Lebanon provides plenty of opportunities (and excuses) for
the archivist to leave the library in order to better understand the items
found in the archives.
In an effort to see where and how some of the NEST archival items
were created, I took an afternoon excursion with award winning journalist
Habib Battah to explore the Beirut neighborhood of Zokak el-Blat. Located roughly 20
minutes from NEST by foot (but approximately an hour by car) this is the
neighborhood of the
Nahda: the cultural and literary renaissance of the 19
th
century. As we discovered, around each corner lies the homes of important cultural
figures (including
Fairouz), historic schools and presses. Habib took many photos on our visit, which that can be seen on his interesting
blog post.
Peeking out from behind a low wall along one of Zokak
el-Blat’s main streets we caught sight of a peculiar sight: an American barn!
In 1922, a prefabricated American barn, made of corrugated
steel, was shipped from Ohio, USA to be erected in the heart of Zokak el-Blat. Its function was to house the American Mission Press. The American
Mission Press was founded in 1822 on the Mediterranean island of Malta. It was moved to Beirut in 1832, and
housed at ‘Burj Bird’, the main building on the American Mission Compound
(current spot of the
National Evangelical Church). In 1871, a lovely brick
building was constructed at the entrance of the American Mission Compound to house the American Mission Press. This building is remembered by
Beirutis as the ‘Torch Library’, which was the name given to
the building upon the relocation of the press to the newly arrived barn in Zokak el-Blat in
1922.
The
picture above shows the barn ten years after its arrival, in the early 1930s. The American Mission Press
operated from its barn in Zokak el-Blat until the 1960s, when the building was
sold. The building is currently owned by the
Librairie du Liban, which uses it
as a storage site and whose employees are very friendly and willing to chat
with curious visitors!
Important individuals in the history of the American Mission
and of the Protestant Church in Lebanon worked at the American Mission Press as
managers, translators, editors, type setters and secretaries. This list
includes Eli Smith, Cornelius Van Dyck, Assad Khairallah, Henry Harris Jessup, Ibrahim
Hourani and Hala Malouf.
Once a book was ready to be printed, the text would be
arranged in type set. This Arabic type was developed especially for the American
Mission Press and was known as the ‘American Font’. After printing, the pages
would be arranged, sewed together, cut and then finally bound. The books would
be organized, boxed and readied for shipping. From Zokak el-Blat, the boxes would
be carried by donkey or even on the backs of men down to the port to be loaded
on boats towards their final destination around the world.
Luckily many of these books never faced the rough seas,
but found their home in the Mission Library (the Torch Library), and eventually
at the NEST Library. Browsing through the NEST Library shelves you are bound to
come across a number of these books! This includes Amin Khairallah’s
An Outline
of Arabic Contributions to Medicine and the Allied Sciences (Beirut: American Mission Press, 1946) [picture on the left] During my visit to
the Mission Press, I discovered an unbound, uncut version on this book still
sitting on the shelves!!
Or as my friend Habib Battah
discovered, a book printed by the American Press might also be found on your neighbor's bookshelves!
You can learn more about the American Mission Press by
visiting the NEST Library and reading the Centennial of the American Press
(American Press, Beirut, 1923) and Margaret McGivlery, The Dawn of a New Era
in Syria (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1920), both of which are part of
NEST Library’s rich Rare Book collection. As part of the Presses centennial
anniversary of operations in Beirut, a photographic exhibition was prepared.
The NEST Special Collections holds copies of photographs, from which the
image on the top of this blog comes from, and which you may view.
But if you have the time, print
this map and take a walk
down to Zokak el-Blat to discover for yourself the American barn. And if it is
after library opening hours, maybe we may come to join you!
If you like this post and are interested in learning more about the history of Protestants in the Middle East, stay tuned for information regarding the launch of the Research Center on Protestant Heritage in the Middle East in November 2013.
