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Description
The Institute for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies received a gift of these photographs from Vera and Robert Eby. The photos were donated to the Institute in the name of their son, James Peter Eby, who at the time of the donation was an undergraduate majoring in Russian History at Berkeley. James Peter Eby is a descendent of the Kropotkin family whose other descendents in the United States include Elizabeth Sidorov (nee Princess Elizabeth Kropotkin), Alex Alden, Vera Sidorov Eby, and Christopher Eby. This collection of photographs has been in the possession of the Eby family for some time. They are housed in the offices of the Institute for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies and in the History Department of UC Berkeley. Little is known about the circumstances under which these photographs were taken, however the Eby family has verified that the photographs date from the late nineteenth century. A horizontal sepia-toned photograph from the late nineteenth century depicts two people riding on the backs of large animals, likely oxen or camels, through a sparse, hilly landscape. The riders are positioned in the center-left of the frame, with the lead rider slightly ahead and to the left of the second. Both figures wear light-colored, draped clothing and head coverings. The terrain is rocky and uneven, with a gentle slope rising toward the right side of the image. The background is composed of soft, hazy hills under a pale, clear sky. To the right of the original photograph, a vertical color calibration target with colored squares and a grayscale step wedge is visible, included for archival digitization. Image description generated by AI (Gemini 3.0 Fast) and reviewed, January 2026 .
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