The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Transforming lives, by design
There is more to this region’s relationship with design than we think. Assistant archivist at Dundee University Sharon Kelly sheds light on its rich past
Design is inherent in all aspects of our lives. It has the power to transform how we live and think, even if its impact is not always obvious. Our cityscapes and homes, industry, jobs and products are all influenced by design. Collections held and managed by the University of Dundee Archive Services include a vast and varied range of documents, photographs, plans, drawings and audio visual material relating to design in all areas of life.
A striking design for a rice mill forms part of the Lewis C Grant & Co Ltd collection. It is typical of the many business collections we hold and contains papers depicting technical specifications and designs.
Based in Fife, the company was founded by Robert Douglas in the 1830s and by the 1870s the partnership of Douglas and Lewis Grant specialised in the design and manufacturing of steam engines.
In the early 20th Century the firm diversified into the production of rice-milling machinery for export. This rice mill design was presented at the Second Exhibition of Agriculture and Commerce, held in Bangkok in April 1911 and won the gold medal. A year later Douglas and Grant expanded their business, establishing branches in Rangoon, Saigon and Tanjore.
High quality machinery design also played an important role in placing Dundee at the forefront of the textile industry and the archives hold many records relating to these companies, and the jute mills themselves.
This original plan and elevation of Den’s Works, 1869, is part of the Baxter Brothers and Co. collection. Beautifully coloured, this design shows the expansion of the works with the densely packed area of factory buildings cleverly placed in the context of nearby open space and greenery.
The plan implies that industrial progress went hand-in-hand with elegant and spacious design, not a reflection of the reality of 19th Century Dundee.
The collections hold various treasures depicting different aspects of design.
GL Wilson’s department store was situated on “The Corner” of Commercial Street and Murraygate. Opened in 1894, the store remained in the Wilson family until it closed in 1972.
The Wilson archive contains many catalogues which give a fascinating insight into how fashions and trends have changed throughout the decades.
It also includes records which highlight the role this popular retailer played in the city.
Members of the Wilson family have contributed to our Oral History Project, which has captured the memories and voices of those directly involved with this business.
As well as collecting records relating to Dundee, a key aim of the archives is to record the history of Dundee University.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary this year we will be highlighting many of the ways it has transformed lives, often through innovative design in science and the arts.
One example is the research carried out by Walter Spear and Peter LeComber at the University in the 1970s, which has had a direct impact on billions of people.
The pair joined the staff in 1969 and forged a collaboration until LeComber’s death in 1992. They carried out ground-breaking research into the properties of crystalline solids, liquids and amorphous silicon which led to the development of liquid-crystal display technology. Today we use it in flat screen televisions, solar panels and mobile devices.
Although they did not patent the ground-breaking results of their research, the legacy of their work is evident in the advances in technology that have revolutionised the way we live.
This brief snapshot highlights the vast history we enapsulate at the archives and shows design is as much a part of Dundee’s past as it is its future.