RUSSIAN IMPERIAL ROMANOV FAMILY:

An exceptional vintage signed sepia 10.5 x 12.5 photograph by all seven members of the Russian Imperial Romanov family individually, comprising the last Emperor of Russia, his consort and their five children -

Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) Emperor of Russia 1894-1917

Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) Empress Consort of Russia 1894-1917

Olga Nikolaevna (1895-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia, the eldest daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina

Tatiana Nikolaevna (1897-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia

Maria Nikolaevna (1899-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia

Anastasia Nikolaevna (1901-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia, the youngest daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina and

Alexei Nikolaevich (1904-1918) Tsarevich of Russia, the youngest child and only son of the Tsar and Tsarina.


The circular image (6.5" diameter) depicts the Romanov Family in a group pose, the Tsar, wearing a military uniform, seated in a full length pose at the centre of his family, the Tsarina, wearing her tiara, standing in a full length pose behind her husband, with their children gathered around them, Grand Duchess Olga seated in a full length pose at the left of the image alongside her father, Grand Duchess Maria standing in a full length pose behind her father and alongside her mother, Grand Duchess Anastasia standing in a full length pose to the left of her parents and holding one arm around the shoulder of her brother, Tsarevich Alexei, who is seated in a full length pose, wearing a sailor suit, alongside Grand Duchess Tatiana who is seated in a full length pose at the right of the image. Each of the Grand Duchesses are seen wearing plain long white dresses. Photograph by the Imperial Russian Court photographers Boissonnas & Eggler of St. Petersburg and bearing their blind embossed stamp to the lower left corner of the photographer's mount. Signed ('Nicolas') by Tsar Nicholas II and signed ('Alexandra') by the Tsarina in bold, dark fountain pen inks with their names alone to the lower photographer's mount, and further signed ('Olga', 'Tatiana', 'Maria', 'Anastasia' and 'Alexis') by each of the Romanov children, also with their names alone in bold, dark fountain pen inks, to the lower photographer's mount and in a row immediately beneath the signatures of their parents. Lightly affixed to a beige matt with a gold border to an overall size of 12 x 14. A couple of very small, minor spots to the photographer's mount, not affecting the signatures, and some extremely light age toning, the matt with some light staining and age wear, VG

AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE FULLY SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH BY THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL ROMANOV FAMILY

Autographs of all of the Romanov family on a single item are extremely rare in any form, and the present signed photograph is of the utmost rarity. American Book Prices Current record only two items signed by multiple members of the Romanov family, although neither featured the complete set of seven signatures as the present photograph does.

This photograph of the Russian Imperial Romanov family was one of a series taken at Livadia Palace in 1913 to mark the tercentenary of Romanov rule. An unsigned image from the same setting is housed in the Royal Collection Trust of Queen Elizabeth II (RCIN 2926945). A very similar image (again, unsigned) to the present photograph (Tsar Nicholas II with his hands gently clasped and Grand Duchess Olga with her head slightly tilted) is illustrated on the front cover dustjacket of the book Nicholas & Alexandra - The Last Imperial Family of Tsarist Russia, published by Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1998, in conjunction with a major exhibition organised jointly by the Russian State Hermitage Museum and the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The same image is also reproduced on page 309 of the book (somewhat confusingly attributing the photograph to the studio of Levitsky and Co. with a date of 1914). The exhibition (which also featured contributions from the world-famous Forbes Magazine Collection) included many signed photographs, letters and documents, all of which are handsomely reproduced in the book. However, it would appear that no photograph signed by all seven members of the Romanov family was included in the exhibition, and it would appear safe to assume that had one existed within the major contributing archives to the exhibition then it would most certainly have been included. The apparent absence within the archives of a signed photograph similar to the one offered here can only serve to reinforce the extreme rarity of the present lot.

It is interesting to note that both the Tsar and Tsarina, as well as each of their children, have signed the photograph not in Cyrillic, but in Latin script, most likely indicating that the photograph was originally signed for, and presented to, a European recipient, perhaps even a relative (the Tsar was a first cousin of King George V of the United Kingdom and had family ties to several other European monarchies). Furthermore, it is interesting that the Romanov family appended their signatures to the present image; the Imperial Russian Court photographers created a number of different images at the sitting at Livadia Palace and the fact that the Tsar and his family signed the present image from the series could be seen as an indication that this was their favourite image from the series.

Provenance: The present signed photograph was previously contained within the archives of a European noble family.

The reign of Tsar Nicholas II saw the fall of the Russian Empire from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. Two revolutions occurred in Russia in 1917, the first known as the February Revolution, the immediate result of which was the abdication of the Tsar and the end of the Romanov dynasty. The Russian Imperial Romanov family (the seven signatories of the present photograph) and all those who chose to accompany them into exile were executed by a firing squad at Yekaterinburg on 17th July 1918.