Help Us Digitise the Society’s Prints & Drawings

Unlocking a hidden archive of Art and History

The Society’s collection of over 45,000 prints and drawings is a remarkable visual archive of history, culture, and scientific discovery, spanning the 17th and 19th centuries. Yet over 90% of these works remain locked away, discoverable only through an onsite card catalogue at Burlington House.

Why This Matters

For centuries, our collection of Prints & Drawings has been an essential resource for scholars, historians, and art lovers. These prints and drawings—many created by some of the most celebrated artists such as William Blake, George Vertue, and Thomas Girtin—document historical artefacts, buildings, and sites from Britain and beyond and portray important historical figures. In some cases, they record unique treasures that are now lost. However, without proper cataloguing and digitisation, this invaluable heritage remains hidden from the world.

How You Can Help

We are seeking friends to help us meet the costs of a dedicated Curatorial Research Assistant who will begin the enormous task of cataloguing, digitising, and sharing this collection online. Our Curatorial Research Assistant is currently scoping out the project to assess the scale of the work, identify priorities, and develop a methodology to catalogue and research our works on paper. This is the first-ever professional effort to make these works accessible to the public.

From £50 Friends of the Society’s Prints & Drawings will help us:

✔ Preserve and protect these fragile artworks for future generations.

✔ Enable worldwide access to thousands of historical prints and drawings.

✔ Support scholarly research and public appreciation of this rich visual history.

Join Us as a Friend of the Society’s Prints and Drawings:

Your contribution will help unlock a forgotten archive and make it freely accessible to all.

All Friends of the Society’s Prints & Drawings will be acknowledged with thanks on the Society’s Collection Management System.

Join Us as a Friend of SAL’S Prints and Drawings

Your contribution will help unlock a forgotten archive and make it freely accessible to all.

As a Friend your name will be permanently displayed alongside the digitised catalogue, acknowledging your indispensable support

Please note: as a Friend we will keep you regularly informed and invite you to preview displays and exhibitions.

Join today
Prints & Drawings
Title*
First Name*
Surname*
Phone Number*
Email Address*

Gift Designation
Thank you for choosing to donate to the Society of Antiquaries of London (registered charity no. 207237). Your donation will go towards cataloguing SAL’s Prints and Drawings and be used to support this charitable objective.
I am happy for this donation to go towards our cataloguing SAL’s Prins & Drawings.
Gift aid: costs you nothing, helps us keep going When you tick the gift aid box, we will receive an extra 25% on top of your donation, and it doesn't cost you a penny. When you choose to 'Gift Aid' your donation, the Government gives us 25% extra (25p for each £1 you donated). By choosing to 'Gift Aid' your donation, you are confirming that you have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for the current tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that the Society of Antiquaries of London (and/or Kelmscott Manor) and other charities will reclaim on your gifts for the current tax year (Council Tax and VAT do not count). Please notify the Society if you want to cancel this declaration, change your name or home address, or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.
Gift aid: costs you nothing, helps us keep going
When you tick the gift aid box, we will receive an extra 25% on top of your donation, and it doesn't cost you a penny. When you choose to 'Gift Aid' your donation, the Government gives us 25% extra (25p for each £1 you donated). By choosing to 'Gift Aid' your donation, you are confirming that you have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for the current tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that the Society of Antiquaries of London (and/or Kelmscott Manor) and other charities will reclaim on your gifts for the current tax year (Council Tax and VAT do not count). Please notify the Society if you want to cancel this declaration, change your name or home address, or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.
Yes, I would like The Society of Antiquaries to claim Gift Aid on my donation
If you would like to claim Gift Aid please provide your address details
Street Address Address Line 2 City County / State / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

Become a Friend of SAL’s Prints & Drawings

Friend of SAL’s Prints & Drawings - £50
Enter another donation amount to support the campaign

Total
£ 0.00
Δ

Two watercolour drawings by Paul Demidoff, F.S.A. (elected 1768) depicting the barrows and grave finds discovered during the construction of a road across Siberia, c.1773. The drawings were engraved by James Basire (1730-1802) and published in Archaeologia, vol. 2, issue 2, pp. 222-26.

Join Us as a Friend of SAL’S Prints and Drawings

Prints & Drawings

Gift aid: costs you nothing, helps us keep going

In this section

Menu

Search