But, for much of its history, the V&A only exhibited tiny fragments of its world-renowned collection of photography to the public. Today, the museum holds upwards of 800,000 photographic items. This early recognition of photography was pioneering, marking the V&A out as the first museum to collect photography in the world.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London began to develop a permanent collection of photography in 1852, the year it was founded.
