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Roadside Souvenirs

Post card. Hand-painted photography. A woman is sitting on the porch of a house. She paints a winter scene on a canvas whose base is resting on her lap. Near her, six handmade carpets are placed on a fence and a frame, a winter scene is hung on the outside wall of the house. In the opening of the door, a young boy watches his mother stitching a carpet.

Hand Coloured Postcard

An artisan at work in Rivière-au-Renard

Henderson, H.V.

Les Amis des Jardins de Métis Collection

Selling handicrafts and woven goods was an important source of income for many families along the Gaspé coast. They were made by women during the dark winter months when bad weather confined them to their homes for long periods of time. The extra income was essential to making ends meet. Men made wooden boats and model ships that were sold, often separately from women’s handicrafts, in roadside stands.

Getting tourists to stop often meant having the best goods on display for all to see. Entrepreneurial artisans opened roadside workshops in the summer months to show their skill and their handiwork. Today, tourism experts call this ‘authenticity’ – with the artisan crafting the goods to be sold under the watchful and admiring eyes of potential buyers.

Rare was the tourist who did not return home with a keepsake, a precious souvenir that would rekindle memories of a trip or a meeting with an artisan at work.