D.A. Karastoyanow, Bulgarian Photographer, Autograph, 10 Antique Cabinet Photographs of well-known persons, Sofia, 19th-cen.
One photo signed by hand by D.A. Karastoyanow.
Size: 16.5 x 11 cm. ((6.5 x 4.3 inches)
Eight cabinet portraits by D.A. Karastoyanov of Sofia, 1880s were sold on auction Bonhams Sold for £ 480 (ILS 2,227) inc. premium
Bonhams
BULGARIA. Eight cabinet portraits by D.A. Karastoyanov of Sofia, 1880s
Sold for £ 480 (ILS 2,227) inc. premium
BULGARIA
Eight cabinet portraits by D.A. Karastoyanov of Sofia, 1880s
Albumen prints, mounted on photographer's printed cards, six hand-coloured
images 135 x 100mm.
So the photographer in question is Dimitar Anastasov Karastoyanov (1856 – 1919) – Several generations of the (Bulgarian) family worked as photographers and as such they are probably the best known for early Bulgarian photography. The studio´s location was at the Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, a boulevard in the centre of Sofia.me wear.
The Kara Stanov family is the founders of Bulgarian photography.
In the 1960s, Nikola Karastanov was the owner of the workshop in Sobrokov and was engaged in relaying business. He studied trade in the Rilian monastery, opened a bookstore and began selling books, including those that he printed on the modern printing of his time. Nicola is considered the first Bulgarian printer, and his son Anastas is his right hand. Together they published very significant publications for their time, such as “Loss” - the first Bulgarian magazine with author Konstantin Fotinov.
In 1862, Anastas Karastanov went to Belgrade to purchase letters and materials for a family printing house. When a riot flashed in the city, he lost everything he bought, as well as money. To raise funds for his return, he began to work in a philatelic workshop. At that time, he met his namesake, Anastas Jovanovic from the doctor, Field Marshal of Prince Mikhail Obrenovich. This acquaintance laid the foundation for the photographic fate of the family. Jovanovich was able to purchase and own the Daggerreo camera, created the first stereoscopic photos (his unique collection of 800 photos has been preserved so far). He was a manager and artist in the princely palace in Belgrade and taught Anastas Karastyanov to the intricacies of photography and the device of the camera.
Anastas Karastanov in a short time mastered this craft, bought his own equipment and became a court photographer in Belgrade. His family - Victoria’s wife and four children - Anka, Mariola, Ivan and Dimitar, come to him. The sons began to help his father, and the photograph became a family craft. Anastas managed to open a photo studio at his home, which, meanwhile, became the residence of the Revolutionary Committee. It was there that he photographed some of the most famous personalities of the Bulgarian liberation movement - Panayota Khitov, Stefan Karaj, Lyuben Karavelov, Angel Kanchev, Ilio Voivoda, as well as three of the seven photographs of Vasil Levski. Meanwhile, the Serbian Prince Mikhail Obrengovich was killed, and Anastas Kaquion is deprived of the title of court photographer. However, he does everything possible to ensure that his sons receive a European education. Ivan Kara-Stanov specializes in photography in Vienna, Paris and London, then went through military training at the Belgrade Artillery School and even participated in the Russian-Turkish war. Dimitar Karastanov also specializes in Paris and London.
The family of Karastanovo became the emblem of the Bulgarian photography of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom.
Anastas and Ivan also created the first manuscript manual in Bulgaria on a photograph that should be trained in Bulgarian youth. In 1872, Ivan returned to Samokov and founded a photograph, as a result of which two trained young people began to work as photographers in Sobrokov.
After liberation, the family returned to Bulgaria - first in Svishtov, but later settled in Sofia. The three of them - Anastas, Ivan and Dimiter created their own studio, which, after the death of the father, became known as the studio "Brothers Karastanovo". Later, two brothers broke up and created their own studios. Ivan specialized in portrait photography, and Dimiter photographed old Sofia, so he is considered the creator of Bulgarian landscape photography.
Shortly before the Balkan War, Ivan Karastanov became a deputy, and Dimiter became a military correspondent. After the war, Ivan Karastanov became the honorary chairman of the first photographic society of Bulgaria (1919). In the same year, Dimiter died, and Ivan lived until 1922.
Family was continued by a new generation of photographers, the sons of Dimitar - Lyuben, Bogdan (Boncho) and Bozhidar.
Boncho Kaidovanov graduated from Robert College in Constantinople and studied photochemistry in Berlin. He was trained in the most famous Parisian photo studio "Valerie". The development of color and naked photography is associated with his name. He became the operator of Bulgarian cinematography.
The Bozhidar Karastanov specialized in the photo in Paris in the 1930s and worked in the atelier of the Parisian photographer Manuel Frera, after which he continued his education in Vienna. Returning to Sofia, he worked as a photojournalist and opened several studios in the center of the capital. By family tradition, he became the court photographer of Tsar Boris III.
Thanks to the family, today we have the opportunity to see portraits