The Albert Institute (now the McManus, Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum) was established in 1867 as the first civic museum and art gallery in Dundee. It was funded entirely through public subscription with 261 subscribers pledging £15,770 in 1863. By February 1865 the number of subscribers had increased to 327 and share capital totalled £21,470. Read more...

This project was set up by the McManus 168 Group (Supporters of The McManus) to mark the 150th anniversary of The McManus and to shed new light on Dundee’s history and heritage by discovering more about the men and women that gave so generously.

One of the Original Subscribers

James Ramsay Jr gave £20 towards the building of The Albert Institute. A member of the extensive Baxter family through his marriage, James Ramsay became a well known merchant and citizen in both Dundee and Perth. Having been in business for 45 years, he spent his retirement supporting the works of his church.

Read more about James Ramsay Jr...

ABOUT

From June 2017 to June 2018, the project brought together all the heritage groups in Dundee supported by an expert project planning team with academics, genealogists, archivists, the library service and Leisure and Culture Dundee, project managers and history enthusiasts.

We recruited 30 expert lead researchers and a further 75 novice researchers, ranging in age from 16 to 84 and from right across Dundee. Together they collected information on the subscribers among which were, manufacturers, nautical instrument makers, grocers, hecklers, waiters, ship’s chandlers, dyers, bleachers, and flax spinners. View in the Subscriber Archive....

Watch interviews with McManus168 researchers and find out more about the project...

On October 6 1928, the Maia and Mercury took off from the River Tay. During the flight the smaller plane Mercury separated from Maia to continue her journey on to Alexander Bay in South Africa. In doing so it established a record flight for a seaplane of 6,045 miles.

Courtesy of The McManus Collections. Copyright: Dundee City Council (Dundee's Art Galleries and Museums)