Marie Azeez el-Khoury (Arabic: ماري عزيز الخوري) (1883 — September 26, 1957) was a Syrian-born American journalist and jewelry designer.

Early life

Marie Azeez and her older sister Alice were born in the

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

region of greater Syria, and moved to the United States as children in 1891, with their parents Tannous Azeez and Julia Tabet. Her father opened a jewelry business in lower Manhattan. He later moved his business to

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

.Linda K. Jacobs
"'If You Are Wearing Pearls, Wear Nothing but Pearls': Marie El-Khoury, Jeweler to New York Society"
Kalimah Press blog (August 24, 2015). Marie attended Drew Seminary in Carmel, New York, and Washington College for Young Ladies in Eckington, graduating in 1900 when she was just 17 years old."Marie el-Khoury, Designer, was 74"
''New York Times'' (September 28, 1957): 17.

Career

As a young woman Marie Azeez wrote for Arabic-language publications in the United States, and intended a career in journalism.Kathleen McLaughlin
"Success as Jewelry Designer Crowns a Vocational Detour"
''New York Times'' (February 18, 1940): D6. But she was widowed in 1904, and her father died in 1905, leaving Marie to support her mother and sister. She took over the remains of Tannous Azeez's jewelry business, which was mostly destroyed in a fire in 1904, and moved it back to Manhattan, this time on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

, with a later move to

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

. She kept the business's name, "The Little Shop of T. Azeez", in her father's memory. She was present for at least two robbery attempts in her shop. Her designs were featured in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' described her as "a traveler, a poet, a philosopher, and into every necklace, bracelet, pendant, she puts the complexity and subtlety of her own nature." She continued writing, including some jewel-themed short stories syndicated in Sunday newspapers across the United States. Marie el-Khoury donated a bound volume of '' al-Da'irah'' (1900-1901), the "first magazine published in Arabic in the Western Hemisphere", to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

in 1945. She was also a member of the Board of Trustees at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

."Accession and Notes"
''Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'' 15(3)(March 1920): 69.

Personal life

Marie Azeez married magazine publisher Esau el-Khoury in 1902. She was widowed at age 21 when Esau died in 1904. Marie Azeez el-Khoury died in 1957, aged 74 years, in New York. Her ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' obituary remembered her as "one of this city's leading and most original jewelry designers".

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading