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Russian cartes-de-visite of Charles Darwin

Image not available

Description
A group of three cartes-de visite (photographs) of Charles Darwin produced in Russia between 1874 and 1895. Two are variant copies of the same image: a portrait of Darwin originally taken by photography studio Elliot & Fry in 1874, when Darwin was about 64 years old. The first variant has the imprint of photographer "Wesenberg," St. Petersburg, Russia, in Roman and Cyrillic text, and Darwin's name handwritten in Cyrillic. It was issued sometime between 1874 and 1884, based on the photographer's studio address of Fontanka 55, where he was located until 1884. The second variant was produced after 1884; it has the imprint of "Wesenberg & Co.," and the studio's later address Makarov House, St. Petersburg, Russia, in Cyrillic text. It also has Darwin's name handwritten in Cyrillic. The third carte-de-visite is a photographic copy of an 1881 painting of Darwin by John Collier, depicting him standing with a loose cloak around his shoulders. It has the imprint of "Wesenberg & Co." in Cyrillic text, with Darwin's name handwritten in Cyrillic on front and back. On the back is a printed censor's note that translates to: "Approved to print. Aug. 16, 1895. Count Turchaninov ... S.L. Kind's typography, 27 Voznesenskii Prospect, St. Petersburg." Additional printed text advertises the low prices and superb quality of the company's cartes-de-visite, which includes the imperial family, "foreign sovereigns," Russian and other war heroes, authors, composers, artists, actors employed by Imperial theaters, etc., available for sale at the stationery store of I. Bulatov on 22 Voznesenskii Prospect in St. Petersburg.
Type
Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Production date
1874-1895.
Call number
photCL 659
Provenance
Purchased from Bibliopathos, December 2021 and January 2022.
Restrictions
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Dimensions
images 9 x 6 cm (carte-de-visite format)
Associated organizations
Elliott & Fry,
Wesenberg & Co.,
Find out more
View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

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