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Clifton Road, Aberdeen
213 This view from around 1910 shows Clifton Road looking south at its crossroads with Leslie Road and Hilton Street. Clifton Road runs north from Kittybrewster to Woodside, which was a separate burgh form Aberdeen until 1891. It was originally call Tanfield Road but was renamed in 1894. These mainly granite terraced houses were being built during the 1890s. On the left of the photo are the premises of A.M. Black, grocer. This corner shop, at 104 Clifton Road, was run by Miss Agnes M. Black and Miss Margaret Black between 1902 and 1940. Their home was at 1 Leslie Road. The windows contain adverts for Rowntrees Chocolates and Fry's Pure Cocoa. H Company, 7th Gordon Highlanders
973 When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the Army Reserves and Territorials were immediately mobilised. Great enthusiasm greeted the news and streams of men reported immediately to their depots. The local press reported the "patriotic response from the North" as men from various towns responded to the call. This photo shows the scene at Culter, then a village 7 miles west of Aberdeen, as H Company, 7th Gordon Highlanders (Culter) paraded, watched by crowds of excited children. Within a few days, the press were reporting the busy scenes at the railway station where the normal rail traffic was disrupted as men and war supplies were loaded on to special trains for the journey south. Earl of Fife Coach
2007 Mail coaches began in the 1780s from Edinburgh and by 1835, 27 coaches were running to various places from Aberdeen.
The Earl of Fife Coach seems to have started running around 1830, leaving Castle Street every morning at 7am and travelling via Old Meldrum, Turriff, Banff, Portsoy, Cullen and Fochabers where it joined the coaches to Inverness. It would arrive at Banff about 1pm, having changed horses on route.
Coaches were often named from the noblemen in the district in which they ran. The coach's arrival was heralded by a bugle call, and the coachman is described as wearing a blue coat with red trimmings, white hat with a black band, shining shoes and grey spats.
As railways expanded throughout the 1850's coaches were no longer required and gradually disappeared from the roads. This illustration depicts the coach circa 1840. Sir David Stewart
2029 A portrait of Lord Provost Sir David Stewart (1835 - 1919). He served as Provost of Aberdeen from 1889 to 1894. After graduating from King's College in 1855 he joined his father in the firm Messrs. S. R. Stewart & Co., the largest combmaking business in the world. Stewart was the president of the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce for 1883-84 and was also a member of the School Board. He entered the Town Council in November 1889. One very significant development during his term as Provost was the Aberdeen Corporation Act of 1891. This extended the boundaries of the city to include Old Aberdeen, Woodside and Torry.
He also, somewhat reluctantly, gave his name to Stewart Park. The Woodside amenity was officially opened on the afternoon of Saturday 9th June 1894. The Aberdeen Journal's report of the ceremony has the Provost responding to a toast by stating "he did not know what the park was to be called. It was rather hard lines that he should be put in the position of saying 'No' to the request that had been made, but if he had been properly consulted - he would have advised them not to call it the Stewart Park. He might have possibly been chaffed [chuffed] about it being called the Stewart Park, and taken a good-natured smile, but he did not think he ever gave his consent any way. He felt it would be just as well perhaps if the committee called it 'Hilton' or 'Woodside,' and perhaps they would reconsider it." He left the matter in the hands of the Town Council and the name stood. A School of Dolphins: The Douglas Dolphin at Ferryhill Library
2155 Wild Dolphins was chosen by the pupils as part of an annual charity event. Designs were selected by a panel of pupils following a competition to be part of the final paint work, school clan colours were chosen as part of the design. Pupils aged 9-15 were involved. A School of Dolphins: Aberfin at Central Library
2164 The inspiration came from the children's designs which included a wide selection of colour and line patterns inspired by the movement of water. Many of their designs included conservation themes and the children felt it was important to communicate the impact they are having on dolphins in the wild with others. A School of Dolphins: Eric at Central Library
2191 "Eric" replaced "Carnegie" and remained in the Central Library on the dolphin trail throughout June until the end of August. Eric was a tribute to artist Eric Auld FRSA (1931 - 24 December 2013) who supported the Wild Dolphins project but sadly passed away before painting a dolphin. 'Eric" is a collage of portraits and landscapes applied reflecting his stylistic brush strokes featuring some of his most iconic images mixed with original sketches of former students. Stop 10: Sheena Grant MBE, (1941-2010), Grant Room, Marischal College. Cleaner, trade unionist and member of Aberdeen University Court
2309 Sheena Grant was employed as a cleaner at the historic Marischal College from 1984 for over 25yrs. She ensured that the prestigious Mitchell Hall was always kept in meticulous order. Sheena ensured that the academics and support staff were all valued for their work. Sheena was even known to call the principal "Dunkiebaby". Sheena became a dedicated trade unionist at local and national level becoming the first chairperson of Aberdeen University's Unison Branch in 1993, an office she held for almost 20 years. In 2006 Sheena was awarded the MBE for services to education. At first she thought it was a wind up. Sheena was also known for her love of parties and was a well-known darts player in the city. When Marischal College was being refurbished the only room to remain in its original state was the former Senate room and this room was renamed the Grant Room by the building's new occupants Aberdeen City Council when it reopened in 2011. Blaikie's Quay
3511 A photograph looking west along Blaikie's Quay and taken either on or alongside the sailboat seen in other images.
The image depicts stacked timber alongside the quay with a large steamship, possibly called Dragon, also featuring prominently.
The stacked timber suggests the area shown is that outside the wood related businesses towards the eastern end of the quay.
In the background HMS Clyde, a naval reserve training ship, can be seen in Victoria Dock. This ship was a replacement for a previous training vessel in Aberdeen that was also called HMS Clyde.
The replacement ship, shown here, was a sloop previously called Wild Swan. It was renamed after its predecessor on arrival in Aberdeen in 1904. Following changes to navy reserve training, the later Clyde, that shown here, left Aberdeen Harbour for the final time in 1911. Kellie Castle
4211 A photograph showing the southern elevation of Kellie Castle, or Kelly Castle, near Arbirlot and Arbroath in Angus. The castle sits in a wooded area next to a small river call the Elliot Water.
Historic Environment Scotland's Canmore website, states his that this historic tower house, also once known as Auchterlony, was "the seat of the Elliot family from the 14th to the 17th centuries but the building itself appears to date from the late 15th century at the earliest. After standing in ruins for some time it was restored in the mid-19th century and is still occupied."
This image likely dates from the 1970s. It comes from a collection of slides donated to Aberdeen City Libraries by Aberdeen City Council's publicity department. The Culter Mills Paper Company, 1981
4286 A general view of the Mill complex situated in a natural "bowl", looking south from the turnpike bridge. Note the abundance of trees and wild flora.
This image is one of fifteen from a photographic survey of the exterior of Culter Paper Mills and nearby Kennerty Mill undertaken by John A. Souter in the summer of 1981. John kindly donated colour slides of these photographs to Aberdeen City Libraries.
The early history of the Culter Mills Paper Company can be read in the article 'Paper-making on Deeside (1750-1932)' by Alexander A. Cormack in The Deeside Field (sixth number, 1933) pages 36-45. This can be accessed at Aberdeen City Libraries. Treasure 23: Scribner's Statistical Atlas of the United States
194 With roots dating back to the religious observances of the founding fathers, the national holiday of Thanksgiving is celebrated each November in America. The development of the holiday largely mirrors the development of the American nation itself, with tales of warring peoples, inter-state rivalry and the inevitable spread of development.
One popular oral tradition traces Thanksgiving to an event in 1621 which took place between the Pilgrim fathers and the native Wampanoag people. Relations between the settlers and indigenous people were inevitably tense at this time, but the shared feasting and frolics of the "Plymouth Thanksgiving" heralded a friendly truce which lasted for fifty years.
Many years later, and during the tensions of the American Civil War, the editor of a popular magazine, Sarah Josepha Hale, campaigned for a national holiday as a way of promoting unity between the states. Thanksgiving Day was announced by Abraham Lincoln and celebrated for the first time on 26 November 1863. Since then, Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
In 1880, a volume was produced which sought to capture the "state of the union", using data gleaned from census and other records to produce visual representations of the nation. Scribner's Statistical Atlas of the United States uses a mass of information on topics as diverse as population, literacy, agriculture and religion to literally map out the whole of the developing country.
Using just one example from Scribner's Atlas charting the distribution of corn production across the entire United States, it is clear that the general pattern of development is east to west. The eastern areas are much smaller and more populous than the wide expanse of the "unsettled parts" - referred on the Silver Screen as "the Wild West".
Another key aspect of the map are the areas denoted as "Indian Reservations" - specific territories designed to allow some limited freedom of movement to the indigenous populations finding themselves under increasing threat from multiple generations of European settlers. Within the numerous reservations some recognisable Native American names are visible - Sioux, Cherokee and Navajo; however, many are less familiar and many more are either under threat or have entirely disappeared - such as the Wampanoags of the original "Plymouth Thanksgiving" of 1621.
Scribner's Statistical Atlas of the United States was a vast undertaking of data management completed in a simpler age of pen and ink. The detail provided in the snapshot offers readers an intriguing glimpse at the development of one of the most powerful nations on the planet today.
Treasure 99: Local Fiction Collection
318 A lesser known part of our Local Studies stock is our substantial collection of local fiction.
The collection ranges from well-known figures like Lewis Grassic Gibbon to more obscure authors, largely forgotten in the history of literature. As way of an introduction to this sizable collection we will consider some of the lesser known authors in the collection and explore their lives. During the years of 1892 to 1894 Aberdeen City and Shire was home to the eccentric artist and man of letters, Frederick William Rolfe (1860-1913), also known as Baron Corvo. Rolfe was a Londoner who came from a strict and respectable family of Dissenters. He left school early before working as a schoolmaster and tutor. In Local Studies we have a copy of perhaps his most challenging work, Don Renato: An Ideal Content. It was published posthumously by Chatto & Windus in 1963. This is an experimental novel, taking the form of a diary of a fictional chaplain and physician in 16th century Rome.
Another author in our collection is William Gordon Stables (c.1837 - 1910), born in Aberchirder, who was the son of a vintner in Marnock and later Inverurie. During his time in the Navy and later in the merchant services, he worked and travelled all over the world including the Mediterranean, Africa, India and the South Seas. He wrote over 130 books and is primarily remembered as an author of boy's own adventure stories such as The Cruise of the Snowbird (1882), Wild Adventures Round the Pole (1883), and From Pole to Pole (1886). We hold a large number of Stables' novels. The volumes, published by a variety of companies, are often quite beautiful with intricate designs and illustrations on the binding and inside to accompany the story.
To learn about more interesting authors in our collection, have a browse in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition. Treasure 103: Royal Wedding Posters
324 The 21st March marks the 146th wedding anniversary of Queen Victoria's sixth child, Princess Louise, and the 9th Duke of Argyll, the Marquis of Lorne. Aberdeenshire has always held the Royal family in high regard, largely due to their associations with the county and their Balmoral residence. As a result, the wedding of Princess Louise and the Scottish Marquis of Lorne in 1871 was cause for great celebrations in Aberdeen. In Aberdeen City Libraries' collection we hold three posters that testify to these celebrations, and serve as a perfect example of Victorian poster design. The Aberdeen Journal of 22 March 1871 described the union thus:
"The happy union hailed with so much satisfaction throughout the realm and especially in Scotland, was celebrated in Aberdeen with feelings of as great loyalty as in any part of Her Majesty's wide dominions. The attachment which Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise has shewn to her home in the Highlands has endeared her in an especial manner to those whom her Royal mother is pleased to call her neighbours; while her high artistic accomplishments and well-known kindliness of heart have, not less than her royal station, made her alliance with one of our most promising young Scottish nobles, an event of more than usual interest."
View our Treasures exhibition on the interactive screen to find out more about this royal couple and how their marriage unfolded in the following years. Treasure 123: George Washington Wilson in the Highlands and Islands
346 In July 1860, Wilson, accompanied by his friend George Walker, set off on a photographic tour of the west coast of Scotland. They travelled to Inverness, then through the Caledonian Canal. Walker expressed his delight at these new experiences "as we proceeded the scenery got always grander, the mountains loftier and more magnificent". The lack of suitable transport and accommodation had ensured that this wild and mountainous terrain was still largely unexplored by the mid-1800s and had not yet been exploited as a tourist destination. When Wilson began to visit these more remote areas they were still well off the main tourist track but his photographs which captured the grandeur of the landscape brought them to more general attention and increased their popularity for visitors. Although Wilson's views of the spectacular Highland scenery are impressive, his skilful portraits of the people and their way of life provide a valuable record of these remote areas in the late 1800s.
See more of these fascinating photographs in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition on the touchscreen. Glen Cinema Poster
407 A poster for the Glen Cinema in Culter advertising showings of Home at Seven (1952), Bride of the Gorilla (1951), Call of the Jungle (1944) and Prison Mutiny (1943).
The Glen Cinemas company showed films in various venues throughout the North East of Scotland during the 1930s to early 60s. One of these venues was Culter Community Centre.
Glen Cinemas was founded in 1936 by a local man called Arthur M. Burns. The company folded in 1961. Cinema equipment from the Culter Glen Cinema remained in the community centre for around 21 years before being sold by Burns to the London based collector Ronald Grant.
Grant was born in Banchory and worked as a projectionist in the Playhouse, Majestic and Kingsway cinemas in Aberdeen. He was also the assistant general manager of the Cosmo 2 in Diamond Street, before moving to the British Film Institute in London in 1967. The Ronald Grant Archive of Film and Cinematic Memorabilia remains active today.
Glen Cinemas also operated in the Shepherd's Hall in Bucksburn (also known as the Argosy Ballroom).
See the Aberdeen Press & Journal article 'Culter "upset" over cinema history loss' from 14th September 1982, page 3, and Michael Thomson's book Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) for more information on Glen Cinemas. Act Anent Murthering of Children
487 This 19th July 1690 act, as the title suggests, regards dead children. Specifically, it draws attention to mothers who 'conceal her being with Child'. The act declares that, should a child die, their mother would be tried for murder if they did not use others' assistance or declare that they were pregnant. This would remain the case if the deceased child were without wounds or bruises. The act declares that it must be read across the land, at all Parish Churches.
At the time, the Scottish Parliament was particularly concerned about undeclared births, infanticide and the abandonment of children. Parliament desired to rid councils of the expense of caring for these abandoned children. As a result, this act was passed.
The act posed particular difficulties for single mothers of illegitimate children, who did not desire to call attention to the fact. Accused women were typically unmarried and employed as servants. This act increased executions of mothers in Aberdeen - in 1705, four women from Aberdeen were hanged for murdering a child, with a further three executions carried out in 1714. The legal status of the law was unique in that it presumed the woman guilty. Of all offences against the person, it was the second most common in indicting women. (Annie Harrower-Gray, Scotland's Hidden Harlots and Heroines: Women's Role in Scottish Society From 1690-1969 (2014), pp. 44-45). |