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Creating the V&A: Victoria and Albert's Museum (1851-1861)

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Creating the V&A tells the definitive story of the formative years of London's world-renowned Victoria and Albert Museum and the gathering of its early collections in the decade between the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the death of Prince Albert in 1861.

 

The story of the V&A's genesis is often centred on the first director and first curator (Henry Cole and J. C. Robinson), and their competing agendas for design reform and connoisseurship. And yet there is an untold story of how the young royal couple for whom it is named were highly instrumental in the establishment of the museum, as public supporters and large-scale lenders before a permanent collection was in place. The book is also full of fascinating and colourful stories of the strategies deployed to harvest treasures on the market as the young museum sought to fill its rapidly expanding buildings and compete with the British Museum and the Crystal Palace.

 

For anyone interested in the history of collecting and curating, and for all fans of this legendary London museum, Creating the V&A explains how the foundational collections established parameters which still inform the museum's collecting policies, role and identity today.

Author/Artist/Designer

Julius Bryant

Pages

176

Dimensions

22.86cm x 2.29cm x 27.31cm

ISBN

9781848223493

Colour

Product code

157122

Book Format

Hardback

Delivery

 

Our standard delivery charges and estimated timescales are as follows. Selected product exceptions apply; see product details. International deliveries may also be subject to customs fees or taxes upon arrival, which are your responsibility.

Please note: New orders are now likely to arrive after Christmas. For last minute gifts, visit our museum shops until 23 Dec, or explore our digital options such as V&A Membership.

 

Standard delivery per order
UK
£5 – or FREE for orders over £60
3-6 working days
Europe
£20
6-10 working days
Rest of World
£30
10-14 working days

Custom prints

 

Each print is made to order and dispatched separately to other V&A Shop products, for UK delivery only. The charges and estimated timescales below are in addition to our standard delivery charge when bought together with a V&A Shop product. However, delivery is free for all orders over £60.

Custom print delivery (UK only)
Unframed
£9 per order – or FREE for orders over £60
6-10 working days
Framed
£15 per print – or FREE for orders over £60
6-10 working days

 

Returns

 

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  1. Custom prints and other items made to your specification or personalised;
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