Collection MS 304 - McKean Photograph Album

Identity area

Reference code

MS 304

Title

McKean Photograph Album

Date(s)

  • 1889-1894 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

1 volume

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Archival history

The album was a gift to the McKeans while John Fleming McKean worked in Germany for the Brunswick Jute Company. It seems to have remained in Germany even after his return to the Dundee area in 1912 but was eventually brought back to Scotland by his grandson, Herwart McKean Kiel.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Volume of photographs of scenes from in and around the city of Braunschweig (Brunswick), northern Germany. The name of the city and the date along with a dedication written to 'Herrn und Frau McKean' from 'Anna Uhlendorf.' The volume appears to have been a gift from the latter to the former. The album contains 35 photographs, 27 at the front and seven at the end - the majority of the album is empty. The photographs seem to have been taken by professional photographers. The album was gifted in 1889 but contains photographs dating up to 1894, suggesting that the photographs were added later. The photographs at the rear of the album are slightly different in subject matter from those at the front since they relate to events such as the visit of the Kaiser in 1889.

The McKeans had two daughters: Katherine (Kathie) (1880-1968) and Elsie (b 1883?). Elsie married a local businessman called Arthur Kiel and remained in Germany. Her father retired in 1912 and returned to Scotland with his daughter Kathie – it is probable that his wife predeceased him while they were still in Germany. He lived in Newport, Fife, until his death in 1925. Kathie never married but maintained contact with several people in Germany, some of whom visited her at her home near Dundee in Scotland, including Nellie Bruell (later Nellie Friedrichs). In Braunschweig she was also friends with the children of Alice Thiele-Smith, who was originally from Aberdeenshire and was the sister of the noted Scottish divine and theologian, William Robertson Smith. Alice Thiele-Smith’s daughter Jeannie was a class mate of Elsie McKean Kiel and Ella Pauline Herxheimer (also known as Didi) and all three women maintained their friendship long after their school days. Kathie even in 1922 became godmother of Ruth Thiele, daughter of Alice’s son William. Elsie and her husband left Germany before the Second World War and moved to Britain, though during the War because of their German citizenship they were incarcerated for a while. Elsie McKean Kiel’s son Herwart McKean Kiel (b 1913 – d 1995) fought in the Black Watch regiment during the War. In civilian life he was a photographer.

Accruals

Not expected

System of arrangement

Usually chronological within series.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act (2018), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018) and any other relevant legislation or restrictions. Clinical information is closed for 100 years.

Conditions governing reproduction

Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges may be made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply; please check with the Duty Archivist.

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Existence and location of copies

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Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

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Description control area

Description identifier

MS 304

Rules and/or conventions used

Description compiled in line with the following standards: International Council on Archives, ISAD(G) General International Standard Archival Description; International Council on Archives, ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families; National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997

Status

Catalogued

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • German

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

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