Newfoundland Souvenir

Olaf Uwe Janzen is an associate professor of history at Memorial
University and reviews editor of The Northern Mariner.

Newfoundland Souvenir will hold no surprises for anyone familiar with
the work of John De Visser, one of Canada’s best-known photographers.
Its 80 pages hold nearly as many lush color photographs of Canada’s
newest province. Anyone who delights in bright colors, gorgeous sunsets,
stunning landscapes, and artistic compositions will surely be pleased to
add this to his or her personal library. Whether such eye-candy will
convey an accurate sense of what Newfoundland is truly like, however,
remains moot.

With one exception, all the photographs depict the island of
Newfoundland—Labrador is all but overlooked. Most of the pictures show
clear skies and sunshine—not the more usual foul weather. The harsh
climate and barren soil that made Newfoundland such a difficult place
to inhabit is rarely in evidence, except where they serve as photogenic
assets. Few of the picture captions do more than identify location. Like
the historical overview in the foreword by Margaret McBurney and Mary
Byers, de Visser’s photographs manage to be both superficial and
misleading, representing Newfoundland as a place of remarkable yet
benign visual beauty. Those who want a true “souvenir” of
Newfoundland would be better advised to visit the province and formulate
their own impressions.