Interior-general view of Library Plate broken

Description Interior-general view of Library Plate broken

Date 1890

Collection Records of Bedford Lemere and Company, photographers, London, England

Catalogue Number SC 695361

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of BL 10091

Scope and Content Library, Seafield, Doonfoot Road, Ayr, South Ayrshire (latterly Seafield Hospital for Sick Children) Seafield, an imposing Italianate villa designed in 1888-9 by Robert A Bryden of the Glasgow architectural firm of Clarke & Bell, was built for the engineer, Sir William Arrol. This photograph of the library of the house was taken in 1890 by the architectural photographer, Harry Bedford Lemere. This impressive room is dominated by a fireplace with a hugely elaborate overmantel. The dark wood panelling lining the walls stretches to a heavy cornice above door height, with bookcases filling the dado, an early example of built-in furniture. Publishing was a growing industry in the late Victorian period, and built-in library bookcases became a feature of larger country houses. The top of the bookcase was often decorated with a cornice which was often used as a display shelf for busts of Classical writers and philosophers. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/695361

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap