The Myron Bement Smith collection consists of two parts, the papers of Myron Bement Smith and his wife Katharine and the Islamic Archives. It contains substantial material about his field research in Italy in the 1920s and his years working on Islamic architecture in Iran in the 1930s. Letters describe the milieu in which he operated in Rochester NY and New York City in the 1920s and early 1930s; the Smiths' life in Iran from 1933 to 1937; and the extensive network of academic and social contacts that Myron and Katharine developed and maintained over his lifetime. The Islamic Archives was a project to which Smith devoted most of his professional life. It includes both original materials, such as his photographs and notes, and items acquired by him from other scholars or experts on Islamic art and architecture. Smith intended the Archives to serve as a resource for scholars interested in the architecture and art of the entire Islamic world although he also included some materials about non-Islamic architecture.
Scope and Contents:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection consists of two parts, the papers of Myron Bement Smith and his wife Katharine and the Islamic Archives. The papers include some biographic material about Myron but little about his wife. Information on his academic and professional experience is sketchy and his diaries and appointment books often contain only sporadic entries. The papers contain substantial material about his field research in Italy in the 1920s and his years working on Islamic architecture in Iran in the 1930s. Correspondence comprises the largest and most potentially useful part of the papers. Letters describe the milieu in which he operated in Rochester, NY and New York City in the 1920s and early 1930s; the Smiths' life in Iran from 1933 to 1937; and the extensive network of academic and social contacts that Myron and Katharine developed and maintained over his lifetime.
The Islamic Archives, formally entitled The Archive for Islamic Culture and Art, was a project to which Smith devoted most of his professional life. It includes both original materials, such as his photographs and notes, and items acquired by him from other scholars or experts on Islamic art and architecture. Most of the latter consists of photographs and slides. Smith intended the Archives to serve as a resource for scholars interested in the architecture and art of the entire Islamic world although he also included some materials about non-Islamic architecture. The core collection of the Archives consists of Smith's original photographs and architectural sketches of Iranian Islamic monuments made during his field research in the 1930s. He meticulously photographed the interior and exterior of monuments, including their decorative detail. Some of the photographic materials subsequently loaned, purchased, or donated to the Archives may enable scholars to document sites over time but in many cases the materials are poorly preserved or reproduced. A notable exception to this is the glassplate negatives and prints of 19th century Iranian photographer Antoin Sevruguin.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 2 major series with further subseries. A third series inventories the outsized and miscellaneous materials.
Series 1: Papers
Subseries 1.1: Biographic Materials
Subseries 1.2: Professional Experience
Subseries 1.3: Notebooks, Journals and Appointment Books
Subseries 1.4: Correspondence
Subseries 1.5: Published and Unpublished Materials
Subseries 1.6: Italy Research 1925, 1927-1928
Subseries 1.7: Iran Research 1933-1937
Subseries 1.8: Katharine Dennis Smith Papers and Correspondence
Series 2: The Islamic Archives
Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information
Subseries 2.2: Resource Materials Iran
Subseries 2.3: Resource Materials Other Islamic World and General
Subseries 2.4: Myron Bement Smith Architectural Sketches, Plans and Notes, Iran, 1933-1937
Subseries 2.5: Myron Bement Smith Iran Photographs, Notebooks and Negative Registers
Subseries 2.6: Country Photograph File
Subseries 2.7: Lantern Slide Collection
Subseries 2.8: Myron Bement Smith 35 mm Color Slides
Subseries 2.9: Country 35 mm Color Slide File
Subseries 2.10: Myron Bement Smith Negatives
Subseries 2.11: Country Photograph Negatives
Subseries 2.12: Antoin Sevruguin Photographs
Series 3: Outsize and Miscellaneous Items
Subseries 3.1: Map Case Drawers
Subseries 3.2: Rolled Items
Subseries 3.3 Items in Freezer
Subseries 3.4 Smithsonian Copy Negatives
Biographical Note:
Myron Bement Smith was born in Newark Valley, New York in 1897 and grew up in Rochester, New York. He died in Washington D.C. in 1970. He showed an early interest in drawing, and after graduation from high school, he worked as a draftsman for a Rochester architect. He served in the US Army Medical Corps in France during World War I and on return again worked as an architectural draftsman. He studied at Yale University from 1922 to 1926, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. During summer vacations, he worked as draftsman or designer for architectural firms in New York City. After graduation, he received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation grant and spent two years in Italy doing research on northern Italian brick and stone work. He used photography as an tool for his research and published several well-illustrated articles. On return he joined an architectural firm in Philadelphia and in 1931 became a registered architect in New York. He enrolled in Harvard University graduate school in 1929 pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree.
In April 1930, Smith was appointed Secretary of the newly created American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology founded by Arthur Upham Pope and located in New York City. He had no prior academic or work experience in Islamic art or architecture, and his job entailed designing publications, arranging lectures, organizing exhibitions and fund raising. That summer he arranged an independent study course at Harvard University on Persian art and subsequently studied Persian language at Columbia University and attended graduate courses at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. His work and academic credentials enabled him to compete successfully for a research fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies in 1933 to study Iranian Islamic architecture.
Accompanied by his new bride Katharine Dennis, Smith left for Iran in 1933. They suffered a horrendous motor vehicle accident in Iraq en route and required a lengthy recuperation in Lebanon and Cyprus. The Smiths eventually arrived in Isfahan, Iran, where they established their "Expedition House," as Smith called it, in a rented faculty house at Stuart College. Smith's research consisted of meticulous photographic documentation of Islamic monuments and architectural sketches and drawings of many of them. He concentrated on the Isfahan area but also documented monuments elsewhere in Iran. Smith outfitted his station wagon as a combination camper and research vehicle in which he and his staff traveled widely. Katharine sometimes traveled with him but generally she remained in Isfahan managing the household and logistics for the "expedition." The Smiths left Iran in 1937.
Smith published several articles about Iran's Islamic monuments based on his field research and in 1947 completed his PhD thesis for The Johns Hopkins University on the vault in Persian architecture. His professional career from 1938 until his death in 1970 consisted of a series of temporary academic positions, contract work and government or academic sponsored lecture tours and photographic exhibits. He had a long lasting relationship with the Library of Congress where he served as an Honorary Consultant from 1938 to 1940 and again from 1948 to 1970; from 1943 to 1944 he was Chief of the Iranian Section at the Library. Despite his lack of published material, Smith was well-known among academic, government and private citizens who worked, traveled or were otherwise interested Iran and the Islamic world.
Smith developed an extensive network of professional and social contacts that dated from his early student days and increased markedly during his time at the Persian Institute and later in Iran. He kept in touch with them and they touted him to others who were interested in Iran or Islamic art and architecture. This network served him well in realizing his ambition of creating a resource for scholars that relied on photographs to document Islamic architecture. The Islamic Archives began with his own collection of photographs from his Iran research and grew to include all manner of photographic and other materials not only on the Islamic world but also other areas. Creating and managing the Archives became the main focus of Smith's professional life and career. In 1967 he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to revise his PhD thesis as a publishable manuscript but died before he could complete it.
Related Materials:
The Antoin Sevruguin Photgraphs
Ernst Herzfeld Papers
Lionel B. Bier Drawings
Lionel D. Bier and Carol Bier Photographs
Provenance:
Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith, transfered from National Anthropological Archives.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
181 Photographic prints (Volume two: 3 folders, b&w, 29.2 cm. x 22.8 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1904-1934
Scope and Contents:
- "Photo File 5, Volume 2", which was assembled by Joseph Upton, provides 181 photographic prints which may first relate to a visit to Persepolis in November 1905 during his expedition return from the Assur (Kalat Schergat, Iraq) excavation. They may also have been taken during the two last months of 1923 and early March 1924 when Herzfeld spent six weeks on the terrace of Persepolis, drafting a plan and providing a photographic record of the whole structure. More photographs were taken in 1928 when the architect Friedrich Krefter joined Herzfeld in Persia to complete various measured plans and drawings in Persepolis. The expedition was funded by the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft. Finally, excavations of the Achaemenid site were begun on March 1, 1931, under the auspices of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, until Ernst Herzfeld left Persepolis permanently in Spring 1934.
- Additional information from Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive reads, "The prints are from three sources: (1) those from glass negatives; (2) those from cut film; and (3) those for which there are no negatives. The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives, numbered from 1 to 3850. Of most of these he had blueprints made which he had arranged in 16 binders by general categories, irrespective of the number on the negative. These formed the nucleus for the preparation of the Photo Files. The 16 binders of blueprints have been replaced by Photo Files, Nos. 1-16. The prints in each File are arranged in the same order as the blueprints; and the number of the negative is enclosed in parentheses. Following a brief identification, is a reference to the place where the print has been published, if that is the case and such publication has been located."
- Additional information from staff reads, "Ernst Herzfeld has visited the Sevruguin Studio in Tehran (Iran) and purchased several Antoin Sevruguin photographic prints. One of them, FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v2.355, is in the Ernst Herzfeld Papers; Photo File 5, Volume 2."
Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 4: Photographic Files; Persepolis (Photo File 5, vol. 2)
Arrangement:
- Of most of his 3,890 glass negatives, Herzfeld had blueprints made which he arranged in 16 binders irrespective of the number on the negative. In addition to the 16 blueprint binders, he assembled 5 albums including two from the Samarra series labelled "Paläste und Moscheen-I and -II." The remainder of the photographs, from glass negatives and from cut films, sometimes identified by Herzfeld, were printed en masse for study purpose (labelled by Upton as duplicate prints) and which are, for the most part, unpublished. For his own research, Herzfeld also collected prints from many sources. Of those there are no negatives. Finally, in early 1970s, Joseph Upton reorganized the whole Herzfeld collection of photographic prints into 42 photographic files, assembling 10 additional files in excess of the 24 existing files arranged by Herzfeld himself. The eight remaining files, File 35 to File 42, are made of duplicate prints provided by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
Local Numbers:
Ernst Herzfeld Papers; Photo File 5, Volume 2
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v2
General:
- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
141 Photographic prints (Volume three: 2 folders, b&w, 29.2 cm. x 22.8 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Place:
Iran
Bisutun Site (Iran)
Naqsh-i Rustam (Iran)
Pasargadae (Extinct city)
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1904-1934
Scope and Contents:
- "Photo File 5, Volume 3", which was assembled by Joseph Upton, provides 141 photographic prints of antiquities and from archaeological sites such as Bisutun Site (Iran), Istakhr (Iran), Naqsh-i Rajab (Iran), Naqsh-i Rustam (Iran), Pasargadae (Iran), and Persepolis (Iran).
- Additional information from Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive reads, "The prints are from three sources: (1) those from glass negatives; (2) those from cut film; and (3) those for which there are no negatives. The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives, numbered from 1 to 3850. Of most of these he had blueprints made which he had arranged in 16 binders by general categories, irrespective of the number on the negative. These formed the nucleus for the preparation of the Photo Files. The 16 binders of blueprints have been replaced by Photo Files, Nos. 1-16. The prints in each File are arranged in the same order as the blueprints; and the number of the negative is enclosed in parentheses. Following a brief identification, is a reference to the place where the print has been published, if that is the case and such publication has been located."
- Additional information from staff reads, "Ernst Herzfeld has visited the Sevruguin Studio in Tehran (Iran) and purchased several Antoin Sevruguin photographic prints. Thirteen of them (FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.001; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.002; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.003; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.003a; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.004; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.005; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.006; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.007a; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.007b; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.008a; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.008b; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.009; FSA A.6 04.05.v3.037b) are in the Ernst Herzfeld Papers; Photo File 5, Volume 3."
Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 4: Photographic Files; Persepolis (Photo File 5, vol. 3)
Arrangement:
- Of most of his 3,890 glass negatives, Herzfeld had blueprints made which he arranged in 16 binders irrespective of the number on the negative. In addition to the 16 blueprint binders, he assembled 5 albums including two from the Samarra series labelled "Paläste und Moscheen-I and -II." The remainder of the photographs, from glass negatives and from cut films, sometimes identified by Herzfeld, were printed en masse for study purpose (labelled by Upton as duplicate prints) and which are, for the most part, unpublished. For his own research, Herzfeld also collected prints from many sources. Of those there are no negatives. Finally, in early 1970s, Joseph Upton reorganized the whole Herzfeld collection of photographic prints into 42 photographic files, assembling 10 additional files in excess of the 24 existing files arranged by Herzfeld himself. The eight remaining files, File 35 to File 42, are made of duplicate prints provided by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
Local Numbers:
Ernst Herzfeld Papers; Photo File 5, Volume 3
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3
General:
- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 23.4 cm. x 15.3 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 1
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1898-1902
Scope and Contents:
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "822."
- On recto of the print, scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1665."
Persepolis (Iran): Northwestern Corner of Terrace Complex and Outcrops of Unwrought Bedrock [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 1
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.001
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 15.4 cm. x 22.6 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 2
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1898-1902
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 2: Persepolis. Entrance, human-headed bulls."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "232."
- On recto of the print, scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1660."
Persepolis (Iran): Gate of All Lands: Colossal Sculptures Depicting Man-Bulls [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 2
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.002
General:
Title is provided by FSg Archives staff based on.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 15.9 cm. x 22.1 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 3
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
ca. 1900
Scope and Contents:
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "849."
- On recto of the print, scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "719."
Persepolis (Iran): Tachara Palace (Palace of Darius) [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 3
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.003
General:
Title is provided by FSg Archives staff based on.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 20.7 cm. x 15.4 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 3a
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1898-1902
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 3a: Persepolis. Terrace with tents."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "335."
- On recto of the print, scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "655."
Persepolis (Iran): Gate of All Lands (Foreground) and Apadana (Background) [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 3a
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.003a
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 21.2 cm. x 15.3 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 6
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1898-1902
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 6: Persepolis. Tripylon, Darius."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "573."
- On recto of the print, scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "---(?)."
Persepolis (Iran): Tripylon (Council Hall), Main Hall, West Jamb of Southern Doorway: View of Relief Picturing King and Attendants [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 6
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.006
General:
Title is provided by FSg Archives staff based on.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 12 cm. x 17.3 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 7a
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
ca. 1900
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 7a: Persepolis. Detail of border of Darius."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "370."
Persepolis (Iran): Hadish (Palace of Xerxes), East Wall of Main Hall, South Jamb of Doorway: Detail View of Relief Depicting Royal Garment Inscribed with Xerxes Trilingual Inscription, XPe [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 7a
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.007a
General:
Title is provided by FSg Archives staff based on.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 11.6 cm. x 16.5 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 7b
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1898-1902
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 7b: Persepolis. 100-Column Hall, King on throne."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "914."
Persepolis (Iran): Throne Hall, Northern Wall, West Jamb of Eastern Doorway: View of Relief Picturing Enthroned King Giving Audience, as well as Registers Picturing Persian and Median Guards [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 7b
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.007b
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 11.9 cm. x 16.7 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 8a
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
ca. 1900
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 8a: Persepolis. King stabbing monster."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "976."
Persepolis (Iran): Harem of Xerxes, Central Section of the Main Wing, Eastern Wall of Main Hall, North Jamb of Doorway: View of Relief Picturing Royal Hero Stabbing a Rampant Griffin [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 8a
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.008a
General:
Title is provided by FSg Archives staff based on.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 13.8 cm. x 19.2 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 8b
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
ca. 1900
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 8b: Persepolis. King stabbing monster."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "976."
Persepolis (Iran): Harem of Xerxes, Central Section of the Main Wing, Eastern Wall of Main Hall, North Jamb of Doorway: View of Relief Picturing Royal Hero Stabbing a Rampant Griffin [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 8b
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.008b
General:
Title is provided by FSg Archives staff based on.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 22.5 cm. x 15.7 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 9
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
1898-1902
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 9: Persepolis. King stabbing monster."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "818."
- On recto of the print, scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "732."
Persepolis (Iran): Northern Wall of the Throne Hall (Talar-i Takht) [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 9
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.009
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 19 cm. x 14.4 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 37b
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Persepolis (Iran)
Date:
ca. 1900
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.5: Photo File 5 (3 vols.). 'Persepolis.' Subseries 4.5.3: Vol.3, Image No. 37b: Persepolis. Apadāna inscription. (Photo 1905 purchase ?)."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "896."
Persepolis (Iran): Apadana, North Side, West Wing of Ceremonial Stairway: View of Relief Picturing Lion-Bull Combat and Inscription, XPb, Old Persian Version [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 3, File 5, Folder 9, Image 37b
FSA A.6 04.PF.05.v3.037b
General:
Title is provided by FSg Archives staff based on.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 16.6 cm. x 11.6 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 17
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
1880s-1930
Scope and Contents:
"The Shah is surrounded by twenty-one of his sons and courtiers. In the case of the Qajar princes, the names of each is carved beside their head in the relief. The princes are carved in almost identical attires. The date of construction of the relief is estimated to be the twentieth year of Fath Ali Shah's reign in 1817-18. Fath Ali Shah Qajar was the second king of Qajar dynasty in Iran that rulled the country for around 37 years (1797-1834). He was born to Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar's brother and since Aqa mohammad Khan did not have a child, Fath Ali shah assumed the position of the king upon his death." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.24: Photo File 24, Image No. 17: Rayy. Cheshmeh 'Ali. Fath 'Ali Shah hunting."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1041."
Firuzkuh (Iran): Qajar Rock Relief Depicting Fath Ali Shah in Royal Hunt [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 12, File 24, Folder 11, Image 17
FSA A.6 04.PF.24.017
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 15.7 cm. x 11.6 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 19
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Ray (Iran)
Date:
Before 1899
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.24: Photo File 24, Image No. 19: Rayy. Tower of Silence from mountain. Probably taken by Herzfeld in 1905."
- On recto of the print, faded handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1384."
Rayy (Iran): Zoroastrian Tower of Silence (Khamushan Tower) [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 12, File 24, Folder 11, Image 19
FSA A.6 04.PF.24.019
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 12 cm. x 16.5 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 107
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Iṣfahān (Iran)
Date:
1880s-1930
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.24: Photo File 24, Image No. 107: Near Isfahan. Karavansarai."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1090."
- On recto of the print, scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1673."
Vicinity of Isfahan (Iran): Unidentified Caravanserai [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 12, File 24, Folder 13, Image 107
FSA A.6 04.PF.24.107
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 16.2 cm. x 11.9 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 133
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Iṣfahān (Iran)
Date:
1880s-1930
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.24: Photo File 24, Image No. 133: Isfahan. Manufacture of printed cotton cloth (kalam kar)."
Isfahan (Iran): Manufacture of Printed Cotton Cloth [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 12, File 24, Folder 14, Image 133
FSA A.6 04.PF.24.133
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 15 cm. x 10.4 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 134
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Iṣfahān (Iran)
Date:
1880s-1930
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.24: Photo File 24, Image No. 134: Isfahan. Carpet knotting."
Isfahan (Iran): Girls Weaving a Carpet [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 12, File 24, Folder 14, Image 134
FSA A.6 04.PF.24.134
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 14.6 cm. x 10 cm.)
Container:
Item Print 135
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Iṣfahān (Iran)
Date:
1880s-1930
Scope and Contents:
Additional information from Finding Aid reads, "Subseries 4.24: Photo File 24, Image No. 135: Isfahan. Harvesting tobacco."
Isfahan (Iran): Harvesting Tobacco [graphic]
Arrangement:
The Archive contains Herzfeld's glass negatives which he arranged by general categories into 16 separate Photo files, irrespective of the number on the negative. He also collected photographic prints from many sources for study purposes. So far as possible, Joseph Upton has identified and placed these prints in the appropriate Photo file.
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933) was an official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran whose commercial photography studio was one of the most successful in Tehran from the late 1870s to about 1934. The astonishing range of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs, and the prolific output of the studio, provides today's viewer with an important resource for examining the cultural histories and hierarchical elements of Iranian society. They assist the scholar in studying architectural sites that may have been damaged or destroyed, or are unavailable for first-hand investigation. Increasingly, the prints are valued for their artistic elements that may sometimes overshadow their documentary value. Most significantly, Sevruguin's images form part of an ongoing history that links a distant past and place to the present.
Local Numbers:
Box 12, File 24, Folder 14, Image 135
FSA A.6 04.PF.24.135
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.