14. Nov, 2022
A reminder to you that I am constantly adding new items to my collection, and new images to this website.
4. Nov, 2022
I have added two shortish pages to the website this week.
14. Oct, 2022
I have had a busy week compiling an index for The Immeasurable Wilds.
29. Sep, 2022
My cycling days are over, but I have full admiration for those, on heavy unwieldy machines in the 19th century who toured Scotland in all weathers.
31. Aug, 2022
This week I have added a selection of photographs from an album I have recently obtained.
18. Aug, 2022
Travellers to the Highlands in the 18th and 19th centuries had lots to say about the inns they found ready to serve them.
11. Aug, 2022
One subject I barely mention in my book is smuggling.
9. Aug, 2022
I was pleased to come across this recently.
4. Aug, 2022
I refer in passing to Drovers in The Immeasurable Wilds, but my notes reveal more about the life of a drover, as revealed in the writings of visitors.
27. Jul, 2022
I made copious notes for my book, The Immeasurable Wilds.
21. Jul, 2022
The above map was issued by Mr.
21. Jul, 2022
I have added a page titled "France and Scotland" to the website yesterday, and intend to add more sub-pages on this topic.
13. Jul, 2022
The day after my trip down Loch Glendhu, I had the opportunity to climb Corriehabbie.
24. Jun, 2022
I have added a page to my website titled "Wallis Game 1892".
16. Jun, 2022
I have been looking at an 1896 Ordnance Survey map of Tongue (sheet 114).
15. Jun, 2022
The image of Romantic Scotland was exploited throughout the Victorian era in a number of ways.
10. Jun, 2022
Another scarce print turned up today as well, a very rare caricature by Giles Grinagain.
10. Jun, 2022
I've just returned from a week in Edinburgh, where I have toured the bookshops making sure they know of the recent publication of my book, The Immeasurable W...
28. May, 2022
I have just posted a photo album page of Highland portraits - images that typify what people thought of as the Highlander: Shepherds, Drovers, Pipers, etc.
26. May, 2022
I was delighted to come across two caricatures, both published c.
21. May, 2022
It has been long in its gestation, but I am delighted to say that my book has now been published, and should be available from all good bookshops from 23rd May.
19. May, 2022
Murdoch Mackenzie's charts of the Orkney Islands published in 1750 under the title Orcades are recognized as some of the finest mapping of the 18th century.
18. May, 2022
I have just added this image to the page titled in the menu "NW Art part 2.
12. May, 2022
This week I have added to the website images taken from magazines like The Graphic and The Illustrated London News.
7. May, 2022
As the number of people travelling increased during the 19th century, so cartoonists increasingly delighted in portraying the essence of the countries visited.
27. Apr, 2022
I have just posted a page on Highland Ponies, the breed of horse that palyed a crucial part in the life and economy of the far north.
22. Apr, 2022
I have just added a page which looks at the postal facilities in the Far North during the 19th century.
20. Apr, 2022
This week I have added a page which displays the whole of John Smart's small book Ye Life and Troubles of Ane Artist in the Highlands of Scotland.
12. Apr, 2022
I have a small number of delightful books that show the interest there was in new lands, and new races at the start of the 19th century.
10. Apr, 2022
I have just posted a page on William Donnelly (1847 - 1905).
7. Apr, 2022
I have added two pages of Scottish sketches this week, celebrating the talents of amateur artists.
30. Mar, 2022
This has been a busy week for me, with the arrival of the final proofs of The Immeasurable Wilds from Whittles.
26. Mar, 2022
I have just completed the first part of a page on early guide-books of Scotland.
18. Mar, 2022
I have added two new pages to the website in the past few days.
13. Mar, 2022
As I did with Sutherland, I have just posted two album pages on photographs of Ross-shire.
6. Mar, 2022
I have just posted two photo album pages, one with photographs of Sutherland, and the other postcard images of the county.
4. Mar, 2022
I have just added a page on the roads of the Far North.
27. Feb, 2022
As late as the 19th century, visitors to Sutherland were few and far between because of the difficulty of access.
24. Feb, 2022
A gentle reminder to regular visitors to my website that I periodically add images to pages already set up.
24. Feb, 2022
I have in my collection a letter from General Roy.
16. Feb, 2022
There are few sights more beautiful than that which greets you as you come over the brow of the hill shortly after passing Ben Arnaboll on the road from Tong...
12. Feb, 2022
You would be amused to see what useful people women are in the far north.
11. Feb, 2022
I have not climbed Ben Nevis, and was amazed to discover that, for some 30 years, you could find both a bed and refreshment on the summit of Britain's highes...
3. Feb, 2022
I am in awe of the artistic skills displayed during the Victorian era - not just in the professional arena (and Scotland has a fine tradition of its own), bu...
1. Feb, 2022
I have recently obtained a copy of Isaak Tirion's map of Scotland which I believe was first issued in 1744.
29. Jan, 2022
The proofs of my book now checked and returned to the Publisher, I can get back to, amongst other tasks, downloading more items relating to the far north of ...
23. Jan, 2022
The proofs of my book have arrived from Whittles, and they have kept me busy over the last few days.
15. Jan, 2022
Some time ago, before I was seriously collecting items from the NW of Scotland, I purchased a set of 10 cdvs (Cartes de Visite photographs) which all came fr...
12. Jan, 2022
I have posted today an original account of a short tour to Scotland in 1824.
7. Jan, 2022
Elizabeth Grant's Memoirs of a Highland Lady have been a popular book from the time when it was first published in an edition edited by Lady Strachey in 1898.
1. Jan, 2022
The Reverend Charles Cordiner (1746?
31. Dec, 2021
Paul Sandby ranks with the finest watercolour artists of the 18th century in Great Britain.
23. Dec, 2021
I am posting a short page about a sampler I have.
17. Dec, 2021
Whilst scouring the Edinburgh secondhand bookshops for unusual items, I came across a pile of rather tatty-looking music.
15. Dec, 2021
I am today adding photos from two interesting small albums that I own.
13. Dec, 2021
One of the more remarkable accounts of travels in the far north that I have come across was published in 1882, the book titled Nauticus in Scotland.
10. Dec, 2021
The trouble with writing a book of the sort I have written (The Immeasurable Wilds) is that the sources are unlimited.
7. Dec, 2021
I am even less of a botanist than I am a geologist, but I am still able to enjoy the record left by two who visited the far north at different times.
5. Dec, 2021
I am a great fan of the Victorian Music Sheet, those with illustrated covers.
5. Dec, 2021
A charming vignette from a foreign observer of Victorian Britain.
5. Dec, 2021
Given my name, Alastair James Mackay Mitchell, I have some reason to boast of my Scottish heritage.
3. Dec, 2021
It is a tribute in particular to the determination of ladies of that time to maintain high fashion standards even when out on the moors!
2. Dec, 2021
Over the past couple of days, I have been constructing a long page on early geological maps of Scotland.
30. Nov, 2021
This week I have struggled to unravel the gradual emergence of the correct mapping of three 'rocks' which lie in the North Atlantic.
20. Nov, 2021
Visitors to the Highlands frequently remarked on the number of people - women and children - who as a rule never wore shoes.
17. Nov, 2021
If anyone was hoping to give my book as a christmas present, I am afraid they are in for a disappointment: publication is delayed until February.
16. Nov, 2021
I have posted two pages, today, on Highland Thatched Houses.
14. Nov, 2021
No one can pass through the north west Highlands without being struck by the landscape.
13. Nov, 2021
Whilst my interest is mainly in the far north of Scotland, I find I cannot ignore those Scottish tourist destinations that lie further south.
25. Oct, 2021
Alexander Brodie: "the ferries at this time of year frighten me."
23. Oct, 2021
The Herring Trade was a crucial industry in the Highlands of Scotland, bringing much needed employment during the fishing season.
8. Oct, 2021
I have been busy uploading images from my collection.
7. Oct, 2021
William Daniell conducted his tour of the entire coast of Great Britain between the years 1814 - 1825.
5. Oct, 2021
I hope my book will bring alive the history of an area that until recently has received little attention.
5. Oct, 2021
The title of my book is a quote from Sir Walter Scott.
29. Sep, 2021
My research has revealed many more discoveries and images above those that I could include in the book, and I would like to share these with you in this blog