Vogue The Covers HB6.218.6.89, 100 Years of Fashion PB6.212.838/10, Behind The Runway HB6.217.2.36 The General Collections available at the National Library of Scotland (NLS) cover a diverse range of topics from Mountaineering to Music. You can find help and information to set up a business, indulge a passion, learn a new skill or delve into […]
Tag: photography

One year in the photo-wilds of the National Library of Scotland
The Exploration of a Mountain of Photographic Material by an Icon Intern American pioneering mountaineer and explorer Fanny Bullock Workman’s book Two Summers in the Ice-wilds of Eastern Karakoram: The Exploration of Nineteen Hundred Square Miles of Mountain and Glacier was the inspiration for the title of this piece as I feel it accurately summarises […]

‘Paint with light’ : Photography and the Moving Image Archive
According to the enthusiastic narration on ‘Amateur Cinematography’ held by the Moving Image Archive, photography serves two distinct purposes; ‘first as a form of record and second as a form of art’. This fascinating 3 minute film, shot in 1948, was made as a trailer for the 10th Amateur film festival held at the Cosmo Cinema, now known […]

Sun-pictures and beyond
Scotland and the photographically illustrated book 1845-1900 In October 1844 Henry Talbot, the inventor of the calotype negative (Talbotype) process of photography travelled to Scotland along with Nicolaas Henneman, his former valet who was now running his own Talbotype establishment in Reading. Talbot, with the aid of Henneman, was planning to take photographs to illustrate […]
Mountain heroes: portraits of adventure
(Photo credit: Conway Publishing) (Image shows a picture of a mountain with sky in the background and the title of the book ) Mountain heroes by Huw Lewis-Jones is a visual celebration of those who have risen to the challenge of the highest mountains on Earth. Come face to face with those who have spent […]
Lost worlds: ruins of the Americas
(Photo credit: Antique Collectors’ Club, ACC Editions. Image above shows a black and white photograph of Machu Picchu with the title of the book, Lost worlds: ruins of the Americas) Lost Worlds explores the most distinctive sites in Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This stunning publication represents the culmination of a three-year […]
50 photo icons : the story behind the pictures
(Photo credit: Taschen. The image above shows the front cover of the book which displays the title of the book, 50 photo icons: the story behind the pictures, and a copy of V-J Day in Times Square, a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, which shows a sailor kissing a woman in a white dress) Billions […]
Ingredient, aftershave or none of the above?
The Bartholomew Archive is full of advertisements. Be it photographs from the 1920’s advertising Bartholomew maps, or posters advertising a brand of pen, the Bartholomew Archive has it all. One item that caught my eye recently was this poster for Rorrison’s Cattle Spice.