Thomas Annan

(Glasgow: T. & R. Annan & Sons, 1900, an edition of 100), a book illustrated with 50 photogravures, each with caption and date in letterpress in the margin, 1868-99. Folio, red buckram with the Glasgow city crest gilt-embossed and gilt-lettered spine (Truthful Lens 4)

A detailed report for each plate is beyond the scope of this condition report; those wishing condition reports on specific plates are welcome to contact the Photographs department. The photogravures are in generally excellent condition. The textured deckle-edged leaves are fairly clean, with only occasional signs of foxing and soiling that does not affect the images. Offsetting from the plates is visible on the reverse of the interleaving. There are numerical notations in pencil on the reverse of some plates. The mounts of three photogravures are cut along the left edge and detached from the book: 'Close N. 136 Salt Market,' 'Princes Street from King Street' and 'Close N.11 Bridegate.' This does not affect the prints. Each of their mounts are annotated in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse: 'Old closes Annan 1900 photogravures $350.' The red buckram covers are soiled and unevenly faded. The corners and extremities are worn. While the backstrip is nearly completely detached, with attendant tears and small losses, the binding remains intact and tight. The front matter is lightly soiled and foxed. The front free endpaper and title are loose, and there is inactive clear tape along the edge of the colophon.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Scottish photographer Thomas Annan was commissioned by the Glasgow Improvement Trust to photograph the inner-city slums in advance of, and during, its urban modernization. The resulting images captured a decaying, overcrowded Glasgow, showing deleterious conditions ill-befitting the cosmopolitan city. These photographs have earned Annan comparison to Charles Marville, who received a similar commission in Paris just four years earlier. 

A landmark in the history of photographically illustrated books, The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow was published in three editions.  In 1871, Annan printed a handful of volumes comprising 31 albumen prints. In 1877, Annan published a volume of 40 carbon prints in an edition 60. A final, posthumous edition was printed in 1900 in two editions of 100 copies, one by James Maclehose & Sons and the other by T. & R. Annan & Sons, the photographic firm founded by Thomas Annan in 1873 and later held by his son, from which this volume is issued. This last edition of 50 photogravures features both Annan’s original images as well as those later made by the Annan firm in the 1880s and 1890s.