SAEDNEWS: Over 3,000 Historical Photos from 76 ‘Shadow Albums’ of Golestan Palace Released Online for Free, Capturing Widespread Attention on Social Medi
According to the Social Affairs Desk of Saed News, an anonymous individual has recently released an archive of photographs of Golestan Palace from the era of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. These images have recently drawn significant attention on social media.
Interestingly, the first person from Tehran to learn photography and earn the title of the city’s first photographer was Naser al-Din Shah himself, the fourth king of the Qajar dynasty. Photography and the camera were first introduced to Tehran in the late reign of Mohammad Shah Qajar by European military officers and advisors who frequently traveled to the city.
Among the most famous photographs left by Naser al-Din Shah is one of Mahd-e Olia (the king’s mother) and the women of his harem. In addition to photographing the women and his favorites, he captured images of buildings, landscapes, hunting grounds, summer estates, and political prisoners. Many of the photographs Naser al-Din Shah took of political prisoners are preserved in the Golestan Palace Museum’s house album, often accompanied by the caption, “We took this ourselves.”
Here, we present a selection of these historical photographs.
