A brief history of ghosts and spirit photography
Can objects in our collection shine a light on the existence of ghosts, or at least what the Victorians believed about them?
Organisation
Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education
The V&A has 639 works related to Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education.
Made between 1800 and 1952, these objects form part of the Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection, National Art Library and Metalwork Collection. We hold work made from photographic paper, paper and copper. Related makers include Royal Engineers, Arundel Society and Bell & Daldy.
From the collections
99 of 639 objects made by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education
Still life, Photograph, Cowper, Isabel Agnes, 1880
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , 1856
Exterior view of the roof of the South Kensington Museum ('the Brompton Boilers') under construction with the houses of Cromwell Road and Thurloe Square visible in the background, Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , 1856
Leopard flagon electrotype, Elkington & Co., 1884
Leopard flagon electrotype, Elkington & Co., 1884
view of the construction of packing case and horse-drawn 'van' for transport of Raphael Cartoons from Hampton Court to South Kensington Museum, Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1865
View of packing case and horse-drawn 'van' for transport of Raphael Cartoons from Hampton Court to South Kensington Museum, Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1865
Photograph, Victoria and Albert Museum, British and foreign posters exhibition, North Court, gelatin silver print, 1931, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1931
Photograph, Victoria and Albert Museum, British and foreign posters exhibition, North Court, gelatin silver print, 1931, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1931
Photograph, Victoria and Albert Museum, British and foreign posters exhibition, North Court, gelatin silver print, 1931, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1931
South Kensington Museum, Ellison Picture Gallery, Photograph, J. Davis Burton, 1868
Kensington Museum, Eastern Cast Court, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, ca. 1872
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Exterior north east view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Holy Trinity Church, Brompton tower and Oratory House of the London Oratory in the background, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Interior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, 1856
South Kensington Museum, Nave with engine and part of 'David', Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1851-1868
View of the grounds of the South Kensington Museum, 1891, Photograph, Isabel Cowper, 1891
Cast of tabernacle from the Church of St. Leonard at Léau near Brussels in Cast Court (Gallery 46A), Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1870s
Old Houses, Gore Lane, South Kensington, Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, ca. 1853
Exterior view of the south front entrance of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, 1862![Sir Henry Cole, Captain Francis Fowke, Godfrey Sykes and [?] John Liddell in the Quadrangle garden at the South Kensington Museum](https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009CH9465/full/350,/0/default.jpg)
Sir Henry Cole, Captain Francis Fowke, Godfrey Sykes and [?] John Liddell in the Quadrangle garden at the South Kensington Museum, Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, ca. 1862
Upper loggia of the Science Schools looking towards the Albert Hall, Photograph, Cowper, Isabel Agnes, ca. 1872
Kensington Gardens, Albert Memorial, construction work, Photograph, Cundall & Fleming, ca. 1864
View looking north-west up Exhibition Road towards the Royal Albert Hall, with India Museum gallery entrance in foreground and Horticultural Gardens in background, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1872
Interior view of the architectural and cast gallery at the South Kensington Museum, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, c. 1860s
1862 International Exhibition, South Kensington, under construction, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 27/04/1861
South Kensington, British Picture Gallery, 1862 International Exhibition, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 24/04/1862
1862 International Exhibition, South Kensington, view of foundations under construction, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 26/04/1861
Exterior view of the Sheepshanks Gallery (Gallery 26) under construction, South Kensington Museum, Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1857
The End of the Grotto, Grove House, South Kensington, Photograph, Lance Corporal Alexander Neelance, 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Second Corporal J. Milliken, c. 1856
South Kensington Museum with shed, ladder and sapper, Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1856
Cast of tabernacle from the Church of St. Leonard at Leau near Brussels in Cast Court (Gallery 46A), Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1870s
South Kensington Museum (Brompton Boilers), Educational Museum, Mechanics gallery(?), Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1857
South Kensington, the guard room, constructing museum buildings, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1860
Construction of 1862 International Exhibition, north courts, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 21/02/1862
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Second Corporal J. Milliken, 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, looking south with the houses of Cromwell Road and Thurloe Square visible in the background, Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , 1856
South Kensington Museum, exterior view Educational Museum, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, ca. 1868
South Kensington Museum, remains of the 'Brompton Boilers', south of the Cast Courts, under demolition with Secretariat block on left, the Cast Courts in background and tower of Holy Trinity Church in distance, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1897
Exterior view of the first Lecture Theatre, South Kensington Museum from the north west with Sheepshanks Gallery and the 'Brompton Boilers' in background, Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , c. 1865
Remains of the 'Brompton Boilers', in October 1897, in the course of demolition, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, October 1897
South Kensington Museum, view of wooden exterior of Educational Museum, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, ca. 1868
Plan of the estates of the area of South Kensington, commissioned for the Exhibition of 1851, Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , 1856
South Kensington Museum, Nave with engine and part of 'David', Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1856
Testing the strength of Colonel Scott's 'newly invented' cement, for the Museum of Construction, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 9 July 1861
Construction of 1862 International Exhibition buildings, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 07/09/1861
Construction of 1862 International Exhibition buildings, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 17/07/1861
Interior view of the Patent Museum, South Kensington Museum ('the Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1859
South Kensington Museum, construction, Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1857
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction looking south east, Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , 1856
Model of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west of the Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road facades, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, 1869
Remains of the 'Brompton Boilers' in October 1897, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, October 1897
South Kensington Museum, remains of the 'Brompton Boilers', south of the Cast Courts, under demolition with Secretariat block on left, the Cast Courts in background and tower of Holy Trinity Church in distance, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1897
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Second Corporal J. Milliken, 1856![Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction with B.L. Spackman in the foreground [?]](https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009CE2385/full/350,/0/default.jpg)
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction with B.L. Spackman in the foreground [?], Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , 1856
Interior view of gallery under construction, South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1867
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Lance Corporal Alexander Neelance, c. 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Exterior view of the Refreshment Rooms of the South Kensington Museum under construction, Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, 1857
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Entrance to South Kensington Museum showing the Cast Courts and the 'Brompton Boilers, Photograph, Isabel Cowper, 06/1890
Interior view of the north-east gallery, South Kensington Museum ('the Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, looking north east, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Exterior view of the Sheepshanks Gallery (Gallery 26) under construction, South Kensington Museum, Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, c. 1856-1857
Interior view of the Sheepshanks Gallery (Gallery 26) under construction, South Kensington Museum, Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, c. 1857
Looking south-west along Cromwell Road, showing the junction of Thurloe Place; the South Kensington Museum Gardens and Entrance on the right, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1860
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856![South Kensington, Bute Street & Prince Albert Road [?]](https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009CE2403/full/350,/0/default.jpg)
South Kensington, Bute Street & Prince Albert Road [?], Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1860s
Model of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, 1869
model of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, front elevation, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, 1869
Model of the proposed South kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, 1869
View of the grounds of the South Kensington Museum, 1891, Photograph, Isabel Cowper, 1891
Aeriel view of old houses and South Kensington Museum grounds, looking south over Thurloe Square, Photograph, Cowper, Isabel, ca. 1872
Exterior view of the upper level of the Sheepshanks Gallery (Gallery 26) under construction, South Kensington Museum, Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, c. 1857
Brompton Park House with transportation wagons parked at side of building, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, mid 19th century
Interior view of the corner of the nave under construction, South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, Charles Thurston Thompson, 1856
Plan of the parishes of Kensington and St. Margarets, Westminster, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Model of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west of the Exhibition Road facade, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, 1870
Exterior view looking south of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Interior view of the north-west corner of the nave under construction, South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, 1856
Exterior view of Brompton Park House with the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') visible in the background, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, c. 1899
External view of 'Brompton Boilers' at South Kensington before removal to Bethnal Green, showing Cast Courts in background, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, 1872
Model of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west of the Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road facades, Photograph, Isabel Agnes Cowper, 1869
Street View of Exhibition Road, Brompton, South Kensington, Photograph, Royal Engineers, c. 1850s
Exterior view of the first Lecture Theatre, South Kensington Museum from the south east with the west side of quadrangle (Residences) and north side of quadrangle under construction (lecture theatre block) in background, Photograph, Spackman, Benjamin L. RE , c. 1865
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Lance Corporal Alexander Neelance, c. 1856
South Kensington, the guard room, constructing museum buildings, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1860
Back of stores corridor, South Kensington Museum, under construction, Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, 1850s-1860s
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
Exterior view of the Architectural Museum, Canon Row, Westminster, London, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, 1852-1857
Interior view of north-east gallery, South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers'), Photograph, Thompson, Charles Thurston, 1856
Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, Photograph, Royal Engineers, 1856
South Kensington Museum, 'Brompton Boilers' and Refreshment Rooms seen from Cromwell Road, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1865
South Kensington Museum, Gardens and 'Brompton Boilers' seen from Cromwell Road, part of a three-part panorama, Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1865
South Kensington Museum, Sir James Pennethorne's office building (the 'Junction building'), Photograph, commissioned by Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, ca. 1865
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