Working life in Canada, 1890–1930: rehousing the Edith Sarah Watson albums at the Art Gallery of Ontario

The Edith S. Watson albums, held in the photography collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), are a collection of 16 scrapbook style photographic albums that contain 1,070 gelatin silver prints created by Edith Watson and dated from 1890 to 1930. This thesis project explores a method of rehousing photographic albums with a focus on preserving the albums’ structure, the photographs, and the tactile experience of viewing an album, as well as facilitating access to these albums within the AGO’s collection through the creation of facsimile albums. My thesis will be divided into three sections: first, I assess the historical significance and the condition of the albums; second, I examine three case studies, each an album dated from the late 19th to early 20th century and held in different institutions; third, I summarize the method of preservation and outline the steps for the rehousing of the Edith Watson albums.