"Pencils of Light" - Edinburgh Calotype Club

The National Library of Scotland is currently showcasing two albums in its digital library of the first photographic club in the world - the Edinburgh Calotype Club - formed in the early 1840's. These albums are among the earliest photograph albums in the world. Volume 1 is held in the National Library of Scotland and Volume 2 in the Edinburgh Central Library. The albums contain over 3oo images assembled by a group of Scottish photographers who belonged to this Club of professionals - mainly advocates, doctors and academics working in Edinburgh and St. Andrews.

In one of the albums there is a photograph of a Kitchen Hut at Gnarkeet Station, in Port Phillip. This was a squatting run of 28,290 acres, located 100 miles west of Melbourne owned by Robert Tennent and Charles Hugh Lyon from 1844 to 1853. This picture was taken by Robert Tennent (date unknown).

To view the images in the Calotype albums and to read more about the history of the Edinburgh Calotype Club and the Calotype photographic process, click on the link below:

http://www.nls.uk/pencilsoflight/index.html