American Mission Press: An American Barn in Beirut

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.

For more about Zokak el-Blat, we can recommend the book Hans Gebhardt, et al. History, Space and Social Conflict in Beirut: The Quarter of Zokak el-Blat, (Beirut: Ergon Verlag Würzburg in Kommission, 2005), the website ‘Zokakel Blat, Paths & Great Figures', blog post from 'Sietske in Beirut', as well as the movie ‘Zokak el-Blat:Memories from a Beiruti Neighborhood’ directed by Karim al Hakin (2010).

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!

[edited and updated 21 August 2013]

Christine B. Lindner, Ph.D.

NEST Archivist and guest blogger 
 christinebethlindner@gmail.com

 

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.