A Collection of Photographs taken in Persia, Turkey and in the Caucasus, during a seven months' journey in 1891 (selection)

Albert Hotz was born on 22 February 1855 in Rotterdam and came from a Dutch family of industrialists. His father, J.C.P. Hotz, was co-owner of a large iron-casting plant in The Hague. In 1874 he founded the Persian Trading Association (Vennootschap Perzische Handelsvereeniging J.C.P. Hotz and Zoon). His son, Albert Hotz, was sent by him to Persia to develop commercial activities. In 1873 Nasser ed-din Shah visited Europe for the first time. The news surrounding his visit placed Persia on the minds of businessmen keen to explore new markets. Following this visit, the Dutch consul-general in Boushehr (Bushehr), Mr. Keun van Hoogerwoerd, was convinced of good trading possibilities and promoted Dutch business activities in Persia.

Albert Hotz was interested in all forms of Persian trade. He undertook business activities in several fields. Next to his interest for different trade products, such as tapestry and opium, he was the first who drilled for oil in Daliki (Dalaki) in Khuzestan Province. He was also interested in exploiting coal mines and was involved in establishing the Imperial Bank of Persia. Hotz also sought for irrigation possibilities in some parts of Persia and the development of the Karun river. As of 1890 Hotz owned different trade offices in Basra, Bousher, Shiraz, Soltanabad and Esfahan. In 1890-1891 Hotz undertook a journey through Persia, the Caucasus and Russia for pleasure, also visiting his trade offices en route. During this journey he took and bought over 2,700 photographs of all those products, and possible trade and business-activities. The photographs (platinum prints) he took were developed by the then well-known English photographer John Thomson (1837-1921). Hotz placed them in several photo albums. Some albums served as public relation material. They contain photographs selected on special themes and have titles such as 'Tapestry', 'Road-making' or 'The personnel of J.C.P. Hotz and Co. in Persia'. These albums, which contain the more 'realistic and objective' images of Persia, were donated to institutions and business partners to persuade them of the good trade and business opportunities in Persia. Hotz's interest in Persia did go further than trade and business. He had a keen interest in the history and culture of Persia. Next to photographs, he collected a large number of books, atlases, geographical works and all kinds of documentation on Persia.

In 1893 he married Lucy Helen Woods, daughter of Henry Woods, Pasha, a British naval officer who worked as an aide-de-camp for Sultan Abdulhamid II (1876-1909) in Istanbul. They had three children.

In 1903 his commercial activities in Persia ended, but he remained very interested in everything that happened there. In 1906 he became a member of the Commissie van Advies voor 's Rijks Geschiedständige Publicatiën in The Hague and he wrote about the role of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie in Persia. 1909-16 he worked at the Dutch consulate in Beirut, in 1917 he became consul and on April 21, 1921 he retired. In poor health he went to Lugano in Switzerland to be close to his son Hendrik, who was ill in the Davos sanatorium. He died the same year (1930) on 11 April in Cologny. Hotz was buried in the Rotterdam suburb of Crooswijk. In 1935, his widow, Lucy Helen Woods, donated most of Hotz's materials to Leiden University.

Edited excerpts from: Corien J.M. Achour-Vuurman, Carmen Pérez González, Reza Sheikh (2008) 'Eyes on Persia. Late Nineteenth-Century Persia in the Hotz Photographic Collection' Exhibition Leiden University Library. https://socrates.leidenuniv.nl/view/item/1843487/datastream/PDFA/download and Wikipedia

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