Abstract
After the invention of the daguerreotype, the methods and technology diffused rapidly from France to the Ottoman Empire. The earliest studios of Izmir date back to the 1860s. Most of them were located in the Frank neighborhood. These studios belonged to Greek, Armenian, or Levantine photographers. Although there are fragments of information and a limited number of photographs that reached this date, much of the history of the Frank neighborhood disappeared during the War of Independence, the big fire that followed it in 1922, and the exodus of Greeks and Armenians out of Izmir. This study delves deeper into this period in order to discover more precisely the dates, locations, establishment, and practices of the first studios of Izmir. The resulting information helps to fill some gaps in the history of photography of Izmir. The study used digital archive analysis. Photographs taken in Izmir (then Smyrna) were examined. Since photography presented great profitability during this period, pioneers who had sufficient experience and skills aimed to increase their profit by opening studios in different locations. The study followed Hannoosh’s approach where the Mediterranean Sea is seen as an agent of connectivity over a fragmented region with people of different national, religious, and ethnic identities. The results suggest that Izmir was the second most important city of professional photography-related activities in the Ottoman Empire, well-respected for its artistic and technical capacity in Europe.
Author Information
Murat Bengisu, Izmir University of Economics, Turkey
Paper Information
Conference: IICAH2025
Stream: History/Historiography
This paper is part of the IICAH2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Bengisu M. (2025) Origins of Professional Photography in Izmir During the Ottoman Era ISSN: 2432-4604 – The IAFOR International Conference on Arts & Humanities – Hawaii 2025 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 145-155) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4604.2025.13
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4604.2025.13
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