New Market(?) Bookstall-Glass Negative
Date1930s
Object NameNegative
Mediumglass
ClassificationsScience And Technology
DimensionsOverall: Height: 8.8 cm, Width: 6.2 cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1992.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS022355
About MeA haven for book-lovers in the heart of the city. This is Low's Bookstall which was once to be found at numbers 39-54 on the Gallery of Aberdeen's New Market. With the books overflowing and stacks on the floor it is clear that there was plenty to keep collectors and readers busy. This large covered market, designed by Archibald Simpson, was built in 1840-42. On the 29th of April 1882, forty years after the market opened, a fire broke out in a basketmaker's store. This rapidly took hold and it swept through the market reducing much of it to rubble. Accounts describe the fire as spectacular with the sizzling, crackling, and spluttering of tallow fat coming from the sides of beef hanging in the butchers' stalls. Troops were called in to regulate the crowd. The market was rebuilt and was one of the sites of the town with its many open fronted stalls; a place of great bustle in the lower areas with its butchers shops, fishmongers, grocers, fruit and vegetables and above on the gallery the tranquillity of books. In 1971 the site was redeveloped, the old market was cleared and a new one erected.
