Family portrait from the city of Verny. Photography studio of A.I. Tupolev, 1892

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## Family portrait from the city of Verny. Photography studio of A.I. Tupolev, 1892

This cabinet portrait from the late 19th century was taken in the photography studio of A.I. Tupolev in the city of Verny. Today the city is known as Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan and the former capital of the republic.

Family portrait from the city of Verny. Photography studio of A.I. Tupolev, 1892

vernij-640.jpg (112.44 Кіб) Переглянуто 157 разів

The photograph depicts a married couple. The man is wearing a light-colored working or service jacket resembling the clothing of a craftsman, technician or lower-ranking official. The woman is seated beside him in a dark conservative dress. One of the most striking details is the appearance of their hands — large, rough and visibly shaped by years of physical labor. This is not an aristocratic studio portrait or a wealthy merchant family. Most likely the couple belonged to the urban working or lower middle classes of the Russian Empire.

An inscription on the reverse side of the photograph reads:

“Photographed in the year 1892”

Family portrait from the city of Verny. Photography studio of A.I. Tupolev, 1892

vernij-640-1.jpg (115.23 Кіб) Переглянуто 157 разів

The reverse also contains birth dates:

* September 25, 1833
* August 11, 1839

The portrait was likely made later in the couple’s lives as a family keepsake intended for children or relatives.

Particularly interesting is the studio stamp:

“Photography of A.I. Tupolev in the city of Verny”

Photographic studios from Central Asia of the late Russian Empire are encountered far less frequently than those from Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa or Warsaw. Because of this, surviving photographs from Verny possess a certain historical and collector value.

### The city of Verny

The city of Verny was founded by the Russian Empire in 1854 as the military fortification of Zailiyskoye. It was later transformed into the city of Verny and became the administrative center of the Semirechye Region within Russian Turkestan.

Verny rapidly developed into an important center of Russian settlement and administration in Central Asia. The city was inhabited by military personnel, officials, settlers, merchants, craftsmen, engineers and representatives of many ethnic communities of the region.

After the Russian Revolution and Civil War, the city continued to grow under Soviet administration. In 1921 Verny was renamed Alma-Ata. Later the modern form of the name, Almaty, became official.

### Photography studio of A.I. Tupolev

Very little information about photographer A.I. Tupolev has survived. Judging by the studio stamp and cabinet card design, the atelier operated in Verny during the late 19th century and served the Russian-speaking population of the city.

Typical characteristics of provincial studio photography from this period include:

* simple studio composition;
* minimal decorative elements;
* calm and formal posing;
* emphasis on facial features and clothing;
* sturdy cabinet card mounts with printed studio marks.

Photographs from Verny of this era are relatively uncommon, especially examples with clearly readable studio stamps and dated handwritten inscriptions on the reverse side. This makes such photographs valuable not only to collectors of antique photography, but also to researchers studying the history of the Russian Empire in Central Asia.