Photo Album

The history of photo albums is inextricably linked to the history of photography. Although the first research on photography was carried out in the 11th century, the year 1826 is considered to be the beginning of the era of photography. It was then that Joseph-Nicéphore Niépce took his first photograph entitled "View from the Window of La Gras". Louis Jacques Daguerre's invention of the daguerreotype turned out to be a breakthrough. With the popularization of photography, there was a need to store photos. One of the ways is the album, which is in our collection and dates back to the nineteenth century. It has the form of a large, richly decorated book. On the covers, there is a mother-of-pearl cladding. On the front there are two relief plaques – one with the Pilawa coat of arms, the other with the initials J. P., and on the back, there are two symmetrically arranged, oval, flat plaques with engraved floral ornaments. From the inside, the edges of the covers are decorated with gold embossing. The album is closed with two buckles, which are also made of mother-of-pearl. Inside, a red moiré endpaper combines decorative covers with twenty pages Each of them is made of thick cardboard with pockets for inserting photos on both sides. 

Anna Szczęsny