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Illustrated Guide To Sheffield 1862, 1879, 1889, 1899


AdrianM

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In these pages I have spotted a few posts that mention the 'Illustrated Guide to Shffield', or which 4 editions were produced in 1862, 1879, 1889, and 1899.

I have been lucky enough to be able to borrow copies of all the editions except 1889, and I am currently photographing the illustrations (with the owners permission) and cleaning them up with the idea of producing a book bringing together the views from the different dates - an interesting exercise given the rapid development of the city through the years, not to mention the changing fashions.

As I say I am lacking the 1889 edition. Copies are available for reference at the Local Studies Library, but not for loan. I therefore wondered whether any Sheffield History members might have a copy, or know of a copy which I could borrow with a view to filling in any gaps from the 1889 edition.

My main interest is in the wood-engravings (the line drawings - see example attached), rather than the electro-typed photographs which appeared in the 1899 edition.

I would be grateful for any help or information.

Adrian

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Hi - the 1879 ed is relatively common, that and the 1862 are also available as free downloads from the British Library, and as BL reprints at under £20. Such scans are fine for the text, but other than as reference, the images are of relatively low quality - I think he BL scans are a bit better than Internet Archive.

What I am doing is taking higher res photos of the image to get the detail. Higher res scans would be even better but it's not something I would try with an old book unless I owned it and was willing to risk damaging the spine - in general it's just not something I would even try.

As I said, it's just the 1889 ed that I am needing. Many of the images will duplicate other editions, so it's just a matter of catching any missing pics.

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It sounds like it is an excellent project that you are undertaking and I hope that you are successful in securing access to an 1889 edition and that you will share some of the results of your efforts with us.

I have copies of the 1862 and the 1879 editions, but I must admit that it is a long, long time since I have seen the 1889 edition offered for sale. I hope that you can find one. Unfortunately, so many of these publications do seem to have been broken up over the years, primarily, for the very images that you are looking to record.

In the meantime, I attach copies of a couple of scans that I did myself, some time ago, which record just how much of a wealth of fantastic architecture has been lost in this city over the years.

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My project to bring together the illustrations from the four issues of Pawson and Brailsford's Illustrated Guides has now produced a book. It's called 'Illustrations of Nineteenth Century Sheffield' and is available on Amazon (follow this link). I would offer some copies at a discount to members of the forum, but I have just run out of copies - sorry! Should I get more copies I will get back to the group. In the meantime a couple of copies have been donated to the Local Studies Library.

Adrian MIddleton

(website: middlea.jimdo.com)

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