University of Aberdeen, Photographic Collections

The University of Aberdeen has in its large and varying photographic collection the George Washington Wilson Collection, which consists of over 40,000 glass plate negatives produced by the Aberdeen photographer's company during the second half of the 19th century. These range from all Britain covering the simple grandeur of Fingal's Cave, to the bustle of London's Oxford Street. His son Charles Wilson, and staff photographer Fred Hardie toured the colonial townships of South Africa and Australia, providing vivid pictures of gold miners and early settlers and the native Aboriginal way of life. This collection also contains images of Gibraltar and the South of Spain, Morocco and Tangiers. Thanks to his proximity to Balmoral Castle he developed a royal connection, taking photographs of the Royal Family of the time. A vast collection of Aberdeen Harbour Board glass plates are also in this collection. Both have been digitized.