1. Edinburgh Ladies Debating Society¶
This notebook explores museum objects that are from Edinburgh in the period from 1865 to 1880, to accompany the Jupyter notebook from the National Library of Scotland, looking at the publication Edinburgh Ladies Debating Society from 1865 to 1880.
import sys
sys.path.append("/srv/explore-the-collections/code/ivpy/src/")
Retrieving V&A objects¶
First we retrieve objects made from the period of interest. For that we need to pass three parameters to the API query to restrict it to the items of interest:
id_place - The place the object was made
year_made_from - The year of production from which we want to start getting results for objects
year_made_to - The year of production we want to stop getting results for objects
We need to pass values for the above parameters, the later two are easy enough, they are the years of interest:
year_made_from=1865
year_made_to=1880
The identifier value we need to pass for a place is harder to find. There is not a quick way to map a place (Edinburgh) to its identifier, because this is the very reason we have identifiers in the first place. For the moment, a simple way to find it is to go to the collections site, start typing the search term of interest (e.g. Edinburgh). As you type the autocomplete box will come up with suggestions which in this case includes the one we want. If you click on that you will go to a query which in the address bar of your browser will show you the identifier used (in this case id_place=x28816).
(If a matching suggestion does not come up when you type, then you will need to go through a longer process of running the search on what you have typed, then looking in the Facets on the left of your search for a match, in this case under “Place”, ticking the relevant term, which will then appear in the address bar as above).
So now we know we need to pass:
id_place=x28816
year_made_from=1865
year_made_to=1880
We also specify the following:
images_exist=1 - As we want to show the images later
response_format=csv - We want results as CSV so we can use Pandas to examine them
page_size=50 - We want upto 50 results (if there are 50 available)
And that’s our API query. Let’s get the results.
import requests
from ivpy import attach,show,compose,montage,histogram,scatter
import pandas as pd
import altair as alt
req = pd.read_csv('https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/objects/search?id_place=x28816&year_made_from=1865&year_made_to=1880&images_exist=1&response_format=csv&page_size=50')
req.head()
| accessionNumber | accessionYear | systemNumber | objectType | _primaryTitle | _primaryPlace | _primaryMaker__name | _primaryMaker__association | _primaryDate | _primaryImageId | _sampleMaterial | _sampleTechnique | _sampleStyle | _currentLocation__displayName | _objectContentWarning | _imageContentWarning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | P.62-1922 | 1922.0 | O1189981 | Watercolour | Edinburgh, from near St. Anthony's Chapel on t... | Scotland | John Gendall | artist | ca. 1810-1865 | 2016JN3033 | Watercolour | Watercolour drawing | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H | False | False |
| 1 | RPS.4762-2018 | 2018.0 | O1462540 | photograph | A portrait of a young boy | Edinburgh | Marshall Wane | photographers | 1860-1869 | 2019LH8986 | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
| 2 | RPS.4686-2018 | 2018.0 | O1462442 | photograph | A photograph of 'Edinburgh, from the Queen's P... | Edinburgh | J. Valentine | Photographer | 1860-1869 | 2019LH8956 | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
| 3 | RPS.4655-2018 | 2018.0 | O1462371 | photograph | A portrait of a man | Edinburgh | J. G. Tunny | Photographer | 1860-1869 | 2019LH8909 | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
| 4 | RPS.4154-2018 | 2018.0 | O1461675 | photograph | A portrait of 'Duke of Atholl' | Edinburgh | Alexander Hill | Photographer | 1860-1869 | 2018LF1234 | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
Now we have data, lets look at the images to see if anything leaps out as belonging to the Edinburgh Ladies Debating Society.
Showing images¶
To do this, we need to replace the _primaryImageId asset identifier with a IIIF URL that can be opened by Ivpy to show a montage of the returned object images
IIIF_IMAGE_URL = "https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/%s/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg"
req._primaryImageId = [IIIF_IMAGE_URL % item for item in req._primaryImageId]
req.head()
| accessionNumber | accessionYear | systemNumber | objectType | _primaryTitle | _primaryPlace | _primaryMaker__name | _primaryMaker__association | _primaryDate | _primaryImageId | _sampleMaterial | _sampleTechnique | _sampleStyle | _currentLocation__displayName | _objectContentWarning | _imageContentWarning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | P.62-1922 | 1922.0 | O1189981 | Watercolour | Edinburgh, from near St. Anthony's Chapel on t... | Scotland | John Gendall | artist | ca. 1810-1865 | https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2016JN... | Watercolour | Watercolour drawing | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H | False | False |
| 1 | RPS.4762-2018 | 2018.0 | O1462540 | photograph | A portrait of a young boy | Edinburgh | Marshall Wane | photographers | 1860-1869 | https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2019LH... | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
| 2 | RPS.4686-2018 | 2018.0 | O1462442 | photograph | A photograph of 'Edinburgh, from the Queen's P... | Edinburgh | J. Valentine | Photographer | 1860-1869 | https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2019LH... | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
| 3 | RPS.4655-2018 | 2018.0 | O1462371 | photograph | A portrait of a man | Edinburgh | J. G. Tunny | Photographer | 1860-1869 | https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2019LH... | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
| 4 | RPS.4154-2018 | 2018.0 | O1461675 | photograph | A portrait of 'Duke of Atholl' | Edinburgh | Alexander Hill | Photographer | 1860-1869 | https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2018LF... | photographic paper | albumen process | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
Now we have image URLs we can use Ivpy to show the images
attach(req, "_primaryImageId")
show()
An interesting mix of objects, perhaps some of which overlap with topics in discussion in the Journal? Let’s look at the type of objects:
Visualising Results¶
import requests
import pandas as pd
req = requests.get('https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/objects/clusters/object_type/search?id_place=x28816&year_made_from=1865&year_made_to=1880&cluster_size=100')
object_types_df = pd.DataFrame(req.json())
bars = alt.Chart(object_types_df).mark_bar().encode(
x='count:Q',
y="value:O"
)
text = bars.mark_text(
align='left',
baseline='middle',
dx=3 # Nudges text to right so it doesn't appear on top of the bar
).encode(
text='count:Q'
)
(bars + text).properties(height=900, title="Objects from Edinburgh from 1865 to 1880")
So apart from cards, prints and photographs (here appearing twice due to capitalization) other objects have just one or two instances from this period. Let’s look at the ambrotype (which is, according to Getty, “Photographs produced by mounting a negative (made by a variant of the wet collodion process) that is on glass with a dark backing, which makes the image appear as a positive.”), perhaps it could depict someone from the Edinburgh Ladies society ? First we need to find the object’s system number:
Individual Object Retrieval¶
req = pd.read_csv('https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/objects/search?id_place=x28816&year_made_from=1865&year_made_to=1880&kw_object_type=ambrotype&response_format=csv&page_size=50')
req
| accessionNumber | accessionYear | systemNumber | objectType | _primaryTitle | _primaryPlace | _primaryMaker__name | _primaryMaker__association | _primaryDate | _primaryImageId | _sampleMaterial | _sampleTechnique | _sampleStyle | _currentLocation__displayName | _objectContentWarning | _imageContentWarning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | RPS.1097-2019 | 2019 | O1508782 | ambrotype | NaN | Edinburgh (city) | Armstrong, Robert | photographer | 1855-1865 | NaN | NaN | photography | NaN | Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F | False | False |
Sadly, at the moment, there is no digitised image, but let’s see if there is more information in the full object record (at present we just have to show the full json response in this notebook, ideally this would be a card preview of some sort, that would require a opengraph extension for Jupyter)
req = requests.get('https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/museumobject/O1508782/')
req.json()
{'meta': {'version': '2.0', 'images': None, 'see_also': None},
'record': {'systemNumber': 'O1508782',
'accessionNumber': 'RPS.1097-2019',
'objectType': 'ambrotype',
'titles': [],
'summaryDescription': '',
'physicalDescription': 'Ambrotype depicting a portrait of an man in a metal frame',
'artistMakerPerson': [{'name': {'text': 'Armstrong, Robert',
'id': 'AUTH353681'},
'association': {'text': 'photographer', 'id': 'x43821'},
'note': ''}],
'artistMakerOrganisations': [],
'artistMakerPeople': [],
'materials': [],
'techniques': [{'text': 'photography', 'id': 'AAT54225'},
{'text': 'ambrotype', 'id': 'AAT137324'}],
'materialsAndTechniques': 'Ambrotype photographic print',
'categories': [{'text': 'The Royal Photographic Society',
'id': 'THES281081'}],
'styles': [],
'collectionCode': {'text': 'DOP', 'id': 'THES291628'},
'images': [],
'imageResolution': 'high',
'galleryLocations': [{'current': {'text': 'LVLF', 'id': 'THES49656'},
'free': '',
'case': 'MB1',
'shelf': 'DR',
'box': '22'}],
'partTypes': [[{'text': 'ambrotype', 'id': 'AAT137324'}],
[{'text': 'photograph', 'id': 'AAT46300'}]],
'contentWarnings': [{'apprise': '', 'note': ''}],
'placesOfOrigin': [{'place': {'text': 'Edinburgh (city)', 'id': 'x28816'},
'association': {'text': 'photographed', 'id': 'x30151'},
'note': ''}],
'productionDates': [{'date': {'text': '1855-1865',
'earliest': '1855-01-01',
'latest': '1865-12-31'},
'association': {'text': 'photographed', 'id': 'x30151'},
'note': ''}],
'associatedObjects': [],
'creditLine': 'The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund.',
'dimensions': [],
'dimensionsNote': '',
'marksAndInscriptions': [{'content': "'Robert Armstrong / Photographer / 63 Princes Street / Edinburgh'",
'inscriber': {'name': {'text': '', 'id': ''},
'association': {'text': '', 'id': ''}},
'date': {'text': '', 'earliest': None, 'latest': None},
'description': '',
'interpretation': '',
'language': '',
'medium': '',
'method': '',
'position': '',
'script': '',
'translation': '',
'transliteration': '',
'type': '',
'note': 'Printed on the back of the frame.'}],
'objectHistory': '',
'historicalContext': '',
'briefDescription': 'Ambrotype by Robert Armstrong, portrait of a man seated, Edinburgh',
'bibliographicReferences': [],
'production': '',
'productionType': {'text': '', 'id': ''},
'contentDescription': '',
'contentPlaces': [],
'associatedPlaces': [],
'contentPerson': [],
'associatedPerson': [],
'contentOrganisations': [],
'associatedOrganisations': [],
'contentPeople': [],
'associatedPeople': [],
'contentEvents': [],
'associatedEvents': [],
'contentOthers': [],
'contentConcepts': [],
'contentLiteraryRefs': [],
'galleryLabels': [],
'partNumbers': ['RPS.1097-2019'],
'accessionNumberNum': '1097',
'accessionNumberPrefix': 'RPS',
'accessionYear': 2019,
'otherNumbers': [{'type': {'text': 'RPS identifier - inventory no.',
'id': 'THES275184'},
'number': '025927'}],
'copyNumber': '',
'aspects': ['WHOLE'],
'assets': [],
'recordModificationDate': '2021-02-11',
'recordCreationDate': '2019-08-23'}}
Well, a “portrait of a man seated” could perhaps a relation of someone from the Society. Let’s see if we have any more luck with the “Pair of slippers”
req = pd.read_csv("https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/objects/search?id_place=x28816&year_made_from=1865&year_made_to=1880&kw_object_type=Pair%20of%20slippers&response_format=csv&page_size=50")
req
| accessionNumber | accessionYear | systemNumber | objectType | _primaryTitle | _primaryPlace | _primaryMaker__name | _primaryMaker__association | _primaryDate | _primaryImageId | _sampleMaterial | _sampleTechnique | _sampleStyle | _currentLocation__displayName | _objectContentWarning | _imageContentWarning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | AP.6&A-1868 | 1868 | O62545 | Pair of slippers | NaN | Edinburgh | Muir, W. | maker | 1850-1870 | 2006AM7015 | NaN | NaN | NaN | British Galleries, Room 125b | False | False |
req = requests.get('https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/museumobject/O62545/')
req.json()
{'meta': {'version': '2.0',
'images': {'_primary_thumbnail': 'https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM7015/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg',
'_iiif_image': 'https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM7015/',
'_alt_iiif_image': [],
'imageResolution': 'high',
'_images_meta': [{'assetRef': '2006AM7015',
'copyright': '©Victoria and Albert Museum, London',
'sensitiveImage': False},
{'assetRef': '2006AW2026',
'copyright': '©Victoria and Albert Museum, London',
'sensitiveImage': False}]},
'see_also': {'_iiif_pres': 'https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O62545/manifest.json',
'_alt_iiif_pres': []}},
'record': {'systemNumber': 'O62545',
'accessionNumber': 'AP.6&A-1868',
'objectType': 'Pair of slippers',
'titles': [],
'summaryDescription': "<b>Object Type</b><br>Men wore mules and slippers in the comfort of their homes. These were often not dissimilar in design to men's slippers today. They came in a variety of colours and materials and were often decorated with embroidery and fancy stitching.<br><br><b>Materials & Making</b><br>This pair of slippers is very stylish and was made by the Edinburgh manufacturer, W. Muir. By the middle of the century many slippers were mass-produced. The sewing machine had become proficient for sewing cloth by the 1850s, and a machine for sewing leather was in use in by 1856. Other machinery was developed for sewing on soles and for riveting. Shoe makers and manufacturers used new and old techniques to create fancy leather work and tooling. The range of materials used for the uppers for men's slippers increased, and included snakeskin, crocodile or alligator skin as well as the more usual types of leather.<br><br><b>Design & Designing</b><br>Many slippers were, however, still made at home. Demonstrating their domestic skills, women embroidered the ready-made uppers of slippers and other footwear for their families as well as for themselves. Patterns for these were readily available, although the results were sometimes gaudy as some of the colours favoured for embroidery were produced by bright chemical dyes.",
'physicalDescription': 'Made of snakeskin with very large scales, with decorative leather trimming in black and lined with quilted yellow silk. Hand and machine stitched.',
'artistMakerPerson': [{'name': {'text': 'Muir, W.', 'id': 'A8679'},
'association': {'text': 'maker', 'id': 'AAT251917'},
'note': ''}],
'artistMakerOrganisations': [],
'artistMakerPeople': [],
'materials': [],
'techniques': [],
'materialsAndTechniques': "Snakeskin, with decorative leather trimming; lined with quilted silk; hand- and machine-stitched. The skin has been identified as the golden or olive sea snake (Aipysurus laevis). This species of sea snake is native to the Northern Territories of Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, The Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea and the coasts of New Guinea and Indonesia. (Lucy Johnston with Marion Kite and Helen Persson, Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail, V&A Publications 2005, pp. 106-7)\r\nThe maker's label reads, 'W.MUIR/ MAKER/ 42/ COCKBURN ST/ EDINBURGH",
'categories': [{'text': 'SCRAN', 'id': 'THES48897'},
{'text': 'British Galleries', 'id': 'THES48985'},
{'text': 'Footwear', 'id': 'THES48951'},
{'text': 'Scotland', 'id': 'THES262877'},
{'text': 'Europeana Fashion Project', 'id': 'THES265804'}],
'styles': [],
'collectionCode': {'text': 'T&F', 'id': 'THES48601'},
'images': ['2006AM7015', '2006AW2026'],
'imageResolution': 'high',
'galleryLocations': [{'current': {'text': '125B (VA)', 'id': 'THES49893'},
'free': '',
'case': '3',
'shelf': '',
'box': ''},
{'current': {'text': '125B (VA)', 'id': 'THES49893'},
'free': '',
'case': '3',
'shelf': '',
'box': ''}],
'partTypes': [[{'text': 'Slipper', 'id': ''}],
[{'text': 'Slipper', 'id': ''}]],
'contentWarnings': [{'apprise': '', 'note': ''},
{'apprise': '', 'note': ''},
{'apprise': '', 'note': ''}],
'placesOfOrigin': [{'place': {'text': 'Edinburgh', 'id': 'x28816'},
'association': {'text': 'made', 'id': 'x28654'},
'note': ''}],
'productionDates': [{'date': {'text': '1850-1870',
'earliest': '1850-01-01',
'latest': '1870-12-31'},
'association': {'text': 'made', 'id': 'x28654'},
'note': ''}],
'associatedObjects': [],
'creditLine': '',
'dimensions': [{'dimension': 'Height',
'value': '9.5',
'unit': 'cm',
'qualifier': '',
'date': {'text': '', 'earliest': None, 'latest': None},
'part': '',
'note': ''},
{'dimension': 'Width',
'value': '10',
'unit': 'cm',
'qualifier': '',
'date': {'text': '', 'earliest': None, 'latest': None},
'part': '',
'note': ''},
{'dimension': 'Length',
'value': '28',
'unit': 'cm',
'qualifier': '',
'date': {'text': '', 'earliest': None, 'latest': None},
'part': 'sole',
'note': ''}],
'dimensionsNote': 'Dimensions checked: Measured; 13/05/1999 by LH',
'marksAndInscriptions': [],
'objectHistory': 'Made and donated by William Muir, 42 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh',
'historicalContext': '',
'briefDescription': "A gentleman's slipper, made of snakeskin, by W. Muir, Edinburgh, 1859-1870.",
'bibliographicReferences': [],
'production': '',
'productionType': {'text': '', 'id': ''},
'contentDescription': '',
'contentPlaces': [],
'associatedPlaces': [],
'contentPerson': [],
'associatedPerson': [],
'contentOrganisations': [],
'associatedOrganisations': [],
'contentPeople': [],
'associatedPeople': [],
'contentEvents': [],
'associatedEvents': [],
'contentOthers': [],
'contentConcepts': [],
'contentLiteraryRefs': [],
'galleryLabels': [{'text': 'British Galleries:\nA man was often most at home in the comfort of his dressing gown and slippers. Slippers could give men the chance to liven up their appearance. They were often brightly coloured or richly decorated in contrast with the sober appearance of more formal clothes.',
'date': {'text': '27/03/2003',
'earliest': '2003-03-27',
'latest': '2003-03-27'}}],
'partNumbers': ['AP.6A-1868', 'AP.6-1868'],
'accessionNumberNum': '6',
'accessionNumberPrefix': 'AP',
'accessionYear': 1868,
'otherNumbers': [],
'copyNumber': '',
'aspects': ['WHOLE', 'Slipper [1]', 'Slipper [2]'],
'assets': ['2019LP3883', '2019LU3528'],
'recordModificationDate': '2019-08-05',
'recordCreationDate': '2001-09-12'}}
Hmmm, perhaps not then. But maybe when that Ambrotype photograph is digitised we might see the snakeskin slippers? Let’s take a look at them now.
# ipyosd Not currently working
from ipyosd import OSDViewer
from ipywidgets import Layout
OSDViewer(url="https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM7015/info.json", layout=Layout(width='75%', height='675px'))
from IPython.display import Image
Image(url = "https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM7015/full/600,/0/default.jpg", metadata = { "alt": "Shoes"} )
Further Work¶
Were any of the objects made or donated to the museum by people mentioned in the journal?
Are there discussions of artists and artworks from the period in the journal?
Are there any discussions of places in the journal that match up with prints, drawings or photocards depicting them at the time ?