 | The story of a collector on tour in the Highlands and Islands |  |
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Dunollie and The MacDougalls
The Hope MacDougall Collection
The MacDougall Trust
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Peat spades, a herring girl's kist, early vacuum cleaners, blacksmith's tools, school slates, spoons of every sort and size, butter moulds and churns, the contents of a tobacconists and a cobblers shop, whisky distilling, hand loom weaving and textiles, an early post office and an unrivalled range of tools for working the land - a small dip into a feast of history told through a quite remarkable collection of artefacts………..
The Hope MacDougall Collection
The Hope MacDougall Collection is a folk-life collection which is recognised as one of the most important in Scotland. Miss Hope MacDougall, daughter, sister and aunt to three successive chiefs of the Clan MacDougall started her collection with a single wooden spoon in the 1950s and amassed thousands of items before her death in 1998. Her passionate interest in people's ordinary working lives, particularly in a rural or coastal setting has ensured an extraordinary selection of icons of West Highland Life have been left for the benefit and education of the nation.
The 4000 piece inventory spans life in the country from agricultural tools, saddlery, a blacksmith's forge, early distilling, bee-keeping, dairying, shoe-making, a travellers camp to a laundry, knitting and weaving, dying, lace sewing machines, an early collection of vacuum cleaners, the complete Ford Post Office, an early school classroom and the complete contents of a herring gutter's cist and much, much more…… What is particularly unique is that each item is backed up with clear documentation as to its origin and owners and often Miss MacDougall's own research. Her written archive contains much original material, fascinating anecdotes and excellent photographs and fills around one hundred files in itself.
Miss MacDougall's long family history at Dunollie and her deep interest in the Oban and Lorn area mean that a great many items relate to North Argyll. The Collection brings alive almost the entire history of the area.This is a MUSUEM in the MAKING - it is currently in store with no home to call its own. But its also active, forward thinking and working hard to give community access to the objects and their stories
2007 SUMMER EXHIBITION ALL HELP IS WELCOMED TO ENABLE MISS HOPE MACDOUGALL'S DREAM COME TRUE
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