Not so very long ago, our ancestors had to rely on their own two feet or horse-power to travel. A succession of developments in transport benefited not only trade and industry, but also gave people the means to escape the city to the seaside, countryside or suburbia.
Our latest story on Our Town Stories, Edinburgh by road, rail and waterway, is your historical passport to getting around town.
A little while ago we blogged about the first film in our Early Photography film series. We’ve now published all three short films in the trilogy. Take 15 minutes to discover Edinburgh’s significant part in the history of photography.
Film 1 describes the birth of photography in Edinburgh and the first photographic club in the world alongside the pioneering and world-renowned duo, Hill and Adamson.
Film 2 describes how photography was used as a tool to record social change and with the upsurge in tourism to Scotland, a means to earn a living.
Film 3 gives an account of how photography became available to the masses due to the Victorian craze for studio portraiture and the camera’s now fundamental role in family memento.
All images used to tell the early history of photography are taken from our collections here at Central Library. And don’t forget you can find many more fantastic pictures from the past on Capital Collections, our online image library.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Edinburgh Libraries have made 3 short films telling the story of Edinburgh’s major role in the development of photography. Here’s the first film in the series, entitled ‘Pioneering Artist Photographers’.
Visit Capital Collections to see many more images from our early photography collections including the online exhibitions:
We’ve another new story to look out for on Our Town Stories! John Kay’s story describes one of the most exciting times in our city’s history – the period known as the Scottish Enlightenment.
Kay just had to look out of his window onto Edinburgh’s High Street to observe some of the world’s leading thinkers in the fields of philosophy, medicine and politics going about their daily business. He could also observe some of these illustrious characters in the more intimate surroundings of his barber’s chair. His famous etchings are full of humour and satire and give us a remarkable record of the celebrities and intelligentsia of the time.
Read his story on Our Town Stories and discover what made this such a notable time in Scotland’s history.
Capital Collections, is not just the online home of for all our archival material, it also has some great contemporary images – the archival material of the future. We’re committed to documenting the changing face of the city and when possible, even record momentous events for posterity. This summer, our photographer has so far captured the Dalai Lama’s visit to Edinburgh and the Queen’s Jubilee visit to St Giles’ Cathedral for her grandson, Prince William’s Order of the Thistle ceremony. 
Our photographer was also on hand to capture the journey of the Olympic Torch from it’s arrival in the city centre and then followed it as it set off the following day to Duddingston and Musselburgh as it travelled south.
Follow the Edinburgh leg of the Olympic Torch Relay with our latest online exhibition on Capital Collections.
Get ready for the Jubilee Bank Holiday and take a look back in time to 1950s Edinburgh with our special Whose Town? 1950s exhibition on Capital Collections.
Here a street party is in full swing in Gorgie. All over Edinburgh residential streets were decorated with balloons and bunting on Coronation Day, Tuesday June 2nd 1953. After months of fundraising, the big day for the street’s celebrations had arrived. Tables were set up in the streets and children wore paper hats and played games such as pitching a lucky ball through the porthole of a model ship. Food consisted of cold ham and salad for the adults washed down with tea, while children enjoyed buns and cakes with lemonade. Singing and dancing went on for many hours.
The city centre was decorated with flowers and banners and buildings were floodlit. For 48 hours leading up to the day, there was a programme of events, including a ball in the Assembly Rooms and a Youth Vigil Service. Coronation Day was a holiday for almost all citizens, with bus and train services reduced and shops closed and no mail deliveries. As well as street parties, those lucky enough to own a television, organised parties in their homes to watch the ceremony. The day ended with spectacular firework displays and bonfires lit on the surrounding hills of the city.
Visit Whose Town? and hear Bill’s memories of growing up in Edinburgh and how he got the day off school to join the Coronation celebrations.
2012 seems to be the year for anniversaries. And just around the corner looms the shadow of a devastating iceberg bringing with it a commemoration of the lives lost and saved in the 1912 Titanic disaster. For a picture of how life was lived in Edinburgh at the time of the disaster take a look into the Brave New World attic within Whose Town? showing Edinburgh at the beginning of the nineteenth century (1900 – 1914). Discover what life was like in Scotland’s capital from three real people who lived here – the city’s firemaster, a young Suffragette and an immigrant ice cream entrepreneur.
As ever this material is available to all via our Capital Collections Brave New World online exhibition.
And keep a look out for further Titanic news on the blogging horizon.
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