“The twentieth century began with utopia and ended with nostalgia.” Svetlana Boym One of the Moving Image Archive’s treasure troves is a collection of films produced for Films of Scotland, an agency set up by John Grierson for the Empire Exhibition of 1938 to make films promoting Scotland’s social, cultural and industrial heritage to the […]
Tag: architecture
Robert Adam, Rome and Piranesi
Robert Adam arrived in Rome on the 24th of February 1755 and was immediately captivated by the city. He wrote to his sister Peggy that “Rome is the most glorious place in the universal world. A grandeur and tranquillity reigns in it, everywhere noble and striking remains of antiquity appear in it”. He was able […]
Scottish Poorhouses
The Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 set up parochial boards in towns and rural areas and a Board of Supervision in Edinburgh. One of their purposes was to build poorhouses for those paupers who were not eligible for ‘outdoor relief’, which consisted of small sums of money given out weekly. The Board of Supervision published […]
Cinemas in Britain: a history of cinema architecture
(Photo credit: Ashgate, Gower & Lund Humphries Publishing) (Image above shows an empty cinema auditorium) This fascinating book by Richard Gray is an exploration of the history of the cinema building in Britain, from its 19th century origins right up to the present day. The earliest cinemas were little more than shop conversions or basic […]
Lost worlds: ruins of the Americas
(Photo credit: Antique Collectors’ Club, ACC Editions. Image above shows a black and white photograph of Machu Picchu with the title of the book, Lost worlds: ruins of the Americas) Lost Worlds explores the most distinctive sites in Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This stunning publication represents the culmination of a three-year […]