As part of our Shared Collective Heritage exhibition, ‘Shop Local -from Dawn to Dusk/from Dee to Don’ (in the Suttie Art Space from 12 June – 10 October) GHAT volunteer Rosie Leavitt has been looking at iconic images of Aberdeen. In this post, we are sharing her thoughts on the days before cheap overseas holidays – when Aberdeen was one of Scotland’s leading holiday resorts – through two posters designed to attract people to Aberdeen.
“In one, under the heading “Silver City with the Golden Sands” a cheery family of four is enjoying a day out on the beach alongside their dog, a Scottish terrier. The Scottie used to be Aberdeen’s official tourism mascot. It’s a warm sunny day – not a fleecy jacket or a trace of haar in sight! This poster looks like it dates from the 1960s.
The second poster is by James Furneaux and dates from 1982. This one is clearly aimed at a different audience and describes Aberdeen as a “city for lovers” of the arts, flowers, music, history. Here, you have a black and white pen and ink drawing of His Majesty’s Theatre and a bed of pretty pink tulips. The poster was produced for Aberdeen City Council to promote the city and it was made at a time when Aberdeen regularly won Britain in Bloom awards for its floral displays, hence the reference to flowers.“