Oblong Octavo album (ca. 18,4x24,3 cm). 16 card stock leaves. With 34 mounted original gelatin silver photographs from ca. 12,1x16,9 cm (4 ¾ x 6 ½ in) to ca. 8,2x11 cm (3 ¼ x 4 ½ in). All photos with Russian captions on the mounts. Period full-cloth album with gilt-lettered generic title “Album” and blind-tooled ornaments on the front board; owner’s period round paper label on the front endpaper; with a protective cardboard case. Binding slightly worn, photographs age-toned, but overall a very good album with strong, interesting photos.

Historically significant collection of original gelatin silver photographs taken by a Russian couple in Batumi and its surroundings during the revolutionary turmoil of 1905.

During the First Russian Revolution, Batumi, a popular resort for Russian tourists, became a center of peasant and worker unrest. From late January through the year, the city witnessed frequent strikes, resulting in dozens of deaths. Despite imperial attempts to exploit ethnic divisions within Batumi’s diverse population, residents largely remained united, organizing regular mass protests that paralyzed factories and disrupted daily life.

The compiler, captured in several photographs, is seen wearing a Russian military uniform, suggesting that he may have been stationed in Batumi as part of efforts to maintain order during the unrest. According to the captions, the travelers arrived in the city in January 1905 and stayed at least until October. Less than a month later, Batumi experienced one of its deadliest clashes, when Cossacks raided the “Turkish Bazaar” (documented in our album), killing at least eleven locals.

The collection features thirty-four vibrant views of mostly Georgia, with ca. twenty-five excellent photographs showing Imperial Batumi. Ten well-executed photos portray the old Batumi port with decked ships, the riverfront, the roadstead, and the commercial harbor with an approaching vessel and people on board. Especially interesting are three candid urban scenes from Batumi’s “Turkish Bazaar.” The images show a lively gathering of butchers, uniformed Russian officers, street vendors in white aprons (mostly Muslims), and shoemakers polishing clients’ shoes, selling fruit, and posing in front of a photo studio (with a clearly visible Russian sign “Fotographii”). Another vernacular scene depicts local workers in rugged clothes, smoking and smiling for the camera. The rest of the photos from Batumi and its environs show the compiler (or his companion) in the garden of Baratov & Cape Verde, as well as the views of the Botanical Garden, Buknari beach, and the sea.

The collection also contains about nine photographs showing the compiler(s) in the Pyatigorsk Botanical Garden, Surami fortress, and other ethnographic scenes.

Overall, historically significant collection of lively vernacular photos of mostly Batumi taken by a Russian couple in 1905.