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Aberdeen Fish Market
2 Aberdeen Fish Market prior to the building of the covered market in 1889. Steam trawling for white fish was introduced into Aberdeen in 1882 and, in a few years, the fleet of vessels grew to number several hundred and a flourishing new industry was added to the port. Newhills Parish Church
174 This picture shows the present Church of Newhills as it would have been at the time of its opening in June 1830.
It was built to replace the old kirk, endowed by George Davidson of Pettens in 1662, the ruins of which can still be seen among the tombstones in the churchyard.
After a decline in membership in the 1940s and 1950s, the church benefited from the building of a private and a council housing estate in its area. Membership of the church and its organisations increased till, in 1978, it was reported to be one of the most vibrant and successful in the Aberdeen Presbytery.
The external appearance of the church is little changed but a huge congregational effort in recent years has resulted in the building of a two-storey extension housing a number of meeting rooms plus toilets and kitchen facilities.
The road seen in this picture is now used by a large numbers of vehicles en route to Kingswells and the west of Aberdeen. Great Northern Road, Woodside
287 Today Woodside is a busy and thriving community with a dual carriageway and railway running through its heart. Modes of transport and services have changed radically over the past two hundred years but due to its location Woodside has always been part of a wider network and this has helped to drive industry and increase travel. The Pleasure Park, Aberdeen Beach
397 A postcard showing John Henry Iles' Pleasure Park in the 1930s. The park's esplanade site, south of Wellington Street (roughly where Amadeus nightclub/the Range and part of the Queen's Links carpark would later stand), was leased to Iles by the Council in 1929. Illes was an amusement entrepreneur originally from Manchester.
The park's biggest attraction, in all senses, was the Scenic Railway roller coaster shown here. Iles was involved in several amusement parks around Britain and during a visit to New York he obtained the European rights to the design of the latest roller coasters. He subsequently erected his Scenic Railway in Aberdeen in 1929.
The roller coaster rose to 100 feet in the air at its highest point and was popular with holiday makers and locals throughout the 1930s. The local press recorded 21,000 children, between 3 and 14 years of age, carried on the ride during a special children's day that was held on Saturday 20th August 1932.
Part of the message written on the back of this postcard by a young visitor to Aberdeen reads "This picture shows you the scenic railway which I have been on and liked very much".
The Scenic Railway was sadly badly damaged by fire on the night of 5th December 1940 and was consequently demolished. Other attractions of Iles' park included rides such as The Caterpillar, The Whip, Water Dodgems, and the Brooklyn Racers (petrol driven cars).
In the background of this image be seen the tower of St. Clements Church and a row of tenements, likely those on Wellington Street. Culter
876 This image was taken around 1909 from a hill at the west end of Culter - 7 miles west from Aberdeen looking down on the North Deeside Road towards Banchory. The image shows the cottages known as Clayhills with the houses of Malcolm Road beyond. Hidden in the trees at the right hand side is the statue of Rob Roy overlooking the Leuchar Burn which runs through the wooded valley. 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. Treasure 34: A Selection of Original Scots Songs in Three Parts
2322 Although the union of the Parliaments between Scotland and England had taken place almost a hundred years before, as the 18th century was drawing to a close there was still much fascination regarding the differing cultures. In time, Victorian society would give this fascination a renewed vigour, helped by Queen Victoria's passion for Scotland - including the establishment of Balmoral Castle as her residence North of the border. Before that time though, in the late 1790s, books were produced offering English readers an insight into their neighbours' traditions.
One such book was entitled 'A selection of original Scots songs' edited by Franz Haydn and published between 1790 and 1794. The book is designed to introduce the reader to the music and lyrics of traditional songs in Scotland. Haydn's book reproduced the songs along with corresponding music, and also offered a glossary to help with the more obscure language.
Burns' song 'My Heart's In The Highlands' - more popularly regarded today as a poem - makes an appearance in the selected works by Franz Haydn. With the collected works produced between 1790 - 1794, this was at a time when Burns began to suffer from the illnesses which would eventually end his life just a couple of years later.
Robert Burns
Celebrated across Scotland every year, Robert Burns Day takes place on 25 January and is an opportunity to remember Scotland's Bard and his work. Known the world over as the National Poet of Scotland, Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) was born in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns' early life was one of balance; he toiled on his family's farm by day, and was taught reading and writing by candlelight at night. He conversed in Scots, while learning passages from English texts to further his studies. Although regarded by history largely as a poet, Burns also composed many songs - perhaps his most famous work 'Auld Lang Syne' being one of the few traditionally remembered in song form. One of our treasures this month celebrates Robert Burns' work and that of many other traditional Scottish musicians. ROBERT GORDON'S REMUNERATIVE RELATIONS WITH DANZIG
2874 In 17th century Poland, business was at its peak. At the time the country had the same population as Russia. The port town of Danzig - now known as Gdansk - was a worldwide trading centre to which many people migrated in order to make their riches.
It may be a shock to you, but in 1570 the number of Scottish immigrants in Poland was estimated to be 30,000. This is an immense number of immigrants when compared to the relatively small population of Scotland in the 16th century. One of these migrants was Robert Gordon (1668-1731), later to be the founder of Gordon's Hospital; which is now known as Robert Gordon's College and the Robert Gordon University.
Robert Gordon was a merchant trader during his time in Poland and he was successful from early on in his career. With a fortune of £10,000 amassed in Poland he invested in the rebuilding of Marischal College, lent money to estate owners and funded Robert Gordon's School for Boys.
In his Founder's Day oration of 1935, former Gordonian, Sir Alexander Roger, described presenting to the Polish government a photograph of the letter Robert Gordon wrote in 1700 from Warsaw to the people of Aberdeen, describing his plans to set-up up his hospital, and the reaction from the recipients:
"My Polish audience were more than ordinarily interested to learn what the writer of that letter, with a fortune strenuously acquired from Poland two hundred years ago, had been enabled to found a college in Scotland which today offered inestimable benefit balanced and liberal education to a thousands boys." Aberdeen Press and Journal, 27th April 1935
The image to the left is a reproduction of a painted portrait of Robert Gordon taken from The History of Robert Gordon's Hospital Aberdeen 1729 - 1881 (1896) by Robert Anderson. Annie "Nan" Henry
2999 Annie "Nan" Henry (1880-1970) was one of the Henry sisters who worked with the magician Walford Bodie.
We hold a photograph album of hers at Aberdeen City Libraries. A handwritten inscription inside the front cover reads "To My Dear Sister 'Nurse Nan', From her loving Sis Loo, With Fondest Love." The inscription is dated 8 April 1912. "Loo" is Louisa Henry (1888-1912).
The album is a large volume, bound in dark green leather. The volume has seen damage over the years and now lacks some of this intriguing covering. Within floral endpapers is around 101 pages each containing approximately three photographs. The images are a mixture of postcards and photographic prints. Most appear to have been sent to Nan Henry while she was living in the Bodie family home in Macduff. Many have signed endearments on front and carry short messages on the reverse.
The life of variety performers was one of perpetual travel and many of the postcards are clearly missives sent back home. The majority of the images are studio portraits but there are also some outdoor scenes and views of home life in MacDuff. While it is difficult to establish exact information, the images look to date primarily from the 1910s with some perhaps reaching into the following two decades. As the album progresses we see new people, uniformed individuals clearly off to World War I and children who are likely to be the next generation of the family. Aberdeen Cinemas: Regal / ABC / Cannon
3396 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Shiprow entrance to the Regal cinema in February 1961. The cinema is advertising showings of Saturday Night, Sunday Morning with Albert Finney, Linda with Carol White and Alan Rothwell, and Pathé News.
The Regal was opened on Monday 26th June 1954 by Associated British Cinema (ABC). The opening of this substantial cinema was the conclusion of a long and much delayed enterprise.
This Shiprow site was previously the location of Aberdeen's first permanent cinema, Dove Paterson's Gaiety. It had later become the Palladium and had laid shuttered for close to seven years when the owner put the site up for sale in early 1937.
Bert Gates of Aberdeen Picture Palaces (APP) put in an offer and made plans to build a very large cinema at the location. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) suggests that had this plan gone ahead it would have made the local company a force with which to be reckoned.
Gate's plans were thwarted however when another offer for the property from ABC (Cinemas) was accepted. ABC were a major cinema operator throughout the UK, at the time second only to the Rank Organisation, which owned the Odeon and Gaumont chains. ABC's arrival in Aberdeen would offer stiff competition to local companies such as APP. Both in terms of having the best venues and having the best films to show in them.
ABC's arrival in Aberdeen did not go smoothly, however. It was not until 1939 that the cinema's plans received official approval. War was declared not long after construction had begun and in 1941 the project was stopped by government restrictions that halted the construction of non-essential buildings where roofing had not already been started. Only the outer shell had been built at Shiprow and the building would subsequently lie incomplete for over a decade.
After much campaigning, including by local MP Hector Hughes, the government finally gave its consent and on 28th October 1953 ABC announced that work on the Regal would recommence. The plans for the cinema were modernised and construction was quickly finished.
The completed Regal was an impressive, modern cinema with a seating capacity of 1,914. Its inaugural film was The Knights of the Round Table and the opening gala was attended by stars Richard Todd and Anne Crawford.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Casino
3410 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Casino cinema in around 1963.
The Casino cinema was opened on Wales Street on 7th February 1916 by John Peter Kilgour, a dealer in various waste materials. It had close competition with Bert Gate's Star Picture Palace just around the corner on Park Street. Michael Thomson in The Silver Screen in the Silver City describes the Casino as the second of Aberdeen's purpose-built picture halls. It and the "Starrie" served the population of the city's east end for many years.
The Casino was built on the site of Kilgour's factory yards. The architects for the project were George Sutherland and Clement George. The building's "Spanish villa" design is described by Thomson as unique for Aberdeen and highly unusual throughout Scotland. One distinctive feature was the low square tower at the Park Street side of the building that was topped by a red-tiled concave pyramidal roof. Thomson writes that features of the building combined to "bring a welcome splash of colour and gaiety to an otherwise drab corner of the city."
Following the death of John Peter Kilgour in 1920, the running of the Casino and his waste business was taken over by his son, Ormande L. Kilgour.
In the silent era the venue was a stronghold of cine-variety, showing all manner of performances in-between film screenings. In February 1936 the cinema celebrated its 20th birthday and a cake was cut by Kilgour and one the Casino's oldest patrons, a Mrs Stewart.
In November 1939 Bert Gates and Aberdeen Picture Palaces bought a controlling interest share in the Casino. The Beach Boulevard, which opened on 25th May 1959, ran directly outside the cinema and gave the Casino a prominent location. In March of that year the cinema was given a thorough renovation.
Despite its new prominent location and recent renovation, the Casino closed down as a cinema on Saturday 3rd October 1959. A spokesperson for the Donald Cinemas Group stated in the Evening Express at the time that the closure was due to the housing in the area being pulled down and people moving to new estates. Michael Thomson suggests that the proximity of the relatively new first-run Regal in Shiprow might also have drawn away the hoped-for holiday crowds from the Casino.
In 1961 the empty Casino was sold to local bookmakers James Rennie and Arthur Forbes to be used as a bingo hall. This was at the height of bingo's popularity and the Casino proved too small. The bingo operation was moved to the Kingsway Cinema which had showed its final film, Warlord of Crete on 3rd February 1962.
The area around the Casino was earmarked for redevelopment by Aberdeen Town Council. The cinema building was compulsorily purchased and, after spending some time as a store, was demolished at the same time as the Star in 1971. The site is now occupied by a residential development.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: West End / Playhouse
3415 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Playhouse at 475 Union Street in January 1959. The venue originally opened on 12th November 1915 as a cinema called the West End. This was the first venture into full-time picture-hall proprietorship by James F. Donald, a key figure in the history of independent cinema exhibition in Aberdeen.
Donald was born in Newhills and came to Aberdeen for an apprenticeship with a coachbuilding firm. He had a varied career before coming to prominence as a highly successful dancing teacher. He was the leader of the Gondolier School of Dancing and Deportment.
He moved into the cinema business after acquiring the necessary projecting equipment and occupying a former billiard hall above the Aberdeen Dairy at 475 Union Street. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) describes the cinema as a "strictly utilitarian affair", but a successful one at that. It was only heated by stoves, and coupled with being above a diary, it became known as "The Tuppenny Freezer".
Donald's lease on the cinema expired in September 1920 and he was immediately followed as proprietor by Bert Gate's Aberdeen Picture Palaces. It was a time of expansion for the incoming company. They had recently purchased The Picturedrome on Skene Terrace and shortly looked to transform the West End. The latter closed on 2nd April and reopened on 14th September 1921 as the 1,000-seater Picture Playhouse.
The opening ceremony was attended by Gates, the cinema's architects George Sutherland and Clement George, and various local VIPs. The opening films were A Yankee in the Court of King Arthur, a comedy called Jerry on the Spot, Pathé news, and another short. Thomson states that Aberdeen Picture Palaces were "now the proud possessor of a large, well-situated 'flagship' house, and Union Street now sported a fine up-to-date cinema."
The design of the Playhouse was "classical" and up-market, in accordance with its prominent west-end location. As seen here, the Union Street entrance was surrounded by white Sicilian marble facings on a black marble base. The paybox was oval in shape with one end in the vestibule and the other in the front foyer.
The main foyer was through the Union Street part of the building and up a 12-feet wide carpeted, marble stairway. This way was a tea room called the Ingleneuk, the manager's office, and the ornately decorated auditorium. The plush new cinema represented competition for the nearby Picture House.
Bert Gates, the manager of the Playhouse, was somewhat sceptical of the talkies but fully embraced the new development in February 1930 with the installation of a full Western Electric sound system.
The opening of Aberdeen Picture Palace's Capitol down the road in 1933 saw a reduction in ticket prices at the Playhouse. The two partner cinemas were advertised at the time as "Aberdeen's Premier Pair".
On 23 May 1941 it was announced that James F. Donald (Aberdeen Cinemas) Ltd. had bought a controlling interest in Aberdeen Picture Palaces. This meant that the Playhouse, along with the other APP venues, were now in the Donald circuit of cinemas.
This photograph dates from 1959 shortly before the cinema was relaunched as the Playhouse Continental, showing popular, often more risqué, films from Europe. This only lasted for a couple of years and the cinema reverted to being the Playhouse in 1961. This photograph shows the cinema advertising The Wind Cannot Read with Dirk Bogarde and All for Mary.
By 1973 the profitability of the Playhouse was eroded by spiralling costs. The owners of the building, builders James Scott & Son, had moved premises and were looking to dispose of the Union Street property. The cinema's lease was terminated at the end of 1973 and the cinema closed on 9th May 1974. Ownership of the block passed to Devanha Properties Ltd. and after lying empty for a few months the Playhouse was demolished to make way for a new block of shops and offices.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Queen's
3421 This Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph shows the Queen's cinema in 1972. The film being shown is Up Pompeii, a film version of the British sit-com of the same name.
The Queen's had been a popular cinema throughout much of the 20th century. Due to increasing costs and competition from home entertainment, it finally closed down, along with George Street's Grand Central, on 17th October 1981. Michael Thomson explains that this brought an end to James F. Donald (Aberdeen Cinemas) Ltd.'s long history as picture hall proprietors.
The building laid empty for some years before the company converted it into a nightclub that opened in 1987.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Palace
3429 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph showing the Palace cinema in 1959. This was just before the venue on Bridge Place was converted into a dance hall.
The original building was designed by John Rust and opened in 1898. It was on the site of an earlier music hall, the People's Palace, which had burned down two years before.
The theatre had shown films as part of variety performances from 1911. It was purchased by the Poole Company, a nationwide wide circuit of cinemas, and reopened as a picture house on 8th April 1929. In 1936 Poole's cinemas, including the Palace, were acquired by County Cinemas, who were later taken over by the Odeon arm of the Rank Organisation.
The Palace closed as a cinema on 14th November 1959. Its final screening was My Uncle Frank with Jacques Tati. The new Palace Ballroom launched on 24th March 1960 as Aberdeen's largest dance hall.
In 1976 the building was converted into a nightclub originally called Fusion. It has since been known as Ritzy's, The Palace, The Institute (2003), Liquid (2012) and ATIK (2018).
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Grand Central
3432 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Grand Central cinema at 286 George Street in September 1981. This photograph is taken from the end of Craigie Street.
The Grand Central was first opened on 3rd April 1922. The building at 286 George Street had previously been a furniture branch of Allan's Public Supply Stores. It was converted into a cinema by James F. Donald.
Michael Thomson explains that the Grand Central was initially very small and quite plain. In the late 1920s Donald acquired the property to the north of the cinema, plus the hall at its rear, and planned for its extension. In 1927 architect George Watt drew up plans for the enlarged cinema and these were enacted in the autumn of 1929.
The enlarged cinema reopened on 30th December 1929 with a ceremony led by Provost James Rust. The Grand Central's capacity had been increased from its original 730 to 1,640. Thomson states this was a good 400 more than any other hall in town.
Michael Thomson also states that the enlarged cinema was decorated in an "atmospheric" style and that it pointed the way to the super-cinemas that would soon arrive in the city. Bulldog Drummond was the cinema's first talking picture in 1930.
The Grand Central, after 59 years as a cinema, finally closed down on the same day as Union Street's Queen's Cinema on 17th October 1981. The latter showed Watership Down as its final film, whereas the Grand Central showed the more adult orientated double bill of Love, Lust and Ecstasy and More Danish Blue.
The Press and Journal reporting on the final screenings at both cinemas, records the staff at the Grand Central, led by manager Mr Anthony Veal, closing the cinema for the last time before heading to a nearby pub for a drink.
The Grand Central cinema was demolished in 1984 and replaced by a block of flats.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Coliseum / New Kinema / Belmont
3436 A photograph looking north towards the Belmont cinema from Union Bridge in 1937. The cinema became the Belmont two years earlier. One of the picture house's previous names, the Coliseum, can be seen underneath its new inscription. Stonehaven-Bervie Bus
4272 A photograph showing a busy Stonehaven-Bervie horse drawn bus about to start its journey. It is taken from the Aberdeen Bon-Accord and Northern Pictorial coronation souvenir number published on 12th May 1937, page 87. This special issue was published to commemorate the crowning of George VI (1895-1952) and Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002).
This photograph is one of a number illustrating an article titled '"One Hundred and Six Years - Six Sovereigns - Four Coronations - One Lifetime" Mrs. Caird's Great Record'. The article is about the life of a long-lived resident of Stonehaven called Grace Caird, nee McPhail (1831-1937), who was known as the "Grand Old Lady of the North East." At the time of her death late in the year, she was reputed to be the second oldest woman in Scotland (The Scotsman, 27th November 1937, page 16).
The caption accompanying the photograph reads as follows:
"In Granny Caird's young days the horse bus and stagecoach called regularly at the mill in Stonehaven. Here we have the Stonehaven-Bervie 'bus' about to take its departure. It passed nearby Granny's home in Kinneff daily, but in those days Mrs Caird thought nothing of walking 20 miles a day. The 'bus' was a luxury that could be only indulged in at frequent intervals." Newhills Parish Church
45 This picture shows the present Church of Newhills as it would have been at the time of its opening in June 1830. It was built to replace the old kirk, endowed by George Davidson of Pettens in 1662, the ruins of which can still be seen among the tombstones in the churchyard. After a decline in membership in the 1940s and 1950s, the church benefited from the building of both a private and a council housing estate in its area. Membership of the church and its organisations increased till, in 1978, it was reported to be one of the most vibrant and successful in the Aberdeen Presbytery. The external appearance of the church is little changed but a huge congregational effort in recent years has resulted in the building of a two-storeyed extension housing a number of meeting rooms plus toilet and kitchen facilities. The road seen in the picture is now used by a large numbers of vehicles en route to Kingswells and the west of Aberdeen. Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute - Astronomical lectures
158 The following article, extracted from the Aberdeen Journal, shows the popularity of the Mechanics Institute and its courses:
"There is not a more efficient educational institution in the city, with the same limited means, than the Mechanics' Institute; and to extand and enlarge its means is the object of these lectures. We can assure those who have not yet visited Morison's Hall, that nowhere will they find so much amusement blended with so great an amount of useful instruction, so much to delight the eye and ravish the ear, with so much to enlighten the understanding and improve the heart".
Aberdeen Journal, May 10, 1837.
Article cited in Aberdeen Journal, May 15, 1937 ("One hundred years ago"). Treasure 14: What's On in Aberdeen (1960s)
184 What was happening in Aberdeen over 50 years ago?
In Local Studies we have a great collection of "What's On in Aberdeen guides", the earliest of which is an "Aberdeen Events" leaflet covering March to August 1952. Our collection does have a few gaps but continues from the 1950s right through to 2008.
From the guides we get a fascinating insight into the variety of events and activities throughout the decades available to both Aberdonians and visitors.
What can you find listed in the What's On? - Cinema and Theatre guide, Dancing, General events and information, Holiday attractions, City Parks, Musical events, Sport, Highland Games & Agricultural Shows in and around Aberdeen, Places of interest, Club programmes and always a city map to help you find your way around. Plenty to choose from!
The events leaflet was published by Aberdeen Corporation Publicity Department who from March 1956, renamed the publication "What's On?" and changed the style and format to the colour booklet we can see in the image. The booklet now also included advertisements for shops, restaurants, hotels, and businesses all of which contribute to building up a picture of the social, economic and retail scene in Aberdeen back then.
From November 1969 a more slender version of the guide was produced and published by different departments of the City Council - Public Relations, Information & Tourism, and Development & Tourism - until April 1989 when the Aberdeen Tourist Board took it on.
From 2000 onwards it was commercially published as "Your Ideal Guide to What's On in and around Aberdeen" and ceased publication round about 2008.
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 54: On the Planting of Trees in Towns
229 Aberdeen was something of a pioneer when it came to the planting of street trees in Scotland. An article on the subject in the Aberdeen Journal from 1905 states: "As is constantly remarked by visitors, Aberdeen has great reason to be proud of its trees. In some respects, it can, in this direction, show the way to other Scottish cities."
Alongside St. Andrews, Aberdeen led the way in the extensive and effective planting of trees on city streets. This was largely due to the work of Aberdeen's first park superintendent, Robert Walker. The 1905 article states: "To those who know Mr Walker only as the busy man in charge of Victoria and Westburn Parks, the Union Terrace Gardens, the Links, and the grounds of Robert Gordon's College, the fact of his being an author may be new, but it is something to which Mr Walker can look back with pride, because the publication of 'On the Planting of Trees in Towns' was the means of stimulating the movement for tree-planting, not only in Aberdeen, but also in a good many more places in Scotland."
Walker's book, printed in 1890 at the University of Aberdeen, consists of two papers read before The North of Scotland Horticultural Association in 1889. The volume was issued by the two Aberdeen members of Mr Ruskin's Guild of Saint George after a strong request to publish was made by those unable to attend Walker's lectures. The book argues that trees should be planted not just in parks, but in city streets too: "The slight good effected by fine parks placed here or there towards the outskirts of a city is as nothing to what might be carried out by so planning and planting streets and roads, that the air might be comparatively pure and free, and the eye refreshed with green at almost every point."
The Aberdeen Journal states that the value of the book is "very much materially enhanced by illustrations of a number of our best-known trees from drawings from Sir George Reid, lithographed by Messrs Thomson and Duncan." George Reid (1841-1913) was a nationally renowned Aberdeen-born painter. A year after the publication of the book, in 1891, he was elected as the president of the Royal Scottish Academy and knighted by Queen Victoria. In 1905 he played a significant role in the extension of Aberdeen Art Gallery, determining the layout and contents of the building. He died at his home in Somerset in 1913 and was buried in St Peter's Cemetery, Aberdeen.
On the publication of Walker's book a copy was send to keen arboriculturist and habitual Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. The 1905 Aberdeen Journal article reports that, in his acknowledgement of the gift, Gladstone wrote that "he would read the book with the greatest pleasure, the subject being one in which he took a special interest." At the time, the post card with acknowledgment could still be seen framed in Mr Walker's house. The Journal article also states that the book has been unobtainable for a long time but that a copy is available to view at the Reference Department of the Public Library. Over a hundred years later this is still correct and the item now sits in our Local Studies collection.
"Trees not only afford shade and shelter," states Walker's book "but adorn the landscape and purify the air. They improve the heart as well as the taste; they refresh the body and enlighten the spirit. And the more refined the taste is, the more exquisite is the gratification that may be enjoyed from every leaf-building tree." Treasure 98: Kissing postcards
317 To celebrate Valentine's Day, we have chosen to display four historic postcards from our collections conveying messages of love and friendship.
The postcards are slightly smaller than those in circulation nowadays and they all have a different title, written in capital letters and in colour on the top of the cards. Up until the end of the 19th century, most postcards presented an undivided back; England was the first country to divide the back of the postcards in 1902, before France in 1904, Germany in 1905 and the United States in 1907. It allowed people to write both the message and the address of their recipient on the same side. The front side was then mainly used for the picture or artwork. Postcards can be a useful tool for learning more about society and people's interests and sense of humour.
The text on the postcard entitled 'The Science of Kissing' is from a publication called The People. It first appeared in British newspapers in 1866 and has been republished many times since. Amusingly, the author of the text gives some tips to improve a kissing performance and describes in detail what a proper kiss on the lips should feel like: "People will kiss, yet not one in a hudred [sic] knows how to extract bliss from lovely lips, any more than he knows how to make diamonds from charcoal. And yet it is easy, at least for us. First know whom you are going to kiss. Don't make a mistake, although a mistake may be good."
Want to find out more about the art of kissing in time for St. Val's Day? Check out our interactive exhibition on the touchscreen! Mounthooly
435 This image was digitised from Artistic Aberdeen: A Sketch Book (1932) by W. S. Percy.
The book describes the scene as follows:
"Mounthooly. This curiously-named street on the left runs only a few hundred yards from its junction with Causewayend-a name that would be more appropriate fifty years ago-and Gallowgatehead when it becomes known as King's Crescent and, a little further on, the Spital. It is part of the hilly and winding but direct route between the new city of Aberdeen and the old town, or Aulton. The name Mounthooly, although not unique, is not very common in Scotland. It has been conjectured that it means the Holy Mount, a hill on which in ancient times a chapel stood." |