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Powis Gateway, Old Aberdeen
165 Powis Gateway, Old Aberdeen. These curious towers stand at the gate leading to Powis Lodge, almost opposite King's College, Old Aberdeen. They were constructed by John Leslie of Powis, who succeeded his father, Hugh Leslie of Powis, the builder of Powis House (1802).
John Leslie succeeded his father in 1812, and the towers were finished in 1834. The crescent on the top of one of the towers is the crest of the Frasers, the predecessors of the Leslies in the property of Powis.
As indicated in the bottom right, this etching of the gateway is by Aberdeen artist Henry Jackson Simpson (1893-1963), known professionally as Jackson Simpson. He was a prolific and successful local artist who specialised in etchings and watercolours of architecture, land and seascapes and wildlife.
Simpson died at his home at 58 Craigton Road, aged 70, on 28th March 1963. His obituary, which gives an account of his life, featured in the next day's Press & Journal.
He was a native of Aberdeen, the son of William Jackson, an art dealer in Diamond Street. He trained as a lithographer and joined his father in business. He served in WWI with the Northumberland Fusiliers and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery.
In 1935 he took over the family business following the death of his father. He was well travelled around Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire and this is reflected in his art. University related subjects such as Marischal College, King's College and, here, the Powis Gateway, were among his most well known works.
A keen sportsperson, and prominent freemason, he also set-up the Craigton Club and was highly involved with the Northern Arts Club.
An article titled 'The charming story of Jackson Simpson: Scotland's celebrated etcher' featured on the Press & Journal website, in partnership with the McEwan Gallery near Ballater, on 8th June 2022. The feature was produced to highlight an exhibition of Simpson's work at the aforementioned gallery. Portrait of A. B. Hutchison
303 A portrait of A. B. Hutchison (1862-1928) wearing the medal and chain of office as convener of the Incorporated Trades in 1906.
Hutchison was one of the most successful bakers in Aberdeen of his time. He was born in the district of Crimond near Peterhead and he learnt his trade in Dundee. His first of many bakeries was opened at 62 Broad Street.
Following considerable success, he opened the Central Bakery at 123 George Street in 1893. This served as the producing centre for a large number of retail shops.
The business was successfully continued by his family well into the later 20th century. An obituary for Hutchison can be found in the Press & Journal of 18th February 1928, page 8.
In addition to running his business, and involvement in the Incorporated Trades, Hutchison was a town councillor, including being made a baillie, served as a Justice of the Peace and was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Lower Justice Mill, Union Glen
810 Justice Mills of one kind or another are first mentioned in the 1300s, and were the site of a famous battle. In their final form, an Upper Justice Mill occupied a site later partially covered by the Odeon Cinema building, while the Lower Mill stood in Union Glen, at the bottom of the steep slope with its mill dam above and behind it (see water wheel centre left). The left hand part of the building and the wheel were removed when the cinema was built, the dam was drained and a thoroughfare created into Union Glen, but the central and right hand parts survived, albeit derelict, into the 1960s.
The wagon in front of the buildings is painted with the business name James Alexander & Son, Grain Merchants. The 1866-67 Ordnance Survey large scale town plan of Aberdeen indicates that Lower Justice Mill was a corn mill.
A black cat can also be seen in the centre right of the image and a woman carrying some type of load is in front of the waterwheel.
Correspondent Geoffrey Mann has been in touch to inform us that in 1793 there was a miller at the Justice Mills called George Reid. This information was found from an Old Machar baptismal record for his and Margaret Smith's (his wife) daughter Elizabeth.
Coincidentally, there was another George Reid (1826-1881) who was a partner in the prominent seedsmen and agricultural implement makers, Messrs Benjamin Reid & Co., who had their Bon-Accord Works just to the east of the Justice Mills. The obituary of this later George Reid from The Aberdeen Journal 16/07/1881 states that at the time his death he lived with his two sisters in Justice Mill Lane. Sandilands: aerial photograph
850 An aerial view of Sandilands Chemical Works looking east towards the sea. This image likely dates from around the mid-20th century.
Some of the houses on Garvock Wynd, the street on the right of this image, have disappeared compared to earlier aerial views. The next street along to the left, with "the Big Hoose" on its corner, is Baltic Street. Miller Street runs along the bottom of the image.
These chemical works began in 1848 when brothers John and George Miller of Paisley leased the land adjacent to gas works that had opened in 1844. Their intention was to process the by-products of coal gas manufacture. The business operated as John Miller & Company, known locally as "stinky Miller's", and went on to manufacture a range of products for North East agriculture.
An obituary for John Miller can be found in the Aberdeen Free Press of 6th March 1894, page 4. An obituary for George Miller featured on page 4 of the Aberdeen Weekly Journal of 11th September 1889.
In around 1928, Miller & Co. became part of Scottish Agricultural Industries (SAI). In the 1930s, the first SAI manager, Mr. Bremner, was appointed and this marked the beginning of the end of the Miller era.
SAI was formed in 1928, part of ICI agricultural division (ICI owned 51%), by combining firms such as J. Miller & Co. in Aberdeen, Milne in Dyce and firms in Carnoustie, Ayr, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Beyond the chemical works can be seen Queen's Links and the Pleasure Beach across Wellington Street. The esplanade and North Sea are visible beyond. Aberdeen Suburban Tramways
1052 This is tram no. 5 outside the Mannofield depot of the Aberdeen Suburban Tramways.
Inspector Kerr is on the platform and Driver George Cormack is beside him.
This was one of the first trams purchased by the company which started business in 1904. The tram was built by the British Electrical Engineering Co, Loughborough and was one of six delivered in sections by rail to Aberdeen Joint Station in June 1904 before being taken to the depot for assembly.
They were double deck with the upper deck being open topped. The upper deck had 35 seats with 33 below.
The lower deck was split into 3 compartments with the centre one being non-smoking. It had leather upholstery and horsehair padded benches that sat 7 on each side.
The other (smoking) compartments had slatted wooden benches seating 2 to each side. The company ceased running trams in 1927.
Behind tram no. 5 in this image can be seen part of the Aberdeen Corporation Tramways water spraying tramcar. George Street
1193 This 1987 photo of the west side of George Street shows nos. 29 and 31 in their last days of trading before closing prior to their demolition for the shopping development to be known as the Bon Accord Centre.
John Martin, butcher, had been in business here for nearly 100 years. The original John Martin opened this shop after having been manager in the butchery department of the Northern Co-operative Society. He retired in 1932 and the business was carried on in the same name by his two sons. On the door was the sign: "Redevelopment closure - this shop will cease trading Saturday 11 April 1987".
Sometime prior to the demolition of the building, the flats above these shops had been renovated as accommodation for students at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology (now The Robert Gordon University). A. B. Hutchison
1891 A portrait of A. B. Hutchison (1862-1928) wearing the medal and chain of office as convener of the Incorporated Trades in 1906.
Hutchison was one of the most successful bakers in Aberdeen of his time. He was born in the district of Crimond near Peterhead and he learnt his trade in Dundee. His first of many bakeries was opened at 62 Broad Street.
Following considerable success, he opened the Central Bakery at 123 George Street in 1893. This served as the producing centre for a large number of retail shops.
The business was successfully continued by his family well into the later 20th century. An obituary for Hutchison can be found in the Press & Journal of 18th February 1928, page 8.
In addition to running his business, and involvement in the Incorporated Trades, Hutchison was a town councillor, including being made a baillie, served as a Justice of the Peace and was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Treasure 32: George Washington Wilson South Africa Photography Collection
2320 George Washington Wilson is one of the great names in 19th century photography, famous for capturing images of people, buildings and landscapes across Scotland. His photography drew attention to the beauty of his country, but his travels further afield are not as well known.
As an innovative pioneer in photography, George Washington Wilson's work reflected the reality and attitudes of society during his lifetime (1823-1893). In our collections we hold a vast selection of photographs and portraits taken by the G. W. Wilson Company in South Africa. These images were taken by his son, Charles Wilson, and Fred Hardie, a company photographer of George Washington Wilson & Co.
The company's photographs of South Africa captured scenes of the country which would have been perceived as unusual and exotic to British people at the time.
South Africa and its Treasures
The majority of British colonization was concentrated in South Africa during the 19th century. In the past, the country was colonized in order to control one of the main trade routes to India. Due to the abundance of resources such as spices and tea, European interest in Africa increased dramatically in the late 19th century, especially with the discovery of gold and diamonds in the 1860s-1880s.
On their return to Britain, George Washington Wilson & Co presented many photographs showing these natural resources, from the Robinson Gold mine in Johannesburg to De Beers Diamond Mines in Kimberley.
Tea was also a very valuable resource, and people in Britain were keen to learn more about its production and its use in South Africa.
Photography and Tourism
The collection held by Aberdeen City Libraries shows local places of interest in South Africa. These photographs capture Cape Town and Johannesburg, two of the biggest cities in the country. Many Europeans emigrated to these cities in the 19th century, due to the discovery of valuable resources in the surrounding area.
With the rapid rise of tourism in this period, George Washington Wilson & Co. looked for new ways to promote and sell their work. Around 1880-1890, they started to commercialize their photography via picture postcards, a relatively new concept in Britain. This new form of media met with huge success as it was easy to write and cheap to send. It soon became the standard way to communicate with friends and family when abroad, a holiday tradition which remains today.
The postcards, in colour and having a standard size, featured many different scenes from South Africa and were viewed as an innovative way to publicize the country - and the works of photographic firms such as George Washington Wilson & Co. 446 and 448 Union Street
2615 This photograph of Union Street was taken in 1936 and shows the premises of John Raffan, shoe fitting specialists, at 446 and Dugan & Mitchell, clothiers, at 448 Union Street.
James Dugan and Duncan Mitchell entered into partnership around 1919. Mitchell had previously been in the former's employment as a cutter.
Dugan had worked as a tailor on his own account since about 1907 in premises in Bon Accord Street, Rose Street and 443 Union Street. Prior to this he was a commercial traveller representing two local tailoring firms; Messers Milne and Low and Messers Kenneth McLean and Sons.
He became a well respected figure in the tailoring and clothing trade in Aberdeen and the North East. He was the son of a china merchant in George Street called Hugh Dugan. James was married and had a daughter. He died suddenly at his residence at Glen-Shiel, Bieldside on 10th May 1927.
Duncan Mitchell was a native of Largs, Ayrshire and served his apprenticeship in Glasgow. He was a keen golfer and was a member of the Deeside Golf Club. He died aged 73 after a short illness in January 1955.
John Raffan died on Sunday 10th June 1906 after suffering an apoplectic seizure in his Union Steet shop the preceding Friday. He was 52 years old at the time of his death. He was born in the parish of Ordiquhill and his father was a shoemaker named James Raffan.
He served his apprenticeship in Portsoy with a draper called James Guthrie before coming to Aberdeen. He worked with Messers J. & A. Gibb and Mr James Saint, warehousemen and silk mercers, prior to starting his own business as a boot and shoe merchant in Market Street and then Union Street.
Beyond his business, Raffan was deeply involved in religious and philanthropic work. He was a force in the establishment of Union Grove Baptist Church and was connected to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, as a life member, the Aberdeen Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, the Seabank Home, and Stronach's Close Mission. He was married and had a daughter and two sons.
Above the shop fronts is a sign for Imperial Typewriters. The buildings in this photograph were across the road, just west, from the Capitol Cinema. They are still visible today. In more recent times they have been occupied by general food shops such as the Co-operative and Costcutters. McKay's of Queen Street
2764 This photograph shows the exterior of McKay's clothing shop at 29-31 Queen Street in 2018. The business dates from around the 1910s and this large 2 floor outlet was opened on 25th March 1971.
A newspaper advert from the time describes their stock as "Workwear, Footwear, Leisurewear, Camping Equipment, plus our usual Government Surplus Lines".
The advert states that the business was a contractor to the Ministry of Defence.
Prior to this larger store, the business operated at 24-26 Queen Street. Ordnance Survey maps from the 1950s indicate that this address was on the opposite side of the road, across from Greyfriars Church.
Correspondent Alan Duthie has pointed out that McKay's was also located in the building on the southern side of the junction of Broad Street and Queen Street. This can be seen in old photographs. These were the same premises previously occupied by George and James Anderson, ironmongers, and later Ewen & Co., cabinetmakers and furnishers and had the address of 34 Broad Street and 2 Queen Street.
McKay's was likely at this location shortly prior to its demolition for the widening of Broad Street and the construction of the Town House extension. Alan remembers that the shop was entered from Queen Street and the door on Broad Street was not used.
This building at 29-31 Queen Street was demolished in the early months of 2021. McKay's had relocated to Great Northern Road. Regent Quay
3578 One of the two plates depicting a pannier tank shunting engine.
It appears to be 0-4-0ST model locomotive built in 1925 by Andrew Barclay to work at the Aberdeen Corporation Gas Works, as indicated on its side. It was employed there until it was replaced by diesel power in 1964.
The locomotives transported coal from the harbour to the gas works. As the railway ran alongside public roads they were fitted with side skirts which covered their motions.
The locomotive has been restored as a static exhibit at the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford, Aberdeenshire.
In the background can be seen the businesses of George Bissett & Son, engineer and blacksmith at the entrance to Sugarhouse Lane, M. Craigmile, tobacconist at 73 Regent Quay, another tobacconist and grocer with the surname Wattie, and the offices of the Aberdeen, Newcastle, and Hull Steam Co., Ltd at number 79. This latter business was at the junction with Commerce Street. 35-37 Union Street
3830 Thomsons', a branch of the confectioners, at 35 Union street, the entrance to Mackay Bros. & Co. (Aberdeen) Ltd. at 35a, the offices of which can be seen above, and H. P. Tyler, a boot and shoe shop, at 37 Union Street. The offices of George Anderson, a chartered accountant can also be seen on the first floor. Anderson's business was in 35a Union Street. This photograph dates from 1937. 70-80 George Street
4334 A photograph looking south east towards 70-80 George Street in around 1986 or 1987.
This image is one of a series taken by Aberdeen City Council to record buildings prior to the redevelopment of the area and construction of the Bon Accord Centre.
The Buttery, a bakery of the A. B. Hutchison firm, can be seen on the left. The bakery appears to have been emptied ahead of demolition. The units further along the street also stand empty.
From 1893 onward, A. B. Hutchison was based in the nearby Central Bakery at 123 George Street. Their shop The Buttery was known for afternoon teas and morning coffee.
The business was started by Alexander Burnett Hutchison (1862-1928), with an initial bakery at 63 Broad Street. The business was carried on by his family throughout much of the 20th century. An obituary for the founder can be found in the Press & Journal of 18th February 1928, page 8.
Approximately where these buildings stood is now the George Street pedestrian entrance to the Bon Accord Centre. The Foundry
4409 A photograph of The Foundry pub and restaurant at 41-43 Holburn Street taken on 21st March 2024.
43 Holburn Street, today The Foundry, was built in around 1915/16 as a motor showroom and workshop for Mr. John Harper, engineer of Bournemouth, to a design by architect George B. Mitchell (Aberdeen Daily Journal, 20th September 1915, p. 4).
In November 1916, during the First World War, the Harper Motor Company put their new garage, at the junction of Holburn Street and Justice Mill Lane, at the disposal of the Red Cross. The commodious building, ideal for transport work, became the headquarters of the Aberdeen Transport Section of the Red Cross Society (Evening Express, 21st November 1916, p. 5).
43 Holburn Street was occupied and in use by the Harper Motor Company until at least 1979. In 1986, George Dowdles, who had ran a roller skating rink called Rollerland Disco in Bon-Accord Terrace, proposed to turn the premises into a leisure centre for teenagers (Press & Journal, 19th June 1986, p. 3).
The new venture at 43 Holburn Street was to be a soda and burger café modelled on the TV show Happy Days and called Up The Junction. It opened in October 1986 (P&J, 10th October 1986, p. 3).
Up The Junction appears to have struggled financially and 43 Holburn Street was remodelled and opened as Rollerland Mark II in August 1987 (EE, 22nd February 1988, p. 8). The original Rollerland skating rink had been on the second floor of 5 Bon-Accord Terrace and operated from 26th June 1981 to mid-1986.
Rollerland on Holburn Street was briefly owned by Cove Rangers football club and was temporarily renamed Wheels Leisure Centre. George Dowdles remained its manager (P&J, 1st April 1989, p. 1). The venue was reopened as Rollerland under the ownership of Aberdeen District Council in July 1989. DJs Robin Galloway and Gary Stein provided music for a reopening gala night (EE, 27th July 1989, p. 5).
Rollerland finally closed in February 1991 on safety grounds. Water leaks had warped the floor making it unsafe for skating. The venue had struggled financially and the estimated cost of repair was too large (P&J, 18th September 1991, p. 3). In June 1995, there was a significant fire in the building (EE, 19 June 1995, p. 2).
In September 1995, the company Alloa Pubs and Restaurants, who had leased the building from the District Council, unveiled plans for a £500,000 transformation of the run-down property. It was to be turned into a prestige bar-diner called The Granary, with a lay-out based on the company's Glasgow venue of the same name (EE, 16th September 1995, p. 7).
With a final redevelopment cost of £600,000, The Granary opened to the public on 6th February 1996 (P&J, 7th February 1996, p. 11).
A search of Aberdeen City valuation rolls indicates that by April 2005 The Granary had changed its name to The Foundry. At the time, The Foundry was operated by Mitchell & Butlers, one of the largest restaurant and pub businesses in the UK.
Mitchell & Butlers own the O'Neill's chain of Irish pubs, the first branch of which opened at 9-10 Back Wynd, Aberdeen on 22nd September 1994. This was formerly the premises of the Tappit Hen pub (P&J, 16th September 1994, p. 3).
In 2010, Mitchell & Butlers disposed of 333 of their town and community pubs to the Stonegate Pub Company. This likely included The Foundry ('Our history' page on Mitchell & Butlers website: https://www.mbplc.com/about-us/our-history/: accessed 22/03/2024).
In November 2023, The Foundry reopened to the public following a brief closure for a significant redevelopment. Backed by a £277,000 investment from the Stonegate Group, the UK's largest pub company, the work aimed to shift the venue from a sports-focused pub to a more family-friendly food destination. The exterior design changed from a black and gold colour scheme to the red and gold of Aberdeen Football Club (Aberdeen Business News, 23rd November 2023, https://aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk/the-foundry-unveils-stylish-transformation-after-major-investment/: accessed 22/03/2024).
Bowman & Webster, Cork Manufacturers
164 A receipt from Bowman & Webster, Cork Manufacturers & Bottle Merchants. The document dating from 21st April, 1916 features illustrations of the premises at 8 & 10 South Constitution Street and lists other offices in Dundee and Sevilla, Spain. The receipt is for the purchase of beer corks by the Douglas Arms Hotel in Banchory.
The business of Bowman & Webster had a long history in the City of Aberdeen. It was initially a partnership between Thomas Bowman and Fred Webster. The partnership was dissolved in 1901, with Bowman leaving, but the company retained its original name throughout its history.
Thomas Bowman died suddenly, aged between 40 and 50, on 28th August 1905 and his obituary can be read in the next day's Aberdeen Journal. Like his father and grandfather he had joined the army and served in North India with the Gordon Highlanders.
Fred Webster and his son ran the business after the departure of Bowman. A descendant of the family has been touch and explained that both had troubled lives and died relatively young. The business was then taken over by John Webster, Fred's brother, in 1925.
The obituary of Fred Webster can be read in the Press & Journal of 25th June 1924. In addition to describing his successful business and work in Spain, the article describes him as follows:
"A man of genial disposition, Mr Webster was exceedingly popular with all who knew him. He was a keen bowler and a member of the Northern Bowling Club. For many years Mr Webster was a well-known pigeon fancier and breeder, and won prizes all over the country, including Crystal Palace, and his services were often in request as a judge."
Before taking over the business, John and his wife had spent twenty years living and working in Canada. Fred willed the company to a daughter of John's called Evelyn. John successfully ran the business as its Managing Director until his death on 8th November 1961, aged 78. He was a life-long member of the Thistle Swimming Club and lived at 122 Desswood Place.
John's son, Edwin John Webster, then ran the business until it closed down in the later 20th century. The growing influence of large brewers made business and survival more difficult for local companies involved in the licensed trade.
Edwin John Webster died, aged 78, on 30th September 1990.
Many thanks to Michael John Webster (from Angus), son of Edwin, for providing us with additional information about the family and business. Treasure 29: The Snow Queen and Hans Christian Andersen
202 Hans Christian Andersen wrote 'The Snow Queen' in 1844. Aberdeen City Libraries hold a number of interesting resources relating to the author. Perhaps the most notable is a 1926 reprint of his autobiography 'The True Story of My Life' translated by Mary Howitt and published by George Routledge & Sons.
Born in Odense, Denmark in 1805, Andersen wrote three autobiographies during his lifetime. 'The Book of My Life', written in 1832 aged 27, was for close friends, the Collin family, and was not intended for publication. 'The True Story of My Life' in 1846 was to accompany a German edition of his collected works and his final autobiography, 'The Fairy Tale of My Life', was published in 1855.
Mary Howitt (1799-1888) was an English author who came to prominence as a translator of Scandinavian literature, in particular eighteen volumes of the Swedish novelist Frederika Bremer (1842-1863) and many translations of Hans Christian Andersen. In the 1926 preface to 'The True Story of My Life' Scottish author and poet, Violet Jacob, claims that Howitt's "precise and innocence English" is the ideal vehicle for conveying Andersen's writing. It was through Howitt's translations that the English speaking world first came to know Andersen's work.
Howitt dedicates her translation of 'The True Story of My Life' to the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887). Lind was world famous for her immaculate voice, generosity and strong religious convictions. She and Andersen were good friends. When Lind rejected Andersen as a suitor she became the model for the Snow Queen with a heart of ice. Their friendship endured nonetheless and in 'The True Story of My Life' Andersen explains the central influence Lind had on his work: "Through Jenny Lind I first became sensible of the holiness there is in art; through her I learned that one must forget oneself in the service of the Supreme. No books, no men have had a better or a more ennobling influence on me as the poet, than Jenny Lind, and I therefore have spoken of her so long and so warmly here."
The autobiography also contains other glimpses into the inspiration behind 'The Snow Queen'. For example, Andersen's childhood surroundings are said to have inspired the roof top garden on which the story's heroes, Gerda and Kai, first meet and become friends: "Our little room, which was almost filled with the shoemaker's bench, the bed, and my crib, was the abode of my childhood; the walls, however, were covered with pictures, and over the work-bench was a cupboard containing books and songs; the little kitchen was full of shining plates and metal pans, and by means of a ladder it was possible to go out on the roof, where, in the gutters between and the neighbour's house, there stood a great chest filled with soil, my mother's sole garden, and where she grew her vegetables. In my story of the Snow Queen that garden still blooms." Treasure 40: Valentine and Sons Postcards Collection, 1825-1963
209 Founded in 1825 as a printing firm based in Dundee, Valentine & Sons grew to become a prominent force in the postcard industry. Combining established printing practices with new developments in photography, Valentines were one of many companies able to exploit the growing Victorian tourist boom, aided in part by easier travel on Britain's new railway system.
James Valentine, son of the original founder John, became an early pioneer in photography with many of his works reproduced by the company from 1860. After James' death in 1879, the company continued under his two sons, George Dobson Valentine and William Dobson Valentine.
From 1896, Valentine and Sons began producing postcards to complement their existing business which included books of photographs, portraits and Christmas cards. As the postcard business grew in success, the company expanded into other tourist markets - including opening offices in Jamaica, Norway, North Africa, Canada and New York.
By the 1930s, the company focused solely on postcard production, but a focus on monochrome and sepia prints seems to have underestimated a growing demand for colour images. By the 1950s, the business was suffering and elected to change direction by returning to greetings cards. The company was purchased by Waddington & Co in 1963 - which in turn passed to Hallmark cards in 1980. Operations in Dundee ceased in 1994.
As with other producers of photographic material, the legacy of such a prolific business enables modern audiences a glimpse into the past with thousands of images from numerous locations capturing a given moment in time. Postcards have become a staple for those with historical interest, and many private collectors seek to hold the entire works of companies such as Valentine and Sons.
For the Local Studies service, the collection of postcards produced by Valentine and Sons offer some unique and fascinating insights into Aberdeen life in the past. Not only this, the messages written on the back of postcards - both from and to those in Aberdeen - can often bring a more human side to the historical picture.
Treasure 109: George Washington Wilson Portraits
330 This month we look at some of George Washington Wilson's work as a portrait photographer and especially the creation of photomontages selected from the large collection of images he had taken of men from the city and surrounding area who were leading figures in business, industry, law, education, and the church.
Wilson, encouraged by his friend George Walker of the firm of A. Brown & Co, booksellers, created his first grouping of Aberdeen Portraits in 1857, with a second collection in the following year. They spent many hours selecting and arranging the images to form an oval of faces where their perceived prominence of each individual is determined by the size and placing of each portrait within the oval. Images of Walker, Wilson and Wilson's brother Robert were included in the first selection.
The venture was a huge success with thousands of prints being sold, and, eventually a further seven groupings were created from the stock of images held. In 1907, a booklet with an alphabetical list of all 897 portraits was produced by G. W. Wilson & Co. when a portfolio of all 9 groups with the list could be purchased for 10 shillings and 6 pence. |