記念された死――イギリスの炭鉱事故を主題とする初期写真絵葉書をめぐって

抄録

This paper examines the photographic postcards of coal mine disasters in early 20^th century Britain in relation to press photography, the postcard’s predecessors such as the stereograph and the carte-de-visite, and the Western visual tradition of Memento Mori, or the commemoration of death. This will help shed light on the dim history of the production and consumption of early photographic postcards and the British working classes. The current issues of death in commercial photography and the “public” and the “private” are discussed.

The postcards from the fire accident at Hamstead Colliery in 1908, which include unique photo-montaged postcards by the photographer, Warner Gothard in Yorkshire, are studied in relation to news photos and local historical records, bringing photographs and factual data from contemporary newspapers and magazines to light.

In addition to the photographic postcard’s functions as news and records, its use for mourning or commemorating the deceased is discussed. Gothard’s framed postcard with debris from the disaster is discussed as a salient example, as is a “memorial” postcard with a killed rescuer’s heroic figure and the victims’ names. The transformation of the photograph from a public to a private medium ―and vice versa, ―through the postcard, is also considered.