Ephemera

Anna Narly postcards bundle

Nothing much is known of this lady to whom postcards were addressed to 3, Rue Agha Hamam, Pera, Constantinople and later the Dardanelles. She clearly could read French, Greek, German and possibly Ottoman script and with one of the postcards being addressed to Le Docteur Etienne Narly, she is probably his daughter. Anna could have been Greek as most Levantines didn’t communicate in that script. The family name is sometimes spelled Narlys on the postcards and also in the Cervati trade directory of 1895:

Etienne Narly or Narlys is not listed in the 1885 Cervati Directory. He is listed in 1895 (as Narlys) and in 1914 (as Narly). Looking at the first postcard from Romania, there is a possibility that Etienne Narly was from Romania. On the internet there is an entry for a Constantin Narly, a professor from Bucarest, though not necessarily related. One of the postcards is from Taganrog in Crimea, addressed to ‘Monsieur le Docteur E. Narlys’ and written in Russian, therefore he could read in that language.

Some of the postcards have no text on them, giving an impression of the form of communication that took place at the time; the act of sending and the image itself would substitute for the greeting. The period covered in 1905-11. Images courtesy of Derya Manav & analysis by Marie Anne Marandet.

8 postcards from the same period sent to Anna’s other address at Maitos (Eceabat) Dardanelles.