In the course of doing image research for an upcoming book, I’ve discovered some incredible photos (most of which I can’t use in my book). Here’s a series taken by a Scottish photographer named William Carrick (1827 – 1878), who lived and worked in St. Petersburg for much of his professional career. Along with his partner, John MacGregor, he took some amazing pictures of everyday Russians. According to the website from the National Galleries of Scotland, Carrick produced many of these images as “cartes de visite” for tourists to buy, in order to earn some extra income.
Have a look (and while you’re looking–do the knife grinder and the tool seller/carpenter look like the same person to you? Or perhaps brothers?):
