Observant visitors to the V&A’s Madejski Garden frequently notice two commemorative plaques set into a discreet corner of the garden’s perimeter wall, adjacent to the entrance to The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Sculpture Galleries. Dedicated to ‘Jim’ and ‘Tycho’, they memorialise the beloved canine family members of Sir Henry Cole (1808 – 82), the V&A’s first Director.
Much research has already been generated regarding Jim, Cole’s constant companion, who died in 1879 at the age of 15 (much less is known about Tycho, who technically belonged to Cole’s son Alan). Jim’s celebrity has been exponentially amplified since he was featured in Jim’s Spectacular Christmas, a children’s book written by actor Dame Emma Thompson with illustrations by Axel Scheffler, telling the story of Jim’s (mostly imagined) role in the creation of the first Christmas Card.
Most of what we know about Jim comes from Cole’s diaries, where Jim’s comings and goings, as well as his occasional anti-social behaviour, were recorded by Cole as early as December 1863. And we have a pretty clear idea of what Jim looked like, thanks to a series of sketches Cole made of Jim while on a trip to Broadstairs, Kent. These were further elaborated upon in a more stylised likeness of Jim presented in a cartoon of Cole published in Vanity Fair in 1871.
But now, to add to these artistic impressions, we can announce the discovery of the first known photograph of Jim! Here he is, posed in about 1864 in front of Brompton Park House, a since demolished villa on the grounds of the South Kensington Museum (which would become the V&A).
‘H is for Henry Cole’
The V&A is frequently contacted by individuals engaged in genealogical digging. They use the V&A as a place of research to uncover their family histories, but they just as frequently contact the museum with details identifying a sitter in the museum’s vast collection of 19th century and early 20th-century photographs, many of which are portraits assembled in family albums, or exist in collections of cartes-de-visites and cabinet cards. This information is always welcome and, if deemed accurate, is added to the catalogue information.
As part of her own ‘digging’, I was contacted by Alice MacDonnell, a teacher of art-based history and geography programmes in the UK. She got in touch offering to help identify the sitters included in the Henry Cole Album in the V&A’s Photography Collection. MacDonnell’s offer was particularly welcome as she is Cole’s great-great-great-great granddaughter.
A personal collection assembled by Cole, the album is comprised of approximately 250 albumen photographs and additional ephemera, including newspaper clippings and small water colours and drawings, dating from the 1850s and 60s. Cole himself was known to practice photography, and while it is impossible to determine which images were made by him, it is assumed many of the photographs contained in the album were made by Cole.
Most of the photographs are of family members appearing in both formal, posed portraits and more relaxed group gatherings, but there are also photographs of friends and colleagues, many of whom played important roles in nineteenth century cultural networks, including Francis Fowke, Charles Thurston Thompson, Richard Redgrave, Lord Granville and Herbert Minton. The album thus is an important record not only of Cole’s life, but also of the V&A’s institutional history, and, more broadly, the development of British art and design. Any information regarding the persons depicted only increases the usefulness of this important cultural record.
MacDonnell’s deep dive into her famous ancestor was instigated by her immersive school programme ‘A to Z Arts’ which cycles through the letters of the alphabet as a prompt to teach students about London’s history. With a growing awareness of the importance of her grandfather’s legacy, MacDonnell reserves ‘H’ for Henry Cole. From the very beginning, her students began to ask questions about Cole. According to MacDonnell this set her on a mission.
I discovered more and more regarding Cole’s achievements, including his role in the development of the first postage stamp, the creation of the world’s first Christmas Card, the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851, and his overarching mission to develop better standards of art and design for the masses. My comprehension of Cole’s legacy was intensifying to the point where it eventually snowballed into a crusade to promote Cole’s legacy.
As MacDonnell delved into her family history, she resolved to see the Cole Album and made an appointment to view it in the V&A’s Prints and Drawings Study Room. On the appointed day the album was retrieved, and after a brief demonstration on the handling of the fragile 19th-century object, MacDonnell was allowed the time to carefully examine the album and its contents. MacDonnell recollects:
Being able to sit and leaf through the album, knowing it would have been a much loved and treasured possession of my great (x4) Grandfather, was very special. I’d done so much reading and research by that point, that I had lost some of my feelings of personal connection to him. Going through the pages of this album reconnected me with Cole. I was particularly interested in finding out about the life of the Cole family living inside the Museum.
Discovery
MacDonnell was about a quarter of the way through the album when she came across the image captioned ‘Old houses in S.K Mus. Grounds’. She recalls:
Initially I tried to make out the person in the upstairs window to see if I could identify a relative, but when I shifted my focus away from the top of the photograph, I saw a tiny black, scruffy dog looking back at me. I knew who he was instantly, Jim!
MacDonnell was ecstatic.
My family had always brought slightly bemused friends to visit Jim’s plaque in the V&A’s Madejski Garden. I knew there had been a few artistic images of him, but I had always been aware that there hadn’t been a photograph of him. Until now.
MacDonnell immediately shared her discovery with me.
In addition to Jim, MacDonnell was able to identify most of the sitters in the photographs in Cole’s album, many of whom are also represented and identified in family albums that were passed down to MacDonnell by Cole’s descendants. MacDonnell has now shared this information with the V&A and I have added Jim’s name, as well as the names of these other (human) sitters, to the catalogue records.
Alice MacDonnell is the CEO and founder of A to Z Arts, an arts programme delivered to primary schools that ignites interest in the subjects of history, geography and art. As 4x great granddaughter to Sir Henry Cole, she finds his achievements a constant inspiration.
Fascinating! As someone who has done much research at the V&A I love hearing about others doing so and this is particularly riveting – from the old houses to the life of a beloved dog and a family living at the museum – something I’ve fantasised about myself. The current V & has always seemed like a town in itself with an extraordinary community and wonders at every turn. Longing for the opening of the new archive building to continue my work.