Top of page

Photo, Print, Drawing World War I in Palestine and the Sinai

View 243 images in sequence.
[ digital files of original photos ]

More Resources

View 69 images in sequence.
[ digital files of album pages ]

About this Item

Title

  • World War I in Palestine and the Sinai

Summary

  • Photographs show people and events in Palestine (present day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) and the Sinai (Egypt) during World War I. Album focuses on the activities of the Ottoman, German, and Austro-Hungarian forces (the Central Powers). Images show military activities including campaigns, transportation, equipment, supplies, and camp life; military and government officials; and medical and relief activities of the Red Crescent Society and others. Album also includes photographs of the "Turkish official opening" of Beersheba before the war. Album page image number 1-15 (p. 1-15): Photographs from 1914 to 1915 including: a portrait of Jamal Pasha (Cemal Paşa) Ottoman governor and Commander-in-Chief in Syria and Palestine, the Sherif of Medina (Ḥusayn ibn ʻAlī) speaking in Medina and arriving in Jerusalem, Zeki (Zaki) Bey, military commander of Jerusalem and staff, war recruiting in Tiberias, Ottoman army drilling and traveling to the Suez Canal, portrait of von Trümmer Pasha, the Camel Corps in the Sinai and Beersheba, American Red Cross workers and camp, troops at Katiah (Qatia), Austrian officers, "Kutchuk" Jamal Pasha (Cemal Paşa), Ottoman outposts at Kala'at el Nakhl and Bir Hassana, panorama of Hafir el Aujah, Red Crescent hospital and funeral of soldier at Hafir el Aujah, encampment at Asluj, and German station at Abou Angeileh. Album page image number 16-28 (p. 16-30) : Photographs from 1916 including: military staff and hospital at Magdabah; the staff of Kress von Kressenstein, hospital, and camps at el Arish; Enver Pasha (Ottoman War Minister and Commander-in-Chief) visiting the Dome of the Rock and Salahiyeh school in Jerusalem, Colonel Coventry in Jerusalem, Arab Camel Corps, Yemenite chiefs, "Jamal Pasha II" (Cemal Paşa) inspecting Austrian troops in Jerusalem and Gaza, Austrian military hospital (Ratisbonne), Austrians at el Arish, portrait of Kress von Kressenstein (military advisor to Cemal Paşa and head of the "Desert Force"), von Kressenstein with Baron Lager (chief Austrian commander), Prince von Hobenlohe with von Kressenstein in automobile, von Kressenstein with aviator Felmy at Huj; German garden party, Jerusalem; and German military hospital and funeral. Album page image number 29-42 (p. 31-45): Photographs mostly from 1916 to 1917 including: General Falkenhayn (commander of Ottoman forces in Palestine) visiting the Dome of the Rock; Falkenhayn, Jamal Pasha (Cemal Paşa), and others at train station; members of the Ottoman Parliament at Jericho, the Dead Sea and Gaza; soldiers who participated in the First and Second Battles of Gaza, the regimental standard presented to the defenders of Gaza, officials including Alie Akram Bey at the "Turkish official opening" of Beersheba before 1915; buildings, water reservoir, railroad, and parade for Enver Pasha in Beersheba; printing press of the "Showl" newspaper, military tailors and boot makers; hospital in Tell el-Sheria, and German hospital at Beit Hanun. Album page image number 43-57 (p. 46-60): Photographs mostly from 1917 including: the headquarters of von Kressenstein and German aerodrome at Huj, bake ovens at Tell el-Sheria, soldiers eating in desert, railroad accident at Wady Sarar, laying pipe between Kuseineh and Ibu (1915); officer's "bivvies" (bivouacs) in desert, stretchers on camels, Red Crescent activities near Beersheba, Assad Bey (calvary commander) and staff, Turkish lancers and field ambulance at Beersheba, Turkish calvary at Wady Guzzeh, Izzat Pasha (Ahmet Izzet Paşa) Commander of the Caucasus Front arriving in Jerusalem, "Jamal Pasha II" leaving Jerusalem from railroad station, Prince Osman Fuad and Jamal Pasha (Cemal Paşa) at the Salahiyeh School, Jerusalem; Rauschan Bey and staff at the Nortre Dame de France and Plain of Rephaim, boat being towed to Dead Sea by horses, "Jamal Pasha II" with Abd el Rabham Bey and with Zeki Bey and children, aerial photograph of Jerusalem, Ottoman army camp near Jerusalem, last review of Jamal Pasha (Cemal Paşa) and von Kressenstein in Jerusalem, military spinners, Jerusalem; Red Crescent staff including nurses, surgeons; and Dr. Canaan and Dr. Nashat Bey at Russian Hospital. Album page image number 58-68 (p. 61-72): Photographs mostly from 1917 including: benefit bazaar and theater performance to support the Red Crescent, the last celebration of the Sultan's birthday in Jerusalem, boats transporting grain on the Dead Sea, infantry and artillery lines north of Jerusalem, Marine signal staff near Nebi Samuel, Hassan Bey (Hasan Bek) of Jaffa and the Hassan Bek mosque, the last Nebi Musa celebration under the Ottomans, soldiers wounded at Nebi Samuel, British soldier captured at Mizpah, pre-war post offices in Jerusalem, Red Crescent staff including John D. Whiting and Grace Spafford Whiting.

Names

  • American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department, photographer
  • Whiting, John D. (John David), 1882-1951, photographer
  • Larsson, Lewis, photographer
  • Matson, G. Eric (Gästgifvar Eric), 1888-1977, photographer

Created / Published

  • [between 1914 and 1917]

Headings

  • -  Cemal Paşa,--1872-1922
  • -  Enver Paşa,--1881-1922
  • -  Falkenhayn, Erich von,--1861-1922
  • -  Kress von Kressenstein, Friedrich,--freiherr,--1870
  • -  Ḥusayn ibn ʻAlī,--King of Hejaz,--1853?-1931
  • -  Gaza, Battles of, Gaza, 1917
  • -  Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918
  • -  Palestine--History--1917-1948
  • -  American Colony (Jerusalem)--1910-1920
  • -  World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns & battles--Egypt--Sinai
  • -  World War, 1914-1918--Medical aspects--Egypt--Sinai
  • -  World War, 1914-1918--Equipment & supplies--Egypt--Sinai
  • -  World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns & battles--Palestine
  • -  World War, 1914-1918--Medical aspects--Palestine
  • -  World War, 1914-1918--Equipment & supplies--Palestine
  • -  Germans--Egypt--1910-1920
  • -  Austrians--Egypt--1910-1920
  • -  Turks--Egypt--1910-1920
  • -  Germans--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Austrians--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Turks--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Israel--1910-1920
  • -  Jerusalem--1910-1920
  • -  Gaza Strip--1910-1920
  • -  West Bank--1910-1920
  • -  Forts & fortifications--Egypt--Sinai--1910-1920
  • -  Forts & fortifications--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Military camps--Egypt--Sinai--1910-1920
  • -  Military camps--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Military hospitals--Egypt--Sinai--1910-1920
  • -  Military hospitals--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Medical aspects of war--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Medical aspects of war--Egypt--1910-1920
  • -  Campaigns & battles--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Campaigns & battles--Egypt--Sinai--1910-1920
  • -  Military personnel--Egypt--Sinai--1910-1920
  • -  Military personnel--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Government officials--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Politics & government--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Rites & ceremonies--Palestine--1910-1920
  • -  Rites & ceremonies--Egypt--Sinai--1910-1920
  • -  War casualties--Egypt--Sinai--1910-1920
  • -  War casualties--Palestine--1910-1920

Headings

  • Gelatin silver prints--1910-1920.
  • Group portraits--1910-1920.
  • Photograph albums--1910-1920.
  • Portrait photographs--1910-1920.

Genre

  • Portrait photographs--1910-1920
  • Group portraits--1910-1920
  • Photograph albums--1910-1920
  • Gelatin silver prints--1910-1920

Notes

  • -  Arrangement: Photographs arranged chronologically.
  • -  Image no. 25: (left to right) Dr. Joseph Attiyeh, Dr. Nemeh Nuch, Dr. Edwin St. John Ward and Dr. Vahan Kalbian. Image no. 27: (back row, center) Dr. Vahan Kalbian; (Second row, center ): Dr. Ward. (Source: "Photographic Memories: The Field Hospital of Hafir-el-Auja and U.S.- Ottoman Relations", Vichen V. Kalbian, Jerusalem Quarterly, vol. 63/64, 2015, p. 61.
  • -  Photographs were created by the photographers of the American Colony Photo Department, located in Jerusalem. Founded in the late 1890s by Elijah Meyers, the photo agency was headed during its heyday (ca. 1903-1933) by Lewis Larsson, whose staff photographers included Erik Lind, Lars Lind, Furman Baldwin, and G. Eric Matson. It transitioned into the Matson Photo Service around 1940, with photography by Matson, Hanna Safieh, Joseph H. Giries, and others. John D. Whiting contributed periodically to the work of both agencies. For more information see: https://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/matpchtml/matpcac.html .
  • -  Inscription on inside cover: "To dear Grace & John with all good wishes". Album was probably compiled by G. Eric and Edith Matson as a gift to John and Grace Whiting.
  • -  Album unpaginated, album page numbers supplied by Library staff. Pages 2, 20, 26, 38, and 72 are blank.
  • -  LOT title devised by Library staff.
  • -  John D. Whiting's diaries, correspondence, and other materials are located in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division (Papers of John D. Whiting).
  • -  Forms part of: Visual materials from the papers of John D. Whiting (Library of Congress).
  • -  Transfer; Manuscript Division; 2006; (DLC/PP-2006:051:27).

Medium

  • 1 album (243 gelatin silver prints) ; 28 x 40 cm. (album)

Call Number/Physical Location

  • LOT 13833 (H) (USE DIGITAL IMAGES) [P&P]

Source Collection

  • Visual materials from the papers of John D. Whiting

Repository

Digital Id

  • ppmsca 13709 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.13709
  • ppmsca 13708 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.13708

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2007675298

Reproduction Number

  • LC-DIG-ppmsca-13709 (digital files of original photos) LC-DIG-ppmsca-13708 (digital files of album pages)

Rights Advisory

  • No known restrictions on publication.

Access Advisory

  • For reference access, please use the digital images in the online catalog to preserve the fragile original items.

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For information about assessing rights, see the Rights and Restrictions Information page.

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
  • Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-13709 (digital files of original photos) LC-DIG-ppmsca-13708 (digital files of album pages)
  • Call Number: LOT 13833 (H) (USE DIGITAL IMAGES) [P&P]
  • Access Advisory: For reference access, please use the digital images in the online catalog to preserve the fragile original items.

Obtaining Copies

If an image is displaying, you can download it yourself. (Some images display only as thumbnails outside the Library of Congress because of rights considerations, but you have access to larger size images on site.)

Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

  1. If a digital image is displaying: The qualities of the digital image partially depend on whether it was made from the original or an intermediate such as a copy negative or transparency. If the Reproduction Number field above includes a reproduction number that starts with LC-DIG..., then there is a digital image that was made directly from the original and is of sufficient resolution for most publication purposes.
  2. If there is information listed in the Reproduction Number field above: You can use the reproduction number to purchase a copy from Duplication Services. It will be made from the source listed in the parentheses after the number.

    If only black-and-white ("b&w") sources are listed and you desire a copy showing color or tint (assuming the original has any), you can generally purchase a quality copy of the original in color by citing the Call Number listed above and including the catalog record ("About This Item") with your request.

  3. If there is no information listed in the Reproduction Number field above: You can generally purchase a quality copy through Duplication Services. Cite the Call Number listed above and include the catalog record ("About This Item") with your request.

Price lists, contact information, and order forms are available on the Duplication Services Web site.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

American Colony . Photo Department, John D Whiting, Lewis Larsson, and G. Eric Matson, photographer. World War I in Palestine and the Sinai. Turkey Israel West Bank Egypt Gaza Strip Palestine Jerusalem Sinai, None. [Between 1914 and 1917] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2007675298/.

APA citation style:

American Colony . Photo Department, Whiting, J. D., Larsson, L. & Matson, G. E., photographer. World War I in Palestine and the Sinai. Turkey Israel West Bank Egypt Gaza Strip Palestine Jerusalem Sinai, None. [Between 1914 and 1917] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2007675298/.

MLA citation style:

American Colony . Photo Department, et al., photographer. World War I in Palestine and the Sinai. [Between 1914 and 1917] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2007675298/>.