International Autograph Auctions Ltd.
Lot 482
RUSSIAN IMPERIAL ROMANOV FAMILY: An exceptionally rare multiple signed 8vo feint ruled page by Romanov family members, sixteen signatures in total, dated Reval 8th & 9th June 1908. An excellent set of bold black ink signatures including the seven members of the Emperor Nicholas II family, all of them assassinated in Yekaterinburg in 1918. NICHOLAS II (1868-1918) Emperor of Russia 1894-1917. Signed ('Nicky'), a rare example of the Tsar's English signature using his family name. ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA (1872-1918) Empress Consort of Russia 1894-1917. Signed (`Alix´), originally known as Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. MARIA FEODOROVNA (1847-1928) Mother of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress of Russia 1881-1894 as spouse of Tsar Alexander III. Signed with her family name `A[unt] Minny´. MICHAEL ALEXANDROVICH (1878-1918) Youngest brother of Tsar Nicholas II. In 1899, and after his brother George passed away, Michael became the heir presumptive. OLGA ALEXANDROVNA (1882-1960) Grand Duchess of Russia, the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II. Signed (`Olga A.´) OLGA CONSTANTINOVA (1851-1926) Daughter of Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaevich. Queen of Greece 1867-1913 as spouse of King George I of Greece, and Regent of Greece in 1920. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is her grandson. OLGA NIKOLAEVNA (1895-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia, the eldest daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina. TATIANA NIKOLAEVNA (1897-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia. Daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina. MARIA NIKOLAEVNA (1899-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia. Signed (`Marie´). Daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina. ANASTASIA NIKOLAEVNA (1901-1918) Grand Duchess of Russia, the youngest daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina. Signed (`Anastasia´) only a week before her seventh birthday. ALEXEI NIKOLAEVICH (1904-1918) Tsarevich of Russia, the youngest child and only son of the Tsar and Tsarina. A rare ink scrawlby the three years old, close to four, child, adding his initial (`A´), being his sister Princess Olga the one who completed his name on his behalf. PETER ALEXANDROVICH OF OLDENBURG (1868-1924) First husband of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. Known as “Petia”. Peter of Oldenburg married Olga Alexandrovna in 1901, an unexpected wedding by family and friends, as Peter had shown no prior interest in women, and members of society assumed he was homosexual. At the age of 19, Olga married 33-year-old Peter. After the celebration the newlyweds left for the Oldenburg palace where Olga spent her wedding night alone in tears, while her husband left for a gambling club returning the next morning Their marriage remained unconsummated. In 1916, Tsar Nicholas II officially annulled the marriage between Duke Peter Alexandrovich and the Grand Duchess, allowing her to marry Colonel Kulikovsky. STOLYPIN PIOTR (1862-1911) A rare signature of Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs 1906-11. Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Widely considered one of the last major statesmen of Imperial Russia. Stolypin was shot on September 1911 while attending a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov´s The Tale of Tsar Saltan at the Kiev Opera House in the presence of the Tsar and his two daughters, the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana. ALEXANDER BENCKENDORFF (1849-1917) Russian Count and Diplomat. He served as Ambassador to Denmark and the United Kingdom. To the verso appear twenty five additional signatures including John Fisher (1841-1920), 1st Baron Fisher, Admiral of the fleet; Percy Noble (1880-1955) Royal Navy officer serving in both world wars; Colin Keppel (1862-1947) British Admiral and Extra Equerry to four Kings; Gavin Hamilton (1872-1952) 2nd Baron Hamilton of Dalzell. Scottish politician, etc… About EX £10000-15000 Provenance: The present page originates from an album of signatures collected by Princess Victoria (1868-1935), daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The signatures were obtained by the Princess when she encountered her cousin and his family whilst on vacation in Reval (the name of the modern day Tallinn, capital of Estonia, until 1918). Autographs of all of the Romanov family on a single item are extremely rare in any form. American Book Prices Current record only two items signed by multiple members of the Romanov family. This being one of them. The present signatures are illustrated in the book ‘In the Presence of History - The Authoritative Guide to Historical Autographs for Collectors, History Enthusiasts and Investors' by Steven Raab & Jonas Raab with Nathan Raab, and the authors, previous owners of the signatures, recounted their acquisition of Princess Victoria’s album, `Another time, we found that English dealer of long acquaintance had an autograph album that had been kept by Princess Victoria, daughter of King Edward VII. There were scores of large pages, a few thousand signatures, and virtually every royal house in Europe from about 1890-1925 was represented. Entire royal families, each with their own page or two, plus some groups interestingly mixed, jumped off the sheets, but one page struck me immediately – the entire family of the Tsar had signed, including Anastasia and the rest of his children. This was not merely a rarity – it was al-together unique and we couldn´t believe our eyes. We bought the album and lovingly researched it; many a time I´ve wished I had it back”.
