When most people think of photo albums, they conjure up images of birthday parties, vacations, family reunions, weddings and, of course, the ever-present embarrassing photos that Mom likes to take out and show her children's friends and other guests. Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman, the first governor-general of Russian Turkistan, had a different concept in mind when he put together an album for his country. The military leader had made a name for himself through his efforts in expanding the Russian empire in Central Asia during the 1850s and 1860s. To satisfy "the common interest and for the rapid familiarization of the reading public" to these newly acquired lands, he commissioned a series of photo albums to acquaint his fellow Russians and Westerners alike to the region.