Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 601, Box E

Exterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction looking south east

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 South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction looking south east (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Mounted albumen print, Lance Corpl. B.L. Spackman, exterior view, South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, looking south east, 1856
Physical description
A mounted albumen print of the framer for the ground floor of a building under construction. Beams and wood planks scattered around the site. Three workers are visible in the foreground.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 21.3cm
  • Image width: 27.1cm
  • Mount height: 26.8cm
  • Mount width: 33.2cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Architecture, etc. England & Wales IIaa Museum Building (Brompton)' (ink, mount)
  • 'A.b. LONDON Museum Building' (classification system label, lower right mount)
  • library stamp (blindstamp, upper centre mount)
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 number
F523 (MA/32/272) - Negative number (V&A Archive Guard Book reference)
Collection
Accession number
34976

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest