Vetusta Monumenta
Encyclopedia
Vetusta Monumenta is the title of a published series of illustrated antiquarian papers on ancient buildings, sites, and artefacts, mostly those of Britain, published at irregular intervals between 1718 and 1906 by the Society of Antiquaries of London
. The folio
sized papers, usually authored by members of the society, were first published individually, and then later in collected volumes.
The series began the same year that the society formalized its existence with the first minuted meeting on January 1, 1718, at the Mitre Tavern, Fleet Street
; the society's main journal Archaeologia did not begin publication until 1770. Members of the society received a free copy as each part was published.
The views in the series contained images of people and other means of conveying scale, providing the perspective of the interested visitor. These accompanied text descriptions for the sites, but provided additional information with high levels of detail and multiple or idealised viewpoints to simulate a well informed tour. Many of the plates show the setting, inset with exploded views, cross sections and other architectural details, or objects found at the site. Other figures were interspersed with the text, or taking up several full pages. Critics have compared this approach with contemporaneous works that included the subject as an attractively sketched scene, illustrations were not yet recognised as a valuable source of information. The book used the multiple and separate details to synthesise encyclopaedic surveys that typified the approach of the natural historians and antiquaries, what Barbara Maria Stafford
has described as "cross-referencing material bits of distant reality".
An 1803 article on the Rossetta Stone was amongst the earliest published research. The first detailed account of the medieval French Royal Gold Cup
in the British Museum
was published in one of the last papers, of 1904, by Sir Charles Hercules Read.
Notices on illustrations mention the following engravers:
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
. The folio
Folio
Folio may refer to:* Folio , a book size* A particular edition of a book printed on folio pages, such as the First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays* A leaf of a book: see Recto and verso* Folio , a sans-serif typeface...
sized papers, usually authored by members of the society, were first published individually, and then later in collected volumes.
Publication
The full title is Vetusta monumenta quae ad Rerum Britanicarum memoriam conservandam Societas Antiquariorum Londini sumptu suo edenda curavit, but the volumes are normally simply cited as Vetusta Monumenta. There were various reprints of both individual papers and collected volumes, and the plates were often published separately from the text. According to the HOLLIS database at Harvard: "The seven volumes are dated 1747, 1789, 1796, 1815, 1835, 1883 and 1906 (for the fourth part of vol.7). The plates for vol. 1 were published between 1718 and 1747; plates for vol. 2 were published between 1748 and 1789; plates for vol. 3 were published between 1790 and 1796; plates for vol. 4 were published between 1799 and 1815; plates for vol. 5 were published between 1816 and 1835; plates for vol. 6 were published between 1821 and 1885; plates for the four parts of vol. 7 were published between 1893 and 1906."The series began the same year that the society formalized its existence with the first minuted meeting on January 1, 1718, at the Mitre Tavern, Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
; the society's main journal Archaeologia did not begin publication until 1770. Members of the society received a free copy as each part was published.
Contents
The emphasis was on the large and detailed illustrations, initially high quality engravings, which conveyed information on the subject matter in an accessible and economical way. Each issue was usually developed from papers and research of the society, giving a text description accompanied by illustrated details it had commissioned. The assemblage of maps, site plans, and other detail was a novelty that found popular appeal.The views in the series contained images of people and other means of conveying scale, providing the perspective of the interested visitor. These accompanied text descriptions for the sites, but provided additional information with high levels of detail and multiple or idealised viewpoints to simulate a well informed tour. Many of the plates show the setting, inset with exploded views, cross sections and other architectural details, or objects found at the site. Other figures were interspersed with the text, or taking up several full pages. Critics have compared this approach with contemporaneous works that included the subject as an attractively sketched scene, illustrations were not yet recognised as a valuable source of information. The book used the multiple and separate details to synthesise encyclopaedic surveys that typified the approach of the natural historians and antiquaries, what Barbara Maria Stafford
Barbara Maria Stafford
Barbara Maria Stafford Ph.D. is the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Her research pursues the multiple means of spatial presentation from the early modern period up to today's digital media. She works at the intersection of the imaging arts, the...
has described as "cross-referencing material bits of distant reality".
An 1803 article on the Rossetta Stone was amongst the earliest published research. The first detailed account of the medieval French Royal Gold Cup
Royal Gold Cup
The Royal Gold Cup or Saint Agnes Cup is a solid gold covered cup lavishly decorated with enamel and pearls. It was made for the French royal family at the end of the 14th century, and later belonged to several English monarchs before spending nearly 300 years in Spain...
in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
was published in one of the last papers, of 1904, by Sir Charles Hercules Read.
Contributors
The following is an incomplete list of noted contributors, and their articles:- Thomas AstleThomas AstleThomas Astle was an English antiquary and palaeographer.-Life:Astle was born on 22 December 1735 at Yoxall on the borders of Needwood Forest in Staffordshire, the son of Daniel Astle, keeper of the forest...
- Thomas AmyotThomas Amyot-Early life:Amyot was born at Norwich on 7 January 1775, and was descended from one of the Huguenot families settled in that city. Intended for the profession of a country attorney, he was articled to a Norwich firm, and eventually spent a year in London before entering into the full practice of...
, a description of Tewkesbury AbbeyTewkesbury AbbeyThe Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tewkesbury in the English county of Gloucestershire is the second largest parish church in the country and a former Benedictine monastery.-History:... - William WilkinsWilliam Wilkins (architect)William Wilkins RA was an English architect, classical scholar and archaeologist. He designed the National Gallery and University College in London, and buildings for several Cambridge colleges.-Life:...
, 'Observations on the Porta Honoris of Caius College, Cambridge' - George Gwilt the YoungerGeorge Gwilt the younger-Biography:Gwilt, born in Southwark 8 May 1775, was elder son of George Gwilt the elder. He was articled to his father, and succeeded him in business as an architect...
, architect - Browne WillisBrowne WillisBrowne Willis was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708.-Early life:...
, 'A Table of the Gold Coins of the Kings of England.' (1733) - Thomas WalfordThomas WalfordThomas Walford was an English antiquary.Walford, born on 14 Sept. 1752, was the only son of Thomas Walford of Whitley, near Birdbrook in Essex, by his wife, Elizabeth Spurgeon of Linton in Cambridgeshire....
(iii. pt. 39)
Notices on illustrations mention the following engravers:
- George VertueGeorge VertueGeorge Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.-Life:...
, engraver to the society. Produced a drawing of the 'Holbein Gate' in 1724, his 1727 engraving appears in volume 1, 1747. Other works include the portrait of Richard II at Westminster, the shrine of Edward the Confessor, and a view of Waltham CrossWaltham CrossWaltham Cross is the most southeasterly town in Hertfordshire, England. It is 12 miles from the City of London and immediately north of the M25 motorway, forming part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt. Part of Waltham Cross is located within Greater London.-Geography:It is...
; nearly all the copperplate to 1756 was engraved by Vertue. - James BasireJames BasireJames Basire , also known as James Basire Sr., was an English engraver. He is the most significant of a family of engravers, and noted for his apprenticing of the young William Blake....
(1730–1802), one of Vertue's successors, who produced large and exquisite design on copperplate. His descendants of the same name, the son James Basire (1769–1822) and grandson (1796–1869), were also appointed engraver of the Society. His work for the volumes—after his appointment in the 1760s—is described as amongst his best, however, - William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, Basire's apprentice is thought to be partly, if not largely, responsible for many of the designs. - Charles Alfred StothardCharles Alfred StothardCharles Alfred Stothard was an antiquarian draughtsman.Stothard was born in London, the son of the painter, Thomas Stothard. After studying in the schools of the Royal Academy, he began, in 1810, his first historical picture, the Death of Richard II in Pomfret Castle...
, coloured facsimile of the Bayeux TapestryBayeux TapestryThe Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...
in 1818 - Jacob SchnebbelieJacob SchnebbelieJacob Schnebbelie was an English draughtsman, specialising in monuments and other historical subjects.Schnebbelie was born in Duke's Court, St. Martin's Lane, London, on 30 Aug. 1760...
(d. 1826), draughtsman to the society. Executed many of the architectural views of the second and third volumes. - Samuel Hieronymous Grimm
Further reading
- Grazia Lolla, Maria. Ceci n'est pas un monument: Vetusta Monumenta and antiquarian aesthetics, in Producing the Past: Aspects of Antiquarian Culture and Practice, 1700-1850, eds Martin Myrone and Lucy Peltz, 1999, Ashgate