Description and research notes
Pair of early Egyptian Red Crescent Society membership receipts from 1914 and 1915, issued during the final months of Khedivial rule. Both documents carry the Red Crescent emblem, printed titles in classical Arabic, and the formal bilingual seal bearing the inscription Société du Croissant Rouge Egyptien. These receipts were used to record annual dues for full members supporting the organization during its formative years.
The 1914 example reflects the pre-Protectorate structure under the patronage of the Khedive’s household, while the 1915 form—issued after the British declaration of the Protectorate—exhibits subtle textual modifications associated with administrative transition. Each is fully completed in manuscript, signed by treasury officials, and bears clear fiscal annotations.
Egyptian Red Crescent documents from this early phase (founded 1911) are exceptionally rare. Most early humanitarian records were lost in the upheavals of World War I, the Protectorate period, and the administrative reorganizations of the 1920s. Together, these two receipts form a critical, museum-quality pairing documenting Egypt’s earliest organized humanitarian relief institution and capturing the civil–military medical landscape at the outbreak of World War I.