Ottoman 1920s Steamship Ticket Bursa–Mudanya Steamship Company 2nd Class Maritime

Ottoman Steamship Ticket from the Bursa–Mudanya Steamship Company – Second Class Salon Ticket (1920s)

Description:

This original Ottoman steamship ticket belongs to the Bursa–Mudanya Steamship Company and dates from the 1920s, a period when maritime transportation played a central role in connecting Bursa with Istanbul and the wider Marmara region. Issued as a “Second Class Salon Ticket,” the document represents an interesting surviving example of late Ottoman and early Republican-era transportation ephemera.

The ticket is unused and retains its blank travel fields, including spaces for the steamship name, departure pier, destination pier, voyage number, and related travel details. Such unused examples are particularly desirable for collectors, as they preserve the complete original printed design and administrative format of the company.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Mudanya became Bursa’s principal maritime gateway due to the rapid growth of Bursa’s industry and commercial activity. As Bursa expanded into one of the Ottoman Empire’s important manufacturing and trade centers, regular transportation between Mudanya and Istanbul became economically essential. To meet this demand, several local and foreign-backed steamship companies were established to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services across the Sea of Marmara. The Bursa–Mudanya Steamship Company was among these important regional transportation enterprises.

Beyond its function as a transportation document, the ticket reflects the modernization of Ottoman transportation infrastructure and the increasing importance of maritime mobility in everyday commercial and social life. Steamship tickets such as this also provide insight into the organization of passenger classes, ticketing systems, and private transportation companies operating during the empire’s final decades.

For collectors, this is an appealing piece of Ottoman maritime and transportation history, combining commercial printing, travel culture, and regional economic history. It is especially attractive to collectors of Ottoman steamship material, railway and transportation ephemera, Bursa history, and maritime memorabilia.

Key Features:

• Type: Ottoman steamship ticket

• Company: Bursa–Mudanya Steamship Company

• Date: 1920s

• Ticket Class: Second Class Salon Ticket

• Language: Ottoman Turkish

• Route Region: Bursa – Mudanya – Istanbul maritime connection

• Ticket Details: Blank spaces for steamship name, departure pier, destination pier, and voyage number

• Historical Context: Related to the maritime transportation network connecting Bursa with Istanbul during the late Ottoman and early Republican period

• Transportation Significance: Reflects the importance of Mudanya as Bursa’s principal commercial and passenger port

• Collectible Context: Unused transportation ephemera preserving the original printed format

• Physical Features: Original printed steamship company ticket

• Collectible Significance: Valuable for collectors of Ottoman maritime history, transportation ephemera, Bursa history, and steamship memorabilia