North Yemen: Collection of photographs.

240 original black-and-white photographs of various sizes, most 90 x 140 mm or 70 x 90 mm. Some captioned in Arabic on the reverse. A large trove of rare photographs from the early days of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). The bulk of the collection depicts revolutionary festivities in Taiz honouring President Abdullah al-Sallal after his coup d'état against King Muhammad al-Badr, celebrating the newly-founded Republic. Al-Sallal appears in many images, sometimes next to other Yemeni officials, military officers and tribesmen, comfortably watching the festivities from a shaded stand. Attracting a large crowd including a women's delegation, journalists and photographers, the event involved army convoys and parades showing off weaponry, such as cannons and rocket launchers, as well as school dance and gymnastics performances and a march of what might become child soldiers. - The collection further includes gruesome images of public executions of royalists, with several group pictures of Yemeni fighters bracing themselves for imminent war. Views of landmarks such as Bab Muza in Taiz, Ashrafie Mosque, Tahir Place and the Republican Palace in Sanaa complete the picture. - After the 1962 coup d'état, King and Imam Muhammad al-Badr escaped to the Saudi Arabian border, where he rallied popular support from northern Zaydi tribes to retake power, and the conflict escalated rapidly to a full-scale civil war. On the royalist side, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel supplied military aid, and Britain gave covert support. The republicans were supported by Egypt (UAR) under President Gamal Abdel Nasser and were supplied with warplanes from the Soviet Union. Despite several military operations and peace conferences, the war sank into a stalemate by the mid-1960s. The 1967 siege of Sana'a became the turning point of the war: the remaining republicans succeeded in keeping control of Sana'a, and by February 1968, the royalists lifted the siege. Clashes continued in parallel with peace talks until 1970, when Saudi Arabia recognized the Republic and a ceasefire came into effect. - A few photographs creased, but mostly in excellent condition.