American photographer records Edinburgh's cemeteries
15 December 2008
American photographer Bob Reinhardt has taken over 14,000 pictures of Edinburgh's graveyards since 2000, when he first visited Scotland as part of an annual exchange trip between Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, where he teaches art, and St George’s School in Edinburgh.
Reinhardt, who grew up in the town of Valhalla, New York, in a house surrounded by seven cemeteries, became interested in Edinburgh’s memorials when he noticed an overgrown cemetery – Warriston – while out walking with friends.
He said, “Seeing Warriston for the first time turned my visual sensibilities upside down. Instead of being this manicured Victorian sanctuary it was completely overrun and fast losing a battle to Mother Nature. For the past eight years I have spent a lot of time photographing this cemetery, and I was soon to explore the rest of the wonderful cemeteries in Edinburgh. The incredible sense of history and culture within the walls of these resting places is overwhelming to me. One reason I continue to do this is that each time I come back, I find pieces vandalised. With the images housed at RCAHMS the general public will have access to a record of these wonderful sites. I hope this will raise awareness of their condition and help to save or stabilise many of the cemeteries.”
Lesley Ferguson, Head of Collections at RCAHMS said, “Graveyards are a very significant aspect of Scotland’s cultural heritage. In the past 20 or 30 years, there’s been growing awareness that this vital part of Scotland’s heritage was being lost – through erosion, vandalism and age, and there was recognition that we should be recording these stones. We are delighted to have Bob Reinhardt’s images in the RCAHMS collection – he has captured a lot of important information in his work.”
The photographs include memorials of some of Edinburgh’s most famous residents, including the newsagent John Menzies, interior decorator and designer Thomas Bonnar and surgeon James Simpson, as well as many other people whose everyday jobs have contributed to the life and history of the capital.
Examples of Reinhardt’s work photographing Edinburgh’s cemeteries can be found in two publications, Sleep and Silent, which are held in the RCAHMS public search room. Over the coming months, images from the extensive collection will be catalogued and made available to the public through our searchable online database Canmore. They will supplement the already substantial archive of graveyard and memorial images kept by RCAHMS.
