”Nadejda Simeon Zharino dans le Salonache”

            gelatin silver print on paper, RPPC
photographer unknown, probably Romania, ca. 1910
acquired in Bucharest
Theodor E. Ulieriu-Rostás collection. Accession number: rppc.2011.01.

This photo puts forward a lot of interesting details and unanswered questions. To begin with, the handwritten note contains a pun accessible to a francophone Romanian: ”salonaș” (little parlour) is written in would-be French spelling, but proper French does not comprise any such diminutive... It would be interesting to see if neighbouring languages have this word; as far as I know, this is not the case for Hungarian or proper Russian (we'll come back to that soon).

The handwriting allows for the reading of the family name as Zharino (possible alternate spellings: Zharinov, Jarino etc.) or Zharina - the feminine form of the Slav name Z(h)arin, in which case the handwriting refers directly to the lady (or the girl). So far, so good: we might be dealing with a Bulgarian or Russian family. On the other hand, the gentleman seems to be wearing the uniform of an Imperial Russian Navy officer. 

If that is true, the story behind the photo takes a new twist: a Russian officer's family visiting Romania? The fact that the photo was taken in the "salonache" and not in a professional studio, the relaxed poses and smiles and, last but not least, the Kodak boxes held by the little girl, all lead me to believe that the portrait was taken by an amateur photographer who was closely acquainted with the family - the handwriting and, quite possibly, the "salonache" being his, rather than the Zharin(o)s'.

Mr. Todd Gustavson, curator of the Technology collection at the George Eastman House, kindly identified the Kodak boxes as ca. 1910 boxes of film in European packaging - therefore confirming my dating based on costumes. The quality of the details does not allow for a precise identification of the film format, but the dimensions suggest a taller roll (at least 122 = 3 ½ inches tall).  

I'll remain grateful for any suggestions regarding the names, uniform, and, of course, the overall scenario. My thanks go to Todd Gustavson, already mentioned above, to Emil Boboescu and Radu Răzvan Stanciu for their input. 
   

Taken on: January 1, 2012

Tags:

antique photograph

vintage photograph

real photo postcard

RPPC

portrait

Romania

1910s

Nadejda Simeon Zharino

Nadejda Simeon Zharina

Kodak

Ulieriu-Rostás collection « less

Sets appears in: • Early photography in Romania

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Camera: HP pst_p02e (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	HP pst_p02e
Saturation:	Low
Sharpness:	Soft
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Windows
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