Visitors to our new exhibition at the Museum of Edinburgh Past Meets Present: Recent Acquisitions Revealed can get up close to objects that have come into our collections since 2019. Read on to discover more about five highlights from our social history collection and why we have them…
1. A Chain of Office that tells a migration story
This chain of office for the Edinburgh Caithness Association tells the story of migration to Edinburgh from elsewhere in Scotland and shows communities coming together to support each other before the development of health and social care.
The Edinburgh Caithness Association was originally established in 1837. It was created with the purpose of offering a social network and financial assistance to people from Caithness and the northern regions of Scotland who had relocated to Edinburgh, particularly those who came to study.
The Association organised a variety of events including talks and outings as well as ceilidhs and salt herring dinners. Each year the biggest event was their Annual Gathering. The organisation was dissolved in 2022 due to declining membership, but the chain of office remains to tell its story.
2. A gas streetlight lamp globe that’s a rare survivor
This globe is a rare survivor of the original gas streetlighting that revolutionised after-dark Edinburgh.
The lamp globe, dating from 1860-1910, was discovered in the cellar of a building on Dublin Street.
The lamp globe is not only a rarity but was also used as a model for Edinburgh’s Victorian Street Lighting project. This project replicated the city’s original gas lights and was funded by the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust. The project began in 2016 with the installation of a replica light next to Greyfriars Bobby on George IV Bridge and in August 2021, the first complete set of lights was installed on Scotland Street.
3. A bell and stand that’s actually a recycled church spire
This bell and stand highlights an interesting group of objects in our collections – commemorative items made from important historic buildings or structures.
In November 1824 a devastating fire tore through the Old Town, causing extensive damage to many of the buildings along the Royal Mile, including sections of the Tron Kirk. The entire Kirk spire had to be removed and was eventually rebuilt to a different design in 1828. This bell and stand are crafted from wood and metal salvaged from the original spire, making them possibly the sole surviving remnants of the historic structure.
4. A hand sanitiser made by a company normally distilling spirits
This ‘LeithAL’ hand sanitiser is a great example of Museums & Galleries Edinburgh’s contemporary collecting work. We are constantly thinking about what future generations will want to know about today’s Edinburgh and acquiring objects to tell those stories.
During the Covid-19 pandemic we began a programme of contemporary collecting to document how the pandemic impacted the people of Edinburgh. The hand sanitiser was created by Leith distillers, Gleann Mòr Spirits Co., in response to sanitiser shortages in the first weeks of the pandemic. They pivoted their operations to produce sanitiser by repurposing the distilling equipment used for crafting gin, rum, whisky and vodka.
The hand sanitiser is a simple object but it has a big story to tell about a global crisis, local ingenuity and community resilience.
5. A brewery image that’s worth a closer look
Breweries have long been an important feature of the Edinburgh cityscape and a big employer of local people.
This poster shows the exterior of the Caledonian Brewery and its iconic chimney. The brewery was the last of Edinburgh’s Victorian breweries, finally closing in 2022. Museums & Galleries Edinburgh were invited to the site before it closed to gather objects relating to Edinburgh’s brewing history.
The poster shows the exterior of the brewery but if you look closely, you can see that the image is made up of the logos and beers produced by the brewery, including their iconic Deuchars IPA.
Visit the Museum of Edinburgh and find out more about Past Meets Present: Recent Acquisitions Revealed, which is free to visit and is on until April 2024.
