As cameras became more portable and affordable in the first half of the 20th century, people began to take photographs of places of interest, and souvenir photography was born. One such place of interest was the Palace of Versailles. The Chateau de Versailles Photos Souvenir project presents readers with an interactive collection of photographs taken by palace visitors over the past century. The project was born on social media; three years ago, a few employees of the Palace of Versailles decided to share old family photographs of the palace on a Flickr site, and soon invited others to share photographs as well. Next, researcher Noemie Couillard conducted interviews to discover some of the stories behind the photographs. On the website, a select 100 of these photographs are grouped by theme and shared in an interactive timeline. Together, these images demonstrate both the shifting public role of the Palace of Versailles as well as the evolving role of personal photography in modern culture and society.
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