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Frederick Street Primary School roof playground
453 A photograph showing school children on the roof top playground of Frederick Street Primary School in around 1907.
This was one of very few such playgrounds in the city, perhaps one of only two. The Central School on Schoolhill also had a comparable, roof-top playground for at least some of its history.
Frederick Street School opened in 1905 and had a role of 332 infants and 764 senior/junior pupils. The unusual, elevated playground measured 750 square feet. The Puffing Briggie
532 A scene of change and renovation in the Denburn Valley. The image looks south from Union Bridge over the suburban platforms of the old Aberdeen Joint Railway Station. The old station's large, curved roof can be seen in the background.
The area we are looking at has seen much change since this time. It is now largely covered by the 1960s retail development on the south side of the bridge, the later Trinity Centre, the development of Wapping Street and Denburn Road, and the building of Atholl House. Though many of the buildings of note we can see in this image are still visible today.
The tall buildings on the far right are the rear of those on Bridge Street. The small street in front of them, going up to Guild Street, is the start of College Street. It is now a partially pedestrianised lane that goes under Wapping Street. The building at the top of this street is the classical style suburban ticket office, built 1909 and now home to Tiffany Hair & Beauty.
Going west along Guild Street's two span road bridge we come to the Great North of Scotland Railway Company's headquarters. This was designed by architects Ellis & Wilson and built in 1894. It is now part of the Station Hotel, along with number 78 next door. The building retains many of its original features. The Guild Street entrance to the Trinity Centre now runs along the western side of this building.
The image also shows features that are no longer present. The covered walkway that can be seen on the near right of the image enabled direct access from the station's central platform to the Palace Hotel on Union Street. The hotel was owned by the Great North of Scotland Railway Co. (GNSR). The walkway was vaulted to pass over the tracks at sufficient height.
Consulting The Joint Station: Aberdeen Station, 1867-1992 (c1992), this image probably dates from 1912 when, in additional to commencing the reconstruction of the Joint Station, the GNSR also laid new loading docks and carriage storage siding in the Hadden Mills site (left of image). This was to ensure that the main station buildings were used purely for passenger traffic.
The walkway that linked Windmill Brae and the Green, known affectionately as the Puffing Briggie, can be seen in the centre of the image. It looks like a section on the left has been temporarily demolished as part of the ongoing work.
The sidings on the extreme left were used for cleaning carriages in the later 20th century. One of our correspondents recounts using the often-unattended carriages, accessible when entering the station from the Green, as an unusually exciting and plush playground during their youth in the late-1940s. 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. 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. The Aberdeen Boys School of Industry
1928 An illustration of the Aberdeen Boys School of Industry in around 1841.
The first Industrial School was opened on 1st October 1841 in Chronicle Lane. It was set up by Sheriff William Watson and was intended for the industrial training of boys between the ages of 8 and 14 years. These boys were the children of the poorest classes, and chiefly 'those who are found to infest our streets, begging and stealing.'
They were educated and provided with food and worked for a few hours per day at teasing wool, netmaking or gardening. Dinner was broth, beef and bread, or occasionally potato soup, or kail.
The boys would go home to their families after 8pm, but those who were homeless went to the House of Refuge.
Religious worship was also an important part of their regime. In the first six months of the school, 109 boys were admitted, although the average daily attendance was less than 60. It was reported that juvenile vagrancy and crime had decreased attendance at the Industrial School was made compulsory.
It was then found necessary to find a larger building in 1856 which eventually became Oldmill Reformatory. Industrial Schools existed until the mid 1930s. G. W. Morgan Portrait
2145 This portrait of a smartly dressed young man was taken by G. W. Morgan (1855-1909). The photo features the ornate furniture and painted background that was the convention of the time. On the rear of the postcard photograph is printed "For further copies apply Elite Studios, 5 Market St, Aberdeen." This dates the image as between 1897 and 1907 when the business was trading under this name at the Market Street premises. Morgan and his brother William also operated photographic studios at 3 Bridge Place, 393 Union Street, and two in Aboyne and Ballater.
Morgan was the son of a blacksmith from the village of Clatt, called John Morgan. Born in 1855, George trained as a druggist in Aberdeen before leaving for California where he worked as a photographer. He returned to the city in 1880 and became the principal photographic assistant to Mr Dinnie of Bridge Place. The premises in Market Street were his first studio after going into business with his brother. He lived at Westfield Terrace.
In the coming years Morgan established a reputation in the city as an excellent photographer and businessman. He was described in his Aberdeen Daily Journal obituary as "A thorough artist in every sense of the word. Mr Morgan was remarkably successful in developing the very extensive business, and it was largely owning to his efforts that the firm attained its well deserved renown for the excellence of its portraiture and scenic work, all of which reach a high degree of artistic merit."
In 1909, Morgan died aged 54 in quite unusual circumstances. On the night of 25th June he was travelling with Mr J. B. Davidson, a solicitor and business associate, to London on the Caledonian sleeper train. All was well up to Stirling when the two men went to sleep. Davidson was awoken in the night by the wind blowing into their compartment and with Morgan nowhere to be seen. After a thorough search of the train and much telegraphic inquiries it was determined that Morgan had fallen from the train and died just south of Carstairs. The exact conditions of his death are unknown but it was believed that he woke in the night and groggy with sleep used the wrong door.
In addition to photography Morgan was a very accomplished violinist and acted as choirmaster for Ferryhill Parish Church for many years. He and his wife had 12 children. 95-99 Union Street
2196 Lumsden and Gibson, grocers, at 95 Union Street and Manfield and Sons, shoe shop, at 99 Union Street. Grants, a furniture shop can be seen above.
Correspondent Ed Fowler supplied has supplied some further excellent information:
"Grants Furnishings eventually extended in to the street level premises from the first floor and was a popular supplier of furniture items in the 1940's and 50's by offering convenient hire purchase.
Just out of frame is the sliding gate across the arcade style entrance which crossed via a covered cast iron support bridge above Carnegie Brae and up steps to the North Gallery of Simpson's New Market which was mainly laid out with 2nd hand Books Stall displays and a Stamp Collector's Shop.
A Victorian coin operated clockwork display provided entertainment for children of an exciting fire engine and ladder rescue scene." Stop 5: Aberdeen's First Nursery for Working Women (1871-1874) and Night Shelter for the Homeless (1971-1986), East North Street
2304 In June 1871 a day nursery was established at 13 East North Street for the children of mothers who did laundry and cleaning jobs. It was run by the Aberdeen Association for the Poor, which nowadays is known as Voluntary Services Aberdeen and is Aberdeen's oldest charity. It was for children aged from 6 weeks to 5 years. Prices were one child 3d, nowadays 1p, two children 41/2d, for children from the same family and three for 6d. Prices were increased in 1873 as the nursery was not able to cover its running costs. This did not help and unfortunately the doors closed in May 1874 as it was not feasible for the Association to continue to run it at a loss of £60 a year. A Flower Mission was run instead where volunteers made and brought bouquets of flowers to sick women from the East End and it lasted for twenty years. In 1895-1902 nursery was re-established in the nearby 15-21 Princes Street. This is the site of the first night shelter founded by Mrs Hilda Wernham (1919-2002) in answer to what she saw as the very desperate need of the indigent population in Aberdeen. A justice of the Peace and founding member of the Cyrenians Mrs Wernham was a sparky lady with a social conscience and an ability to inspire others. She managed to persuade business people with her persistence and sense of humour to support the venture. Her enthusiasm and commitment have earned her a place in the history of Aberdeen. Her name lives on at Wernham House (pictured), the first hostel of its kind, established in 1986 at 7 Virginia Street by Aberdeen Cyrenians.
Memories:
Ina recalls Hilda Wernham
Alma's memories of Hilda Wernham and Aberdeen Cyrenians Stop 6: Annie Inglis MBE (1922-2010), Aberdeen Arts Centre, Catherine Hollingsworth (1904-1999) and Isabella Fyvie Mayo (1843-1914), 31 King Street
2305 Aberdeen's first lady of the theatre Annie Inglis MBE dedicated her life to drama in Aberdeen, founding Aberdeen Arts Centre and inspiring generations to take to the stage. Born Annie Nicol in 1922, Annie studied English at Glasgow University before taking up a career in teaching. She joined the Monklands Rep in the 1940s, perfecting her directing skills which she would use to great effect in Aberdeen where she founded the Attic Theatre Group, an amateur group, which enjoyed an enviable reputation for performance. Over the years Annie founded Aberdeen's Arts Carnival, Texaco Theatre School, and Giz Giz Theatre Project for Youth. When the Arts Centre was threatened by closure in 1998 Annie ran a hugely successful campaign to save it involving many famous theatre actors who had trod the boards there.
Born in 1904 in Brechin and known by local folk as the 'speakin'wifie' Catherine Hollingworth started her teaching career in 1927 and might have remained a drama teacher but for the road traffic accident in 1933 which led her to use her learning to address the injury to her own speech. This ignited a lifelong interest in speech therapy at a time when there were very few speech therapists. While another pioneer of the profession Lional Logue (as dramatised in The King's Speech) was supporting King George VI in London, Catherine was appointed as the first superintendent of Speech & Drama and Speech Therapy in Aberdeen. In 1942 she founded the Children's Theatre, which went on to develop an international reputation. She had the theory that if you allowed children to play only to children, with no adults in the audience, their creativity and imagination would be much greater.
Another woman of culture associated with 31 King Street was Isabella Fyvie Mayo a prolific poet and novelist who wrote under the pen name Edward Garret. Although she was to spend most of her life living in Aberdeen, Isabella was born in London in 1843. She was also a pioneering translator for Tolstoy and became not only his friend but was also friends with Mahatma Gandhi. She became an ethical anarchist, pacifist, anti-imperialist, anti-racist and suffragette campaigner. In 1894 she was elected a member of the Aberdeen School Board, the first woman elected to any public board in Aberdeen and it is in this building that the Aberdeen School Board convened. Stop 11: Early Health Services at Aberdeen General Dispensary, Vaccine and Lying-in Institution, 1823
2310 We have to use our imagination a little as the street known affectionately by locals as the 'Gushie' no longer exists other than Provost Skene's House which has the address of 45 Guestrow. In 1823 The General Dispensary, Vaccine and Lying-In Hospital opened in Guestrow, a street that ran parallel to Broad Street from where approximately the Illicit Still is today to where it joined Upperkirkgate.
The General Dispensary, Vaccine and Lying-in Hospital gave free medical advice and treatment to all that required it. These early health services were provided for poorer families often living in the East End of Aberdeen who couldn't afford to pay for medicine, vaccines or to see a doctor. Although a team of doctors were employed at the Institution, young medical students from across the road here at Marischal College also undertook some of their training at the Institution.
The Lying-In part of the Hospital was for women who, once they had had their babies, would 'lie in' for a few weeks as they had such poor living conditions at home. In 1880 it was recorded that 3327 cases were dealt with in that one year alone. It wasn't until 1892 that midwives were employed, recognizing the need for specialist nursing care for pregnant women. This greatly improved the nursing care provided and understanding of the specific needs of mothers and babies.
A famous daughter of Aberdeen who has shaped midwifery throughout the world is Maggie Myles (1892-1988) who wrote her groundbreaking book Textbook for Midwives 'With Modern Concepts of Obstetrics and Neo-natal Care' in 1953, the year before she retired. Maggie produced a further nine editions, each kept up-to-date with the latest developments and best practice. The book has been translated into many languages and is recognized as the leading international textbook for midwives. The book is now in its 15th edition. Born in 1892 in Aberdeen the daughter of a housepainter and former domestic servant Maggie Myles life story is truly remarkable. Migrating to Canada soon after leaving school Maggie would rise to become the director of midwifery education in Philadelphia and Detroit before returning to Scotland in 1939 to be Midwifery Tutor at Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion in Edinburgh.
Memories:
Heather's memories of Billie Maver and the General Dispensary
Nora recounts her memories of Maggie Myles
Edith shares her memories of Maggie Myles Aberdeen Women's Alliance: 31 King Street
2337 A photograph of 31 King Street, the building from which Catherine Hollingworth directed the Aberdeen Municipal Children's Theatre. See this record for a close-up of the plaque dedicated to Hollingworth. The Sick Children's Hospital
2423 Aberdeen's first hospital for children was opened in Castle Terrace in September 1877. The only parts of the old hospital open to the sun and air were the iron balconies at the rear of the building. The hospital moved to Foresterhill in 1929 as an early part of the Joint Hospital Scheme. The building in Castle Terrace was put up for sale and eventually bought in 1938 by Alexander 'Cocky' Hunter.
Correspondent Ed Fowler informs us that the hospital building incorporated the original house at 6 Castle Terrace of Naval Surgeon Dr Patrick Blackie. Dr Blackie used his house for his surgeries and to provided medical services to the local community. The original house is in the central block to the right of the main entrance and shows a break of continuity to the Main Architectural Facade. Aberdeen Cinemas: Electric / Capitol
3401 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Capitol cinema at 431 Union Street in February 1980. At this time the Capitol was in more regular use as a concert venue than as a cinema. This image shows large numbers of people queuing to get tickets for a performance by the band Genesis.
The Capitol was built as a cinema back in 1933. A few days before its opening, it was advertised in local papers as "Aberdeen's wonder cinema". Opened to large crowds on Saturday 4th February 1933, the Capitol was then the largest venue of its kind in the north of Scotland and had a stage that could be adapted for both film and variety entertainment.
The Capitol was built by Aberdeen Picture Palaces Ltd. on the site of an earlier upmarket cinema called the Electric Theatre that dated from 1910. When the Capitol opened, it was regarded as the most up-to-date theatre in the country due to its complex lightning system, organ music and other modern features, some of them being introduced for the first time in Scotland.
The venue could accommodate more than 2,000 people. The building's plans were prepared by Aberdeen architects Alexander Marshall MacKenzie and Clement George. Local newspapers stressed the local ownership of the cinema and the local craftsmanship that went into its construction.
Aberdeen City Libraries hold a souvenir brochure of the cinema's opening. One interesting feature of the brochure is the inclusion of specially created adverts for all the companies involved in the construction and furnishing of the new cinema. Some of the adverts provide rich information on the history of the companies and give an insight into how the companies saw themselves. The brochure details the companies behind every aspect of the buildings from the cinema seating and terrazzo work to the innovative lighting.
On the opening day, Mrs A. D. Hay, wife of the chairman of the Aberdeen Picture Palaces, unlocked the main entrance door with a gold key. This key is still held by the Hay family today. The cinema's first, busy evening featured a variety of entertainment. In addition to the showing of films, there was a ballet performance by the Henrietta Fuller Dancers and Mr Edward O' Henry played the theatre's new top of the line Compton organ.
During the opening ceremony, Bert Gates, another director of Aberdeen Picture Palaces, said: "It was a long lane that had no turning. They had built the Capitol not for to-day, but for the generations of Aberdeen people to come. The company had dedicated the Capitol to the people of Aberdeen, their children, and their children's children in the hope that in generations to come they might appreciate what had been given them."
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Regent / Odeon
3418 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph showing the Odeon on Justice Mill Lane in 1973. The cinema is advertising screenings of Ohh... You Are Awful a comedy vehicle for Dick Emery.
Odeon had acquired control of the venue in 1939 when they purchased previous owners County Cinemas. The cinema's name had changed from the Regent to the Odeon in 1940. This photograph shows the cinema shortly before it was "tripled" to become the first multi-screen film centre in the north of Scotland. This was the process of converting a traditional single large auditorium into three screens of varying sizes.
This was the modern method of cinema development that had been introduced throughout Britain by the Rank and ABC-EMI chains. The Rank Organisation had acquired the Odeon company in 1938. The tripling of Aberdeen's Odeon cost £65,000 and was fully completed on 8th April 1974.
The Odeon had a long and successful time as a cinema. The 1960s saw it showing long runs of hit films like Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and The Sound of Music. The cinema was also known for its Saturday morning children's show known as "The Mickey".
Being part of a nationwide chain, and its central location, enabled the Odeon to survive through the 1970s whereas many of Aberdeen's independent cinemas, unable to adapt, closed down and were either demolished or converted to a different use.
Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) states that the cinema had a close reprieve from Rank Organisation rationalisations in 1981. This enabled the cinema to celebrate its 50th birthday with a special gala evening on 13th March 1982. The film shown was a provincial premiere of On Golden Pond, starring Peter Fonda and Audrey Hepburn. The cinema's original manager, J. K. S. Poole, was a guest of honour.
Two new 215-seater screens were opened at the cinema in March 1991 at a cost of £350,000. Their opening was marked with a screening of Dances With Wolves. There were just two cinemas in Aberdeen at the time, the other being the Cannon at the other end of Union Street.
The Odeon continued up until the modern multiplex era. It finally closed down 13th June 2001. It was subsequently converted into a health centre and is currently occupied by Nuffield Health Centre.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Coliseum / New Kinema / Belmont
3433 An Aberdeen Journals Archive image of the Belmont Cinema in 1952.
The building that now houses the Belmont Filmhouse was originally built in 1896 as a Trades Hall to a design by architects Alexander Ellis and Robert Gordon Wilson.
The grey granite ashlar entrance at 49-51 Belmont Street leads to the main building, best seen from Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct. With multiple floors, the building makes full use of the different levels of the Denburn valley. Historic Environmental Scotland's statement of special interest for the building notes its tall and narrow design and bartizan towers at its far end, describing it as "a distinctive piece of architecture."
Michael Thomson explains that the Trades Hall provided much needed accommodation for meetings, social events and lectures. The main hall originally featured ceiling paintings by Robert Douglas Strachan (1875-1950), who went on to become an acclaimed stained-glass artist.
The construction of the hall was an ambitious and costly undertaking for Aberdeen's labour movement. This led to the hall being increasingly rented out for commercial performances, including cinematographic showings.
William Walker, a local cinematographic pioneer who was also a successful bookseller, leased out the building's main hall as a picture house. The Coliseum was opened on 22 August 1910 by Messrs Walker and Company and so began the building's long life as a cinema.
In July 1911 Glasgow's J. J. Bennell took over control of the Coliseum. Popular features of the venue during Walker and Bennell's time included short "topicals" that documented local life and live variety acts. Thomson explains that Bennell was also a pioneer of Saturday morning matinees for children.
In August 1913 Dove Paterson, another local pioneer who had opened Aberdeen's first permanent cinema on Shiprow, took over at the Coliseum. Paterson died unexpectedly in May 1916 and this brought a temporary halt to the Coliseum cinema. It briefly reopened in December of that year under the management of the Trades Hall, but this only lasted a couple of months before the cinema closed again.
The cinema was then managed by veteran singer D. Brown McGill, who made use of his established contacts in variety circles. His tenure saw the venue complementing its programme of film showings with a range of other entertainments including roller skating, boxing and dancing.
On 11th April 1921 the cinema reopened as the New Kinema, under the management of Henry Philips, who had previously run the Picturedrome on Skene Terrace. One interesting performer at the venue in 1929 noted by Michael Thomson was an illusionist called Carletta who conjured up rabbits to give away to patrons as pets.
In 1935 the then proprietors of the New Kinema, James Brebner and George Walker, were involved in the formation of the Caledonian Theatre public company. It was formed to purchase the site of the La Scala cinema and nearby buildings on Union Street with the intention of building a new super-cinema. In time this would become the Majestic.
June 1935 saw the renovation of the New Kinema and renewal of its heating plant, lighting and sound equipment. It reopened as The Belmont on the 24th of that month.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Kittybrewster School, Aberdeen
4183 Looking north east from Lilybank Place towards Kittybrewster School in around 1905. The green of Kittybrewster & Woodside Bowling Club is in the foreground. A whale bone arch can also be seen in front of the school.
In April 1897, the Aberdeen School Board submitted plans to erect a new school at the Old Boathouse on the west side of Great Northern Road. It was completed at a cost of over £12,000 in time for the commencement of the new school term on 15th August 1899.
Built of granite, in the Renaissance style, it consisted of 3 floors, housing 16 classrooms and could accommodate up to 1,200 children. In addition, it was fully equipped with a gymnasium and rooms for cookery, manual instruction and science. The respected headmaster was George F. Duthie, an ex-president of the Educational Institute of Scotland.
This image is from a postcard, no. 343, published by George Bow of Aberdeen. The Square, Longside
4240 A postcard photograph looking south along Inn Brae from the Square in Longside, Aberdeenshire.
Many children can be seen in the image, including one atop the road sign. The sign points directions to Peterhead and Mintlaw and gives respective distances.
The Commercial Hotel is shown on the left of the image. Longside Parish Church is up the street in the distance.
This image likely dates from the early 20th century. Treasure 30: G M Fraser Local History Lectures to Children - Selection of Tickets
203 Our treasure from the Library archive reflects the policy of the Library in the early 20th century and very much as it is today - "to get closely into touch with the children of the community" (Library Annual report 1913/14).
G M Fraser delivered a series of free local history lectures (in a series of 4) to children in the Juvenile Department every winter from 1914 - until the last one in February 1936. However there was one exception! After his first lecture in November 1928 he slipped on ice and broke 3 ribs so the remaining 3 winter lectures were cancelled.
Topics for the lectures included Historical buildings, Streets of Aberdeen, Place names, Battlefields, Streams and Lochs, Hill Forts, School Names and many more.
Tickets for the lectures were distributed with the co-operation of the Elementary Schools and each lecture was attended by up to 300 schoolchildren.
The earliest ticket we have in our collection is for the final lecture of the first series, "Historic Street Names in Aberdeen" on 11 February 1915, seen on display with a selection of others. The very first lecture was given on 6 November 1914 "An Evening in Historical Aberdeen" with lantern illustrations, followed by, The Story of the Castlegate and The Friars in Aberdeen.
Children were invited to write an essay on the subject of each lecture and local history books such as "The Old Deeside Road" were awarded as prizes.
The lectures were described as "a delightful experience for everyone concerned" and "the subsequent essays sent in were a pleasure to read". To ensure blind people were included, from 1916 the lectures were delivered separately at the Asylum for the Blind at their social evenings and we are told "heckling" the lecturer was encouraged!
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 51: Central Library Extension Plan 1902
226 In this Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design we feature a plan from our archive showing the proposed extension to the original Central Library building. Previously, the building was around half the size of what it is now - the area which houses the Children's Library and Media Centre was added in the extension to the building in 1905.
By 1900 - less than 10 years since the Central Library first opened - the need for an extension was recognised with reports from the time describing The Reading Room as "congested, dark and inaccessible". In 1902, the architects Brown and Watt designed a 2-storey central piece with a single storey extending west to the junction of Skene Street, and ending in a tower. The extension cost £7,700 and opened on 18 May 1905. Built in keeping with the character of the main structure, it was described as a "harmony of architectural features". Facilities included a new Reading Room, a Stock Room, an upgraded Reference Department and public toilets.
The new Reading Room was painted in colours of citron and cream and described as "handsome, airy, bright and convenient". The 2000 readers who frequented it daily would have been well satisfied with 21 dailies, 100 weeklies, 78 monthlies and 11 quarterlies to choose from. Railway Timetables were also stocked.
The rules of the reading room were strictly enforced. Time restraints on newspapers were also in operation. Readers were given 10 minutes to "occupy a page if another reader has expressed a wish to have it turned".
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