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A rare 1928 Ottoman Turkish edition of Russian author Grigory Petrov's "Mefkureci Muallim," also known as "The Idealist Teacher," has surfaced at a secondhand bookstore in Erzurum, eastern Türkiye, nearly a century after its publication.
The book was found among used books purchased from local residents and was set aside for preservation after the bookstore owner examined it and recognized its rarity.
Petrov, best known for "The Land of White Lilies," wrote "The Idealist Teacher" to explore the transformative role of education in society.
The story follows Rachinsky, a successful mathematics professor at Moscow University who gives up his academic career to return to his village and devote himself to teaching.
Translated into Turkish by Ali Haydar Taner in 1928, the book was published by Marifet Printing House in Istanbul. The 80-page edition was printed in Ottoman Turkish, which used an Arabic-based script, shortly before Türkiye adopted the Latin alphabet later that year.
According to information printed on the book's back cover, the Maarif Vekaleti, the predecessor of Türkiye's Ministry of National Education, recommended both "The Land of White Lilies" and "The Idealist Teacher" to civil servants and teachers.
Nizamettin Korucu, a 64-year-old bookseller who has worked in the secondhand book trade for 31 years, said the edition came into his possession through a collection of books acquired from residents.
He explained that people frequently sell books when moving or clearing out belongings following a death, and the Petrov volume was discovered among one such collection, which he believes arrived earlier this year.
After examining the book, Korucu decided to keep it in his collection because of its rarity.
He also pointed out that the original selling price was 20 kurus, a subdivision of the Turkish lira, and estimated its present-day equivalent at approximately ₺1,000 (nearly $21).
Korucu added that Petrov's works had historically been recommended to educators in Türkiye, noting that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, had also encouraged the reading of "The Land of White Lilies" in schools.
The 1928 edition remains in the bookseller's possession in Erzurum.
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