Holiday photo albums, 1953/1954

Joyce Ewens and Eric Hope spent the summers of 1953 and 1954 in Austria. The two albums they created don’t just form a record of their travels. They also tell us about Austrian tourism during its reconstruction after the end of Nazi rule and the Second World War.

Eric lovingly put together those albums not only to create a memento of his first holiday with his partner Joyce Ewens; he was also drafting an ideal future together as a committed couple. Looking at the albums, Eric’s enthusiasm for photography is obvious. Most likely, he developed all the black-and-white photos himself in his bathroom. He stuck them into the albums along with advertising material, train tickets and travel passes, as well as bought pictures of tourist destinations. And he wrote humorous comments to go with them. The albums found their way into the museum in 2020 thanks to a donation by the couple’s daughter, Julia Hope. For Julia, they are a family treasure that represents the start of her parents’ relationship.

date: 1953 und 1954

hight: 34,7 cm
width (closed): 47,2 cm
producer: Eric Hope
material: paper
source: donation