Information

These lectures use images which mostly date from the last 20 years of the 19th century.

The lectures are all based on original slides that would have been used with a Victorian projector. The brass and mahogany lantern show at right is typical of the genre, it dates from around 1880. However, in the early 20th century the "Russian Iron" type lantern show at far right would have been used. Both were made in England.

Lectures typically last for 45/50 minutes and can usually be tailored to suit.

All lectures use Powerpoint, but under certain circumstances, the original slides and lantern can be used.

Jump to a subject:

• Scotland
• International

 

Travel Lectures - Presented with PowerPoint

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Scotland Lectures

 

Destination St Kilda

In 1886 two Aberdeen photographers traveled from Oban, through Skye and the Outer Hebrides to their final Destination, St Kilda. Throughout the journey they photographed the major sights of the Western Isles and documented the way of life of the local people. Many of the images are the earliest photographs of Western Isles life and are today considered iconic photographs of the Hebrides in the late 19th century. The lecture includes quotations from the original lecture notes, produced to accompany the images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Tour Around Scotland

The growth of tourism in the late 19th century produced a demand for photographs for souvenirs and to be used to give travel lectures to people unable to visit places for themselves. This lecture follows a Victorian tour of Scotland, looking at many of the places considered “must see” by the tourists of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Lectures

The Holy Land

Late 19th century photographs of scenes in the Holy Land. Entering by the Desert from Egypt, the lecture follows a route though Hebron and Bethlehem to Jerusalem. After a visit to the Convent of Mar Saba, on the borders of the Dead Sea, the route north continues, visiting Bethel, Samaria, and Shechem, and then to Galilee. On to Damascus and then views of Palmyra or Tadmor - the city founded by Solomon. In the course of the lecture there are many images of the different inhabitants of the land, such as Turks, Jews, Bedouin, groups of the celebrated natives, Bethlehem and Nazareth.

 

 

 

 

 

Australia

Scottish Photographer Fred Hardie toured the east coast of Australia in the 1890's, recording the places, people and sights of this developing colony on the brink of Federation and self-Government. The lecture shows how the Australian character and identity was evolving and the major achievements that had been accomplished to create a modern, vibrant society at the end of the nineteenth century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building the Panama Canal

From the first French attempts under the supervision of Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal to the completion by the USA under the management of Chief Engineer George Washington Goethals, the construction of the Panama Canal is one of the modern feats of engineering. The lecture looks at rare and often unique images of the many phases of construction and explains the impact that the canal had on world trade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life in Japan

A look at the way people lived in Japan using hand coloured slides produced by Teijiro Takagi of Kobe at the beginning of the 20th century. The images show scenes from all Japanese walks of life, illustrating wedding ceremonies, religious festivals, the tea ceremony, people at work and play, children at school, and rice growing. A glimpse of Japanese life before the 20th century and western ideas changed the culture forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Africa

Images of South Africa taken in 1895 by Charles Wilson of Aberdeen. Scenes of the cities, landscapes, gold and diamond mines and the local people, capturing the way people lived in this important colony in the years following the Boer War. Includes views of Cape Town and surrounding areas, Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Kimberley, Johannesburg and others.