The first known stereophotographs of Hugh Miller's cottage and the building of the Hugh Miller Monument, Cromarty, 1859

Abstract

• Two early stereophotographs of Hugh Miller's cottage at Cromarty have separate provenances and their original photographer is unknown, but they were apparently taken at the same session and from almost the same location. One shows the Hugh Miller Monument under construction. The monument's planning, funding and building are outlined. It was completed in June/July 1859, with statue of Miller by Alexander Handyside Ritchie. Combined with the state of foliage in the trees, this dates the photographs to about April/May 1859. The photographs provide useful evidence for the generally deteriorating condition of the cottage when combined with other images of the 1850s and 1860s. The production of stereophotographs for the commercial market complements contemporary accounts which confirm that Miller's birthplace was on the tourist trail even at this early date, well before the family renovated the cottage and opened a museum there in the mid-1880s. The monument played a significant part in encouraging this early tourism. It remains the only statue of Hugh Miller in an outdoors location.