Born a serf into a family of icon painters in Mster, Vladimir Province, Golyshev was given as an apprentice to a lithographer, a technique he quickly mastered. Tikhonravov, also of Vladimir, recognized his genius and upon emancipation Golyshev became a member of the statistical commission. A successful commercial publisher who then turned to archeology and the other social sciences with which it was associated, he published a number of lithographic albums, winning a gold medal for his work from the IRAO.