LEBANON, SYRIA UNDER FRENCH MANDATEBiblio.com
Historically Interesting Album with Eighty-Four Original Amateur Photographs Taken by French Soldiers during Their Service in Lebanon and Syria and Showing Early Views of Iconic Landmarks in Baalbek Temple of Jupiter Hajar al-Hibla Roman Ruins Roman Temple of Bacchus and Damascus Grand Café Moderne at-Taynabiyya mausoleum the Umayyad Mosque Bab Tauma; Baalbek Train Station Scenes with French Police Supervising the Area; Locals and Tourists in Traditional and European Dress Strolling through the Central Souq al-Hamidiyah in Damascus; Aerial Views Street Scenes and Residential Architecture. Ca. 1920s.
rif. PF40Oblong Quarto album ca. 19x262 cm. 12 card stock leaves. With 84 mounted original gelatin silver photographs ca. 57x8 cm 2 ¼ x 3 in. No captions. Period brown cardboard album fastened with a string. Binding worn at the edges tear of the spine photos age-toned one photo with minor stains but otherwise a very good album with strong interesting photos. Historically interesting collection of original gelatin silver photographs likely taken by French soldiers stationed in Lebanon and Syria during the French mandate in the 1920s. At the time both nations were under a French administration established shortly after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922. The mandate period saw major political upheavals including local uprisings the drawing of new borders and the emergence of Beirut and Damascus as cultural and administrative centers under French influence. The album features eighty-four rare amateur photographs of the western Arab World with most images showing early twentieth-century Lebanon. About twenty photos of Baalbek portray local landmarks Temple of Jupiter Hajar al-Hibla Roman Ruins Roman Temple of Bacchus etc. ethnographic views with a clearly visible Lebanese flag waving atop a local dwelling and lively shots of the compiler and his military comrades posing at ancient sites. Especially interesting is a candid urban scene showing locals in European costume and traditional attire standing on the platform or walking along the tracks at Baalbek Railway Station with French police maintaining order. The Lebanon series concludes with a photograph of the iconic Pine Residence in Beirut and well-executed views of the city’s waterfront. Identified photos from Syria mostly show the Grand Café Moderne the entrance to the at-Taynabiyya mausoleum mosque the Umayyad Mosque Bab Tauma and a busy Al Marjeh Square with clearly visible telegraph column trams and horse carts in Damascus. One lively vernacular photograph taken at the historic Midhat Pasha Souh shows dozens of locals busily navigating a dense corridor of marketplace stalls. The other images primarily depict sweeping aerial views of the city residential architecture street reconstruction works and diverse urban scenes. Overall historically interesting collection of original gelatin silver photographs likely taken by French soldiers stationed in Lebanon and Syria during the French mandate in the 1920s. unknown
Globus Rare Books & Archives · Stati Uniti1500,00 USD≈ 1337,49 €
