Collection PL

China 1918 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth, Local Authority Issue (Pick Unlisted)

No catalog listing, institutional reference, or documented parallel example corresponding to this specific textile type is known. Based on observable evidence, this note is treated as a single known example at present and classified as R9 under the collection’s evidence-based system. Read more →

China 1921 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth with Sun Emblem (Pick Unlisted)

While the lower wave-pattern band remains consistent with regional decorative practice, the presence of the sun motif distinguishes this issue from the 1918 local textile type. Calligraphy appears more compact and evenly structured, with darker and more uniform ink saturation, indicating a later phase of block cutting and workshop execution within the same non-centralized production environment. Read more →

Egypt 1914–1915 - Egyptian Red Crescent Society (Khedivial Era Membership Receipts, Two-Document Set)

The early administrative years of the Egyptian Red Crescent coincided with rapid political change: the fall of Khedivial rule in 1914, the declaration of the British Protectorate, and Egypt’s entry into the First World War as a strategic logistical base. These shifts placed extraordinary demands on the Society, which expanded its relief operations and formalized its record-keeping practices. Most early papers from this era were consumed by routine operations, destroyed in later reorganizations, or discarded during shifts in premises. Surviving receipts from the pre-1918 period-let alone pairs from consecutive years-are extremely uncommon. Read more →

Egypt 1918 - Banque Belge pour l’Étranger, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

Original cheque issued by the Cairo branch of Banque Belge pour l'Étranger on 2 September 1918, produced during the final phase of the First World War. The form is printed on light cream security stock with a richly engraved Art Nouveau header. Along the left margin runs a vertical ornamental cartouche enclosing the bank’s interlocking monogram and the legend BANQUE BELGE POUR L'ÉTRANGER – LE CAIRE, framed by a list of the bank’s principal branches in BRUXELLES, LONDRES, ROTTERDAM, LE CAIRE, ALEXANDRIE, SHANGHAI, PEKIN and TIENTSIN. The wide geographical spread reflects the institution’s pre-war ambition to operate as a global correspondent house linking European capital with Asian and Middle Eastern commercial centers. Read more →