93. Today in 1920s Turkey: Turkish Cartoonist Portraits and Profiles (Part II: Ramiz Bey)

(Portrait of Ramiz, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 7 June 1923, no. 53, page 5.)

In the previous post (92. Turkish Cartoonist Portraits and Profiles: Part I) I introduced a seven part series about the artists featured in a cartoon from the magazine Akbaba. Today we will be considering the first in the line up of artists, Ramiz Bey, far right.

Ramiz was born in 1900 in Ottoman Istanbul. He drew his first cartoon in 1916 and in 1918 he landed his first publication in the magazine Şeytan (Devil). Soon after that he started teaching art in 1919, at the tender age of 19. Throughout the 1920s he drew for some of Turkey’s most influential magazines including Diken, Aydede, Zümrüdüanka, Papağan, and of course Akbaba. He continued to publish cartoons, cartoon strips, and cartoon books well into the 1940s and enjoyed participating in seminars and conferences to discuss cartoons and the satirical arts. In accordance with the Surname Law or Soyadı Kanunu, Ramiz took the last name “Gökçe” in 1934. Mr. Ramiz Gökçe passed away in Istanbul in on 5 January 1953.

Ramiz, drew self-portraits and published them quite regularly in the 1920s. Below are the three others (the above cartoon is unsigned, but may be the work of Ramiz himself) that I know of. He depicts himself with a strange chin-wrap that extends around his head in the first three portraits (1923, 1924, and 1925) and apparently abandons it in 1926. He wears a fez in the first two portraits but for the 1925 portrait he renders himself wearing a boater hat. This “fashion” choice was in obvious preparation for the upcoming Hat Reform or Şapka Devrimi scheduled for November 1925.

(Ramiz self-portrait, Akbaba, 25 December 1924, no. 215, page 2.)

(Ramiz self-portrait, Akbaba, 14 September 1925, no. 290, page 2.)

(Ramiz self-portrait, Akbaba, 2 December 1926, no. 417, page 2. Found thanks to Turgut Çeviker, Karikatür Üzerine Yazılar, 58 where it was republished.)

Ramiz is one of the most prolific cartoonists of this era. When I started researching these materials some 8 years ago, Ramiz’s signature was the first one that I could identify with ease. This was partially because his signature consisted of strong, confident strokes and was visually very appealing to me… perhaps because it looks a bit like my own. I quickly became familiar with his signature because I saw it so many times on so many cartoons; this speaks to the importance of conspicuous and consistent branding! Ramiz appears to have understood that principle very early on in his career.

The Today in 1920s Turkey series has considerable experience dissecting Ramiz’s works. Below is a list of the twelve cartoons by this artists already discussed. Together, they should afford a generous view of of the artist’s rather versatile oeuvre:

84. Some Things Never Change: Let the Sabers Rattle! (11 May 1925)

73. Gold Diggers, Unite! (29 March 1926)

68. Freedom of Speech for Mother-in-Laws (9 March 1925)

61. New "Film" Starring Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd (11 February 1926)

59. A Cross-Dresser’s Journey (8 February 1926)

57. Suspicious Hearts (4 February 1924)

56. The Ugly Husband (4 February 1924)

55. Beware of the Trolley Gang! (1 February 1926)

42. Justice: A Gift for the New Year (29 December 1927)

41. Stratification and Oppression (15 December 1924)

29. Happy Republic Day, Turkey! (29 October 1928)

11. War of the Pens: Turkey vs Iran (15 August 1927)

5. Planes: A Modern Perspective (9 August 1926)

2. Trafik Canavarı or The Beast of Bad Driving (4 August 1927)

Other sources consulted:

Memiş, Şefik and İbrahim Yarış. “Ramiz Gökçe.” In: İstanbul’un 100 Karikatüristi, 64-65. İstanbul: İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür A.Ş. Yayınları, 2010.

Çeviker, Turgut. “Ramiz Gökçe Üzerine.” In: Karikatür Üzerine Yazılar, 57-63. İstanbul: İris Yayıncılık, 1997.