Ismailia-Damascus pilgrimage photograph albums, ca. 1902

Summary

Creator:

Greene, Walter D., 1853-1917

Abstract:

The Ismailia-Damascus pilgrimage photograph albums consist of a three-volume set containing approximately 260 photographs taken during an Ismailia Shriner pilgrimage trip in 1902 to the western United States and an undated expedition overseas to various places in Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Lebanon, and Italy.

Extent:

3 volumes; approximately 260 photographs

Language:

English

Authors:

Finding aid created by Jakob Dopp, December 2019

Background

Scope and Content:

The Ismailia-Damascus pilgrimage photograph albums consist of a three-volume set containing approximately 260 photographs taken during an Ismailia Shriner pilgrimage trip in 1902 to the western United States and an undated expedition overseas to various places in Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Lebanon, and Italy.

Volume 1 (23 x 25 cm) contains approximately 98 photographs pertaining to an overseas Shriner expedition to various locations around the Mediterranean Sea region including sites in North Africa, western Asia, and southern Europe. It is unclear when this expedition took place, though it likely occurred ca. 1902. Many of the sites visited by the group are related to biblical stories, events, and personages. Images of particular interest include the Lion's Gate at Mycenae (pg. 1); the Arch of Hadrian in Athens (pg. 3); the supposed tree under which Mary and Joseph rested in the Land of Goshen (pg.8); ruins from a "last stand" made by European Crusaders (pg. 11); the Plain of Sharon (pg. 12); the Great Pyramid (pg. 14); a "Nilo-meter" on the River Nile (pg. 14); an elevated view of Istanbul (pg. 16); a group of Greek Klephts marching in traditional uniforms (pg. 17); Tiberias (pg. 18); a tour boat conducted by guides of Nassaire, Farajallah & Co. (pg. 19); Jerusalem's Damascus Gate (pg. 21); the bell tower on the Mount of Olives (pg. 24); the Monastery of Choziba (pg. 24); the Mosque of Amr in Cairo (pg. 28); ancient Egyptian ruins at Luxor (pg. 30); the public square in Corinth where Paul was said to have preached (pg. 31); Bisharin villagers near Aswan (pg. 34); a waterfront view of Algiers (pg. 35); Pompeii (pg. 36); Job's Wall in Silwan, Palestine (pg. 40); the Bosporus Strait (pg. 41); Haifa (pgs. 43 & 45); Damascus (pg. 46); Ba'labakk (pgs. 47 & 48); and Hotel Fast in Jerusalem (pg. 49). Many but not all of the images have inscribed captions on their versos. A loose cartoonish engraving/etching of a bald man with a moustache wearing Arabic clothing while riding a camel titled "Dr. Walter D. Greene" is also present inside the front cover. The album is string bound in black leather covers with the word "Photographs" embossed in gold on front.

Volume 2 (18.5 x 27.5 cm) contains approximately 98 photographs related to the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage of 1902. Images of particular interest include a cyanotype of B.W. Rowell (pg. 1); a group portrait of the travelling party at the railroad station in McFarlan, Kansas (pg. 5); scenes from Pikes Peak, Colorado (pgs. 7-23); views of the Garden of the Gods (pgs. 24, 25, 28-36 & 38); the Royal Gorge (pgs. 37, 39, 40, 42 & 44); Glenwood Springs, Colorado (pgs. 47-49, 57 & 58); the Mormon Tabernacle and Salt Lake Temple (pgs. 52-54); Monterey Bay, California (pgs. 64-66 & 67); Santa Barbara, California (pgs. 68-71); Mount Shasta and Shasta Springs (pgs. 73-77); natural landscapes in Oregon (pgs. 81-86); and a ferry boat on the Columbia River (pgs. 91-96). The album is bound in red leather covers with the words "Photographs of the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage 1902; Compliments of B.W. Rowell, Imperial Recorder; To Walter D. Greene" embossed in gold on front.

Volume 3 (18.5 x 27.5 cm) contains approximately 63 photographs related to the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage of 1902. Images of particular interest include scenes from Spokane, Washington (pgs. 1-3); geysers at Yellowstone's Norris Basin (pgs. 12-22) and Upper Basin (pgs. 27-36); Yellowstone Lake (pgs. 39-43); Yellowstone's Upper and Lower Waterfalls and Grand Canyon (pgs. 46-51); Shriner Caleb Saunders posing with a haul of fish (pg. 52); and Walter D. Greene posing with his wife Mary L. Greene (pg. 55), an unidentified fellow "manager" of the pilgrimage (pg. 56), and alongside George F. Loder and a man identified as "Gass" (pg. 57). The album is bound in red leather covers with the words "Photographs of the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage 1902; Compliments of B.W. Rowell, Imperial Recorder; To Walter D. Greene" embossed in gold on front.

Biographical / Historical:

Shriners International (previously referred to as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America) is an offshoot branch of Freemasonry that was first established in the United States in 1870.

Dr. Walter D. Greene (1853-1917) was born in Starksboro, Vermont, on April 20th, 1853. Dr. Greene graduated from the University of Buffalo's medical school in 1876. After spending four years working in Rochester and Mendon, New York, Dr. Greene returned to Buffalo in 1880 in order to establish his own private practice. In 1892, he was appointed professor of hygiene in Niagara University's medical department. Dr. Greene was very active in Masonic life; he was a 33rd-degree Mason, a director of the Masonic Library of Western New York, a member of the Acacia and Buffalo Clubs, and Potentate of the Shriner's Ismailia Temple in Buffalo, New York.

Benjamin W. Rowell (1845-1927) served as Imperial Recorder of the Shriners' Imperial Council as well as Recorder for the Aleppo Temple.

Acquisition Information:

Purchased, 1995. F-259 .

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

Gerta Gage family photograph album

Shriners' excursion tour photograph albums

Shriners International vacation photograph album

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Freemasonry--United States.
Photographs shelf.
Arabs--Africa, North.
Arabs--Palestine.
Archaeological sites--1900-1910.
Basins--1900-1910.
Biblical events--1900-1910.
Bisharin (African people)
Canyons--1900-1910.
Deserts--1900-1910.
Ferries--1900-1910.
Geysers--United States--1900-1910.
Great Pyramid (Egypt)
Hotels--Palestine--1900-1910.
Klephts.
Monasteries--Palestine--1900-1910.
Mountains--1900-1910.
Pilgrimages--1900-1910.
Pyramids--Egypt--1900-1910.
Railroads--United States--1900-1910.
Railroad stations--United States--1900-1910.
Rivers--1900-1910.
Rock formations--1900-1910.
Sightseers--1900-1910.
Springs--United States--1900-1910.
Tourism--1900-1910.
Tourists--1900-1910.
Waterfalls--United States--1900-1910.

Formats:

Cyanotypes.
Engravings
Etchings
Gelatin silver prints.
Group portraits.
Intaglio prints.
Landscape photographs.
Photograph albums.
Photographic prints.
Portrait photographs.
Snapshots.

Names:

Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America.
Salt Lake Temple.
Tabernacle (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Greene, Mary L., 1856-1938.
Loder, George F., 1842-1915.
Saunders, Caleb, 1838-1917.
Rowell, B. W. (Benjamin W.), 1845-1927.

Places:

Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918.
Algiers (Algeria)
Athens (Greece)
Ba'labakk (Lebanon)
Cairo (Egypt)
Columbia River.
Corinth (Greece)
Damascus (Syria)
Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Glenwood Springs (Colo.)
Great Salt Lake (Utah)
Haifa (Israel)
Istanbul (Turkey)
Jerusalem.
Jīzah (Egypt)
Kerkyra (Greece)
Luxor (Egypt)
Montana.
Monterey Bay (Calif.)
Mount of Olives (Jerusalem)
Mount Shasta (Calif.)
Mycenae (Extinct city)
Nile River.
Oregon.
Palestine.
Pike's Peak (Colo.)
Pompeii (Extinct city)
Salida (Colo.)
Santa Barbara (Calif.)
Sharon, Plain of (Israel)
Silwān (Jerusalem)
Spokane (Wash.)
Thebes (Egypt: Extinct city)
Tiberias (Israel)
Tiberias, Lake (Israel)
Yellowstone National Park.