Saudi Arabia | Collection of photographs, twentieth century

Saudi Arabia

A collection of over 300 photographs taken by a Japanese oil executive on a business trip to Saudi Arabia, 1958

Over 300 original photographs (mostly 75 x 110mm., some 125 x 170mm., or the reverse), many preserved in contemporary photographic paper envelopes, together with a small quantity of related ephemera including hotel receipts, an insurance document, diplomatic letters and other notes in English, Arabic and Japanese, the collection housed in a modern folding black cloth box, some photographs faded or discoloured

A unique and large collection of private photographs of Saudi Arabia taken and collected in 1958 by a Japanese oil executive of the Japan Petroleum Trading Co. Ltd. who travelled to Saudi Arabia to buy crude oil.

These rare images document meetings with Saudi officials and representatives of Aramco, together with scenes in and around Jeddah, Riyadh and other parts of Saudi Arabia, including rail travel, visits to Aramco offices, oil fields and views of cities and in the desert.