This rare map is an Ottoman edition of the Hungarian serio-comic map, A haborus Europa Terkep-Karikaturaja, created by Imre Varga. This edition, printed by Khaireya and Co. Press and published in Istanbul by the Military Library, translates all of the text into Arabic, but maintains the same figures representing each country. The large, uncivilized Russian (with legions of Russian soldiers behind him) appears as the true aggressor here, against whom most other countries actively fight, including the Turkish, Hungarian, and Austrian soldiers. The German Empire is divided into two characters, a crocodile biting the Russian, and a soldier fighting France, who appears to have already surrendered, with a German cannon pointed at England. England and Wales are depicted as a finely dressed gentleman smoking a cigar, possibly the current Prime Minister at the time, H. H. Asquith. Ireland is a sailor trying to escape to the west, away from the war, while Italy is a lounging lady, oblivious to the fighting. A fascinating piece in a rare Arabic format.

References:

Condition: B

Folded and now flattened with a number of fold separations and tears that have been archivally repaired. There are small holes at the fold intersections that have also been infilled, with minor loss of image. A small chip at left has also been replaced, with a minor portion of the neatline reinstated in facsimile. A fragile piece of ephemera.