William Craft Brumfield in Kazan: 1985-2003
The article studies the potential of photographic documents as a source of the study of the history of the Tatar ASSR. It introduces into scientific discourse some photographs taken in Kazan in 1985 by William C. Brumfield, the American architectural historian, photographer and professor at Tulane University. During his visit in 1985, Brumfield managed to take 156 colour and 120 black-and-white photographs. At present, the black-and-white negatives and prints are kept at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, while the colour originals are held by Brumfield. The significant part of the photographs is devoted to the religious and civil architecture of Kazan. Digitized colour images are available on the site Cultinfo.ru. Much work on identifying the photographs was done - practically all of the photographed pieces of architecture are supplied with detailed information, such as the address, the name of the owner during the pre-revolutionary period, the contemporary state of preservation with the date of the photograph. In some cases, there is also the date of the building, the identity of the architect and the names of prominent residents. The article also contains Brumfield’s reminiscences of his trips to Kazan in 1985 and 2003.