Past treasures of the month
Politics and umbrellas
Dr Peter Stewart has generously gifted to the Library his extensive collection of Cynicus postcards. Dr Stewart has been a researcher and collector of the work of Cynicus over many years, and has recently released a second revision of his publication Cynicus Postcard Checklist, started with the late Wilfrid Grubb in the 1980s.
Victorian artist Martin Anderson, pseudonym Cynicus (1854-1932), was born in Leuchars, Fife, and attended Madras College in St Andrews. He later moved to London and opened a successful studio in Drury Lane, selling his work and compiling books of satirical and humorous drawings and cartoons. He returned to Tayport in Fife in 1898 and founded the Cynicus Publishing Company there in 1902 in order to produce his famous postcards on a wide variety of subjects. Topographical postcards were also produced, including the work of James Douglas RSW (1858-1911), a Dundee-born artist who settled in Tayport with his family. John Allan (Allan Junior), who later worked for Valentine & Sons of Dundee, was also involved in the work of the company, designing cards and writing verse.
The company flourished, becoming an important employer in the town, but business declined in the latter part of the decade and, sadly, the firm faced bankruptcy in 1911. Despite attempts to re-establish in Leeds and Edinburgh, Cynicus was to die in poverty in Balmullo in the mansion house known locally as "Cynicus Castle," which he had built and shared with his sister. The Library's George M Cowie Photographic Collection contains several glass negatives showing the exterior of "Cynicus Castle" along with a few interiors displaying the results of the vandalism that took place before it was eventually demolished in 1939.
As well as the obvious local connection, it is most appropriate that the postcard collections should be housed here, since the Department also holds a collection of original Cynicus drawings and some of his published works. Dr Stewart's exceptional generosity is therefore particularly appreciated.
Valentine photographs
Scottish Scenery by James Valentine (VGA-110)
This small publication contains views of Edinburgh taken around 1870 by James Valentine & Co., the well-known Dundee photographic company. It is one of many albums produced by Valentine, in a wide variety of styles, which are maintained within the Special Collections Department.
This new addition to the collection contains a sequence of ten original albumen prints unusually bound 'accordion fold' style within blue cloth boards. It was spotted on eBay by one of the many users of our website, and subsequently purchased for the collection from Brian DiMambro, Rare Books & Old Maps, in New York.
The Valentine Archive, originally gifted to the University in 1971, continues to grow, partly by diligent purchasing and partly by the generous donations of a number of individuals eager to see the gaps in the archive filled and the images made widely available. We are always glad to have our attention drawn to any Valentine views or albums spotted by eagle-eyed friends of the collection.
The views enclosed in the album are:-
1 Edinburgh, from the Calton Hill
2 Edinburgh, from the Castle
3 Edinburgh, Old town and Waverley Bridge
4 Edinburgh, Princes Street
5 Edinburgh, The Scott Monument
6 Edinburgh Castle from the Grassmarket
7 Edinburgh, Corner of the West Bow
8 Edinburgh, Knox's house and Canongate
9 Edinburgh, Holyrood Palace, Chapel Royal
10 Edinburgh, Holyrood Palace from Calton Hill
A series of at least ten such volumes, entitled Panoramic Books of Scottish Scenery, was produced by the company. Titles include: Edinburgh and Vicinity; Abbotsford and Vicinity; Melrose and Border Abbeys; Stirling and Vicinity; Callander and Killin; The Trosachs (sic) and Loch Katrine; Loch Lomond; Dunkeld and Vicinity; Pitlochrie (sic) and Killiecrankie.