Letter-writer in Istanbul

Description

Featured in the 1836 collaborative work of Thomas Allom and Robert Walsh, this steel engraving depicts a traditional letter-writer (arzuhalci) serving the public on the streets or mosque courtyards of Istanbul. The artwork centers on the scribe sitting at his special desk writing on paper, veiled women explaining their requests to him, and a child beside them. This visual aesthetically documents how vital a public bridge the institution of letter-writing served in social communication and official/private correspondence during an era when literacy rates were not yet widespread among the masses.