Sewing Sample Day Dress, by Matilda Murdoch, 1839
The Stirling Smith does not have a large collection of costume, but this is one of 26 items, sewn by eight year old Matilda Murdoch in 1839. Each piece of clothing is a sewing sample, produced to demonstrate how the stitching should be done. This dress is no more than
A Rare Stirling Gift, Mauchlineware Souvenir
Today, visitors expect – and get – quality souvenirs at our visitor attractions. Today’s object from the Smith collections is a souvenir which is at least 155 years old, and was sold in the Douglas Room within Stirling Castle. It is a bound book containing frames for 48 cartes de
Stirling Christmas Card, 1904
The view may be familiar but the Christmas card is from another era – from the time when Stirling was a printing and publishing town, and when the words from Sir Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake about ‘the bulwark of the North, Grey Stirling with her towers and town’
Kitchen Vegetables, Thomas Stuart Smith
This is one of many small works in oils, by the artist Thomas Stuart Smith (1815-1869) founder of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum through his bequest. According to his fellow artist James Orrock, Smith was ‘a man who could paint anything’ and the beauty of his brush work,
Timberyard in the Snow, Henry Morley
This small painting is the latest addition to the Stirling Smith collections. It was secured in a prestigious Edinburgh saleroom, where it was wrongly labelled as ‘Edinburgh Timberyard in the Snow’. Friend of the Smith Robin Campbell bid on behalf of the museum. It is of course, a Stirling timberyard
Stirling Swordsmiths
With the recent 300th anniversary of the Battle of Sherriffmuir, we should remember that in the 18th century, Stirling was a place known for the manufacture of quality swords and other weapons. Among the noted manufacturers of basket-hilted broadswords were John Allan senior and junior and Walter Allan who produced
Talk o’ the Toun, Queen Elizabeth II Visits Stirling
In many ways, the top o’ the toun has always been the talk o’ the toun, for the old town of Stirling from Castlehill to the bottom of King Street is the town scape which visitors understand to be the essential Stirling. This is the Stirling which has delighted and
St. Crispin in Stirling
A glance at the Voice of the People columns in the Observer shows Stirling to be a busy place, with many special interest groups and societies. Societies have changed with the times, and with the first Stirling newspaper appearing in 1820, it is difficult to find the information on the
Heavy metal nipple guard or 18th Century boil sucker? Quizeum
Just one of the questions the panel faced as the Quizeum explored the collections of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum on Monday 23 November, 2015 Griff Rhys Jones was joined by Quizeum regulars Lars Tharp and Janina Ramirez. And special guests, writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli and