Outer edges measure 5 3/8" by 8 3/8", photo image measures 3 1/8" by 5 ½". McRadisson Photo Studio. The young official is wearing a graduation jetton from the First Gymnasium in St. Petersburg, a private school for young noblemen. He is carrying a regulation civil servant's 1855 pattern small sword. In this case, the book is merely a prop - in earlier times the presence of a book in a portrait was intended to clue the viewer in on the fact that the "sitter" could read and write. Obverse is blank.

Very good condition. The corners are bumped and worn - as are the edges in places - and there are numerous minor scrapes across the surface of the photos. None of these flaws, however, completely detracts from the impression of a young man who, if the First World War had not intervened, might have become one of Russia's leaders in the 1920 and 30s.