White Linen Jacket with piqué and cord embroidery, English, 17th century
Photograph
ca. 1873 (photographed)
ca. 1873 (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 Museum objects including objects on loan.
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 records of Museum objects 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.
Isabel Cowper was the sister of the South Kensington Museum's first official photographer, Charles Thurston Thompson (1816-1868) and of the Superintendent of the Museum, Richard A. Thompson. Little is known about Cowper, but in her letter of resignation in 1891, she refers to herself as the Museum's 'Official Photographer', having taken up the position after the death of her brother. As such, she is an important part of the early history of V&A and a seminal figure behind the Museum’s early uptake of photography to document the arts.
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 records of Museum objects 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.
Isabel Cowper was the sister of the South Kensington Museum's first official photographer, Charles Thurston Thompson (1816-1868) and of the Superintendent of the Museum, Richard A. Thompson. Little is known about Cowper, but in her letter of resignation in 1891, she refers to herself as the Museum's 'Official Photographer', having taken up the position after the death of her brother. As such, she is an important part of the early history of V&A and a seminal figure behind the Museum’s early uptake of photography to document the arts.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | White Linen Jacket with piqué and cord embroidery, English, 17th century (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | albumen print from wet collodion on glass negative |
| Brief description | Photograph by Isabel Agnes Cowper, 'White Linen Jacket with piqué and cord embroidery, English, 17th century', albumen print from a glass plate negative, ca. 1873 |
| Physical description | A mounted sepia-coloured photographed of an intricately embroidered waistcoat. A printed label has been attached to the bottom centre of the mount. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | '428. WHITE LINEN JACKET, with piqué and cord em- / broidery. English. 17th centy.' / Lent by Sir Charles Isham, Bart.' |
| Gallery label | Photography Centre, 2018-20:
Isabel Agnes Cowper (1826–1911)
White Linen Jacket with pique and cord embroidery
1873
Cowper was this Museum’s second official photographer, having taken over from her brother, Charles Thurston Thompson, when he died in 1868. Cowper held this post for over 20 years, documenting objects collected by, or on loan to, the Museum. She was critically acclaimed for her photographs of textiles and exhibited internationally. Cowper used large negatives like this to allow her to record objects in fine detail.
Wet collodion on glass negative; albumen print
Museum nos. 9964, 74947B |
| 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 Museum objects including objects on loan. 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 records of Museum objects 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. Isabel Cowper was the sister of the South Kensington Museum's first official photographer, Charles Thurston Thompson (1816-1868) and of the Superintendent of the Museum, Richard A. Thompson. Little is known about Cowper, but in her letter of resignation in 1891, she refers to herself as the Museum's 'Official Photographer', having taken up the position after the death of her brother. As such, she is an important part of the early history of V&A and a seminal figure behind the Museum’s early uptake of photography to document the arts. |
| Associated object | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 74947B |
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| Record created | November 18, 2014 |
| Record URL |
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