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INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCISE CATALOGUE OF DRAWINGS SKIP INTRODUCTION AND GO DIRECT TO CONCISE CATALOGUE About the Catalogue This is an outline catalogue of all the architectural, topographical and ornamental drawings at Sir John Soane's Museum with the exception of Soane's collection of drawings by Robert and James Adam. It consists of drawings from Soane's architectural practice and of drawings by other architects, such as John Thorpe, the Wren office, Sir William Chambers and George Dance the Younger, and topographical artists collected by him up until his death in January 1837. It also includes a small section of drawings made since Soane's death by or for the successive Curators of the Museum, usually in connection with building work to the Museum. With the exception of these curatorial drawings very little has been added to the collection since Soane's death, and a note has been made in the catalogue entry of any post-Soane addition. A set of microfilms of the drawings is available for purchase from Proquest Information and Learning (formerly Chadwyck-Healey). For details contact ProQuest Information and Learning, The Quorum, Barnwell Road, Cambridge CB5 8SW, tel: 01223 215512; e-mail: customerservice@proquest.co.uk This catalogue was originally intended to be published to be sold with the microfilms and are grateful to ProQuest for supplying the data to us to be published in this form.
This is a concise, or outline, catalogue, not a full catalogue arranged scheme by scheme. The arrangement of the catalogue follows the order in which the drawings are stored (as they were in Soane's day) : some loose in folders in plan chests, others in bound volumes, and a smaller number in frames on the walls of the Museum. Drawings for a particular scheme will often therefore be found in several different locations within the catalogue. The entries for each drawing (see ‘Layout of Entries' below for details) record the basic information presented by the drawing. No attempt has been made to research the drawing further, for example to find a date if one is not noted on the drawing, or to identify an unidentified scheme of architect. The catalogue is, however, being updated on a regular basis and any new identifications, attributions of factual corrections added. Additions, comments and corrections (other than basic typographical errors) will be gratefully received by the Archivist, Susan Palmer, Sir John Soane's Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP, spalmer@soane.org.uk You can browse through the whole catalogue from beginning to end, or you can search on names and places. You can also enter a subject term, such as ‘farmyards', but you will not necessarily get comprehensive results from this as the consistency of subject terms has not been checked. You are advised to keep the search terms as simple as possible. There are inevitably some errors and inconsistencies; much work has been done to eliminate these but some still remain. The Catalogue covers the following general groups : 2. Framed architectural and topographical drawings hanging in the Museum, including all the framed drawings by Soane and J.M. Gandy, Piranesi, Clérisseau and others. 3. Collection of drawings by George Dance the Younger. 4. Six bound volumes of drawings by French architects and artists from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. 5. One hundred and six bound volumes of designs and drawings by British architects and artists from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, including, apart from a large number by Sir John Soane himself, George Dance the Elder and Younger, Edward Dodwell, Thomas Major, James Playfair, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Sandby, John Thorpe and Sir Christopher Wren. 6. Twenty-one bound volumes of designs and drawings by Italian architects and artists from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, including the ‘Margaret Chinnery' Album, the ‘Codex Coner', and work by Carlo Fontana, Francesco di Giorgio, Nicoletto da Modena and Giorgio Vasari. 7. Ten bound volumes of Illuminated Manuscripts (English, Flemish, Dutch, French and Italian) from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. 8. Two bound volumes of Indian Miniatures. 9. Sixteen architectural drawings stuck into Soane's grangerised six-volume set of Thomas Pennant's Some Account of London, 1805, purchased from Henry Fauntleroy. 10. Nine volumes containing fair copies of Soane's twelve Royal Academy lectures, with reduced copies of the drawings used to illustrate them. 11. Two volumes of sketches by J.M. Gandy, purchased in 1999 and 2000.
A photography service is available through the Museum. Click here to take you to the price list and order form, which can be printed out and sent to the Museum. Information is also provided about permission for publication and about reproduction fees. Please do not send payment until you have received an invoice. Please address all photographic orders and all queries about photography and reproduction to The Archivist, Susan Palmer at Sir John Soane's Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP, tel: 020 7440 4245, fax: 020 7831 3957, e-mail: spalmer@soane.org.uk Library appointments All the drawings in this catalogue are available for consultation in the Research Library at the Museum. The Library is open by appointment Tuesdays to Fridays 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm and on most Saturday mornings 10.00 am to 1.00 pm. Appointments can be made by telephoning 020 7440 4251 or by e-mail to library@soane.org.uk Please note that there are certain restrictions on access to the Renaissance Drawings and Illuminated Manuscripts. Layout of entries Drawer number and set number or Volume number Architect or Artist (unless otherwise stated all drawings are by Soane or the Soane Office) PLACE or subject of drawing Stage of realization: preliminary design (first ideas); design or competition
design (before building): contract drawing or working drawing (for building); Client's name and date of scheme Aspect treatment: plans (site, block, ground, first floor etc), elevations, sections, details, perspectives (‘bird's-eye view' perspectives, cutaway perspectives); views (topographical) Inscription: words given in italics are actually inscribed on the drawing Signature and/or date: shown in italics Watermark: these are only recorded where they may help with dating Size of sheet: height before width, in millimetres Provenance Abbreviations used c. circa CLICK HERE TO TAKE YOU TO CONCISE CATALOGUE
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