Country: Iran
Collection Type: Cultural organisation Private collection
Collection Size: > 50,000
Period: 1860-1900 1900-1930 1930-1960 1960-1980 Later than 1980
Type of Material & Format: Glass plates positives and/or negatives Slides (positives)

The Cultural Research Bureau includes the Photo and Pictorial Studies department, which was established around 1996 in order to provide photographs for the institution’s various projects and publications. The activities of this division are divided into research related to general theory and publication of books and quarterly magazines. Some of the departments are focused on history & culture, architecture & culture, photography & culture, philosophy & culture, economy & culture. The Cultural Research Bureau have published a series of books called ‘What do I know about Iran?’ which includes 124 titles.

The collection contains around 50,000 images including glass plates, negatives and positives (slides) and is stored off-site.

Contact Details:
Name: Rana Javadi
Email: [email protected]

Country: Iran
Collection Type: Museum State agency/ Ministry
Collection Size: > 50,000
Period: 1860-1900 1900-1930
Type of Material & Format: Black and White images Film-based negatives Glass plates positives and/or negatives Prints
Website: http://www.golestanpalace.ir

The Golestan Palace is the oldest monument in Tehran. It belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg (citadel). The Arg was built during the reign of Tahmasb I (1524-1576) of the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736). Agha Mohamad Khan Qajar (1742-1797) chose Tehran as his capital and the Arg became the site of the Qajar Court (1794-1925). The Golestan Palace became the official residence of the royal family. During the Pahlavi era (1925-1979), the Golestan Palace was used for formal royal receptions. In its present state, the Golestan Palace is the result of roughly 400 years of construction and renovations.

The museum’s archival holdings are comprised of photographs, paintings, and manuscripts from the late Qajar era, and in particular, the period of Nasser al-Din Shah’s reign (1848-1896), as well as a small library. Naser Al-Din Shah (1831-1896) became interested in photography soon after its invention, publishing essays on photographic processes, as did his successor Mozfar Al-Din Shah. As a result, students were often sent to Europe and eventually became teachers in Dar Al-Funun.

The Golestan palace houses around 48,000 photographs, the oldest dating from 1840. The collection is organized according to albums which were made by the Qajar court, and often, by Nasser al-Din Shah himself. The collection, which is partly digitized (around 6,000 images as of 2015), includes approximately 1,000 slides, 1,039 albums and 9,000 glass negatives. The photographs are of various processes and sizes, and were taken in Iran and other countries in Europe, Asia and Africa (e.g. Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Japan, Russia, Georgia, France, Switzerland, Morocco, India, and Italy). The holdings also include a collection of nitrate films from the early years of Iranian Cinema.

The collection is often referenced in books, articles, postcards, exhibitions, and academic research. Important publications include: Tehran features; Golestan Palace; Like Mirror. The collection is in part accessible to Researchers upon request.

Contact Details: Name: Akram Alibabaei
Email: [email protected]
Address: Tehran, Panzdaeh Khordad, Arq Suquare, Golestan Palace
Tel: (+98) 021 33113335

Other:
Dissertation reviews: http://dissertationreviews.org/archives/10352

Country: Iran
Collection Type: Research center
Collection Size: > 50,000
Period: 1860-1900 1960-1980
Type of Material & Format: Black and White images Colour images Film-based negatives Glass plates positives and/or negatives Prints
Website: http://iichs.org/index_en.asp

The Institute for Cultural Research and Studies was founded in 1986 with a mandate to maintain, organize and catalogue valuable historical documents acquired during and after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. In 1996, it was replaced by the Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies (IICHS), a professional research center devoted to the study of contemporary Iranian history. Its objective is to undertake various research projects regarding social, political, economic and cultural aspects of post-eighteenth-century Iran, using its collection of primary sources.

The institute’s archive consists of public and private collections, memoirs of prominent individuals in various languages, historical slides, films and official decorations belonging to the Qajar and Pahlavi Dynasties as well as tens of thousands of photographs of Iranian and foreign dignitaries, events and buildings.

IICHS has a rich library, which, in addition to many old memoirs, travel accounts, journals and reports in various languages, holds many old and valuable manuscripts and lithographs dating back to the fourteenth century. The Institute has expanded its international academic ties, allowing exchange of documents between various scholars in this field. It also organizes lectures and conferences, commissions translations of significant scholarly works, and publishes research books and a quarterly journal, Iranian Contemporary History (Tarikh-e-Moaser-e-Iran). Its publications include The Revolution in Khurasan, The Historical Events Relating to Baning the Veil, and Mudarris and the Parliament.

The collection is partially catalogued on a database and is made available to researchers.

Contact Details: Name: Zohreh Moradkhany
Email: [email protected]
Address: P.O.box.19395-1975, Tehran, Iran
Tel: +98 21 2260403738

Country: Iran
Collection Type: Private collection
Collection Size: > 50,000
Period: 1860-1900 1900-1930 1930-1960 1960-1980 Later than 1980
Type of Material & Format: Black and White images Colour images Digital files Film-based negatives Glass plates positives and/or negatives Prints Slides (positives)
Website: http://www.datkam.com

The Kamran Najafzadeh private collection was initiated in 1996 to preserve photographs and documents from Iran, while making them accessible for researchers and students. The collection holds more than 150,000 images dating from the 1860s to the present day and covers Qajar Era photography, as well as images of Berlin, and Arab and European photographers. The collection consists of glass-plate negatives and positives, film-based negatives, slides, black and white and color prints, in addition to particular techniques such as cyanotypes. Other materials include postcards, photography books, scanned images from magazines and newspapers, and photography-related objects.

The collection has been featured in publications and various exhibitions in Iran. it is accessible for students and researchers and is partly available on the website and Facebook page.

Contact Details:
Name: Kamran Najafzadeh
Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]
Address: No: 4, Saba Alley, Lomomba Street, Satarkhan Street, Tehran, Iran
Tel: +98 912 3848019

Country: Iran
Collection Type: Library State agency/ Ministry
Collection Size: > 50,000
Period: 1900-1930 1930-1960 1960-1980
Type of Material & Format: Black and White images Glass plates positives and/or negatives Prints
Website: http://old.nlai.ir/Default.aspx?alias=old.nlai.ir/en

The National Archives and Library of Iran is Iran’s largest research center, housed in a extensive complex in Haqqani and Mirdamad in Tehran, as well as a number of branches around Tehran. The Archives also have satellite branches in provincial cities. The Archives and Library hold a vast number of textual and visual sources, including over 1.7 million books, in addition to over one million dissertations, manuscripts, photographs, and other documents.

The National Archives of Iran is the main official authority responsible for the collection, preservation, processing, and information dissemination of documents of national and historical importance. Its photograph collection consists of over 32,000 photographs ranging from glass plate negatives and positives, positive prints and black and white images.

The collection is available for researchers.

Contact Details:
Address:
National Library: Tehran, Shahid Haghani Highway, after the Haghani Metro Stop.
National Archives: Tehran, Mirdamad Blvd, before Madar Square, at the end of Shahid Behzad Hesari (S. Razan) St.