Asian History and Culture Materials in Haverford Special Collections (HC)

Douglas Borgstedt (1911-2001) was an editorial cartoonist whose work appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines such as The New Yorker. The collection contains material on the Iranian Revolution, the Israel-Palestine conflict, Egypt, and U.S. Middle East policy.

The collection includes journals written by middle-class women on their travels to Lebanon, Iraq, and Istanbul.

Evans taught English, French, and science at a Friends school in Lebanon from 1919-1930. This collection includes letters, journals, and photographs.

The photographs mostly depict Ramallah, Palestine, but are also of Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. There are also 5 letters to Grant from W.F. Albright, A. Edward Kelsey, C.C. McCown and J.H. Ovenden on archaeological topics as well as a historical essay on the early occupation of Ramallah and on building stone used there.

This collection consists of approximately 100 glass lantern slides of Palestine from the 1930s. Some were taken by Hunt during his travels there, while others were taken by the professional photographer C. (Khalil) Raad. Also included is a draft of Hunt’s book about his travels in the 1930s.

Eli and Sybil Jones were Quaker missionaries, most notably to the Middle East. Contents of the collection include letters, diaries and journals, and photographs from their travels and their time as missionaries.

Joseph Meyer was a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student studying architectural drawing when he became the artist for John Henry Haynes’s archeological expedition at Nippur, an important Sumerian city in present-day Iraq. Meyer’s notebook records his observations and details of camp life, life in the towns around the site, as well as sketches of the site.

This sketchbook records life at the Friends Training Home in Brummana, Lebanon.

The Olivers were in charge of a Friends Mission School in Brummana, Syria (now Lebanon), where they also opened an orphanage, just prior to, during, and after World War I. They also traveled to Palestine. Their collection includes letters, reports on the orphanage, and photographs.

Eva Marshall Totah was born in South Dakota, and in 1927 traveled to Ramallah to teach at a Friends school. She married Khalil Totah in 1928, and they remained in Palestine until 1944. The collection includes letters and diaries from this period, as well as a diary kept by Khalil while he was studying in Maine in 1904.

Alston Waring was a photographer. His photo albums include images of the Middle East and Egypt.

Edward Morris Wistar was sent to modern day Turkey in 1896 by the Red Cross to help relief efforts for Armenians in the region. The collection documents his relief efforts and includes his diary, photographs, and correspondence both with his family and with other field workers.

Alice Whittier Jones (1873-1960) was a Quaker educator who worked in the Middle East for much of her life. This collection is composed primarily of her diary. Diary entries discuss the history of the Friends School in Ramallah, religious reflection
and discussions concerning the divides between Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Palestine, and discussions concerning the politics within Palestine.

Edgar B. Castle's personal copy of his bound typescript account of the April 1948 mission to Palestine on behalf of the Friends Service Council (London) and the American Friends Service Committee.

Richard Allen traveled as a missionary with Eli and Sybil Jones. His letters describe Egyptian and Syrian culture, agriculture, education, terrain, and monuments.

Views of Egypt taken so that they could be viewed in 3D using a special viewer.

Francis Frith was a British photographer who focused on the Middle East. This work contains photographs primarily of buildings in the region with length descriptions.

Francis Frith was a British photographer who focused on the Middle East. This book contains pictures primarily of ruins with length of descriptions of what is pictured.

Maundrell was an English chaplain serving with the Levant Company. This book is the diary of his 1697 journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem and includes illustrations.

Samuel George Morton was the founder of the “American School” of Ethnography and a supporter of polygenism. This book is an ethnographic analysis of skulls from ancient Egypt from which conclusions about the racial history of the region are drawn.

This book includes descriptions of the “customs, habits, religion, and languages of the inhabitants, [...] political governments, and way of commerce" of Persia (Iran) and parts of India.

Ellen Clare Pearson was a missionary who traveled through Syria and Palestine with Eli and Sybil Jones. This book contains her observation on “scenery, schools, and tent life.”

Bayard Taylor was an American poet and travel correspondent. This book is the account of his journey from Alexandria through Egypt to Ethiopia and contains comments about the culture of the region and antiquities. Includes illustrations.

Waldmeier was a Quaker missionary. This book, which includes illustrations, contains remarks on Christian sects and missionary work in Syria.