Photographies

Melrose Abbey

photographer unknown

1920s
6.7 x 8.7 cm
NA 5481 M4 M46 1920z

These "real photographs" of Melrose Abbey in Scotland were issued by the Ancient Monuments Department, suggesting that the photographs were not only created as souvenirs for visitors, but that they also played a role in the documentation and preservation of historic monuments. Photography's usefulness in historic preservation was recognized early on; in 1851, the French Commission des Monuments Historiques launched the Mission Héliographique, a project that employed five photographers to photograph historic sites across France.