Photo of TMA at governor's mansion, Mogilev

[helenazar]

I happened to come across this photo, I never saw it before. It looks like it was taken from in front of the governor's house in Tobolsk (?):

[Katia]

This photo appears in the book "The private world of the last tsar" edited by Paul and Beatrice Grabbe (the original photos are by General Count Alexander Grabbe), page 148. The text under the photo:
"The Grand Duchesses look playfully from a window of the governor's mansion (1916)". The governor's mansion is not the one in Tobolsk, but in Mogilev, where Nicholas II had his headquarters. He was living in the governor's mansion there, sharing his room with Alexei. His family (including the grand duchesses) used to visit them sometimes.

[helenazar]

Thanks, Katia. The reason I thought it was Tobolsk is because the GD's are dressed similarly to their photos from Tobolsk. I guess all governor's mansions look alike  .

[Lanie]

I always thought it was Tobolsk, since a lot of the photos in Grabbe's book are misdated/misidentified.  Looks like the Tobolsk house to me..

[Abby]

I also thought it was the Tobolsk house, but if it was taken in 1916 that doesn't make sense for them to be in Tobolsk. I guess I thought because of the way the house looked, as Lanie said, it looks like the Tobolsk mansion -- and the way they were dressed, but they also dressed that way in Mogliev.

[Dmitry2]

The similarity in clothes stems from the fact that the family were not ordering new clothes during the war.  The Empress donated her clothing allowance to the war effort. It was not expected that the war would last so long and, as it did, the family's staff were kept busy mending and repairing.  As a result, by the time the family were sent to Tobolsk, they were wearing quite old clothes, often repaired, and "dated".  It also leads to confusion in dating pictures.  

This could be the source of confusion regarding the picture.  Also, if we knew who took it, then we would have a better idea.  If it was from teh family albums, then it was taken prior to their departure for Tobolsk, which would support the dating of the picture to 1916.

[Annie]

I would have thought it was taken after they got their heads shaved because of the hats. They didn't wear the hats as much when they had hair.

[Abby]

That's true, Annie.
Dmitry2, the photo wasn't from their family albums, but from Alexander Grabbe's private collection, I beleive.

[otmafan]

That's true, Annie.
Dmitry2, the photo wasn't from their family albums, but from Alexander Grabbe's private collection, I beleive.

I think you're right Abby, I remember seeing it in the book put together from his collections. (can't remember the name).

[Abby]

I have it, it is called "The Private World of the Last Tsar: In the Photographs and Notes of General
Count Alexander Grabbe" and it is a very good book!

[otmafan]

I have it, it is called "The Private World of the Last Tsar: In the Photographs and Notes of General
Count Alexander Grabbe" and it is a very good book!

That's it! Thanks Abby. I don't own it but I get it from the library quite often.  

[koloagirl]

 

Hello everyone!

I just returned that book to the library - and it WAS very interesting - had some photos (including the one in this thread) that I had never seen before.

I too tend to date the pictures by what the girls are wearing - but I had never thought of the fact that they might  be wearing "old" clothes!  Of course during the war that would have been true.  But I also thought too that the knit hats the girls were wearing might indicate that it was after their heads were shaved for the measles.

Always learn something new here!  
Aloha!
Janet R.

[Georgiy]

But if it was from the Governor's Mansion, why would Count Grabbe have a copy of it?

[James1941]

Count Grabbe was commander of the tsar's guards, and an enthusiastic photographer.
Also, if you look at other pictures of the grand duchesses taken on this trip to the headquarters you will see them wearing such clothes. There are photos of them in a field, resting on a hay stack, in a punt or boat, etc. and they are wearing such clothing. :)

[ashanti01]

I don't know about any one else, but to me its just a very sad, sad picture.