4086 - Russian Empire

Russian Empire Photographers: B. Avanzo (active 1870s–1880s) and others. Selected views of the Russian Empire. 1880s–1890s. 32 albumen prints and 4 photochrome prints, some mounted on board. Various image sizes, ranging from 12 x 17.5 cm to 21.5 x 27.5 cm. Several are titled and numbered on the negative at the lower edge; some mounts bear Russian titles stamped below the image; a few have the photographers’ stamps on the reverse. An extensive collection spanning the Russian Empire from Moscow and Kyiv to the Caucasus and Central Asia. It includes views of Moscow (8), Tiflis (8), the Baku oilfields (2), Kyiv (4), Georgian people and landscapes (6), and monuments in Bukhara and Samarkand (9). Together, the photographs juxtapose major urban centers, regional architecture, industrial development, and landscapes in the empire’s southern and eastern reaches. – Some surface scuffs and slight fading on several prints, particularly along the edges; otherwise, several are in good condition.