From Friendless Women to Fancy Dress Balls: William James Topley's Photographic Portraits
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The Topley Studio fonds housed at Library and Archives Canada is one of the most widely consulted sources of late nineteenth and twentieth century photographs. Yet most existing literature on the photographer, William James Topley (1845-1930) and his Ottawa studio, has been framed within an approach that privileges style and the notion of artistic genius. This thesis instead examines photographs produced by the Topley Studio, while considering their broader socio-historical context. Focusing on photographic portraits of various ‘classes’ of Victorian women and men, and the spaces they occupied, this study reveals connections between identity formation, photographic practice and the politics of representation. From examinations of staged photographs of costumed participants in the Dufferin Grand Fancy Ball to images documenting female inmates of the Home for Friendless Women and the Carleton County Gaol, this thesis explores visual representations of gender, class and race in late nineteenth-century Ottawa.
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Copyright © 2014 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.
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- 2014
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hamilton-hobbs-fromfriendlesswomentofancydressballswilliam.pdf | 2023-05-04 | Public | Download |