Ella Grad-Arndt tells us about her experience as a Work Placement with GSA Archives and Collections, cataloguing the collection of Sidney Wesley Birnage.
I recently had the opportunity to work on a few collections at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) Archives and Collections for a work placement for my Master’s in Art History at the University of Glasgow.
I was fortunate enough to process the collection of the architect Sidney Wesley Birnage, who was a student at The GSA in the 1930s.
In May 1937, Birnage finished his thesis which was titled The Foreign Influence on Scottish Architecture of the 16th and 17th Centuries. Within this 74-page manuscript, there are numerous beautiful architectural drawings. These include door knockers, castle sculptures, windows, doorways, and roofs in various styles, including the Gothic and Renaissance.
In his thesis, Birnage expands on how examples from Scottish architecture, such as Stirling Castle, were influenced by European architecture. He highlights influences from the French, Dutch, English, Italian, and Iberian Peninsula, using astonishing drawn images to support his argument.
I find it very intriguing to see the teacher’s corrections written in pencil within the document. Furthermore, it is very interesting to access all his student notes from his time at the GSA including architectural information on a range of matters from laws, to sewage, to English gardens. I find it hard to grasp that his notes were all done by hand and are all so extremely neat! I don’t see any corrections in his notebook where he had to review and fix his mistakes.
Birnage’s notebook is essentially one large textbook on architecture from the 1930s which I find immensely fascinating. After the Second World War, Birnage went on to make a brochure for a local home building company in Lanarkshire. This brochure features some charming graphics.
As a fellow student, it is nice to see the hard work and the professional trajectory of students from the past. I am very grateful for my time at the GSA, working with historic materials, kind co-workers, and being able to learn about all these wonderful people who worked with the GSA.
