Szathmari was the first photographer to document the Crimean War, travelling from his studio in Bucharest to photograph the first skirmishes of the war taking place in the Wallachian and Moldavian provinces. He took about 200 photographs which were displayed in Paris in the summer of 1855. This photograph of Turkish soldiers is from a set acquired by Queen Victoria, although today only 13 prints from a potentially much larger set survive. Of the surviving prints, all are group portraits. A few show senior commanders, such as Omar Pacha (1806–71), but most show ‘types’ representing different ranks of the Ottoman army.

Acquired by Queen Victoria