Souvenir olive wood photo album sent by George Clark to Bert

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Overview

Souvenir olive wood photo album sent by George Clark to Bert from Jerusalem during World War Two.
It comprises two varnished wooden covers with a leather or vinyl spine. There are two metal eyelets in the spine with two strands of black cord threaded through from top to bottom which hold the internal pages in place.
The front cover has two black stamped illustrations in the top corners which feature animal and floral motifs. In the centre at the bottom is a semicircular colour illustration of the Wailing Wall which shows in the foreground one man sitting and another standing to pray, dressed in rust coloured robes. Other figures appear further along the paved area next to the wall and vegetation can be seen in the distance and hanging from the wall itself.
The pages inside are made from grey card. Paper photo corners are used to hold the photographs in place. The images are a mix of local scenery and personal portraits of George, Bert and other family members.
The back cover has a central diamond shaped decorative motif, with the word 'Jerusalem' printed in black in the middle of the lower edge.
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Historical information

The album appears to have belonged to an Australian serviceman named George Clark who has sent it home to his brother, Bert. It contains photos and souvenir hand tinted middle eastern scenes, as well as family photos taken elsewhere. These include photos of Bert (also an Australian serviceman), their parents and cousin. There is a connection to Moonee Ponds in Victoria. As George Clark is a common name, it has not been possible to identify him conclusively. He has visited and photographed places in the Middle East including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Ramleh, Haifa, Lyyda and Tel-Aviv in Israel and Palestine, and Egypt, as well as Madeira, Casablanca and Morocco.

Visiting servicemen and women purchased a variety of souvenirs from Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Palestine and The Holy Land while passing through on active service during both world wars.
Some of the more common items were embroideries such as cushion covers, painted artworks on fabric, jewellery made from mother of pearl, metal and timber, and photo albums with wooden covers filled with postcards of local scenes and pressed dried flowers.
There was also a range of trinket boxes, often with hidden drawers, made from the local olive wood and a range of other olive wood items including napkin rings such as these and even a portable book shelf.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00778

Item type

Themes