As well as providing an important historical record, many of the historic prints provide a striking visual representation of some of the best known places in Wiltshire. | "They provide us with an important visual record of a time before photography." | | Paul Connell, museum officer |
The exhibition, called 'The Printers' Art', is touring venues throughout Wiltshire over the next year. The first venue will be Devizes Library from January 6 to January 31. The exhibition will then move on to Chippenham in February, followed by Malmesbury in March. The exhibition will continue to tour Wiltshire throughout 2005.
 | | 1824 print of Fonthill Abbey, near Tisbury |
Images featured in the exhibition include an 1824 print of Fonthill Abbey, near Tisbury by John Preston Neale, one of the most skilled of early 19th century artists and engravers. Fonthill Abbey was designed by James Wyatt for the Gothic novelist and wealthy eccentric, William Beckford, in 1796. The building was vast, with a central tower 280 feet high. However, much of it was destroyed when the tower collapsed in 1825.
 | | Railway accident near Downton - detail |
The exhibition also shows that accidents on Britain's railway network are nothing new. One dramatic print in the exhibition depicts the carnage following a horrific railway accident near Downton. The scene shows the aftermath of an accident on the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway at North Charford on June 14th, 1884.
 | | Railway accident near Downton - detail |
One of the railway carriages derailed after the train crossed a bridge over the river Avon, resulting in seven other carriages sliding down an embankment. Four people were killed and another 30 injured in the crash. Other prints in the exhibition include an attractive colour print showing Devizes Green from around 1840, and a mid-19th century print depicting a view of Calne from the canal.
 | | Print showing Devizes Green from around 1840 |
Museums officer for the county council, Paul Connell, told BBC Wiltshire: "As well historic photographs the collection includes many fine examples of prints of locations in Wiltshire. "These provide us with an important visual record of a time before photography. Many of the prints in the collection are also very appealing from an artistic point of view."
 | | View of Calne from the canal. |
Wiltshire County Council's Historic Photograph and Print Collection boasts a total of 36,000 plus images, divided between the reference library in Trowbridge and the library in Salisbury. Three quarters of the images are in Trowbridge, with the rest in Salisbury relating mainly to the south Wiltshire area. | 
