AN EAST Kilbride museum has released a group of rare photos which show Scotland at its snowy, festive best.
The National Museum of Rural Life at Kittochside on the edge of the town, revealed the five historic photos from the Scottish Life Archive will be available to download for free for the first time, as a set of Christmas cards.
The photographs, each more than 100 years old, include record-breaking snowy scenes, an eccentric Father Christmas and a family portrait by one of Scotland’s earliest woman photographers.
READ NEXT: Memories of Christmas in 1960s Glasgow as city's festive countdown begins
Lady Henrietta Gilmour took up photography after the birth of her seventh child. She became a pioneer of the medium, capturing more than 1000 images of Scottish country life, including a tender portrait of her children sledging in 1900.
In 1909, Mr Henry Watson posed as a characterful Father Christmas, wearing a fake beard and long, fur- trimmed coat decorated with dolls and toy animals.
Two snowy scenes capture the extreme winter of 1895, when Braemar in Aberdeenshire captured the lowest ever recorded temperature in the UK at minus 27.2°C.
READ NEXT: Strange story of Glasgow eccentric said to 'haunt' Clydeside Street
In later years it expanded to include evidence of not only country life, but maritime, urban and industrial life. It contains a large collection of photographic negatives, slides and prints. It can be viewed by the public upon appointment.
Dr Ailsa Hutton, Curator of Modern and Rural History at National Museums Scotland, said: “The Scottish Life Archive offers remarkable insight into all aspects of Scottish life, with 300 years of documentary and illustrative material.
“I am thrilled to have an opportunity to shine a light on this rich resource, and Scotland’s fascinating rural history, through these magical festive photographs.
“Whether it’s a quirky Santa Claus or a record-breaking snowy winter, I hope people enjoy sharing a little bit of Scottish rural history this Christmas.”
The National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride consists of a museum, historic farmhouse and working farm, telling the story of the land, people and ways of working that have shaped Scotland's rural history.
On display in the museum is Scotland's largest collection of tractors, combine harvesters and farming machinery, while the farm is home to Ayrshire, Aberdeen Angus and Highland cattle, Tamworth pigs, sheep, hens and Clydesdale horses.
Lanarkshire's Reid family lived in the Georgian farmhouse for 10 generations, and rooms are as they would have been in the 1950s.
The Christmas cards are free to download from the National Museum of Scotland.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here