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Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

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Auction Date:2014 Feb 12 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Extremely rare vintage matte-finish 3.5 x 5 three-quarter-length photo of Nikolaevna seated and wearing formal attire, signed at the bottom in black ink, “Anastasia 1914.” In fine condition, with a couple insignificant surface stains, trivial edge chipping, and slightly trimmed edges. Reverse bears an interesting series of notes in French, dated 1927 and signed “E Bossel,” offering a brief but definitive opinion of the photograph and signature’s authenticity.

As Russia entered World War I in 1914, the imperial family made their permanent home behind the walls of the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, where this photograph was taken. Most frequently attributed to renowned St. Petersburg photographers Boasson and Eggler, this picture captures a regal image of the 13-year-old Grand Duchess; each of the sisters posed for a similar portrait, which they then signed and gave to those who made contributions to their charitable funds or supported the war effort in other ways. Anastasia and Maria—too young to join the Red Cross like their mother and older sisters—spent a great deal of their time visiting wounded soldiers at the private hospital in Tsarskoye Selo, playing checkers and billiards to lift their spirits. Unlike the many impersonal signed photos that the Duchesses offered, this particular piece was given to Anastasia’s nursemaid since birth, Alexandra ‘Shura’ Tegleva (who later married Pierre Gilliard, the children’s tutor). Just four years after this photograph was taken, 17-year-old Anastasia suffered a gruesome fate, murdered by members of the Bolshevik secret police with the rest of her family. With their deaths shrouded in mystery, claims quickly began to surface that the young Duchess was alive; in 1927, Shura and Gilliard became entangled in the investigation into Anna Anderson’s famous claim that she was Anastasia, which may account for the notes on the reverse, identifying with certainty that the image and signature are in fact the Grand Duchess. A beautiful image with excellent personal association, this is an outstandingly rare photograph of the young Romanov—the first we have offered in over 30 years of business.