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[28] Alternative design for the Haymarket (east) front of the opera house, c1789, unexecuted
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Reference number
SM Adam volume 28/25
Purpose
[28] Alternative design for the Haymarket (east) front of the opera house, c1789, unexecuted
Aspect
Elevation of a seventeen-bay, two-and-a-half-storey building as SM Adam volume 1/62
Scale
bar scale of 1 inch to 10 feet
Inscribed
Another Design for the Opera House (in the hand of William Adam) / faint pencil inscription right centre and some dimensions given
Signed and dated
- c1789
c1789
Medium and dimensions
Pen, pencil and wash on laid paper (580 x 459)
Hand
Possibly
Office hand, possibly Robert Morison or Daniel Robertson, with title inscription in the hand of William Adam
Office hand, possibly Robert Morison or Daniel Robertson, with title inscription in the hand of William Adam
Verso
5 (brown ink) / opera house / 6 / These go in with the ____ (modern curatorial hand)
Watermark
PVL
Notes
Bolton suggests that this design may be incorrectly inscribed, and alternatively may form part of a scheme for Parliament House, Edinburgh. There are similarities in the designs, but the use of the Royal Coat of Arms and musical motifs suggest that it does in fact form part of the opera house scheme. This is further indicated by the seventeen-bay formation used, as Iain Gordon Brown highlights, the design for Parliament House is for a thirteen-bay building, and surmounted by the City of Edinburgh Coat of Arms.
This elevation varies from the plan designs SM Adam volumes 28/23-24.
This elevation varies from the plan designs SM Adam volumes 28/23-24.
Literature
Bolton, 1922, Volume II, Index p. 40
Sheppard, 1960, Volume XXIX, (i), p. 249
For a full list of literature references see scheme notes.
Sheppard, 1960, Volume XXIX, (i), p. 249
For a full list of literature references see scheme notes.
Level
Drawing
Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk