The forty-four albums in AIF collections capture glimpses of personal and family life, political events, along with landscapes and monuments across the region from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine to Egypt and Morocco. The albums reflect the care and attention of the original owners in their hand-bound covers, meticulous annotation, and the selection of photos included. These keepsakes were entrusted to AIF from 13 different collection holders. They were preserved, cataloged, and digitized in 2021 with the support of the William Talbott Hillman Foundation.

In contrast to the standard practice of digitizing images individually, in this work, we wanted to emphasize the situatedness of each image and how it was positioned within its collective, which would allow for a reading of each individual image in a more holistic and contextual manner.

In representing all of the albums in our care in this format, we invite you to flip through the pages for a reading as their owners would have intended.