Historic Portraits of Notable Figures

A collection of 19th-century portraits of distinguished individuals in formal attire, showcasing rich textures and intricate clothing details.

HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY NASR-ED-DIN, THE SHAH OF PERSIA, 1889.

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Portrait of Lassalle Jean Louis, (1847-1909), (lyrical singer) Portrait of Lassalle Jean Louis, (1847-1909), lyrical singer. Visit card. Between 1860 and 1890. Anonymous photography.

$Abdul Hamid II (Ottoman Turkish: عبد الحميد ثانی, `Abdül-Ḥamīd-i snî; Turkish: İkinci Abdülhamit; 22 September 1842 - 10 February 1918) was the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the last Sultan to exert effective autocratic control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire, including widespread pogroms and government massacres against the minorities of the Empire (named the Hamidian massacres after him) as well as an assassination attempt, ruling from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed shortly after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, on 27 April 1909. He was succeeded by his brother Mehmed V. Despite his conservatism and belief in absolute monarchy, Abdul Hamid was responsible for some modest modernization of the Ottoman Empire during his long reign, including reform of the bureaucracy, the ambitious Hijaz Railway project, the establishment of a system for population registration and control over the press, and the founding of t$