Company: A. Possandjis & Co. / آ. بوسانجی و شرکاسی (Cuirs & Peaux - Hide, Leather & Skin Merchants)
Origin: Galata (Rue de la Douane No: 11 / Eski Gümrük Sokak), Constantinople / Istanbul
Language: Bilingual (French & Ottoman Turkish / Arabic Script) with Greek-Ottoman merchant attribution.
Era: late Ottoman Period (1910s)
Features: Authentic Ottoman revenue stamp, multiple official ink stamps, signatures, and legal annotations in different inks.
Description: This is a highly collectible and historically significant bilingual commercial invoice/promissory note belonging to the prominent Greek-Ottoman merchant house of A. Possandjis & Co. operating in the historic financial district of Galata, Constantinople.
As seen in photo, the front features a striking bilingual letterhead in French and Ottoman Turkish, indicating the firm's specialization in leather and hides ("Cuirs & Peaux"). It bears a beautiful Ottoman tax/revenue stamp on the top left, alongside original red and black ink stamps and a bold signature from A. Possandjis.
As shown in photo, the reverse side contains extensive official notary or court-certified annotations in Ottoman Turkish with distinctive red print underlines and an official circular fiscal stamp, proving the document's legal execution in Constantinople's merchant courts.
Historical Significance: Documents from minority-owned businesses (Greek, Armenian, Jewish) of the late Ottoman Empire are highly sought after. This piece beautifully documents the thriving Greek mercantile diaspora ("Rum") in Istanbul before the transition to the modern republic.