THE STORY OF BARRY FAMILY – A SELECTION FROM THE PROTECTED FAMILY ARCHIVE BY CENGIZ KAHRAMAN

The first time I came across the Barry family archives was around 1984, when I was looking around in an antique shop in Beyoğlu. As an aspiring amateur photographer at the time I had just become part of a team that was working on Istanbul Encyclopaedia, and looking into such stores of ephemera and vintage collectibles has always seemed to me to be a natural element of my job. On one of those frequent visits I was shown a photo collection by a beautiful lady whom I later learned to be Iraida Barry and the album belonged to her, and it contained the photography of her work along with that of Nermin Faruki from the exhibition of the two in 1954. This information has also come with the photo album. I remember I walked straight to my work place to convince the people there to buy the stuff as a remaining archive from old Istanbul but they did not pay any attention. Then I decided to buy it myself at the expense of getting into debt. I could not discard such worthy stuff after all! Anyway a few days later I was informed that an additional photo album, a diary book and a pile of letters just arrived to the same store. I had no chance to ignore them as well, so got into further debt and bought them all. A friend, Gül Dirican, and I went through every piece of document evaluating the certain clues in them to collect the past life of this family together. The substantiality of the archive was both rewarding and a huge responsibility for one to bear. While I was studying the fine details of this family’s history through the notes written in a foreign language, I also feared from time to time that I was not competent enough to solve this entire puzzle out. Luckily enough, I was able to discover the story behind these records soon, thus Albert Barry - the main actor in this family portrait, and finally managed to see the life he led through his eyes: the fact that he was obviously in love with Istanbul, the sea and Iraida, and meant to capture this love triangle carefully in each of his shots in his portfolio.

Above is how I bumped into the Barry family archives and became a protector of them. This collection covers a variety of items including around 1000 photographs in different mediums, several diaries and letters. These and family notes have allowed me to recreate both the family relationships and the story of the family during over 50 years. A portion of these photos will be displayed in 2012 in Büyükada as this island features in some of the photos, clearly a place of recreation and possibly a summer house for this family. Albert Barry together with his father ‘Captain’ Barry appear to be the head of a wide household, where only a few of the faces can now be given names as I have no connection with descendants, if they exist, who maybe living in far countries today.

These photos are more than a family history covering Russia and Turkey over approximately 1900-1950, they are a testament to a time past, depicting lost professions (grind-organ player, mobile butcher, mobile canteen, street barber etc.), lost past-times (day outs to the then beauty spots of Göksu or Kağıthane, Prince’s Islands, beaches and private bathing cubicles), the altered state of real estate development, while projecting this story through the prism of a multicultural family, the result of migrations and raising conundrums of belonging, nationality.

The Russian strand of the family enters the picture through the forced migration of a white Russian sympathising family, the civil war following the turmoil of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Iraida Vyasçeslavovna was born in Sevastopol in 1899, the daughter of Count Muravyov who was an admiral in the Czarist Russian Navy and the district mayor of Sevastopol. He was married to Elizabeth Vasiliyana Muravyova, half Russian, and half English. Her English roots went back Lord Nelson and the Hearts family. Elizabeth like Iraida before her marriage was known as Countess Murayova. Count Muravyov immigrates to the USA (using there the name Wenceslas N. Kedrin and marrying the Russian balerina Kedrina) and mother and daughter go to Constantinople. There are family photographs of the period 1910-17 giving impressions of their lives in Russia. It is not clear why mother and father split up.

Between the years of 1915 and 1917 Iraida was a sculpturess at the St. Petersburg (later Leningrad) Academy. With the November 1917 revolution, she moved to Odessa where she got enrolled in the sculpture section of the local faculty. Following this short stint at this establishment, the civil war forced her and her mother to seek sanctuary in Istanbul. Within a short space of time he met and later married Albert Barry. From this marriage they had a daughter they named Elizabeth.

Albert Barry was from a family who had lived in Istanbul for approximately 2 centuries with roots going back to England and Italy. His father Joseph Barry was the court dentist during the reign of Abdülhamid II and around 1900 had a dental practice in the Asmalımescit area of Beyoğlu (Pera). Albert followed his father in the profession of a dentist and till his death in 1962 carried on his practice at Mısır Apartmanı no: 303, Beyoğlu. Some of the information I gleaned from Albert and Joseph Barry came from earlier studies done under the aegis of Reşad Ekrem Koçu of the Istanbul Encyclopaedia: ‘Albert Barry born in 1890 was the son of one of the important dentists of Constantinople during the reign of Abdülhamid II, Joseph Barry whose practice was situated at Asmalımescid in Pera. Albert continued with his father’s profession in the nearby Mısır Apartment during the 1940s-50s, serving his elite clientele which included names such as Vehbi Koç, Nejat Eczacıbasi, Fahrettin Kerim Gökay with whom he formed friendships. He lived in Moda and had three daughters and one son. The first daughter was named Elizabeth who they usually called by her nick-name of ‘Bobo’. On 28 December 1962 he underwent an operation which he did not survive, dying aged 72’.

Between the years of 1925-1932 Iraida Barry practiced her art as a visiting student in the workshop of the first Turkish sculptor, Ihsan (Özsoy) Bey, in the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (today’s Fine Art Academy of Mimar Sinan University). Iraida was a very successful portrait sculpturess and in 1932 went to Paris and joined the ‘independent artist’s guild’ and was able to promote her art in various different exhibitions. In addition between 1929 and 1932, in the exhibitions held in Galatasaray (central Beyoglu) she was able to show her works to the art appreciating public. In 1936 she participated with 3 other sculptors in a mixed exhibition in Paris.

Having spent the majority of her life in Istanbul, Iraida died in 1981, aged 82, in the Greek Hospital of Balıklı.

The family photographs, while not giving exact locations that can be tied to today’s altered building landscape, point to the Barry family living in Moda, Istanbul and spending the summers in their summer retreat in Büyükada.

What is clear from the scope and quality of these photos is that the Barry family were keen on photography and enjoyed frequent outings. With the interview I did with the nephew (the lawyer Kısmet Erkiner) of Albert Barry in 1998, he confirmed that his uncle Albert Barry was indeed a keen photographer. The photographer appears to be at time the father of Albert, at other times, when he features other family members.

The archive consists of a mixture of glass and plastic negatives, the majority of which have now been digitised. In addition the collection includes a large number of postcards, 7-8 photo-albums, and a diary of the 1917-18 period, newspaper cuttings, letters and mini-diaries. The analysis of these continues.

Finally I recently came across an internet entry that shows there is a significant archive of this same family in Columbia University in New York. I hope to exchange information from this institution in the future to see to what extent these archives overlap if at all.

In addition there appear to be in London a memoir by Iraida Barry ‘L’anneau d’argent’ [Silver ring], 1951, investigated by administrator of the site in December 2011 - view.

The article below is researched and edited by Cengiz Kahraman and is published in the 4th issue (December 2010) of popular history magazine ‘Atlas Tarih’.

THE FASHION FOR ROLLER-SKATE HOCKEY IN ISTANBUL

The start for the fashion for roller-skate hockey in Istanbul began post the proclamation of the Second Reformation (II. Mesrutiyet) towards the end of 1908 on the Grand Rue de Pera (Doğru Yol), just behind the ‘Circle d’Orient’ in the venue named ‘Skating Palace’. This establishment was operated by the Levantine partners Artidi and Saltiel, and in a short time was one of the popular destinations for pleasure by the youth of the time, particularly the resident foreigners. The popular satire magazine Kalem published cartoons on this subject. The owner of this publication and its chief cartoonist, Cem, drew caricatures of Levantines, Franks and Ottoman notables roller-skating in ‘Skating Palace’ in the edition no 42 published on the 1st July 1909. The same publication in its 53rd edition published on 16 September 1909 an advert of this locale giving details of its operation:

SKATING PALACE

The Skating Arena on Grand Rue de Pera, behind the Circle d’Orient Club has been rebuilt to a higher standard. It is open daily morning and afternoons to families and for bookings in the evenings.
According to the description penned by Sermet Muhtar Alus in 1912 “it pulled punters like ants, money like a trough and having maintained this tempo for 4 years without competition, it fell away from this prime.” A 19 February 1914 document published in Said N. Duhani’s book ‘Beyoğlu’nun adı Pera iken’ (When Beyoglu was Pera) gives us clues on how popular this venue still was at this date.

THE BIG SOCIETY BALL

Thursday 19 February 1914, evening at 9
Dressed and masked, with much rich decorations and goods from Paris, and many unheard, unseen fun surprises.
From 9-11: Skating
From 1 till the morning; the Ball

7 VALUABLE PRIZES WILL BE GIVEN

For the best 3 skaters, the best 3 masks and the best performer of ballroom tango
Ticket price: 1 silver mecidiye
Reserve places: 40 kuruş
Boxes: 1 and ½ Turkish liras
The organiser of this exclusive night-out continues with the preparations. The impressively huge hall of Skating Palace will be richly decorated. There will be 4 military bands and 2 orchestras, 1 gypsy band with an orchestra will also feature. In addition Monsieur Psalti announces that he will arrange for the playing to the visitors to Skating the last composition of Charles Borel-Clerc (who also composed Matshish) the Zambezi dance.

Journalist Sermet Muhtar^* wrote in his column Gone but Not Forgotten in daily Aksam that a ticket cost two quarters and any language could be heard being spoken in the venue but Turkish . The entrance to the rink which was surrounded all over with bars was through a wooden hall painted white and those who did not succeed in skating properly would sit behind the bars on wicker chairs decorated with palm leaves and watch people skate. The jazz band with piano and drums would play up on a balcony and set the rhythm for skaters while rejuvenating the audience. According to Sermet Muhtar Bey, customer profile was of foreigners, the lady and gentleman ‘sweet water Franks’ of Beyoğlu and European wannabes. One would find on the ‘Skating Ring’ not only the couples who paid ten pennies for roller-skates to show their artistic talent but also those who hardly stood upright and dragged themselves along.

The variety shows would start after 10 pm in the music hall called ‘Winter Palace’ and last until midnight, a cabaret show would follow afterwards and finally the stage would turn into a dance floor for those who could not prove much in skating earlier. The place used to be closed during summer and desolate during autumn and spring, and attract a size of crowd in winter that would enliven its owners.

After the success of the Skating Palace, the city saw the opening of new skating venues in Bebek and Moda quarters. The poet Ziya Osman Saba wrote in his memoir book The Changing Istanbul that he recalled from his childhood days a skating venue having stood next to Bebek Garden where now stands the ferry terminal: “There was not a pier in front of Bebek Garden those days like there is a lively one today, but there still was a unique amusement place at the same point, a skating arena. In that casino, couples who could not dance the way people do now would skate, showing a bigger effort! I wonder if any of my readers gets the chance nowadays to look at the fashion magazines of the time which are quite rare to find. All those madams and mademoiselles in their long and wide skirts, with their slim waists, straight up breasts, and gauzy and heavily-layered hats up on their heads who used to skate singly or with their partners on the cement ground like bouncing birds only live in the papers of those magazines today. Remembering such scenes at the moment, I can almost hear the drone of the roller skates and the gentle splashing sound of the sea from ahead.”

In 1917 the Skating Palace turned partly into a movie theatre. Sedat Simavi’s Pençe (The Paw), a film based on Mehmed Rauf Bey’s play with the same title, and another film he directed in the same year, namely Casus (The Spy) got screened there along with the Alemdağ Movie Theatre. Under Ipekçi Brothers’ initiation, the place was renamed Melek in 1924 and started to serve only as a movie theatre. The place, known as Emek Movie Theatre today, has been closed down for a while and waits curiously for its future to unfold.

ROLLER-SKATE HOCKEY LEAGUE

Students of Mekteb-i Sultani (Galatasaray High School today) also used to pay frequent visits to Skating Palace which was not far from the high school to have a good time. Galatasaray Sport Club’s roller-skate hockey team entered a skating contest against their rivals ‘Scorpions’, a team consisted of crew members and soldiers from the US navy ship. That was the first skating contest ever held in Turkey. Adil Aksiote, Cevat, Haydar, Sekip, Rıza, Adnan, Bekir, Nusret, Nasır, Ibrahim, Prince Muhsin, Ibrahim have made up the team. Nihat, Doctor Namık, Edip, Kamil, Sermet, Zeki, Father Tahir, Suat, Adil, Necip and Sami later joined in. The contests were seen as more of entertainment than sports until 1920. During the years of armistice (1918-1923), hockey games started to be played at the Sporting Palace, a new venue opened next to Taksim Stadium, a stadium built on the yard of the Great Artillery Barracks of Pera which is Taksim Park today. (It is likely that the occupying forces also played games against local Levantines and foreigners.) In 1923 a private league with no formal affiliation was founded. Residents of Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Nişantaşı and Vefa separately formed their own teams and the fifth team was formed by the Levantines of Moda. Levantines became the champion in the first league year. The Nişantaşı team won the championship in 1924 and the following year both the league and the fashion for roller-skate hockey sank into oblivion forever. Today we can see youngsters roller-skating and skateboarding for fun at several Besiktaş and Maçka parks but probably not many of us think it was once a respected form of sports for all.

*Alus, Sermet Muhtar. 1997. Masal Olanlar. Istanbul: İletişim Publishing House. (Newspaper Article Date: June 2, 1932)

ARCHIVE EXTENT

Albums:

- Photo albums belonging to Albert and Iraida.
- Photo album belonging to Iraida’s family in Russia from 1917.
- Photo albums belonging to the family of Albert.
- Albums from the period after Albert had met Iraida.
- Photographs from Russia of Iraida and her family.

Photographs (in various formats approx 15,000):

- Photographs of Istanbul, Moda and Büyükada belonging to Albert and his family.
- Photographs from Iraida’s trip to America in 1946.
- Photographs of Istanbul taken by Albert and his father Joseph.
- Photographs from 1926-1932 of Iraida from when she was a guest student at the Sanayi-i Nefise mekteb [Arts College].
- Photographs taken abroad in France, Russia, America etc.

Documents:

- Diaries kept by Albert Barry from 1917 - 1918 describing how he met Iriada in French and English.
- Iraida’s diaries (total 60).
- Iraida’s letters (together with other communications 700-800).
- Russian notices and documents.
- Rental agreements for the Mısır apartment.
- Newspaper cuttings (together with invitations, exhibition brochures etc. around 200).
- An audio recording of Kısmet Erkiner, the nephew of Albert, done in 1998.
- A letter from Iraida’s close friend Marina Dimitrul Logan who lived in America, dated 1999.

Cengiz Kahraman, 2011

Barry family archive photo collection - some from the Smyrna branch

New York times archive newspaper article from Feb 5, 1853, concerning the kidnap of a Polycarpe Barry of Smyrna. According to Marie Anne Marandet, this person was either Polycarpe Balthazar Barry born in Smyrna on January 19th 1833, son of Balthazar Barry and Regina Muzmuz & married to Malvine Roboly and who died in 1900 in Cannes (France) or Polycarpe Barry born around 1813 married to Catherine Corsi, dragoman at the Napolitan consulate in Smyrna.

 Note: According to the researcher Anne Marie Marandet, the first members of the Barry family, when they arrived in Izmir were named “Eskigaspar” from the ancestral place name (Eski= old, Gaspar= their village in Armenia) nickname. This is not the only example of “Levantinisation” of an Armenian name as these refugees moved to this big city where trade and marriage links often helped this upward mobility.