(Above) Local information card produced by Duncan Macpherson
The Loch Nevis at Kyle Pier, by Duncan Macpherson
Chemist Duncan Macpherson established a pharmacy close to the ferry slipway at Kyle in 1911. As well as supplying medicines, toiletries, and photographic materials, the shop also became an unofficial tourist office. Macpherson began producing folded information cards detailing train and steamer times, events, excursions and postal information in the 1910s. The idea was later developed, and from 1927 until 1960 Macpherson published a Vest Pocket Guide to Skye and Lochalsh (priced at 2/- in 1956). This included steamer and train timetables, accommodation lists and information on sites of local interest. The extension of the railway to Kyle in 1897 had made it much easier to connect with the steamer services visiting the islands. Macpherson’s photographs from the 1920s and 30s often show the railway pier thronged with people.
Guide to Skye by D Macpherson
Kyle Railway Pier, by D Macpherson
