Kim;

When you're talking about "dioramas", can I assume you're talking about
MINIATURE dioramas, such as the superb First World War dioramas at the AWM?

There are relatively few, I think, that antedate those at the AWM, other
than what Patrick has mentioned. I would draw your attention to the superb
diorama of Ieper at the end of that war, which was featured in the old
"Salient Museum" on the second floor of the Cloth Hall in that city and
which may still be on display in the expanded and completely
redesigned/rebuilt museum, now called "In Flanders Fields". I believe Piet
Chielens is still the curator.
This diorama is contempory to those at the AWM.

Since 1920, most military and some historical museums have included them to
greater or lesser degrees. The Canadian War Museum had a very fine diorama
of the landings on Juno Beach in Normandy. Good soundscape (now gone) and
imaginative light which gave you the view from a German bunker as dawn broke
(also gone). Sadly, the diorama has deteriorated very badly, but still
attracts visitors. It is now so fragile it cannot be moved to the new museum
now being designed. Several other dioramas, smaller in scale, were designed
and built for the museum by the late Peter Pym-Hember and these are located
at Vimy House, CWM's curatorial building, parts of which are open to the
public.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization's model shop (now closed, I understand)
produced excellent miniature dioramas for use in history exhibits. All are
of quite recent origin, as far as I know.

Harry

Harry Needham Consulting Services Inc.
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Kanata ON K2L 1H1 Canada
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