Novel and Desirable

A new publication:

“Novel and desirable technology: Pocket watches for the Ottoman market (Late 18th- Early 19th c.)”, ICON, vol. 24, 2018/2019, 78-107.

Abstract

During the long eighteenth century, English and continental firms produced large numbers of pocket watches with Ottoman numerals intended for the markets of the Ottoman Empire. These products, both technical novelties and fashionable accessories, were highly popular among the local multiethnic populations. It is argued that the pocket watches for the Ottoman market may be classified as examples of popular luxury, expressing the rise of the individual, the growing significance of pleasurable consumption and the emergence of new forms of socialisation through product use.