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8 Apr 2020

The history of photography at the National Trust for Scotland

Written by Ben Reiss, Morton Photography Project Curator
A black and white photo of a girl's head. She has freckles and dark hair. A second person's hand is in front of her right eye.
A glass plate negative from the collection of Scottish artist E A Hornel, c1907–11 (National Trust for Scotland: Broughton House & Garden)
Like many of us today, the people who lived in our places took and collected photographs. Through the photographic collections they left behind, we can explore 160 years of the history of photography.
An oval black and white photo of a girl in a dark dress holding onto a table. The photo is in a gilded frame. A card with two almost identical black and white photos of three men in kilts standing in front of the Forth Rail Bridge. A wooden device with an adjustable bracket holding a stereocard, a handle and an eyepiece. A camera comprised of two wooden frames joined by black leather bellows. It has a lens on the front made from brass and glass. black and white photo of a girl's head. She has freckles and dark hair. A second person's hand is in front of her right eye. A black, box-shaped camera made from leather and metal, with a flap folded up to reveal the lens. A black and white photo in negative and positive of a cat and a crayfish facing each other on a wall, with the sea behind. A black and white photo of a woman sitting on a rocky beach with her boot soles facing us. She holds a camera on her lap. A small, black, box-shaped camera with a leather handle on the top, a metal dial on one side and a lens at the front. A rectangular, black and white plastic camera. The lens and print controls are visible. It lies next to a brown leather case. A square slide mount with text reading 'Kodachrome Slide'. It holds an upside-down colour slide of a black and white cat. black SLR-type camera from above. Various dials are visible and its lens-cap is on. It has a case and strap attached. A colour photo of an old man inside, with a tortoiseshell cat on his right shoulder. A woman to his right is stroking the cat. A small, black plastic, digital camera with a hand strap attached. The closed lens and the word 'Canon' are visible. A black and white photo of a lane. Steps lead to a balcony and a little girl. Next to it is a colour photo of the same street.

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