Perthshire in Postcards

Issue No. 36 April 2014 In Glen Lyon - a postcard by Scott Rankin Perthshire in Postcards The Friends’ latest publication, ‘A Postcard from Perthshire’ is reviewed on page 5 Notes from our Chairman Writing the Chairman’s notes for the Friends’ Newsletter is very redo- lent of some other facets of life. That is to say, you complete a piece for a publication, send it off and breathe a sigh of relief thinking that's that for a while. Then, before you can blink, a message arrives asking for text for the next one! Thus the six months or so since last October have gone in a flash. Mind you, a great deal has happened during that period which I will try to outline for members. In relation to our talks, as many of you will know, we have had three ex- tremely interesting speakers. In late October Bernard Byrom returned to de- liver his history of the Highland Railway from Perth to Inverness. As many of the audience had travelled along it, their interest was very great and Ber- nard did not disappoint. Indeed, the illustrations were wonderful, showing everything from the types of locomotives used over decades to the depth of the winter snows they had to cope with. This was followed in November by Steve Connelly, our Archivist, who gave us a comprehensive overview of the resources available in the Archive. It was very kind of him to agree to exchange slots with Rhoda Fothergill, who had been scheduled to speak then on the glass industry of Perth, but who felt she needed a little more time to put together her illustrative material. As I said in my vote of thanks, if anyone had wanted an encyclopaedic tour of the Archive, Steve did that for us. Most recently, in February, Rhoda Fothergill gave her talk on the glass industry and again fascinated everyone present. It was focused on three of the historic firms which have operated in Perth in the past but the level of detail was amazing, and we all learned a great deal about how glass was used in a multitude of different ways compared to the present day. It was well worth waiting to allow Rhoda to source all the illustrations she wanted to use. Apart from that, it was with great pleasure that I wrote to Rhoda in early January to congratulate her on behalf of the Friends following her award of the BEM in the Queen's New Year's Honours List. As I said in that letter, we all hope that the interest Rhoda has sparked in the history of Perth and its environs will encourage more people to become interested in this subject and, perhaps, give rise to another historian of her calibre. In contrast to that letter, and on a very sad note, I also wrote a letter of con- dolence to Mrs Colin Stewart of Blairgowrie, the sister of our late Honorary 2 President and lighthouse expert, former Provost Bob Scott. Bob served as a member of Perth & Kinross District Council, Tayside Regional Council and the current unitary Perth & Kinross Council. He served as Provost from 2003 to 2007 when he retired from local government. My own experience of Bob, as a fellow local councillor, very quickly showed me that no matter what topic was under discussion Bob would approach it in a balanced, logical and even-handed way. This made him an ideal person to be a Provost and his term of office was exemplary. Bob died in October after a long illness and, as I am sure many of you feel, this was a tragic loss of a kind and considerate man who should have had the pleasure of attending our talks, and on occasion giving them, for many years to come. Trying to remain upbeat, I am very pleased to say that at our Committee meeting on 28th November 2013, our Treasurer Jim Ferguson proposed that the Committee grant a life membership to David Wilson, the editor of our Newsletter. This was agreed unanimously and I would like to express my thanks to David for all the work he has carried out for us in a totally voluntary capacity, thus ensuring the continuity and quality of this publication. Again looking to the future, we have three more talks this session, each of which promises to be very interesting. They range from the story of the transportation of convicts to Australia through the garden cemetery move- ment in Perthshire and culminate with a day in the life of the Registrar. The third of these, on 15th May, coincides with our Annual General Meeting and while this seems some time away, just like the matter of writing these notes, it will arrive in a jiffy. I would therefore ask all members to consider whether they might wish to become members of our Committee and thus help to en- sure that the valuable contribution the Friends make to the operation of our Archive continues. As usual, anyone wishing to stand as a member of the Committee should submit a nomination form by the specified date when they receive their AGM notice. Finally, in this edition, I wish to record my thanks to our new Assistant Archivist, Christine Wood, who has taken on the role which her predecessor Jan Merchant held for many years. In relation to the Friends this includes advising members on how they can help, guiding them in so doing and attending all our Committee meetings. This is on a purely voluntary basis and I and my colleagues greatly appreciate this kindness and professionalism. Alan Grant 3 News from the Archive I am pleased to announce that Christine Wood has been appointed as Assistant Ar- chivist in succession to Jan Merchant. Many of you will know Christine from the search room and from her stint as treasurer. She will serve on the Friends’ committee and brings valuable experience of working with the volunteers. Christine’s old job of Archives Assistant has been filled by Claire Devine, known to many users of the A K Bell Lending Department. Claire is currently on maternity leave after the very recent arrival of Tom, but we are fortunate to have the services of another experi- enced member of staff, Lorna Westwater, until Claire returns to work. I am sure you will all join me in welcoming them all to their new roles. As I write this, the refurbishment of the first floor of the A K Bell Library has been completed as the home of Local & Family History (formerly Local Studies) and Learning & Information (formerly Reference). It is looking very good and public re- action is generally favourable. The rearrangement of the first floor means that Local & Family History is now immediately adjacent to the Archive search room. It is go- ing to leave the Archive search room looking a little shabby chic in comparison. Steve Connelly 4 A Postcard from Perthshire Friends of Perth & Kinross Council Archive have recently published another little book by one of our members, David Robertson. On this occasion he has joined forces with his brother Ian Robertson to produce A Postcard From Perthshire. This booklet is profusely illustrated by old postcard pictures from the early 1900s, many of them showing scenes which have long since disappeared or have been much changed. Picture postcards came to prominence around 1900, and they became for a decade or more the main medium of day-to-day communication for much of the population. A national craze developed for collecting picture postcards, which was met by publishers producing designs in large numbers. Some of their names will be familiar such as Valentine’s of Dundee, the Aberdeen This ‘Fair City’ card from 1905 shows one of the new electric trams standing outside the former High St. Post Office building 5 photographer George Washington Wilson and, most famous of all, Raphael Tuck & Sons. The book examines in particular the production of ‘view cards’ to meet the demands of visitors to Perthshire before the First World War. It describes how two local firms – William Culross in Coupar Angus and David Wood in Perth - became leading publishers of County views. Both have sadly gone out of business in recent years, but some of their early postcards are included amongst the numerous examples illustrated in the book, many of them in colour. The second part of the book tells the stories behind a wide selection High St., Dunkeld at the turn of the of scenes from across Perthshire as century, with children playing in the roadway! they appeared on the postcards of An ‘Art Card’ published by Raphael a hundred years ago. Tuck & Sons in their acclaimed ‘Oilette’ series There are illustrations of the town centres of places like Aberfeldy, Dundee, Dunkeld and Coupar Angus—often so quiet before the motor car appeared!— and the old hotels at Lochearn- head and Tummel Bridge . Other locations described in detail are the Dun- ning monument to the burning of a witch, the once-famous health spa of Pit- keathly , and the cottage near Pitlochry which was said—as were several oth- ers— to be the centre of Scotland. Amongst the scenes featured are several with a transport theme. The story is briefly told of the trams in Perth and the steamers on Loch Tay, both long Pictures Courtesy of the Authors except for ‘Devil’s Elbow’ postcard 6 gone. Also illustrated are the old road and rail bridges over the Tummel at Ballinluig, the old ferry and new bridge across the Tay at Kinclaven, and the much-feared Devil’s Elbow which faced motorists heading north out of Perthshire to Braemar and Deeside.

Load more