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Photo, Print, Drawing Portraits of the Vester and Whiting families and other members of the American Colony (Jerusalem)

View 74 images in sequence.
[ digital files of original photos ]

More Resources

View 26 images in sequence.
[ digital files of album pages ]

About this Item

Title

  • Portraits of the Vester and Whiting families and other members of the American Colony (Jerusalem)

Summary

  • Photographs show members of the American Colony, a Christian community in Jerusalem founded by immigrants from the United States and Sweden. Includes photographs of American Colony leader Anna Spafford, her daughters Bertha (Spafford) Vester and Grace (Spafford) Whiting, Frederick Vester (husband of Bertha), John D. Whiting (husband of Grace), and her grandchildren (Anna Grace, Horatio, Tanetta and John (Jock) Vester, and Spafford and David (Whiting). Primarily portraits and photographs of the grandchildren as they take part in various activities, such as playing at the beach, participating in a July 4th pageant, having tea, celebrating first birthday, riding on a donkey, playing musical instruments, playing in garden and snow. Also includes a photograph of the American Colony store with Frederick Vester. Album page image number 1-12 (inside front cover-p. 11) Photographs include: a family portrait of Whiting and Vester families: Standing left to right: Jacob Spafford, Grace and John Whiting, Frederick and Anna Grace Vester; seated: Anna Spafford holding John (Jock) Vester?, Horatio Vester, Bertha Vester holding unidentified baby; floor: Tenetta Vester, Spafford and David Whiting. Grace Whiting holding Spafford, Anna Spafford holding David?; Jock and David in baby carriage, baby and toddler portraits, child playing outside with nurse, Spafford? celebrating first birthday, July 22, 1911; donkey ride, tea time, July 22, 1912; Spafford playing in leaves, feeding a horse and playing with water faucet, July 1911; family outing, portrait of Vester children, bath time for Spafford, and Vester children playing at the beach. Album page image number 13-26 (p. 12-25) Photographs include: Whiting family portrait (Grace, Spafford, John D.) 1911, Vester family portrait (Frederick, Anna Grace, Bertha), Bertha with Anna Grace on her back, Vester children playing in the garden and playing musical instruments with friends, Jock Vester and David Whiting feeding a turkey, Spafford Whiting in a baby carriage, Vester children pose with friends, Yates family, great grandmother Mary Whiting holding Spafford, children playing in the snow, Jacob Spafford? with child, Granny Hornstein, Selim Barakat, Vester children with Spafford, children with umbrellas, children on sled, woman and little girl standing outside, Anna Grace sitting with Tanetta and Horatio?, girls playing with dog, July 4th pageant (little boys lined up holding toy rifles), American Colony store with Frederick Vester standing out front, unidentified child with Spafford? and David? sitting in the grass, unidentified woman in Arab dress holding a child, Grace Whiting having tea with women, John D. Whiting and child riding on a donkey, David playing with plants, Whiting and Vester families at Ein Karem, David Whiting, and Spafford Whiting playing with hammer and wooden crates.

Names

  • American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department, photographer

Created / Published

  • [between 1905 and 1913]

Headings

  • -  Spafford, Anna T.,--1842-1923
  • -  Vester, Bertha Spafford,--1878-1968
  • -  Vester, Anna Grace
  • -  Vester, Frederick
  • -  Vester, John
  • -  Vester, Tanetta
  • -  Whiting, Grace Spafford
  • -  Whiting, Ruth
  • -  Whiting, John D.--(John David),--1882-1951
  • -  Jerusalem--History--20th century
  • -  Palestine--History--1799-1917
  • -  Anna Baby Home--1900-1920
  • -  Fr. Vester & Co.--1900-1920
  • -  American Colony (Jerusalem)--People--1900-1920
  • -  Infants--Jerusalem--1900-1920
  • -  Children--Jerusalem--1900-1920
  • -  Play (Recreation)--Jerusalem--1900-1920
  • -  Fourth of July celebrations--Jerusalem--1900-1920
  • -  Snow--Jerusalem--1900-1920
  • -  Families--Jerusalem--1900-1920

Format Headings

  • Gelatin silver prints--Hand-colored--1900-1920.
  • Group portraits--1900-1920.
  • Photograph albums--1900-1920.
  • Portrait photographs--1900-1920.

Genre

  • Portrait photographs--1900-1920
  • Group portraits--1900-1920
  • Photograph albums--1900-1920
  • Gelatin silver prints--Hand-colored--1900-1920

Notes

  • -  Many of the photographs were created by the photographers of the American Colony Photo Department, located in Jerusalem. Founded in the late 1890s by Elijah Meyers, the photo agency was headed during its heyday (ca. 1903-1933) by Lewis Larsson, whose staff photographers included Erik Lind, Lars Lind, Furman Baldwin, and G. Eric Matson. It transitioned into the Matson Photo Service around 1940, with photography by Matson, Hanna Safieh, Joseph H. Giries, and others. John D. Whiting contributed periodically to the work of both agencies. For more information see: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.matpc and https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/coll/629_whiting.html
  • -  Some images are captioned.
  • -  Most photographs are gelatin silver prints. Some images are hand-colored.
  • -  Images possibly hand-colored by Grace Whiting and Bertha Vester.
  • -  LOT title devised by Library staff.
  • -  Album unpaginated, album page numbers supplied by Library staff.
  • -  John D. Whiting's diaries, correspondence, and other materials are located in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division (Papers of John D. Whiting).
  • -  Forms part of: Visual materials from the papers of John D. Whiting.
  • -  Transfer; Manuscript Division; 2006; (DLC/PP-2006:051:20).
  • -  Exhibited: "Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress" at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, NW Curtain, Treasure Gallery, Washington, D.C., December 2024 - June 2025.
  • -  Exhibited: "Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress" at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, NW Curtain, Treasure Gallery, Washington, D.C., June 2025 - January 2026.

Medium

  • 1 album (74 photographic prints, some hand-colored) ; 20 x 29 cm. (album)

Call Number/Physical Location

  • LOT 13845 (H) (USE DIGITAL IMAGES) [P&P]

Source Collection

  • Visual materials from the papers of John D. Whiting

Repository

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2007675260

Reproduction Number

  • LC-DIG-ppmsca-18415 (digital files of original photos) LC-DIG-ppmsca-18414 (digital files of album pages)

Rights Advisory

  • No known restrictions on publication.

Access Advisory

  • For reference access, please use the digital images in the online catalog to preserve the fragile original items.

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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 information about assessing rights, see the Rights and Restrictions Information page.

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
  • Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-18415 (digital files of original photos) LC-DIG-ppmsca-18414 (digital files of album pages)
  • Call Number: LOT 13845 (H) (USE DIGITAL IMAGES) [P&P]
  • Access Advisory: For reference access, please use the digital images in the online catalog to preserve the fragile original items.

Obtaining Copies

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

American Colony . Photo Department, photographer. Portraits of the Vester and Whiting families and other members of the American Colony Jerusalem. Jerusalem Palestine, None. [Between 1905 and 1913] Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2007675260/.

APA citation style:

American Colony . Photo Department, photographer. Portraits of the Vester and Whiting families and other members of the American Colony Jerusalem. Jerusalem Palestine, None. [Between 1905 and 1913] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2007675260/.

MLA citation style:

American Colony . Photo Department, photographer. Portraits of the Vester and Whiting families and other members of the American Colony Jerusalem. [Between 1905 and 1913] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/2007675260/>.