Finding Aid for the Al Djazair and Tunis Album
Beth Ann Guynn
Descriptive Summary
Title: Al Djazair and Tunis album
Date (inclusive): 1881
Number: 2001.R.20
Creator/Collector:
Al-Wahhāb, Abdu Rabbih
Physical Description:
1 album
(107 photographs)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The album compiled by one Abdu Rabbih
al-Wahhāb contains photographs of the Maghreb region of North Africa. The first half
features views of Algeria and Tunisia, while the second half is devoted to portraits of a
variety of North African peoples. These are mainly studio portraits of prostitutes and
dancers from various ethnic groups, although some male types and dignitaries such as the
Agha and Califa of Ouargla, are included.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials
described in this inventory through the
catalog
record
for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Language: Collection material is in Arabic and Judeo-Arabic.
Biographical/Historical Note
The title page lists a person known as Abdu Rabbih al-Wahhāb as the "author" of the album.
This may be a pseudonym or fictitious name.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Al Djazair and Tunis album, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no.
2001.R.20.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2001r20
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 2001.
Processing History
Processed and cataloged by Beth Ann Guynn in 2001. Finding aid encoded by Linda Kleiger and
Beth Ann Guynn.
Digitized Material
The collection was digitized in 2015 and the images are available online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/2001r20
Scope and Content of Collection
The album contains photographs of the Maghreb region of North Africa. The first half
features views of Algeria and Tunisia. There are images of mosques, tombs, and palaces, as
well as local neighborhoods and streets. Natural sites, such as gorges, oases and desert
areas are also depicted, as are views of Roman ruins. The second half is devoted to
portraits of a variety of North African peoples. These are mainly studio portraits of
prostitutes and dancers from various ethnic groups, although some male types, and
dignitaries such as the Agha and Califa of Ouargla, are included. Many of the sitters are
identified by name. A few scenes of daily life showing coffee houses, shops, markets, and
street life are interspersed among the portraits.
The album was compiled from an Arab perspective. Only a few images containing portions of
French buildings allude to a western presence. This fact, along with the album's elaborate
box and covers, suggests that it may have been compiled for a high ranking official or
wealthy Arab. The photographs are unsigned.
The covers of the album are made of carved wood and tooled and painted leather set into
brass backings and closed with brass hinges; decorations are in a North African artisanal
style comprising calligraphic and geometric elements. On the front cover a tugra (i.e. in
the style of an Ottoman ruler's signature) written in a combination of colloquial and
classical Arabic reads: Algiers/Tunis. Do not look at the beauty of appearances, look at
your deeds. Appearance is not as important as the inner self.
The inscription on the brass inner cover reads in the center: I start with the name of God;
and in the border: In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful [first sura of the
Qur'an].
The title page reads: Author: Abdu Rabbih al-Wahhāb - Fernand tunisi baldati min Kusa [?]
(called Gabriel the Christian, in the year 1881).
The album is housed in a carved wooden box. Carved on the box cover, as a tugra, are the
names of two brothers, Kheireddine and Arrouj, famous 16th-century corsairs.
Titles are translations of the captions written on the mounts in either Arabic or Judeo
Arabic (noted); a few images are uncaptioned and titles were devised. The Arabic captions
were translated by Karim Boughida. The Judeo-Arabaic captions were translated by Jona Sabir.
Cataloger's notes are in brackets.
Arrangment
Arranged in a single series:
Series I. Al Djazair and Tunis Album.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Clothing and dress -- Algeria
Clothing and dress -- Tunisia
Architecture, Islamic -- Algeria
Architecture, Islamic -- Tunisia
Women -- Tunisia
Women -- Algeria
Streets -- Algeria
Tombs -- Algeria
Occupations -- Algeria -- History -- 19th century
Occupations -- Tunisia -- History -- 19th century
Indigeneous peoples -- Tunisia -- Portraits
Mosques -- Algeria
Gorges -- Algeria
Indigenous peoples -- Algeria -- Portraits
Subjects - Places
Tunisia -- Antiquities -- Roman
Tunisia -- Description and travel
Tunisia -- Social life and customs
France -- Colonies -- Africa
Algeria -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Algeria -- Antiquities, Roman
Algeria -- Description and travel
Genres and Forms of Material
Photographs, Original
Albumen prints -- Algeria -- 19th century
Studio portraits -- Tunisia -- 19th century
Studio portraits -- Algeria -- 19th century
Albumen prints -- Tunisia -- 19th century
Contributors
Al-Wahhāb, Abdu Rabbih
2001.R.20
Al Djazair and Tunis,
1881
Al Djazair and Tunis album
page 1 recto
2001.R.20-1r.
The New Mosque
Scope and Content Note
Mosque al Djadid.
page 1 verso
2001.R.20-1v
Interior of the Mosque of Sidi bou Mediene in the City of Tiemcen
page 2 recto
2001.R.20-2r
Entry to the Mosque of Sidi bou Mediene
page 2 verso
2001.R.20-2v
Interior of Mosque al Kebir, Algiers
page 3 recto
2001.R.20-3r
Door of Mosque al Kebir
page 3 verso
2001.R.20-3v
The New Mosque, Algiers
page 4 recto
2001.R.20-4r
The Palace of Mustapha, Dey of Algiers
page 4 verso
2001.R.20-4v
Palace of the Dey
Scope and Content Note
Palace of Mustapha.
page 5 recto
2001.R.20-5r
Heart of the Palace of the Dey in Algiers
page 5 verso
2001.R.20-5v
Quarter in Algiers
page 6 recto
2001.R.20-6r
Quarter in Algiers
page 6 verso
2001.R.20-6v
Neighbor of the al Djadid Gate near Mosque Zeitun
page 7 recto
2001.R.20-7r
Quarter of Sidi Helal
page 7 verso
2001.R.20-7v
Palace of the Dey, Neighborhood of Mustapha near Algiers
page 8 recto
2001.R.20-8r
Garden of an Islamic House near Algiers
page 8 verso
2001.R.20-8v
Roman Cistern, Carthage
Scope and Content Note
Title devised.
page 9 verso
2001.R.20-9v
Gorge of Lakhara near Bejaya
page 10 recto
2001.R.20-10r
Blida--the Gorge Chiffa, River of Monkeys between Blida and Médéa
page 10 verso
2001.R.20-10v
Set of Palm Trees in Hamma
page 11 recto
2001.R.20-11r
Camels in Desert
page 11 verso
2001.R.20-11v
[Blank page]
page 12 recto
2001.R.20-12r
Dromedary [Mehari]
page 12 verso
2001.R.20-12v
Saharan Traveler
page 13 recto
2001.R.20-13r
Gorge of Lakhara
page 13 verso
2001.R.20-13v
Tents [Bwut al-Chaar] near Biskra
page 14 recto
2001.R.20-14r
Tomb/memorial Sidi Yjacoub in Grove of Olive Trees, Blida
page 14 verso
2001.R.20-14v
Tomb of Sidi Okba, near Biskra
page 15 recto
2001.R.20-15r
Quarter in Biskra
page 15 verso
2001.R.20-15v
[Blank page]
page 16 recto
2001.R.20-16r
Gardens near Biskra
page 16 verso
2001.R.20-16v
Wall with Graffiti
Scope and Content Note
Title devised.
page 17 recto
2001.R.20-17r
Old Quarter in Laghouat
page 17 verso
2001.R.20-17v
Ruins of Massoura near Tiemcen
page 18 recto
2001.R.20-18r
El Kantara between Batna and Biskra
page 18 verso
2001.R.20-18v
[Blank page]
page 19 recto
2001.R.20-19r
Roman Gate in Lambessa
page 19 verso
2001.R.20-19v
Coffee House for Muslims, Tougourt
page 20 recto
2001.R.20-20r
Quarter in Biskra
page 20 verso
2001.R.20-20v
Coffee House for Muslims in Ouargla
Scope and Content Note
Ouargla is in southern Algeria.
page 21 recto
2001.R.20-21r
Sahara, View from Theniet Siffa, the Road of Sepha
page 21 verso
2001.R.20-21v
Kabyle Girls and Women and "Frnanoq" [?] of Algiers
Scope and Content Note
Six images.
page 22 recto
2001.R.20.22r
The Agha and Khalifa of Ouargla
Scope and Content Note
Four images.
page 22 verso
2001.R.20-22v
"Baba Salem"--Algiers
page 23 verso
2001.R.20-23v
A [Jewish] Merchant of Algeria
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 24 recto
2001.R.20-24r
An Old [Jewish] Man of Algeria
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 24 verso
2001.R.20-24v
Magician of Biskra
page 25 recto
2001.R.20-25r
Kabyle Woman
page 26 recto
2001.R.20-26r
Fatma, Daughter of the Turkish [?] Hassan in the Quarter Sour and Es-Settara,
number 7, 30 Years Old
page 26 verso
2001.R.20-26v
Algiers Woman in City Costume
page 27 recto
2001.R.20-27r
Al-Hartania in Algiers
Scope and Content Note
Earliest inhabitants.
page 27 verso
2001.R.20-27v
Algiers Woman in City Costume
page 28 recto
2001.R.20-28r
Fatma, a Local Girl, 15 Years Old
page 28 verso
2001.R.20-28v
Woman of Algiers
page 29 recto
2001.R.20-29r
Girl of Algiers
page 29 verso
2001.20.R-29v
Yemina, Daughter of Bani Henna Tribe in Kabylie
page 31 verso
2001.R.20-31v
Painting by Lazerges, 1879
Scope and Content Note
Reproduction of a painting by Jean-Raymond-Hippolyte Lazerges, depicting two women at
a well.
page 32 recto
2001.R.20-32r
Behya 20 Years
page 32 verso
2001.R.20-32v
Woman of Algiers
page 33 recto
2001.R.20-33r
Fatma, Daughter of Yenjet [?], Also Known as Fatma, Daughter of France,
Neighborhood of Sidi Abdallah Number 40, 15 Years Old
page 33 verso
2001.R.20-33v
Fatma, Daughter of France
page 34 recto
2001.R.20-34r
Fatma, Daughter of France
page 34 verso
2001.R.20-34v
Fatma of France
page 35 recto
2001.R.20-35r
Jawi, Jewish Daughter of Darmush, Neighborhood of Jemaa, Al-Mafrun, 23 Years
Old
Scope and Content Note
Judeo Arabic caption: Joya, daughter of Darmush
page 35 verso
2001.R.20-35v
Namja ["Star"] of Algeria
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 36 recto
2001.R.20-36r
Young Woman
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 36 verso
2001.R.20-36v
[Blank page]
page 37 recto
2001.R.20-37r
[Jewish Woman] of Constantine
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 37 verso
2001.R.20-37v
[Blank page]
page 38 recto
2001.R.20-38r
[Jewish Woman] of Constantine
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 38 verso
2001.R.20-38v
[Blank page]
page 39 recto
2001.R.20-39r
Constantine [Jewish] Woman
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 39 verso
2001.R.20-39v
[Blank page]
page 40 recto
2001.R.20-40r
Ashtar [Esther?] Daughter of Malili the Algerian
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 40 verso
2001.R.20-40v
[Blank page]
page 41 recto
2001.R.29-41r
Ashtar
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 42 recto
2001.R.20-42r
"I Didn't Know Your Name at All..."
Scope and Content Note
Title continues: I asked [?] and was told [it is] Zahri/From the day I knew you/You
have dug my grave. Caption in Judeo-Arabic; possibly words of a song.
page 42 verso
2001.R.20-42v
[Blank page]
page 43 recto
2001.R.20-43r
Zahri
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 43 verso
2001.R.20-43v
People and Soldiers of Tunis
Scope and Content Note
Four images.
page 44 recto
2001.R.20-44r
Kabyle Woman
page 44 verso
2001.R.20-44v
Jewish Women of Tunisia
Scope and Content Note
Four images; caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 45 recto
2001.R.20-45r
Woman of the Sahara
page 45 verso
2001.R.20-45v
A Tunisian [Jewish] Woman
Scope and Content Note
Caption in Judeo-Arabic.
page 46 recto
2001.R.20-46r
Women of Naaïl--Baraka and Zinja
page 46 verso
2001.R.20-46v
Shop; Coffeehouse; Marketplace; Street in Tunisia
Scope and Content Note
Four images.
page 48 verso
2001.R.20-48v
Algerian Woman
page 49 recto
2001.R.20-49r
The Kaid Bin Diriss [of Ouargla?]
page 49 verso
2001.R.20-49v
Chaouch
Scope and Content Note
A first-level administrator.
page 50 recto
2001.R.20-50r
Lioness of Sidi Ben Ouda Visiting Algiers
page 50 verso
2001.R.20-50v
Touareg Man
page 51 verso
2001.R.20-51v
Touareg Man
