The Cambridge Urban History of Britain

Daunton, Martin

doi:10.1017/chol9780521417075

Cited by 67 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 399 publications

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“…6:15) 113 The late Margaret Harker considered that "the strange and lasting fascination of these photographs" is in fact due to the "curious combination between the picturesque and the sordid in Annan's interpretation of the Glasgow slums." 114 The ten-word e-mail reaction of a friend, the architect and photographer Alan Chimacoff, when I introduced him to The Old Closes and Streets, is by no means untypical: "Beautiful stuff . .…”

Section: The Old Closes and Streets Of Glasgowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endnotes

Gossman¹

2015

Thomas Annan of Glasgow

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When I graduated from Glasgow University in 1951, my parents followed the then common practice of having a graduation portrait made of me dressed in (rented) academic gown and holding my diploma. To this end I was sent off to the studio of T. & R. Annan in Sauchiehall Street in the heart of the city. Some years later I became aware of the most admired of the photographic works of Thomas Annan, who had founded the firm in the 1850s, namely his still quite frequently discussed and reproduced images of the slums of Glasgow (The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow, 1871). But it was only in the spring of 2014 that, thanks to Julie Mellby, Princeton University's Graphic Arts librarian, I learned of the treasure trove of early photographic albums by Annan in Princeton's Graphic Arts Collection. 2 Julie urged me to write an article for the Princeton University Library Chronicle with a view to acquainting the Friends of the Library, for whom the Chronicle is primarily intended, with these unusual and rare works-available only in microform even in most leading University libraries-and with Annan's achievement as a photographer. As a native Glaswegian, I could hardly pass up the opportunity of spreading the word about Annan, even though, as a retired professor of French literature, I was also acutely conscious of my limited familiarity with the history of photography and with the major issues in the field. As my interest in the topic broadened, however, what was to have been a short essay of 20-30 pages grew into a considerably longer study-one, moreover, for which I collected many illustrations. Since neither the longer study nor the large number of illustrations I had selected could be accommodated by the Chronicle (even in the form of an online portfolio), it became necessary to restrict the Chronicle essay to a single work of Annan's and to seek other publishing opportunities for the full study. Open Book Publishers was an x Thomas Annan of Glasgow obvious choice for me. Since my retirement in 1999, I have worked with this innovative publisher on four books and I enthusiastically support the company's Open Access policy. The chief purpose of these brief prefatory remarks is to acknowledge with gratitude both the unfailing support of my colleagues at Princeton-Julie Mellby, Gretchen Oberfranc, the editor of the Princeton University Library Chronicle, and Steve Ferguson, the Curator of Rare Books and Acting Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections-and the invaluable advice and assistance I have received from leading experts in the field, notably Ray McKenzie, recently retired from the faculty of the

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Section: The Old Closes and Streets Of Glasgowmentioning

confidence: 99%