TRADITIONS OF COLLECTING AND REMEMBERING

Abstract

This paper will examine the previously unconsidered link between the photographic family album and the sentiment album. The sentiment album was popular at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and was assembled mainly by young women. It contained poems, drawings and apothegms solicited from friends, family members and acquaintances. Little research has been undertaken on the sentiment album. However, an examination of the period’s women’s magazines reveals a substantial amount of information regarding this phenomenon. The sentiment album consolidated a tradition of collecting and remembering. However, due to the open and public manner of its assembly, this early album ran the risk of being socially embarrassing. The photographic album was more private both in terms of its assembly and display. In addition, the family album was less distressing to view because studio imagery allowed individuals to present themselves publicly within the parameters of established, socially accepted visual codes. Throughout the nineteenth century albums operated as a site for individuals to consolidate relationships on both a personal and social level, as well as acting as a repository for ideas, feelings, and memories. A discussion of the conditions surrounding both the sentiment and photographic album reveals the various means by which people communicated an understanding of their personal circumstances within larger social constructs.