The establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 meant women were forced to wear the hijab and photographs of them uncovered were forbidden. As a result, many photographers studios were burnt to the ground, while remaining archives of invaluable glass-plate negatives were left to moulder in attics.
Parisa Damandan spent over ten years accumulating an impressive collection of pioneering photographs from the early twentieth century, in her hometown of Isfahan. Recently emancipated women posing in various state of dress, Polish war refugees on their tortuous journey home after...