149, 151 & 153 Pleasance

Category

Library Item

Item no

16813

Title

149, 151 & 153 Pleasance

Description

A view of shops and houses on the Pleasance, Edinburgh. Shops occupy the ground floors of the buildings including a fish & egg store. The building above has had an extra floor added at some point as the bottom three floors are stone and the upper brick. Two women are hanging out of windows talking to each other. Some of the stairwell windows are broken.

Artist / maker

Rushbrook, A. H.

Date

1927

Size

20.2 x 15.8 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The early twentieth century saw a growing concern with the living conditions of many of Edinburgh's lower classes. From the 1920s onwards the Burgh Engineer's Department carried out many photographic surveys of deprived areas of the city, creating both a record of what was there and a basis for the creation of new housing. A survey of the St Leonard's area of Edinburgh was carried out by Edinburgh Council between 1927-29 in advance of the demolition and reconstruction of much of the area.

The Edinburgh and Scottish Collection has several volumes of photographs taken prior to reconstruction which covers areas such as Potterrow, Dumbiedykes, West Crosscauseway and the Pleasance. Although the images were taken to record the state of the housing, they are populated by the inhabitants of the Southside, who are captured going about their daily business of shopping, working and leaning out of windows to watch the world go by. Many of the local businesses are also represented with a wide array including confectioners, hairdressers and butcher's shops, all decorated with a fascinating range of advertisements.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Business > Service industry > Shops

Homes > Residential buildings > Tenements

People > Adults > Men

Places > Edinburgh areas > Southside

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Cobbled streets

Transport > Infrastructure > Pavements

Option	Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG	£6.10(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF	£31.00(inc. VAT 20%)
You can view and use digital images for personal and educational use. For more information, read our policy on image use. If you wish to use our images for commercial use, please contact us.