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The Planet Bethlehem Archive currently consists of 8 collections and 34 sub-collections. For a quick view of all collections and sub-collection you can use the "Collection List" or click here to browse all collections.

THE KATRINA SA'ADE COLLECTIONS

The collections document the life of Katrina Sa'ade (1900-1989). Katrina was born in Bethlehem but went on to live in various locations around the world, including Kiev (Russian Empire), Saltillo (Mexico), Long Beach (US), Hermosillo (Mexico), and Ramallah (Palestine). The materials were donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by Katrina's granddaughter, Kathy Sa'ade Kenny. It consists of a mixture of photographs, recorded interviews (audio) and letters. Many of the materials relate to the turbulent period Katrina spent in Palestine during 1933-34 where she became involved in a bitter dispute with the family of her second husband, Suleiman Farhat. The Katrina Sa'ade Collections consists of 7 sub-collections:  Afana Family, Katrina Sa'ade Letters, Katrina Sa'ade Interviews, Kathy Sa'ade Kenny Research, Katrina Portraits, Katrina and Her Children, Sa'ade Family.

  • Sa'ade Family

    This collection consists of photographs of the Bethlehemite Sa'ade family and is part of the wider Katrina Sa'ade Collections, donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by Kathy Sa'ade Kenny. The images show the Sa'ade family in various periods of their lives in Palestine, the Russian Empire, Mexico and the United States. The earliest photos are from Kiev in the 1910s and the most recent are from the 2000s in the United States.

  • Katrina Sa’ade letters

  • Katrina Sa'ade Portraits

    This collection consists of photographic portraits of Katrina Sa'ade and is part of the wider Katrina Sa'ade Collections, donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by Katrina's granddaughter, Kathy Sa'ade Kenny. The photos show Katrina in various periods of life lived in Palestine, Mexico and the United States. The earliest portraits go back to her childhood in Bethlehem and the most recent are from the 1960s in the United States.

  • Katrina Sa'ade interviews

    This collection is made up of oral history recordings related to Katrina Sa'ade. The materials have been digitised and exist within the Katrina Sa'ade project. The interviews were originally recorded on cassette tape and CD, and were carried out over a period of time ranging from the 1970s to the 2000s. Six of the interviews are with Katrina Sa'ade while the others are with various members of her extended family. All the interviewees reflect on their lives lived across multiple locations, particularly in the early 20th century. These locations include Bethlehem itself, as well as the Russian Empire, Mexico, El Salvador and the United States. The audio files are accompanied by transcriptions of the interviews, but a number of the interviews contain general conversation not recorded in the transcription. The interviewees also tend to switch between various languages, especially Arabic and English. In most cases, the transcriptions give only rough English summaries of the Arabic passages.

  • Katrina Sa'ade and Her Children

    This collection consists of photographs of Katrina Sa'ade and her children, donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by Katrina's granddaughter, Kathy Sa'ade Kenny. The photographs show Katrina Sa'ade and her children in various periods of their lives in Palestine, Mexico and the United States. The earliest portraits go back to Katrina's life in Mexico in the 1910s and the most recent are from the 1960s in the United States.

  • Kabande Family

    This collection consists of photographs of the Bethlehemite Kabande family and is part of the wider Katrina Sa'ade Collections, donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by Kathy Sa'ade Kenny. At the age of 13, Katrina Sa'ade was sent from Bethlehem to Mexico to marry Emelio Demetrio Kabande. She lived with the Kabande family in Mexico until her husband died in a train accident in 1916.

  • Farhat Family

    This collection is made up of materials relating to the Farhat family and is part of the wider Katrina Sa'ade Collections.

  • Afana Family

    This collection is made up of materials relating to the Bethlehemite Afana family and is part of the wider Katrina Sa'ade Collections.
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THE WILLIAM VICTOR KATTAN COLLECTIONS

The William Victor Kattan Collections document the lives of various members of the Kattan family, following their movements out of Bethlehem to various countries around the world. The collections are focused on the ten children of Giries Hanna Kattan and Hanne Salame Kattan. They are: Khalil (b.1886), Josephine (b.1889), Habib (b.1893), Maria (b.1896), Regina (b.1898), Hanna (b.1903), Nakhleh (b.1906), Victoria (b.1908), Victor (b.1910), and Marguerite (b.1914). During the first decade of the 20th century, the two eldest brothers, Khalil and Habib, established a new branch of the family business in Sudan along with their father Giries. Many of the siblings subsequently lived in Sudan at various points in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Most of the materials in the collections relate to their lives in Sudan and how the family used its base there to expand into other areas of the world such as Germany, the UK, Egypt, India, Japan, Chile and Honduras. The materials in the collections were donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by William Victor Kattan. They are divided into 3 sub-collections: 1. Kattan Family Photos 2. Kattan Letters 3. Kattan Documents.

  • Kattan Letters Collection

    This collection consists of letters and postcards donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by William Victor Kattan. The letters were written in Arabic between 1913 and 1928 by the daughters and sons of Hanne Salame Kattan and Giries Hanna Kattan. Many of the letters were exchanged between the eldest three of these siblings, Khalil, Josephine and Habib, detailing the family's business and social lives in Sudan, Germany and Egypt in that period. There are also a number of letters exchanged with the siblings' father, Giries, who was still operating the family business in Bethlehem in the 1920s. Transcribed versions of the Arabic letters are included, alongside scans of the original versions.

  • Kattan Documents Collection

    The documents date from as early as 1908 up to the 1950s. They tell the story of the establishment and growth of the Kattan family business in Sudan by the five sons of Giries Hanna Kattan and Hanne Salame Kattan. These were namely Khalil, Habib, Hanna, Nakhle and Victor. The documents include property deeds, business letters, partnership agreements, logo designs, copyright applications and company logbooks. Where documents are in hand-written Arabic, the Planet Bethlehem Archive has produced typed Arabic transcriptions which are included alongside the original item.

  • Kattan Family Photos Collection

    This collection consists of digitised photographs donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by William Victor Kattan. The images show members of the Kattan family from the late 19th century up to the 21st century in multiple locations around the world, including Palestine, Sudan, Egypt, Italy, the UK, India and Japan.
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GEORGE HARB PHOTOS

This collection documents the life and career of George Harb, a renowned educator, politician, speech-maker and community activist in Bethlehem. The collection consists mainly of photographs of George, his family and other prominent figures in Bethlehem from the 1920s up to the present day. As an elected member of the Bethlehem Municipal Council for 18 years and teacher of Arabic at the Frères school (the first in the region to go co-ed), George Harb was first-hand witness to the major political and social upheavals of the latter half of the 20th century in Bethlehem. The photographs also document more intimate, personal scenes such as family portraits, weddings and social gatherings. The collection was donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by George Harb who today lives in Bethlehem.

  • George Harb Photos

    This collection documents the life and career of George Harb, a renowned educator, politician, speech-maker and community activist in Bethlehem. The collection consists mainly of photographs of George, his family and other prominent figures in Bethlehem from the 1920s up to the present day. As an elected member of the Bethlehem Municipal Council for 18 years and teacher of Arabic at the Frères school (the first in the region to go co-ed), George Harb was first-hand witness to the major political and social upheavals of the latter half of the 20th century in Bethlehem. The photographs also document more intimate, personal scenes such as family portraits, weddings and social gatherings. The collection was donated to the Planet Bethlehem Archive by George Harb who today lives in Bethlehem
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THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS COLLECTIONS

These collections bring together materials held at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C that relate to Bethlehem. This includes a large collection of photographs, as well as letters, manuscripts and memorabilia. Most of the materials were already digitised by the Library of Congress, although the Planet Bethlehem Archive has digitised a small number of analogue materials. These are indicated in the individual item descriptions. The Library of Congress collections sonsist of 12 sub-collections: 1) 1927 Earthquake 2) American Colony 3) Bethlehem Crafts 4) Bethlehem Harvest 5) Bethlehem People and Places 6) Bethlehem women 7) Bonfils Fiches 8) Revolt against the British 9) Nativity Scenes 10) Nativity Church 11) Solomon's Pools 12) Wider Bethlehem

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • American Colony Collection

    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.

  • Bethlehem Harvest

    Bethlehem Harvest
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THE BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY ORAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS

The collections consists of digitised versions of tapes and CDs recorded by undergraduate students at Bethlehem University during the period 1992-2008. The original project was led by Dr Adnan Musallam, Chair of the Department of Humanities at Bethlehem University. Dr Musallam encouraged students to interview elderly individuals in Bethlehem and across the West Bank about their recollections of major events in Palestinian. The resulting interviews include recollections of the late Ottoman period, World War I, the Nakba of 1948, the 1967 War and the First Intifada. The interviews were conducted in Arabic and were usually supplemented by a transcript and/or written description (also in Arabic) of the interview. The Planet Bethlehem Archive team has selected for digitisation all of the interviews that cover the late Ottoman and early British Mandate periods, focusing only on those interviewees who lived in the Bethlehem area during that time. The complete collection of original tapes and CDs is housed at Bethlehem University.

  • The Ottoman Empire and World War I

    This collection consists of interviews (and accompanying transcripts) with elderly people in Bethlehem relating to the late Ottoman period and World War I. All interviews in the collection have been digitised from the original cassette tapes and CDs held at Bethlehem University.

  • Great Snow and 1927 Earthquake

    This collection consists of interviews (and accompanying transcripts) with elderly people in Bethlehem relating to the Great Snow of 1920 and the earthquake of 1927. All interviews in the collection have been digitised from the original cassette tapes and CDs held at Bethlehem University.
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THE LEILA SANSOUR COLLECTIONS

These collections consist of materials collected by Bethlehem filmmaker Leila Sansour during over 10 years of documentary film making in Bethlehem. The materials include historic prints, postcards, magic lantern slides, old newspaper clippings and news footage, as well as Leila's own photographic and video work. The Leila Sansour Collections consist of 3 sub-collections: "Postcards and Stamps", "Photographs and Prints", "Magic Lantern Slides."

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