Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(1):57-65

Possibilities of Historical Photographs as a Primary Source

Marie Foltýnová

One section of a National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) research task dealing with cataloguing and evaluation of historical photographs preserved at protected sites under the management of the NPÚ was finding an optimal methodological attitude for using historical photographs for further interdisciplinary research. One 2014 segment of the task was to single out photographs of historical motorless vehicles used by the nobility for travel or leisure, attempt to categorize them and prepare a comprehensive system for adding descriptions. The goal of this partial task was to expand our knowledge of everyday life of the aristocratic families living in the houses that are now in care of the state and the NPÚ.
The selected photographs were then used to gather information about each vehicle, its type, its function, its appearance, construction and the manner and circumstances in which they it was used. Among tens of thousands of archived pictures (plates, negatives, positives) pictures that allowed for identification of the pictured vehicle, the occasion of its use, the changes in historical customs and everyday life of the aristocracy at their estates were prioritized. In the first phase of selection 500 reproducible pictures were chosen and the most commonly used and most popular types of carriages for special occasions, travel and leisure could be identified - Barouche-Landau, Calash, Berline, Barouche-Sociable, Cabriolet and others.
The examined group of photographs shows carriages as everyday objects on pictures starting at the last third of the 19th century up to the pre-war era of the 20th. After the Second World War carriages were used only on special occasions - ceremonial, sport or entertainment.

Keywords: National Heritage Institute; research; vehicles; photography; carriages

Published: March 1, 2016  Show citation