Tangier & Spain 1913 (Thursday 17th to Tuesday 22nd April) 1913

Curator: This is the cover of Leslie Hamilton Wilson’s travel diary, “Tangier & Spain, 1913.” It's small, only about 8 by 13 centimeters. Editor: The rich brown leather and elegant gold lettering give it a sense of quiet luxury, almost like a well-worn family heirloom. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the historical context. In 1913, travel was a privilege, a marker of class. These journeys often reinforced colonial power structures. Editor: And how was this volume constructed? The leather, the binding – each element speaks to a network of labor and production. Who tanned the leather? Who gilded the lettering? Curator: Exactly. The diary becomes a material record of cultural exchange and, perhaps, cultural appropriation, given the colonial backdrop of the time. Editor: It makes you wonder about the unseen hands and the processes that brought this object into being. It prompts us to confront the relationship between travel, leisure, and the exploitation of resources and labor. Curator: Looking at it this way makes visible the social inequalities embedded in something that seems so refined and personal. Editor: A valuable point that enhances our experience and deepens our understanding.