Iranian Revolution Photograph Album

Photograph album of private and public life in 1970s Iran, with a sequence of color photographs documenting the mass demonstrations, protest, and burning buildings of the 1978-1979 Islamic Revolution. It contains 98 photographs mounted to adhesive pages under protective plastic, including 69 in black and white (3.5" x 5") and 29 in color (5" x 7").

The early black and white photographs in this album show apparent family members and friends in the late Pahlavi-era of Iran’s White Revolution. The images in many ways reflect the Shah’s modernizing efforts and some of the leisure and privilege afforded by oil wealth: travel by plane and bus, resort destinations, men in lab coats, pictures taken on what appear to be a college campus, midcentury home interiors — and everyone in stylish Western attire.

An abrupt transition in photo format and subject matter arrives midway through: street fires, multiple views of firebombed buildings, and mass demonstrations against the Shah are all captured in vivid color. Three photos show all-female protests, with participants dressed in chadors and carrying placards with images of Ayatollah Khomeini; another crowd scene includes the album’s only image of a banner in English: “We Never Want King,” it reads, and below that “YANKEE GO HOME.” These images are all striking and immediate, apparently taken by a participant in, or at least someone present at the protests themselves. Most are street-level from within the crowds.

[Adapted from the dealer's description of the album]