Scope and Contents
The 97 albumen photographs in this collection are representative of Antoin Sevruguin's all-encompassing documentation of Persia,
and comprise a mixture of studio portraits, outdoor vernacular scenes and landscapes. Portraits of "types" include "Persan(es)"
(Persians); professions such as tea seller, druggist, fig vendor and street banker; mendicants; dervishes; courtesans and
prostitutes, shot in the studio or in their typical locales. All levels of society are present here from court treasurers,
represented by the retinue of Ghavam-al-Dowleh, to unnamed opium smokers, and to a portrait of a Chaldean Christian woman.
There are numerous views of Tehran, including views of four of the city's six gates; the English legation; arsenal; gas factory;
and the Place des Canons. A photograph captioned "Mosqúée de Khoum" provides an intimate glimpse of two men sitting on an
open balcony with the impressive mosque as their backdrop. Daily life is represented in views of Tehran's markets and street
life.
Other locales represented include Anzalī Lagoon with views of its shores and the shah's palace, and the province of Gīlān,
especially local industry and life in the town of Rasht. Trade routes in the environs of Gīlān and other areas to the north
and west of Tehran are also pictured, with a focus on way stations; bridges leading to trade centers; and the movement of
the goods themselves in covered wagons, on camels and in caravanserai. From further afield come images of the nomads of Taliche
in Mazandaran province and from Lorestan in the west, as well as of the inhabitants of Imamzadeh, Kurdistan. Also included
are a few views of bas-reliefs at Persepolis and other ancient sites.
Titles are from captions written on the mounts. Most of the photographs are numbered in the negative.
Arrangement
In original order.
