Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Staff Report
Amidst a recent donation of books on Armenian history and literature by Dr. Jeannette Hovsepian to the Armenian Studies Program was a remarkable find: a small book of 12 postcards from 1931, printed in France with captions in Armenian, entitled AGBU Memento of [its] Silver Anniversary.
The cards were produced to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, presumably in coordination with the publication of a book highlighting the history and works of the organization printed in the same year. A copy of the book is housed in Fresno State’s Henry Madden Library.
The postcard images depict the educational and humanitarian programs the AGBU offered to Genocide survivors in the wake of World War I. Included in the collection is a picture of the temporary tent city in the stark desert landscape of Port Said, Egypt, established to settle refugees from Musa Dagh. Also included is an exterior view of the Teachers’ College in Van, and a group portrait, entitled “the last group of desert orphans at Aleppo Station.” The AGBU in New York has scanned these images and has made them available on their Flickr page online (search terms : AGBU Silver 1931).
To date, the Armenian Studies Program Library has added nearly 1,900 items to its catalog, including over 200 visual resources, and our Saroyan collection, curated from an extensive donation of printed material by Col. Carl Mahakian.