A TRIP TO THE LEVANT: BEIRUT TO DAMASCUS, SEVENTY-NINE PHOTOGRAPHIC GLASS SLIDES
Possibly East Jerusalem, Holy Land, and the Levant, end of 19th and early to mid-20th century

A rare and visually rich group of 79 photographic glass slides documenting a journey through the Levant, from Beirut to Damascus and the surrounding regions, comprising both black-and-white and hand-tinted images, capturing a wide variety of ethnographic, architectural, and topographic subjects, including striking hand-tinted views of Baalbek, Cedars of Lebanon, Damascus street scenes, and occupational portraits including craftsmen such as slipper makers and sword sharpeners but also winding mountain roads, Ottoman and Roman ruins, cityscapes, street life, religious monuments, and traditional crafts, many of the slides annotated with captions and the original numbering system, at least two attributed to American Colony Photographers, renowned for their early 20th-century documentary work in the Middle East, several images duplicated with both monochrome black and white, and coloured variants, suggesting they were part of a curated educational or ethnographic lecture series.

Each slide approx. 8.2cm x 8.2cm

This lot is a precious compelling historical and topographical record that merges visual anthropology and early travel photography, offering insight into pre-modern Levantine culture through the lens of foreign and possibly local photographers. The collection is presented unmounted in a custom tray, with a subset of enlarged prints included for display or study.