Aile Arşivi, Sahaf ve Dijital Arşiv Yolculuğunda Bir Güzellik Kraliçesinin Fotoğrafının Serüveni

This research examines the relationship between vernacular photography, representation, the market and the global cultural economy through the case study of a photographic print featuring Naşide Saffet Hanım [Esen], the Turkish Beauty Queen of the year 1931, the winner of the contest organized by the Cumhuriyet newspaper. It traces the itinerary of a photograph from a family archive to a second hand book store in Beyoğlu, Istanbul almost a century later, and later to an Open Access photography archive, through the questions of identity and cultural heritage. Given to a woman named Ulviye as a gift, this print is a fascinating example of how a studio portrait of a Turkish beauty queen came to be circulated among family and friends in the early 1930s.