15. Jan, 2022
Rare Assynt CDVs: from the estate of E. Thompson, Assynt Lodge.
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 from the estate of E. Thompson at Assynt Lodge. I should have enquired further about the provenance, but I failed to do so, though it is unlikely that the seller would have known much more about the people in the portraits.
I suspect that these are rather rare images of Assynt inhabitants. There are thousands of such cdvs depicting people from all over Scotland, but very few from the far north. There were photographers ar Tain, Thurso, and of course, Inverness, but not many in the north-west. One of these cdvs is stamped on the back 'William Aird, Photographer, Lochinver.' Two others are by Inverness photographers: H. Chisholm; and A.W. Fraser, 18 Church Street. The rest are by anonymous photographers.
Assynt Lodge is an old hunting lodge that still offers accommodation. If these portraits are inhabitants of the area, probably c1860, then they make an interesting collection. One lady looks very much as if she came from the Caribbean. There were a very small number of black people living in the area at that time. Anyone with any thoughts or observations on any of the above is very welcome to contact me (greywings89@gmail.com). I shall post these photos on the website in a photo album.