This is the oldest photo of the old photo blog.

This image—probably from the 1860s—is not a daguerreotype photo. It is printed on paper.

The photo is in rough shape because it spent over a century folded up in my paternal Grandmother Tatjana's locket.

Russia, about 1860. These are the maternal Grandparents of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana. On the left sits Nikolas, and on the right, his wife, for whom we don’t have a first name.

Nikolas has his right hand tucked into his jacket. He elegantly poises his pinky. His wife has the melancholy, gentle eyes characteristic of the paternal side of my family. She looks like she could have been out shopping with Mary Todd Lincoln.

UPDATE: A little digging revealed that this photo more likely dates from between 1870 and 1874. My Great-Grandmother, Nina K., was born in 1875. This is the wedding potrait of her parents.