Mother-of-pearl workers c.1898-1914

Title: Mother-of-pearl workers c.1898-1914
Description: This is a digital reproduction of a dry plate negative held in the Library of Congress. This
image exists as a wider catalogue of photographs and lantern slides
taken by G. Eric Matson for the American Colony (Jerusalem).

As the caption on negative sleeve reads, the men pictured are
mother-of-pearl workers.

Mother-of-pearl carving has been a major industry in
Bethlehem since at least the 17th century. It formed the basis for the
emigration explosion out of the town in the 19th and early 20th centuries when
Bethlehem merchants began to sell mother-of-pearl devotional objects around the
world.
Identifier: pb_lc_bcr_7235516
Subject: Bethlehem; Palestine; Palestinian Diaspora; Bethlehem Crafts collection; Bethlehem mother-of-pearl
References: https://www.loc.gov/item/mpc2004006762/PP/
License: CC BY 4.0
Contributor: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection
Type: Digital scan of image: 1 negative : glass, dry plate ; 10 x 12 in.
Source: Library of Congress, Washington DC, USA, Prints & Photographs Division, reproduction number: LC-DIG-matpc-06815 (digital file from original photo)
Language: English, French
Spatial Coverage: 31.7053996/ 35.1936877
Rights Holder: Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication.
Date (approximate): c.1898-1914