Collection PL

Egypt 1907 - First Issue Revenues 1 & 2 Milliemes Tied on Official Document

The document’s main text consists of several lines of handwritten Arabic detailing the purpose of the request, location information, and the official acceptance notation. The paper displays natural toning toward the outer edges, minor corner wear, and one vertical filing fold, but no tears, reductions, or punch cancellations. The original margin remains intact on all sides. Read more →

Egypt 1931 - Singer Sewing Machine Co. Booklet with Tied Singer Revenues

Original 1931 Singer Sewing Machine Company service and instalment booklet issued in Cairo, printed on tan card stock with the standard Singer Manufacturing Company masthead, including the New York parent company reference at top. The front cover shows the booklet form number 'Form. 60/c. (30000 - 2.31)' and a small Singer Sewing Machines trade-mark medallion at upper left. Branch name and contract number are filled in in large manuscript ink, along with the hirers’ names recorded in flowing early-20th-century Arabic and English script. The cover also includes the standard five-point printed conditions governing instalment payments, usage of collectors' receipts, and return of the machine upon default. Read more →

Egypt 1911 - The Odeon Hall, Cairo Gold Watch Repair Invoice

Egypt was among the earliest adopters of recorded sound in the region, with Cairo serving as a distribution center for imported phonographs and Columbia and Odeon discs. At the same time, high-skill watch repair remained central to urban life, with shops like Odeon Hall acting as trusted service providers for residents of different social and economic backgrounds. Invoices and commercial papers from these establishments capture the multilingual, multiethnic fabric of Khedivial Cairo’s retail economy. Read more →

Russia 1920 - Armed Forces of South Russia 100,000 Rubles Treasury Bill (November Issue, Pick S431c)

Six-percent short-term Treasury bill for 100,000 rubles issued by the Government Treasury of the Armed Forces of South Russia during the final phase of the Russian Civil War. This is the November 15, 1920 payable issue (Pick S431c), printed after General Pyotr Wrangel transferred the White administration to Crimea. The note follows the classical Imperial layout: bilingual Russian–French legends, the double-headed eagle in an ornate oval cartouche at left, and a formal typographic bond structure intended to signal continuity with pre-1917 state finance. Read more →

Egypt 1912 - Allen, Alderson & Co. Machinery Agents, Alexandria (Illustrated Letterhead)

Illustrated engineering letterheads of this calibre are exceedingly rare in Egypt. Most were discarded after administrative use or lost during business closures and urban redevelopment. This 1912 example-dated, signed, fully intact, and carrying multiple machine engravings-stands as a museum-level artifact documenting the transfer of British industrial technology to Egypt at a pivotal moment before World War I, when mechanisation began reshaping agriculture, transport, and industry across the country. Read more →

1931 - Deutsche Orientbank A.G. Cairo Correspondence Set (Letter, Registered Cover, and Account Statement)

Complete 1931 Deutsche Orientbank A.G. Cairo correspondence set consisting of three original components: a printed bank letterhead with bilingual Arabic–French text, the matching addressed postal cover bearing a King Fuad 5m franking and Cairo postal strikes, and the full Konto–Korrent account statement issued to the same client on the same date. Taken together, these documents preserve the complete administrative chain between the German overseas bank's Cairo branch and one of its Egyptian clients during the interwar period. Read more →

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

The cheque is completed in dark brown fountain-pen script with the date 'Le Caire, le 2 Septembre 1918' at top. The sum-cinquante neuf livres sterling, six shillings et onze pence-is written across a pink micro-lithographed security band designed to prevent alteration. The amount in sterling underscores the dominance of the British pound in wartime Egypt, where local institutions and foreign banks conducted high-value transactions in pounds due to currency stability and British political presence. Read more →

Egypt 1923 - Banco di Roma, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

The use of engraved Roman imagery on its cheques was more than decorative. It communicated the bank's aspiration to represent national strength, reliability, and cultural continuity. Italian overseas institutions at the time often combined national symbolism with modern security printing to compete with British, French, Belgian, and Greek banks already entrenched in Egypt. Cheques served not only as negotiable instruments but also as branding devices that reinforced confidence among merchants handling cross-border payments. Read more →

Egypt 1901 - Philibin & Vve. Barrot, Cairo Hardware Merchants (Art Nouveau Letterhead Invoice)

The body records the sale of four hardware items described as '4 Seaux vernisés,' with individual price notes and a large diagonal signature confirming receipt of payment. Additional Arabic annotations in brown and black fountain-pen ink appear in the lower section, demonstrating the bilingual bookkeeping characteristic of Cairo's mixed French–Arabic commercial environment. Settlement initials and date confirmations appear at the lower left, with visible ink feathering from period dip-pen usage. Read more →

Egypt 1912 - Compagnie des Bateaux Omnibus (Nile Steamer Illustrated Letterhead)

This 1912 specimen, preserving all key elements-Nile steamer vignette, bilingual printed services, ministry arrival stamp, director signature, and Bahr Youssef operational reference-stands as a museum-level artifact documenting the functioning of Egypt’s river transport economy on the eve of World War I. Read more →

Egypt 1950 - Gamil Fawzi El-Motei Oldsmobile & Vauxhall Service Station (Heliopolis–Abbassia)

Surviving fully illustrated Egyptian automotive dealer letterheads from around 1950 are uncommon. Most were discarded after vehicle registration, damaged in workshops, or lost through relocation as dealerships closed or were nationalized in later decades. Complete examples that combine photographic imagery, bilingual branding, full vehicle data, and the original agency stamp are exceptionally rare. This 1950 piece stands as a museum-level artifact documenting General Motors' early Cairo presence, Egypt's postwar motoring expansion, and the administrative culture of mid-century automotive dealerships. Read more →

Egypt 1908 - Mohammed El Komi Carriage & Automobile Workshop Invoice

Mohammed El Komi’s workshop represented a transitional moment in Cairo’s urban transport industry. At the turn of the century, Egypt's roads were dominated by carriages, fiacres, and hired carts, yet the earliest imported motorcars were already appearing among the elite. Carriage makers such as El Komi adapted rapidly, offering both traditional vehicle repair and emerging automotive services. These mixed workshops were among the first in Cairo to work simultaneously on horse-drawn vehicles and imported motorcars, bridging traditional craftsmanship with new mechanical technology. Read more →