Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
This postcard came to me from a dealer in Pennsylvania who specializes in photographs from Russia and Eastern Europe. He said the photo was Russian, which made sense. The only woman in the photo is wearing what appears to be a Russian nurse's outfit from the First World War. But who were the men, and... Continue Reading →
On November 18, 1918, Latvia declared independence from the new Soviet government in Russia. In November of this year, Latvians celebrated the centennial of that event. Neighboring Lithuania and Estonia will be celebrating the centennial of their own independence in February 2019. Finland's centennial celebration took place on December 6, 2017. The photo above was... Continue Reading →
The two cartes-de-visite on this page came from an antiques dealer in Greenfield, Massachusetts, in the northwest part of the state. On the back of the carte above is the name Adolphe with a question mark: The portrait was made at the studio of E.v. Eggert, which probably stood for Emmanuel von Eggert (see... Continue Reading →
The photograph above came from Latvia, which was part of the Russian Empire until November 1918. The photo was probably taken in the early 1900s. The men are most likely Latvian, but it's hard to say for sure. If only we could hear them play....The following postcard also came from Riga, the capital. Latvia was... Continue Reading →
Tokens of Companionship 
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