Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
The appearance of the Kodak camera in Russia caused a boom in amateur photography at the beginning of the 20th century.
The resulting photographs captured fascinating palaces of the Russian Empire and their interiors, as well as everyday life: scenes from the countryside, walks around parks, boating in the Gulf of Finland and so on. Photos were used as postcards, were signed and gifted as souvenirs, and carefully preserved in family archives. Thanks to this, a great amount of historical photos have survived in museums’ archives. Here are some amazing photos of the late 19th- and early 20th-century from the collection of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
1. Children in a boat by the Gulf of Finland, 1906
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
2. The village of Tyarlevo near Petersburg. Consecration of the Transfiguration Church in memory of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanovs, 1914
Karl Bulla/State Russian museum
3. Gatchina. View of the palace from the park, 1900s
Alexander Erzhemsky/State Russian museum
4. Priory Palace in Gatchina, 1900s
Alexander Erzhemsky/State Russian museum
5. The Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum royal residence, 1900s
Alexander Erzhemsky/State Russian museum
6. The Greek hall in Pavlovsk Palace, 1900s
Alexander Erzhemsky/State Russian museum
7. The Amber Room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo, 1900s.
The amber of ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’ disappeared mysteriously after the room was looted by the Nazis during WWII. In the 2000s it was restored anew
Alexander Erzhemsky/State Russian museum
8. The Grand Palace in Peterhof, 1860
Alfred Lawrence/State Russian museum
9. The 'Lion Cascade' fountain, located in the Lower Park of Peterhof, 1876
Karl Schultz/State Russian museum
10. The estate of statesman M.V. Kochubey (the Reserved Palace, or Vladimir Palace) in Tsarskoe Selo, 1914
L.Gorodetsky/State Russian museum
11. The Large Chinese Bridge in Alexander Park of Tsarskoe Selo, 1900s
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
12. Kronstadt Naval Cathedral right after it was built, 1910s
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
13. Artist Ilya Repin with family on his ‘Penates’ estate in Kuokkala (now Repino) near Petersburg, 1900s
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
14. Novaya Ladoga town near Petersburg, 1900s
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
15. Oranienbaum Palace, 1908
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
16. The ‘Znamenka’ estate of Grand Duke Nikolai N. Romanov, not far from Peterhof, 1870-1880s
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
17. The ‘Sergievka’ palace in Peterhof, 1911
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
18. Strelna railway station, one of the first in Russia, 1908
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
19. The Cameron Gallery in Catherine Park of Tsarskoe Selo, 1900s
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
20. The Orlov or Gatchina Gate in Catherine Park of Tsarskoe Selo, 1900s
Unknown photographer/State Russian museum
The exhibition ‘The St. Petersburg Governorate in photographs from the 1860‒1910s from the collection of the Russian Museum’ is on display at the State Russian Museum (Stroganov Palace) in St. Petersburg from May 30 to August 26, 2019.
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