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The Museum. General View from the Rostrum

Photograph
1872 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The galleried display areas of the Royal Architectural Museum located in Tufton Street were covered with casts of sculptural details taken from Gothic buildings, including the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris and Westminster Abbey. By the early 1870s, Bedford Lemere & Co., the leading English firm of architectural photographers, was granted permission to photograph the RAM collection, winning an award for the series of albumen prints at the 1873 International Exhibition at Vienna.

The photographs from this series are mostly of casts in the RAM; many of them are identified (Chartres, Rouen, Amiens, St. Albans, Wells, Hereford, Ely, Lincoln, etc). The casts include capitals, bosses, finials, brackets, rosettes, spandrels, etc. Many of the photographs capture signs wired onto the wall stating the source of the cast and name of the photographer. Bedford Lemere & Co. catalogue numbers scratched into the negatives are also occasionally visible. They were sold as sets (either mounted or unmounted), or singly, and marketed to architects, students and 'art-workmen'.

The V&A took a leading role in the reproduction of art works to serve as models for artists and designers. When the South Kensington Musem (as the V&A was first known) was established in 1852, casts and photography were regarded as an essential part of the collection. They were viewed as educational tools, extending the visual resources of the Museum to artists and students of art and design.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • The Museum. General View from the Rostrum (published title)
  • Album No. 1, Photographs taken from Specimens in Royal Architectural Museum (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print from glass negative.
Brief description
Photograph by Bedford Lemere & Co., The Museum. General View from the Rostrum, installation view from the Royal Architectural Museum, albumen print, 1872
Physical description
A mounted sepia-coloured photograph of plaster casts of architectural details in a galleried exhibition space.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 219mm
  • Image width: 278mm
  • Sheet height: 356mm
  • Sheet width: 456mm
  • Paper height: 10in
  • Paper width: 12in
Marks and inscriptions
  • No 1
  • General view of the Roy'l Arch'l Museum Westminster
  • Note: These are selected from a series of 60 photographs taken under direction of the council of Bedford Lemere photo'r to the Museum 147 Strand London.
Credit line
Given by or Purchased from Bedford Lemere, 18 January 1873
Object history
The Royal Architectural Museum (RAM) was established in 1851 by a group of architectural professionals led by George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878). The Museum was formed for the purpose of improving the education of architectural art-workers. Its collections were made up primarily of plaster casts of European Gothic architectural ornament, together with original examples of architectural details, and models, plans and drawings. The Museum's first home was in Canon Row, Westminster, London where, from 1852 until 1854, it incorporated a School for Art-workmen.

Under the patronage of Prince Albert (1819-1861) the RAM expanded rapidly and in 1857 moved to the new South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum), where it retained its independent status and name. In 1869 it moved to 18-20 Bowling Street (renamed Tufton Street), Westminster, London.

A 1876 catalogue record holdings in excess of 6000 items. But by 1904, enthusiasm for the Gothic had waned, and the RAM was taken over by the Architectural Association. The AA's architecture school existed within the RAM buildings until 1915 when it was decided that conditions were too cramped. The collections were dispersed (some gifted, others purchased), primarily to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The objects now form part of the reconstituted Cast Courts.

In 1872 the V&A received an album of 60 photographs of the RAM cast collection by Bedford Lemere & Co. It included a title page describing the photographs as the 'first series of thirty' photographs of the Royal Architectural Museum collection. They were to be sold as sets (either loose or bound) or as single photographs. It was marketed to professionals, students and 'Art-workers'. The series viewed as an important educational resource and it is noted that 'Copies have already been purchased for several Art Libraries by Sir G. Gilbert Scott, R.A.' A hand-written inscription on the bottom of this page records that the album was delivered to the V&A by Scott. The V&A went on to acquire two duplicates mounted sets of 30 prints from this series in 1873 and subsequently, an additional two duplicate sets of 90 unmounted prints from the same series was made 10 June 1875. This loose photograph was probably acquired as part of these subsequent purchases.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Association
Summary
The galleried display areas of the Royal Architectural Museum located in Tufton Street were covered with casts of sculptural details taken from Gothic buildings, including the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris and Westminster Abbey. By the early 1870s, Bedford Lemere & Co., the leading English firm of architectural photographers, was granted permission to photograph the RAM collection, winning an award for the series of albumen prints at the 1873 International Exhibition at Vienna.

The photographs from this series are mostly of casts in the RAM; many of them are identified (Chartres, Rouen, Amiens, St. Albans, Wells, Hereford, Ely, Lincoln, etc). The casts include capitals, bosses, finials, brackets, rosettes, spandrels, etc. Many of the photographs capture signs wired onto the wall stating the source of the cast and name of the photographer. Bedford Lemere & Co. catalogue numbers scratched into the negatives are also occasionally visible. They were sold as sets (either mounted or unmounted), or singly, and marketed to architects, students and 'art-workmen'.

The V&A took a leading role in the reproduction of art works to serve as models for artists and designers. When the South Kensington Musem (as the V&A was first known) was established in 1852, casts and photography were regarded as an essential part of the collection. They were viewed as educational tools, extending the visual resources of the Museum to artists and students of art and design.
Associated object
E.663:2-2016 (Duplicate)
Bibliographic references
  • Wannathepsakul, Natre. 'Recording the new: The architectural photography of Bedford Lemere & Co., 1870-1930.' Blueprint no. 305 (August 2011) p. 73.
  • Specimens in the Royal Architectural Museum, Westminster, London [photographed by] Bedford Lemere & Co.
  • Cooper, Nicholas. The photography of Bedford Lemere & Co. Swindon: English Heritage, 2011.
  • Scott, G. Gilbert. Catalogue of collection, 1877: with a guide to the Museum. London: Royal Architectural Museum, 1877.
  • Specimens in the Royal Architectural Museum, Westminster, London [photographed by] Bedford Lemere & Co.
Other numbers
  • No. 1 - Royal Architectural Museum photograph number, Series 1, by Bedford Lemere
  • BL00029 - Historic England Archive Reference No.
Collection
Accession number
E.61-2005

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
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