Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case M, Shelf 82

Photograph

1845 -1850s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This albumen print from a glass negative is a type of photograph that was made in the mid decades of the nineteenth century. In this particular photograph, the thinness of paper and the dullness of albumen indicate an early example of that process dating from the 1850s to the 1860s. It is from an album of photographs from the Victorian metalworker Francis Skidmore's (1817-1896) firm. It is of a half pair of gates for the Caledonian Railway Company and the photograph is annotated with the cost of £400 for the pair to be made in 'all Wrought Iron'. It was made at Skidmore's firm either at West Orchard from 1853 or from six years later at Alma Street, Coventry. This photograph is thus a record of the completed gates and their cost. The Caledonian Railway Company was established by an Act of 31 July 1845. The company included the amalgamation of a number of existing lines in Scotland.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Albumen print from glass negative on paper
Brief description
Photograph from an album of record photography of Francis Skidmore metalwork manufactory, Coventry, 1850s-1860s.
Physical description
Photograph of one half of a pair of gates, decorated with scrolls, on a narrow piece of photographic paper.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.3cm
  • Width: 8.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • '1/2 Pair of gates for / Caledonian Ry Co. / 400£ fr pr. / all / Wrought Iron' (on a green, sticky label in the top left corner)
  • 'Ae/. poor &i'
    Translation
    'Ae' is probably a code for the pattern.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Friends of the National Libraries
Object history
The provenance is the grand-daughter of Francis Skidmore.
Production
Marta Weiss, Curator, Photography, thinks that this is an early albumen print dating from the 1850s to the 1860s but no later because of the thinness of the paper and the dullness of the albumen.

The Caledonian Railway Company was established by an Act of 31 July 1845. The company included the amalgamation of a number of existing lines in Scotland. The date of the establishment of this company might have a bearing on when the gates were made and the photograph taken.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This albumen print from a glass negative is a type of photograph that was made in the mid decades of the nineteenth century. In this particular photograph, the thinness of paper and the dullness of albumen indicate an early example of that process dating from the 1850s to the 1860s. It is from an album of photographs from the Victorian metalworker Francis Skidmore's (1817-1896) firm. It is of a half pair of gates for the Caledonian Railway Company and the photograph is annotated with the cost of £400 for the pair to be made in 'all Wrought Iron'. It was made at Skidmore's firm either at West Orchard from 1853 or from six years later at Alma Street, Coventry. This photograph is thus a record of the completed gates and their cost. The Caledonian Railway Company was established by an Act of 31 July 1845. The company included the amalgamation of a number of existing lines in Scotland.
Collection
Accession number
E.430:3-2006

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Record createdJuly 26, 2007
Record URL
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