|
Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow
Photographs taken by Thomas Annan, |
|
Background Some of the streets and closes (small lanes) of Glasgow were in an unhealthy state in the 1860s. There were many small 1-room homes, built close together, several stories high, with narrow lanes and open sewers between them . There were high death rates from typhus, cholera and smallpox. An urban renewal program for the area was planned by the Glasgow City Improvement Trust. |
|
Thomas Annan Thomas Annan was commissioned by the Glasgow City Improvement Trust to record these areas of the city before the buildings were demolished. This resulted in a memorable series of photographs being published by Thomas Annan as albumen prints and then as carbon prints, under the title: 'Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow' |
|
James Craig Annan A set of fifty images from Thomas Annan's 'Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow' was re-published by James Craig Annan as photogravures in 1900. Please click on one of the images above to enlarge all three. They are taken from the web site of the Pennsylvanian art dealer, Paul Cava, who was offering Annan's set of 50 photogravures for sale at US$6,000 in September 2004. |
|
The Mitchell Library, Glasgow has copies both publications: 'Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow': - the albumen prints by Thomas Annan and - the later photogravures by James Craig Annan |
