By Mark McConville
THE STUNNING beauty of nineteenth century Scottish wonders have been revealed in a series of colour postcards.
The incredible images show that some of Scotland’s landmarks have remained the same since 1890. Edinburgh Castle is pictured overlooking the capital and looks much the same.
The Queen’s official residence in Scotland, Holyrood Palace, is also pictured as well as another Royal residence, Balmoral Castle in Royal Deeside.
Other spectacular shots show the progress that has been made in the 127 years since the postcards were produced.
St Enoch’s Station in Glasgow is pictured near the beginning of its tenure as a mainline railway station but is no more after being demolished in 1977.
Ayr’s famous Station Hotel is presented in all its glory but the Grade 2 listed building closed in 2013 and has lay empty ever since.
The colour postcards were produced using a method called photochrom. Photochrom is a method of producing colourised photographs from black and white negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates.
It was invented in the 1880s and was most popular in the 1890s, when these images were taken. Although true colour photography had been developed by then it was not commercially practical yet.
Photochrom reproductions became popular due to the craze with sending postcards.
Some of Scotland’s most iconic landmarks are also pictured looking almost identical to their modern-day selves.
The Black Watch Monument in Aberfeldy still stands proud while the main University of Glasgow building hasn’t changed at all.
The summit of the highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis, is showcased on one of the postcards, proving our ancestor’s thirst for adventure was no less than our own.
