Reassembled and Reimagined: A Study of Princess Alexandra's Photocollage Album

Abstract

In the nineteenth century, album-making became a popular medium for Victorian women to experiment with due to its association with the domestic sphere and a growing art market aimed towards women. Once photography became an accessible and affordable medium, women began to include cartes-de-visite in their album pages resulting in a new form of album-making: the photocollage album. Princess Alexandra’s (1844-1925) photocollage album created in 1866 1869 contains several of the common themes and techniques seen amongst photocollage album creators. However, her status as the Princess of Wales and the preservation of photographs by the Royal Collection Trust allows for connections to be made between her compositional decisions, the photographs she modified, and the historical context of the photographs she used. This thesis analyzes how Princess Alexandra reassembled moments in time and physical objects she owned to determine how Princess Alexandra both conceptualized her album and referenced her memories.