Cataloguing the Soane: a change in approach
Faced with the challenge of publishing catalogues of the Soane Museum’s varied collections, Tim Knox, the museum’s director, decided to give online publication priority over books. He explains his reasons for this radical new direction.
Tim Knox, Sunday, 29th June 2008
In 2005 the decision was made not to publish the catalogue of Soane’s library as a book but to make it freely available online via the museum’s website. The following year, the trustees endorsed the decision to make all future catalogues of architectural drawings in the museum – and indeed all the catalogues issued by the Soane Museum – follow this format. This strategy will not rule out published catalogues in book form where they are viable and appropriate, or where special funding is made available to subsidise traditional publication, but the main thrust of the museum’s energies will be directed towards publishing catalogues and other information online. The appearance of online catalogues will be accompanied, where appropriate, with exhibitions in the Soane Gallery, and by attractive, well-illustrated books on the subject – commercial, stand-alone titles that can be sold independently from the exhibition for between £20 and £25.
This strategy will be implemented for the first tranche of the Adam collection to be ready for publication online, Professor Alan Tait’s catalogue of the ‘Grand Tour’ drawings of Robert and James Adam. Over the past year all 1,000 entries have been edited and transferred on to the museum’s database and are now ready to put online via our website. All the drawings have been digitally photographed and each catalogue entry will be accompanied by an image. The launch of the online catalogue of this collection will be accompanied by an exhibition at the Soane Gallery from September to December 2008 and the museum will publish an illustrated book, The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour, in association with Scala Press. This work has been generously supported by Mrs Gisela Gledhill in memory of her late husband, Richard Harris, with additional funding supplied by the Further-more and Dunard Foundations.
LATEST NEWS & COMMMENT
Seeing Sound
Moma's show on the impact of new media in the 1960s and 1970s recalls an idealistic age, before art aspired to control its audience.
Palladian games
The 500th anniversary of Palladio's birth is rightly being celebrated, but his influence on architects has in many ways been pernicious.
The Treasury's little rays of sunshine
The National Galleries in Edinburgh and London and the National Trust have formidable fund-raising tasks in hand, but the targets would be even higher were it not for Britain's tax laws – which could be about to get better.
Comments
Post a comment