Lot 311: ORIGINAL UNDERWOOD AND UNDERWOOD PRESS PHOTOGRAPH OF ABDULMECID II AT DOLMABAHÇE PALACE, MARCH 1924

ORIGINAL UNDERWOOD AND UNDERWOOD PRESS PHOTOGRAPH OF ABDULMECID II AT DOLMABAHÇE PALACE, MARCH 1924

An original sepia-toned press photograph by Underwood and Underwood depicting Abdülmecid II, the final Caliph of the Ottoman Empire, preparing for a horse ride at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Constantinople. The image captures the Caliph mounting a white Arabian horse, surrounded by officials in formal attire with fezzes and palace guards wearing traditional Zeybek-style uniforms with embroidered jackets and şalvar. The reverse of the photograph contains a large typed press caption block titled OUT OF THE SADDLE TODAY.. CALIPH ABDUL MEDJID EFFENDI. This text, dated 3/4/24, describes the Caliph as having been deposed and banished following the vote by the Turkish National Assembly to abolish the Caliphate. The reverse also features multiple blue ink stamps for the Underwood and Underwood photographic agency, a typed slug line, and a handwritten date mark of 3/22/24.