Letter: AIU VII.E.138

Description

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Franses & Company, in Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 5 Raḥamim (=Elul) 5567 AM, which is 8 September 1807 CE. Although the scribal hand is fairly legible there is a notable amount of misspellings and repeated word typos. The sentence structure is, at times, terse and unclear compared to other business letters. Shelomo Cesana & Co. send news of letters they have received or sent out in multiple copies. There is discussion of muslin cloth and coffee as well as the sender's hope that in a few weeks the "atonement of wrongdoing/sins" "(!)בכפרת עבונות" of Yom Kippur will help Karo and Franses through difficult times. A variety of business contacts are mentioned, such as: Se[nyor] Valensi, Se[nyor] Petrosi/Petrossi, Se[nyor] Bibas as well as Yosef and Fransīs Zakkar (or Zaccar, Italianate sp.). The latter individuals were possibly members of an Armenian merchant family operating between Trieste/Cairo and at least one of their letters is extant in the Cairo Geniza: AIU XII.86 (PGPID 30997). The Zakkar/Zaccar are mentioned in this letter in connection with a "polisa" bill of exchange. MCD