Robert Gardner Collection

Collection

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Unfortunately, little is known about Robert Gardner (1889-1972) from primary sources held in the BSR Archive and that little concerns his scholarly activity during his stay in Rome, accurately recorded in the BSR Annual Reports (1912-1914). Gardner won a scholarship - the Craven fellowship - for two consecutive years and from 1912 to 1914 he had the opportunity to visit many locations in Central and Southern Italy, which he documented through a collection of nearly 1700 photographs. Pivotal is his exploration of the Roman roads which prompted him to take pictures of ancient routes such as the Via Appia, the Via Claudia Valeria, the Via Latina, the Via Traiana and the Via Valeria. Accompanying Gardner on his itinerary is Thomas Ashby (1874 - 1931), distinguished topographer and archaeologist, first student and third Director of the BSR from 1906 to 1925. Gardner took also pictures of landscapes in England and France, presumably when he was on his way back to England, and during the First World War, when he served in the British corps in France. A few photographs depict archaeological sites in Greece and Malta.

The journey that Robert Gardner undertook in April 1913 along the Via Appia together with Thomas Ashby, is recorded among the scholarly activities undertaken by BSR Fellows between 1912 and 1913. The excursion is a true exploration of the ancient Regina Viarum, the Via Appia, in the stretch between Benevento and Brindisi in order to reconstruct the old route of the Roman road and document its still visible remains. If great is the admiration for these two scholars who at the beginning of the 20th century tackled a route that was bumpy and uncomfortable at the time, immense is the gratitude for the iconographic contribution they left as a memory of that journey: a series of photographs taken at various stages, which today prove an invaluable resource for the study of the Benevento area.

The collection of Robert Gardner (1912-1914) is part of a more complex photographic archive consisting of numerous collections of different nature and origin which represents a precious research material for those interested in exploring visual materials and their social meaning from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century.

Reference number

PA-RG

Dates

1913-1925?

Creator

Gardner, Robert, 1889-1972 (British classicist) (Photographer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The Robert Gardner Collection is accessible by appointment with the archivist.

Biographical note

Robert Gardner was a British classicist who graduated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1912 after obtaining a First in both Part I and II of the Classics Tripos. In 1912 he was the recipient of the Craven Fellowship that brought him to the BSR, where he spent two years as a research student enjoying the guidance and companionship of Thomas Ashby, at that time BSR Director. Because he was carrying out research on the romanization of southern Italy, in 1913 and in 1914, in the company of Thomas Ashby and J.S. Beaumont, a fellow award-holder, he explored the via Appia and via Traiana from Rome to Brindisi. The First World War interrupted his studies as he volunteered for service in the Royal Lancaster Regiment and spent the duration of the war in France. Soon after he returned to Emmanuel College in 1919, he was appointed Bursar the following year and held the position of lecturer in Classics until 1957.

Extent

circa 1,700 Photographic Prints (in 6 boxes)

circa 1,700 Nitrate Negatives (in 4 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Private collection of photographs and negatives by Robert Gardner (1889-1972), British classicist and academic.

Arrangement

The photographic prints and negatives in the Robert Gardner Collection were numbered in ascending order by the author himself. The last number recorded in the 'Index Subject' sheets that were part of the negative portfolios is no. 1730. Descriptions for each individual photograph, including the places where the shots were taken, are carefully noted on the above mentioned sheets, some of which are in loose form whereas others are to be found inside the albums of negatives themselves (4 in total). Some negatives and photographic prints are missing and never found their way to the BSR.

Physical Location

The Robert Gardner Collection is located in the New basement (Photographic Archive, cupboard n. 5).

Provenance

The Robert Gardner Collection was acquired by the BSR in 1986, thanks to the mediation of Mrs Joyce Reynolds (1918-2022), British classicist and epigrapher, who was at that time a fellow at Cambridge University. In a letter sent to BSR Director Graeme Barker, she reported to have come across a collection of photographs and negatives taken by the late Robert Gardner in Italy in 1912. In a passage of her letter, she says: "It seems to me very possible that they contain pictures of items now lost or damaged; and in the past I know that such collections sometimes found a welcoming home at BSR". After receving the relevant authorisation from his family - the collection was a donation -, the materials found their home at the BSR in the Photographic Archive.

Bibliography

Ceraudo, G. (ed) (2012), Lungo l'Appia e la Traiana: le fotografie di Robert Gardner in viaggio con Thomas Ashby nel territorio di Beneventum agli inizi del Novecento. Grottaminarda (AV): Delta 3 Edizioni.
Castrianni, L. and Ceraudo, G. (eds) (2013), La Regina Viarum e la via Traiana: da benevento a Brindisi nelle foto della collezione Gardner. Grottaminarda (AV): Delta 3 Edizioni.
Jones, J.P. (2019), The cauldron of war, 1914-1918 : the experiences of Robert Gardner, MC Cambridge classicist and infantry officer. Bloomington: Xlibris US.