251 - [PHOTOGRAPHY - MIDDLE EAST]. MATSON, Éric. The Middle East in Pictures.

[PHOTOGRAPHY - MIDDLE EAST]. MATSON, Éric. The Middle East in Pictures. First edition of this major visual record of the Middle East during the first half of the 20th century, compiling thousands of photographs drawn from the vast collection of Eric Matson, chief photographer of the “American Colony” in Jerusalem. New York, Arno Press, 1980. 4 large in-4 volumes, publisher’s full black cloth, smooth spine with the title running lengthwise, author, publisher, and volume number in gold lettering, front cover featuring the title in gold lettering and a photograph mounted within an embossed architectural design. 224 pp.; pp. 225–481; pp. 482–735; pp. 736–962 (continuous pagination), plus over 5,000 black-and-white photographs reproduced from Matson’s original negatives. In English Minor white marks on the bindings. First edition of this exceptional photographic anthology, comprising 11 thematic albums compiling thousands of photographs of Israel and the Middle East from 1898 to 1946, drawn from the collection of G. Eric Matson (1888–1977), the chief photographer of the “American Colony” in Jerusalem. Through a variety of photographs (landscapes, archaeological sites, ethnographic portraits, political events)—most of which were taken in Palestine (present-day Israel and the West Bank), with forays into Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey, the collection constitutes an exceptional historical record of the Middle East, spanning from the late 19th century to the birth of the State of Israel, including the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate period, and World War II. Comprising more than 23,000 negatives and slides on glass and film, Éric Matson’s vast collection was donated to the Library of Congress between 1966 and 1981. The annotations he had left next to the original negatives have been reproduced by the publisher. The collection is introduced by a text by George S. Hobart, curator at the Library of Congress. A fine, sturdy copy in the publisher’s binding, complete with all 11 albums in 4 volumes.