Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection

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In the Library of Congress | Outside the Library of Congress

In the Library of Congress

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (P&P)
101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20540-4730

Photographs illustrating biblical themes and the Middle East
Call number: LOT 2924
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005682716/

Photographs of Palestine
Call number: LOT 13754
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006675875/

Photographic postcards of the Middle East
Call number: LOT 13755
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006676290/

Photographs of Palestine and Jordan
Call number: LOT 13756
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006675884/

Aerial photographs of the Middle East
Call number: LOT 13757
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006676299/

Photographs of locust plagues in Palestine
Call number: LOT 13758
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006676315/

Photographs of Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq
Call number: LOT 13759
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006684259

Photographs of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey
Call number: LOT 13760
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006675896/

Photographs of Palestine and portraits
Call number: LOT 13761
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006684261/

Photographs of a Y.M.C.A. tableaux of the Christmas story
Call number: LOT 13762
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006676284/

Cedar trees in Lebanon
Call number: LOT 13763
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006676346/

Photographs from the story of "Ruth, the Moabitess"
Call number: LOT 13764
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006684264/

Aerial photographs of Palestine
Call number: LOT 13812
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006690400/

Photographs of Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq
Call number: LOT 13813
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006690404/

Photographs of Africa
Call number: LOT 13814
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006690445/

Hand-colored photographs of the Holy Land
Call number: LOT 14025
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2010646354/

Color slides

Additional slides are scanned and available.

Pictorial record of thirty-five years of progress in Palestine (Israel), 1918-1935
Call number: LOT 6603
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005689860/

Slide sets of the Middle East
Call number: LOT 11284
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005682715/

Albums

Call number: LOTs 11062-11086 and 11089-11111

A set of eleven albums used by the Matson Photo Service in their Jerusalem store which includes cropped photographs from 5,000 of the negatives. These cropped photographs were published in The Middle East in Pictures (DS 44.5.M37 1980 P&P Ref.) Most of the negatives can be found online.

Air views of Palestine
Call number: LOT 12016
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004678828/

Easter services in Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Call number: LOT 13765
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006675890/

Textual records

Diaries of G. Eric Matson, 1908-1946
Call number: LOT 12021
Online record: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004667186/

Original diaries are in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Unprocessed materials

PR 06 CN 139: Glass and film negatives of Matson family, friends and associates

PR09 CN 139: Copy prints of Matson negatives made by Eric Matson and the Library of Congress

To make a request, see "Access to Unprocessed Materials," http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/022_unpr.html

Visual materials from the John D. Whiting collection (John D. Whiting collection)

Whiting, a businessman, writer and photographer, was a member of the American Colony and worked with the American Colony Photo Department and Matson Photo Service. See: [link to Whiting collection profile]

Elsewhere in the Library of Congress

Manuscript Division: http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/

G. Eric Matson papers: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm2006085342

Contains diaries, correspondence files (1946-1977), and a business ledger.

John D. Whiting Papers: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2008/ms008123.pdf or http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/text/whiting.html

Includes diaries, correspondence, subject files, caption lists, photographs and albums including one of the 1915 locust plague in Palestine.

New acquisitions:

John D. Whiting papers: http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/acquisitions-adds.html

American Colony of Jerusalem Papers: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm2004085137

Virtual exhibit:

The American Colony in Jerusalem: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/americancolony/

Motion picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division: http://www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/

Three color films.

Related Resources Outside the Library of Congress

NOTE: The Library of Congress does not maintain Internet sites listed below. Users should direct concerns about these links to their respective site administrators or webmasters.

The American Colony and Matson Photo Service widely marketed and distributed their photographs. In Jerusalem, Israel, photographs created by the American Colony are to be found at:

• The Israel State Archive
• The Israel Museum
• The Jewish National University Library, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• private collections.

In the United States, the following archives, libraries, and institutions possess substantial Middle East holdings, including American Colony/Matson Photo Service images:

National Geographic Society
National Geographic Image Collection
URL: http://www.ngsimages.com/

The archives of the National Geographic Society contain original photographs published in volumes 24, 25, 28, 37, 50, 56, 67, 71, 76, and 78 of the magazine between January 1913 and December 1940. There also are approximately 400 unpublished gelatin silver photographs by American Colony photographers during 1926-1928. Special arrangements must be made through their commercial outlet for access to these photographs.

This archive holds a large collection of American Colony lantern slides, 296 of which are available online.

Fine Arts Library, Harvard University
Fogg Art Museum
Contact: Jeff Spurr, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
URLs: Fogg Art Museum: http://www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/home/
Harvard Semitic Museum Photographic Archives: http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/finearts/collections/semitic_photo.cfm

The general architecture collections of the Historical Photographs and Special Visual Collections Department, which feature the Middle East, include 61 American Colony photographic prints and other Matson materials. The Harvard Semitic Museum Photographic Archives contain 89 vintage photographs and 39 lantern slides by the American Colony Photo Department