[The Westmorland album]

From the Getty Museum record

Victorian collagists were typically upper-class women. They took their photographic materials primarily from _cartes-de-visite_. Patented by André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, the _carte-de-visite_ was easily and inexpensively printed ([84.XD.1157.2179](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107JXY)). By the 1860s, _cartomania_ had taken hold. It became customary to exchange _cartes-de-visite _when calling upon friends and family. These small portraits measure 3 ½ x 2 1/8 inches, about the size of a playing card. It is not known whether these artists removed the photographs from the thick cardstock on which they had been mounted or obtained unmounted prints from the photographer. People also collected cards of the royal family, actors, and politicians (for an example, see this image of Princess Christina of the United Kingdom found in this album ([84.XD.1283.36](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107NCC)). A woman’s collection of _cartes-de-visite_ visually displayed her social circle and favorite celebrities. This album intermixes pages of unaltered _cartes-de-visite_ with photocollages. The photocollaged pages might include added elements as simple as a watercolor flourish in the middle of the page or a frame drawn around a mounted photograph. The photocollages however, could also be elaborate, full-paged compositions made with a variety of drawing materials and integrating photographs, found printed materials, and/or colored paper. This album was given the title _The Westmorland Album_ at some point in its life because the portraits of the Earl and Countess of Westmorland appear at the top of its first page of photographs. However, the likely owner and compiler was recently identified by curators at the Art Institute of Chicago. The initials “VAY” found on the well-preserved red leather album cover ([84.XD.1283](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1040P3) cover) and in the watercolor design on the opening page suggest that Victoria Alexandrina Hare Anderson-Pelham, Countess of Yarborough (also known as Lady Yarborough, 1840-1927), assembled the album and made some of the compositions. She was the goddaughter and namesake of Queen Victoria. The countess is depicted in several other photographs and collages in the album ([84.XD.1283.30](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107NC6), [84.XD.1283.160](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107NG6)). Her niece Eva Macdonald (1846/50-1930) also created at least two of the collages ([84.XD.1283.34](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107NCB) and [84.XD.1283.161](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107NG7)). Thus, this album presents a rare instance where the compiler and artist, for at least some of the photocollages, has been identified. Carolyn Peter, J. Paul Getty Museum, Department of Photographs 2021