Daniel Abraham

Abraham Frères, letterhead, 1918.

In 1906, Moritz Abraham and Haim Abraham, two of four orphaned brothers from Rushtchuk in Bulgaria left their hometown and came to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. There, they established Abraham Frères, an importer of small manufactured goods from Germany and Central Europe. Their business was successful , and they were variously described as "prosperous merchants" and "well-to-do importers".

While their business required them to frequently travel, or to temporarily relocate to Germany or Vienna during the first World War, they also devoted much time to Zionist activism. They both belonged to Maccabi, the Jewish athlelic organization Maccabi, with Haim in particular being one of its leaders and the main driver for transforming the association into a national-Zionist group. Moritz and Haim both belonged Bnei Brit, another proto-Zionist group, which provided help to children's education, and provided fee food for victims of the Balkan wars; Finally, Moriz led the short-lived Zionist Federation of the Orient, an umbrella for 16 organizations with 6,000 members.

Their partnership would last until its dissolution in 1922, at which time they continued their business activities separately.

Haim had started his business career after returning from his studies in Kronsdatd in 1903, working first as an employee, then as a partner, of a Rustchuk merchant until January 29, 1906. Details about Moritz' early business experience are not known, but it can be assumed that he too had taken his first professional steps in Rustchuk.

It is not known whether the brothers had worked together in Rustchuk, or even whether they came to Constantinople together, although I assume they probably did. In 1906, Haim was 27 years old and Moritz 25.

The name of the company - Abraham Frères - was in French, as it was the lingua franca of the middle-class in Constantinople at the time. Interestingly, the name also appeared in Hebrew on their business card: "HaAchim Avraham, Koushta": "Avraham Brothers, Constantinople". The language used for business transactions however was most likely German, which the brothers had learned in school and spoke, presumably fluently. Haim, and most likely Moritz, had studied in Kronstadt and were both Germanophiles: back home in Ruschuk, Haim called himself Heinrich, while his brother - my grandfather - born Moshe - went by Moritz.

Abraham Frères - Constantinople, 1916. Labelled Envelope.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Abraham Frères stamp, 1916.

Abraham Frères stamp, October 1916.

(Source: ebay)

Annuaire Oriental

The earliest trace of Abraham Freres is found in the 1908 edition of the "Annuaire Oriental", the trade registry of the Ottoman Empire. Printed on January 6, 1908, this suggests that the company existed at least since 1907. (The 1907 edition of the directory is not available online; The company may have been created as early as 1906 when the Abraham brothers first came to Constantinople.)

Annuaire Oriental, 1908

(Source: archives.saltresearch.org, p 326)

At first, the Abraham brothers ran their business from the Kezabdjioglou Han in the Stamboul neighborhood, and they occupied two room, #9 and #10. ("Han", originally meaning urban caravanserai, was the term used for multi-tenant building.) The han housed a mix of businesses, including hardware stores, enamel iron utensils, and hosiery, and only four commission agents.

The company's name appears later that year as one of three donors from Constantinople to the Jewish National Fund published in the September 1908 issue of Die Welt.

Abraham Frères listed in "Die Welt", September 1908.

The following year, the company's offices had moved to Emin Bey Han. Located on "Kocapaşahan Sokak" (Kodjapasha Han Street) in the "Sultanhamam" district, on the south side of the Golden Horn in Eminönü, near the Persian consulate and behind the post office of Sirkeci; this street name does not exist anymore. They now occupied three rooms, number 26 to 28, on the second floor.

Annuaire Oriental, 1909

(Source: archives.saltresearch.org)

Almost all the tenants in the Emin Bey Han were "Commissionnaires".

According to the 1912 Annuaire Oriental, Abraham Freres later downsized and now only occupied two rooms, number 26 and 27.

Annuaire Oriental, 1912

(Source: archives.saltresearch.org)

The next year, in 1913, they moved again, this time to rooms number 23 and 24.

Abraham Frères in 1913 Annuaire Oriental.

The 1921 Annuaire Oriental shows that they were still in the same location towards the end of their partnership:

Annuaire Oriental - 1921

(archives.saltresearch.org)

The 1921 edition of the Annuaire Oriental includes details about the exact location of Emin Bey Han: tt was on Hodja Han street, between Sultan Hamam and Bab-i-Ali Djaddessi streets.

Location of Emin Bey Han, Annuaire Oriental - 1921

(archives.saltresearch.org)

All tenants except for one were commissionnaires, the majority Jewish, with a three Armenians, and two Greeks.

Abraham Freres were also listed in the "Import/Export" section of the 1920-1921 edition of the "Guide pratique et indicateur des voies et communications de Constantinople et banlieue":

Guide pratique et indicateur des voies et communications de Constantinople et banlieue - 1920-1921

(gallica.bnf.fr")

Address

Although some of the professional correspondance for Abraham Frères specified "Emin Bey Han" in the mailing address, most of it was simply addressed to "Abraham Frères, Constantinople", or "Herrn Abraham Frères, Konstantinopel - Stambul, Turkei".

There are also a few examples of personal correspondance addressed "c/o Abraham Frères", with no street or building information. For example, Haim sent this postcard from Vienna in 1913 to his sister-in-law Ronya, and simply addressed it to:
"Riwka Abraham,
c/o Abraham Frères,
Constantinople".

Postcard from Vienna - Sept 4, 1913.

Two more postcards, again from Haim Abraham to Ronya, addressed to "Rivka M. Abraham, c/o Abraham Frères, Constantinople". Although mailed from Palestine under Ottoman rule, these were sent through the Austrian post.

Two postcards from Haim Abraham to Ronya Datnowsky, 1913.

Products

About the business, all I was ever told was that Abraham Frères imported "cheap metal goods such as razor blades" from Germany and other central European countries, and distributed them "all over the Levant". This seems to have only been something he had heard, and not something he knew first-hand, as he was only four years old by the time the partnership was dissolved in 1922.

Aside from the Annuaire Oriental, the primary source of information about the Abraham Frères's business comes from parcel cards that were used for two years during the First World War, presumably while regular shipping routes were disrupted. These cards often include the names of the exporting companies and the description of the products that were shipped.

These cards reveal that Abraham Frères imported a fairly wide range of small consumer goods manufactured in Germany and in neighboring countries, including iron locks, shoe polish, ink, crafstmen tools and paper envelopes.

Below are some of the companies whose products they distributed.

• Carl Blanke, Wuppertal, Germany (Envelope Manufacturer)
• Hartmann & Mittler, Wien, Austria. (Sealing wax, bottle wax, and ink factory)
• Herczeg Geza, Chemische Fabrik, Budapest, Hungary. (Shoe polish, chemical factory)
• C. F. Schröder (Schroeder), Volmarstein, Germany. (Metal goods, including iron padlocks). (2 package cards).
• F.H. Schmidt, Torgau, Germany. (Envelopes) (*)
• Gebrüder Heuschen, (Heuschen Brothers), Elberfeld, Germany. (Rivets)
• Germania-Werk, Solingen, Germany. (Razor maker)
• Halbach & Böckmann, Barmen, Germany. (Small metal goods, including snap fasteners, shoe eyelets, hollow rivets, suspender buttons, cardboard clips and picture eyelets). (2 package cards).
• Herm. Ibach & Co., Elberfeld, Germany. (Unknown product)
• Kamphausen & Plümacher, Solingen-Ohligs, Germany. (Cutler/open-blade razor maker)
• Max Plümacher, Metallwaren-Fabrik, Weyer, Germany. (Metalgoods factory)
• Otto Jaeger, Siegen, Westphalia, Germany. (4 package cards, unknown products.)
• Paul Arzberger, Chemnitz, Germany. (Woven and knitted fabrics, scouring cloths, wicks, cords, gold and embroidery threads.)
• Paulmann & Kellermann, Elberfeld, Germany. (Envelopes) (3 package cards)
• Peter xxxxx & Söhne, Ohligs, Germany
• Picard-Werk GmbH, Cronenberg, Germany. (Hammers and craftsmen tools manufacturer) (3 package cards) (*)
• Völkel, Solingen, Germany. (Thread cutting tools) (three package cards) (*)
• William Prym, Stolberg (Rhineland), Germany. (Metal products: metal haberdashery, needles, zippers)
• Unknown, Wien, Austria. (Iron padlocks). Shipped by Mittler & Co
• Unknown, Vienna, shipped by Friedrich Samuely, freight forwarding company. (3 packet cards)
• Unknown, Hagen, Westphalia, Germany, shipped by H Münzing Spedition.
• Unknown, Hagen L. W., Germany, shipped by Lersch & Kruse. (3 packet cards)

Data courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan. *: Additional data from the author's collection.

Parcel receipt cards addressed to Abraham Frères

Below are parcel cards addressed to Abraham Frères between 1916 and 1917. These packet cards helps better understand Abraham Frères' business, as the cards often detail the types of products they imported. Because parcel cards have only been found for the years 1916/1917, it is assumed that shipping merchandise via postal packages to Constantinople from Germany and neighboring countries (Austria, Hungaria) was a short-term solution that allowed the business to continue to operate during the war years. I assume that before and after WW1, merchandises were shipped in larger quantities and with more efficient transit routes. For this reason, these parcel card only provide a glimpse of the business during the worst of the war years. They are however the only sources of information that remain, and as such are invaluable to help understand Abraham Frères' business.

Almost all parcel cards, except for one, list the weight of the package as 5kg (11 pounds), suggesting that this was the maximum weight that could be sent by parcel post. Multiple cards for shipments from the same company at the same date have surfaced, demonstrating that orders were broken down into multiple 5kg packages. The products that were shipped ranged from iron padlocks to envelopes, ink and rivets, and it's not clear how many packets one order could contain.

The disruptions caused by the war meant that a package could take months to reach its destination. As an example, a thread on philaforum.com describes the path one package addressed to Abraham Frères followed in 1916, reaching Constantinople after a journey that lasted three months and three weeks:

"A package from Otto Jaeger in Siegen, Westphalia was sent to Abraham Frères in Constantinople (Stambul) on June 30th, 1916. The shipment arrived on July 2nd, 1916 in Dresden. Then, a stamp 'traffic interrupted' was added. [...] The interruption of the mail traffic may have had to do with the Brusilov offensive (June to September 1916). [...] Probably not a direct interruption of the rail link to Turkey, rather, it must have been caused by the overloading of the railroad capacity."

"On September 3rd, 1916 the parcel is back (?) In Dresden (stamp on the reverse side). The parcel card then arrived in Stambul on October 19, 1916."

Völkel, Solingen. October 1916

Two packages from Völkel, from Solingen, Germany. Both cards were sent on October 5, 1916, suggesting that shipments were broken down into multiple packages of 5kg each.
Product is not listed.
Solingen was renowned for the manufacturing of knives, scissors and razors, so these packages may have been for one such product, possibly razor blades, which was one product Abraham Frères were known to have imported.

Parcel Card from Völkel. October 5, 1916.

(Collection of the author)

Another Parcel Card from Völkel, October 5, 1916.

(Source: stampboards.com)

Germania-Werk

Packet card from Germania-Werk, Solingen, Germany, a manufacturer of razors.

Packet card from Germania-Werk. October 1916.

(Source: ebay)

Kamphausen & Plümacher

Packet card from Kamphausen & Plümacher, Solingen-Ohligs, Germany, a manufacturer of cutlery and open-blade razors.

Parcel Card from Kamphausen & Plümacher. May or June 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Unknown, from Ohligs, Solingen.

Packet card from unknown company from Ohligs/Solingen, Germany.
Solingen was know as the "City of Blades", renowned for the manufacturing of knives, scissors and razors.

Parcel Card from unknown company in Solingen.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

C.F. Schroeder

Two packages from C.F. Schroeder, a manufacturer of metal goods located in Volmarstein and Hückeswagen, Germany. They manufactered padlocks, among other metal products.
According to the great-granddaughter of C.G. Schroeder: "C.F. Schroeder was known for his padlock factories." (December 2020).
These cards come from two separate orders, in June and October 1916.

Parcel Card from C.F. Schroeder, Volmarstein. June 1916.

(Source: ebay)

Parcel Card from C.F. Schroeder, Hückeswagen, Germany. October 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Unknown Company, Hungary

Iron padlocks from Szombathely, Hungary, shipped by Richard Mittler.
Unknown company.
Sent on September 25, 1917, these arrived in Constantinople two months later on November 27 and were apparently cleared on December 1.

Parcel Card for iron padlocks from Hungary, shipped by Richard Mittler transport.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Halbach & Böckmann

Halbach & Böckmann, Barmen, Germany, a manufacturer of small metal goods, including snap fasteners, shoe eyelets, hollow rivets, suspender buttons, cardboard clips and picture eyelets.
The "Celluloid" stickers however suggest the contents of the package may have contained the flamable material.
The cards seem to have been sent on two consecutive days - February 2 and February 3 1916.

Parcel Card from Halbach & Böckmann, Barmen, Germany. February 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card from Halbach & Böckmann, Barmen, Germany. February 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Gebrüder Heuschen

Package from Gebrüder Heuschen (Heuschen Brothers), from Elberfeld, Germany, a manufacturer of rivets.

Parcel Card from Gebrüder Heuschen, Elberfeld, Germany. September 28, 1916.

(Collection of the author)

William Prym

Packet card from William Prym, Stolberg, Germany. Manufacturer of small metal products: metal haberdashery, needles, zippers.

Parcel Card from William Prym from Stolberg, Germany. May 1917.

(Scan courtesy of Norbert Luffy)

Picard-Werk

Three package cards from Picard-Werk, a hammers and craftsmen tools manufacturer from Cronenberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
These were sent on three different dates: November 10, November 12, and December 4, 1916.

Parcel Card from Picard-Werk. November 10, 1916.

(Collection of the author)

Parcel Card from Picard-Werk. November 12, 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card from Picard-Werk. December 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Paulmann & Kellermann

Three package cards from Paulmann & Kellermann, a paper envelope company from Elberfeld, Germany.
The first card was sent in November 1916. The other two were sent on December 5, 1916.

Parcel Card, Paulmann & Kellermann. November 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card, Paulmann & Kellermann. December 5, 1917.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card, Paulmann & Kellermann. December 5, 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

F.H. Schmidt

F.H. Schmidt, an envelope factory from Torgau, Germany.

Parcel Card from the F.H. Schmidt. Torgau, Germany, June 1917.

(Collection of the author)

Carl Blanke

Carl Blanke, an envelope manufacturer from Wuppertal / Barmen, Germany.

Parcel Card from the Carl Blanke envelope manufacture. September 1917.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Hartmann Mittler

Hartmann Mittler, a sealing wax, bottle wax, and ink factory from Vienna.

Parcel Card from Hartmann Mittler, a sealing wax, bottle wax, and ink factory from Vienna. December 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Ron Laby)

Herczeg Geza

Package card for shoe polish from Herczeg Geza, a chemical factory from Budapest, Hungary.

Parcel Card for shoe polish from Herczeg Geza, Budapest, Hungary.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Herm. Ibach & Co.

One package from Hermann (?) Ibach & Co, Elberfeld, Germany.
Product line unknown.

Parcel Card from Herm. Ibach & Co, Elberfeld, October 1916.

(Source: ebay)

Otto Jaeger

Four packet cards from Otto Jaeger, Siegen, Wesphalia, Germany.
Product line unknown.

Parcel Card from Otto Jaeger, June 1916.

(Source: philaforum.com)

Parcel Card from Otto Jaeger, 30 June 1916.

Collection of the author

These two cards were part of a shipment that was sent on 30 June 1916 from Siegen in Germany. The shipment arrived on July 2nd, 1916 in Dresden. Then, a stamp 'traffic interrupted' was added. [...] On September 3rd, 1916 the parcel was back - or maybe still - In Dresden. The shipment finally arrived in Constantinople on 19 October 1916, completing a journey that had taken three months and tree weeks.

Parcel Card from Otto Jaeger, December 1916.

(Source: ebay)

Sent on December 7, 1916 from Siegen, the package arrived in Constantinople two months later on February 14, 1917.

Parcel Card from Otto Jaeger, January 1917.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Unknown Company, Hagen, July 1917

Three other cards mailed from Hagen, these through the transporter H. Münzing in July 1917.
No indication on the company or product shipped.
There are cryptic stamps: "Volma" and "Lud", which may be the name of the manufacturer or client.

H. Münzing was a transport business which provided "direct and prompt wagonload traffic to southern Germany and Switzerland".

Parcel Card shipped by H. Münzing, Hagen. July 27, 1917.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card, shipped by H. Münzing, Hagen. July 30, 1917.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card shipped by H. Münzing, Hagen. 21 September 1917.

(Collection of the author)

Unknown Company, Vienna, August 1917.

Three parcel cards from unknown company, shipped by Friedrich Samuely, Vienna. August-September 1917.

Unknown company. Shipped by Friedrich Samuely, Vienna. Arrived in Constantinople in September 1917.

(Collection of the author)

Unknown company. Shipped by Friedrich Samuely, Vienna. Sent around August 8, 1917. Arrived in Constantinople September 15, 1917.

(Collection of the author)

Unknown company. Shipped by Friedrich Samuely, Vienna. Sent around August 8, 1917. Arrived in Constantinople September 15, 1917.

(Collection of the author)

Unknown Company, Hagen, October 1917

Three cards mailed in October 1917 from Hagen, where Haim Abraham was residing at the time. The only information on the cards is for the transporter (Lersch & Kruse). There is unfortunately no indication of who the manufacturer was or what the shippement contained.

The cards have somewhat cryptic stamps: "Schalom" ("Peace") and "Ivri" ("Hebrew"). These may have been the names of the manufacturers, vendors or the customers, although I haven't found anyone named Ivri or Schalom in the 1913 Annuaire Oriental in Constantinople.

Parcel Card sent from Hagen, Germany, by Lersch & Kruse (transporter), October 9, 1917.

Card mailed from Hagen with "Ivri" ("Hebrew") stamp.

(Scan courtesy of Ron Laby)

Parcel Card sent from Hagen, Germany, by Lersch & Kruse (transporter), October 25-29 1917.

Another card mailed from Hagen, this one with a "Schalom" stamp.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card sent from Hagen, Germany, by Lersch & Kruse (transporter), October 26 1917.

Another card mailed from Hagen with a "Schalom" stamp.

(Collection of the author)

World War I

During the second half of the war, in 1916 and 1917, Haim temporarily moved to Germany, from where he conducted business with local suppliers. He was first in Elberfeld (where Paulmann & Kellermann was located), then in Hagen, Westphalia (where Lersch & Kruse and H Münzing Spedition were located). While Haim was in Germany, his brother Moritz remained in Constantinople from where he ran the company.

Several package cards bear Haim's name as the sender and show that he also travelled to Vienna.

Parcel Card sent by Haim from Vienna, 8 (or 3?) May 1916.

Hotel Continental, Vienna

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card sent by Haim from Vienna, 8 (or 3?) May 1916.

Hotel Continental, Vienna

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card sent by Haim from Vienna, 8 May 1916.

Hotel Continental, Vienna

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

Parcel Card sent by Haim Abraham from Wald, to Abraham Frères, December (?) 1917. At the time, Haim lived in Hagen, Westphalia.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

In addition to these package cards, the other surviving postal artifacts from the war period consist of envelopes sent by Abraham Frères to Germany and The Netherlands with red seals from the Turkish military censorship.

Aktiengesellschaft Union, Augsburg

Presumably "Aktiengesellschaft Union Vereinigte Zündholz- & Wichsefabriken", a match & shoe polish factory.

Abraham Frères envelope, from Constantinople to Augsburg, Germany, ca 1916-1917.

(gittigidiyor.com

Abraham Frères envelope, from Constantinople to Augsburg, Germany, ca 1916-1917.

(Source: gittigidiyor.com)

Paul Arzberger, Chemnitz, 1916.

Possibly a manufacturer of woven and knitted fabrics, scouring cloths, wicks, cords, gold and embroidery threads.

Abraham Frères envelope, from Constantinople to Paul Arzberger, Chemnitz, 1916.

(Scan courtesy of Mehmet Sadettin Fidan)

J.A. Snoeyenbos, Enschede, Holland, July 1916.

Abraham Frères envelope, from Constantinople to J.A. Snoeyenbos, Enschede.

(Source: phebusmuzayede.com)

The end of Abraham Frères

Although the last surviving artifacts from the company (mail and business card) date from 1918, Abraham Frères continued to operate for a few more years and the company's name still appears in the 1921 Annuaire Oriental.

At the end of 1922, Moritz and Haim had an acrimonious falling out as described in a letter from Elfriede (Mädi) to Ronya dated December 8, 1922, and the company was later dissolved.

This split coincided with Moritz' move to Dusseldorf (actually his move was delayed by a few weeks while he was attempting to resolve the dispute with his brother); It's not clear what triggered the dispute.

Moritz continued to run his business out of the same building for several years, now renting a single room (No 23). He was listed in the 1923 Register of Bankers, Traders and Brokers: Abraham M. Istanbul, Emin Bey Han, 23. Komisyoncu ("commissionnaire", "broker"). His name also appears at the same address in the 1927 Registry Book of the Spanish Consulate in Constantinople, and in the List of Professional Tenants in Emin Bey Han .as "Abraham M."

Haim moved his business to a new location; in the Registry Book of the Spanish Consulate in Constantinople, an entry dated September 18 1928 shows his business address as Seyh Davud Han, Tahtakale street.