In your Easter bonnet
Canna House on the Isle of Canna was the home of John Lorne and Margaret Fay Shaw Campbell. The Canna photographic collections – comprising Margaret’s own photos, those of the Thom family before the Campbell’s time and early images of the Shaw and Campbell families themselves – tell us so many stories about the eras they were taken in.
They contain several images of elaborate, and sometimes not-so-elaborate, headgear, worn over a lifespan of more than 100 years. Here is a lovely example of some Easter bonnets, taken in Pennsylvania, 1906. Just look at the swan-like creation of Sara Lloyd, on the right!
Margaret, one of the first 20th-century female photographers, possessed a distinct knack for using headgear as a way of reinforcing character in her images – she had an inherent ability to capture a ‘sense of place and time’. Perhaps this was an unconscious talent but nonetheless it’s one that invaluably enhances our contemporary appreciation of that period in history.
Margaret’s travels as a student in the 1920s, whether by bicycle, boat or buggy, gave her plenty of opportunities for capturing her companions in their travel finery. However, not all of Margaret’s travel mates were so enamoured with travel at the time …
It’s said that the wearing of Easter bonnets or smart hats represents an old tradition that entailed wearing new clothes at Easter to coincide with the approach of summer, and a promise of renewal and redemption. In particular, during the depths of the Great Depression, a new hat at Easter (or even a refurbished old one, perhaps with a feather or scarf) was a simple luxury for many without ‘breaking the bank’.
When Margaret went to live on South Uist in 1929, she was presented with many opportunities to photograph her friends and neighbours in their array of contrasting millinery styles.
Canna House today still contains many of the hats worn by the Campbells, which also appear in many of Margaret’s images, taken between 1938 and the 1970s. How many can you spot in these images?
John Lorne Campbell also recorded many songs that feature hats and bonnets. This audio clip was recorded in Canna House in 1958, from Agnes Currie, who sings a ‘port a beul’ or ‘mouth music’ song set to a 6/8 march. The main subject is ‘Alasdair’s peaked bonnet’.
Margaret Fay Shaw clearly had a passion for hats, whether they were fancy fedoras, tantalising titfers or fundamental flat caps. We still take our hats off to her photographic eye today!
Explore Canna
Visit nowStay in touch
Be the first to hear about our latest news, get inspiration for great days out and learn about the work we do for the love of Scotland.
Read next
The photographic archive of Margaret Fay Shaw
Margaret Fay Shaw (1903–2004) dedicated her life to the preservation of the Gaelic language, and the lives and customs of the people of the Hebrides.
‘Eilean – The Island Photography of Margaret Fay Shaw’ / ‘Eilean – Na Dealbhan aig Mairead Fay Seathach’
We’re celebrating the launch of the first published book of images from the Margaret Fay Shaw Photographic Collection (Isle of Canna). Tha sinn a’comharrachadh a chiad leabhar le dealbhan bho’n cruinneachadh Mairead Fay Seathach, Eilean Canaigh
Hebridean female crofters – in sharp focus
Margaret Fay Shaw’s photographic work demonstrates the life of female Hebridean crofters in South Uist in the 1930s.
Meet me in South Uist
Explore views of the island which first made photographer and folklorist Margaret Fay Shaw (1903–2004) fall in love with the Hebrides.