THEY were both literary giants who won fans across the world but Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson shared another connection – they were both members of the Six Feet Club.
Thought to be the first of its kind, the odd name of the club referred to height rather than the number of appendages boasted by members but, despite neither author being able to make the lofty grade, they were both given honorary membership.
The club was just one of the many secret and not-so-secret societies in Edinburgh in the 1800s and would have been fairly exclusive at a time when the average height of a Scottish male was just 5’3”.
It was dedicated to athleticism and a curious choice for the sickly Stevenson and Scott, who was left with a limp after contracting polio as a child.
Perhaps it was the social side that drew them – Stevenson mentioned the club in his unfinished novel St Ives, writing about the members’ taste for alcohol and the fact that although “six feet was their standard, they all exceeded that measurement considerably”.
It was just one of many societies joined by Scott who, in 1829, wrote: “What a tail of the alphabet I should draw after me, were I to sign with indications of the different societies I belong to, beginning with the presidency of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and ending with umpire of the Six Foot High Club!”
A small silver pendant of the club dating from around the time of Scott’s membership has now been rediscovered during a new search of the many thousands of objects held by Museums and Galleries Edinburgh.
The recently launched inventory project is the largest ever undertaken by the organisation and will see the cataloguing of over 200,000 objects housed in stores and venues across the city in preparation for a move to a new store where they can be safely and effectively managed.
As well as rediscovering fascinating curios, it is hoped a new perspective can be formed on colonialism through the Auld Reekie Retold project. Throughout its three-year duration, the impact of colonialism will be highlighted in an attempt to educate and bring hidden stories to light. Future phases will also involve working with diverse communities to record objects in new ways that better reflect today’s world.
The project has also uncovered a tiny round metal stamp used for impressing on to wax, with the name and address of William Flockhart who, with his partner Dr James Duncan, was responsible for much of the British supply of chloroform in the mid 19th century. Among their customers were James Young Simpson, the inventor of anaesthetics, nurse Florence Nightingale, the Royal Navy and the British Army.
The firm merged with others in the 20th century to become Edinburgh Pharmaceuticals which was taken over by Glaxo, who rebranded it as MacFarlan Smith, now one of the world’s leading manufacturer of opiate alkaloids with permission to grow opium poppies in the UK.
There is also a playbill printed on a 100,000 Deutschmark note for a play called Tons of Money at the Lyceum Theatre, staged in 1925 at a time when hyperinflation in Germany had reached a point where money was no longer worth the paper it was printed on. While Germans were paying for loaves of bread with wheelbarrows of cash, in Edinburgh the banknote was used to advertise the ironically titled play.
In addition the project has uncovered the iron nose of a whaling harpoon, a tooth from a whale caught by a ship believed to have sailed from Queensferry and a model ship made from scraps of animal bones by a prisoner of war at Edinburgh Castle.
It is hoped people will engage with the project to shed light on some of the items and once lockdown restrictions have eased there will be a series of exhibitions, public events and tours.
“From Jacobite muskets to life in tenements, Edinburgh Rock to Pride, medieval St Giles to the Festival Fringe, we hope to spark conversations about our amazing collections and their hidden histories, gathering new insights for future generations to enjoy,” said project manager Nico Tyack.
Information will be made available digitally with regular updates, news and behind the scenes blogs and podcasts shared via www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk, www.capital collections.org.uk and through social media using the hashtag #AuldReekieRetold.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here