The French Institute of Anatolian Studies holds a wealth of archives on its activities covering the period from the 1930s to the present day. The 1930s, 1980s, and 1990s are particularly well represented due to an increased focus on archiving by certain directors, such as Albert Gabriel (1930-1941 and 1945-1956), Jean-Louis Bacqué-Grammont (1984-1991), and Jacques Thobie (1991-1994).
In addition to administrative documents, the archives include documents kept by various directors, including numerous letters—some of which are from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—scientific reports, and mission statements. Some exchanges are particularly noteworthy, highlighting the mutual support within the academic world, such as the support provided by the director of IFEA, Jean-Louis Bacqué-Grammont, to the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB) at the end of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990).
Each of IFEA’s research branches—Archeology, History, and Contemporary Studies—ensures that archives are preserved according to its specific research themes. These archives, which are still mainly accessible in paper format, are gradually being digitized to ensure better preservation. The aim of this project, which involves hundreds of boxes of archives, is to share essential materials with researchers, but also to make them available to the general public in order to promote research. Thus, with the digital revolution in the 2010s, nearly 3,000 photos have been catalogued on the IFEA Visual Archives website, and nearly 400 maps on the “Atelier cartographique”s website.
IFEA has always invested in knowledge sharing to advance research, and this involves opening up its archives and library. With the digital age, remote needs, and the opening up of science, it is essential to embrace digitization to ensure access to research for all.
Passage Retrieved From the IFEA Archives and Library
The following excerpts mainly provide an overview of correspondence between the IFEA and various recipients. For example, letters sent and received from Tirana, New York, and Paris illustrate the extent of the international library and academic network in which the Institute was and still is involved.
German bookshop named after its founder İzidor Karon, located on Tünel Square in Pera (for more information on İzidor Karon, see an article written by Rifat Bali, click here); the Chamonal bookshop specializing in antique books on travel, geography, and literature in Paris; the Maisonneuve frères Editeurs Oriental and American bookshop; the E. S. Haim bookshop located on İstiklal Avenue; and the Hiersemann bookshop located in Leipzig—reveal aspects of the profession of bookseller-publisher, particularly through numerous invoices.
These exchanges of letters also give a glimpse of the slow procedural machinery involved in acquiring books, which sometimes took months to arrive by ship at the IFEA. These procedures required the exchange of several letters and the assistance of several intermediaries.
In addition, they illustrate the personal investment of the various IFEA directors involved in building up the library’s collections, which Emmanuel Laroche wanted to be “selective and balanced” but whose condition he lamented: “When I arrived, I found a library in disarray, half-catalogued, with a poorly maintained file full of errors, the laughing stock of knowledgeable colleagues.” To remedy this, he undertook to reorganize it himself, as his daughter recounts: “I simply remember that my father spent his first days as director moving all the books in the library one by one. The books had been placed in no particular order as they were acquired. He arranged them by subject area and discipline. At the same time, he had the librarian, Miss Lucie Kesecioglu, redo the entire file. The cards were actually classified alphabetically by the authors’ first names!”
In addition, the collection was built up through purchases but also through exchanges, which Jean-Louis Bacqué-Grammont considered very important, according to numerous letters exchanged with the French Institute of Near Eastern Archaeology in Damascus, the Gakkai Center in Tokyo (Society for Near Eastern Studies), the Skilliter bookshop in London, and the Middle East Documentation Center in Chicago (The Middle East Documentation Center).
Written by Guillaume Gug
