Record, communication, entertainment: a functional study of two family photograph collections in St. John's, Newfoundland

Greenhill, Pauline (1980) Record, communication, entertainment: a functional study of two family photograph collections in St. John's, Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This thesis deals with the family photography collection, an aspect of visual and verbal folklore which allows families to record their activities, to communicate within the family and with outsiders, and to entertain themselves and others. This threefold function is exemplified, as is the form of the family photograph collection, primarily in a detailed study of the collections of two St. John's, Newfoundland families, the Kellys and the Cousens. These are used to illustrate the concept of roles in the creation and use of family photograph collections: the photographer, who records the events, the subject, who allows himself to be recorded, the archivist, who organizes the results, the interpreter, who describes them, and the audience, who observes them. The Kelly and Cousens collections are also the source of most specific examples of photographs and associated narratives. An historical depth is established for family photograph collections and it is related to their present form and function. The continuity seen with earlier forms of photography, family portraiture and photographic display is explained by the flexibility allowed by the roles; that different individuals may take them, that responsibility for them can be divided in the family, and that each individual may weigh his role according to his interests. The connection between family photograph collection roles and individual personalities, as well as the collection's general importance to family life, are seen.

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