Talk to Edinburgh University - Celtic and Scottish Studies

Edinburgh University, School of Literature, Language and Cultures, Celtic and Scottish Studies

2nd Year Lecture - March 3 2014

Ethnographic Photography and Postcards in Scotland

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This talk was subsequently given to Colinton Literary Society on February 4, 2015 under the title

Old Photographs and Postcards of Scotland

For further details on any of the topics below, please see these pages: Ethnographic Photography Ethnographic Postcards

PHOTOGRAPHY

Early History

Page 1

PHOTOGRAPHY

Cameras and Photos

Page 2

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic Societies

Page 3

PHOTOGRAPHY

Professional
Photographers

Page 4

POSTCARDS

Early History

Page 5

POSTCARDS

Postcard Use

Page 6

POSTCARDS

Publishers

Page 7

POSTCARDS

Views of Scotland

Page 8

Here are some earliest postcards published by George Stewart & Co.
These views of Edinburgh, with quotes from Burns or others, leave lots of room for the message to be written below the picture. These cards were probably published around 1899. They have not been posted.

Princes Street - looking west

Holyrood Palace and Arthur's Seat

St Giles Church

This next series of George Stewart's cards was probably published around 1900 or 1901. They continue the theme of popular views of Edinburgh accompanied by a line or two of verse. But the picture has become larger, leaving less room for the message.

Holyrood Palace and Arthur's Seat

"Where Scotia's Kings of other years
fam'd heroes had their royal home."

BURNS' ADDRESS TO EDINBURGH

John Knox House

"Mine own romantic town"

SCOTT

Edinburgh Castle and National Galleries

"I view yon Empress of the North, sit on her hilly throne."

SCOTT

George Stewart & Co made their cards more appealing by adding colour.

Edinburgh Castle
from
George IV Bridge

© For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

Edinburgh Castle
from
Grassmarket

© For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

General Post Office and Waterloo Place

© For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

General Post Office and Waterloo Place

In this postcard and the one above,
George Stewart & Co have added an advert
for their postcards to the side of the tram!

© Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

_______________________________

Valentine & Sons

Valentine & Sons of Dundee published an extensive range of photographic views in the 19th century and postcards in the 20th century.

The first card below is the view we saw earlier, published in Valentine's 'Photogravure Series'.

Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh

Here are three more postcards from the same series:

Edinburgh Castle and National Gallery

Edinburgh Castle and Ross Fountain

Princes Street, looking east

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Valentine produced many series of cards. Here are three cards from their 'Moonlight Series' published around 1903. They appear to be daytime photos printed darker and with the lights and moon added afterwards!

Scott Monument

Princes Street - Looking East

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Waterloo Place and Calton Hill

Valentine & Sons made good use of their negatives. Sometimes, the same negative would be used as a basis for many issues of postcard, perhaps published over several decades.
All six postcards below have used the same 1902 negative. It sometimes appears in black and white, sometimes in sepia, sometimes hand-tinted, and with and without tartan border, and in the later years with some of the transport removed. This card continued to be sold up to the late-1930s.

Calton Hill - Post Card 1

This view looks along Waterloo Place to Calton Hill.

Rock House Studio is at the right-hand end of the upper row of houses.

This card was sent through the post in August 1904.

Calton Hill - Post Card 2

Here is the same view but cropped a little. The cable car is less obvious here.

Calton Hill - Post Card 3

The view has been converted to mat sepia and cropped more.

The only transport left in this photo is the horse and cart.

Calton Hill - Post Card 4

The card is now produced as glossy sepia

The horse and cart have now been removed, but not the men standing behind it.

This card was sent through the post in July 1934.

Calton Hill - Post Card 5

Here the picture has been colour tinted.

The artist seems to have forgotten about the pavement in the foreground.

Calton Hill - Post Card 6

This time, the photo has been given a clear blue sky and a tartan border.

Valentines added a range of tartan borders to many of their Edinburgh views.

Valentines sometimes added people or vehicles to their postcards to add more interest or to create a different atmosphere, perhaps elegantly dressed ladies would be added to the streets in the suburbs of Edinburgh.

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James Patrick

Here are three postcards of Swanston from the early 1900s. The first has an undivided back - i.e. it would have been published in 1902 or earlier. At that time, the sender was allowed to write only the address on the back of the card, and no message.
Swanston is a small village at the foot of the Pentland Hills, about six miles south of the centre of Edinburgh.
I was interested to read the message on the front of the first of these postcards. Over a hundred years ago, when this card was posted, the sender wrote:

"Very old fashioned looking place this.

Swanston Village - Edinburgh

The Roaring Shepherd's Cottage, Swanston

James Patrick - 'Castle Series' postcards