Alexandre ‘Shura’ Rahm was born an Imperial Russian to a wealthy family who fled to Paris to escape the Russian Revolution. His father actually hired a private train to stage their escape, and their subsequent life in the French capital saw them survive in much reduced circumstances. A man of formidable intellect, ‘Shura’ studied radiology under Marie Curie and as a very young man designed and constructed a huge and astoundingly complex working astronomical clock from Meccano. It was exhibited at the Sorbonne. He subsequently resettled in England, where he became personal assistant/chief mechanic/retainer for the Siamese Prince Chula Chakrabongse – whose mother had been Russian - uncle of the future celebrity racing driver Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh (better known as ‘B. Bira’). The lives of these two high-flying cousins ‘Shura’ subsequently photographed in considerable detail. His work was until recently preserved within the private collection of Chula’s daughter Princess Narisa of Thailand and its remarkable imagery has rarely been seen. The GP Library Collection holds approximately 25,000 ‘Shura’ Rahm images shot by him between 1930 and the late 1940s. Their quality is exquisite, with a Cartier Bresson quality to much of it. The Collection includes remarkably rare images of life in wartime Britain while his photography for Prince Chula took him touring and motor racing throughout Europe. We judge this largely unknown photographer’s work to be of a special quality, rarely matched.