1857 vs 2025: Italian photographer and colonel Luigi Pesce, who traveled to Iran during the Qajar Empire, took what is now considered the oldest known photograph from the 2,500-year-old Persepolis. [928×600]

Luigi Pesce lived in Iran for 42 years. He arrived in 1848 and died in 1891 (residing from the age of 30 to 73). He is buried beside his wife in Doulab Cemetery in Tehran. Pesce took 42 photographs from Iran in 1800s, including the earliest documented photographs of Persepolis and some of the earliest photographs of Tehran, for which he was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 1862 International Exhibition in London. Born in Naples, he came from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to Iran to train Iranian infantry units during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.

An amateur photographer who spoke Persian, Turkish and Greek, Pesce self-funded the expedition that produced the first photo collection of Iran’s ancient monuments, and presented a copy to Naser al-Din Shah—who was himself a photographic enthusiast—on 29 April 1858. A second copy was also produced from the collection in the same year and was sent to Prince William I, King of Prussia. Another copy was donated to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and is the same album that was sent to the Prussian King.

The oldest pictures in the collection were taken between 1852 and 1855. There are three photos of Naser al-Din Shah during his younger years and one group picture in the collection. Most of the images show the architecture of Iran during the 1800s. The images hold a unique historical value and illustrate the lives of people from different social classes, including members of the royal court. Although few women have been captured in the photos, it clearly documents the existing social hierarchy.

Here is the collection:

[https://mymodernmet.com/earliest-photographs-of-iran-1850s/](https://mymodernmet.com/earliest-photographs-of-iran-1850s/)

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