[ANNOTATED PHOTOGRAPH AND SCRAPBOOK ALBUM DOCUMENTING AN AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP IN PAKISTAN IN THE MID-1950s]

[Various locations in Pakistan, including Peshawar, Lahore, Dacca, and Karachi, 1956].. Twenty-two large-format professional photographs, 6 x 8 inches, with decorated tissue guards, most with typed captions mounted beneath the images. Thirty smaller format vernacular photographs, a partially- printed certificate, a small handwritten card, and three newspaper or magazine articles pasted in or laid in. Oblong quarto. Contemporary maroon textured leatherette photograph album (made in Pakistan), string tied, paper label taped to the front board reading: "With Compliments from the Education Department, Lahore Pakistan." Minor soiling to binding, moderate wear to paper label. Contents generally clean and in excellent condition. Very good overall. A likely-unique assemblage of photographs and ephemera relating to an educational workshop conducted by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) in the mid- 20th century. A non-governmental organization still active more than seventy years after its founding, the USEFP's goal is to promote educational cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan. After gaining its independence from Britain in 1947 Pakistan sought to remain technically non-aligned with regard to Cold War international politics, but over time developed a significant relationship with the United States, including the leasing of the Peshawar Air Station for American use beginning in 1956.

Most of the larger photographs in this album have typed captions, and document various Pakistani officials and USEFP members speaking and teaching during an educational workshop in "West Pakistan," running discussion groups and meetings, and attending receptions and other activities. There is also a "Group photo of the members and the Delegation of the Education Foundation." One of the speakers who worked for the USEFP and is pictured here leading a discussion group is Calvin Cope, who seems to be the compiler of the present album; two newspaper articles on Cope's experiences in Pakistan are mounted in the rear of the album. Cope was a university professor and administrator at Monterey Peninsula College in California who spent a year in a teaching program after receiving a Fulbright grant.

In addition to the professional photographs, Cope has included thirty vernacular photos in the album, two of which picture him and his wife in traditional Pakistani dress (one of these is reproduced in one of the newspaper clippings about Cope). Most of the other vernacular pictures show Pakistani students in school and at play, and include multiple shots of Pakistani friends, as well as additional photos from the educational workshop, providing a deeper look into the event. Besides the two newspaper articles, an article on the Karachi educational workshop is laid in. Other ephemeral items include a small handwritten card with the numbers one through ten translated into Pakistani along with two Pakistani phrases, and a certificate from the USEFP and the Directorate of Education in Peshawar inviting the bearer to attend the "Certificate Awarding Ceremony" of the teacher's workshop in that city, to be held at the "No. 1 Govt. High School, Peshawar."

The United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan was established in 1950 and is still an active organization devoted to educational cooperation between the United States and Pakistan. According to their website: "USEFP is guided by a binational commission composed of an equal number of Pakistanis and Americans, with the Chair alternating each year between a Pakistani and an American. USEFP is one of 49 'Fulbright Commissions' located throughout the world. Since 1951 when the first group of Pakistani grantees traveled to America and in 1952 when the first American grantees visited Pakistan, the USEFP has fostered mutual understanding between the people of Pakistan and the people of the United States through educational and cultural exchange. More than 8,000 Pakistanis and around 935 Americans have participated in USEFP administered exchange programs. The Foundation receives support and counsel from both the Pakistan and U.S. governments, but it is not an agency of either. The Foundation supervises a variety of programs that send Pakistani students and scholars to American campuses while bringing American scholars to universities in Pakistan. The goal of all USEFP programs is to help Pakistanis learn more about the U.S. and to help Americans learn more about Pakistan and its people."

An interesting and unique record of the early years of the USEFP's efforts at educational diplomacy in Pakistan.