Geniza Lab

The first page is a letter in Italian from Venice, dated 4 May 1755 CE, mentioning Cairo and several names. The subsequent 8 pages are printed forms from the Alexandria firm of Levi, Molco, e Comp., which have been filled out with details of shipping contracts from the year 1755, also giving the name of the ships and their captains. 17 August (Livorno), 27 August (Livorno), 10 September (Venice), 25 September (Venice), 29 September (Venice), 17 June (Venice), 17 August (Livorno), 27 August (Livorno). Merits further examination

List of charity received, probably, by dozens of people, arranged in a curiously alphabetical way, with sections devoted to orphans and wives and daughters and divorcees. If ״אל״ stands for "almanat," a large number of widows are listed.

Accounts in Ladino including for March 1722 CE (mentions Rosh Hodesh Nisan 5482). Currencies used are ducados and muayyadis. The handwriting is very close to that of the writer of AIU VII.E.30, AIU VII.E.98, and JRL Series L 115.

Late accounts with copious notes in Judaeo-Arabic including for the years 1779–81 CE (1193–95 Hijri).

List of donations collected on various Shabbats of 1795/6 CE (5556).

4 pages of geomancy divinations, in which the questions are given (e.g. How high will the Nile be, and will produce be cheap or expensive? Who is the thief?), several dated 1797/8 CE (5558). There is also a magic square and some numerology

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Avraham Haman and Gavriel Hefez to Karo y Frances & Company (see tags). Dated 1796/7 CE (5557).

List of donations received from dozens of men and families and some calculations. Arranged by months and parshiyot, and many names are repeated in different months. May be 18th century. A large percentage of all family names attested in the late Genizah period are listed somewhere in this document. Among others: Sultan, Sarfati, Levi, Aripol, Konan, Mas'ud, Sarawi, Zamiro, Trinqi, Rason, Mugnanah (?), Qaninah, Harrar, Najjar, Aghion, Muhibb, 'Afif, Ben Sahal, Kahlatan (?), Chizanah, Abudarham, Skandari, Abzaradel, Alarcon, Bialobos, Fawwaz (?), Frances, 'Uziel, Kasis, Solas, Yesha'yah, Atroti (?), Kachichi (?), Nosri (?), Barukh, Hayyun, Ben Naʿim, Dafakhni (?), Tawil, Jarbu'a (?), Medinah, Ashkenazi, Krispin, Kondiote (?), Pinto.

Late accounts, dated 1746–48 CE (5507 and 5508).

Recto: Ladino accounts of sales involving Ḥayyim Alarcon b. Ḥayyim Yūsufī. Verso: Ladino accounts mentioning "the deceased" several times and 6 June 1788 (1 Sivan 5548).

Ladino accounts dated July 1734 (15 Tamuz 5494).

Letter in Arabic dated 1737 CE (Ramadan 1149 Hijri). There is a seal on verso. Merits further examination.

Recto: Letter in Arabic from Isrā'īl al-Ṣayrafī to Yaʿqūb al-Ṭawīl, appears to be dated 6 February 1797 (8 Sha'ban 1211). Verso: There is the remnant of the address of the letter on recto. There are also, in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic numerals, accounts listing names and corresponding sums of money.

12369.7 and 8 are drafts of several Judaeo-Arabic letters and documents by Yisrael al-Gevili (אלגוילי) writing in Cairo it seems circa 1755/6 CE (the lower segment on recto mentions the year [5]516; the second digit could also be a ר, making the date 1855/6, but it is closer to his ק and the fonducli - an Ottoman coin - would be more likely to be circulating in Egypt in 1756 than 1856.) Upper segment of recto: Some sort of testimony, perhaps that the Shaykh al-Islām Naṣr al-Dīn Abū Zayn al-Dī al-Iskandarānī pledges to pay a sum of 120 to al-Ḥajj Muṣṭafa in the Gamaliyya neighborhood. Lower segment of recto: Documentation that Yūsuf al-Ḥarīrī who is living in the wakāla of al-Fayyūmī has paid the price for the courtyard and the apartment, and then something to do with six months of payments involving al-Ḥajj Muṣṭafa al-Ramlāwī. Verso: Draft of a letter to his brother regarding business matters. Yisrael reports on the status and likely price of the goods that his brother had sent to him with Murād al-Jawharji. He orders Indian textiles because the demand this year is very high, as none of the ḥajj pilgrims brought any textiles with them. Verso of 12369.8 is another draft of the same letter. ASE.

12369.7 and 8 are drafts of several Judaeo-Arabic letters and documents by Yisrael al-Gevili (אלגוילי) writing in Cairo it seems circa 1755/6 CE (the lower segment on recto of 12369.7 mentions the year [5]516; the second digit could also be a ר, making the date 1855/6, but it is closer to his ק and the fonducli - an Ottoman coin - would be more likely to be circulating in Egypt in 1756 than 1856.) Recto: Draft of a letter to his brother. His brother seems to have gotten upset about the lack of letters from Yisrael and the lack of any shipment of goods or money. Yisrael apologizes and says he had intended to send them sooner, but encountered various difficulties including with selling the goods. However he plans to send everything on Monday. Verso: Draft of a letter to his brother regarding business matters. Yisrael reports on the status and likely price of the goods that his brother had sent to him with Murād al-Jawharjī. He orders Indian textiles because the demand this year is very high, as none of the ḥajj pilgrims brought any textiles with them. Verso of 12369.7 is another draft of the same letter. ASE.

Letter from [...] Krispin, unknown location, to Avraham Krispin, Alexandria. Written in Ladino. Dated: 18 Av 5549 AM, which is 10 August 1789 CE. Needs further examination. Mentioned in Ilana Tahan, "Judeo-Spanish Manuscripts in the British Library's Hebrew Collection," p. 152 (no. 36). Note that Yisrael Gevili (mentioned there as the writer) is rather the writer of BL OR 12369.7 + BL OR 12369.8. BL OR 12369.9 possibly contains the address of the letter. ASE.

Ketubba for Yosef b. Yaʿaqov Saragosi and Sara bt. Nissim Messina (?). Currency: medin. Dated 6 February 1792 (13 Shvat 5552), Cairo. ASE.

Engagement (shiddukhin) agreeement between Efrayim b. Shemuel and כואנדה bt. Eliyyahu Sūsī, in a beautifully illuminated frame. Currency: medin. Dated 1720 CE (1 Elul 5480), Fustat. Goitein notes and index card linked below belong to a different shelfmark. ASE.

Engagement (shiddukhin) agreement between Nissim Zeraḥya and Miryam bt. Shelomo ha-Levi. Dated 1749 CE (21 Heshvan 5510), Rashid. Currency: the gold zeri maḥbūb coin (זהובים מחבובים), apparently first minted by Maḥmud I 'the hunchabck' in 1740. Goitein notes and index card linked below belong to a different shelfmark. ASE.

Ketubba for Yosef ha-Levi b. ʿOvadya and Bayda (?) bt. [...] Bibas. Currency: real. Dated 1790 CE (16 Sivan 5550), Cairo. ASE.