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Princeton University Library Collection of Spyros Meletzēs Photographs
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Spyros Meletzēs (January 20, 1906 to November 14, 2003) was a Greek photographer, born in the village of Saint Theodore in Imvros. He was the eldest son (of six siblings) of Menelaos and Kalliopē Giannakēs. He attended the "Boarding" and his family intended him to be a priest. The death of his father in 1919, when Meletzēs was 13 year old, forced him to breadwinner. In 1923, at age 17 (Treaty of Lausanne - the concession of Imbros to the Turks) he moved to Alexandroupolis, where he worked at a draper shop and later at the photographic studio of Alexandros Panagiōtou, who was a relative of Meletzēs. A landmark in his photographic career was his photograph of the boats on the beach of Alexandroupolis for which he won the first prize in the exhibition of Thessalonikē in 1924. In 1927 he moved to Athens. He studied photography with George Bouka - photographer of the royal family. In 1937 he photographed the Greek countryside in Epirus. During the Resistance in 1940 he follows and takes pictures of the rebels in Peloponnese and Eurytania. Meletzēs is considered the photographer of Greek Resistance. After the World War II he continues to take photographs of archaeological sites and museums and in the 1950s a lot of politicians and perosnalities of art. In 1953 his work presented and took honours in Rochester, Birmingham, and Buenos Aires. In 1955 he signs a contract with the Greek government and takes photographs of public works in Hevros. In 1957 he works as a photographer for the Ministry of Transport and Public Works and tours taking photographs throughout Greece (from Peloponnesus, Rumelē to Thrace) [http://el.wikipedia.org].
Consists of an open collection of photographs by Meletzēs. Included are 2 black-and-white photographs of the interior of the Parthenon (39.8 x 30 cm.) and of the Monastery of Rossanou in Holy Meteora, Greece (38.7 x 45.7 cm.); 7 black-and-white photographs of Delphi, female portraits, people in traditional costumes of Crete and other areas of Greece, one artifact, and 1 black-and-white photograph of the construction of the bridge of Hevros (Greece). There is also 1 black-and-white image depicting every-day life scene on the island of Skiathos; 1 black-and-white image of mount Olympus depicting a snow slope beneath "Stephani" (29.8 x 22.9 cm.).
Gift of the Program in Hellenic Stuides with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund (AM 2011-53; 2011-108; 2013-120; 2014-42; 2014-62; 2014-65; 2016-118; 2019-24; 2019-33; 2020-18).
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Kalliopi Balatsouka. Finding aid written by Kalliopi Balatsouka.
No materials were removed from the collection during processing beyond routine appraisal practices.
Organization
- Meteora Monasteries (Greece)
- Monē tou Roussanou (Trikala, Greece)
- Parthenon (Athens, Greece)
- frattis auctions
Subject
- Ethnic costume -- Greece. -- photographs
- Monasteries -- Greece -- Meteora. -- photographs
- Monasteries -- Greece -- Thessaly. -- photographs
- Photographers -- Greece
- Public works. -- photographs
Place
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2012
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
1 box
Consists of two black-and-white photographs (from 16.5 x 11.5 cm to 17 x 12 cm) of Helmos and one of the Hydata Stygos [River Styx] in Peloponnese, Greece. Printed captions in Greek and English and photo studio's stamp on the reverse.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of (1) black-and-white photograph (dim. 30 x 37. 5 cm) of the Samariá Gorge in Crete, Greece. Photographer's signature at the lower left corner of the image.
Physical Description1 folder