LibGuides: Archives and Special Collections Subject Guide: Social life and customs

National Costumes I: Lebanon and Syria

Aida Kanafani Zahar Photo Collection, 1977-1998
Aida Kanafani-Zahar (1952-) a Lebanese anthropologist . The collection taken between 1978 and 1998, is mainly about Lebanon, Syria and United Arab Emirates. The photos feature houses, women’s clothes and ornaments, traditional professions, muneh, etc. (Middle East, sociology, anthropology, and food culture)
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Evelyne Bustros Collection, 1878-2012
The collection gives a glimpse into the life of Mrs. Evelyne Bustros and the political scene in Lebanon during the Mandate period, independence and the formation of the State, as well as onto the socio-political position of women in Lebanese society during this period. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, clippings, accounting books; published material, as well as some ephemera few of which related to Lebanese and Syrian traditional costumes (Gender Studies, Socio-economic and political history of modern Lebanon, Middle Eastern Studies, French Mandate, Independence.)
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George Cyr Costume Collection, 1930s
Georges Cyr (1881-1964) was a true pioneer of modern art. He taught painting and the history of art, wrote numerous essays, and lectured on the subject. This small collection consists of seven reproductions of watercolors which are important records of ethnic communities in Lebanon and Syria in the 1930s. (Lebanese costumes, Syrian costumes)
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Traditional Lebanese Costume Collection, 1960s
The collection consists of 6 black and white sketches of traditional Lebanese costumes. (Traditional Costumes, Ministry of Tourism, Lebanon)
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Blatchford Traditional Cloth and Clothing Collection, 1938-1940
This small collection consists of vintage costumes and colorful textiles, one postcard and two photographs from the J. Heyman Studio. (vintage costumes, cloth, and clothing)
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Three American Sisters Photo Album, ca. 1900s
The album, 120 photos, taken in Lebanon by three American sisters during the Ottoman time portrays the life in the Middle East at the turn of the 20th C. Photos show the protocol of receptions, local peasantry, entertainment and horseracing, village architecture, military processions and bands, as well as sites in Baalbeck, Beirut and Beiteddine. The collection is important to researchers interested in the history and travels to the Lebanon during the Ottoman Era. (Lebanon, Ottoman Empire, Description and Travel)
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Social Life and Customs

Ghandour Fathallah El-Sheikh Collection, 1900-2010
The Ghandour Fathallah El-Sheikh Collection comprises 154, low-resolution digital copies of photos, and 2.3 linear feet of unique documents relating to the family and its ancestries, the League (Rabitah) and its activities, as well as documents of individuals that played important roles both in public and professional levels. The collection depicts the life of a Muslim Sunni Beiruti family during the 20th century, family genealogy, achievements, social life, and ceremonies, etc. (Anthropology, sociology, social economics
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Isa Iskandar al-Maʻluf Photograph Collection, 1890s-1950s
Isa Iskandar al Maʻluf was a Lebanese journalist, scholar, historian and a member of the Arab Nahda. The collection contains around 900 photographs related to Isa’s family, his relatives, and acquaintances in Lebanon and diaspora mainly Latin America. The collection originates from early Lebanese studios like Assad Dakouny; Fakhoury; Photo Khatchadour; Assad K. Murhij and Khalil Chahine Malouf etc. (History of Photography Lebanon, Visual Culture, Lebanese Diaspora, Social life and customs Lebanon)
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Mary Winifred Bushakra Collection, 1938-1972
This small collection of Mary Winifred Bushakra,(1888-1978), papers, one linear foot, includes her biography, an obituary and some correspondence, 1938-1972. The letters were written by Mary to Emilie Goodale, a teacher in Newark, New Jersey, USA, detailing Winifred’s life as an American woman in Lebanon, and describing the social life of Lebanese Druze. The collection is a reliable source for scholars interested in social life and customs in Lebanon. (Social life, Druze)

National Costumes II: Palestine, Syria, Egypt, etc.

E. W. Blatchford Collection, 1880-1900
Named after the collector, the Blatchford collection is an important set of around eight hundred photographs covering various regions and countries (Europe, Levant and North Africa), ca. 1880 to 1900. The collection features samples from various important photographers in the Middle East, and depicts landscapes, archeological sites, buildings and architectural details also presents cities, towns, villages, streets and houses; as well as scenes of daily life like sellers, water carriers, and scenes of economic production such as wheat, sugar canes, pottery, etc. (History of Photography, Visual Culture, archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies)
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Middle East Photo Album, 1933-1943
The Middle East Photo Album, of 86 black and white photos, portrays the daily life of Bedouins in the Middle East as well as archeological and touristic sites in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria during the 1930s and 1940s. It is important for researchers interested in social life and culture of Arab Bedouins at that time. (Bedouins, Anthropology, Sociology, Middle East)
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Salvador Arnita Collection, 1952-1980
Salvador Arnita, a Palestinian composer and organist, (1915-1985) worked at AUB, 1949-1980, as Professor of Music and was a pillar of the Beirut musical scene. His Collection of 2.6 linear feet includes musical notes and partitions which he used in his teaching and concerts, and most importantly are his own musical compositions also available material on Palestinian National costumes by his wife Yusra Jawhariyah Arnita. (AUIB Faculty, Musicians, Oriental Music)
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Issa Iskandar Ma'luf postcard collection, 1925-1940

The ‘Īsá Iskandar al Maʻlūf postcard collection includes 785 postcards that depict scenes from various countries on the African, American, Asian, and European continents. It includes photos of sites, scenes, and people. Some of the postcards are panoramic views, others are of landscapes, monuments, and religious sites, while some show commercial streets, cities, as well as local citizens. No date of publishing or issuance, estimated dates [1925-1940].

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Tamir Nassar - articles and albums from expeditions in the 1930s (SAAB Medical Library)

Professor Adrain Kappers, international neuroanatomist from Amsterdam, was interested in the Anthropology of the Middle East took Tamir Nassar along during his field trips to study the Anthropology of different tribes in the Syrian and Transjordanian deserts (steppes); these expeditions were continued by Dr. William Shanklin