Digital Collection Celebrates Egyptian Architect's 100th Birthday

The Rare Books and Special Collections Library is pleased to announce the launch of the Ramses Wissa Wassef Architectural Drawings collection in the Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library. This collection documents the career of one of Egypt's most prominent 20th century architects. In celebration of the architect's centennial birthday, the collection is part of an ongoing effort to digitize and describe more than 800 architectural plans and drawings related to over 60 villas, schools, churches, banks, and apartment buildings designed by Wissa Wassef between 1935 and 1972.

Potter's House in Old Cairo perspective drawing, 1935

 Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911-1974) was an architect, artisan, artist, and teacher whose ideas and work exercised a significant influence on 20th century Egyptian arts and architecture. Some of Ramses Wissa Wassef's more notable projects, located in and around Cairo, Egypt, include the Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum, the Habib Gorgi Museum, the Mar Girgis (St. George) Coptic Church in Heliopolis, and the Coptic Church of the Virgin Mary (Mar'ashli Street Church) in Zamalek. He also designed a number of private residences around Cairo.

The Creating a Center for Architectural Archives in Egypt: Preservation and Access for the Papers of Hassan Fathy and Ramses Wissa Wassef project was made possible with funding from Grants to Preserve and Create Access to Humanities Collections of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Introducing the Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library

The Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library is a new platform for the American University in Cairo's digital collections. It currently houses collections acquired through the University on the Square: Documenting Egypt's 21st Century Revolution project.  Browse, search, comment, tag, and rate items in our 4 debut collections:

1. Documenting Egypt's 21st Century Revolution Oral Histories
2. Documenting Egypt's 21st Century Revolution Photographs
3. Documenting Egypt's 21st Century Revolution Video Recordings
4. Documenting Egypt's 21st Century Revolution Visual Art

In the future, photograph, architecture, and manuscript collections from the Rare Books and Special Collections Library will be available in the RBSCDL.

We're still collecting!

If you are planning on demonstrating or voting in the upcoming parliamentary elections, please consider donating your photos, videos, and stories to the University on the Square: Documenting Egypt’s 21st Century Revolution project. Use the University on the Square Facebook App to donate your photos and videos on Facebook.

Image courtesy of Sarah Mohammad.

View more January 25th Revolution photos, videos, oral histories, and art in the Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library.

My Perception of an Ideal Revolution.... Exhibition

The My Perception of an Ideal Revolution.... Exhibition features original art created by Conchita Anorve-Tschirgi's ARTV-200 students in Spring 2011. The students' work will be on display in the Main Library from October 17 to November 3.

Introducting the RBSCL's Regional Architecture Collections

The Rare Books and Special Collections Library at the American University in Cairo strives to preserve and promote the use of the Regional Architecture Collections, which document the work of architecture from Egypt and the surround regions. Conchita Añorve-Tschirgi, the curator of the Regional Architecture Collections says "Our strategy and goal at the RBSCL is more than just being the repository of such valuable materials. We want, in some measure to also keep these collections alive."

The Regional Architecture Collections at the Rare Books and Special Collections Library houses the archives of several famous contemporary architects, including Hassan Fathy, Ramses Wissa Wassef, Sayed Karim, and Gamal Bakry. In addition to preserving the architectural drawings, Añorve-Tschirgi works on digitizing the collections as well. Collections from Hassan Fathy and K.A.C. Kreswell have been digitized, and over 600 images of Islamic art and architecture are also available online. These collections are available from the American University in Cairo's Digital Archive and Research Repository, which allows researchers to discover and view unique cultural heritage resources from the Rare Books and Special Collections Library.


Interested in learning more? Contact Conchita Añorve-Tschirgi at conchita@aucegypt.edu.

2011 Egyptian Revolution Online Research Tools

Researching the 2011 Egyptian Revolution? Check out our list of resources.

1. Tahrir Documents
   This website is a collection of printed material generated during the revolution. The site includes English translations of pamphlets, posters, and other printed ephemera, documenting the current political climate in Egypt. Items are filed under various topics, including:
   • Attacks on protesters 
   • Constitution and amendments 
   • Socio-economic rights
   • The revolution and its demands
2. 2011 Egyptian Revolution Web Archive
   Search or browse for web-based news coverage of the revolution in addition to blogs, Twitter feeds, videos, and memorial websites. If you are interested in the AUC's response to the revolution, try searching the American University in Cairo Web Archive for "Egyptian Revolution."
3. North Africa and Middle East 2011 Web Archive
   Use this collection of archived news websites and social media to explore events in Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Oman, and other countries.
4. ToonPool Egyptian Revolution Collection
   Peruse cartoons regarding the recent events in Egypt to gain a different perspective.
5. University on the Square Photographs
   The University on the Square Photographs digital collection exhibits photographs taken by AUCians during the revolution. Images depicting riot control, martyrs, banners, and tear gas may be searched or browsed. This collection is made possible by the contributors to the University on the Square project as well as a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
6. Newseum Egyptian Revolution Collections
   Compare front page headlines from newspapers across the globe that refer to demonstrations in Egypt. Browse by date using the links below: 
• February 4, 2011
• February 5, 2011
• February 11, 2011
• February 12, 2011
  
  

University on the Square Photos Available in Digital Archive and Research Repository

Photographs taken by contributors to the University on the Square project may now be found in the American University in Cairo's Digital Archive and Research Repository (DARR), a home for AUC's scholarly output, including theses, faculty publications, and primary sources from the Rare Books and Special Collections Library (RBSCL). As images are uploaded using the University on the Square online contribution form, faculty and staff in the RBSCL sort, describe, and make available the photographs in DARR. Once uploaded, researchers may search for images or browse images by subjects. To learn more about the digital collection, visit University on the Square Photographs. To contribute, visit the University on the Square Project Website.

Image courtesy of Rasha El-Ibiary. Learn more.