Bidspirit auction | Egypt Bill of Exchange Drawn

Egypt Bill of Exchange Drawn by A.V. Paz to Sonnino (Cairo) – Grandfather of Italian PM Sidney Sonnino 1833 - Historic early 19th-century Bill of Exchange dated 7 June 1833, drawn in Alessandria (Alexandria, Egypt) by A. V. Paz and addressed to Sonnino in Cairo. The document is written in elegant Italian commercial script and features a finely engraved decorative emblem at left, typical of Mediterranean mercantile paper of the period. The instrument calls for payment in talleri and reflects the vibrant trade network linking Alexandria and Cairo during the late Ottoman era. Of particular historical interest is the addressee Sonnino of Cairo, belonging to the prominent Sonnino family of Tuscan-Jewish origin. This branch of the family later produced Baron Sidney Sonnino (1847–1922), who served twice as Prime Minister of Italy and played a major role in Italian diplomacy during the First World War. The Cairo Sonnino family were established merchants and financiers in Egypt in the early 19th century, active in Mediterranean trade and finance. This bill therefore represents not only a commercial transaction but also an early documentary trace of a family that would later enter European political history.