The Duncan Brown Photographic Collection

Scope and Content

The collection consists of 305 photographs taken between 1853 and 1896. Sitters included local dignitaries, friends and family including John Brown, Queen Victoria's Ghillie. The collection also includes landscapes and the streets of Glasgow, particularly around the Pollokshields area on the south side of the city. Other subjects include ships, ship yards and stately houses.

Administrative / Biographical History

Duncan Brown (1819-1897) was a talented amateur photographer whose work documented aspects of Glasgow life from the 1850s until the 1890s. From 1845 to 1862 he was employed as the janitor at the Glasgow School of Art, which was then a Government School of Design located at 116 Ingram Street.

Arrangement

The photographs are numbered individually and held in three bound volumes

Access Information

Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections are open for research by appointment. For further details, please refer to our Access Policy @ https://gsaarchives.net/policies

Acquisition Information

The Glasgow School of Art purchased this collection from a descendent of Duncan Brown in 1990.

Note

Duncan Brown (1819-1897) was a talented amateur photographer whose work documented aspects of Glasgow life from the 1850s until the 1890s. From 1845 to 1862 he was employed as the janitor at the Glasgow School of Art, which was then a Government School of Design located at 116 Ingram Street.

**Collection Historical Note**

Duncan Brown was an employee of the Glasgow School of Design, Ingram Street, Glasgow, Scotland. Despite the new medium of photography being in quite an early stage of development, Brown was a talented photographer. Although some of his prints have faded over time and others have faults with their focus, the majority are well taken. The collection forms a unique and valuable record of Glasgow at the time when it was the "Second City of the Empire".

Archivist's Note


* Fonds level description compiled by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, 7 November 2001. Updated by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, 14 May 2002. Transferred into CALM database by Susannah Waters, GSA Archivist, 14 August 2008.
* Catalogue imported into Archon software and edited by Michelle Kaye, Archon Project Officer, June 2014.
* Catalogue exported from Archon and imported into AtoM during system migration, 2018-2019.

Finding Aid Authors: The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections.

© Copyright 2014 GSA Archives. All rights reserved.

Conditions Governing Use

Application for permission to reproduce should be submitted to The Archives and Collections at The Glasgow School of Art.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of material.

For further details, please refer to our Reprographic Service Guide @ https://gsaarchives.net/policies

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections standard procedures.

Additional Information

Published

GB 1694 DB

GB 1694