At the turn of the 20th century, advertisement posters were everywhere in all major cities of the Russian Empire. Their texts and illustrations for them were often created by famous poets and artists of the time. For example, the Saint Petersburg orthopedic factory of Markus Sachs started producing bodices in the early 20th century. To create advertisements the company invited Sergey Lodygin, who was known as the Russian Beardsley and whose style suited these products so well.

The Russian painter Valentin Serov in 1909 designed the advertising poster for Sergey Diaghilev’s “Russian Seasons” in France. This poster depicted the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed the role of Giselle in Adolphe Adam’s famous ballet.

Print advertising in the Russian Empire era offered readers various kinds of luxury items such as European tobacco and coffee — all things that were expensive and not affordable for the average citizen. Its main aim was to appeal to the affluent, yet small, segments of the population.

For ordinary people, advertising was very different, taking into account the low levels of education and income. In this case, print advertising was primarily focused on the use of visual images that surrounded ordinary consumers. Sign makers relied on traditional compositions and used bright and intense colors.

Signs were commonly painted for bakeries and confectioneries in gold against a dark background. A pretzel with two lions or a pyramid of bread in the shape of a yellow triangle on a black background were the most popular types of bakery advertising.

In Tsaritsyn, advertisements were produced by Alexander Bukatin’s workshop, which provided decorative, signboarding and painting services. His workshop produced signs mostly for retail shops, which were usually figurative: the composition on the signboard consisted of the goods sold in the shop.

Bukatin owned not only a workshop; he was a merchant of the second guild. His businesses also included two sawmills in Tsaritsyn and Beketovka, and also a tannery in Kuporosnaya Balka. On top of that, he owned a large orchard.

Name: Advertisement “Bukatin”
Date of creation: the early 20th century
Place of creation: the Russian Empire
Technique: photographic printing
Dimensions: 68×43,5 cm

In the early 20th century, Alexander Bogdanovich Hildebrandt was engaged in selling shoes, leather goods and American sewing machines in Tsaritsyn, and he also worked as a commercial agent for the purchase and sale of land.

The book “All Tsaritsyn in 1902” says that Hildebrandt’s firm had been running there for about 50 years. The family also owned a brewery, which was located “in the area of Jendovische”.

Alexander Nikolaevich Minh, the author of the “Overview of the History and Geography of Saratov Province”, defined its location as an area bordered by Rostovskaya and Kozmodemyanskaya streets, the Tsaritsa river and the railway. It was here, in the floodplain of the Tsaritsa river, that Hildebrandt’s garden with a brewery was located.

Tanning was developed throughout Russia. There was even an expensive cologne called “Russian Leather” in France. Products made from leather were really popular. Before the First World War, many domestic leather grades were superior in quality to European ones.

Hildebrandt’s shop was not just selling shoes. At that time leather goods were in demand everywhere. Customers were offered saddles, harnesses, car seats and covers that were sewn from this material. Sewing machines appeared in Tsaritsyn at the end of the 19th century and were displayed in the shop windows of Alexander Hildebrandt’s store.

During that period, sewing was taught to all girls, even those from wealthy families. The girls’ gymnasiums also taught home economics, which included dressmaking courses. Apart from “Singer”, many brands of sewing machines were sold in Tsaritsyn: “Nyman”, “Anker”, “Köchner”, and “Pfaff”. However, “Singer” was the most popular.

Russian customers could buy a sewing machine from this company in any company shop by installments. In the Russian Empire, they were sold in more than 3,000 company shops. One of them was located in Vasily Voronin’s hotel “Stolichnye Nomera” in Tsaritsyn. A signboard was placed on the side of the building facing Gogol Garden. In Sarepta, which was known for the production of mustard oil, “Singer” machines were also assembled.

Name: Advertisement “Hildebrandt”
Date of creation: the early 20th century
Place of creation: the Russian Empire
Technique: typographic printing
Dimensions: 69,5×49 cm