American Colony lantern slides of biblical lands, 1910s-1940s
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Summary
- Creator:
- American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department
- Abstract:
- Collection consists of a set of sixty-six commercially produced, hand-colored lantern slides, featuring photographic images taken in the early 20th century in areas of modern-day Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Also includes an original list of titles and a slide projector. The slides were sold in sets by the American Colony Stores, the commercial department of a missionary community based in Jerusalem. The landscapes and scenes were intended to illustrate biblical sites, or to remind the viewer of well-known biblical passages, but a few also depict other types of archaeological sites. The slides measure 4 x 3.5 inches. Locations include but are not limited to: the city of Jaffa (Tel Aviv); Sea of Galilee; Jerusalem; Bethlehem; Mount of Temptation (identified with Mount Quarantania); Jericho; Jordan River; Mount Hermon; Bethsaida; Mount of Olives; Emmaus (El- Kubebeh); the mosaic floor at Beit Jibrin; River Abana (El-Barada); Tyre; and the Temple of Sethos. There are also two glass slides with maps of ancient Middle East and Palestine. Five of the slides are damaged and are filed at the end of the collection. The collection is accompanied by a lantern slide projector and by an original list of slide titles. Acquired by the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
- Extent:
- 1.0 Linear Foot (3 boxes)
- Language:
- Materials in English
- Collection ID:
- RL.10083
Background
- Scope and content:
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Collection consists of a set of sixty-six commercially produced, hand-colored lantern slides, featuring photographic images taken in the early 20th century in areas of modern-day Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. The slides were sold in sets by the American Colony Stores, the commercial department of a missionary community based in Jerusalem. The landscapes and scenes were intended to illustrate biblical sites, or to remind the viewer of well-known biblical passages, but a few also depict archaeological sites of interest to tourists. The original title for one such set, represented by many of the slides in this collection, was "Lantern slides and art photos produced by the American Colony photographers illustrating Bible lands."
The slides measure 4 x 3.5 inches and are housed in a typical paper mat and a glass cover, sealed on the borders with black tape. They are stamped with "American Colony Photographers" on the top of the frame and "Jerusalem, Palestine" on the bottom. Titles in the collection inventory are transcribed from handwritten titles on the slide mounts.
Locations include but are not limited to: the city of Jaffa (Tel Aviv); Sea of Galilee; Jerusalem; Bethlehem; Mount of Temptation (identified with Mount Quarantania); Jericho; Jordan River; Mount Hermon; Bethsaida; Mount of Olives; Emmaus (El- Kubebeh); the mosaic floor at Beit Jibrin; River Abana (El-Barada); Tyre; and the Temple of Sethos. There are also two glass slides with maps of ancient Middle East and Palestine. Five of the slides are damaged and are filed at the end of the collection.
The collection is accompanied by a lantern slide projector, and by 10 cardboard squares cut out from the original slide boxes, showing the title of the collection and lists of slide titles.
Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
- Biographical / historical:
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Based in Jerusalem, the American Colony was founded in 1881 as a utopian Christian community by emigrants from Chicago, United States. They were soon joined by Swedish Christians and other supporters. The community performed many charitable works in the city of Jerusalem and in surrounding areas. Soon the community included a cluster of commercial enterprises, the most successful of which was their photography department. Under the leadership of photographer Elijah Meyers, then Lewis Larsson and G. Eric Matson, the unit expanded and provided a steady income from the sale of souvenir images of the Palestine region, both prints and glass lantern slides. The unit was eventually renamed the Matson Photographic Service. The colony disbanded in the 1950s, but their main headquarters still remains as the American Colony Hotel.
[Source: Library of Congress web site: "The American Colony in Jerusalem."]
- Acquisition information:
- The American Colony lantern slides of biblical lands collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2013.
- Processing information:
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Processed by: Sara Reams, June 2014. Encoded by Paula Jeannet, Levi Crews, September 2014.
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2013-0212.
- Arrangement:
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Slides are arranged in sequence according to the original commercial negative number written on the slides.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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- Subjects:
- Bible -- Geography
Bible -- Antiquities - Format:
- Color slides
Lantern slides
Photographs - Names:
- Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University)
- Places:
- Israel -- Antiquities
Israel -- Photographs
Jordan -- Photographs
Lebanon -- Pictorial works
Palestine -- Antiquities
Palestine -- Description and travel
Syria -- Photographs
Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Access restricted.
Collection contains fragile photographic/audiovisual formats that need to be reformatted. Access copies may be requested in advance.
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], American Colony lantern slides of biblical lands, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.