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photo - please help ID the royal seal

photo - please help ID the royal seal

Posted: 16 Jan 2013 2:16AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: WALKERLEY
I have a photo of my wife's ancestor who was a Governess in court of the czar, we believe Nicholas 11. Alice Walkerley was born 1867 and after her fathers death in 1879 was taken in by a rich uncle. She was educated in paris and at some point became a Governess in the Court of the Czar.

The photo attached shows her in a studio pose with a Russian royal seal of some sort stamped on the bottom. It is composed of the Imperial crown etc and two letters which are the cyrillic letters Y and P. We cannot work out what these stand for as they do seem to be Royal initials. There are also two head profiles but we cant definitively identify them as the Czars.

Can anyone pinpoint which Czars they are and what the letters/initials mean, and a rough date period? It is a large file to facilitate zooming in on the seal.
thanks
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Re: photo - please help ID the royal seal

Posted: 8 Feb 2013 6:03AM GMT
Classification: Query
W. Wysocki Kieff was the Official photographer to the Russian Imperial Court. Members of the court, courtiers, retainers and servants were often times photographed at this studio. The honor is very similar to royal warrants in England, where shops can display a sign stating that they provide the British Royals with shoes, soap, umbrellas, silver, cars, etc....

I believe the studio was in St. Petersburg. The style of her clothes would suggest 1880's or 1890's.


Here is a site with other photos of W. Wysocki Kieff.


http://www.hobby-sklep.pl/index.php?shop=1&ile=15&ca...


Good Luck hunting.

Re: photo - please help ID the royal seal

Posted: 1 Apr 2014 8:48AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Cavair

This is a photo made by Vladimir Vysotsky (Wladimir Wysocki) who opened a photo shop in 1873 in Kiev, Ukraine. He became very popular and in 1882 received a silver medal at an exhibition in Moscow and then received royal gifts from members of the Imperial family. He became the official photographer of Kiev University and also received the title of " court photographer to its Highness Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna ." This is what two letters in the middle stand for -AP - Alexandra Petrovna . AP died in Kiev in 1900. The photo was done before 1900 for sure.

All court's documents are located in St Petersburg archive so you can locate your wife's relative there.

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