Matson photograph collection

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Matson photograph collection

About This Item
Obtaining Copies
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Title: Matson photograph collection
Other Title: G. Eric and Edith Matson collection
Matson collection
Creator(s): Matson Photo Service, photographer
Related Names:
American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department , photographer
Date Created/Published: 1898-1954, bulk 1898-1946.
Medium: ca. 20,000 negatives : glass and film, bulk b&w, some color ; 10 x 12 in. or smaller.
13 albums (ca. 5,249 photographic prints) ; 15 x 11 in. or smaller (albums)
ca. 905 transparencies : glass, film, 35mm slides, lantern slides, autochromes, finlaycolor, b&w and color; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
ca. 1120 photographs : gelatin silver prints ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.
Summary: Pictures documenting peoples, places, and events in the Middle East from the last years of the Ottoman Empire, through World War I, the British Mandate period, World War II, and the emergence of the State of Israel. The majority of the images depict Palestine (present day Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip). Other countries shown are Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey. There is some coverage of East African countries including Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Uganda. Pictures portray religious ceremonies, daily life, arts and crafts, archaeological sites, schools, hospitals, vegetation historic buildings and sites, demonstrations and conflicts, important events, political leaders, and landscapes. Also included are aerial photographs, portraits, and posed pictures depicting Biblical scenes.
Reproduction Number: ---
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions for the bulk of the collection. Publication may be restricted for glass lantern slides. For information, see "G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection"(http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/258_mats.html)
Access Advisory: For unprocessed portion of the collection: Please allow fourteen days advance notice to view materials. To make a request, see "Access to Unprocessed Materials,"(http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/022_unpr.html)
Call Number: Guide Record [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Notes:
- Arrangement: Negatives are organized by format and then by size into filing series and subseries with call number prefixes as follows: Glass negatives: LC-M31 (4x5 in., b&w), with subseries LC-M31-A, LC-M31-B, LC-M31-P and LC-M31-ART; LC-M32 (5x7 in., b&w) with subseries LC-M32-A, LC-M32-B, LC-M32-P and LC-M32-ART; and LC-M36 (10x12 in., b&w). Film negatives: LC-M33 (4x5 in., b&w) with subseries LC-M33-A, LC-M33-B, and LC-M33-ART; LC-M34 (5x7 in., b&w) with subseries LC-M34-A, LC-M34-B, LC-M34-P and LC-M34-ART, and LC-M315 (35mm on roll film). Transparencies arranged in series by format and then size as follows: Glass transparencies: LC-M303 (4x5 in., color); LC-M302 (5x7 in., color); LC-M353 (4x5 in., b&w); LC-M352 (5x7 in., b&w); and LC-M354 (8x10 in, b&w); lantern slides: LC-M307 (most b&w, some color); film transparencies: LC-M343 (4x5, color), LC-351 (4x5, b&w), LC-M345 (5x7 in., b&w); LC-M342 (5x7 in., color). Most 35 mm color slides: LC-M305. Other color slides arranged numerically and assigned call numbers LOT 6603 and LOT 11284. Most photographic prints are mounted in albums and assigned call numbers LOTS 11062-11086, 11089-11111, 12016, and 13765. Photographic prints not in albums are in LOTs 2924, 13754-13764, and 13812-13814. LOT 11284 includes color slides.
- Images were created by the American Colony Photo Department (1898-1940), which was located in Jerusalem and its successor firm, the Matson Photo Service (1940-1977), run by G. Eric and Edith Matson. For information on the American Colony Photo Department and the Matson Photo Service. See hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.matpc
- Digitized images of most of the negatives and tranparencies and some of the photographs from the collection along with their associated identifying information are available through the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.matpc
- The relationship of the negatives to the transparencies and photographic prints is complex. A set of 11 albums used by the Matson Photo Service in their Jerusalem store include cropped images of 5,000 of the negatives. Two other albums "Air Views of Palestine" (LOT 12016 ) and "Easter services in Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 1941" (LOT 13765) are also reproduced from negatives. Many of the 35mm slides, lantern slides, transparencies, and other photographic material were probably made from the negatives at some point as well. In some cases, the original negatives have not been found in the material held by the Prints and Photographs Division. In these instances, the photographic prints or the transparencies may be the only version of a particular image.
- A supplementary archive includes: published catalogs, logbooks, and caption lists; booklets for slide sets, glass finlay screens, and examples of Matson Photo Service slide set boxes. A complete list of items in the supplementary archive is found in the Matson Collection collection file. For more information on the catalogs and registers. See hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.matpc
- LOT 12021 is a microfilm copy of Eric Matson's diaries (1908, 1919, 1921, 1922-23, 1924, 1935, 1942, 1943, and 1946). Original diaries transferred to LC Manuscript Division.
- Materials transferred to Manuscript Division (Papers of G. Eric Matson): Eric Matson's diaries for 1908, 1919, 1921, 1922-23, 1924, 1935, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947-1977, Eric Matson's correspondence files from 1946-1977, a business ledger from the American Colony Photo Department and the Matson Photo Service, and a map of Jerusalem published by Vester & Co. Three color films were transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.
- Unprocessed visual materials include: glass and film negatives of Matson family, friends and associates (PR 06 CN 139), film negatives used to create sets of photographs of Middle East locations such as those in LOT 13759 (PR 06 CN 139) and copy prints of Matson negatives made by Eric Matson and the Library of Congress (PR 09 CN 139).
- Hobart, George S. "The Matson Collection: A Half Century of Photography in the Middle East." In A Century of Photographs, 1846-1946 Selected from the Collections of the Library of Congress, compiled by Renata V. Shaw, 1980, pp. 109-129
- Special collections in the Library of Congress / compiled by Annette Melville. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1980, no. 157
- Gift; G. Eric and Edith Matson; 1966-1977.
- Gift; Kensington Episcopal Home; 1978-2003.
- Collection profile with information about the Matson Collection and a bibliography is available online, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.matpc
Subjects:
Format:
Collections:
- Guide Records
Part of: Matson, G. Eric (Gästgifvar Eric), 1888-1977. G. Eric Matson and Edith Matson papers.
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The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

Rights Advisory: No known restrictions for the bulk of the collection. Publication may be restricted for glass lantern slides. For information, see "G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection" http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/258_mats.html
Reproduction Number: ---
Call Number: Guide Record [P&P]
Medium: ca. 20,000 negatives : glass and film, bulk b&w, some color ; 10 x 12 in. or smaller.
13 albums (ca. 5,249 photographic prints) ; 15 x 11 in. or smaller (albums)
ca. 905 transparencies : glass, film, 35mm slides, lantern slides, autochromes, finlaycolor, b&w and color; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
ca. 1120 photographs : gelatin silver prints ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

Generally, Guide Records describe large groups of items from which a selection must be made. The individual items in the group may or may not be represented online.

1. Determine whether the desired materials can be retrieved online.

Select the "About this Item" tab and look for a note about tools for searching the group
If there is a note such as "Digitized images of most prints along with associated descriptive information are available through the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog," try searching the name of the collection in Search All
Select the "Obtaining Copies" tab for any retrieved items that are of interest.

2. If the desired material cannot be retrieved online:

A visit to the Prints & Photographs Reading Room may be necessary. You may wish to discuss access to the group of images with reference staff. General information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html and contact information is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html

Call Number: Guide Record [P&P]
Medium: ca. 20,000 negatives : glass and film, bulk b&w, some color ; 10 x 12 in. or smaller.
13 albums (ca. 5,249 photographic prints) ; 15 x 11 in. or smaller (albums)
ca. 905 transparencies : glass, film, 35mm slides, lantern slides, autochromes, finlaycolor, b&w and color; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
ca. 1120 photographs : gelatin silver prints ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.
Access Advisory: For unprocessed portion of the collection: Please allow fourteen days advance notice to view materials. To make a request, see "Access to Unprocessed Materials," http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/022_unpr.html

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)
- Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
  
  As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
- No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?
- Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
- No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

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