This archive contains private and professional documents of various families, most of whom were from Istanbul. Generally unknown except for a few prominent households, these family records reflect the complicated transition that marked the turn of the 20th century, while shedding a light on the stories, sensibilities, perceptions and interests of the family members. The archive also includes sources from an interdisciplinary research project undertaken at Boğaziçi University by Alan Duben and Cem Behar between 1982 and 1988, which has culminated in a book titled Istanbul Households: Marriage, Family and Fertility 1880-1940 (Cambridge University Press, 1991).