Framed Material Collection

The collection is mainly made up of architectural drawings, but also features portraits and topographical views of buildings and monuments.

Our collection includes:

• Engravings, prints and lithographs. These include two engravings from the Daily Free Press from 1889 showing birds eye views of Edinburgh and Aberdeen
• Architectural presentation drawings. Architects used presentation drawings to sell designs to perspective clients. RCAHMS holds a large number of presentation drawings by important architects such as Sir Robert Lorimer and Sir Basil Spence. The collection also includes graphic presentation perspectives of Cumbernauld Town Centre from 1964
• Portraits. We hold a number of portraits in our collection including an engraving of Sir Walter Scott in his study
• Sir Basil Spence Archive. This holds 48 framed items and includes Sir Basil Spence’s Coventry Cathedral competition entry, presentation drawings of the British Embassy in Rome and the New Zealand Parliament building and an early design for the Meeting House at the University of Sussex

At the moment, access to the framed drawing collection is by appointment only. Please contact a member of the Collections team on +44 (0)131 662 1456.