#OTW This week's object of the week is an exciting new acquisition to our collection. This mid-18th century hidden portrait snuff box was recently purchased at auction in Edinburgh. Hidden portrait snuff boxes are among the most iconic Jacobite works of art. A Jacobite host could give his friends a pinch of snuff, and depending on the company, could reveal the hidden portrait. Decorated with a tartan design on enamel, the hinged cover opens to a plain interior. The hidden double lid opens to reveal an enamelled portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. The portrait is a variant of the famous Sir Robert Strange example and dates this piece to circa 1750. A big thank you for the financial support we received from the National Fund for Acquisitions, the Art Fund and a private local donor. Photographs courtesy of Alex Gillespie #bonnieprincecharlie #jacobites #secretportraits #secretsymbols #snuffbox www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk

Fort museum acquires rare Jacobite snuff box | The Oban Times

We were delighted to acquire this rare and exquisite Jacobite hidden portrait snuff box for our collection at the recent Lyon and Turnbull auction in Edinburgh. A big thank you to the National Fund for Acquisitions, the Art Fund and a generous local donor for their financial assistance that made this acquisition possible. More details will follow shortly and the snuff box should be on display in our Jacobite exhibition very soon. www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk https://www.obantimes.co.uk/2019/08/28/fort-museum-acquires-rare-jacobite-snuff-box/

It's International Dog Day Here's a picture of museum dog Meg enjoying herself at Loch Eil near Fort William. Remember we are dog friendly at the West Highland Museum and you can bring your four legged friend around the Museum! #internationaldogday #westhighlandmuseum #mansbestfriend www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk

Timeline Photos

Sunday opening for 2019 finishes tomorrow! We will be open from 11am - 3pm Sunday 25th August. From the 26th August the Museum will be open Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm Entry to the Museum is FREE but donations are very welcome. www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk

5 Year Certificate of Excellence arrived today 😀😀😀

One of the more unusual items in our collection. This letter by Neill Iain Ruairi refers to hidden gold. It is thought to refer to the missing Loch Arkaig Treasure. In April 1746, seven caskets of Spanish gold arrived in Scotland. As the Jacobite cause was by then thought to be lost, the money was hidden and some of it taken to Loch Arkaig. The whereabouts of the gold has never been fully established. This letter was discovered by Dr Alex Campbell in an old chest in a house in Kylesmorar Loch Nevis side on 17th June 1911. It is written on a scrap of torn paper and mounted on a frame. It is written in English rather than Gaelic. The lady who donated it to the Museum in 2005 was given it by a stranger from the county of Hampshire in England. He had found it clearing his father’s brick-a-brack shop in Winchester, England. In 2007 the letter was the subject of a TV programme, “History Detectives”. It was sadly declared to be a fake! www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk

FROM TRIP ADVISOR Review of West Highland Museum Clearly run by people passionate about the history of Scotland. Wonderful rooms full of miscellaneous items from all parts of history through the centuries. Everything from the death mask of bonnie Prince Charlie, to miniature portraits carried in pockets of soldiers brought down in battle. Brooches made of gold wrapped around the hair of their loved ones, a tartan outfit given to John Brown from Queen Victoria. Lots of WW2 memorabilia. Lots about the history of Ben Nevis and the observatory that used to be up there right on the top! Lots of everything and I could have happily spent an entire day in there. AND ITS FREE!! So if you go please donate to say thank you! Places like this ignite passion for history in our children - and respark it in ourselves! More Date of experience: August 2019

Lochaber Archive Centre

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#OTD On this day, 19th August 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie raised the Standard at Glenfinnan and signalled the start of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. This impressive painting of the ‘The Raising of The Standard at Glenfinnan’ by Chris Collingwood (circa 1997 – 1998) is on loan to us courtesy of William Grant & Sons and displayed in our Jacobite exhibition. It is modern oil on canvas showing the Prince raising the Jacobite standard at Glenfinnan surrounded by the assembled clans. It is a modern commission by the Drambuie Liqueur Company directly from the artist. www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk

#OTW This week's object of the week is a tooth! It is believed the tooth belonged to Prince Charles Edward Stuart. The tooth is hardly worn, which would suggest that the Prince lost it at an early age in life. It is mounted on silk and framed in an oval hand-carved ivory frame. It came to the Museum from a collection of relics originally kept at Callart House. It was gifted to the Museum in 1975 and is on permanent display in our Jacobite Exhibition. www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk

We have recently been donated an archive of vintage postcards depicting West Highland scenery. As today is the Glenfinnan Gathering, we thought we'd share this one of the Glenfinnan monument! www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk

Highbridge Skirmish

#OTD. On this day, 16th August 1745, the first engagement of the Jacobite Rising took place at High Bridge in Lochaber. https://cullodenbattlefield.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/highbridge-skirmish/