Fonds P0174 - Vincent and Olga Diniacopoulos fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Vincent and Olga Diniacopoulos fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record
  • Graphic material
  • Object
  • Sound recording

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Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on the fonds’ creators.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

P0174

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Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1825-2004 (Creation)
    Creator
    Diniacopoulos, Vincent
  • 1825-2004 (Creation)
    Creator
    Diniacopoulos, Olga

Physical description area

Physical description

1.599 m of textual records
ca. 3639 photographs and other graphic materials
14 objects

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1886-1967)

Biographical history

Vikentios “Vincent” Diniacopoulos was born in 1886 in Constantinople, Turkey. He died in Montreal in 1967. Vincent’s ethnic background was Greek, and he had French nationality. He studied at a Catholic college and then worked for an antiquarian in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, probably until the Turkish Revolution that took place prior to World War I. He probably immigrated to Egypt around that time.
He met Hélène Olga Nicolas. They got married in the mid- to late-1920s and moved to France after. Vincent did active work during the World War II. The Diniacopoulos family had a gallery that sold antiquities in Paris. The date of opening of the gallery is unknown, but it seems to have closed before they immigrated to Montreal in 1951.
After Olga, Vincent and their son Denis moved to Montreal, they opened the Ars Classica gallery. It was active in the 1950s and 1960s.

Name of creator

(1906-2000)

Biographical history

Hélène Olga Nicolas-Diniacopoulos was born in Cairo 1906. Olga seems to have been part of the Egyptian Greek community, and apparently had a French father (surname Nicolas). It is reasonably certain that her mother, Anastasie, had a Greek-Egyptian father (surname Avierino or Avierinos) and an Egyptian mother (surname Selim). She died in Montreal in 2000.

She met Vincent Diniacopoulos and were married in the mid- to late-1920s. They then moved to France. The Diniacopoulos family had a gallery that sold antiquities in Paris. The date of opening of the gallery is unknown, but it seems to have closed before they immigrated to Montreal in 1951. After Olga, Vincent and their son Denis moved to Montreal, they opened the Ars Classica gallery. It was active in the 1950s and 1960s.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds highlights the personal and professional lives of Vincent and Olga Diniacopoulos as antiquarians, collectors, art dealers and travelers. It is comprised of personal letters from, and copies of letters to, family members, friends, and business associates. There are identification documents, passports, and other travel documents, school records and other materials from Olga and Denis’ childhoods’. The fonds includes personal/family photographs, negatives and slides ranging from the 19th century to the 1990s. There are photographs of antiques and works of art; however, many of the subjects are not identified. There are also many publications (books, newspapers) that were collected by the fonds creators throughout the years. Among these written documents is a travel diary and as well as some letters from the 19th century which cannot be clearly linked to the creators of the fonds, but are nevertheless an interesting source of information.

P0174/A Correspondence
P0174/B Personal life
P0174/C Business documents
P0174/D Ars Classica gallery
P0174/E Publications
P0174/F Chartres … Algérie … Rennes … Orange … Marseille …
P0174/G Unidentified letters

Notes area

Physical condition

The photographs have been placed in protective files. Some documents are fragile and must be handled with care.

Immediate source of acquisition

Donation from the Diniacopoulos’ estate and from Dr. Clarence Epstein, Director, Special Projects Rector’s Cabinet.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • Arabic
  • Dutch
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Greek

Script of material

    Language and script note

    Most of the records are in French.

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    Finding aids

    List of content of boxes. Description of fonds and series. List of subseries and files.

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    Accruals

    No further accruals expected.

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        Sources

        Bibliothèque nationale de France: http://data.bnf.fr/14639947/vincent_diniacopoulos/; http://data.bnf.fr/14639952/helene_olga_diniacopoulos/
        Concordia University, Arts and Culture Hub. “The Diniacopoulos family.” Accessed July 2015. http://www.concordia.ca/arts/diniacopoulos/family.html
        Epstein, Clarence. “A Timeless Classic: The Story of the Diniacopoulos Family Collection.” In The Diniacopoulos Collection in Québec: Greek and Roman Antiquities = La collection Diniacopoulos au Québec : Antiquités grecques et romaines, ed. John M. Fossey and Jane E. Francis, 18-26. Montréal : Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Concordia University, 2004.
        Gedeon, Julie. “The Diniacopoulos Adventure,” Concordia University Magazine, March 2004. Accessed July 2015. http://magazine.concordia.ca/2004/march/features/Diniacopoulos.shtml

        Accession area