Andreas D. Reiser (Munich, Germany 1840 – Helouan, Egypt 1898) was a German photographer, initially working in Romania and then, in 1884, settling in Egypt where he lived until his death. He owned photo shops in Alexandria and in Cairo. After his death and until 1914, his son Lucien took over the business in Alexandria, together with Anton Binder.
Theodore Ralli, son of Jacob (Théodore Jacques Ralli(s)) was born in Istanbul (Turkey) in 1852 and died in London (England) in 1909. He studied painting in Paris (France). He travelled to Greece and the Middle East, painting themes inspired from those areas and dividing his life between Paris and Cairo.
Mike Th. Ralli (1866-1889) was born in Alexandria (Egypt) and was the son of Theodore Ralli, who had served as president of the Greek Community of Alexandria (1871-1885). Mike Ralli was a close friend of C. P. Cavafy (they were also classmates at the “Hermes” Pragmatic Lyceum). A significant part of their correspondence is preserved in the Cavafy archive. He died of typhoid fever at a young age.
Antonios (Totty) Ralli (1870-1950) was born and died in Alexandria (Egypt). He was married to Persephone Prigkou (1897), with whom he had a daughter and a son.
The trading house of the Ralli Brothers, a Greek family from Chios, was active in business during the 19th and the 20th centuries. Starting in Izmir (Turkey), the house built a strong network of companies with branches and structures in big commercial centres (London, Manchester, Liverpool, Odessa, Marseilles and later in Calcutta, Bombay and New York). In addition to trade (of silk, grains, cotton, etc.), the family business also extended to banking and shipping. The corporate structure of the house changed many times during its lifetime, adapting to current conditions. The company was acquired by another trading group in 1961.
The R. J. Moss & Co. was established in 1861 by a British businessman, Robert Johnson Moss. Initially, the company’s business was in cotton and coal trading, later extending to antiquities and their transportation, through the purchase of important collections on behalf of the British Museum, in the 1890s.
Raymond Queneau (1903-1976) was a French writer and literary critic. For many years he worked at Gallimard and was the chief editor of the Encyclopédie de la Pléiade (1956). In 1960 he established the “Ouvroir de littérature potentielle” (Oulipo – ‘Laboratory of potential literature’). He was a member of the surrealist movement in the period 1924-ca. 1930.
The Egyptian Public Works Ministry was established in the early 19th century (1818), mainly focusing on hydraulic engineering and irrigation projects. It constructed major irrigation canals and dams. During the period 1882-1952, when the ministry was under British control, the major dams along the river Nile were built.