News

New Photography Book Features Scottish Scenes Lost For 60 Years

10 June 2009

Captivating images taken by a ‘gentleman photographer’ who travelled throughout his native Scotland at the turn of last century are the subject of a new book published by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).

Entitled ‘Wanderings with a Camera in Scotland’, the book features more than 170 images taken by Dunfermline textile merchant Erskine Beveridge between 1880 and 1919. The images capture Scotland’s traditional rural past with intriguing insights into the lifestyles of many small communities around the country.

While rural villages such as Mallaig have changed considerably over the past 100 years, other images such as those of the fishing villages in the East Neuk of Fife remain fully recognisable to a modern reader.

Erskine Beveridge’s complete collection of more than 750 glass plates was discovered by accident in the 1960s and saved from destruction. It was brought to RCAHMS for safekeeping, given its role as the national collection of images and items relating to Scotland’s built environment.

The author of the book is RCAHMS Head of Collections, Lesley Ferguson.

“The photographs show Scotland on the brink of major social and economic change,” she said. “From black houses in the Western Isles and Highland crofts in the shadow of Ben Nevis, to remote castles in Argyll and busy harbour views in Fife, they are a remarkable record of a bygone era.

“Erskine Beveridge himself was a wealthy and influential man who was able to indulge his passion for photography – which at the time was still an emerging technology. He was an enthusiastic historian and archaeologist and recognised the power of the camera to record his surroundings. He was fascinated with landscapes, boats, buildings and archaeological monuments and his photographs convey a sense of what made Scotland’s places meaningful to him.”

‘Wanderings with a Camera in Scotland’ is available now priced £25.00 from all good booksellers.

Wanderings with a Camera in Scotland: The Photography of Erskine Beveridge

Published by:  The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland 8 June 2009. Hardback: £25.00 RRP

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For further information please contact: Barbara Fraser at Pagoda PR 0131 556 0770 / barbara.fraser@pagodapr.com

Notes to Editors:
1) For over one hundred years, RCAHMS has been collecting, recording and interpreting information on the architectural, industrial, archaeological and maritime heritage of the nation, creating a unique archive that offers a remarkable insight into the special nature of Scotland's Places.  Over 15 million items, including photographs, maps, drawings and documents are made widely available to the public via the web, through exhibitions and publications, and at the RCAHMS search room in Edinburgh.

2) Selected images from the book Wanderings with a Camera in Scotland are available for media reproduction on request. Please contact Barbara Fraser or Shaheena Abbas at Pagoda PR 0131 556 0770 / barbara.fraser@pagodapr.com / Shaheena.abbas@pagodapr.com