Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection
2,000 Photographs
450 Cassette tapes
The collection is the result of research conducted by Dr. Alixa Naff (1920-2013) relating to the study of the early Arab immigrant experience in the United States from about 1880-World War II. The study began with oral history interviews in 1962 and became a major project in 1980 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It documents the assimilation of Arabic speaking immigrants in the United States.
Alixa Naff photographs of Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean and audio tapes on Mediterranean folklore
13 Sound tapes (open reel)
1,500 Slides (circa 1500 black & white and color slides)
300 Prints (circa, silver gelatin)
1 Boxe (35 mm acetate negatives)
Photographs taken by Alixa Naff between 1957 and the early 1970s on trips to England, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, and open reel audio tapes of interviews regarding Syrian-Lebanese folklore that Naff conducted in 1965 in the Lebanese Village of Rashaya al-Wadi. Comprising this collection are images of cities, structures, art …
Zembo Shrine (Harrisburg, PA) Photographs
An album of photographs documenting the activities of the members of the Zembo Shrine of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The album Includes images of members involved in charitable activities for children from Shriners' Hospitals; of members engaged in ritual activities or participating in public events such as parades; and of members in …
MS 2008-18 Two amulets collected in Bafodea, Sierra Leone
Two amulets (called "hatumere" by the Fulbe and "sebe" by the Mande) collected by Labelle Prussin in Bafodea, Sierra Leone in 1979. One is a copy that Labelle Prussin had made of an amulet inscribed in Arabic. The original amulet was later collected by Simon Ottenberg and is now in the …
Audiovisual Records
This accession consists of records documenting films and videos produced by the Office of Education. The most documented film in this accession is "The Art of the Hyo-gushi," a 45 minute film following the restoration of three Japanese paintings by Takahi Sugiura and his assistants, Shigero Mikkachi and Makoto Souta. Other …
Louis E. Stern papers
Correspondence, writings, art work, photographs and printed material relating to Stern's art collection and his relationships with Marc Chagall and family, and with Reuvin and Esther Rubin.
Palestine Exploration Fund photograph collection
Photographs collected by the Palestine Exploration Fund depicting sites and peoples in Syria, Israel, and Palestine that relate to Biblical events. Sites include the Great Mosque in Damascus, Nazareth, a Samaritan camp, remains of synagogues, Mount Gerizim, and Jerusalem. The photographs, which were either made or funded by members of …
Charles W. Brashares photographs of India, Africa, Portugal, Japan, South America, and Palestine
21 Lantern slides
Photographs made by Charles W. Brashares in India (1948-1949), Portugal, Africa (including Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, 1945), Japan (1948) Bolivia (1951), and Peru (1951) documenting the people, ceremonies, architecture, and scenery of each location. The collection also includes lantern slides depicting Palestinian people, architecture, and cities (including Jerusalem), made in 1923-1924.
Austrian Motorcycle Expedition Through Africa, Capetown to Cairo film
Linear feet
Edited film of a motorcycle expedition by six Austrians who traversed Africa from October 1935 to March 1936. Footage documents the rigors of overland travel on motorcycle as well as encounters with three tribal groups: Zulus in South Africa, Kikuyu in Kenya, and Latukas in the Sudan. Film includes ceremonial dance at …
Color transparencies
Transparencies of water-color drawings by an Isleta Indian, made ca. 1936-41 for Elsie Clews Parsons. (See Bureau of American Ethnology Manuscript Catalog Number 4540-a, -b.) 141 2" x 2" slides, made in Smithsonian photographic laboratory, May, 1960.