Hi, I’m Shea! I am a first-year Animal Biology student at the University of Guelph who aspires to work in the field of Animal Rehabilitation, with hopes to give disabled and injured pets, or other animals their full lives back. Currently, I am enrolled in a first-year seminar called “The Extraordinary History of Stuff,” where we spent all semester studying the subject of Scottish postcards. At first, I didn’t understand or see the importance of these cards, but throughout the course, I began to appreciate them more and more. We learned about the role they played in early European tourism, the evolution of the function and purpose, and most importantly, what they tell historians and researchers about early Scottish culture and lifestyle. This course has taught me that everyday objects which may not be of significance right at this moment, will become extremely important to future generations as they may provide insight to how we, as humans, once lived.

The postcard I will be discussing in this section is called “The Sutherland”. I chose this card to focus my exhibit on because the Sutherland Clan is of great importance to my family: my Scottish ancestors come from the Sutherland Clan. Because of this relationship between my family and the group, my middle name is Sutherland. I felt this was the perfect excuse to learn a bit more about where my name comes from and my Scottish heritage.

Through this exhibit, I hope you learn some more about the clan, Scottish culture, and of course, the extraordinary history of this form of ephemera: the postcard!