On 23rd October 2025, a unique photo album of the last Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918), the wife of Nicholas II, will be put up for auction at the Literary Fund Auction House (Litfond) in St. Petersburg. The starting bid is set at 10 million rubles [$127,000 USD], although it is expected to sell for much more.
The album includes 12 pages with 26 photographs of the Imperial Family taken by the Empress herself, using her Kodak Brownie Box camera. The photos were taken in 1913-1914 in the Crimea and Tsarskoye Selo. The size of the album is 24.5×20 cm, the photographs are from 8.5×5.3 to 11.8×9.3 cm. All the photos were personally pasted into the album by Alexandra Feodorovna and Emperor Nicholas II.
The lilac-coloured cover of the album is decorated with a metal coat of arms of the Russian Empire, inlaid with five precious stones – ruby, turquoise, pearls, demantoid and chrysolite, each of which symbolizes one of the five children of the August Couple.
The Empress purchased the album at a charity bazaar in Yalta in 1913, a record of which is recorded in her own handwritting has been preserved on the inside front cover. Until 1917, the album was in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, and then was taken by Alexandra Feodorovna into exile to Tobolsk.
In the autumn of 1917, Alexandra presented the album to the dentist of the Imperial Family, Sergei Sergeievich Kostritsky (1875-1944). After the 1917 Russian Revolution, Kostritsky found himself abroad, in Nice, France, where he befriended members of the His Majesties Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. In 2003, the photo album was returned to Russia by Nikita Tuchkov, and three years later it was acquired by a private collector.
This album is one of only two of the Imperial Family’s photo albums, known to the author of this article, that was not included in the state archival funds. The other photo album belonging to Emperor Nicholas II in the Museum of Local Lore in Zlatoust, which is situated 270 kilometers (168 mi) south of Ekaterinburg.
Below, are six pages from the album, featuring just some of the 26 photos:
Sergey Burmistrov, who serves as General Director of Litfond, noted: “The starting price is high, but this album has probably generated the most interest in this auction, one of great historial significance. We have informed both the state archives and museums in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Crimea, and we do not rule out that they may be interested in bidding on this album.”
Let us all hope, that this photo album, which has such a close personal connection to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, does not end up in another private collection, but instead, is purchased by or for one of the museums or palaces, where it will be put on display for visitors to see and researchers to study.
AUCTION RESULTS – 23rd October 2025
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s photo album sells for 13 million rubles at auction
© Paul Gilbert. 15 October 2025
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