Above: The Secret Portrait of Prince
Charles Edward Stewart, a feature in
Room 6 of the Museum.
West Highland Museum
Cameron Square
Fort William PH33 6AJ
Tel/Fax: 01397 702169
Reg. No: RD68
Charity No: SCO14287 |
An exhibit form each room has been selected as
an introduction to the collection.
Room 1
Pieces of Eight. Brought up from Tobermory Bay, Isle of Mull. From the
Florida, a galleon in the Spanish Armada, that went down in the bay in
1588.
Room 2
Virgin's Charm of Deliverance: Tearna Moire. A rare drift seed bound in
silver, this charm was placed into the hands of a woman in labour to
ensure a safe delivery.
Room 3
Birching Table. The last birching in Fort William was carried out in
1948. The punishment was administered by a policeman with a doctor and
other officials present.
Room 4
St Kilda Mail Boat. A sheep's bladder was attached to a hollowed out
piece of wood in which was placed letters. The letters were wrapped to
keep them dry and held in place by a wooden lid. It was floated out into
the tide and would come up on the isle of Lewis where the finder would
post on the letters through the regular mail service.
Room 5
John Brown's Highland Outfit. A gift from Queen Victoria to her Highland
gillie, John Brown, on the occasion of the wedding of Princess Louise to
the Marquis of Lome, 1871.
Room 6
Secret Portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stewart. An anamorphic
painting, it is a meaningless blur until viewed in a reflecting
cylinder. It was used by the Jacobites to toast in, secret, the Prince
and the exiled Stewarts.
Room 7
Illicit Still. Left on the steps of the Museum by an anonymous donor in
1924 having been punctured by the Customs and Excise. Licit distilling
began in Lochaber in the 1830s but did not destroy the ancient practises
of small scale distilling in the hills. |
