Empress Gallery

Mozart performs for Empress Maria Theresia, 1 October 1762, (1936). Creator: Unknown

Mozart performs for Empress Maria Theresia, 1 October 1762, (1936). Mozart Vor Kaiserin Maria Theresia, 1 Oktober 1762'. The six-year-old Mozart plays for the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria at the imperial court in Vienna. Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was a child prodigy, and supposedly jumped on the empress's lap when he visited with his father and sister. From "Bilder Deutscher Geschichte", (Pictures of German History), No.12, cigarette card album. [Cigaretten-Bilderdienst, Altona-Bahrenfeld, Hamburg, Germany, 1936]

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Queen Victoria, c1860-1870, (1890). Creator: Unknown

Queen Victoria, c1860-1870, (1890). Victoria (1819-1901) Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death and from 1 May 1876, Empress of India. From "Cassell's Illustrated Universal History, Vol. IV - Modern History", by Edmund Ollier. [Cassell and Company, Limited, London, Paris and Melbourne, 1890]

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Katharina II, (1933). Creator: Unknown

Katharina II, (1933). Portrait of Catherine the Great (1729-1796), who ruled as Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, the country's longest-ruling female leader and arguably the most renowned. She came to power following a coup d'état when her husband, Peter III, was assassinated. Russia was revitalised under her reign, growing larger and stronger than ever and becoming recognised as one of the great powers of Europe. From "Gestalten Der Weltgeschichte", a book of cigarette-card portrait miniatures of figures in world history from the last four hundred years. [Germany, 1933]

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images