Along the Banks of the Volga River
Masterpieces of the Russian photography from the second half of the 19th century
in the collection of the National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg.
The photographs taken by another artist - Semen Felzer - in the same period, also captured the contemporary technical achievements - steamers that were in use in the region of Kazan. Just like Karelin, the artist obviously admired these machines. He made a "portrait" of each "beauty", which, in addition to impressive technical capacity thoroughly described under the photo, seemed to possess its own vivid characteristic. Steamers, long boats, even prosaic dredgers, shown to best advantage in the centre of a photograph, fascinate the viewer. So the shooting, which purposes were merely utilitarian, becomes a succession of interesting designer projects that have some aesthetical value and vividly characterize their epoch.
In addition to steamers and railroads, the construction of bridges became essential for the Volga's vital activity and made an outstanding contribution to the development of this major national water way. The photographic album The Alexander Bridge across the Volga (1875 - 1880) is a visual proof of this important process. The album was created by an unknown artist. For a long time, the Alexander Bridge was the longest in Europe and one of the biggest in world, and the photos give us precious information about it; they illustrate each stage of its construction.
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