Early Armenian Photographic Communities in the Ottoman Empire: The Cases of Abdullah Frères and Yesayi Garabedian.

Abstract

Although the prevalence of Armenians in nineteenth-century photographic practice in the Ottoman Empire is widely acknowledged, existing studies often focus on the visual output of select practitioners whose work is more readily accessible. This article takes a distinctive approach by delving into the social history of Armenian commercial photographic engagement through a comparative lens and seeks to demonstrate that the nationality of these practitioners was not merely a descriptive label but, rather, shaped their photographic practice while also bringing with it considerable diversity. By examining the photographic practices of the Abdullah Frères studio in Constantinople and Yesayi Garabedian in Jerusalem, this article situates their engagement within the broader contexts of imperial and photographic histories and explores the converging and diverging aspects of their work. The article discusses the networks of which these practitioners were part, not only in terms of their generative capacities but also in terms of their exclusionary mechanisms. It also highlights the ways in which their allegiance to the Armenian nation intricately informed, rather than operated independently of, their photographic engagement.