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Photographs of Istanbul began to emerge shortly after the invention of the camera. By the 1840s, lenses had already turned toward the city, and by the 1850s, dozens of studios were operating.
Many of these early images were later dispersed across the world. A selection preserved in the Hungarian National Archives is now being presented to art enthusiasts in Istanbul under the exhibition titled “The Istanbul Album of the Festetics Family.”
Set to open on April 28 at the Liszt Institute Hungarian Cultural Center, the exhibition centers on the “Constantinople” album attributed to the renowned Abdullah Frères, official photographers of the Ottoman court. The album is believed to have entered the Festetics family collection through Mary Hamilton, who married Count Taszilo II Festetics after divorcing the Crown Prince of Monaco.
The rare album, preserved in the Hungarian National Archives, features snapshots of Istanbul’s most iconic sites from around 170 years ago. Among them are views of the Historic Peninsula, including Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia, as well as landmarks such as the Kucuksu Fountain and the Nuruosmaniye Mosque.
The album does not record the photographer’s name or the exact date of compilation. However, it is considered one of the earliest known Abdullah Frères albums held in a public collection and continues to be the subject of academic research.
In addition to this collection, other historic photographs of Istanbul preserved in Hungarian archives will also be brought to the city as part of the upcoming exhibition.
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