1. Objectifs

Intentions :
À partir de l’étude d’albums photographiques de familles québécoises, l’auteure mène une réflexion sur le rôle que jouent de tels albums dans la construction et la transmission de la mémoire, tant individuelle, familiale que collective.

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
41 albums photographiques, tirés de la collection du Musée McCord.

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

«Photo albums are stories that come to life in the retelling - but when no one is left to tell the tale, the intrigue of the album becomes a frustrating puzzle, a suspended conversation. Martha Langford argues that oral consciousness provides the missing key. By correlating photography and orality she shows how albums were designed to work as performances and how we can unlock their mysteries.» (quatrième de couverture) The author studies forty one photographic albums from the collection of the McCord Museum of Canadian History. These albums, dating from 1860 to 1960, tell the stories of individuals and families. According to Langford, these albums would be used by individuals and families as mnemonic frameworks to keep their stories accessible and alive. One chapter is dedicated especially to family albums.