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Treasure 31: Hays' Isometrical View of Aberdeen 1850
2586 In September 1850 an advert appeared in the local papers of Aberdeen for "Hays' Isometrical View of Aberdeen, giving a Distinct and Correct View of the Whole City and Environs". We hold copy of the plan from 1850 in our Local Studies collection.
The plan was available to purchase for 3s. 6d. and measured 34 inches by 19 inches. Carvers and gilders, J. & J. Hays, had premises at 2 Market Street where they also sold prints and optical instruments. At the bottom left of the image we see the words George Wilson, Delt. (abbreviation of delineator, i.e. the artist). George Wilson was to find fame a few years later as George Washington Wilson when he became one of Scotland's premier photographers.
George Washington Wilson
George Washington Wilson was born in 1823 at Waulkmill of Carnousie in Banffshire and left school at 12 years of age to be an apprentice carpenter. He practised his artistic skills by drawing portraits of friends and neighbours and, after training at art schools in Edinburgh and London, he returned to Aberdeen to become an art teacher and portrait painter.
By the late 1840's Wilson was attracted by the work of Fox Talbot in the new art of photography and after initial experiments with a homemade camera, he advertised a business offering photographic portraits before eventually expanding into landscape photography.
A Bird's Eye View of History
Wilson created this panoramic view of the city by making numerous sketches from the roofs of high buildings and then merging them into one comprehensive drawing. We are looking north across the city from the harbour with Union Street running horizontally across the centre and Old Aberdeen in the far distance. We can see how small the city actually was at this time - open fields are visible just to the north of the west end of Union Street.
A key to the most prominent buildings was provided and it is interesting to see which buildings have survived until today, often with additions, and which had yet to be built. Robert Gordon's Hospital (now College), Marischal College, and various churches including the Triple Kirks and St Nicholas East and West are all still standing but the West Prison, Castlehill Barracks and the Poorhouse have been demolished.
Bird's Eye View 1889
In December 1889, the Aberdeen Free Press offered its readers an updated version of the Bird's Eye View as a supplement to their newspaper. Numerous changes to the landscape of the city had taken place since Wilson's view. Aberdeen Portraits: Group No. 8
3110 Group No. 8 from Messrs G. W. Wilson & Co.'s Aberdeen portraits series published in 1907. An article in The Aberdeen Daily Journal of 27th April 1907, page 4, states:
"There are few more interesting local pictures than the two groups of photographic portraits of Aberdeen public men which were published by Mr G. W. Wilson in the very early days of photography - in 1856 and 1857.
These groups were selected and arranged by Mr (afterwards Baillie) George Walker, who is one of the very few survivors of the 196 note worthy Aberdonians portrayed; and an animated description of one of them is given by Mr William Carnie in 'Reporting Reminiscences.'
A third group was published 1896; and most of the faces presented in it have likewise vanished from the scene. The happy idea has just occurred to Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. to reproduce these three groups, along with six other groups (containing 100 portraits each) selected from the large collection of negatives taken at the firm's Crown Street studio between 1852 and 1896.
The nine groups thus constitute a collection fairly representative of the leading men of Aberdeen during the latter half of the nineteenth century. They are printed in permanent collotype, and are encased in a handsome portfolio, an index of names also being supplied. But each group can be had separately, and is so mounted as to be available for framing; while copies printed on gelatine paper are also to be had, and copies of the single portraits may be secured.
Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. claim - and probably with every reason - that this series of portraits is unique, no other city having a similar portrait gallery of its leading citizens, covering practically the whole period between the beginning of the photographic portraiture on paper and the end of the nineteenth century." Aberdeen Portraits: Group No. 9
3111 Group No. 9 from Messrs G. W. Wilson & Co.'s Aberdeen portraits series published in 1907. An article in The Aberdeen Daily Journal of 27th April 1907, page 4, states:
"There are few more interesting local pictures than the two groups of photographic portraits of Aberdeen public men which were published by Mr G. W. Wilson in the very early days of photography - in 1856 and 1857.
These groups were selected and arranged by Mr (afterwards Baillie) George Walker, who is one of the very few survivors of the 196 note worthy Aberdonians portrayed; and an animated description of one of them is given by Mr William Carnie in 'Reporting Reminiscences.'
A third group was published 1896; and most of the faces presented in it have likewise vanished from the scene. The happy idea has just occurred to Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. to reproduce these three groups, along with six other groups (containing 100 portraits each) selected from the large collection of negatives taken at the firm's Crown Street studio between 1852 and 1896.
The nine groups thus constitute a collection fairly representative of the leading men of Aberdeen during the latter half of the nineteenth century. They are printed in permanent collotype, and are encased in a handsome portfolio, an index of names also being supplied. But each group can be had separately, and is so mounted as to be available for framing; while copies printed on gelatine paper are also to be had, and copies of the single portraits may be secured.
Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. claim - and probably with every reason - that this series of portraits is unique, no other city having a similar portrait gallery of its leading citizens, covering practically the whole period between the beginning of the photographic portraiture on paper and the end of the nineteenth century." Treasure 40: Valentine and Sons Postcards Collection, 1825-1963
209 Founded in 1825 as a printing firm based in Dundee, Valentine & Sons grew to become a prominent force in the postcard industry. Combining established printing practices with new developments in photography, Valentines were one of many companies able to exploit the growing Victorian tourist boom, aided in part by easier travel on Britain's new railway system.
James Valentine, son of the original founder John, became an early pioneer in photography with many of his works reproduced by the company from 1860. After James' death in 1879, the company continued under his two sons, George Dobson Valentine and William Dobson Valentine.
From 1896, Valentine and Sons began producing postcards to complement their existing business which included books of photographs, portraits and Christmas cards. As the postcard business grew in success, the company expanded into other tourist markets - including opening offices in Jamaica, Norway, North Africa, Canada and New York.
By the 1930s, the company focused solely on postcard production, but a focus on monochrome and sepia prints seems to have underestimated a growing demand for colour images. By the 1950s, the business was suffering and elected to change direction by returning to greetings cards. The company was purchased by Waddington & Co in 1963 - which in turn passed to Hallmark cards in 1980. Operations in Dundee ceased in 1994.
As with other producers of photographic material, the legacy of such a prolific business enables modern audiences a glimpse into the past with thousands of images from numerous locations capturing a given moment in time. Postcards have become a staple for those with historical interest, and many private collectors seek to hold the entire works of companies such as Valentine and Sons.
For the Local Studies service, the collection of postcards produced by Valentine and Sons offer some unique and fascinating insights into Aberdeen life in the past. Not only this, the messages written on the back of postcards - both from and to those in Aberdeen - can often bring a more human side to the historical picture.
Treasure 109: George Washington Wilson Portraits
330 This month we look at some of George Washington Wilson's work as a portrait photographer and especially the creation of photomontages selected from the large collection of images he had taken of men from the city and surrounding area who were leading figures in business, industry, law, education, and the church.
Wilson, encouraged by his friend George Walker of the firm of A. Brown & Co, booksellers, created his first grouping of Aberdeen Portraits in 1857, with a second collection in the following year. They spent many hours selecting and arranging the images to form an oval of faces where their perceived prominence of each individual is determined by the size and placing of each portrait within the oval. Images of Walker, Wilson and Wilson's brother Robert were included in the first selection.
The venture was a huge success with thousands of prints being sold, and, eventually a further seven groupings were created from the stock of images held. In 1907, a booklet with an alphabetical list of all 897 portraits was produced by G. W. Wilson & Co. when a portfolio of all 9 groups with the list could be purchased for 10 shillings and 6 pence. |