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Exterior 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
TitleExterior view of the South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Mounted albumen print, exterior view, South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers') under construction, 1856
Physical description
A mounted albumen print of an exterior view of a building under construction. The ground floor is framed, while on a portion of the 1st floor is framed. A ladder is visible in the lower right corner of the image
Dimensions
  • Image height: 22.3cm
  • Image width: 28.7cm
  • Mount height: 26.8cm
  • Mount width: 33.2cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'A.b. London Museum Building' (classification system label)
  • 'IIaa Museum Building (Brompton) England & Wales South Kensington' (ink, mount)
  • library stamp (blindstamp, partial, 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.
Collection
Accession number
34964

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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