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PH1752
Photographs: PH1752
Title
Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky and Count Tolstoy
Subject
Date
c.1903
Dimensions
height: 14cm
width: 9cm
width: 9cm
Provenance
Presented by Michael Gaunt, September 2023.
Other number
E0146
This postcard depicts the Russian writers Anton Chekhov (left), Maxim Gorky (middle), and Leo Tolstoy (right). Chekhov and Tolstoy sit on a sofa with their legs crossed and Gorky stands behind them with his right hand on his hip.
This is an example of a photomontage. It is composed of a 1901 photograph of Tolstoy and Chekhov in Gaspra, and an image c. 1900 of Gorky standing alone with his hand on his hip. There are several schools of thought as to why the photograph was manipulated to include Gorky. One is financial gain - to depict Russia’s three great living writers on one postcard may appeal to those wanting souvenirs and increase sales. Another possible reason, stated by Gatenby in his book ‘Authorized Images’ (2024, p11), is that Gorky asked a friend to manipulate the negative, either, to commemorate a meeting that did take place but wasn’t photographed, or to align himself with the two other more established writers. This postcard is thought to date to 1903.
This is an example of a photomontage. It is composed of a 1901 photograph of Tolstoy and Chekhov in Gaspra, and an image c. 1900 of Gorky standing alone with his hand on his hip. There are several schools of thought as to why the photograph was manipulated to include Gorky. One is financial gain - to depict Russia’s three great living writers on one postcard may appeal to those wanting souvenirs and increase sales. Another possible reason, stated by Gatenby in his book ‘Authorized Images’ (2024, p11), is that Gorky asked a friend to manipulate the negative, either, to commemorate a meeting that did take place but wasn’t photographed, or to align himself with the two other more established writers. This postcard is thought to date to 1903.
