What is EG Collection

EG Collection is home to thousands of different pieces. EG is a specialist dealer in old and rare maps of Asia Minor and the Ottoman Empire from the 15^th to 19^th centuries, in addition to a wide range of old and rare books on the subject of the Ottoman Empire and Istanbul (Constantinople) from the 15^th to the 20^th century, especially ones about travelling.

The Collection also includes a large number of old, rare and fine prints, panoramic views and plans of Istanbul (Constantinople), scientific instruments and a selection of cartographic reference books.

Other items that can be found in the collection are fine figurines, statues and contemporary art pieces.

Who is behind EG collection?

This prized collection belongs to Emre Gürçay. There are a lot of ways to describe Emre, but this author will try and keep it as simple as possible even if the subject is beyond comprehension.

Emre began his collection in London, where he was living at the time, in 1992, the same year his daughter was born. There is absolutely no correlation between the two events. Maybe when Emre started his collection he thought about sharing his passion with this innocent little girl one day, however the gods were not by his side and unfortunately, she had no interest in these beautiful pieces. A shame really.

Moving on, Emre kept on buying artwork from around the world to the surprise of all his friends and family. No one believed he would continue for this long. Because of how old some of the pieces are, even his most trusted friends were not allowed to touch them. Especially the books. Understandable really, they are far too valuable for words. Holding actual history in your hands. Imagine who else has held these books. Emre claims that with the help of the books, he made many friends around the world, met different dealers, went to various auctions. He says that pursuing this passion, finding and reading these books helped him grow as a person.

You could ask as to why he only collected items on the Ottoman Empire and Constantinople. Very simple. He is a Turkish man who lives in Istanbul and loves the history of Turkey. Anyone who has been to Istanbul (modern day Constantinople) will know the beauty and magic of the city, how can someone not want a part of that? Maybe not want something as expensive but still…

After collecting non-stop for years and years, filling up every house he has lived in, suddenly he has decided on a website like this, selling his life’s work. This author tried to talk to him and understand his reasoning but unfortunately, she failed. So, as a compensation, she will just write Emre the Great’s own quote, hoping someone else can make sense of it. Emre, in his own words: “After 30 years of happily collecting, it is now time to pass my life partners to their new owners… I hope that each and every one of them will bring happiness and love to their new friends as they did to me over all these years. I loved collecting and learning from them every single day. I hope I can pass them along to people who deserve them.”

The building of this website has been enlightening for all…

All in all, Emre has lovingly put together this collection, making his family carry them from room to room, or worse, house to house. But, at the end of the day, this collection made him happy. The smile on his face when he talked about individual pieces was the proof of this. Here’s to the next stage of Emre’s life, may it be filled with even more laughter and raki.

This small look into the man behind the collection was written by Iris Gurcay, the daughter who was born the same year this collection was started.