“Cherbourg Paris Châlons” is a lavishly illustrated album dedicated to the visit of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to France in September 1896, not long after the coronation.
The album came out with the stamp of two publishing houses, the Journal Le Temps in Paris and Le Nouveau Temps in St. Petersburg, and it was edited by the Parisian Gazette des Beaux-arts, a monthly art review that served as a reference book on the history of world art. All copies were printed on coated paper and issued in de luxe bindings, with gold embossing and triple gold edging.
The upper cover of the binding is decorated with an allegorical ornament embossed in gold, symbolizing the agreement between Russia and France: the Russian coat of arms (in the upper right corner) and the French coat of arms with republican fascines (in the lower left corner) are linked by an ivy branch. Numerous black-and-white and color illustrations in etching and color autotype techniques by both French and Russian artists, photographers, and engravers provide a detailed timeline of the visit. Of particular note are the portrait of the Imperial family on the frontispiece based on an engraving by Monjean, an original etching by Paul Renoir entitled “Visiting the Hôtel des Invalides” and a color insert for the heliogravure “The Crowd Around the Town Hall” based on a drawing by Alphonse Mucha.
Sergey Oldenburg, in his book “The Reign of Emperor Nicholas II”, described the tsar’s visit as follows:
The album came out with the stamp of two publishing houses, the Journal Le Temps in Paris and Le Nouveau Temps in St. Petersburg, and it was edited by the Parisian Gazette des Beaux-arts, a monthly art review that served as a reference book on the history of world art. All copies were printed on coated paper and issued in de luxe bindings, with gold embossing and triple gold edging.
The upper cover of the binding is decorated with an allegorical ornament embossed in gold, symbolizing the agreement between Russia and France: the Russian coat of arms (in the upper right corner) and the French coat of arms with republican fascines (in the lower left corner) are linked by an ivy branch. Numerous black-and-white and color illustrations in etching and color autotype techniques by both French and Russian artists, photographers, and engravers provide a detailed timeline of the visit. Of particular note are the portrait of the Imperial family on the frontispiece based on an engraving by Monjean, an original etching by Paul Renoir entitled “Visiting the Hôtel des Invalides” and a color insert for the heliogravure “The Crowd Around the Town Hall” based on a drawing by Alphonse Mucha.
Sergey Oldenburg, in his book “The Reign of Emperor Nicholas II”, described the tsar’s visit as follows:
