Old photography:

Photographs of the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century from my family photo albums

Photography was invented in the first decades of the 19th century. After the first public demonstration of the new art form in Paris in 1839 professional photographers started opening studios in different cities.

One of such photographers was Ottoman Greek Vassilaki Kargopoulo, who opened a studio in Constantinople in 1850. There is a book about him written in 2000 by Bahattin Oztuncay, Vassilaki Kargopoulo: photographer to His Majesty the Sultan. Two months after receiving a gold medal for fine arts on January 29, 1886 Vassilaki (Basile) Kargopoulo died and was succeeded by his son Konstantin Kargopoulo. More about V. Kargopoulo and other greek photographers you can read here.

Another known photographer working in Constantinople in the second half of the 19th century was an Armenian photographer Caracachian.

Below there are some photos from my family photo albums made by Basile Kargopoulo, Caracachian, the photographer of the Russian emperor Б. Мищенко from Rostov-na-Donu and some other photographers from Baku and Yalta in the second half of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century.

After the invention of the albumen print in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard photographers started printing their photos on hard paper cards which were printed by lithographers with the information about the studios of photographers. One of such lithographers was J. Pokorny (1862 – 1914), who worked from 1879 in Odessa, from the 1890-ies in Kiev, from 1895-1896 in Moscow and from 1904 in Libau. Some of the photos below were printed on the cards printed in advance by the lithographers J. Pokorny, Bernhard Wachtl from Vienna, Perchicetti and Ad. Tayrer from Odessa.

Photographs made by Basile Kargopoulo in the second half of the 19th century in Constantinople:

An Armenian merchant from Baku in Constantinople	Armenian merchants from Baku in Constantinople, lithographer Perchicetti

A Photograph made by Caracachian in the second half of the 19th century in Constantinople:

An Armenian merchant from Baku with his wife in Constantinople, lithographer Bernhard Wachtl from Vienna, who worked in the 1880-ies

Photographs made in 1906 in Walk (now devided between Estonia and Latvia):

On the "back side of these photos is printed: "Photographie A. Rudit, Walk, Moskauer Strasse № 11. Die Platten werden zur Nachbestellung aufbewahrt. J. POKORNY, LIBAU". It means that the photo was made in the studio of A. Rusit in the town Walk, which is now devided between Estonia and Latvia, and the litographer was J. Pokorny from Liepāja (Libau). These photos were made in 1906.

Photographs made in the second half of the 19th century in Rostov-na-Donu:

Merchants in Rostov-na-Donu, photographer V. Petrikovsky (В. Петрыковский), litographer Ad. Tayrer, Odessa (Ад. Тайрер, Одесса).	A merchant in Rostov-na-Donu, photographer V. Petrikovsky (В. Петрыковский)
A young girl in Rostov-na-Donu, photographer V. Petrikovsky (В. Петрыковский), litographer Volokitin, Moscow	A young girl in Rostov-na-Donu, photographer V. Petrikovsky (В. Петрыковский), litographer A. Miransky, Odessa
A young girl in Rostov-na-Donu, photographer E.S. Isakovich(Э.С. Исакович), litographer Ad. Tayrer (А. Тайрер), Odessa
A couple in Rostov-na-Donu, photographer Б. Мищенко, lithographer I. Pokorny (Покорный) from Libau (Либава)	A school boy in Rostov-na-Donu, photographer Г.А. Шифрин (старш.), lithographer Kühle Miksche and Türk, Warsaw-Vienna

Photographs made in the second half of the 19th century in Sankt-Peterburg:

A merchant's wife from Rostov-na-Donu, photographer Янсон

Photographs made in the 20ies or 30ies of the 20th century in Moscow:

Photographs made in the second half of the 19th century in Baku:

	Photographer Жорж
Photographer Фербир	Photographer Луарсабов
Photographer Doumanyan (Думанян)

Photographs made in the second half of the 19th century in Taganrog:

Photographer S.S. Isakovich(С.С. Исакович), lithographer I. Pokorny (И. Покорный) from Odessa	The photo was made not later than in 1875, photographer Ribakoff

Photographs made in the second half of the 19th century in Yalta:

A man from Rostov-na-Donu in Yalta, photographer Orlov	A young woman from Rostov-na-Donu in Yalta, photographer Orlov