Photograph
Adolph Brodsky
1891

Adolph Brodsky of the Royal Manchester College of Music was good pals with, among many other famous names, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (of the Swan Lake, 1812 Overture and Nutcracker fame). Brodsky gave the first public performance of his Violin Concerto which was deemed too complicated to be of real aesthetic or musical value. Brodsky thought, "Well, I'll give it a bash" and once Tchaikovsky got wind of it, they connected and became buddies.

This is an old-skool Snapchat but instead of using your smartphone, you took yourself to a professional studio, had your photo taken whilst looking wistfully into the middle distance, had loads printed and then posted them to your pals with your little text message scribbled on the bottom.

Tchaikovsky has written in Russian: ‘To my dear friend Adolph. P. I. Tchaikovsky. 23 November '91.’

Ref: AB/237