Many of Peter Anson's paintings and drawings first appear in his collection as photographs - his personal archive includes several hundred of these, arranged by him according to geographical location. These are a very valuable record of the history of fishing across not just Scotland but the whole of Great Britain, and beyond.
Much of Peter Anson's photograph collection consists of loose prints of varying sizes, nearly all with a caption on the back giving locality or subject, and the date. Above is a typical selection, these all being small (2.5 x 3.5 inch) contact prints. There are a few albums, with a lot of gaps on the pages! Below is a complete page - with the same small size of prints.
Anson was trained originally as a draughtsman, and his method of painting and drawing reflected this. Many of his paintings were made from his photographs, and he often started by drawing a numbered grid across the photo. This grid was then scaled up and transferred to the sheet of paper on which he was to paint, and the details copied meticulously.
Anson also published a considerable number of postcards - these are mostly of his drawings of abbeys, churches, and similar subjects, but a few others are included, for example the view below of Rothiemay Castle, dated 1937.
This picture (above) of Ampleforth is more typical. The date on the drawing, and the postmark on the back, are both 1941.
Occasionally Anson produced his own Christmas cards as well. This one, which is undated, bears his address at Low Shore, Macduff, along with two passages from the Bible on the back. The front shows two pictures of St. Ninian's Chapel, Tynet, which is described by Anson as 'The Banffshire Bethlehem'.
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