A photographer has stumbled upon an unexpected treasure in the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh: a message in a bottle dating back to 1906. Tucked away in a crevice inside a bottle, the note commemorates those who built the theater.
Photo: Capital Theatres
Mike Hume was sitting on the scaffolding over the stage, looking at the building’s archway. Its centerpiece is a red and gold crown. As he sat looking at the ornate plaster crown, he noticed a gap. Curiously, he stuck his hand into it.
“It really was like a scene out of Indiana Jones,” he told BBC News. “It was a bit damp, and there was all this crumbly plaster and stuff in there. Then my hand stumbled on this solid object, and I pulled out this glass bottle.”
Hume has been in and out of the King’s Theatre his whole life. His dad worked on the sets when he was a child. Now, Hume is a donor and photographer of historic theaters.
1906 note
The self-confessed history nerd couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Though he couldn’t make out much from the note, the date “1906” was clear through the glass. That was te year the theater opened.
“When the builders placed this special trinket at the very center of it, they intended to honor the local people who built the theater,” he told Scottish Field. “It’s astonishing to think that this time capsule of history has been hidden in plain sight for nearly 120 years, silently bearing witness to the countless famous faces –- and Edinburgh community performers –- that have graced the stage.”
Photo: Capital Theatres
Originally found in December, a team at the Scottish Conservation Studio has been working to open the bottle and letter without damaging it. The original creators had dipped the top of the bottle in plaster to seal it. Eventually, the conservers had to gently cut off the top of the bottle to extract the little scroll.
Who were they?
Over time, the layers of rolled paper had stuck together. Specialists had to use chemicals to gently unfurl it. The paper contains the names of various contractors who helped build the theater. The first name is William Stewart Cruickshank, the owner of the building company. Under that were architects John Daniel Swanston, James Davidson, and John Tulloch, followed by many other architects, plasterers, and draftsmen.
The team has been working to find details on all the men listed so that they can pass the information back to the theater.
“I think it is fascinating we have a list of plasterers and draftsmen,” Abby Pendlebury, the theater’s heritage engagement manager, told the BBC. “It’s showing how personal this was to so many people…It’s just really beautiful to see.”
They now plan to make an exhibition room in the theater to showcase the bottle and the background of the people listed.
