The Poidebard collection is made up of more than 20,000 photographs, most of which are aerial shots of the Caucasus region, Lebanon and present-day Syria. These photographs bear witness to the adventurous life of Antoine Poidebard, a Jesuit priest from Lyon who joined the French Military Mission in the Caucasus during the First World War as a cartographic officer by the French army.
Antoine Poidebard leaves behind a colossal photographic work, the value of which is both archaeological and historical. This "treasure" is a trace of this heritage that DAECH wanted to make disappear, as can be seen from the photo below of the archaeological site of Palmyra, Syria.
Kept at the Oriental Library of Saint Joseph University (Beirut), this priceless work urgently needs to be digitized to preserve it.
A pioneer in aerial photography and archeology, Antoine Poidebard moved to Beirut in 1924. While he was stationed at Saint Joseph University, he developed a new method of archeology aimed at reveal archaeological remains by aerial photography. This method is based on natural factors such as lighting or vegetation but also on technical factors such as flight height and the choice of emulsions and filters to highlight details that are usually invisible.
It is thanks to this method that Father Poidebard will update the defense system of the eastern border of the Roman Empire, called limes, a real network of communication routes connecting water points controlled by strongholds. Antoine Poidebard also worked in the 1930s on the ports of Tire and Sidon.
Antoine Poidebard’s life is marked by a taste for theology, philosophy, adventure and humanism. These characteristic traits of his personality took him to the Caucasus and Armenia, where he was also a pioneer in mastering the languages of the region (Armenian, Tatar and Turkish), then to Lebanon and Syria, then under the mandate of the Society of Nations. His journey is distinguished by a thirst for insatiable adventure which has led to the achievement of precious archaeological discoveries.
This project consists in archiving and digitizing the entire work of Antoine Poidebard held at the Oriental Library of Saint Joseph University, with the aim of putting photographs online.
In 2016, the Oriental Library undertook the inventory, classification and description of all the fonds and photographic collections of the Jesuit fathers it holds. Digitization has been initiated, but is proving to be particularly complex for the Poidebard collection.
Indeed, the fund has already been manipulated previously, which changed its order and its initial structure. The multiplicity of media contained in the collection (photographs, scientific archives, publications, etc.) as well as the volume of the collection require the recruitment of confirmed full-time archivists in order to complete the digitization.
Needs and recommendations:
It takes € 6000 to purchase suitable conservation and packaging equipment.
The recruitment of a specialized archivist is necessary to carry out this project.
Archiving and digitizing the entire collection - 20,000 photos - represents a cost of € 20,000.
If the collection is exceeded: the additional funds will be allocated to the archiving and digitization of the paper and scientific archives.
For more than 160 years, l'Oeuvre d'Orient has been supporting various projects throughout the Middle East carried out by religious communities, which are at the service of the whole population in the fields of health, education but also heritage. Among our heritage restoration projects we can cite the reconstruction of the cathedral of Aleppo, the restoration of the Charfet manuscripts or the digitization of the Poidebard collection that we are currently offering.
The association benefits from the Don en Confiance label: respect for the donor, transparency, efficiency, probity and selflessness.
Our Country Director for Lebanon, Vincent Gelot liaises between the headquarters of l'Oeuvre d'Orient in Paris and Levon Nordiguian, director of the photo library at the Oriental Library of Saint Joseph University in Beirut.
You can support this project:
- by making an online donation by credit card on this page after registering on the Dartagnans site
- by making a bank transfer after registration on the Dartagnans website
- for French donors only, by sending a check, on the back of which you will include your e-mail address, worded in the following order "L'Œuvre d'Orient - 20DIV9", sent to the following address:
Dartagnans
"Faire revivre la photographie aérienne du XXème" campaign
15 rue de Milan
75009 PARIS
Hubert de CHEVIGNY, Aviator and explorer, member of the Board of Directors of the Aéro-Club de France.
Jean-Matthieu GAUTIER, Photojournalist specializing in Christian minorities in the Middle East.
Thomas GOISQUE, Photographer-great reporter
Charles PERSONNAZ, Director of the "Institut National du Patrimoine"
Gwendal ROUILLARD, Deputy of the 5th district of Morbihan, co-president of the group of studies of Eastern Christians in the National Assembly
Raphaëlle ZIADÉ, Specialist in Eastern Christianity and Head of the Byzantine Department of the Petit Palais, Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris
For an overview of our heritage preservation projects: https://www.lci.fr/international/decouverte-la-renaissance-de-palmyre-2115432.html
For French donors only
Your donation is exempt from tax because it fulfills the general conditions provided for in articles 200 and 238 bis of the general tax code. At the end of the collection, you will receive a tax receipt allowing you to reduce your tax:
- Individual, you can deduct 66% of your donation within the limit of 20% of your taxable income.
- Company, all of the payments to the project allow you to benefit from a reduction in corporate tax of 60% of the amount of these payments, taken within the limit of 0.5% of the C.A. H.T. of the company.
By financially supporting the restoration and digitization of the Poidebard photographic collection, you are helping to preserve an artistic and archaeological testimony at the heart of World History!
Find us on:
Contact us by email: [email protected]
Visit our website : https://oeuvre-orient.fr/
