Thu Mar 27 09:20:00 UTC 2025: ## Thousands of Unseen Qajar-Era Photos Leaked Online from Golestan Palace Archive
**Tehran, Iran** – A second batch of unseen photographs from the Golestan Palace’s extensive archive has been anonymously released online, sparking excitement among researchers and historians. The 10.5 GB collection, comprising approximately 80 folders of images, primarily depicts life in Iran during the Qajar dynasty (1785-1925). The release follows a similar leak last year of 3,200 Qajar-era photos.
The newly released images, many in original color and higher quality than the first batch, include portraits of royalty, scenes of daily life, historical buildings, and landscapes. They offer a unique glimpse into the Qajar era, providing valuable insights into fashion, architecture, social customs, and political events. Some images even include original 19th-century annotations. The photos date mainly from the late Nasser al-Din Shah and Mozaffar al-Din Shah reigns.
The anonymous leaker, who referred to the images as a “New Year’s gift” to researchers, cited the palace’s restrictive access policies as the motivation for the leak. They expressed hope that the release would encourage the Golestan Palace to improve its accessibility for researchers. The leaker’s statement echoes sentiments from last year’s release, criticizing the “hoarding” of important historical documents.
The Golestan Palace archive, one of the world’s largest photographic collections, contains over 50,000 Qajar-era photographs. Its significance is heightened by Iran’s early adoption of photography, with the first daguerreotypes arriving in 1841. Nasser al-Din Shah’s personal interest in photography further propelled its growth within the court.
While researchers and the public have celebrated the release, officials at the Golestan Palace, a branch of Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, have yet to respond. Their previous promise to make the archive accessible remains unfulfilled, raising questions about their future actions. The palace previously described the leaked images as only a “small portion” of their “shadow albums”—scanned copies created for research purposes. The ongoing debate underscores the tension between preserving historical archives and ensuring public access to valuable cultural heritage.
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