pb_lc_bcr_c18980000-0006aa.tiff (22.7 MB)
Mother-of-pearl workers in Bethlehem, c.1898-1914
figure
posted on 2019-05-31, 08:02 authored by Freja Howat-Maxted, Leila Sansour, Jacob NorrisJacob NorrisThis is a digital reproduction of an image held in the Library of Congress.
The image shows mother-of-pearl workers in a Bethlehem workshop. Mother-of-pearl carving has been a major industry in
Bethlehem since at least the 17th century. It formed the basis for the
emigration explosion out of the town in the 19th and early 20th centuries when
Bethlehem merchants began to sell mother-of-pearl devotional objects around the
world.
This image exists as part of the Bethlehem Crafts collection in the Planet Bethlehem Archive.