The first photography shops in St Andrews
St Andrews may be the first town to ever be fully photographed.[1] Some of those first photographs are still in St Andrews, while reminders of this photographic heritage are littered throughout town. For example, The Adamson bar on South Street takes its name from a celebrated local photographer, John Adamson. Adamson worked with Henry Fox Talbot, who developed the influential “calotype” process of photography, to produce pioneering photographs of St Andrews, which have been exhibited around the world. The stories of Talbot and Adamson have been well documented. What we overlook is the...
Read MoreA Ghost in St Andrews – Victorian Illusion and the Shadows of Cinema
On 10 May 1875, the local paper reported a ghost in St Andrews.[1] In Hull, there were similar tales of a “spectral visitor”.[2] The Chester Observer told stories of a spirit as “distinct as flesh and blood…pierced in vain by swords”.[3] The man behind these eerie manifestations was John Pepper. Pepper travelled the UK showing off his “ghosts” – optical illusions – to people across the country. When he came to St Andrews he promised “Angels that float in space” and “Spectres that creep up walls”.[4] It’s hard to believe that a show this ambitious could have been...
Read MoreCinemas at War
In the build-up to War, there were two cinemas in St Andrews bringing news to locals and competing for business.
Read MoreFrom the Alps to St Andrews: Cedric Thorpe Davie and the production of Snowbound (1948)
While living on North Street and setting up the Department of Music, Cedric Thorpe Davie wrote the score for Gainsborough's espionage drama, Snowbound (1948).
Read MoreJohn Cleese elected Rector of University of St Andrews
And now for something completely different... John Cleese becomes University Rector
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