Selfie Device Invented by a Turk in the 1940s

With the introduction of social media into our lives we all started taking selfies intensely. So much so that everyone from adults to children takes the most beautiful photos of themselves every day and spends hours sharing these photos on social media. However, there were those who had this selfie experience with a device invented years ago.

At work inventor photographer Fikret Kaftanoğlu and the interesting story of the photographic setup he named “Görçek”.

In the past years, TDK called the Turkish version of selfie “selfie”, but the first selfie definition in history was made much earlier.

Görçek’s name is like the word “selfie”, which is actually a photographic setup. “See” yourself And Take your photo” means.

It was invented in 1944 and was met with great interest in those years.

In front of Görçek, from Aziz Nesin to Mahir Çayan, from Mümtaz Soysal to Ataol Behramoğlu, from Ahmed Arif to Esin Afşar. Thousands of people posed.

Görçek basically consists of a cabin and a special camera.

The person entering the cabinet; He poses by looking at the mirror in front of him, as we pose by looking at our phones today, and then takes a picture of himself by pressing the button at the end of the cable in his hand. In this way, the photos unwanted exposure errors are minimized.

Taking the image in the setup The lens is in the middle of the mirror.. The movement of the mechanism is provided by electrically stimulated electromagnets. When a button is pressed, the machine is set up, the movie advances and the machine is ready for the second command. When another button is pressed, the shutter is still with an electromagnetic system opens and the image is processed into the film and the film is transferred to another compartment.

So who is the inventor of this invention, Fikret Kaftanoğlu?

Our inventor, who was born in Erzurum, died due to financial difficulties. He could not read after primary school. Although he could not read, he believed in education and science, so he ensured that his children received a very good education.

So much so that Kaftanoglu; Being the first graduate of METU Mechanical Engineering Department and the first, he taught at METU for years and held administrative positions. Dr. He is the father of Bilgin Kaftanoğlu. Also himself He is also among the founders of the Turkish Inventors Association.

At the age of 14, he made a hand-turned film machine by putting together the machine parts from the Russians in his hometown Oltu. made his first movie show. Since there was no film at that time, he produced glass negatives and took pictures of the people around him. After a while, he opened a workshop in his hometown, Oltu.

Later, he opened Fotospor and Fotoüstün studios in Ankara, also one of his important inventions. He also produced the Görçek system here. In time, Görçek started to become a name for photography studios all over Turkey.

He has a total of six patents.

Some of those; earthquake warning deviceprinting press stapler, fire warning and extinguishing device and tape film magazines.

In the 1950s, he sent Görçek to Istanbul for better promotion and transferred his patent for use.

Kaftanoglu; inventor like himself, It was handed over to Emrullah Ali Yıldız, who invented automatic parachute and vertical take-off aircraft..

In 1967, “Cameras have been made in Turkey for 11 years.” news with the title.

In the news, Fikret Kaftanoğlu said, “I want to expand my business and establish the first camera factory in Turkey.” says. He also said that he could make three cameras a week and that until then He says he made and sold a total of two hundred cameras.

The technical specifications of Görçek are as follows: