The Viaduct, Stewarton

It may seem strange to us now in the age of digital cameras and the internet, why anyone would send a postcard to a friend of a railway viaduct, however in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (this one is as late as 1950) postcards were a far more common method of communication as it was far rarer to own a camera than it is today. People from Glasgow, for instance, would send postcards home to show that they had arrived safely in far off and exotic destinations such as Kilmarnock or Ayr! As a result there was a booming industry in postcards on a whole range of interests. Stationers up and down the country sold postcards of everything from local landmarks, small villages, industrial towns and even local characters!   Valentine & Sons were one of the country's largest manufacturers of postcards and had offices and factories in both Dundee and London.