Lantern slide of Mons Meg cannon

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

52292

Title

Black and white lantern slide of the Mons Meg cannon at Edinburgh Castle taken by George Washington Wilson, c. 1890-1900

Description

Black and white lantern slide of the Mons Meg cannon at Edinburgh Castle taken by George Washington Wilson, c. 1890-1900

Type

Lantern slide; Photograph

Accession number

HH6219/1/2002-086

Copyright

The City of Edinburgh Council Museums & Galleries

The slide has the initials "G.W.W." written on the back. This is likely to be George Washington Wilson.

George Washington Wilson (1823-1893) was a renowned Aberdeen born photographer who came to prominence following his contract to work with the Royal Family after documenting the building of Balmoral Castle in the mid-1850s.

Originally a portrait photographer Wilson moved into landscape photography pioneering techniques in outdoor, documentary photography and in the mass production of photographic prints. In his own lifetime he achieved great success. The 1881 census records the then 57-year-old Wilson as ‘master photographer’ employing some 15 men, 21 women, two boys and two girls.

Mons Meg is a large siege gun presented to James II by Philip, Duke of Burgundy in 1457. It is one of a pair constructed in Mons in present day Belgium. The gun's sheer size limited its mobility and therefore its military utility. Mons Meg continued to be used for ceremonial purposes until 1681 when it burst whilst being fired to celebrate the Duke of Albany's birthday. It was repaired but has not been fired since.

In the 1860s Wilson photographed not only his hometown of Aberdeen and the North East but the whole of Scotland, most of England and areas of Wales and Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, Morocco, the South of Spain, colonial South Africa and Australia. In the 1870s he turned to staff photographers to add to the firm’s stock.

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