7 Albany Street

These were managed by Elizabeth (neé Hutchison) Fulton. In the 1901 census Elizabeth’s brother, Alexander Hutchison, was living in the house. He was listed as being a House Painter and Photographer. The National Galleries of Scotland collection contains this photograph of St Kilda taken about 1900 by him. St. Kilda’s inhabitants existed in isolation up until the 1880s when regular summer cruise steamers began to visit the island. Tempted by what they saw of the mainland's wealth, the people of St. Kilda, pictured here in front of one of their traditional straw-covered huts, began to leave in ever increasing numbers. In 1930 the island was finally evacuated. Hutchison would have been one of the summer visitors with a lively interest in the local 'primitive' community. The boarders recorded at the 1901 census were four young Lieutenants in the Artillery.1913 – 1917 Offices of Hunter & Chalmers This accountancy firm was a partnership between Alex Hunter and Adam Chalmers Jnr. They were agents for the Scottish Landed Estates Friendly Society, the Scottish Laundry Company and the Africa Banking Corporation.

1918 – 1924 Board of Agriculture for Scotland Seed Testing StationLaboratory methods of seed testing had been in use in continental Europe since the mid-19th Century, and, in 1912, the Board of Agriculture was established in Scotland. Under its aegis some seed testing was carried out at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, and then in 1913 the Scottish Seed Testing Station was opened in Duke (Dublin) Street in response to pressure from various sections of the agricultural trading community who were pressing for standardisation. Its functions in the early years (1914-1917) were mainly advisory and educational. However, the Testing of Seeds Order 1917 required more stringent checks to be made on the quality of seed grown for, and sold to, the agricultural community. So, in 1918, the Seed Testing Station became the Official Control Station for Scotland and moved to larger premises in Albany Street. Tests (photo) were initially carried out for purity (impurity being defined as all foreign matter but excluding immature and ill-ripened seed) and germination capacity (applied to all species of seed in the sample including immature seed). This method of analysis differed from the continental method in that the latter classified immature and ill-ripened seed as impurities, but it had the advantage, for the purchaser, of accurately reflecting the quality of the seed supplied as required by the new legislation.Later, emphasis moved from varietal purity to freedom from virus disease and production of virus tested stocks. In 1929 the Board of Agriculture became the Department of Agriculture for Scotland, and in this year work started on developing healthy virus-free potatoes. In 1924 advisory work on horticultural plant pathology was begun by the Board of Agriculture at the Royal Botanic Garden. Until 1945 the section’s work was mainly advisory but after this date its scope widened due to increased interest in plant quarantine and disease control through the introduction of certification schemes.

1925 – 1930 Office of Lister & McEwen

The company imported fancy goods.

1932 – 1933 Office of Low’s Agency

The company was a Manufacturers’ Agent.

1934 – 1955 Office of the Edinburgh Licensed Trade Local Veto Defence Association

As a result of a powerful temperance movement in 1913 Parliament brought in The Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 under which voters in small local areas in Scotland could hold a poll on whether their area should allow licensed premises or there be an area prohibition on the sale of alcohol. The conditions required to prohibit the sale of alcohol in an area were strict. Three options appeared on the poll: no change, a 25% reduction in licenses to sell alcohol, and the abolition of all existing licenses. In order for prohibition to be implemented, that option required the support of at least 55% support of voters, and at least 35% of everyone registered to vote in the constituency. Where a veto took place, it excluded the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, their wholesale, and their consumption in private. Also local authorities were still permitted to license hotels and restaurants, providing alcohol was only consumed with a meal.

Brewers and publicans formed Veto Defence associations to fight temperance propaganda, and local vetoes. They argued that publicans were unwilling to spend money on improvements to their premises in case the district went ‘dry’ and simply encouraged people to travel to nearby areas which still had pubs. In spite of the campaigns against the Act, it remained in force until the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 abolished the veto.

Mainstream Publishing was founded in Edinburgh in 1978 by Bill Campbell and Peter MacKenzie, and became one of Scotland leading publishing houses. It had a particular emphasis on memoir, true crime, sport, current affairs and health, the list features prominent names such as Nicholas Parsons, Gordon Brown, Hunter Davies, Sir Ian Botham, Shane Warne and Jan de Vries. It became an imprint of The Random House Group.When it closed Campbell (photo left) and MacKenzie (photo right) said: ‘The past 35 years have been, for the most part, an immense pleasure. It's been our privilege to have worked with so many interesting people and talented authors and to have been surrounded by such highly professional and dedicated staff. We're proud of what we've all achieved. Our priority now will be to publish our remaining outstanding lists with the flair for which we've become renowned. In some hopefully lengthy paragraph in the great history of publishing there will be recognition of Mainstream's contribution as a successful, innovative and profitable company. We're going out on a high. For Mainstream there should be no other way.’