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Sandilands Chemical Works
854 Sandilands Chemical Works, Aberdeen. Sulphuric Acid production towers. These towers were filled with inert material (eg granite chips) over which weak sulphuric acid was sprayed from a series of lead pipes at the top of the tower to absorb the SO2 gases which were fed in at the bottom. As a result the liquid collected at the bottom of the tower was a strong sulphuric acid. This acid was then combined with phosphate rock to produce superphosphate fertilisers produced at Sandilands Chemical Works. Culter Boys' Brigade
999 A photograph showing Culter Boys' Brigade collecting waste paper and scrap metal during World War 2.
In World War 2, major campaigns were set up to encourage people to collect as much waste material as possible for recycling. Here we see members of Culter Boys' Brigade loading a lorry with waster paper and scrap metal, including part of an iron bedstead.
The lorry had been lent by William Gavin of Kennerty Meal Mills. All sorts of metal, including railings, were collected to be converted into munitions.
Country children were urged to collect tufts of sheep wool stuck on barbed wire fences or hedges so that it could be sent away to be spun into knitting wool to make gloves or socks for soldiers. Waste paper, including books, could be reprocessed and used in the manufacture of Stirling bombers.
Local historian Brian Coutts has been in touch to identify some of the boys on the lorry: At the front of the trio on the left is James "Jeeker" Brown; in the middle, behind the bins, is Derek Thom; and stood up on the far right of the image is Derek Stephen. Alec. C. Walker, Carrier
1018 Alec. C. Walker, Carrier. This 1910 photograph shows the delivery cart of Alexander C. Walker, who started in business in the 1880's as a dairyman, then became a carrier from his base in Exchange Street. He was better known in the Cults/Culter area as 'Parcel Sandy', since he collected and delivered laundry baskets from the laundry agents. They would send parcels of linen, sheets and clothes into Aberdeen where the large laundry firms were located. On this trip, he also has a barrel, some sacks and a few planks of wood in his load. St. Fittick's Well
1853 A photograph from 1906 of St. Fittick's Well, located in the Bay of Nigg.
An account of the well is given by Thomas W. Ogilvie (1861-1908) in The Book of Saint Fittick, a history of Torry, written and presented as a Bazaar Book to Saint Fittick's Church, Torry, in December 1901.
Ogilvie worked as a doctor in Torry for seven years and was prominent in the public life of the district. An account of his life is given in the introduction to a posthumously published collection of his verse, Poems (1911).
Ogilvie suggests use the well dates to pagan times and gives an account of its storied healing powers and the tradition of offering gifts in the hope of good health and fortune. He suggests St Fittick, the patron saint of Torry, became the object of these benefactions after the arrival of Christianity.
He details the tradition of visiting the area and leaving gifts on the first Sunday of May. Ogilvie writes:
"Town Council and Kirk Session struggled by laws and punishments to stop those Sunday wanderings and to efface those vestiges of old superstitions, but the customs of centuries die hard, and to-day young and old, to whom the name St. Fittick is a meaningless term and the repute of his well quite unknown, ramble on Sundays and week-days to the bay once called by his name, and they find the old power still lingers, for the beauty of the Bay, the fresh sea-breeze, and the pure draught from the old spring still bless and heal."
The well is understood to have been washed away by coastal erosion in the early 20th century. Its location, latterly its site, is recorded in old large scale Ordnance Survey maps. Fountainhall Cistern
2090 Water was conveyed from six springs at Fountainhall to the Water House in Broad Street. Above is the last of these six cistern houses in which the spring water was collected. It was removed in 1903 to the Duthie Park. A School of Dolphins: Milo at Kincorth Library
2176 Primary six at Mill O' Forest worked together to plan, design and create our dolphin. We wanted our dolphin to represent our school, as well as highlighting issues including conservation and captivity. As a result of a sponsored beach clean, we collected materials and included them in our design. 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. Elsie S. Rae
3303 A portrait by Aberdeen's Morgan photographic studio of the poet Elsie S. Rae (1897-1973). She was known for her WWI poems and use of Doric, the local dialect, in her writing.
This image was used as a frontispiece to an edition of her poetry called Private John M'Pherson (1917). Sandilands: aerial view
3828 An aerial view, looking south east, of Sandilands Chemical Works from around the 1920s that featured on a postcard.
Surrounding houses on Baltic Street, Garvock Wynd and Garvock Square can also be seen. These houses were primarily used for chemical workers. The property was owned by the Miller family and they were no doubt the origin of the name of the street running along the west side of the works (on the right in this image), Miller Street.
The main gate for the works was on the road that leaves Miller Street at the lodge house, shown in the bottom left of the highlighted area here.
The large property south along Miller Street, on the corner of Baltic Street, was called the "Big Hoose". Attached to this house was the factor's house and a public W.C. The factor collected rents from all the houses on the Miller property.
Sandilands Chemical Works produced cod liver oil, other oils, pitch, disinfectants, candles, fertilisers and serums. In this image, a mixture of newer granite buildings and those from earlier in the 19th century can be seen. Treasure 2: The Edinburgh Journal of Natural History and the Physical Sciences
169 In the library's historic reference collection we have a slim bound volume of 'The Edinburgh Journal of Natural History and the Physical Sciences'.
The journal is credited as being "conducted by Captain Captain Thomas Brown, F.L.S. M.W.S. M.K.S., President of the Royal Physical Society" with the assistance of "eminent scientific and literary men."
The collected issues date from the 1830s and include articles on all manner of scientific topics of the day such as "the chemical composition of native gold" and "porcupine men".
One of the most striking features of the volume is the beautifully illustrated zoological plates that accompanied each issue.
We have chosen to highlight a colourful plate of lepidopterans engraved by James Mayson in order to celebrate the wonderful butterfly book sculpture visiting Aberdeen Central Library throughout July as part of the 'Butterflies on the Move' national tour.
To view more of the zoological plates please download the PDF file located in the Document section of this record or come see the volume displayed in the library throughout July 2015. 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 38: The J. T. McIntosh Collection
207 J. T. McIntosh was a pen name of James Murdoch Macgregor (1925-2007). Born in Paisley, MacGregor moved to Aberdeen with his family at the age of 7 and stayed in the city for the rest of his life. He studied at Aberdeen Grammar School and graduated from the University of Aberdeen with an honours degree in English and literature.
After leaving education he taught music and English at Aberdeen Grammar School and became a journalist for the Bon Accord Magazine and sub-editor of the Press and Journal newspaper. MacGregor was a prolific writer from a young age and developed his skills producing many early short stories.
After finding success submitting stories to science fiction magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, MacGregor became a full time writer in 1952. He borrowed the pseudonym J. T. McIntosh from an old school friend and from September 1951 this became his most common pen name.
Aberdeen Local Studies has collected copies of many of his better known works, including editions from around the world. His science fictions novels from the 1950s are his best remembered: World Out of Mind (1953), Born Leader (1954), One in Three Hundred (1954) and The Fittest (1955). He published regularly until the late 1970s.
To accompany our wide selection of J. T. McIntosh works we have a collection of material on the author assembled by pupils and teachers from Torry Academy. The above biography has drawn heavily on their excellent work. We also hold a copy of a fascinating interview from 1986 in which MacGregor discusses his life and work. The National Library of Scotland has a significant collection of his written works too and in 2010 acquired his literary papers and correspondence.
MacGregor remains a neglected figure, awaiting the recognition deserving of this prolific Aberdeen author. Treasure 44: Historic Children's Literature Collection
213 This month we feature beautifully illustrated children's literature from our historic collections to mark World Book Day on 3 March 2016.
World Book Day is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and - most importantly - it is a celebration of reading. It is designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world. The main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.
Little Ann and Other Poems illustrated by Kate Greenaway is a first edition, published by George Routledge & Sons c. 1883. It contains 42 poems all illustrated in her charming style of dainty children dressed in typical Greenaway costume.
Catherine "Kate" Greenaway (17 March 1846 - 6 November 1901) was an English artist and children's book illustrator
Online resources Britannica Encyclopaedia provides a brief biography of Kate Greenaway:
"The daughter of John Greenaway, a draftsman and wood engraver, Kate Greenaway grew up in various residences, including a farmhouse in Nottinghamshire, and studied art in various places, including London. She began to exhibit drawings in 1868, and her first published illustrations appeared in such magazines as Little Folks. In 1879 she produced her first successful book, Under the Window, followed by The Birthday Book (1880), Mother Goose (1881), Little Ann (1883), and other books for children, which had an enormous success and became very highly valued".
Greenaway's work was praised by John Ruskin, a dear friend who said "her drawings are blissful just in the degree that they are natural; the fairyland that she creates for you is not beyond the sky nor beneath the sea but near to you, even at your doors. She does but show you how to see it and how to cherish".
In our collections we also hold a copy of 'Kate Greenaway Pictures: from originals presented by her to John Ruskin and other personal friends' from 1921.
"In 1890 Greenaway was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, and in 1891, 1894, and 1898 she exhibited watercolour drawings, including illustrations for her books, at the gallery of the Fine Art Society (by which a representative selection was exhibited in 1902). From 1883 to 1897, with a break only in 1896, she issued a series of Kate Greenaway's Almanacs."
The Kate Greenaway Medal, established in her honour in 1955, is awarded annually by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in the UK to an illustrator of children's books.
Treasure 58: Princess Mary's Gift Book, 1914
234 One of our treasures this month was a wartime endeavour of Princess Mary (25 April 1897 - 28 March 1965), the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary.
Princess Mary's Gift Book was a fundraising volume published on 27 November 1914 by Hodder & Stoughton. All profits from its sale went to the Queen's 'Work For Women' Fund, which was created to secure paid employment for women whose livelihood was threatened by the war.
The volume features stories and poems by some of the most popular authors of the day such as J. M. Barrie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling. The stories are accompanied by black and white illustrations and colour paintings by famous artists like Arthur Rackham and all the artwork was created specifically for the book.
Princess Mary's Gift Book was designed to appeal to all members of the family. It opens with a piece by J. M. Barrie on how best to enjoy a holiday in bed and includes many other stories and poems including Magepa the Buck and Out of the Jaws of Death: A Pimpernel by H. Rider Haggard and Baroness Orczy.
The gift book was sold for 2s. 6d. and half a million copies were sold within a month of its publication.
View the Treasures from our Collection interactive exhibition on the touchscreen to find out more about Princess Mary and her gift book - and discover the coincidence linking the book to one of the biggest supernatural scandals of the 20th Century.
Cran Family Tree
292 The accompanying description on this copy of a Cran family tree reads: "Genealogical Tree of the family & lineal descendants of Robert Cran of Belhinny & Lesmoir, son of Peter Cran of Forgue - with branch of the senior family of John, oldest son of said Peter Cran. - made from notes & charts collected & compiled by my father John Cran, Leith. - John Duncan Cran, Backhill House, Musselburgh, Midlothian - September 1912." Treasure 86: Bon Accord Christmas Annuals
298 Aberdonians of yesteryear would have been delighted to receive this particular treasure as a Christmas gift. The Bon Accord Annual was produced just before Christmas each year for over 30 years. Linked to the well-known local newspaper the Bon Accord and Northern Pictorial, it was packed full of seasonal treats in the form of photographs, adverts, short stories, poems, recipes and articles.
The Bon Accord Annual provided a round-up of the year's happenings and included a multitude of striking photographs. We are given a revealing glimpse into all aspects of local life at the time. The annual was filled with photographs and text covering graduations, amateur drama events, the arts scene, visits from the Royal Family, council elections, personal achievements, obituaries of prominent citizens, the church, the cinema, clubs, societies and weddings. The impression gained from leafing through the annuals is that the coverage of local events was far ranging and no occurrence was too insignificant to be recorded.
Issues of the Bon Accord and Northern Pictorial from 1926-1952 are available to the public for searching on microfilm in the Central Library. Our Local Studies department also holds Bon-Accord and Northern Pictorial holiday numbers; Bon Accord Highland Show Souvenirs for 1928 and 1935 and the Bon Accord Silver Jubilee number from 1935.
Find out more about the annuals and the Bon Accord and Northern Pictorial in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition on the touchscreen. Treasure 87: His Majesty's Theatre Posters
299 December 2016 marks 110 years since His Majesty's Theatre (HMT) was built on Rosemount Viaduct. The venue was designed by the renowned English theatre architect Frank Matcham (22 November 1854 - 18 May 1920) and opened with a production of Red Riding Hood.
His Majesty's Theatre is now operated by Aberdeen Performing Arts and remains an important part of the cultural life of the city. On its construction HMT replaced The Tivoli as Aberdeen's leading venue for plays and pantomimes. The Tivoli was sold two days prior to the opening of His Majesty's with the stipulation that it would not programme competing productions.
His Majesty's is the largest theatre in the north east of Scotland and continues to be a popular venue on UK's touring circuit. The venue's varied programme includes shows from London's West End and productions by Scotland's national arts companies.
Over the last 110 years Aberdeen City Libraries have collected a number of posters, flyers and programmes from throughout the history of our theatrical neighbour, some of which are on display here.
Take a closer look at posters from HMT's history on our interactive exhibition on the touchscreen. Guest Treasure: Design Team (Public Buildings) Architectural Drawings
338 Our guest treasure this month is the collection of architectural drawings held by Aberdeen City Council's Design Team (Public Buildings).
Design Team (Public Buildings) is a Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) chartered practice with a team of qualified Architects, Architectural Staff and Quantity Surveyors. Their aim is to support and provide a sustainable built environment in Aberdeen based on principles of design excellence, social wellbeing, environmental responsibility and value for public money.
Over the years Aberdeen City Council has collected thousands of architectural drawings. They are used by the Design Teams to inform alterations to existing buildings and demolitions. The Design Team's (Public Buildings) collection contains drawings of many of Aberdeen's best known structures. These include: The Beach Ballroom, The Music Hall, The Bon-Accord Baths, the Maritime Museum and the Central Library.
The collected drawings are an important resource used in the Design Team's work and therefore are not publicly accessible. Although the public do not have access to this collection, many historic architectural drawings are available to consult at the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives and Local Studies at Aberdeen City Libraries. If you would like assistance locating this type of material, please contact us at localstudies@aberdeencity.gov.uk. The Suffragette
423 The Suffragette magazine was the organ of the Aberdeen University Woman Suffrage Association and this particular issue was from 28th October 1908. The front cover features an eye-catching design which is typical of the kind of symbolism used by suffragettes to promote their cause. It is difficult to say exactly what this design represents but it is reminiscent of a flower or rosette and the sun all of which were suffragette symbols.
The colours used are also significant. The colours we associate with the Woman's Social and Political Union, which was one of the major suffragette groups, are green, purple and white and they appeared on badges, jewellery and banners. Purple stood for freedom and dignity; green for hope and white for purity. The colours in this design vary slightly from this but are also likely to be meaningful.
The content of the newsletter is also interesting. It is dominated by the possibility of Henry Herbert Asquith, the Prime Minister at the time, becoming the Aberdeen University rector. Satirical articles and poems mock Asquith and the Liberal Party. As far as the suffragettes were concerned he was an unpopular candidate due to his opposition to women gaining the vote.
Act, for a voluntar Contribution tovvards the building and reparing of the Harbour of Aberdeen
485 This act was issued in Edinburgh on 7th July 1682. It regards rebuilding and repairing Aberdeen's harbour.
The act tells us that Aberdeen's magistrates and town-council had petitioned the King's Privy Council over rebuilding the harbour. They argue that Aberdeen's considerable maritime trade needs a functioning harbour. The weather was preventing them from managing their harbour. They speak of the banks of the River Dee being washed away by currents. They announce that they need a bulwark along the north shore to match that of the south shore. This would cost at least £1,000, roughly the equivalent price of 230 cows, or £230,000 in today's money. They justify their request by saying that they rarely burden their neighbours.
The act continues by saying that the King's Privy Council accept the petition for a 'voluntar Contribution' to be collected for the harbour. They also say that they will recommend to ministers, archbishops and bishops to contribute to the fund. The broadside is signed by Wil Paterson and was printed in Edinburgh by the heir of Andrew Anderson, printer to the King.
Aberdeen's harbour was established in 1136 by King David I of Scotland. In the mid-eighteenth century, it was ransacked by both English and Scottish forces. It was not until 1773, the best part of a century later, that improvements on the harbour begun in earnest. Before this act, through the seventeenth century, the harbour was continuously worked on. The wharf, for instance, was expanded eastward from 1623 through to 1659. The harbour remained dangerous and difficult to access due to a sand bar across its entrance. At high and low tide, the depth ranged from two to fifteen feet of water. Floods were common, and ships were sometimes swept out to sea. (Victoria Elizabeth Clark, The Port of Aberdeen (1921), pp. 47-49.) At Aberdeen, the first Day of February, one thousand seven hundred and thirty seven years; in presence of the Provost, Ballies, Old and New Councils of the Burgh of Aberdeen.
510 A broadside like four-page notice from 1st February 1737, issued by Robert Thomson, town clerk, detailing measures to be taken to support poor decayed brethren of guild of the burgh (burgesses) and their widows and daughters. Only the front page of this item has been digitised and made available here. The full document can be consulted at Aberdeen Central Library.
The measures propose a quarterly contribution of one shilling, four shillings per annum, from each burgess of guild. This is to be collected by the Dean of Guild, who is to name four assessors for the four quarters of the town for this purpose. Burgers are also offered the option of paying a one-off contribution of twelve pound twelve shillings Scots money, which is considered to be the equal to a life-rent contribution. Burgers who fail to contribute, "are to have no benefit of this fund."
The notice details the scheme in considerable detail and how it relates to the family of burgesses. It then records the provost, baillies and council giving their approval to the arangements. |