I noted that the book Kings of Space by Capt W E Johns which I reviewed last week had some colour illustrations. These were credited to an artist named only as Stead.

Here are four of them.

The Solar System:-

The Spacemaster takes off:-

Spacemaster in flight:-

The Moon:-

More from the Vaughan bequest transfer (see last post.)

Fittingly, this one is of Edinburgh:-

The West Gate, Canterbury:-

Shipping:-

The Doge’s Palace and Piazetta:-

Storm at the Mouth of the Grand Canal:-

Bellinzone, Switzerland:-

Ostend Harbour:-

Plymouth:-

Every January the Scottish National Gallery in Princes Street, Edinburgh, displays its bequest of works by J M W Turner. The terms of the bequest by Henry Vaughan dictated that these works could only be shown in January in order to protect them from damage by light.

In 2025  there was a variation to this practice in that the Edinburgh Gallery swapped its collection with that of the National Gallery of Ireland.

The day we went there was a long queue to get in (in normal years there isn’t) but we did we get to see a lot of Turners new to us.

Clovelly Bay North Devon:-

Chatel Argent above Villeneuve:-

Beech tree:-

A river in the Campagne:-

Old Dover Harbour and Shakespeare’s Cliff:-

More from the house in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, built from designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Wood Panelling:-

Hall and balcony:_

A fireplace:-

Another fireplace:-

Window and lantern-style light:-

Window seat, candleholder, and external detail:-

The House for an Art Lover, in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, which I mentioned here, was built to designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh which had not been used in his lifetime.

Exterior:-

Model inside. The similarities to Hill House are unmistakable:-

Reverse of model:-

More from the Alfred Buckham exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

I just love photos of Great War era battleships. This is USS Wyoming with the Forth Bridge behind. Buckham added colour to this by hand:-

Christ Statue, Rio de Janeiro. Buckham enhanced the photo to highlight the figure:-

Botafogo Bay:-

Buenos Aires City Hall:-

Teotihuacan Pyramids:-

Pre-Inca irrigation ditches, Peru:-

Caldera of Popocatépetl:-

Last week we went to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery to catch the exhibition Alfred Buckham, Daredevil Photographer. It’s fantastic. The images are breathtaking.

You’ll need to be quick to see it, though. It’s only on till 19th April.

Buckham’s career started in the RFC (later the RAF) in the Great War. He took his photographs from an open cockpit, leaning out of the aircraft with his leg strapped to the seat as his only safety concession. After the war he began taking photographs of British scenes, images which lent a new perspective to otherwise familar places. He later made a trip to South America.

One of his most famous pictures is of Edinburgh. Unfortunately my photo is marred by the reflection of a blue light:-

This is not simply photography. It’s Art. His final images were carefully created by layering of negatives. Hre are the three he combined for that Edinburgh shot. Again, sorry for the blue lines:-

This is the original Edinburgh photo unenhanced. Not anything like as dramatic:-

I’m a sucker for airships so these photos of R101 and R100 delighted me:-

In adition to in the Hall and White Room, Blackwell Arts & Crafts House has some other fine fireplaces.

Tree House design by Blackwell’s architect Baillie Scott:-

Blackwell‘s Arts & Crafts designs extend all over the house.

A bedroom:-

Close-up on bedroom light ftting:-

Another of the beds:-

Bedroom chair:-

Chest of Drawers and bookcase:-

Chest:-

Blackwell‘s dining room is off the hall and has similar dark colours:-

Dining table:-

Sideboard. Typical Arts & Crafts styling:-

Dresser:-

Tapestry. Much faded now:-

Chair:-