A Closer Look (Part 65)

Russia, between about 1870 and 1874. This is Nikolas, the maternal Grandfather of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana.

Here's the original post. Here's his wife.

A Closer Look (Part 46)

Russia, between about 1870 and 1874. Let's take another look at the oldest photo posted on the blog.

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.

I fill in a missing link.

I  don't have many images of my Great-Grandparents, and I've posted most of them here. Early on, I talked about photos of my Mom's maternal Grandparents and her paternal Grandparents.

I also introduced my Dad's maternal Grandparents.

Here is my Dad's paternal Grandfather, Ambrose. He was born in 1838, and I think this photo dates from the late 1870s: 

 

Ambrose, like his son, Vytautas , served in the Russian Imperial Army during the years when Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. I have two modern-day relatives who are dead ringers for Ambrose.

Here is Ambrose's wife, my Dad's paternal Grandmother, Salomea. She was much younger than Ambrose; she was born in 1859. I believe she sat for this photo in about 1905:

 

When I first saw Salomea's photo, I said, "Check out that fur vest." Next, I thought, "Wow! What an exotic name." I then looked up its meaning. It's a Polish name that means "peace." My name, "Irene," means "peace" in Greek. That's a connection that never came to mind.

I wish my name were "Salomea" instead of "Irene."