The Ottoman photographic albums commissioned and sent abroad under Sultan Abdülhamid II were not merely artistic or documentary objects, but carefully designed instruments for building and managing international relationships. Each album functioned as a visual introduction of the empire to foreign governments, presenting an image of order, discipline, technological progress, and cultural refinement. By showcasing modern railways, military organization, educational institutions, and urban infrastructure, the Ottoman state sought to shape how it would be seen by Western powers not as a fading empire, but as an active and capable participant in the modern world.

While Mauss reminds us that gifts quietly establish networks of obligation and response, the albums also worked beyond any single rule of exchange. They operated in a fragile political space where admiration, rivalry, uncertainty, and desire for recognition coexisted. The act of giving these albums was an invitation into relationship, but also a request to be taken seriously on the global stage. In this way, the albums reveal diplomacy not as a single transaction, but as an ongoing, image-based negotiation of power, respect, and belonging.

Before the release of the Ottoman photographic album, the empire was seen by Western countries as slowly declining. These views were highlighted by corruption within the empire and an inability to compete with advances in European global technologies and political structure; however, by releasing an album depicting structure through military academies and modern advancements through railroads, the Ottoman Empire hoped to challenge the current views. Ultimately, these photographs tried to bring recognition to the empire through the content itself and created a diplomatic respect through gift-giving.

Additionally, the album allowed the Ottoman Empire to create propaganda in depicting itself to foreign countries. By documenting potentially staged scenes of technological and political advancements, the empire could reduce the input of Western reporters and media. This power was an attempt at presenting themselves as they hoped to gain global recognition.