This is the first book to provide a full and coherent introduction to the photography of Victorian Scotland. The material has been structured and the topics organised, with appropriate illustrations, as both a readable narrative and a foundation text for

The publication of An Introduction to Scottish Ethnology sees the completion of the fourteen-volume Scottish Life and Society series, originally conceived by the eminent ethnologist Professor Alexander Fenton. The series explores the many elements in Scottish history, language and culture which have shaped the identity of Scotland and Scots at local, regional and national level, placing these in an international context. Each of the thirteen volumes already published focuses on a particular theme or institution within Scottish society. This introduction provides an overview of the discipline of ethnology as it has developed in Scotland and more widely, the sources and methods for its study, and practical guidance on the means by which it can be examined within its constituent genres, based on the experience of those currently working with ethnological materials. Theory and practice are presented in an accessible fashion, making it an ideal companion for the student, the scholar and the interested amateur alike.

Erskine Beveridge (1851-1920) was the owner of a Dunfermline based company specialising in the production of fine table and bed linen, with an active interest and enthusiasm for archaeology and history. This illustrated volume highlights a selection of the finest photographs taken by Beveridge between 1880 and 1919.

In 1970 a concrete replica of the St John’s Cross arrived in Iona sitting incongruously on the deck of a puffer delivering the island’s annual supply of coal. What is the story behind this intriguing replica? How does it relate to the world’s first ringed ‘Celtic cross’, an artistic and technical masterpiece, which has been at the heart of the Iona experience since the eighth century? What does it tell us about the authenticity and value of replicas? In this fascinating book, Foster and Jones draw on extensive interdisciplinary research to reveal the composite biography of the St John’s Cross, its concrete replica, and its many other scale copies. They show that replicas can acquire rich forms of authenticity and value, informed by social relations, craft practices, creativity, place and materiality. Thus, the book challenges traditional precepts that seek authenticity in qualities intrinsic to original historic objects. Replicas are shown to be important objects in their own right, with their own creative, human histories — biographies that people can connect with. The story of the St John’s Cross celebrates how replicas can ‘work’ for us if we let them, particularly if clues are available about their makers’ passion, creativity and craft.

Return to Muck tells of Marg’s experiences as a solo, older woman traveller in some lesser-known Scottish islands in the Inner and Outer Hebrides. On a budget, she mostly stays in hostels and bunkhouses, travels by car within the islands (except Muck) but takes no carbon-emitting flights. She walks, wanders and wonders, talks to islanders (age range from 5 to 97); comes across, usually by chance, stunning geographical features, exciting wildlife, ancient stones, folktales and other finds, many of which lead her to research and more discovery. Unusual subject matters include finding the connection between goose barnacles and barnacle geese; learning about Gaelic song; and stumbling across a lighthouse optic in a stately home garden. Two of these ‘finds’ become sources for poems. From this, an increased creativity emerges, some of which is a natural progression from her poems: that of composing songs and teaching them at other island schools as well as the Muck school. She bases the lyrics of these songs on a folktale pertaining to the particular island, thus allowing the pupils to express themselves musically and learn about their local folklore at the same time. She describes her own experiences of teaching the songs. This book offers a perspective only a lone woman traveller can give. It can serve both as a memento to those who know the islands well, and provide an introduction for anyone who has yet to discover them, especially those who yearn to travel alone.

It was my pal S J Axtell who introduced me to hill walking in the Peak District whilst we were yet to reach our teenage years. Then after a weeklong school trip Youth Hostelling in the Lake District, and a week camping in Aviemore, I was happy to continue playing football throughout my teens, up until reaching my late twenties. Returning to hill walking by the age of 28, I began rock climbing on Stanage Edge about three years later. Leaving out my 46 Expeds to the mountains of Scotland which are covered in another volume, the Peak District is where I have spent the greater part of my outdoor life. Wandering and climbing the Derbyshire hills, sometimes arriving home late at night, the idea eventually popped into my head of not only being prepared to spend a night out there in the open if I had to, but to make a night out on the hill a primary objective. And so began a series of "Bivouacs and Other Nocturnal Wanderings," some of those that I remember, I have recounted here.