According to their studio’s advertising seals, Mgrdich Tchobanian had an artistic education, which he had received in the Royal Academy of Venice. ‘Tchobanian Frères’ was a family operation that Mgrdich operated along with his brother (or brothers whose names are unknown to us). The business directories of the time state that Tchobanians’ pavilion was located on 75 Yüksek Kaldirim address, with a branch that opened later in the Galatasaray district. 

The Tchobanians specialised mainly in studio portraiture genre, working according to the style and popular tastes typical of the times. One of the specialties of the photo-studio was the mode of ‘ethnographic’ portraiture, which was especially popular with tourists at the end of the 19^th and beginning of 20^th century. In the 1900s, Tchobanian brothers also entered the booming postcard business, publishing hundreds of picturesque views of Istanbul’s famous sites. 

Vigen Galstyan, 2016