Collections

This page is devoted to three types of collections connected to the Georgian Diaspora in the US consisting of archives, newspapers and photographs.

 

• The first collection is a fascinating archival compendium of documents and photographs which was gifted to the Fung Library by Christopher Shepherd in 2022. It gives us insight into the life of two of the most prestigious noble families in Georgia at the turn of the 19^th century.
• The second collection is of émigré Georgian newspapers and periodicals published in the US which began publication in the mid-twentieth century.  The collection is only partial (we are still in the process of building the collection and welcome donations), but they provide examples of Georgian émigré activities in the 1950s-1970s.  We include in the collection two periodicals published in Soviet Georgia (samshoblos khma and samshoblo which were designed to reach out to the Georgian Diaspora, including Georgians residing in the US.
• The third collection is of photographs. We begin with a selection of photographs of the first significant group of Georgian immigrants to the USA who arrived from Guria, West Georgia, in 1893 to perform in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Many of the riders stayed in the US and were the embryo of the Georgian Diaspora which grew with successive waves of immigrants in the 20thc. Click here to see the full story. We have also found a small selection of photographs of the famous Alavardi Balls, a series of balls  organized by the Georgian Association in the USA  in the 1950s and 1960s

Special Collections

Periodicals

Photo Collections