AN UNPARALLELLED COLLECTION OF ITEMS RELATED TO THE 1871-1872 STATE VISIT OF RUSSIA'S GRAND DUKE ALEXIS, HIGHLIGHTED BY EXEPTIONALLY RARE CUSTER PHOTOGRAPHS AND "GREAT BUFFALO HUNT" STEREOVIEWS, THE ONLY VISUAL RECORD OF THIS FAMOUS EVENT

Institutional grade archive of more than 155 items tracing the goodwill tour of the United States arranged for Grand Duke Alexis (Alexei) Alexandrovich Romanov (1850-1908), fourth son of Russian Czar Alexander II. Between November 1871 and February 1872, the Grand Duke's whirlwind travels took him thorough the Eastern cities of New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston, then north into Canada, through the Midwest cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, into the American West through Nebraska and Denver, and finally through the American South before departing from Pensacola, Florida. Collection encompasses ephemera such as invitations and special railroad timetables, manuscripts associated with the management of the Grand Duke's travel and entertainment, and photography related to tour stops throughout the United States. Among the many prominent figures represented in the collection are Grand Duke Alexis, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), General Philip Sheridan (1831-1888), "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917), Lakota Chief Spotted Tail (ca 1823-1881), and painter Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902). Highlights include several scarce images of Custer and a rare stereoview series featuring scenes from the pinnacle event of the Grand Duke's tour, a massive, military-organized buffalo hunt. Various places, ca 1870s-1880s (bulk 1871-1872).

In November 1871, Grand Duke Alexis and the Russian Royal Fleet arrived at New York Harbor, commencing a monthslong tour of the United States. At each stop along the way, the twenty-one-year-old Duke was enthusiastically welcomed by American dignitaries and the general public alike. Extensive preparations were undertaken well in advance of the Duke's arrival, with prominent Americans in cities around the country leading efforts to welcome and entertain the handsome young Grand Duke. From banquets to balls, parades to factory tours, and from Harvard's library to a highly-staged buffalo hunt, each stop of the tour was carefully orchestrated. The Pennsylvania Railroad assigned Frank Thomson (1841-1899) as the manager of transportation for Russian Grand Duke Alexis and his entourage during his state visit. Local station masters along the route were instructed to keep all other trains out of the way. Upon arrival in each new city, the Grand Duke enjoyed the region's distinctive American entertainments, cuisine, and culture.

The most anticipated event of the tour was undoubtedly travel to America's "Wild West," to be highlighted by a grand buffalo hunt on the Nebraska plains. Famed landscape artist Albert Bierstadt was aware of Alexis's desire to hunt buffalo. He conceived and laid the groundwork for the hunt, ultimately securing the assistance of Lieut. Gen. Philip Sheridan, Lieut. Colonel George A. Custer, and William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody along with a host of other military officers for the hunt. Cody used his influence to induce Chief Spotted Tail, along with his best Sioux warriors, to participate in the hunt and entertain the dignitaries with war dances and mock battles. Operating from their base at "Camp Alexis," the approximately 500 hunt participants fanned out across the Nebraska landscape on January 14-15, 1872, felling buffalo by day and celebrating at night.

Documenting this spectacle was Omaha photographer Edric L. Eaton (1835-1909), identified in a contemporaneous news article appearing in the Nebraska Intelligencer of 16 January 1872: "Mr. Eaton, artist, of Omaha, took some views of the camp, the hunting party, the Duke, Spotted Tail, and other groups, and has received Alexis' order for several hundred copies of each." William W. Tucker's limited-edition book, His Imperial Highness The Grand Duke Alexis in The United States of America During the Winter of 1871-72 (1872), was compiled shortly after the hunt and provides additional details on Eaton and his photographs: "Before leaving the camp several photographs were taken by the enterprising artist. They will be interesting souvenirs.... One large view was taken of the party as they sat at breakfast. Pictures were also made of the camp itself, and among the others which were taken by request of the Grand Duke were those of Buffalo Bill and General Custer in his buckskin hunting dress."

Significantly, Eaton's photographs represent the only known images of the "Great Buffalo Hunt" and are exceedingly scarce, perhaps because they were not a commercial venture by Eaton but rather a commission by Alexis for his personal use. We locate no auction records for the entirety or even portions of his stereoview series, and individual stereoviews from the series are almost as rare. The archive offered here includes six of Eaton's seven known numbered stereoviews documenting the Grand Duke's buffalo hunt, each with the backmark of "E.L. Eaton, Photographer, Omaha, Nebraska / D.B. Powers, Operator." The Eaton stereoviews include:

"No. 1. The start on the Grand Hunt. Grand Duke, Gen. Sheridan, Gen. Custar [sic], Gen. Forsyth, Gen. Ord, Buffalo Bill, and the Russian Officers."

"No. 2. The Grand Duke, Admiral and Russian Officers, with Spotted Tail and Eight Chiefs." 

"No. 3. Private Tent of the Grand Duke."

"No. 4. Spotted Tail's Head Quarters, with Favorite Squaw and Daughter."

"No. 6. / Gen. Custar [sic] and Spotted Tail at the Grand Duke's Mess Tent."

"No. 7. / Buffalo Bill" [with Professor Henry A. Ward, both standing]

[Not included is No. 5 or a No. 5 variant, often titled "Buffalo Bill mounted."]

In addition to Eaton's exceedingly rare stereoviews which form the most historically significant subset of the collection, a wide range of related images enhance the visual record captured in this archive. These include two rare Custer images:

Ful-length albumen studio portrait cabinet card of Lieut. Col. George Armstrong Custer taken shortly after his famous buffalo hunt with Grand Duke Alexis. St. Louis, MO: James A. Scholten, ca 24 January 1872. Albumen 5 1/2 x 4 in., on photographer's monogrammed 9 1/2 x 5 3/4 in. mount. Katz, Custer in Photographs, K-113. Custer poses in buckskins clutching his custom trapdoor sporting rifle, and dons what is almost certainly his trademark red kerchief. This distinctive portrait was taken by James A. Scholten, a photographer from St. Louis, around 24 January 1872, following the party's return from their buffalo hunt. This scarce, original version of Scholten's photograph was distributed in limited numbers as a tipped-in addition to the 19th-century trade publication the “Philadelphia Photographer,” and was widely copied in cabinet photo form following Custer's death at the Battle of Little Bighorn. 

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Studio portrait cabinet card of Lieut. Col. George Armstrong Custer reclining in buckskin hunting outfit alongside Grand Duke Alexis. St. Louis, [MO]: James A. Scholten, ca 24 January 1872. Katz, Custer in Photographs, K-114. A scarce variant of the more widely published K-115, this image was also taken following the famed buffalo hunt and features a reclining Custer in buckskins situated next to a seated Grand Duke Alexis who holds a puppy in his left hand. We locate no auction records for this image, which is catalogued in the Library of Congress as LC-USZ62-42305.

Another 30 photographs including stereoviews, CDVs, and cabinet cards accompany the Eaton and Scholten images. Among these are fifteen portraits of the Grand Duke spanning various stages of his life and featuring the backmarks of an array of important early American photographers including Brady, Gurney, and Sarony. One of the cabinet card portraits of Alexis is by Scholten, taken during the same 1872 post-hunt sitting in which the Custer images were captured. Others represented with photographic portraits in the archive are Major General Philip Sheridan, New York Governor John Dix, and "Queen of Burlesque" Lydia Thompson with whom Alexis was rumored to have had a brief romantic liaison while on his tour. A small assortment of six stereoviews documents various stops on the nationwide tour, among which are "Grand Duke's reception Union Square" in New York City, "H[is] I[mperial] Highness the Grand Duke Alexis, at the Residence of Hon. G.V. Fox, Lowell, Mass., Dec. 9th, 1871" by S. Towle, and "His Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke Alexis, and Suite" by C. Bierstadt [the brother of artist Albert Bierstadt], Niagara Falls, New York.

Providing unique insight into the complex logistics and extensive planning undertaken in advance of the Grand Duke's tour are 67 documents contained within the archive, including an autograph letter signed by Albert Bierstadt to Major General John Dix. Bierstadt writes on 13 April 1871: "Your presence is urgently requested tomorrow evening at the house of Moses H. Grinnell 435 5th Av to discuss the best method of entertaining His Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia during his visit in the country...." Union General William Buell Franklin, working in 1871 as General Manager of Colt's Patent Fire Arms, Manufacturing Co., writes an undated letter to Russian Diplomat Konstantin Katakazi (also Catacazy): "Understanding that his Highness the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia will pass through Hartford...we are anxious that if it be found convenient the Grand Duke and his Suite may visit our factory, and therefore most cordially invite him to make such a visit...Mrs. Colt desires you to be informed that her house will be placed at your disposition so that the Grand Duke can dine and sleep there."

Among the documents are also a group of 60 original telegrams received by the Pennsylvania Railroad's Frank Thomson, manager of the Duke's train and entourage. These telegrams reveal the logistics, scheduling, and complexities involved in getting the Grand Duke from place to place. Telegrams were exchanged during the tour as travel arrangements were finalized across the country, the senders often providing Thomson with confirmations on arrangements and seeking clarifications on the traveling party's needs and schedules. Powerful railroad executives and other businessmen are among those whose correspondence is captured in the telegrams. These include James Tinnlinghast, a close friend of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and Superintendent of the Western Division of the Buffalo & Erie and New York Central Railroad, who telegraphed Thomson on 22 December 1871 from Buffalo prior to the Duke's visit to Niagara Falls: "Message received that the Grand Duke and suite will leave the train at Clifton & arrive to the Falls on Canada side & there to the Spencer House will arrange to take train on arrival to Falls station will meet you at Clifton." On 10 January 1872, E.S. Sandford (possibly Edward S. Sandford, a wealthy New York financier), telegraphed Thomson from New York: "Hope Both packages Cigarettes will arrive in time today [prior to their departure for the buffalo hunt] tell Mr. Bodisco [Consul General of Russia to the U.S. who was accompanying Grand Duke Alexis on his tour] to please bear in mind that Hunting the Buffalo is Exciting Sport but when the Buffalo Hunts you it becomes a little too exciting...." John Evans, President of the Denver Pacific Railroad, telegraphed Thomson from Denver on 16 January 1872: "Mrs. Sanderson of Denver tenders to the Gand Duke her carriage to ride from the Rail Way Station to the Hotel notice of its acceptance sent her at the American House will secure the carriage in waiting on the arrival of the train." Lewis B. Parsons, a railroad executive and banker, telegraphed Thomson from St. Louis on 19 January 1872: "The owner of the Great Republic assure me the boat can be at Cairo all ready to start by the evening of the twenty seventh. I think you can depend on them."  Alfred Gaither, likely the Western Manager of the Adams Express Company based in Cincinnati, telegraphs Thomson from Cincinnati on 23 January 1872: "Arrangements are in progress to invite the Ducal Party to Cincinnati. Previous to extending the invitation it is desirable to know how many persons are in the Grand Duke's suite and whether it is his practice to pay hotel expenses for his party when invited to a city. Please consider these enquiries confidential...." Gen. Theophilus E. Sickles, Chief Engineer and General Superintendent of the Union Pacific Railroad, telegraphed Thomson from Omaha on 5 February 1872: "A temporary Rail Road Bridge is in use across Missouri River here by which can come Direct to Omaha...the distance to North Platte is two hundred & ninety one miles & we propose to take Twelve Hours in making the trip."  

Rounding out the collection is a large group of approximately 50 pieces of ephemera. Elaborate printed railroad timetables document the date, time, and location of the "Special Train" conveying the Duke's party. A broadside, "Notice to Employees. The Grand Duke Alexis!," notifies employees of the Boston & Albany Railroad that on 7 December 1871 an extra passenger train will run. It instructs employees that "All Telegraph Operators will be on duty until the Extra has passed...All Flagmen will be at their crossings also until it has passed...Agents will be at their Stations and will show Dial to the Enginemen if any train has passed within thirty minutes...." Banquet and ball invitations identify festivities and list the committee members who planned the balls and dinners. Menus list the elaborate meals and wines served. Unique among the ephemeral items is an elaborately printed silk ribbon, approx. 12 in. long, with a menu for a dinner "Given by the Citizens of Philadelphia" on 4 December 1871 for the Duke, and a handsomely bound "Time Tables of Special Train, In honor of His Imperial Highness, The Grand Duke Alexis, December 26th and 28th, 1871." An issue of Harper's Weekly from 14 October 1871 recounts the "lively stir" in the fashionable circles of the country upon the announcement of the Grand Duke's visit. Two pieces of scarce sheet music, the "Marche Muscovite" and "Grand Duke Alexis / Welcome March / Galop," exemplify the music composed to celebrate the Grand Duke's tour.

In its entirety, the archive contains more than 155 items, representing the broad, national scope of the Grand Duke's tour with incredible pieces highlighting specific stops along the way. This large collection constitutes an important archive documenting the first visit to the United States by a member of the Russian royal family during a critical period of recovery and change in post-Civil War America. With its exceedingly rare views of the "Great Buffalo Hunt" and large quantity of tour-related documents and ephemera, this is quite possibly the only archive of its kind.

[Early Photography, Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] [Native Americana, Native American History, America Indian, Indian HIstory] [Western Americana, Western History, Western Expansion, Wild West, George Armstrong Custer] [Ephemera, Pamphlets, Publications, Booklets]