an uncommon album of the magnetite mining industry in the Urals in the original portfolio.

Iron ore was discovered on the banks of the river Kushva in 1735 by a hunter of the Mansi tribe, Stepan Chumpin. He presented it to state mining officials who decided to explore the area and were impressed by the high quality and volume of material they found. The name 'Blagodat' meaning grace in Russian was given to the mountain in honour of Empress Anna Ioannovna (Anna meaning gracious in Hebrew).

According to legend Stepan Chumpin was burned by his fellow tribesmen for revealing the mountain's riches to the Russian Empire. In his memory, a monument was erected on the mountain's peak in 1826 which can be seen in this album. The mine's success went from strength to strength and attracted the attention of the explorer Peter Simon Pallas and the scientist Mendeleev who both spent time in Kushva studying the iron ore.

This album depicts the mine at the height of its industrial growth at the turn of the 20th century. The images of factories, workshop interiors and their workers reveal the vast social changes which were taking place in Russia at the time and which would play a role in the worker strikes of 1905 and 1917.

First edition; oblong 4to (20 x 29 cm); 30 collotype plates with captions in Russian, very minor foxing to a few plates; loose as issued in the original publisher's portfolio with gilt title, a little rubbed and corners bumped, ribbon tie missing, a good copy.