Collections
Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran includes a growing number of digital collections from private family holdings and participating archival institutions. Click on a collection to see the full details.
Bahman Bayani Collection
A private collection of several albums containing letters and envelops, dowry lists, settlements, wills, photographs, and everyday objects. The complete collection has been organized by the owner in five albums. Album five is all photographs whereas the others are largely documents with the occasional photograph. The entire collection has items as early as Aqa Muhammad Khan's reign through the Pahlavi era. However, among the selective pieces in our collection, the earliest date to Fath‘ali Shah's period and the latest to the early Pahlavi period.
Bahram Sheikholeslami
A family collection of letters, marriage contracts, dowry documents, settlements, endowments, powers of attorney, photographs, everyday objects and artwork. Many items were created in Qazvin where the Sheikholeslami family has lived for generations. The collection has been generously made available by Bahram Sheikholeslami to honor his mother, Afsarolmoluk Sheikholeslami.
The Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History
A collection of photographs and documents related to Iranian Jewry courtesy of The Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History (CIJOH).
Hafez Farmayan
Marriage contract, five family photographs, and a sketch of the residence compound of ʻAbd al-Husayn Mirza Farmanfarma. The collection also includes an audio interview with Hafez Farmayan.
Harvard College Library
A collection of lithographs from Harvard College Library of important works relating to the lives of women in Qajar Iran: "Gawhariyah," a compilation of poems by Shams al-Shu‘ara’; and "Hadiyat al-muhibb" and "Risalah-i hijabiyah," two texts related to Islamic concepts of womanhood.
Houri Mostofi Moghadam
A collection of photographs and documents, including twelve pages from a family photo album.
Kamran Dowlatshahi
A collection of seven family photographs, a page from the will of Muhammad Husayn Mirza Muʼayyid al-Dawlah, and interview with Kamran Dowlatshahi.
Majlis Library, Museum and Document Center
A collection of manuscripts, marriage contracts and other legal documents courtesy of the Majlis Library, Museum and Document Center in Tehran, Iran.
Mirbaghdadabadi Papers
A collection of family documents, including a marriage contract, two dowry lists, letters, and financial documents.
Moezzi family
A collection of family letters and papers, photographs, and objects, featuring several marriage contracts and household items.
