St Kilda in full colour in the 1800s

Images from St Kilda opening a window on rural life in Scotland from 125 years ago old are to go on display at Aberdeen University.

An Aberdeen audience will enjoy a rare insight into the St Kildan landscape and its people at a free event this week.  The unique slideshow presentation will happen at Waterstone’s Union Bridge branch on Wednesday (July 14th).

“Colour photography”

The iconic pictures, captured on individually hand-coloured lantern slides, were taken by Aberdeen photographers George Washington Wilson and Norman Macleod who embarked on a journey from Oban to St Kilda in 1886.

During the event they will be presented in their original format using a Victorian magic lantern projector.

Author and historian Mark Butterworth, a leading expert on the photographic lantern slides of Scotland produced during the 19th century, will present the slides at the event, which is part of the University of Aberdeen’s Café Scientifiqueseries.

He said: “The incredible journey taken by George Washington Wilson and Norman Macleod as they travelled through the Western Isles of Scotland to St Kilda is portrayed beautifully in their images, which uniquely capture the way of life in the 1800s in evocative detail.

“The images — which shed new light on life in the Western Isles at this time – were ahead of their time, produced fifty years before colour photography came to Scotland.

“Controversial drug”

“I acquired these rare hand-coloured slides in 2004, complete with the original accompanying lecture notes and have since given regular presentations, sharing this unique collection of rarely seen images with the public.”

The event — Scotland through the Magic Lantern — takes place as part of the Café Scientifiqueseries, which provides a public forum for the discussion of highly topical issues in science.

There is no need to book for the event which begins at 7pm and takes place in the Costa Café area of the Waterstone’s.

Café Scientifique takes place once a month at Waterstone’s through to October.

Other topics set to be highlighted in the series include the effect rising sea levels through global warming, could have on cities across the globe in the future, and the way the controversial drug Thalidomide has changed the world.

For full listings of the three series programmes visit: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/science/cafescience/

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