Collection PL

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. ... Read more →

Egypt 1923 — Banco di Roma, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

Original Banco di Roma cheque issued in Cairo on 17 November 1923, printed on cream security paper with a richly engraved Roman header characteristic of interwar Italian banknote and cheque design. At the upper left, within an elaborate vertical cartouche of scrollwork and rosettes, appears the iconic Capitoline Wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. This emblem served as the visual shorthand for Banco di Roma's institutional identity and its projection of Italian national symbolism abroad. ... Read more →

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

Original 1901 illustrated invoice from Philibin & Vve. Barrot, the prominent Cairo ironmongery and hardware firm founded in 1871. The masthead is printed in a pale blue-grey Art Nouveau style, featuring an ornamental banner with PHILIBIN & Vve. ... Read more →

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

Original 17 October 1912 illustrated letterhead of the Compagnie des Bateaux Omnibus, printed on pale beige laid paper with a finely executed lithographed masthead. At the upper left is a detailed vignette showing a Nile side-wheeler steamer underway, flying the red company pennant marked C.B.O. The steamer is depicted passing a palm-lined bank with mooring post and faint pyramidal silhouettes in the background, capturing one of the most iconic motifs of early twentieth-century Egyptian river transport. ... Read more →

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

Original 1950 service and delivery letterhead from Gamil Fawzi El-Motei, the official Oldsmobile and Vauxhall agent in Cairo and one of the earliest postwar General Motors dealerships operating in Egypt. The top section is printed on light cream stock and features an unusually elaborate illustrated masthead for a mid-century Arab automotive agency. Two large halftone photographs dominate the header: the left image shows the dealership's illuminated evening service station with its tower signage and forecourt lighting, while the right image presents a clear street-level view of the showroom façade, with GENERAL MOTORS branding and the distinctive EL-MOTEI signage above the entrance. ... Read more →

Egypt 1908 — Mohammed El Komi Carriage & Automobile Workshop Invoice

Original 1908 trade invoice from Mohammed El Komi, a Cairo-based carriage and early automobile workshop situated on Rue El Saha near the palace of Mazloum Pasha. The upper section features a finely lithographed header showing a side-profile illustration of a horse-drawn carriage with the driver seated at the front. Above the vignette, the workshop name 'MOHAMMED EL KOMI' appears in a bold curved arc. ... Read more →

Egypt 1921 — National Bank of Egypt, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

Original National Bank of Egypt cheque issued in Cairo on 23 March 1921, printed on pale cream security paper with an elaborate blue guilloche frame. The border consists of finely interlaced geometric linework characteristic of early twentieth-century British-engraved financial stationery. The upper section displays the bold NATIONAL BANK OF EGYPT title flanked by twin rosettes, presenting the institution in its combined role as both Egypt’s de facto state bank and the country’s dominant commercial bank during this period. ... Read more →

Egypt 1935 — Palestine & Egypt Lloyd Ltd., Alexandria Agency Letterhead

Original 1935 commercial letterhead issued by Palestine and Egypt Lloyd Ltd., one of the most important multinational forwarding, clearing, and passenger-transport agencies operating in the Eastern Mediterranean during the interwar period. The sheet is printed on period cream office stock and carries a trilingual English–French–Arabic masthead, dominated by the bold PEL monogram at upper left. The left margin lists every operational branch of the company—Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, and Teheran—providing an unusually comprehensive snapshot of a major Levantine–Egyptian commercial network at a moment when regional transport corridors were undergoing rapid modernization. ... Read more →

Egypt 1927 — Italian Notarial & Consular Legalization Dossier

Complete two-page Italian legal and consular legalization dossier issued in 1927, preserving both the original handwritten notarial act and the entire foreign-ministry and consular authentication chain applied in Cairo. The dossier is executed on thin cream laid paper typical of interwar Italian administrative stationery, showing vertical chain lines, light surface sizing, and natural toning consistent with official notarial production. Each leaf is folded for presentation, with handwritten content extending across both pages in a refined early twentieth-century Italian cursive hand. ... Read more →

Greece 1949 — Ministry of Foreign Affairs Certified Translation and Legalisation (Volos–Athens)

Official 1949 Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs certified translation and legalization document, issued first in Volos and subsequently authenticated in Athens. The upper portion of the page contains the initial municipal declaration dated Volos, 1st April 1949, identifying the President of the Community and attesting to the origin and authenticity of the underlying Greek-language document. This section represents the first administrative layer: a local civil authority certifying the original act before it was forwarded to the foreign ministry. ... Read more →

Egypt 1925 — Government Internal Fraud Certificate With Full Pane of Six King Fouad Five Milliemes Revenues

Original 1925 internal government certificate issued within an Egyptian ministry to document an irregularity or attempted fraud in an internal administrative process. The document is fully handwritten in period script with dated entries, clerk annotations, and formal internal case wording, including the 15 October 1925 date written directly into the manuscript text. The paper displays natural toning, corner folds, and routine office wear consistent with everyday administrative handling during the Fouad era. ... Read more →