Bullets, Baubles and Bones

At the beginning of the 20th Century, Mother Russia was in turmoil. After Tsar Nicolas abdicated in April, 1917 and the Bolsheviks seized power, jewels and gold bullion streamed out of Russia. In July, 1918, the tsar's family was gunned down, but it took more than one volley of bullets to kill all of them, since hundreds of jewels had been sewn into their clothing. What became of the jewels? In 1920, photographs were taken of the most important pieces of the Russian Crown jewels, but four of the pieces, a brooch, a necklace, a bracelet and a tiara were missing by 1923. What became of the jewelry? Acting of a tip, in late summer 1920, United States agents in Brooklyn, New York boarded a ship that had originated in Vladivostok, Russia in search of contraband. What they did not inspect, was the coffin merchant seaman who had died under mysterious circumstances off the coast of Gibraltar. That coffin, now buried in a cemetery in Brooklyn, was unearthed by United States Treasury Office agents in January 1923. It was supposedly lined with bags of the jewels. The head Treasury Department agent, William B. Williams, then left for Los Angeles. In 1993, during a funeral service in a cemetery in Hollywood, California, a man named Anatoly Romanov tossed a mysterious pouch into the open casket. That pouch had been spirited away from a prison camp in Siberia decades before. What was in the pouch? In 2009, a woman whose stepfather helped transport seven coffins full of jewels to the Gobi Desert claimed that a map to the jewels was buried in Hollywood Forever cemetery. Will the boneyards give up their secrets? Join Chick Corbett and Tom Twotrees as they try to solve the mystery of the missing Crown Jewels of Russia.

Photographer-writer Douglas Keister, has authored and co-authored forty-two critically acclaimed books. He also writes and illustrates magazine articles and contributes photographs and essays to dozens of magazines, newspapers, books, calendars, posters and greeting cards worldwide. His twenty-five books on architecture include five books on Victorian homes (Daughter’s of Painted Ladies, Painted Ladies Revisited, America’s Painted Ladies, and Victorian Glory; twelve books on bungalow homes (The Bungalow, Inside the Bungalow, Outside the Bungalow, 500 Bungalows and eight small format books on bungalow details), a book on 1920’s whimsical homes (Storybook Style) a book on Spanish architecture, (Red Tile Style), three books on cottages (Classic Cottages, Cottages and 500 Cottages) and a book on Courtyards. Keister photographed and wrote an award winning children’s book (Fernando’s Gift), has two monographs of his personal work (Black Rock and Driftwood Whimsy), and four books on classic recreational vehicles, Ready to Roll, Silver Palaces, Mobile Mansions and Teardrops and Tiny Trailers. His wealth of books on architecture has earned him the title, ＂America’s most noted photographer of historic architecture＂. He has authored six cemetery specific books including Stories in the Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography, Stories in Stone New York, Stories in Stone Paris, Forever LA, Forever Dixie and Going Out in Style He photographed and wrote a bilingual children’s books in China, To Grandmother’s House: A Visit to Old-Town Beijing (January 2008). A book featuring his collection of glass negatives, Lincoln in Black and White 1910-1925, contains photographs acquired by the Smithsonian. In the mid 2000s, Doug began writing novels, including Desiree, Autumn in Summer, Molly in the Afternoon (writing as Suzanne Hartley) and a memoir about growing up in Nebraska titled Heart-Land: Growing up in the Middle of Everything. His most recent novel, Bullets, Baubles and Bones came out in May 2014. In October 2010, his cemetery books and photography were featured in a segment of CBS Sunday Morning. Correspondent Rita Braver called him ＂America’s Chief Tombstone Tourist＂. SUNSET magazine said ＂Keister has done for cemetery exploration what Audubon did for birding.＂ He has lectured about his books all over the world. He lives in Chico, California. Find him at douglaskeister.com