M.E.M. Donaldson was an author and technically
accomplished photographer who documented the people and the west
highland way of life during the first half of the twentieth century.
Mary Ethel Muir Donaldson was born in Croydon, London in 1876 in to a
wealthy and fiercely Presbyterian family. She was educated "privately
and by self" and as a young woman she sought out quiet and remote places
in which to study
natural history. By her twenties and with the freedom of independent
wealth she was spending several months of each year "tramping
around in the Highlands." She was particularly drawn to the Ardnamurchan
Peninsula, the most westerly point on mainland United Kingdom. In 1927
she moved there to the village of Sanna where she had built a
large house 'Sanna Bheag', lit by electricity from her personal hydro-electric
power station.
The Photographer
M.E.M. Donaldson and 'Green Maria'.
© National Museums Scotland. Licensor
www.scran.ac.uk
M.E.M. Donaldson and 'Green Maria'.
© National Museums Scotland.
Licensor
www.scran.ac.uk
As a photographer M.E.M. Donaldson specialised in topographical scenes and
portraits. She not only studied the composition of photographs but also
chemistry and optics, allowing her to process her own glass negatives,
prints and enlargements in her darkroom at 'Sanna Bheag'. Her house also
contained a workshop in which she modified and improved her photographic equipment.
She travelled extensively throughout the northern and western
highlands wearing her distinctive clothes. These were made for her and to her own
specifications to ease mobility over rough and rocky terrain whilst
remaining resistant to the Highland weather and presumably midges. On her travels, often on
foot but occasionally by horse-drawn transport, she would be accompanied by 'Green Maria'.
This was a green leather-covered wheeled wooden box consisting of two
compartments. The first contained her "half-plate camera, six slides,
two lenses etc." The other compartment held photographic plates, maps, kettle,
provisions and her "night and toilet requirements."
Her sensitive and beautifully composed portraits captured many aspects of crofting life on
Ardnamurchan and further afield on Skye and are technically excellent. Many of these can be seen on-line,
see the
more information section below.
The Author
Between 1912 and 1949 M.E.M.D. as she referred to herself, penned nine
books. Early works included; 'The isles of flame, a Romance of
the Inner Hebrides in the Days of Columba' (1913), 'Tonal Mactonal'
(1919) - a satirical look at the highland character - and 'Islesmen of Bride, Native Life in the
Hebrides' (1922). The covers were designed by her good friend, companion,
painter and illustrator Isabel
Bonus.
'Wanderings in the Western Highlands and Islands' (1923) and 'Further
Wanderings, Mainly in Argyll' (1926) are two of her most popular works.
These were illustrated with her own photographs and drawings, again by
Isabel Bonus.
M.E.M. Donaldson is perhaps best known today for her 1935 book 'Scotland's
Suppressed History: Talks on Scottish Church history for young
people, etc.', dealing with the religious history of the country.
She returned to religion for her final book 'Till Scotland Melts in
Flame' in which, remembering her own upbringing, she is particularly
critical of Presbyterianism.
In 1947 her Sanna home was inexplicably gutted by fire and aged 71 she moved to
Edinburgh where she remained until she died in a nursing home in 1958.
Her funeral was held at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh but she was buried on
the north west coast that she loved at Oban.
More information
In 1979 John Telfer Dunbar, an archaeologist and costume historian,
published a biography entitled 'Herself, the life and photographs of
M.E.M. Donaldson'. He collected over 1,000 of her photographs covering
the period 1900 to 1930 and upon his death donated them to Inverness
Museum and most can be viewed on the excellent
Am Baile
website.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of
Scotland
Scran
website also contains a small but high-quality selection
of M.E.M. Donaldson's photographs. Be aware though that you will
need an account or personal subscription to access these images.