From a collection of photographs taken between about 1935-1937 by, or under the supervision of, German-American archaeologist Erich F. Schmidt, who spent a number of years investigating Iran and its ancient architectural sites, including Persepolis. Many of the views show archaeological work in progress at Persepolis. Schmidt was a pioneer in aerial photography of archaeological sites, especially in Iran, and was inspired by his wife Mary-Helen Warden's vision of aerial photography as an archeological tool. In 1935, Schmidt had to approach Reza Shah Pahlavi directly for permission to fly over the country, and he took many photography flights over Iran between 1935 and 1937 in a plane purchased for the purpose by Mary-Helen, focusing especially on Persepolis and the Luristan region. Several of the photographs were published in Schmidt's 1940 publication, Flights over Ancient Cities of Iran, others in his Persepolis I, identified above where possible, potentially unpublished when not identified >>>