Collection: Duparc

Before the advent of the smartphone and selfie, few ordinary people documented their lives in detail. Fewer still recorded every small detail through diaries, letters, journals, objects and photographs. For many, we can only now recover entire lives from mere lines or words in birth and death certificates and the census.

The Duparc Family are an exception.

In February 2022, Amersham Museum was invited to visit the home of a family who maintained an extensive personal archive. We found the Duparc’s Little Chalfont home – ‘The Bynn’ - was a perfectly preserved time-capsule of their lives.

Through three site visits, many artefacts were retrieved from this rich treasure trove and added to the Museum’s collection. This included over 300 photographic prints, negatives, 35mm film reels and packaging.

With the insights of surviving family member Anthony Duparc, these unique photographs tell the family’s story from the 1890s to the 1960s and touch on themes and histories of liberal Judaism, Metroland, class and family. The range of physical photographic material also traces the development, use and innovations in 20th century photography.

For Amersham Museum, this in-depth access to a family’s history is unprecedented.

The Duparc collection formed the basis of an Understanding British Portraits Fellowship for our Collections Manager, Emma Treleaven. The project included working with the Museum’s Young Curators and filmmaker Ed Avern.

You can find out more about this project and view the film here: https://amershammuseum.org/new-perspectives-through-photographic-portraits/

We are excited to share a small selection of these photographs with you through this online collection.

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