Studio portraits of five officers of the Russian naval corvette “Boyarin”. Hobart, May-June 1870.

A$3,500 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Five albumen print photographs in carte de visite format, mount sizes 101 x 63 mm (1) and 105 x 63 mm (4); one with the back mark of H. H. Baily, Hobart and four with the back mark of S. Spurling, Hobart; the versos have fully contemporary inscriptions written in ink or pencil, identifying the sitters (one is inscribed by Captain Balck, and the others possibly by Florence Gresley see below); in addition, four of the cartes are accompanied by a section cut from their original album window mount, also bearing contemporary captions (these are written in the hand of the original owner of the album); the prints are all in good condition, some with light mottling in the negative or slight loss of contrast; the mounts are clean and stable. Provenance: From an album associated with the Lempriere and Gresley families of Hobart. In 1870, the Russian naval corvette Boyarin (or Boiarin ) became the first Russian naval vessel to visit Tasmania since the frigate Kreiser and sloop Ladoga had called at Hobart Town in May-June 1823. The Boyarin , like its much earlier predecessors, spent more than two weeks in port. The ship s officers treated their sojourn in Hobart as an opportunity to improve diplomatic relations between Russia and the colonies. In scenes that echoed the generally enthusiastic reception given to the officers and crew of the CSS Shenandoah during its surprise appearance at Melbourne in 1865, they were warmly received by the Tasmanian public, and numerous public engagements

• Binding: Hardcover

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