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Anger = Turkish Sherlock Holmes

Anger can serve multiple purposes I have found. Recently, I was trying to win an auction on e-Bay for some Turkish translations of the Sacred Writings. It was a typical 7-day auction. I placed my bid and then began the dutiful watch. I was the only bidder and this worried me. So in one of my fits of paranoia, I re-bid, upping my target high price to double what I had originally bid. Great! My confidence was once again restored. I checked my status daily and I was always the high bidder. I was the leading bidder for 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 49 seconds. It was those last 21 seconds that really upset me. The nerve of some Moriarty to yank the proverbial Sherlockian rug out from under my feet was unbelievable. I felt the angry mist of Reichenbach Falls hit me in the face. It was like I had a commission from a Sultan of Turkey, which called for immediate action!

I am not one of these passive collectors who enjoy having one book in each language, no not me! I have the mindset that I need every Sherlock Holmes book in every language. Some people, myself included call me The Maniac Collector and maniacal I can be. I already had 7 translations of Turkish in my collection but not the ones listed on e-Bay. Well I channeled my anger into a letter writing campaign. I ripped off e-mails to the seller, asking them to find other copies of the auctioned book. I went to ABEBOOKS.COM and looked up all of the bookstores listed for Turkey. I wrote them, too, asking for all available Sherlockian books in Turkish or any other language they might have.

Well my anger certainly paid off. The original seller was able to sell me a copy of Korku Vâdisi (1) for a lower cost than the original auction. The next afternoon, I was contacted by a bookstore in Ankara. Librairie de Pera offered several new publications. Through them I added Sherlock Holmes: Butun hikâyeleri 1(2) , Sherlock Holmes: Butun hikâyeler 2(3) , Baskervill'lerin köpegi(4) , and Sherlock Holmes Kizil Sorusturma (5) to my collection.

Now the offers are pouring in. Not only am I getting offers for the Sacred Writing but for pulp serials from the early 50's, modern pastiches, and graphic novels. I am receiving so many Turkey offers; it seems like Thanksgiving in June! It seems there has been many new publications in Turkish recently. From another dealer, Inkilap Yayinevi; Ankara C. No.99 Inkilap Han Sirkeci; 34410 Istanbul, Turkey, I was able to order Sherlock Holmes: Olum Doseginde. Metis Yayinlari ISBN: 975765082x. I also ordered Bilinmeyenin Kiyisinda. Dharma Yayinlari. ISBN: 9757800759., Sherlock Holmes Butun hikâyeleri 1. Marti Kitabevi ISBN: 9758461028., and Sherlock Holmes Butun hikâyeleri 2. Marti Kitabevi ISBN: 9758461087. The last two are different that the other with the same titles. They were all published since 2000.

So one little bout of anger has yielded a shelf-full of Turkish Sherlock Holmes books. All I can say is sometimes it can be all right to express your anger especially if expressed in a positive manner.

Happy Collecting!

Footnotes

1. Korku Vâdisi. Çeviren Muharrem Athkan. Istanbul: Akba Yayinevi, 1969. 199pp. Contents: VALL. - De Waal #C4203.

2. Sherlock Holmes: Butun hikâyeleri 1 Cumhur Misirlioglu. Bakirköy-Istanbul: Neptün Yayinlari, 2002. Contents: SCAN, IDEN; REDH; BOSC; FIVE; TWIS; BLUE; SPEC; ENGI; NOBL; BERY; COPP. NIDW *

3. Sherlock Holmes: Butun hikâyeleri 2 Cumhur Misirlioglu. Bakirköy-Istanbul: Neptün Yayinlari, 2002. Contents: SILV; YELL; STOC; GLOR; MUSG; CROO; CARD; GREE; NAVA; FINA. NIDW*

4. Baskervill'lerin köpegi Çeviri: Vedat Polatli. Beyaz Balina Yayinlari, 2001. Contents: HOUN. NIDW*

5. Sherlock Holmes Kizil Sorusturma Genel Dagitim. Bakirköy-Istanbul: Neptün Yayinlari, 2000. Contents: STUD. NIDW*

*NIDW- Not in De Waal