Group of Camels and Four Men Posed in Front of Piles of Sacks, Logs in Foreground

1905
This photograph shows camels and drivers transporting large sacks of cotton at the estate of Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich (1850-1918), grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, in Golodnaia Steppe (“Hungry Steppe”), located in present-day Uzbekistan. The drivers wear high sheepskin hats and colorful padded robes. The camels rest next to a small-railed track. Visible in the background are piles of sacks awaiting delivery to the cotton gin. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan, which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for the transformation brought by Russian settlement. Large parts of Turkestan were suitable for the raising of high quality cotton, and cotton production rapidly became a priority in the Russian development of this area.

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Filename: 6536.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1671 / 440.5KB; 1905 Uzbekistan Bags Camels Men Sacks Cotton Cotton Industry Pack Animals Photo WDL 010577
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1905<br />
This photograph shows camels and drivers transporting large sacks of cotton at the estate of Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich (1850-1918), grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, in Golodnaia Steppe (“Hungry Steppe”), located in present-day Uzbekistan. The drivers wear high sheepskin hats and colorful padded robes. The camels rest next to a small-railed track. Visible in the background are piles of sacks awaiting delivery to the cotton gin. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan, which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for the transformation brought by Russian settlement. Large parts of Turkestan were suitable for the raising of high quality cotton, and cotton production rapidly became a priority in the Russian development of this area.