ABSTRACT

The transformation of Birmingham’s urban landscape has a rich heritage within the visual arts. In the pre-photographic era artists including David Cox, Samuel Lines, J.V.Barber and Thomas Underwood used a range of graphic media including painting, drawing, lithography, and etching to document the changing face of the city.1 During the last 150 or so years photography has undoubtedly been the most significant medium employed to document and disseminate information about changes in Birmingham’s built environment. Architectural subjects were in the forefront of experiments with the new medium from its inception in 1839 and the almost continual building work undertaken in Birmingham has provided rich material for the camera.