (; ) is a calligraphy, calligraphic monogram, Seal (emblem), seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the Tamga, tamgha, it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the co ...

of the reigning sultan at the time,

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861. Ab ...

, and reads "Abdul Aziz Khan, son of Mohammed the Victorious". The design is completely abstract due to the Muslim faith of the Ottoman rulers. A red band of text was added by the Ministry of Finance at the base of each stamp in order to authorise them for postal use. Due to difficulties with the setting of the first printing of the stamps, the second printing, with a wider space between each stamp to allow for the control band, was actually the first printing released in January 1863 with the first and third printings only being released after the second was exhausted."The 1862 Tughra Proofs of Turkey", Mehmet Ismet Başaran, ''The London Philatelist'', Vol. 115 (2006), pp. 58–66. He first exhibited his collection at Stampex in London in 2002 and won the Silver Mailcoach Trophy, the Stanley Gibbons Cup for best 19th-century exhibit, and the NPS QEII Silver Salver for the best exhibit by a first time competitor as well as a gold medal – the first time a new exhibitor at the show had won such a haul of medals. The display has also won large gold medals at the Espana 2004 stamp exhibition, at Israel 2008 and World Stamp Championship in Tel Aviv, and at the

London 2010 International Stamp Exhibition The London 2010 International Stamp Exhibition, 8–15 May 2010 at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, was a major international stamp exhibition that was granted FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie) patronage. Theme T ...

. Başaran is a former fellow of the

, and in 2016 was president of the Oriental Philatelic Association of London."OPAL Officers", '' The OPAL Journal'', Vol. 231 (March 2016).

Selected publications

* "1862 Tughra Proofs of Turkey – The New Discovery", ''

OPAL Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

'', May 2005, pp. 2–20. * "The 1862 Tughra Proofs of Turkey", ''

The London Philatelist ''The London Philatelist'' was first published in January 1892
by

References

External links

*http://www.mclstamps.co.uk/opal/opalmpub2.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Başaran, Mehmet British philatelists Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London Philately of Turkey 1953 births Living people British people of Turkish descent Turkish emigrants to the United Kingdom

Early life and career

Philately

Selected publications

Further reading

External links