In 1810 the schoolteachers Marianne Woods and Jane Pirie found their Edinburgh boarding school abandoned after the rapid removal of every single pupil by their parents. The reason for this exodus stemmed from the accusations voiced by their pupil Jane Cumming who informed her grandmother that the two teachers were in a sexual relationship. Horrified […]
Category: 19th-century items
National Library of Scotland and the Edinburgh College of Art: an enduring partnership
Since 2014, the National Library’s Public Programmes team have been regularly working with Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) Illustration tutors and their 1st Year students on an annual collaborative project. Taking inspiration from different aspects of the National Library’s collections, the students have created Riso prints, linocuts, drawings and paper sculptures as part of their […]
Rare and Fascinating Beekeeping Books
In the summer of 2021, a generous donation of beekeeping works was made to the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association (SBA) from the bookseller, John Kinross. After discussions with the librarian of the SBA’s circulating library held at Fountainbridge Public Library, it was decided that twenty-eight of the rarest and most valuable titles would become additions to […]
Sir Walter Scott and the historical novel
Last year marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of Scotland’s greatest literary talents, Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). The Wizard of the North, as he became known, enjoyed a towering reputation throughout the 19th century and was one of the most important figures in the development and popularisation of the historical novel. The […]
Our collections and the climate crisis – Fife
The Library holds millions of items- books, journals, e-books, maps, music, moving images- and these can help individuals build both practical and emotional resilience in the face of the climate crisis. Be it a map showing the effects of coastal erosion in Scotland or an e-book on climate justice or a poem deepening our relationship […]
Our collections and the climate crisis – Clyde River Basin
The Library holds millions of items- books, journals, e-books, maps, music, moving images- and these can help individuals build both practical and emotional resilience in the face of the climate crisis. Be it a map showing the effects of coastal erosion in Scotland or an e-book on climate justice or a poem deepening our relationship […]
Our collections and the climate crisis – Cairngorms
The Library holds millions of items- books, journals, e-books, maps, music, moving images- and these can help individuals build both practical and emotional resilience in the face of the climate crisis. Be it a map showing the effects of coastal erosion in Scotland or an e-book on climate justice or a poem deepening our relationship […]
Our collections and the Climate Crisis — Outer Hebrides
The Library holds millions of items- books, journals, e-books, maps, music, moving images- and these can help individuals build both practical and emotional resilience in the face of the climate crisis. Be it a map showing the effects of coastal erosion in Scotland or an e-book on climate justice or a poem deepening our relationship […]
Maps with a sense of the past: what are synthetic maps, and why do we love them?
by Chris Fleet, Zekun Li, Katie McDonough, and Valeria Vitale. Maps are excellent documentary sources for understanding the history of the landscape, including past human activities and former physical environments. Many organizations have scanned tens of thousands of historical maps and shared them online. For example, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection scanned by the […]
John Thomson: photographer, writer and traveller
This week marks the centenary of the death of Scottish photographer John Thomson (1837-1921), one of the great names of early photography. Over the last 30-40 years Thomson’s achievements as a photographer, which were largely forgotten in the years following his death, have been increasingly recognised and publicised. A cast bronze plaque to commemorate him […]