Petition to the grand vizier in pursuit of a position as scribe

This petition to the grand vizier requesting a position as a scribe was written by Ṣālih Efendi-zāde Meḥmed Emīn, who later served as the Shaikhu'l-Islam to Sultan Abdülhamid I (r. 1774–1789). The petition corresponds to the early part of Ṣālih Efendi-zāde Meḥmed Emīn's career and suggests that the highest religious authority in the Ottoman Empire first attempted to enter into the service of the Ottoman government as a scribe. This would not be an unusal path for religiously trained persons, who also often trained in calligraphic arts. The reverse side contains marbled paper featuring soft u-shaped waves in orange, white, and two shades of blue.