Joseph Conrad photograph album of his Polish relatives, 1850s-1860s

Item Info

Title:
Joseph Conrad photograph album of his Polish relatives, 1850s-1860s
Date:
1850s to 1860s
Creator:
Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
Description:

  • The album measures approximately 8 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches and is covered with black Moroccan leather with ivory bands, and once had a side clasp, of which only the hinges remain. It was designed to hold cartes-de-visite photographs: each album page hosts two slots which are open at the top to allow for items to be inserted or removed. There some slots where there are no photographs.

  • This cartes-de-visite album contains 43 albumen photographs dated from about 1857 to 1889, 41 of which are studio portraits of Korzeniowski and Bobrowski friends and family, all taken before Joseph Conrad settled in England.

  • The origination date and provenance of this mid-19th century photo album is uncertain. Relative Tadeusz Bobrowski reported that the Korzeniowski family carried an album with them into exile. Jessie Conrad stated that Conrad's album traveled the world with him and one of his letters from the Congo directly references placing a photo "in my album" to view often (see Maryla Bobrowsksa Tyszkowa, photos 26 and 45.) Jessie Conrad wrote in 1926 that Joseph Conrad called his photograph album "the graveyard" and did not want any new photos to be placed within it.

  • At some unknown time, numbers were written beside each photo based on their position in the album slots. Empty slots resulted in numbering gaps. The current photograph identifiers are based on these numbers. For easier identification, the album pages have been numbered by library staff and the page numbers added to each photograph's description in this collection guide.

Subject:
Polish people -- Portraits -- 19th century
Format:
photograph albums
Language:
Polish
Digital Collection:
Joseph Conrad Photograph Album of His Polish Relatives, circa 1857-circa 1892
Source Collection:
Joseph Conrad papers, 1850-1972, 2023
Rights:
Free Re-Use
No Copyright - United States
Related Resources:
See below
Identifier:
  • 2306f8ef50891ec8228eb6d1f517831d
  • conradjoseph
  • jcpst001001
  • ark:/87924/r4j38z76q
  • eaa561f6-58f9-4f8d-bcf2-028ed731677b
Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4j38z76q
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