At the turn of the 20th century, the so-called jubilee mania began in Russia: the anniversaries of cities, military victories, state and educational institutions were commemorated. At the local scale, people celebrated milestones in the history of cities, institutions and lives of other individuals.
On November 13, 1907, the head of the Obiralovka station, Ivan Nikolayevich Tsvetkov was presented with a jubilee congratulatory address and a memorable gift from a brigade of conductors — a samovar “Steam locomotive” — to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his career at the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod Railway. This address was a personal congratulation on the anniversary.
The congratulatory address folder is made of burgundy velvet with gold stamping. The more significant the event, the more durable and expensive the material for the congratulatory address had to be. Since the mid-19th century, velvet came into fashion and became a symbol of wealth and prosperity. The inserts were printed on thick paper, and the letters were most likely printed in gold, but they darkened over time, and traces of the print can be discerned a little bit in some places. The address text is filled with nice and heartfelt words.
The anniversary address goes as follows, “Dear Ivan Nikolayevich! On the 30th anniversary of your career at the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod Railway, we, the conductor teams of country trains (assigned on October 15, 1907), are especially pleased to express our deepest respect for you and congratulate you on the day of your anniversary celebration — the day when all of us, your former colleagues and present subordinates, are remembering the time when you were among us not as a boss but as a comrade and humbly offering our prayers before the Throne of God: may He send you health, strength and vigor to continue your service for the benefit of the Tsar and the Fatherland — honest, humane, merciful and just service for many years to come. You have always been distinguished by these qualities, even at the lower stages of your service, and now as our superior. Rest assured, our modest and warm celebration of you stems from the deepest gratitude and everlasting respect that you have earned through your purely fatherly attitude toward your employees and colleagues. Your kind heart, fatherly care and generosity toward us, your subordinates, will forever remain in our hearts and the hearts of everyone who has ever met you.”
