[TURKEY / ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS IN THE 31 MARCH UPRISING IN ISTANBUL] Autograph letter signed from Constantinople, providing a vivid and newsworthy account of Ottoman political life just three days after the 31 March Incident, an uprising in April 1909...

GILLAIT-SMITH, BERNARD [JOSEPH LEO] (Romany scholar and linguist) (1883-1973). Club de Constantinople, Pera [Ottoman Empire], 30 April 1909. COMPLETE TITLE:  [TURKEY / ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS IN THE 31 MARCH UPRISING IN ISTANBUL] Autograph letter signed from Constantinople, providing a vivid and newsworthy account of Ottoman political life just three days after the 31 March Incident, an uprising in April 1909 during the first year of the Young Turk Revolution, including references to the hanging of the 'chief eunuch', 'the new Selamlik' [i.e., the portion of an Ottoman palace or house reserved for men] and 'prisoner soldiers' at the Seraskerat [i.e., Ottoman Ministry of War].   Original ALS in full and as 'BGS' in black ink on paper. “Club de Constantinople, Pera” embossing on the upper right corner. Open size: 20x25 cm. Almost 70 lines in English. The recipient is not named, and the salutation is in Romany. Aged and worn with closed tears along fold lines. A rare and historically signif