eishiya reviewed Highgate Cemetery by Felix Barker
Beautifully gloomy, but not great ref
2 stars
Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla is a collection of black and white photographs by John Gay, accompanied by notes on the cemetery's history and some of its more interesting residents (and Julius Beer, who was apparently only interesting for his mausoleum). Many of the photos are moody, mysterious, and inspiring. Some of them are the usual cemetery photography fare - bland portraits of angel statues - but the decades of overgrowth makes even these look unlike most other representatives of this "genre".
In the back is a map of the cemetery, and many of the photos have their locations marked on it, alongside many un-photographed locations mentioned in the commentary. Unfortunately, the 70+ locations are numbered in the order they were mentioned in the text, which makes actually finding them on the map rather annoying. The photos are undated and show all seasons, and the text implies they could be from …
Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla is a collection of black and white photographs by John Gay, accompanied by notes on the cemetery's history and some of its more interesting residents (and Julius Beer, who was apparently only interesting for his mausoleum). Many of the photos are moody, mysterious, and inspiring. Some of them are the usual cemetery photography fare - bland portraits of angel statues - but the decades of overgrowth makes even these look unlike most other representatives of this "genre".
In the back is a map of the cemetery, and many of the photos have their locations marked on it, alongside many un-photographed locations mentioned in the commentary. Unfortunately, the 70+ locations are numbered in the order they were mentioned in the text, which makes actually finding them on the map rather annoying. The photos are undated and show all seasons, and the text implies they could be from anywhere between 1936 to 1984.
As reference for artists and writers, I'm not sure I recommend it. If you're looking specifically of images of Highgate Cemetery during the period it was largely neglected between World War II and the 1970s, this is probably one of the better sources. If you're looking to get a feel for the atmosphere that inspired tales of the Highgate Vampire and the devotion of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery, I think you'll find some of it here. But if you're looking for a detailed history of the cemetery or to learn about Victorian cemetery architecture or customs more generally, then this isn't it.