Photocopies of photographs of Dundee

Scope and Content

Photocopies of photographs of Dundee in the Washington Wilson Collection, University of Aberdeen, undated [late 19th cent].

Administrative / Biographical History

George Washington Wilson was born in Banffshire on 7 February 1823 and was educated to be an artist, at which he was accomplished. He established himself as a portrait painter in Aberdeen in 1849, but in a few years was experimenting with outdoor photography and photographic portraits. Patronage from Queen Victoria (1819-1901) from the 1850s made his photography famous, and he both exhibited and sold books of his plates, winning a huge number of prize medals. He set up a company which both fed and benefited from the fashionable interest in Scottish tourism in the mid to late 19th century, but although his sons were also keen photographers the business was sold up soon after Wilson's death in Aberdeen on 9 March 1893. A large collection of his plates are now held by Aberdeen University Library, and many of his photographs are still well-known today.

Access Information

Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act and any other appropriate legislation.

Note

Compiled by Jenny Cutts, Scottish Archive Network, and Caroline Brown, University of Dundee.

Other Finding Aids

Descriptive list available at Dundee University Archives. Subject source lists and databases are also available.

Conditions Governing Use

Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges are made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply.

Additional Information

The George Washington Wilson Photographic Collection, University of Aberdeen. It is also available online at http://www.visual-evidence.ac.uk/aberdeen/controller

Geographical Names