Souvenirs The Material Cultre of Tourism

This title was first published in 2000: Souvenirs, broadly conceived, are generally thought to be the material counterpart of travels, events, relationships and memories of all kinds. The material items classed as souvenirs discussed in this text have memorial functions, usually connected with the owner's travels. But not all of the items are souvenirs of tourism; they are also souvenirs of other past phenomena, such as political events (suffragettes), colonial history (India), former artistic pre-eminence (Awaji Ningyo puppetry) or former ways of life (South American ceramic archaisms). The authors do not necessarily focus on material souvenirs in their memorial function as prompters of memory. They also use their case studies as starting points for the discussion of many interesting contemporary phenomena, such as cottage industries for economic development in Mexico and Ainu, as devices to invigorate or maintain artistic practices, as emblems of cultural conformity (Surrealists) or as symbolic weapons in national and international political arguments. A key focus of many of the chapters is the question of meaning: what is the meaning of any particular souvenir or collection, and for whom does it bear that meaning?

Introduction, 2 Souvenirs with Soul: 800 Years of Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, 3 Tourism and Material Culture in Turkey ,4 Reproducing India: International Exhibitions and Victorian 5 From Earliest Contacts: An Examination of Inuit and Aleut Art in Scottish Collections 6 Exotic Souvenirs of the Travelling Surrealists 7 Women’s Suffrage Souvenirs 8 ‘Souvenir-gifts’ as Tokens of Filial Esteem: The Meanings of Blackpool Souvenirs, Souvenirs: The Material Culture of Tourism, Transformations of the Tourist and Souvenir: The Travels and Collections of Philla Davis, Contemporary Crafts as Souvenirs, Artefacts and Functional,Goods and their Role in Local Economic Diversification and Cultural Development, Tourism and Ainu Identity, Hokkaido, Northern Japan, Awaji Ningyo: Its Changing Role Within a Local, National and International Community, Stealing Souls for Souvenirs: Or Why Tourists Want ‘the Real Thing’, Tourist Markets and Himalayan Craftsmen, Ceramic Arts of Peru and Ecuador: Echoes of the Prehispanic Past and Influences of the Tourist Present, Souvenirs from Kambot (Papua New Guinea): The Sacred Search for Authenticity, Souvenirs, Ethics and Aesthetics: Some Contemporary Dilemmas in the South Pacific, Kente Connections: The Role of the Internet in Developing a Economic Base for Ghana, 19 Dalecarlian Masques: One Souvenir’s Many Voices, The ‘Whimsey’: A Part of American and Canadian Victoriana

Michael Hitchcock, University of North London