PASSING ON MEMORIES

The exhibition Family Photo Albums from the Collections of The Museum of Applied Art is another in the sequence of special exhibitions that present the items from The Museum’s collections. It consists of objects dated from the second half of 19th Century and the first half of 20th Century preserved in the collections of photo albums in The Museum of the Applied Arts. The appearance of photo albums, as well as photography itself, is tightly tied to the rise of civic class, and is largely conditioned by the changes in the structure of family and urban civic 19th-century interior.

There are no reliable documents about the appearance of photo albums in Serbia. We can almost certainly say that they were not produced in the local bookbinding shops, but are, mostly, imports from Germany and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The albums in the collections in The Museum of Applied Art testify to this, as they belong to the known types of albums mass-produced in these countries during the second half of 19th Century.

The collection of photo albums in The Museum of Applied Art contains 37 objects, dating from 1860 to 1940. Among them, there are those whose provenance is known, and that are preserved in their totality, with the original choice and layout of photographs, as those that belonged to famous historic personages – Svetozar Miletić, Anastas Jovanović, Marko Ristić, or more or less known families such as Predić, Jakovljević, Petrović, Antula, Zorić, Smederevac and Vladarski.

A 19th-century photo album, containing primarily family portraits, had a form of visual genealogy of a family. Designed as a monumental codex, with lavish binding and decorated pages, photo album presented a representative family memorabilia that was a part of private collection, a valuable exhibit of private domestic museum. Right from the start, the role of the structure of photo album during 19th Century, which contained primarily portraits of family proper – father, mother and children, and then portraits of extended family – relatives and friends, was to build the identity of a modern family as an essential kernel of civic society. Photo album, as a totality, became one of the most persistent forms of preservation of family’s memory that binds together generations, thus creating a shared family identity.

20th-century photo albums differ from 19th–century ones. In accordance with new values brought by modernity, their structure in founded on the principles of transience and change, not stability and durability as in 19th Century. Family albums of 20th Century are not made of static portraits of family members, cousins and friends, but mostly of the shots that record the everyday life, the dynamics of actual occurrences. They are not focused on the inner circle of home, but on outdoors, a yard, an alley, a river, spa or seaside, in which action takes place as well as the endeavors such as skating, hiking, walking, picnicking, sunbathing and swimming.

Photograph album is a 19th century structure developed as a direct consequence of the invention, popularization and extensive use of photographs, a creation which marked the modern times both in arts and in other compartments of human life. It was the new type of carte-de-visite size photographs invented by André Adolphe Disdéri which made the most significant contribution to the popularisation of the new medium. Mass production and popularity of cartes-de-visite size photographs made their collection and keeping together necessary. The new type of photographs made fashionable the collecting of portraits of celebrities, most often members of European royalty. This was how some of the earliest photo-albums were created.

The oldest known album was made in Paris. It was in shape of a book, however the sheets were unfoldable and not run over as is usual. The first type of album which was industrially produced around 1860s had 12 sheets and leather binding with simple metal clasping. After 1860 albums producing industry was booming and in the next two decades various forms of photograph albums were patented.

There is no reliable information available on appearance of photograph albums in Serbia. It could be said though that they were not produced in domestic book-binding workshops. They were imported mostly from Germany and Austro-Hungary. This is proved by albums from collections of the Museum of Applied Art which all belong to the known types of albums of mass production during the second half of the 19th century in these countries.

Collection of photograph albums in the Museum of Applied Art consists of 37 objects which all originate from 1860 to 1940 period. For many of them the origin was established and they were preserved as wholes. They keep their original selection and sequence order completely or for the most part of the album such as are albums which belonged to well known historical persons – Svetozar Miletić, Anastas Jovanović, Marko Ristić or more or less known upper middle-class families – Predić, Jakovljević Petrović, Antula, Zorić, Smederevac and Vladarski.

The nineteenth century photograph album was composed of family portraits in the first place and was formed as a visual genealogy of a given family. Assorted as a monumental codex with luxurious binding and decorated pages photograph album was a representative family memorabilia that was part of a private collection, a valuable exhibit in a house museum. Centre of this informal institution consisting of various objects (furniture, decorative items of glass, porcelain and silver, paintings, piano) was a parlour, the central, common space of an upper middle-class home designed for family gatherings and receiving visits. This room existed only in a city-family interior and was a distinct sign of social rank, an earmark of the owner being member of the upper middle-class and its contents were in accordance with this intention. House museums exhibited carefully chosen items gathered in order to make the image of its owner and his family as representative as possible. Family photograph album was assigned the same task and from the 1860s on it was given special place among them.

Being given the task of visually representing a family tree in the best light, family album was formed following the same principles as the collection it was part of. Individual photographs were most carefully chosen and placed within an album according to set order, thus making a visual story, a graphic novel with the aim to form an ideal picture of a tradition-bound family, which will be presented to the public. A family album was a visual mediator which articulated both the family relations and class relations of 19th century bourgeois society.

The structure of photograph albums in the 19th century, consisting in the first place of portraits of the family members – father, mother and children and then of portraits of relatives and friends, was from the beginning focused on building identity of a modern family as the core of civic society. This whole came to be one of the most persistent forms of preserving family memories connecting different generations by common memories and shaping their collective, family identity.

Photograph albums of the 20th century significantly differ from those which were manufactured in the previous one. Following the new values brought about by the era of modernism their structure was based on principles of transience and changeability and not on those of stability and permanence as was the case in the 19th century. There were no static portraits of family members, relatives and friends in the 20th century family albums. Most of the photographs recorded everyday moments in life of their owner and dynamics of events. These photographs were not focused on family life in homes, they were oriented towards the outside world instead, to courtyards, streets, rivers, spas or seaside landscapes where activities such as skating, hill-walking, walks, outings or swimming were going on.

The look and structure of photograph albums in the 20th century resemble a photographic diary or a visual memory book. Their aim was not to build the family identity but identity of an individual or to put it more precisely to define individual identity within a family community. Principles of subjectivity and individuality served as guidance both in the manner of photograph taking and in organisation of collected visual material as a family album.

A publication accompanies this exhibition containing a critical essay, illustrations and catalogue.