Interior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction thumbnail 1
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Interior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction

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
TitleInterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Mounted albumen print, Charles Thurston Thompson, interior view, South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, 1856
Physical description
An albumen print of a cavernous space with skylight under construction. Gas fixtures are visible suspended from the ceiling as is the framework for walls. There are building materials on the floor and men in aprons work at workbenches. A man with tophat leans against an upright support.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 22.3cm
  • Image width: 29.8cm
  • Mount height: 26.8cm
  • Mount width: 33.2cm
  • Mount height: 38.3cm
  • Mount width: 53.5cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'A.b. London 1857' '1862 Exhibition' [crossed out] (classification system label)
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.
Other numbers
  • 948 (MA/32/4) - Negative number (V&A Archive Guard Book reference)
  • F509 (MA/32/272) - Negative number (V&A Archive Guard Book reference)
Collection
Accession number
33951

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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