The first ‘selfie’ in history was taken by American photographer Robert Cornelius – he took a photo of the reflection of himself in a storefront. That happened in 1839, but the process of taking photos then was very different from the modern one. A polished silver plate, treated with iodine vapors, was put into a camera obscura and then developed over hot mercury and dipped into a solution of salts – not the easiest of processes. The tides turned with the emergence of Kodak cameras, designed to be used by non-professionals. Photography didn’t require serious training anymore and gradually turned into a mass hobby. The amount of ‘selfies’ rose dramatically. Russians were also involved.
Leo Tolstoy, 1862
It seems that Leo Tolstoy was the first to take a ‘selfie’ in Russian history – the top left corner of the photo says: “Took my own photo.” The writer, in general, was fascinated with technical innovations and left more than 1,000 photos after himself. His wife, Sofia, was snapping at his heels and had learned how to take photos even before she met the writer – she had taken photography classes from her father’s acquaintance.
Public domain
Nikolai Petrov, 1896
Nikolai Petrov was a famous photographer in the Russian Empire and was even honored with an award at a photo exhibition in Riga. After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, he began to teach photography at several higher education institutions.
Public domain
Pyotr Rogozhnikov, 1900s
Pyotr Rogozhnikov was not a famous man, but he owned his own photo studio in the small town of Sarapul (about 1,200 kilometers from Moscow). Today, the town doesn’t even have the building of the photo studio anymore – it was torn down in the 1950s.
Public domain
Ivan Avdonin, 1910s
Ivan Avdonin was also a simple, amateur photographer and mostly took pictures of the Kuskovo estate in Moscow. In the photo below, he’s at his house in the village of Novogireevo near Moscow.
Public domain
Anastasia Romanova, 1914
The photo in a mirror by the daughter of Emperor Nicholas II is considered the first teenage ‘selfie’. Anastasia was 13 in this photo and she took it to send to her friend. The Grand Duchess has the notorious Kodak Box Brownie in her hands, thanks to which the art of photography became accessible to a mass audience.
Public domain
Nicholas II, date unknown
Not just Anastasia, but the entire family of the last tsar was into photography. Nicholas II himself was not an exception. He got his first camera in 1896 and, in all likelihood, it was him who taught his daughter how to take photos. Apart from the photos taken by Nicholas and Anastasia, photos authored by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna herself have also survived.
Public domain
Vladimir Shukhov, date unknown
Shukhov was an engineer and the creator of the first Russian oil pipeline. But, he himself used to say: “By profession I’m an engineer, but inside I’m a photographer.” His first photos date back to the 1890s; in total, the photo archive of the engineer had about 1500 photos.
Public domain
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