Cabinet card photograph of Canongate Tolbooth

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

52478

Title

Cabinet card photograph showing a view of Canongate with the Tolbooth

Description

One photograph cabinet card from a set of four for use in the viewer showing various scenes in Edinburgh. This slide is number 28 in the sequence, and shows the Canongate Tolbooth, and on the left, the derelict building which became the Museum of Edinburgh.

Type

Photograph

Accession number

SH.2012.98.28

Copyright

The City of Edinburgh Council Museums & Galleries

Cabinet card viewers were used to view photographs printed on card. A magnifying glass allowed the viewer to see more detail on the card. Viewers were ornate, and often presented as gifts.

The Canongate was a separate burgh from Edinburgh up until the 1800s, and as such it had its own institutions such as magistrate's court and law courts. The Tolbooth is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Edinburgh, and has been used as a prison, a court, a police station, offices, and, in its most recent use, as a museum, housing the People's Story Museum.

Across the road stands the elegant mansion known as Huntly House. In this photograph, you can see how the Canongate had fallen on hard times, and many living here lived in slum conditions. The building is a fine example of 16th and 17th century residential architecture, and was saved from dereliction by the Council in 1924. It opened its doors as the Corporation Museum in 1932, and remains today as the Museum of Edinburgh. Many still remember its older name as Huntly House Museum.

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