A photograph of women from Kamphaeng Phet, taken in 1906 during the reign of King Chulalongkorn, is part of one of Thailand’s most important photographic archives — a collection that preserves a visual record of Siam from the mid-19th to early 20th century.
The photograph is held in the Royal Photographic Glass Plate Negatives and Original Prints Collections, which contains 35,427 glass plate negatives and about 50,000 original prints dating from 1855 to 1935.
The collection was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register in 2017 in recognition of its historical significance.
Originally maintained in three royal libraries associated with King Chulalongkorn, King Vajiravudh and Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, the collection eventually came under the care of Thailand’s National Archives in Bangkok.
A visual record of Siam
The photographs offer an unusually detailed record of Siam during a period of profound change.
They document political and diplomatic developments, social and cultural life, royal ceremonies, religious traditions, architecture, transportation and everyday life.
Among the people captured are members of the royal family, women of the royal court, royal consorts, senior officials, government employees, monks and foreign visitors.
The collection also records places across Siam, from the capital and government offices to shops, railway stations, post offices, roads, hospitals, cinemas, bridges, canals, rivers, temples and archaeological sites.
Photographs were also taken in provinces across the north, central region, northeast and south, as well as overseas.
Some images capture major royal ceremonies, including coronations, royal funerals, royal processions and other state occasions. Others document the opening of Thailand’s first railway services and King Chulalongkorn’s visits to provinces around the country.
The archive also preserves photographs from the king’s first European tour in 1897, when he travelled to Europe and met figures including German statesman Otto von Bismarck and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
Women and photography
The collection also provides a glimpse into the development of photography within the royal court.
King Chulalongkorn encouraged women in the inner court to learn photography. Five of his principal consorts from the Bunnag royal family, collectively known as the “Chao Chom Kok O” group, became particularly noted for their photography skills and artistic work.
Their involvement reflects how photography developed from a new technology into an important means of documenting life inside and beyond the royal court.
More than historical events
The archive is not limited to famous people and major events.
Its photographs record clothing, crafts, religious objects, architecture and everyday material culture, including Buddhist statues, Sukhothai-era Sangkhalok ceramics, Thai classical dance, Nora performances, shadow puppetry, paintings, pottery, royal chariots, ceremonial objects, Benjarong ceramics, mother-of-pearl work and Thai-patterned embroidered silk.
Taken together, the photographs provide a visual record of how people lived, dressed, travelled, worshipped and worked during a period when Siam was undergoing rapid transformation.
The collection also reflects the country’s changing relationship with the outside world, from the pressures of Western colonial expansion in Asia to Siam’s diplomatic efforts and its participation in the First World War.
A memory preserved
UNESCO formally inscribed the Royal Photographic Glass Plate Negatives and Original Prints Collections on the Memory of the World International Register on 30 October 2017.
More than a century after many of the photographs were taken, the glass plates and original prints continue to serve as primary visual records of Siamese history.
For Thailand, the collection is not simply an archive of old photographs. It is a visual memory of a society in transition — preserving images of its people, places, traditions and institutions for future generations.
