Most notable are the holdings of Rentz and Snook…special collections at the King Abdulaziz Library that support scholars

Embraces King Abdulaziz Public Library Among its qualitative cultural materials, which exceed 2.5 million items, is a comprehensive knowledge system that enhances the Saudi Arab-Islamic cultural influence that overlooks the world with an ancient and diverse cultural, historical, and literary heritage.

And within this system: "Special Collections" It means diverse cultural materials that include heritage repertoire in all fields of information, including manuscripts, scientific theses, private libraries, rare books, photographs, photo archives, as well as maps and atlases, and they represent a highly important cognitive value, providing us with important scientific material for studying and rewriting history.

The most important collectibles

Among the most important holdings in these collections formed by the library throughout its history spanning more than 40 years is the archive of original photographs, as the library owns a huge archive of photographs, numbering (7,811) original photographs, taken by the most famous photographers of the East and the Arab region, since the beginnings of solar photography in the 19th century AD, in addition to photos taken by travelers, ship captains, military personnel and diplomatic envoys, who visited the region in the two centuries. The last two.

Various archive

This is Historical Archive of photos is one of the most important and unique sources in the world, embodying the past and heritage of the Arab region.

The library also includes: a collection of photographs of Major General Muhammad Sadiq Pasha; About the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina, which is an archive consisting of eighteen rare photos taken.

In 1880 AD, in addition to purchasing his four books: "A summary of the exploration of the route of the Hijaz land from Al-Wajh and Yanbu Al-Bahr to Medina Al-Nabawi and an explanation of its military map, 1877 AD."and"Mishal al-Muhammal in the Hajj journey by land, 1880 AD"and"The Hajj star in the travel of the ship by sea and its journey by land (1885 AD), and"A guide to Hajj for those coming to Mecca and Medina from every quarter, 1885 AD".

These books are rare and important. It includes the history of the social and urban situation of Hejaz, during the second half of the 19th century AD.

Among the rare photos acquired by the library is the first photo taken by a foreign traveler to Mecca, in 1888 AD, by the Dutch orientalist Hierogrone Snook.

The collection of international photographer Ahmed Pasha Helmy enjoys a prominent place among the treasures of the library’s photographic holdings, with more than (341) original, never-before-published photographs of the Two Holy Mosques, in addition to a group of albums depicting the Hejaz Railway, and some regions of the Kingdom.

Also, the collection of photos of Princess Alice, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of Britain, in which she documented her trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1938 AD, constitutes a historical documentary aspect, as during her three-week trip she photographed many events with rare photos, amounting to (324) photos, that had not been published before. In addition to a video tape depicting the trip, the latter is the oldest television filming of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Among the private collections is also a collection of 165 photographs by international Brazilian photographer Humberto da Silveira, documenting the historical aspects of the Kingdom, before the contemporary modernization phase.

Abbas Pasha’s manuscript, which was written in 1852 AD, entitled: (The Origins of Horses) and is located in (571) pages, is one of the most important collections that provides information about horses, lineages, heritage, and history among the late Arabs. It includes mentioning the names of the rulers of that time, and the names of the tribal sheikhs, men, families, and knights, in the Arabian Peninsula. It contains comprehensive information about the horses, most of which were gifted by Imam Faisal bin Turki to Abbas Pasha. The first, and to Egypt, Ibn Tusun bin Muhammad Ali, who ruled Egypt from 1870 AD to 1876 AD, and they were linked by friendly relations and harmony.

There is also The British Documents Collectionof King Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God rest his soul – which are copies of the original documents, available within the British archive known as "Public records house"which includes documents collected over several centuries, by successive British governments, providing invaluable information about the Arabian Peninsula.

It also includes a collection of Abd al-Rahman Azzam Pasha’s documents, and most of these documents deal with issues related to the Arab League. In terms of its origin and the charters on which it was based, and its role in trying to find a solution to the Palestinian issue, activating the Arab role, and some countries gaining their independence,

Among the library’s holdings is the collection of the Arabist George Rentz: (George Rentz), the American historian and researcher, and one of the most important people who served the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He spent in the Kingdom the period between (1945-1962). In total, the John Rentz Library contains (2165) rare documents, including (1035) documents in Arabic; It contains (1130) documents in English, and also contains (1244) books in Arabic, and (3114) titles in foreign languages.

Khair al-Din al-Zirakali’s group includes the well-known writer, historian, and diplomat; Who worked as an acting advisor in the Arab Commission of Saudi Arabia in Egypt in 1934 AD, a large number of documents amounting to (4574) documents, which formed the outcome of his professional life journey from 1921 AD until his death in 1976 AD, including: letters and official and unofficial documents that he exchanged with the Saudi government; At its head is King Abdul Aziz, and his sons, the kings after him: Saud and Faisal.

The library of the Imam of the Paris Mosque, Sheikh Hamza Abu Bakr, contains (17,170) titles, including books, periodicals, manuscripts, and a collection of documents, and important rare books in the languages: Arabic, English, French, and Russian, in addition to luxurious Qur’ans.

In addition, the library acquired a collection of more than (700) ancient maps, drawn in Europe beginning with the era of printing, and includes maps of famous cartographers in the world, such as: Ptolemy, Gestaldi, Ur Tullius, Munster, Pertius, Hondias, Mercator, Speed, Blau, Sanson, De Wit, Van den Ker, Van Dra, Riegel, Paun, Belen, Niebuhr, De Avel, Pinkertin, Orsmith.

The King Abdulaziz Public Library opens the way for readers, researchers, and scholars to view these special collections in order to enhance scientific research in the fields of history, literature, philosophy, economics, geography, and various sciences.

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