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 thumbnail 1
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 thumbnail 2
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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
1856 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Photographs and photographers were present from the very beginning of the V&A's history and the Museum has an extensive collection of images from the 1850s through to the present which documents the construction and development of the V&A and the South Kensington site.

Originally collected by the National Art Library as part of a programme to record works of art, architecture and design in the interest of public education, these topographic and architectural views were valued as records and as source material for students of architecture and design. As well as being crucial records of the history of the V&A, and an important element within the National Art Library's visual encyclopaedia, these photographs are also significant artefacts in the history of the art of photography.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleExterior 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 (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Mounted albumen print, Lance Corpl. B.L. Spackman, exterior view, roof of South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers) under construction, Cromwell Road and Thurloe Square houses visible in the background, 1856
Physical description
A mounted albumen print of the roof of a building under construction. Four men are climbing among the roof framework. In the foreground, a single man holds the crank of a gantry. In the background is visible a man with a tophat and houses in the distance.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 16.2cm
  • Image width: 22.6cm
  • Mount height: 26.8cm
  • Mount width: 33.0cm
  • Mount height: 38.2cm
  • Mount width: 53.1cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'South Kensington Victoria & Albert Museum Lance Corp'l B.L. Spackman R.S.M. 1856' (ink, mount)
  • library stamp (blindstamp, partial, upper centre mount)
  • 'Progress of ROOF on 7th April 1856' (printed, lower centre mount)
  • 'NEG No 80119' (pencil, lower right mount)
Gallery label
(06 03 2014)
Gallery 100 ' A History of Photography' 2014-2015, text label :

Lance Corporal Benjamin L. Spackman
(1834–unknown)
Exterior View of the Roof of the South Kensington Museum under Construction
7 April 1856

The new ‘iron house’ of the South Kensington Museum was designed by Prince Albert. Measuring 81 metres long and nine metres high, it was large enough to house three two-storey galleries. The striking symmetry of this image draws the viewer to the central figure. In the background, labourers appear to be tight-rope walking against a backdrop of Thurloe Square.

Albumen print
Museum no. 34:966
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Photographs and photographers were present from the very beginning of the V&A's history and the Museum has an extensive collection of images from the 1850s through to the present which documents the construction and development of the V&A and the South Kensington site.

Originally collected by the National Art Library as part of a programme to record works of art, architecture and design in the interest of public education, these topographic and architectural views were valued as records and as source material for students of architecture and design. As well as being crucial records of the history of the V&A, and an important element within the National Art Library's visual encyclopaedia, these photographs are also significant artefacts in the history of the art of photography.
Collection
Accession number
34966

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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