Collection

DRUMMOND PHOTO INC. Photo Negatives = DRUMMOND JACQUOT INC.

Description Level

Series

Physical Description

Env. 54250 photographs : mostly negatives, some black and white, some colour.

Scope and Content

The series has several main themes which are relevant to all Jewish weddings. These include ritual, tradition, decoration, food, formal dress, interior of synagogues, and music. The majority of the negatives depict the Ashkenazic (of Eastern European descent) traditions. Some depict the Sephardic tradition (Jews from North Africa and Spain), whose rituals vary from the Ashkenazic. The rituals and traditions depicted in the photos are views of the synagogue and the "chuppah" (wedding canopy), the ring ceremony, and the "kinyan sudar" (exchange of a token object as a symbol of the marriage contract), in which the rabbi gives the groom a handkerchief and the groom gives it back to the rabbi. Another ritual shown is crowning of the parents when their last child ("mezinke ") is getting married. The parents of the mezinke (young lady) are crowned with a wreath of flowers. The photos depict the signing of the marriage contract in the rabbi's study before the formal ceremony takes place, the "badeckung" (veiling of the bride) before the ceremony, and the garter that the bride wears on her leg, the couple in a hotel room with their shoes outside the door, and the procession down the aisle of the matron of honour, bridesmaids, ushers, flower girls dressed in gowns and page boys dressed in tails. The depiction of the orchestras and dances reflect the 1950s and 1960s, when Jewish music was predominant. However, one photo shows the "twist" and one Sephardic photo shows belly dancing. One interesting negative depicts the grandmothers of the couple dancing the first dance. Names of the orchestras are shown, such as Nat Raider and Ely Young. There are interior shots of the Synagogues, such as the Shaar Zion, Chevra Kadisha, Beth El and Beth Ora.Several photos show traditions such as the receiving line, the aisle walk to the "chuppah," the guest list board, the meal and the elaborate sweet table, the wedding cake, the cutting of the "challah" (traditional twisted bread) and the bride feeding the groom. The series includes several photos of the elaborate decorations, such as floral extravaganzas in the aisle and on the tables. Included are the formal dress of the bridal party, such as top hats, tails, morning coats, decorative women's hats, long veils, short dresses puffed behind, and bridal makeup. Other photos show couples smoking cigarettes.The series consists of 9 boxes which include 716 files of Jewish weddings, averaging 100 negatives in each box. It includes a small number of positives and negatives of Jewish-Christian intermarriages as well as a few purely Christian weddings. The latter were retained for comparison purposes. Detailed descriptions for approximately 1 in 10 weddings were prepared for the finding aid. For these files, exceptional quality images were selected and placed in a separate envelope alongside the rest. Highlighted photos include ritual details and style elements illustrative of various periods and traditions

Date

[1950s]-1991.

Fonds No.

I0018

Series No.

A

History / Biographical

Jewish weddings incorporate many distinctive traditions, which are reflected in the negatives in this series. However, for the most part, no photos exist in the collection for the moments during which the actual marriage ceremony is taking place under the wedding canopy (chuppah). This absence reflects the social norms of the Jewish community of Montreal at the time, which prohibited flash pictures disturbing a religious ceremony. For other elements of the wedding ceremony, see the Scope and Contents description below

Notes

PC 16.Permission must be sought for newer photos. Confidentiality restrictions apply to names of individuals.A box of alphabetical file cards is associated with this series as well as series B and C.

Archival / Genealogical

Archival Descriptions

Repository

Canadian Jewish Archives

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