Vintage Photos Taken by Prokudin-Gorskii - First to Photograph in Color

[Alixz]

You are very lucky to find one for such a low price.  I can't remember what I paid, but I know it was a lot more than that.

I am sure you will be amazed.  I couldn't believe that I was seeing 100 year old photos in color.

[CorisCapnSkip]

Wonder if the photographer ever portrayed the Imperial Family?  

[Carolath Habsburg]

http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=434.0

[Lucien]

Here's some info about him with some of his (non-royal) colored photos so you can compare:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/gorskii.html

The 3rd photo Dss_S posted looks like it could be from there given the background, also the 4th.

Also here:

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0105/russia.html

While he attracted the attention of royals (and NII commissioned him to travel Russia photographing the country) it doesn't seem that he photographed any member of the imperial family or their relatives.

Delving always pays off,look....Beautifull how he captivated the time and people:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html

[Alixz]

It is so easy to see why Russians loved their country and its natural beauty.  The colors in the clothing is so impressive.  The past in black and white always looks so depressing but looking at all of this beauty (which of course was always there, we just couldn't see it before) allows us to know that though the may have had little compared to those of the aristocracy, these people had so very much to love and live for.

I have one of the books and I always feel as if the photos in it must have been taken yesterday not over 100 years ago.

Prokudin-Gorskii was brilliant!