STORAGE  M216  M216


    • This beautifully preserved vintage printed cutting offers a magnificent piece of Edinburgh football history, capturing one of the city's  figures.
      The Cut Page & Presentation 
      This item is a printed page from a 1944 publication measuring 18 x 24 cm.Vintage Caricature Print: printed caricature page from a 1944 publication measuring 18x24 cm, featuring a distinctive illustration by the notable Scottish artist Tom Curr. It depicts the renowned Orcadian artist and gallery director, Sir Stanley Cursiter, seated at an easel. Because it is a genuine cutting from a historical publication, it features unrelated text on the reverse side. With its clean lines and rich connections to mid-20th-century Edinburgh cultural circles, it is an ideal piece to mount and exhibit in a simple, low-cost black frame.
      Biography of Sir Stanley Cursiter (1887–1976)
      • Origins and Early Career: Born in Kirkwall, Orkney, Sir Stanley Cursiter moved to Edinburgh, where he worked as an apprentice lithographer before studying at the Edinburgh College of Art. [1, 2]
      • Artistic Impact: He was an instrumental figure in introducing European modern art movements—specifically Post-Impressionism and Futurism—to Scotland before developing a highly respected naturalistic and realist portrait style. [1, 2]
      • Leadership and Honors: He served as the influential Director of the National Galleries of Scotland from 1930 to 1948 and was later appointed as the King's (and subsequently Queen's) Painter and Limner for Scotland. [1]
      Military Service and Wartime Contributions
      • First World War Combat: At the outbreak of WWI in 1914, Cursiter enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Scottish Rifles (The Cameronians), serving in active combat during the brutal campaigns at the Battle of the Somme.
      • Revolutionizing Field Maps: After contracting severe bronchitis in the trenches, he was transferred to the 4th Field Survey Battalion at 4th Army Headquarters, where his professional civilian background in lithography proved vital.
      • Inventions at the Front: He invented the single photo-optical rectification technique, which allowed soldiers to project photographic negatives taken from spotter planes to correct camera tilt and rapidly map enemy trench lines and gun placements.
      • Decorations: His innovative map production methods reduced printing turnaround times from six weeks to 24 hours, earning him two Mentions in Dispatches and a Military OBE.
      • Second World War Service: During WWII, Cursiter was granted leave from his gallery directorship to lead the Ordnance Survey drawing offices in Southampton and Edinburgh, overseeing a thousand draughtsmen while simultaneously safeguarding Scotland's national art collections in remote castles. He was subsequently awarded a Military CBE in 1948. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
      The Artist: Tom Curr
      The caricature was drawn by Tom Curr, a prominent Edinburgh artist, commercial designer, and cartoonist. Curr and Cursiter shared deep personal history, having both trained as apprentices at the commercial color printing firm McLagan & Cumming on Warriston Road, attended art college together, and worked in parallel fields of military map intelligence during World War 1