Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1664

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.5 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

English, German, Hebrew, and Turkish

Preferred Citation:

Orient Press Photo Company photographs, circa 1950s-1960s, Ms Coll 1664, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

circa 1950s-1960s (inclusive)

Creator:

Gross, Paul, 1920-2008, Kluger, Zoltan, 1896-1977, and Orient Press Photo

Form:

Black-and-white photographs, Photographs, and Proofs

Abstract:

The Orient Press Photo Company was founded in the early 1930s in Tel Aviv, Israel by Zoltán Kruger and Arieh Shifrin. The Orient Press Photo photographs consist of 817 black and white photographs of archeological artifacts, ancient sites and buildings, landscapes and nature and communities by Paul Gross, Zoltan Kruger and others, dating from the 1950s to 1960s.

There is very little information known about the Orient Press Photo Company. According to a description from eBay, the Orient Press Photo Company was created by Zoltán Kruger and Arieh Shifrin in the 1930s in Tel Aviv. The Orient Press Photo Company published many photographs showcasing the landscapes of Mandatory Palestine and then Israel, which would sometimes be used by the government.

Two of the the Orient Press Photo Company's photographers included Paul Gross and Zoltán Kluger:

There is no known information about Paul Gross, other than what the seller stated, which is that Gross eventually bought Zoltán Kluger's shares of the Orient Press Photo Company.

Zoltán Kluger (1896 – 1977) was an Israeli photographer. He was born in the city of Kecskemét in Hungary. In World War I, Kluger served in the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops as an airborne photographer. In the 1920s he emigrated to Berlin, where he worked as a press photographer. In 1933, he fled to Mandatory Palestine. There, he was employed at the Orient Press Photo Cooperation in Tel-Aviv and continued to work as a photographer. In 1958, he and his wife Sarah followed their son to the United States. In 1977, Zoltán Kluger passed away.

Biographical note for Zoltán Kluger was taken in its entirety from University of Pennsylvania's Kislak Center finding aid for: Zoltán Kluger photographs, circa 1930s to 1950s, Arc MS 68

Works consulted:

ilmandarin0177. "Photo Yemeni Girl Zoltan Kluger Israel 1949." eBay, https://www.ebay.com/itm/277065094927. Accessed 10 June 2025.

The Orient Press Photo Company photographs consist of 817 black and white photographs of archeological artifacts, ancient sites and buildings, landscapes and nature, and communities by Paul Gross, Zoltan Kruger and others, dating from the 1950s to 1960s. None of the photographs are dated, but, based on excavations mentioned in the collection and the name change from the Palestine Archeological Museum (1938–1967) to the Rockefeller Archeological Museum (1967-), one can assume these photographs were taken in the 1950s and 1960s. The languages found in this collection include: English, German, Hebrew, and Turkish. The photographers of this collection include the Orient Press Photo Company (general), Paul Gross, Zoltan Kluger, Bord Fáilte Éireann, N. Ben-Haim, Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, and the Walters Art Gallery.

The photographs are divided into two sections: loose photographs and sheets of photographic proofs. There are 185 loose photographs and 632 photographic proofs.

The loose photographs are divided into four categories: ancient sites and buildings (30), archeological artifacts (123), landscape and nature (21), and people and communities (11). 137 of the loose photographs are captioned. Many of the captions are written to explain to the reader how a place or community appeared in biblical times, with bible verses written on some photographs referencing both the Old and New Testaments. The ancient sites and buildings photographs include depictions of the Solomonic gates, Bir Abu Matar, Shrine of the Book, Beit She'arim necropolis, Tombs of the Sanhedrin, Kafr Kanna church, Jameh Mosque of Atigh, Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine Kerak Castle, Ishtar Gate at the Pergamon Museum (Berlin), Capernaum synagogue, Market Gate of Miletus at the Pergamon Museum (Berlin), and the Karnak Temple. The archeological artifacts depicted include sculptures, stone reliefs, tablets, terracotta statues, cylinder seals, frescos, papyrus pieces and an axe head taken from/by the following institutions: Hebrew University (Institute of Archaeology), British Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Cyprus museum, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities), Herbert Clark collection of Near Eastern Antiquities, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Kadman Museum (Tel-Aviv), Palestine Archaeological Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Israel Antiquities Authority, Penn Museum, James A. de Rothschild Expedition at Hazor, Fogg Museum, and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Some of the landscapes depicted are of Nablus, the Old New Synagogue in Prague, [Jabel Mukaber], Nahal Mishmar, Caesarea Maritima, Zvulun Valley, Dan River, Tell Keisan, Judaean Mountains, and the Sea of Galilee. While many of the natural photographs of flora and fauna remain unidentified, the Quercus coccifera tree/shrub was photographed. The people and communities photographed include a Yemenite Jew, a Sinai Bedouin woman, a camel of the Bedouin people, O'Connell street in Dublin, camels by a well, ox by a well in Egypt, and Jews celebrating Passover.

The photographic proofs were pasted onto 91 sheets. Forty-six of those pages are captioned. These photographs depict fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, people doing day-to-day activities in the Old City of Jerusalem, historic and biblical sites, religious men in synagogues, archeological artifacts, local flora and fauna, and landscapes. Some of the photographs of the flora and fauna and pictures from Galilee are included twice in the proofs in different sizes. Locations depicted in the photographs include Old City Jerusalem, Mount Zion, Nazareth, Jezreel Valley, Tiberias, Galilee, Ein Karem, Nablus, Hebron, Gethsemane, Bethlehem, Jericho, Shechem, Tel Megiddo, Antipatris, Tel Dan, Sinai desert, Capernaum, Bar'am, and the Red Sea. Some of the photographic proofs are developed and found in the loose photographs section.