Where in Orkney would someone have seen a man with very dark skin ? This was about 1890. I have photocopies of a cross-stitched sampler done in Orkney about 1890. The stiticher was born ~1860 and grew up in Orkney, the family had English roots which is why I think the sampler was made - it was more of an English tradition than an Orcadian one. There are several island images - a puffin, a cottage with a chimney on either end, a small pony, a Highland cow [horns facing forward, short legs], a steam engine, and a large bird with a reddish patch on its wing among many others not so identifiably Orcadian. Sadly there are no outlines of any Standing Stones, monoliths or large mounds, I would have loved to see them stitched on this piece. Centered in the group of stitched images is a black man, probably a musician who is obviously dancing ! He's holding a fiddle in one hand, waving it high in the air and possibly a tambourine or small set of bells in the other. He is dancing, kicking one leg up. Skin color is not medium or even a dark brown as I would have expected, its very dark brown-purple. I'm looking at the original thread color to see what was used and have discussed it with the current owner [descendant of the stitcher] to make sure the photocopy isn't off in its color generation. Lips and eyes were done with reddish yarn, the lips were especially wide on the face, he is wearing a short tunic type garment. I have to think this indicated someone with exceedingly dark skin, not the brown tones I see in the US, possibly from Australia or South Africa ? While at college I met students from South Africa and Australia whose skin was not brown but very black. Were there entertainers, carnivals, musicians, minstrels, or the like that came to Orkney in the late 1800s ? I'm becoming quite interested in finding out about this figure......Meg Greenwood / Oklahoma USA

"Were there entertainers, carnivals, musicians, minstrels, or the like that came to Orkney in the late 1800s ? Yes. view a video named: "Fiddlers of James Bay" (produced by the Wilson brothers in Orkney) it may hold the answer to your question; reportedly, some of these emmigrated to Orkney bill Bill Irvine alternate email: wji@islandnet.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greenwood" <scotquester@bartnet.net> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 10:15 AM Subject: [<orcadia>] Cross-stitched sampler, images of Orkney > Where in Orkney would someone have seen a man with very dark skin ? > This was about 1890. > > I have photocopies of a cross-stitched sampler done in Orkney about > 1890. The stiticher was born ~1860 and grew up in Orkney, the family > had English roots which is why I think the sampler was made - it was > more of an English tradition than an Orcadian one. > > There are several island images - a puffin, a cottage with a chimney on > either end, a small pony, a Highland cow [horns facing forward, short > legs], a steam engine, and a large bird with a reddish patch on its wing > among many others not so identifiably Orcadian. Sadly there are no > outlines of any Standing Stones, monoliths or large mounds, I would have > loved to see them stitched on this piece. Centered in the group of > stitched images is a black man, probably a musician who is obviously > dancing ! > > He's holding a fiddle in one hand, waving it high in the air and > possibly a tambourine or small set of bells in the other. He is dancing, > kicking one leg up. Skin color is not medium or even a dark brown as I > would have expected, its very dark brown-purple. I'm looking at the > original thread color to see what was used and have discussed it with > the current owner [descendant of the stitcher] to make sure the > photocopy isn't off in its color generation. Lips and eyes were done > with reddish yarn, the lips were especially wide on the face, he is > wearing a short tunic type garment. I have to think this indicated > someone with exceedingly dark skin, not the brown tones I see in the US, > possibly from Australia or South Africa ? While at college I met > students from South Africa and Australia whose skin was not brown but > very black. > > Were there entertainers, carnivals, musicians, minstrels, or the like > that came to Orkney in the late 1800s ? I'm becoming quite interested > in finding out about this figure......Meg Greenwood / Oklahoma USA > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >