The Consummate Volunteer
AGBU New England Chair Ara Balikian on the power of human connections
Image
March 20, 2015
AGBU Chapters Learn about Armenian Village Life in Anatolia through Ottoman-era Photographs
-
Image
George Jerjian presents his book, Daylight After a Century, and a short film on the discovery of his grandfather’s photographs
In April 2003, George Jerjian found a black steel box with 100 dusty glass negatives inside as he was cleaning out his mother’s storeroom. Upon showing her his discovery, he learned that the negatives belonged to his grandfather, Dr. George Djerjian (1870-1947). Between 1900 and 1907, Djerdjian had taken 240 photographs of Arabkir and Erzurum, major Ottoman-era towns in eastern Anatolia. Only 100 photographs have survived from the period.
The photographs captivated Jerjian—a writer based in London—and led him to write a book on the collection titled Daylight After a Century as well as produce a short film that tells the story of these photographs.
Djerdjian’s photographs capture the way of life of a people who, within a decade, would disappear from the landscape. The photographs are varied, depicting the countryside, people, churches, schools, economic life, social life, and political life of eastern Anatolia before the genocide. For over a century, the photographs migrated with Djerdjian’s descendants from Arabkir to Alexandria, Khartoum to London and finally to Washington DC. Now the collection is finally seeing the light of day after a century of darkness.
During presentations in New York and London, AGBU welcomed Jerjian to screen his film and discuss his research into his grandfather’s collection. The film, which is now available online in its entirety, tells the story of the photographs’ journey over the past century. Jerjian is also the co-author of the 2004 book Arabkir: Homage to an Armenian Community and makes use of his familiarity with his ancestral town to bring it to life.
Additional book presentations and film screenings are planned in the coming months at AGBU chapters worldwide. To schedule a screening in your chapter, please contact Gayane Manukyan at gmanukyan@agbu.org.
Please note that archived content may appear distorted as it has been stripped of formatting and original images.
Features From Our Magazines
High Fidelity
How loyalty to his dream of composing and producing music put Joe Khajadourian on the path to success
Letters of Last Hopes
Firsthand accounts of the Hamidian Massacres through desperate letters to Khrimian Hayrig
GIVE TO AGBU
Make an impact that will change lives. Donate today.
