Duncan David Douglas. Great Treasures of the Kremlin

Harry N. Abrams, 1968. — 200 p.Fortress treasure house, the heart of an Empire, Moscow's Kremlin
is the national shrine of a mighty people— a symbol of the turbulent,
dramatic, often tragic history which lies behind the present-day reality
of the Soviet Union.
Within its walls Soviet guards stand watch over incredible riches,
the priceless heritage of Old Russia: Monomakh's Cap of gold, used
to crown every Russian sovereign, so ancient its origins are unknown;
[van the Terrible's jewel-encrusted Book of Gospels; The Diamond
Crown of Peter the Creat; the long-lost Cloth of Christ; Catherine the
Great's off-the-shoulder wedding dress; the Golden Easter Egg given
to the last Romanov Emperor shortly before he was murdered.
In 1956 David Douglas Duncan, the internationally famous photographer,
astonished art and political circles by winning sudden and
unprecedented permission from the Soviets to use his color cameras
without restriction within the Kremlin. No other photographer,
before or since, has ever been granted such carte blanche authority to
carry cameras into the Soviet citadel. Gaining the confidence and
friendship of Kremlin guards and of his interpreters, Duncan visited
Moscow five times over a period of three years to photograph painstakingly
in color the incalculable treasures of church and state, the
great cathedrals, the throne rooms and even the bedroom of the Tzars.
His color transparencies have been transformed into the KREMLIN,
a photographic document which is unique in subject and execution.
Every picture was made with 35mm cameras, then faithfully reproduced
by the most advanced technical methods.
Duncan, a veteran journalist as well as an artist with a camera,
knew that his work represented more than mere photographs of a
fabulous collection of Russian art and architecture: the souls of Tzars,
Emperors, serfs and revolutionaries were locked within these grimly
towering walls. Each crown, each throne, every icon and gem-studded
heirloom was witness to the passions of a particular epoch in Russia's
history—each should be permitted to tell its own romantic and often
shocking story.
Thus, with his exclusive photos as points of departure in a series of
chapters on the tyrants, heroes and saints of Russian history, Duncan
has written the text and documentary captions for the 108 color plates
in his book, interweaving legend, anecdote, and fascinating detail
to create a remarkable, composite portrait of a people and land which
are little known in the West today.
the KREMLIN olTers a rare and startlingly beautiful view through
the Iron Curtain, Completely non-political, with its combination of
panoramic history and brilliant photography, it is an evocation
of the spirit of the Russian past as the Russians themselves feel itsomber,
mysterious and magnificent.