The University of St Andrews Photographic collection has been recognised as one of National Significance by Museums and Galleries Scotland. With approximately 1.6 million photographs in a wide variety of formats – including negatives on glass and film, lantern slides, prints, postcards, transparencies and born-digital images – the University of St Andrews is also thought to be the oldest photography collecting institution in the world. The announcement coincides with the collection moving to its new home in the centre of St Andrews, where the entire collection will be more accessible to researchers and the wider public.
The roots of the collection began with certain members of the St Andrews Literary and Philosophical Society, who worked with the English inventor of photography to develop and perfect the first photographic processes on paper in the late 1830s. These early experiments with salted paper now extend to the latest digital printing processes.
The collection covers subject areas from social documentary to Scottish landscape, travel and exploration. It is uniquely important due to its completeness, depth and rarity, and provides extensive documentation of the social and cultural transformation of Scotland and its forays into the world, for nearly two hundred years.
The photography collection will shortly move to 87 North Street (between the Main Library and Art History buildings). With improved storage conditions and climate control the phootgraphy collections will have a dedicate research area to accommodate researchers and small groups. It will be the first time the photographic collection will be in one place and it will be situated within the context of the wider Scottish art collection.
Speaking to BPH, Laura Brown, curator, photography, said “We look forward to welcoming photography students and researchers the collection’s new home at the end of the summer. I’m very much looking forward to supporting more in-depth, long-term research.”
Dr Katie Eagleton, University Librarian and Director of Collections and Museums at the University of St Andrews, said: “St Andrews has been collecting photography since the early 1840s, and today this is one of the most important among the University’s collections. We are delighted that our nationally (and internationally) important collection has been recognised, and look forward to continuing to develop it in the years to come.”
Nationally Significant Collections are named once every three years by Museums Galleries Scotland on behalf of the Scottish government. Together, the collections tell the stories of Scotland’s rich culture and history.
Thhe photography collection includes early photography in Scotland – There are several pioneers of early photography represented in the collection including John Adamson (physician and chemist), Thomas Rodger (St Andrews first professional photographer), and the artistic powerhouse of David Octavious Hill and Robert Adamson (John’s younger brother). These early images are preserved in period albums, each unique in its own right and often displays a good sense of humour. Scottish Landscape and Topography – Creating a continuous and comprehensive visual record of Scotland from the 1850’s to the present day, this part of the collection numbers well over 250,000 images. One of the highlights is the archive of botanist Robert Moyes Adam who, through his work at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, photographed some of the most remote areas of the country between 1901-1956. Scotland at Home and Abroad - This part of the collection, covers Scots who stayed home, or went abroad – alongside those who made work in Scotland and then left, or made Scotland their home – for a time or forever. It make up about half of the collection – a staggering 800,000 images. The collection shows how Scottish identity has been represented, questioned, and reshaped. It includes the complete archives of Lady Gillmore, Franki Raffles, and Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, plus smaller groups of works by Maud Sulter, Sekai Machache, David Peat, George M Cowie, and the Document Scotland collective.
Images: (top): The Jo Selje tanker ship prior to the launch, in Kvaerner Govan shipyard, in Glasgow, Scotland, by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, 1993, JSH-N41_018_10A; (centre): The Sick Baby (Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair and Professor William Macdonald) ca. 1855, ALB-6-131; (below): Mingulay, Robert Moyes Adam, 1905, RMA-S-115
