Jonathan Friedlander collection of Middle Eastern Americana, 1875-2006

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Summary

Creators:
Friedlander, Jonathan
Abstract:
Jonathan Friedlander, a scholar of Middle Eastern Studies and photographer of Americana began his personal collection of items documenting how Americans view the Middle East in 1971. The American Orientalism collection consists of photographic materials, pulp fiction, men's adventure magazines, comic books, audio and video recordings, advertisements, games, artifacts and objects, books, and sheet music.
Extent:
16.5 Linear Feet (33 boxes) and 21 oversize boxes.
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jonathan Friedlander collection of Middle Eastern Americana (Collection 1314). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes photographic materials, pulp fiction, men's adventure magazines, comic books, audio and video recordings, advertisements, games, artifacts and objects, books, and sheet music that document American Orientalism in popular culture. The collection includes visual and topical content that evokes "the Orient," political and historical relationships between the East and West, gender stereotypes of "Oriental" or "Arab" men and women, as well as American advertising presentations of "Oriental" items as those of luxury.

Biographical / historical:

Jonathan Friedlander, currently the assistant director of the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, began to follow advertising and popular culture representations of the Middle East after moving to the United States in 1971. An Israel native, Friedlander started to collect a variety of popular culture publications and objects in earnest in the mid-1990s, in an effort to produce a collective representation of the way Americans view the Middle East.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Jonathan Friedlander, 2006.
Processing information:

Processed by Lorraine Pratt, 2006, Sina Rahmadi, 2007, and Audra Eagle with assistance from Kelley Bachli, 2008 in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT).

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

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Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into ten series, five of which have been further arranged into subseries. Sound recordings, books, serials, sheet music, motion picture films, and Arabian Nights books are arranged alphabetically. The series and subseries arrangement is as follows:

  1. Sound Recordings
    • Phonograph records
    • Compact discs
  2. Books
    • [Books]
    • Children's books
    • Romance novels
    • Pocket-sized books
  3. Serials
    • Pulp fiction
    • Comic books
    • Men's adventure magazines
    • Magazines
  4. Advertisements
  5. Games
    • Board games
    • Video games and manuals
    • Card games
  6. Artifacts and Objects
  7. Sheet Music
  8. Motion Picture Films
    • Digital video discs (DVDs)
    • Laserdisks
    • VHS cassettes
  9. Arabian Nights Books
  10. Stereographs

Physical / technical requirements:

COLLECTION CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. To access digital materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jonathan Friedlander collection of Middle Eastern Americana (Collection 1314). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website