Item sets

This collection is made up of materials relating to the operation of the American Colony in Jerusalem. The American Colony was founded in 1881 by a Christian utopian society in the United States led by Anna and Horatio Spafford. Many of the materials in this collection relate to the American Colony stores in Jerusalem and New York which provided important sources of income for the colony in Jerusalem. The Planet Bethlehem team has produced digitised versions of these materials from the original versions which are held in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Wider Bethlehem

This collection is made up of materials relating to the wider area around Bethlehem. Since Ottoman times, Bethlehem has been an important regional hub, serving as a religious and trading centre for dozens of surrounding villages and Bedouin communities. These images capture some of the people and places from that wider area. The original photographs, along with the digitisations displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Solomon's Pools

This collection is made of up photographs of Solomon's Pools - a trio of ancient reservoirs that collected water from the hills around Bethlehem. The pools were part of the Roman-era network of aqueducts that supplied water to the city of Jerusalem. Most of the photographs in the collection show the pools in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Revolt against the British

This collection is made up of photographs relating to the Great Arab Revolt of 1936-39 in Palestine and its impact on Bethlehem. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Nativity Church

This collection is made up of photos depicting the Nativity Church in Bethlehem. The images were produced by the photographic service of the American Colony photographic service in Jerusalem in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Nativity Scenes

This collection is made up of photographs that reconstruct various scenes relating to the birth of Christ. The images were produced by the photographic department of the American Colony in Jerusalem in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The photos can be seen within the wider trend of western artists and photographers viewing Bethlehem through a biblical and orientalist lens. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Bonfils Fiches Collection

This collection is made up of photographic materials related to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the surrounding area, produced by the “Maison Bonfils” studio in Beirut in the late 19th century. The versions presented here were digitised by the Planet Bethlehem team from the original microfiche held in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Bethlehem People and Places

This collection is made up of photographs depicting various people and places in Bethlehem in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of the images were produced by the photographic service of the American Colony in Jerusalem. In this period Bethlehem was intensely photographed by photography companies catering to western ideas of the biblical Bethlehem. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Bethlehem Crafts

This collection consists of photographs of various craft industries in Bethlehem. For centuries the town has been famous for its devotional objects, carved mainly from mother-of-pearl and olive wood, and produced for sale to visiting pilgrims and tourists. The industry provided the basis for Bethlehem's emigration explosion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when merchants from the town travelled all over the world selling Bethlehem religious crafts. Today there are Bethlehem-origin communities scattered around the world as a result of those migrations. Bethlehem is also famous for its embroidery (tatriz in Arabic) of bridal dresses and its stone masons. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Bethlehem Women

This collection consists of photographic portraits of women in Bethlehem, compiled by the photographic service of the American Colony in Jerusalem. In different ways, the photos reflect the ways in which male western photographers romanticised and fetishised Bethlehem women. It was a common trope of western travel accounts to emphasise the beauty of women in Bethlehem. Many of the photographs here are re-enactments of biblical scenes, confirming the extent to which Bethlehem women were seen through a western biblical lens. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Library of Congress 1927 Earthquake Collection

This collection is made up of photographs depicting the effects of the earthquake that struck Palestine on 11 July, 1927. While some of the materials relate specifically to Bethlehem, images are also included from Nablus and Jericho (the areas worst affected by the earthquake) to give a sense of the wider damage caused by the earthquake. The original photographs, along with the digital versions displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

The Planet Bethlehem Archive

Bethlehem Harvest

American Colony Collection