Trademarks in the Ottoman Empire

THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRADEMARK CONCEPT IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Women were one of the most important objects of consumer society. The use of women in brand-driven advertising in particular reinforced this role. From the mid-19th century onward, Ottoman women also began to wear the latest fashionable branded clothing, imported especially from Paris.

In an advertisement placed in the Takvim-i Vekâyi newspaper for the fezzes produced by the Ottoman State at the Feshâne, the copy emphasized that the fezzes made at the Feshâne were of higher quality than Tunisian fezzes, thereby pursuing selective demand creation and promotion. Selective demand creation here means creating demand for a specific brand. The purpose of such advertisements is to create brand loyalty among consumers, to highlight the ways in which the brand differs from competing brands and to make it distinguishable. By drawing attention to the quality of domestic fezzes and to the poor quality and high price of imported ones, the advertising copy opted for brand promotion and persuasion. As a result, because the fezzes produced by the Feshâne were high in quality and inexpensive, while imported fezzes were of poor quality despite their low prices, Feshâne fezzes took their place on the market as the number-one fez in terms of both quality and brand. However, some opportunistic tradesmen stamped the “Feshâne Seal” on cheaply bought imported fezzes and created unfair competition. The state then tried to protect its reputation by once again selling Feshâne fezzes, which it had earlier allowed to be sold everywhere, only in authorized stores as before, but it did not succeed. The conduct of the tradesmen who sold imported fezzes bearing the Feshâne seal is also an indication that commercial ethics in the Ottoman State had begun to deteriorate.

As noted in the definitions of a trademark, cities can also be brands in their own right. To become a brand, however, they must possess certain characteristics. The finest examples are Paris, London and Washington, along with İstanbul. Thanks to its location and to having hosted various civilizations, İstanbul has retained its status as a brand from the past to the present day. Indeed, this privilege granted by history is reflected not only in the name İstanbul: the city is also known by names such as “Be Makam-ı Konstantiniyye el mahmiyye”, “Asitane”, “Deraliyye”, “Dar-ül hilafet’il-aliyye”, “Dersaadet”, “Darüssaadet” and “İslambol”. Even after İstanbul was conquered by the Muslim Turks/Ottomans, the name be-makamı Konstantiniyye continued to appear in official records. Although the name İstanbul has not been registered as a “brand city” today, Gaziantep has taken a step forward in this direction by registering the name “brand city”.

Having described how trademark registration took shape in the Ottoman Empire, we would like to give examples of brands from various sectors in the Ottoman period. These brands went beyond the country's borders, expanded abroad and represented the Ottoman Empire and Türkiye well there. Here we would like to focus on a few brands whose founding dates back to the Ottoman era.

The First Brand in Its Sector in the Ottoman Empire: HACIBEKİR TURKISH DELIGHT

Hacı Bekir Turkish delight has been chosen as an example of trademarks in the Ottoman Empire: Hacı Bekir was the first to register a trademark in the Ottoman era, served as chief confectioner to the Ottoman Palace, also obtained international trademark registration and has survived to the present day.

The name Hacı Bekir, which has become legendary in Ottoman and Turkish confectionery, has continued to this day as a symbol of the confectionery tradition. Confectioner Bekir Efendi came to İstanbul from the Araç district of Kastamonu and, in 1777, began making and selling lokum (Turkish delight), akide (hard candy) and other confections himself in a small shop he opened in Bahçekapı. He later became known as Hacı Bekir after performing the Hajj. The first shop he opened, with a history of more than two centuries, is today the Bahçekapı store of Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir Şekercilik A.Ş. and is the only shop in İstanbul that has provided the same service for over two hundred years. This distinction, rarely matched even worldwide, is well worth mentioning for İstanbul and indeed for our country. In confectionery production, which began in Türkiye in the 16th century, honey and grape molasses were used as sweeteners, and flour as a binding and texturing agent. When sugar produced in the refineries established in Europe arrived in Türkiye in the late 18th century as “Kelle Şekeri” (loaf sugar), as it was called at the time, confectioner Hacı Bekir pounded this sugar in mortars, melted it and cooked it with natural flavors and colorings such as rose and cinnamon, developing the production of akide candy. In addition, by using starch, discovered by a German scientist in 1811, instead of flour, he achieved the production of lokum of today's exquisite quality from a combination of sugar and starch.

Hacı Bekir, who developed many varieties of Turkish confectionery and lokum through his own handiwork and meticulous effort, helped Turkish lokum become known in Europe as “Turkish Delight” in the 19th century, thanks to an English tourist who took lokum bought from the shop in Bahçekapı, İstanbul, back to his country.

From then on, Turkish lokum became known as “Turkish Delight” among foreigners of Anglo-Saxon origin and as “Lokoum” in France and the Balkans, and it entered the international confectionery literature.

In addition, the almond candy made in swinging pans and the various marzipans, made by peeling boiled almonds, pounding them in mortars, kneading them with sugar and sugar syrup and shaping them, earned Hacı Bekir the well-deserved interest and fame that have lasted to this day. For his achievements, confectioner Hacı Bekir was honored by the sultan of the time with the First Class Order of Nişan-ı Ali Osmanî and appointed chief confectioner of the palace. With this warrant of honor, a sense of quality was established in the business as early as those days, and since the warrant had to be renewed under each sultan, the continuity of high quality was ensured.

After Hacı Bekir, his son Mehmet Muhiddin Efendi and his grandson Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir carried on the firm with the same principles, talent and passion for the craft, and they too were honored with the title of chief confectioner of the Ottoman Palace.

Branches were also established in Cairo and Alexandria with master confectioners and staff taken to Egypt, and with the appreciation and honors of the Khedive of Egypt, the title of chief confectioner was also conferred by the Egyptian Palace.

Şekerci Hacı Bekir still operates today as the oldest company in Türkiye.

As part of Ottoman and Turkish society and of our folklore, Hacı Bekir also became part of our customs and traditions. It appeared particularly in novels and writings documenting the lifestyle of the time, and it was written about and even depicted by the Levantines and foreigners who were part of the social mosaic of İstanbul in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The 43×58 cm watercolor of confectioner Bekir Efendi by the Maltese painter Preziosi (the original is in the Louvre Museum, France) documents the life of the time and Hacı Bekir. (A lithographic reproduction of the painting is held in the Bilim Sarayı under number 214.)

Inspired by the silver medal won at the 1873 Vienna Fair, the brand was created with the first Hacı Bekir logo; it was later enriched with the gold and silver medals won at subsequent fairs, resulting in today's classic international brand. Hacı Bekir is also one of the first three members of the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1882.

The Hacı Bekir business created its first logo, its Alâmet-i Fârika (trademark) in the terminology of the time, in 1874, upon returning from the Vienna Fair. Over the years, the logo was developed further as new medals were added, eventually reaching its final form, which is still in use today. Together with this logo, trademarks such as ‘Şekerci Hacı Bekir’, ‘Hacı Bekir’ and ‘Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir-İstanbul’ have been registered internationally through WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). Like his grandfather Hacı Bekir, Ali Muhiddin was granted the title of palace chief confectioner by Abdülhamid II on 31 January 1906.

With the establishment founded by Hacı Bekir Efendi, and the institution that Ali Muhiddin inherited from his grandfather, expanded and turned into a brand, they enabled our people to enjoy high-quality lokum and confectionery and successfully promoted our country abroad.

As can be seen, the Hacı Bekir-zâde Ali Muhiddin Establishment, founded by Hacı Bekir and turned into a brand by Ali Muhiddin, became renowned and sought after especially for its lokum. For years, Hacı Bekir lokum was offered to guests during home and holiday visits, and people traveling from Anatolia to İstanbul were always reminded to bring Hacı Bekir lokum back with them.

Source: Dr. İsmail ALTINÖZ