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Relics of old London, 1875-1886]
- Title(s):
- Relics of old London.
- Published/Created:
- [London : Society for Photographing Relics of Old London, 1875-1886]
- Physical Description:
- 2 portfolios (120 carbon photoprints) ; 49 x 38 cm. + 14 leaves of text.
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsFolio A 2010 36View by request in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4193457
- Classification:
- Books
- Notes:
- Title from portfolio cover.
The first 24 images (1875-1878) were photographed for the Society by Alfred Bool and his son John. From 1879 onwards, all photography was by Henry Dixon, probably with the assistance of his son, Thomas James Dixon.
The society was shaped by a desire to document photographically what its members considered to be historically significant buildings and architecturally notable artifacts threatened with destruction. The selection of sites was done by the architect George H. Birch. In 1881 Alfred Marks began to publish detailed letterpress descriptions of the photos, including the prints issued before 1881.
Each photograph (23 x 18 cm.) is numbered in the negative and mounted on a board (46 x 36 cm.) with letterpress title, photographer, date, and patron.
Photograph numbers 1-60 (1875-1881) are in the first portfolio; numbers 61-120 (1882-1886) in the second. A full listing of the photographs is available in Foote, cited herewith.
Foote, Kenneth E., "Relics of Old London: Photographs of a Changing Victorian City, Appendix I: A Catalogue of the Society's Photographs. History of Photography 11 (April-June 1987).
Old London : photographed by Henry Dixon and Alfred & John Bool for the Society for Photographing Relics of Old London / [collected and annotated by] Graham Bush. London : Academy Editions, 1975.
BAC: British Art Center copy has laid in two leaves of letterpress advertisements for photography by Henry Dixon and Henry Dixon & Son (with Thomas James Dixon), 1882 and 1884.
This collection of photographs was assembled over a 12 year period from fascicles issued in sets of 10 photographs per year. The images are of two general site types: those which were disappearing because their occupants abandoned them to new uses, and those threatened by growth and change of the very organizations which owned them, largely because of Victorian industrialization and urbanization. The photos are particularly strong in sites associated with institutions of law and religion, as well as traditional London commerce.
The Charterhouse is the most extensively photographed structure, including many interiors. Other sites and topics include: Ashburnham House, Lambeth Palace, Old Houses (Aldgate), Clifford's Inn, Middle Temple-Gate House, Old Houses-Fleet Street, Oxford Market, White Hart-Inn Yard, chimney pieces, doorways, and architectural sculpture. There are both interior and exterior views of buildings which often include elaborate window displays, signage, and, in the interiors, objects of material culture. Dwellings are the most common building type, often encompassing shops, public houses, rooming houses, and inns for horse-borne traffic. - Subject Terms:
- Bars (Drinking establishments) -- England -- London.Charterhouse (London, England)Dwellings -- England -- London.Historic buildings -- England -- London.Hotels -- England -- London.London (England) -- Buildings, structures, etc.Photography -- Early works to 1850.Photography -- Great Britain.Photography -- Printing processes -- Carbon.Photography -- Specimens.Society for Photographing Relics of Old London -- Publisher.Streets -- England -- London.Taverns (Inns) -- England -- London.
- Form/Genre:
- Carbon prints -- 1875-1886.
Photographs.
Interiors. - Export:
- XML
- IIIF Manifest:
- JSON
Art in Focus: Relics of Old London (Yale Center for British Art, May 11, 2016-August 14, 2016) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
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