Sefaretnâme, embassy reports, have frequently been used to view the reaction of individual Ottomans to contact with Europe. This approach usually bases the value of accounts on the author's “receptivity” to the host culture. (F. Göçek, 1987; Itzkowitz and Mote, 1970) Although written in first-person perspective, less often have sefaretnâme been seen as a potential source for biography more generally. This paper explores such a possibility by approaching the report of Ahmed Vâs?f Efendi, once called “a valuable lesson in the limitations of the genre,” (V. Aksan, 1995) as a case-study. As official documents, sefaretnâme are highly formalized and often lack evaluative commentary. Most dwell on similar themes – physical and financial hardship, quarantine, reception by the host ruler, and ceremony and protocol – while the information offered is conditioned by audience and the embassy's purpose. (Aksan, 1995; Göçek, 1987; F. Unat, 1992) Given this, to what extent can one discern the personality behind the text? This paper suggests the very limitations inherent in sefaretnâme might also provide grounding from which to perceive tension between form and author. In the case of Vâs?f Efendi, I examine his choice of content within conventions of the genre and supplemented by external biographical information. Vâs?f's report seems highly conventionalized on first reading. Apart from certain passages offering personal reflection, however, I argue the text's prominent themes reflect how Vâs?f understood his charge, the impression he wished to give his readers, and perhaps also his personality. For example, Vâs?f's assertion of his own state's superiority has been dismissed as a lack of receptivity. Rather, I suggest emphasis on his personal dignity as the Sublime State's envoy and successful insistence on precedence in protocol may underline the situation of a man sent to Spain after a professional quarrel, removed from his post, and who wished to regain standing through his sefaretnâme. (Cevdet, 1854) Minute detailing of expenses also befits Vâs?f, known as avaricious, and whose death revealed large sums of gold coin brought from Spain. (As?m, 1870) The small number of sefaretnâme admittedly limits the usefulness of this approach. Still, the case of Vâs?f serves to show that even highly conventional reports evince individuality and might at least supplement biographical study of their authors, offering new approaches to the exploration of this important genre of document.