Category Archives: Public Notices

Thank goodness for collectors!

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Bonnyrigg Calendar 1977

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks goodness for collectors! You might call them daft but they are a godsend for archivists and archive collections.

Recently, Midlothian Local Studies has completed a catalogue for a collection once owned by Eric Basden. 

Eric B Basden lived at 7 Leyden Park, Bonnyrigg with his wife Joan and four children. He was a keen entomologist, and a member of the Bonnyrigg and Lasswade District Horticultural and Industrial Society.  He was active in local affairs and his collection reflects his interests, including horticulture, local shops, businesses, the annual Civic Week, and clubs and societies in Bonnyrigg and Lasswade.

 

Civic Week programme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex Eadie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Eric collected a huge amount of ephemera from the Bonnyrigg area. This included advertising leaflets from local shops and businesses, political leaflets, newsletters, membership cards and calendars, even books of bingo tickets and brown paper bags. Few people would consider saving this kind of material which is normally just thrown away.

 

 

 

 

 

Vote for Buchanan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately, Basden kept it and it was donated to Midlothian Local Studies after his death. It provides a fascinating snapshot of life in Bonnyrigg in the 1970s, a typical Scottish town of its day. 

 

Amongst the collection is a series of fact sheets called ‘Compar-a-cost’. These were produced by the local council in the 1970s and compared the prices of basic groceries in local shops. Inflation and rising prices were one of the big issues of the 1970s and here local people could compare prices. In December 1975, a tin of baked beans cost 11½p in Nobles of Bonnyrigg but 15½p in St Cuthbert’s of Mayfield.

 

Another typical item is a receipt for Allan Forrest, Grocer and Fruiterer, High Street, Bonnyrigg. Eric Basden has added a note to the receipt stating that he asked the four members of staff to sign it the day before the business closed for good (15 May 1976).

 

 

 

 

 

Raffle tcikets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The collection includes two scrapbooks of local small ephemera, such as bus tickets, raffle tickets, business cards and invitations.

The collection also holds some internment notices from Lasswade cemetery dating from 1916 onwards. Basden probably rescued these from somebody’s bin.

Eric Basden died in 1984, having been a Midlothian man and pillar of the local community for all of his life.

 

 

Bonnyrigg & Lasswade Official Guide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only worying thing about this collection is that if you are of a certain vintage, the 1970s don’t seem that long ago but the decade is rapidly becoming the stuff of archives.

Records on the move…

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IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please be aware that the public searchroom at Edinburgh City Archives will be closed from Thursday 28th July until Tuesday 11th October 2011.

This is to allow us to move the bulk of our archival collections from our existing out-store accommodation to a substantially improved, customised facility.

This will greatly benefit both our current and future users by ensuring that the fabulous records within our care are stored within much better environmental conditions, preserving them for generations to come.

We will endeavour to re-open as quickly as possible, and thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us on 0131 529 4616 or email us at archives@edinburgh.gov.uk

Look out for future updates here on Lothian Lives on how the move is progressing, as well as pictures of our fantastic new facility!

Thank you!

Tom Curr & the Portobello Pool Beauty

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Tom Curr  is a name largely unknown to the general public, but as one of Scotland’s most successful and accomplished commercial artists and cartoonists, his work has been seen by millions of people.  This particular  poster advertising the Portobello open air swimming pool for the local council was probably painted by the artist in the 1940s or ’50s and is a wonderful example of his work.

Tom was born in Edinburgh in 1887 and spent his entire working life – apart from his military service in WW1 – in the employment of the Leith-based printers McLagan & Cumming, the firm which printed this Portobello pool poster.  Many of the army recruiting posters he produced for the firm are on display at the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle although no information is provided there about the artist.  He was, in later in life, a noted painter, exhibiting at the Royal Scottish Academy and his work is included in the Government and Clydesdale Bank art collections.  His paintings of Clydesdale horses now sell for very respectable prices.

Public service was central to Tom Curr’s life and he served his city in many roles including that of town councillor, baillie and magistrate.  He was a member of many committees and was one of the original members of the Scottish Advisory Council of the BBC, as well as a radio and television broadcaster for the corporation on religious matters.  But it is for his work with the youth of Edinburgh, specifically his leadership of the 46th Company of the Edinburgh battalion of the Boys’ Brigade that he would have wished to be remembered.

For those interested in Tom’s life, career and painting, a book by Dr Sandy Brewer – Edinburgh Rock: The Life and Art of Tom Curr – is due to be published next year.

Gladstone’s Midlothian Campaign

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William Ewart Gladstone

Midlothian Local Studies holds a large scrapbook of political and satirical cartoons from William Ewart Gladstone’s famous Midlothian Campaign of 1879-1880.

The Midlothian Campaign marked the return of William Gladstone as a politician and ultimately to his second term as Prime Minister. Gladstone’s first administration had run from 1868 to 1874. After his electoral defeat in 1874, Gladstone resigned as leader of the Liberal Party, but from 1876 he began a comeback based on opposition to Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria. Around this time, a series of news stories appeared in the British press about the brutal suppression of the Bulgarian April Uprising by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. British public reaction was generally one of dismay, but the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli continued to support the Ottomans, an ally of Britain in the Crimean War and a bulwark against possible Russian expansion. 

By 1878, William Gladstone was publishing articles in favour of ending British economic support for Turkey. His dogged focus on the issue gradually dragged it to the forefront of public attention. By 1879, Gladstone had been accepted as Liberal Party candidate for the Scottish constituency of Edinburghshire, popularly known as Midlothian. He committed himself in person to campaign for the Midlothian seat against the Tory Lord Dalkeith. 

The Midlothian Campaign of 1879-1880 is often cited as the first modern political campaign in Britain. In many ways, it focused on Gladstone as a celebrity with the Earl of Rosebery as his campaign manager. Gladstone used the newly developed railway system to move rapidly around both the country and the county, giving a series of passionate speeches in different towns and cities. These in turn were widely reported and debated in the national press. The campaign also produced numerous souvenirs, such as badges, political prints, pamphlets and china figurines. Gladstone’s meetings attracted huge audiences, even though the franchise was very restricted at this time. Midlothian, for example, had only 3620 voters. Gladstone’s enthusiasm and eloquence are credited with swaying a large number of undecided voters to support the Liberals in the General Election of 1880, thus ousting Disraeli’s last Conservative government. 

The scrapbook held in Midlothian Local Studies is a collection of cartoons that both support and ridicule William Gladstone. Here are two examples from the scrapbook.  

Gladstone as the Gentle Shepherd

 

This cartoon is titled ‘Scene from the Gentle Shepherd’ after the well-known play by Allan Ramsay. Gladstone is the man in the kilt and Rosebery is the dog leading him down the road to Midlothian. Mrs Lightheart, Mrs Curiosity and Mrs Blunt discuss them on the corner. ‘It’s maybe the dog’s fault.’ They discuss letting it go and suspect that Gladstone may throw himself on ‘parish’ welfare if not re-elected. 

Gladstone and the Russian Bear

 

The second cartoon shows Gladstone dancing whilst chained to a trumpet-playing bear. The implication is that he is dancing to the tune of the ‘Russian bear’ on a map of Eastern Europe. The text states: ‘The Tables Turned or Who Dances Now?’ The Afghanistan War (1878-1881) was taking place at this time. It began when Britain sought to extend control from India to discourage Russian advancement into central Asia. It is also worth noting that dancing bears were a common feature of street entertainment in British towns and cities.

Skeleton Man

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Edinburgh City Archives, 'A Living Skeleton' Playbill, c. 1860s

‘Novelties and Amusements: A trifle larger round the Wrist than a Shilling’    

This 1860s advertisement held by Edinburgh City Archives gives some idea of the kinds of spectacles and shows that drew nineteenth century crowds. Victorians  flocked to shows featuring human curiosities.  Varied audiences  turned out to take in sights of people with unusual physical characteristics and unique talents. People with stage names such as the ‘Elephant Man’, ‘Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy’,‘ John Chambers the Armless Carpenter’ and ‘Leonine the Lion Faced Lady’ were familiar and famous characters on nineteenth century amusement circuits.   

Exhibitions of ‘unequalled novelty’ had the potential to generate a good income (a performer could command the equivalent of £60,000 per year) and human exhibits were usually managed and marketed by professional showmen.  James William Chipperfield’s advertisement for the exhibit of Mr. Tipney, the ‘Living Skeleton’, suggests the competitive nature of the business and the importance of the reputation attached to the showman. Mr. Chipperfield is careful to point out that he is the genuine article ‘…as there are Names made use of for other Exhibitions which might be mistaken for Chipperfield.’   

Mr. Chipperfield was part of an English dynasty of performers, showmen and animal trainers dating back to 1684. An experienced clown, performer and animal trainer, by the 1860’s Chipperfield managed and travelled with a stable of performers which included his daughter Harriet, one of the youngest tight rope walkers in Britain, a set of twins, both with the forename Maria and Robert Tipney- the forty nine pound ‘Living Skeleton’.   

In the mid 1860’s and early 1870’s James William Chipperfield went on the road with Mr. Tipney and they appear to have entertained Edinburgh and Leith audiences at one or several points throughout this period.  Edinburgh and Leith hosted a variety of travelling dramatists, musicians, dancers and singers and performances were regularly held at music and concert halls across the city. Acts like the ‘Living Skeleton’ aimed to attract a wide audience and advertised reduced admission rates ‘in order that the working classes may enjoy the treat.’   

Interestingly, Chipperfield’s advertisement suggests that Mr. Tipney’s emaciated condition is in no way the consequence of deliberate starvation but a ‘marvellous display of nature’. This claim is said to be authenticated by ‘many of the Medical Faculty’. Although relatively little is known about the life and death of Mr. Tipney, it is unlikely that his skeletal appearance was the result of eating three square meals a day. The 1861 census places the 20 year old Robert Tipney (spellings include Tipany, Tipannay, Tippany) as a resident of the Cambridgeshire Union Workhouse. It is more likely that his career as a ‘Living Skeleton’ offered a route out of poverty and yet played a probable part in his early death at the age of 39.   

Today it might seem hard to imagine that Edinburgh’s audiences would be entertained by the spectacle of a bony young man. Nonetheless, an enduring interest in the unique, extreme and fantastical continues to attract vast crowds to Edinburgh’s International Fringe festival to take in sights of fire throwers, wild balloon tamers and acrobatic ants.