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This photo was found with (but not in) an envelope containing seven photos of European royals, all but two of which have been positively identified (one of them here by Evargalo).

enter image description here

Below is a photo of the back. The card measures approximately 4 inches (10.16cm) by 2.5 inches (6.35cm) while the photo is about 3 inches by 2 inches.

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The photographic studio indicated on the back belonged to Emile Desmaisons (1812-80) and the photo probably dates from 1866 as

Il a effectué des reproduction photographiques de lithographies. - Ateliers à Paris : 5 rue des Grands Augustins (de 1861 à 1862) et 22 rue de l'Arbre Sec (1866)

Translation: He made photographic reproductions of lithographs. - Workshops in Paris: 5 rue des Grands Augustins (from 1861 to 1862) and 22 rue de l'Arbre Sec (1866)

Also, '1866' can be seen on the right side of the photo (near the man's left arm).

To my (very untutored) eye, the hat looks Turkish. I'm hoping the decorations / medals will enable someone to identify this man, or at least provide some clues as to who he might be.


As with the other two photos I've posted questions about here and here, this photo belonged to my Great Grandmother (b. 1851). It was originally described to me as a photo of a Maharajah.

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    That is a truly excellent hat.
    – Richard
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 20:22

1 Answer 1

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It looks to be a photograph of Abdül Aziz, the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876, which fits with the 1866 date.

Here is a similar photograph by an unknown photographer from the National Portrait gallery collection:

Abdul Aziz by Unknown photographer

  • © National Portrait Gallery, London, Creative commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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    You have beaten me for 10 minutes. Also, the 8 points star looks like the medal of the Order of the Garter, and from the list of their members, by 1866 Abdul Aziz and his father Abdul Medjid (whose face is too different to match) would have been the only non Christian members
    – SJuan76
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 15:34
  • @SJuan76 That was also my thinking. Abdül Aziz was the only one who matched the date. Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 15:41
  • 2
    Looks like you've got it. If he has the Order of the Garter, the photo can't be before 1867. Commented Sep 16, 2018 at 0:45

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