These two photographs were commissioned in 1900 as part of a series on the war for the British royal family by the then British Vice-Consul of Sevastopol, Charles J. Cooke. Cooke had intended to present the photographs to Queen Victoria, but they were not received in Britain until 1917 during the reign of King George V. The photographs arrived at a time of great turmoil in the relationship between Britain and Russia, with the First World War in progress and the Russian Revolution beginning in February 1917.
The photographs all reflect upon the war and the passing of time. Several landscapes are described as battlefield locations, but no trace of the conflict remains, leaving the viewer to contemplate the purpose of war.
