Orient Press Photo Company photographs, circa 1950s-1960s.

Format:

Other

Author/Creator:

Orient Press Photo, cre.

Contributor:

Gross, Paul, 1920-2008.

Kluger, Zoltan, 1896-1977

Language:

English

German

Hebrew

Turkish

Subjects (All):

Anthropological museums and collections.

History, Ancient.

Jews.

Jews--Israel.

Photography.

Israel.

Jerusalem.

Genre:

Photographs.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Kedem Auction House Ltd. (Auction 73, Lot 126), 2020

Physical Description:

1 box (0.5 linear foot)

Place of Publication:

circa 1950s-1960s.

Language Note:

In English, German, Hebrew, and Turkish.

Biography/History:

The Orient Press Photo Company appears to have been founded by Zoltán Kruger and Arieh Shifrin in the 1930s in Tel Aviv. The Orient Press Photo Company published many photographs showcasing the landscapes of Mandatory Palestine and then Israel, which would sometimes be used by the government. Two of the the Orient Press Photo Company's photographers were Paul Gross and Zoltán Kluger.

Summary:

This collection consists of 817 black and white photographs of archeological artifacts, ancient sites and buildings, landscapes and nature, and communities by Paul Gross, Zoltan Kruger and others, dating from the 1950s to 1960s. None of the photographs are dated, but, based on excavations mentioned in the collection and the name change from the Palestine Archeological Museum (1938–1967) to the Rockefeller Archeological Museum (1967-), these photographs were probably taken in the 1950s and 1960s. The languages found in this collection include: English, German, Hebrew, and Turkish. The photographers of this collection include the Orient Press Photo Company (general), Paul Gross, Zoltan Kluger, Bord Fáilte Éireann, N. Ben-Haim, Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, and the Walters Art Gallery. The photographs are divided into two sections: loose photographs and sheets of photographic proofs. There are 185 loose photographs and 632 photographic proofs.The loose photographs are divided into four categories: ancient sites and buildings (30), archeological artifacts (123), landscape and nature (21), and people and communities (11). 137 of the loose photographs are captioned. Many of the captions are written to explain to the reader how a place or community appeared in biblical times, with bible verses written on some photographs referencing both the Old and New Testaments. The ancient sites and buildings photographs include depictions of the Solomonic gates, Bir Abu Matar, Shrine of the Book, Beit She'arim necropolis, Tombs of the Sanhedrin, Kafr Kanna church, Jameh Mosque of Atigh, Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine Kerak Castle, Ishtar Gate at the Pergamon Museum (Berlin), Capernaum synagogue, Market Gate of Miletus at the Pergamon Museum (Berlin), and the Karnak Temple. The archeological artifacts depicted include sculptures, stone reliefs, tablets, terracotta statues, cylinder seals, frescoes, papyrus pieces and an axe head taken from/by the following institutions: Hebrew University (Institute of Archaeology), British Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Cyprus museum, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities), Herbert Clark collection of Near Eastern Antiquities, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Kadman Museum (Tel-Aviv), Palestine Archaeological Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Israel Antiquities Authority, Penn Museum, James A. de Rothschild Expedition at Hazor, Fogg Museum, and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Some of the landscapes depicted are of Nablus, the Old New Synagogue in Prague, [Jabel Mukaber], Nahal Mishmar, Caesarea Maritima, Zvulun Valley, Dan River, Tell Keisan, Judaean Mountains, and the Sea of Galilee. While many of the natural photographs of flora and fauna remain unidentified, the Quercus coccifera tree/shrub was photographed. The people and communities photographed include a Yemenite Jew, a Sinai Bedouin woman, a camel of the Bedouin people, O'Connell street in Dublin, camels by a well, ox by a well in Egypt, and Jews celebrating Passover. The photographic proofs were pasted onto 91 sheets. Forty-six of those pages are captioned. These photographs depict fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, people doing day-to-day activities in the Old City of Jerusalem, historic and biblical sites, religious men in synagogues, archeological artifacts, local flora and fauna, and landscapes. Some of the photographs of the flora and fauna and pictures from Galilee are included twice in the proofs in different sizes. Locations depicted in the photographs include Old City Jerusalem, Mount Zion, Nazareth, Jezreel Valley, Tiberias, Galilee, Ein Karem, Nablus, Hebron, Gethsemane, Bethlehem, Jericho, Shechem, Tel Megiddo, Antipatris, Tel Dan, Sinai desert, Capernaum, Bar'am, and the Red Sea. Some of the photographic proofs were printed and are also found in the loose photographs section.