view of the Dalai Lama Palace

Eleven pages of photos

When Gilbert Grosvenor, editor of the American magazine National Geographic, had to quickly fill in the January 1905 issue, he published an unprecedented eleven pages of photographs by Russian travelers Ovsha Norzunov (Old Photos published an article about him - Kalmyk in closed Tibet) and Gombozhab Tsybikov, shot in the Tibetan capital in 1901, including this photo. The unusual presentation of the material brought unexpected success and helped the magazine find its corporate identity. This was one of the first photo stories ever published.

Photo caption: view of the Dalai Lama Palace, Lhasa. The uneven distribution of wealth can be seen across Tibet. The supply far exceeds demand and the labor force is incredibly cheap - the most skilled local weaver earns about 8 cents a day (in terms of US dollars - “Old Photos”), while an unskilled worker of either sex earns 2-3 cents a day. The highest salary is paid to lamas; for example, prayer readers receive 10 cents a day for continuous reading. Domestic workers hardly ever get paid by working for food and scarce clothes.

Previously in Old Photos: First photo of street riots, Brezhnev and Honecker.