The Points Game

Although curling is seen these days as a team sport, there is a variation of the game which tests an individual curler's skill. Such Points competitions date from the earliest years when curling clubs were formed. For example, it is known that the Duddingston Curling Society had a competition in which individual members had to play three different shots - drawing, striking, and inwicking. A gold medal was awarded to the winner for the first time in 1809.

Many long established curling clubs played variations of Points. One such was the Currie Curling Club, which had devised a more comprehensive system involving eight different shots, each of which had to be attempted four times.

In 1839, a year after its formation, the Grand Caledonian Curling Club (as it was then called) made the decision to award medals to encourage the sport amongst its member clubs. There were District Medals, see here, and Local Medals. The latter were for individual play, in Points competitions. (More about Local Medals is here.)

The rules for Points were first published in the Annual for 1839-40. These rules, with the various shots to be played, were essentially those that had been used by the Currie CC.

The first of these regulations was, "A circle eight feet in diameter shall be drawn round the tee, and a central line or score between the tees to the distance of twenty feet from the further tee." This is of interest because this eight foot diameter (four foot radius) circle was the first of any circle required to be scratched on the ice for ANY type of curling. At this time the regular game did NOT require circles to be drawn on the ice, see here.

Four stones were played at each of eight types of shot. The Annual describes these:

"Every competitor to play four shots at each of the eight following points of the game, viz, Striking, Inwicking, Drawing, Guarding, Chap and lie, Wick and curl-in, Raising, and Chipping the winner." 

These were illustrated as follows in three panels:

(1) Striking. A stone placed on the tee to be struck out of the circle. 

(2) Inwicking. One stone is placed upon the tee, and another (in two of the chances to lie on the opposite side of the central line from what it is in the other two) two feet distant from the tee, making an angle of 45° with the central line: the played stone to hit against the latter and perceptibly move the former.

(3) Drawing. The stone played to lie within the circle.

(4) Guarding. The stone played to rest, however little, on the central line.

(5) Chap and lie. A stone placed on the tee to be struck out of the circle, but the stone played to lie within it.

(6) Wick and curl-in. A stone is placed seven feet distant from the tee, and making an angle of 45° with the central line: the stone played to hit on this stone, and rest within the circle.

(7) Raising. A stone placed on the central line, and seven feet distant from the tee, to be struck into the circle. 

(8) Chipping the winner. One stone is placed on the tee, and another at ten feet distance, just touching the central line, and half guarding the one on the tee: the stone played to pass the guard, and perceptibly move the other. 

Scoring was described in this way, "Each successful shot shall count one, whatever be the point played at. No stone shall be considered within, or without the circle, unless it clear it; and every stone to be held as resting on the central line which does not completely clear it: in every case as ascertained by a square." 

This means that the maximum score possible in 1839 was 32. If two players finished on the same score, a further point could be played, that of Outwicking. The rules stated:

"In the event of two or more competitors gaining the same aggregate number of shots, they shall play four or more shots (at the desire of the judge of the competition) at (9) Outwicking, where a stone placed four feet distant from the tee, at an angle of 45° with the central line is to be so struck as to lie within the circle."

A note states, "It will save much time if, in playing for Local Medals, two rinks be similarly prepared parallel to each other, the tee of the one being at the opposite end from the tee of the other. Every competitor plays both stones up the one rink and immediately afterwards down the other, finishing at once all his chances at each point."

 

Remarkably, there is an early image which shows the curlers of the Fingask Curling Club at Points. This engraving, part of which is shown above, was published in the Illustrated London News on January 7, 1854. The Points contest had been held the previous season, on February 17, 1853. The members of the Fingask CC were playing for a medal awarded to the Club by Lady Murray Threipland, the Club's Patroness.

 

Studying the image, it can be seen that two rinks are in use, at ninety degrees to each other.

Points competitions continued to be played for under the early rules for many years. But, by 1887, changes to the rules for Points competitions were being considered, following proposals by D Croll of the Broughty Ferry Curling Club. A special committee was set up to consider these proposals, and new rules were agreed at the Annual Meeting of the Representative Committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, held in the Waterloo Hotel, Edinburgh, on Wednesday, 25th July 25, 1888. 

Where am I?

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These new rules were: 

1. Competitors shall draw lots for the rotation of play, and shall use two Stones.
2. The length of the Rink shall not exceed 42 yards; any lesser distance shall be determined by the Umpire.
3. Circles of 7 feet and 4 feet radius shall be drawn round the Tee, and a central line through the centre of the 4 foot circle to the Hog score.
4. Every Competitor shall play four shots at each of the eight following points of the game, viz: Striking, lnwicking, Drawing, Guarding, Chap and Lie, Wick and Curl in, Raising, and Chipping the Winner, according to illustrated definitions.
5. In Nos. 2, 6, 8, and 9, two chances on the left and two on the right.
6. No Stone shall be considered without a circle unless it is entirely clear of that circle. In every case a square is to be placed on the ice to ascertain when a Stone is without a circle, or entirely clear of a line.

This brought the dimensions of the house into line with that in use for regular team play, ie seven foot radius. And now a perfect play counted a score of two, with one point on offer for a partial result, see below.

Just a couple of years later, at the Annual Meeting in 1892, a new 'point' was added, that of 'Drawing though a Port'. Apparently, this was already being played in Canada, and so the Royal Club brought their Points' rules into line.

 

Note that the new point, drawing the port, fitted in as the ninth point to be played in any competition, with outwicking retaining its position as a tiebreaker.

These points were played in competitions until 1938. Then, as noted in the Annual for 1938-39, the size of the outer circle was allowed to be variable, ie "Two Circles, one having a radius of 4 feet and the other having a radius of not less than 6 feet and not more than 7 feet, shall be drawn round each Tee." This was to accommodate the change in the size of the head in indoor rinks (to twelve feet in diameter), as well as allowing for the continued use of fourteen foot diameter rinks in outdoor play. It wasn't until 1963 when the diameter of the outside circle was standardised to twelve feet.

The current rules for Points, with better illustrations, can be found online in the RCCC 2020-21 Rulebook here, pages 78-89.

This is the illustration in the 2020-21 Rule Book showing the markings to be made on the ice.

 

In 1958 David Liddell presented a silver salver to Glasgow Province. Clubs in that Province joined together to play each season for this trophy. Six sheets of the main curling rink at Crossmyloof were used, but such were the 'idiosychrasies' of these, that some of the points asked for were extremely difficult, if not impossible, to play. However, much fun was enjoyed on these occasions, the winner's signature being engraved onto the Salver. The Salver is still played for, most recently at Braehead.

I always found Points play frustrating. But my proudest moment came when my club decided to hold its local Points competition at the four-sheeter at Forest Hills, north of Glasgow. I came second on the day, but I should declare that, because of the snow, only two members made it to the Kinlochard venue! (I miss that old Saab.)

POSTSCRIPT

Last year the sport of curling lost one of its 'characters', Leslie Ingram-Brown. Back in his playing days, he relished, and excelled, in Points play. His name can be found on six occasions on the Liddell Salver, above. I found myself thinking of him often as I wrote the above article. RIP Leslie.

Much of the information in this article comes from old RCCC Annuals. The photo of the Fingask competition is from the Illustrated London News, retrieved via the British Newspaper Archive. The photo of Leslie is my own. The Liddell Salver image is from the Glasgow Province website. Thanks to Robin Shand for help with this article.

Curling in adverts

Curling owes much to its major sponsors. Other businesses help in other ways, by advertising in curling magazines, on websites, and in event programmes. Adverts in old programmes become more interesting as the years go by. During lockdown I found myself avidly scouring old curling event programmes and magazines for items of interest. Adverts I found could be classified into three types. There are those of businesses related to the sport, and these usually have a curling 'theme'. Other adverts were for companies whose page in the programme just used a generic non-curling image taken from stock. But I was impressed with those companies, big and small, who had spent time and money to design an advert with a curling related theme, even though their business was not related to the sport itself.

 

Here are some I like from years past.

 

 

This advert ran for many months in the Scottish Curler magazine in the 1950s. It still makes me smile!

 

This 7-UP ad from the 1960s (or even the 1950s) was for a Canadian readership. 

 

 

Here's the same company using a cartoon, in an advert of the same vintage.

 

Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky adverts were always of a high quality. This curling one appeared in the programme for the 1972 Air Canada Silver Broom at Garmisch Partenkirchen.

 

 

Here's a smaller company, with a simple but effective advert, which took space in the programme for the Glayva World Ladies, at Lake Forest, Chicago, in 1987.

 

Nothing but the highest quality for Guinness! I don't have the dates when this advert was used.

 

The Clydesdale Bank prepared this advert for the programme sold at the 1975 Silver Broom in Perth, Scotland.

Here's an advert for a Canadian Rye Whisky. It appeared in the programme for the 1978 Air Canada Silver Broom in Winnipeg. That's a Common Ailsa stone in the background, but look closely for the corn broom and the pin badges in the foreground.

 

This advert appeared in the programme for the 1995 Bank of Scotland World Junior Curling Championships at Perth, Scotland. Who is the curler?

 

A local business, whose founder and management all curled, stepped forward to support the World Women's Championship programme in 2005 at the Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland.

 

In the era before smart phones, how many of us had a Nokia mobile? This simple, but clever, advert appeared in Ford World Championships programme for Lausanne, in 2001.

 

Even small businesses supported an international event in their community. This full page ad, for a local petrol (gas) station, appeared in the programme for the 2008 World Men's Championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. I wonder how many WCF events have had an 'Official Gas Station'?

 

If I had to pick a favourite curling advert, it would be this one by Manitoba Hydro. OK, the punk rock era was well before 2008 when this advert appeared in the Canadian Curling Association's Extra End publication, doubling as the programme for the Tim Horton's Brier in Winnipeg. 

 

Simple and clever. Full marks to the creative team at Keith's Brewery who devised this advert, which appeared in Curling Canada's Extra End publication, serving here as the programme for the Ford World Women's in 2008, in Vernon, BC. (Here in Scotland twist-off tops like this have never been common.)

 

 

Ford continues to be a great curling sponsor. Here is an advert that appeared on the back cover of the Canadian Curling Association's Extra End publication which was the programme for the World Men's Championship in Moncton, New Brunswick, in 2009.

The above adverts are just a few of many. Congratulations to the innovative minds of the designers. In other categories we might look out the most innovative advert by a curling rink equipment provider, or a business which sells curling clothing and accessories. But that will be for another lockdown!

All images are from my own collection.

ADDED LATER: David Sgriccia of the Detriot Curling Club has forwarded this Stanfield’s Underwear advert which ran in newspapers throughout Canada in 1954 and 1955. Full marks!

 

David says, "It used to be said that if you were nervous before public speaking, then should imagine your audience in their underwear.  Well, now if you are going to be curling against top-notch opponents you just have to imagine them in their underwear!"

Did Carlo Pellegrini win an Olympic Gold in 1912 for a painting of a curling scene?

Carlo Pellegrini (1866-1937) provided the artwork for many postcards. Above is a favourite from my own postcard collection. It shows a game in progress on outside ice, in a snow covered landscape. It was published by Vouga and Cie, Geneva, as D10 of a series. It is postally unused and is not dated.

Some months ago I decided that Pellegrini's postcards might make an interesting and colourful post on the Curling History Blog. I set out to find more about the artist, and immediately became fascinated with what I discovered.

Firstly, he should not be confused with his father, also Carlo Pellegrini, the well known caricaturist known as 'Ape'. Carlo Pellegrini of postcard fame was born on October 26, 1866, in Albese con Cassano, in the Province of Como, Italy. He studied at the Brera Academy in Milan, and around 1900 moved to Switzerland. He painted in oils and tempura and was inspired by the winter landscapes and activities of the Engadine, in the south-east of the Swiss Alps. He provided the artwork for many postcards and posters. He died in Geneva in 1937 at the age of 70.

Did you know that there used to be art competitions at the Olympic Games? In 1912, the first of these was held in Stockholm as part of the Fifth Olympiad. In the paintings section of the art competition the Olympic Gold Medal was awarded to Carlo Pellegrini for his submission of 'Three connected friezes representing Winter Sports'.

On learning this, I immediately wondered if one of the 'friezes' showed a curling scene? Would that not be an exciting discovery! I searched the digital world for the artwork, initially with no success.

Information was available about the Olympic competition, and the Official Report was my first stop.

This can be downloaded from here.

Here's the record of Pellegrini's win as noted in the Official Report. Note that his name is misspelled, and his first initial is incorrect, although, as I discovered later, 'G' is his middle initial.

The Official Report has the information that the Stockholm Games included competitions in Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Music, and Literature. The Jury only considered subjects not previously published, exhibited or performed, and having some direct connection with sport. And that the winner of each of the five competitions would be awarded the 'Gold Olympic Medal'. The exhibits selected were, as far as possible, to be published, exhibited or performed during the Olympic Games of 1912. Competitors had to notify their intention of entering for one or more of these competitions before January 15, 1912, and the exhibits themselves had to be in the hands of the jury before March 1, 1912. There were no limitations as to size or form for manuscripts, plans, drawings or canvasses, but sculptors were required to send in clay models, not exceeding eighty centimetres in height, length or width.

Pelligrini's work was deemed to be the only submission worthy of a medal in the paintings category, and silver and bronze medals were not awarded. It is not stated how many entries there were in the paintings category.

All the medallists' work was exhibited to the public in special premises at 10 Karlavagen, Stockholm.

It was at this point that I came across an article entitled 'Postcard and Poster Artist Carlo Pellegrini, Jr (1866-1937)' by Henry Gessler, which can be found here. This mentions the 'disappearance' of the Olympic paintings. Tantalisingly, the author says, "Recently a large litho (Vouga Series 211 #2), of one of them, has come to light."

It is due to the work of Richard Stanton that I've learned more about the Olympic Art Competitions, and Pellegrini's three friezes of winter sports. 

'The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions', by Richard Stanton, was published in 2000 by Trafford, BC, Canada. It is the result of painstaking research, and is a remarkable work, containing just about everything you need to know about the Olympic Art Competitions in the twentieth century. It runs to 412 pages. Just how these competitions came to be included in the Olympics is a fascinating read. It had been a vision of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who was responsible for re-establishing the modern Olympic Games in 1896, to include the fine arts alongside sports. He faced many obstacles, but it was at Stockholm that he realised his dream. Stanton charts the journey. Stockholm was a 'first step', and was only a partial success, the inclusion of a Concours d'Art failing to to receive the support of Swedish art associations.

After his book was published Richard Stanton maintained an interest in Carlo Pellegrini and the 'lost friezes'. He made contact with Henry Gessler, and in 2016 wrote an article for the Journal of Olympic History titled, 'Lost Artwork from the 1912 Olympic Art Competition Emerges'. That's a screenshot of part of the first page above, and shows an image of Carlo Pellegrini. Read the whole article here. Stanton writes that two of the three friezes can now be identified. He reproduces one of them in the article. It is a skiing scene. I recognised this immediately.

On January 28, 2009, three chomolithographs went on sale at Christie's in London. All three had been published by Vouga and Cie, Geneva, the company already mentioned as associated with Pellegrini's postcards.

 

This is the auction house description of one of the lots: 'WINTER BEGINS', chromolithograph, published by Vouga and Cie., Genève (Série 220, No.1), not backed. 9½ x 41in. (24 x 104cm.) 

This lot sold for £1375. And it is this image that Stanton reproduces in his 2016 article with the evidence that it is a reproduction of one the Olympic paintings! 

Stanton does not reproduce, nor describe, the second of the missing friezes that has come to light. But he does indicate that a reproduction was also sold by Christie's in the same 2009 sale as the chromolithograph described above. Two other Pellegrini lots were in that sale, and one IS a curling scene! Here it is:

The auction house described this lot: 'CURLING - CHESS ON ICE', chromolithograph, published by Vouga, Genève (Série 220, No.2), not backed. 9½ x 41in. (24 x 104cm.) This sold for £1062. 

In my opinion this is an accurate portrayal of a curling match on outside ice in Switzerland in the first decade of the twentieth century. Curling was popular in that country at that time, many resort hotels having their own curling rinks. To study 'Curling - Chess on Ice' in more detail I have divided the scene into three, but have not removed the yellow cast that is on the image on Christie's website from the 2009 sale.

The left side of the artwork shows two players, both with brooms, four seated spectators, and one other standing figure, perhaps the umpire. There are six stones in view, and an apparently discarded corn broom.

The middle of the scene shows two sweepers both using corn brooms. The curler on the left may be the player who has delivered the stone and followed it up, although it could be a member of the opposing team watching to see the result of the play.

The right side of the scene shows the skip directing the play, the opposition skip and a member of the opposition team. A tee-marker (sometimes referred to as a 'dolly') marks the centre of circles scraped on the ice. The artist's signature is at the bottom right of the piece.

Overall, the condition of the artwork, with its mottled appearance, reflects its age and perhaps how well it had been stored. I wonder if the purchaser has had it restored? And who did buy it in 2009? Has it changed hands since? Does anyone reading this article recognise this artwork?

Unfortunately, I do NOT have confirmation that this is the image that appeared in one of the original Olympic paintings. I feel that it is likely to be so. Both the curling scene, and 'Winter Begins', are reproductions from the same Vouga and Cie Series 220, and are the same size, long and narrow. That's not to say that the original paintings would have been the same size as the reproductions.

The other Pellegrini in the Christie's sale in 2009 is shown below, again with the auction house description.

Christie's description: 'ICE DANCE', chromolithograph, published by Vouga and Cie, Genève (Série 225, No.1), not backed. 9 x 23½in. (23 x 60cm.) 

This sold for £1750. Note the size difference to that of the other lithographs.

Have the original Olympic paintings survived? Surely they would be known of if they had. Henry Gessler notes that Pellegrini's main publisher had been Vouga and Cie, of Geneva, 'until they had a disastrous fire, in which most of his originals were destroyed, probably including the Stockholm Gold Medal trio'. How sad, if that is indeed the case.

Stanton also writes that the diploma, which was awarded alongside Pellegrini's gold medal, is in the Olympic museum in Lausanne.

My own postcard collection contains more examples of Pellegrini's curling artwork.

This original postcard was published by Vouga and Cie. It is postally unused. Not dated. No 43 in a series. A stylish delivery from a crampet, with a corn broom alongside.

Another original, No 45 in the same series, showing sweepers in action. Postally used. The cancel is not clear, but could be 1911. This would fit in with the age of the stamp which was in use in the years 1909 to 1914. Sent from St Moritz to Hamburg.

This is a Photoglob reproduction, No 3319 of 'Edition Photoglob SA, 8045 Zurich'. This has the following printed (in French) on the reverse. It is a letter from Baron de Coubertin to the artist. "Dear Mr Pellegrini. The King gave me on Monday at the distribution of the prizes the gold medal which is intended as laureat of the painting competition. I'll bring it back to you on my return if you like. Very friendly congratulations and sincerely yours. Pierre de Coubertin, International Olympic Committee V Stockholm 1912, Saltijobaden (Sweden) 7/20/12."  (Thanks to Google for the translation.)

I have two other Pellegrini images in my postcard collection. His images were used on promotional postcards for the Palazzo del Ghiaccio, an ice centre in Milan.

The reverse of the card. The rink opened in December 1923, see here, which suggests that Pellegrini was still working around this time.

Here's another card from the same series which shows curling - a backswing during a crampet delivery. There's no evidence that curling was ever played in the Milan rink. Others in the same series of cards show different sports. 

The search for more information on Pellegrini's three friezes showing winter sports goes on. I think we are close to being able to conclude that the sport of curling featured on one of them. I look forward to being able to say definitively that a painting of the sport of curling won an Olympic gold medal at Stockholm in 1912, twelve years before the sport itself featured in the first 'Winter Olympics' at Chamonix in 1924, see here. Updates will be posted here when more information comes to light.

Other than the images from the 2009 Christie's sale, which are from that company's website, all are from my own postcard collection, or as indicated. As noted above, the work of Richard Stanton has contributed greatly to my knowledge of Olympic Art Competitions. These were abolished after the London Games in 1948.

Curling stones and curling stone makers

Not all curling stones originate on Ailsa Craig. This was particularly true at the end of the nineteenth century when you could buy curling stones of a variety of types, as David Smith wrote in a blog article, see here. Back then, if you wanted to curl, you had to purchase a pair of stones for your own use on outside ice. There was a variety of stone types to chose from, such as Burnock Water, Crawfordjohn, Carsphairn, Crieff Serpentine, Tinkernhill and of course three types of Ailsas (Red Hone, Blue Hone, and Common). Where exactly had the different types of stone come from, and who had made the raw material into curling stones?

Just before lockdown, I attended an auction viewing, at McTear's Auctioneers in Glasgow, where the contents of Partick Curling Club's house in Victoria Park were to go on sale (above). It was fascinating to look at the many stones, and to try to identify them. A few days later I followed the auction online, and I believe the sale went off successfully. It was sad in a way that such a sale had to take place, but hopefully all the lots went to good new homes with collectors and curling enthusiasts. One such is Graeme Adam, my old skip, who has an unrivalled collection of stones of different types.

Back in March, Graeme involved Lindsay Scotland, mastermind of the Historical Curling Places site, to begin thinking of a map with which might show where the various curling stone types originated, and also where these materials were turned into curling stones.

This map has now gone online. Above is a screenshot of just part of the map. The full map shows 'places' as far north as Inverness, and as far south as Trefor in Wales, and is here.

The map currently has fourteen ‘makers’ and nine ‘quarries’. It works in the same fashion as the existing maps on the Historical Curling Places site. Zoom in, click on a place, and click through for more detailed information.

I was happy to assist with the project in a small way. Harold Forrester, expert 'pondhunter', has also helped. I had already written about the source of 'Crawfordjohn' curling stones, here, and 'Carsphairns', here.

As the project developed, it soon became clear that research would lead us into the very disparate areas of geography, geology, industrial archaeology, and social history. I'll mention here just three examples of new information which has come to light.

The first concerns the origins of Kays in Mauchline, the company that still makes curling stones today. The original company of T and A Kay was begun by two brothers, Thomas Kay and Andrew Kay, around 1876. Andrew, the younger brother, married Catherine Kirk at Ochiltree in 1877, and, according to the census in 1881, the couple were living at the Haugh, with three daughters (age 3, 2 and 8 months). In that year Andrew was described as a curling stone manufacturer with thirty employees.

Andrew Kay died on June 23, 1887, at just 32 years old.

In his book 'Curling: an illustrated history', David Smith suggests that Andrew Kay's widow 'evicted' her brother-in-law. I've never been happy with this. The opposite may have been true, and she had to fight to keep her share of the business.

There was legal action, and the business of T and A Kay went to auction, the details of which can be found in the Ayr Advertiser in 1888. Thomas Kay won the auction, and thus took the business name. He did not get the premises at Haugh because these were rented from Sir Claud Alexander. Catherine was able to keep hold of these. She then developed a successful company under a new name, Andrew Kay and Company. Thomas Kay also continued to make curling stones and moved into Mauchline. The two companies were rivals for some years thereafter.

Catherine Kay had more than her fair share of grief in her life. At the beginning of 1887, she and Andrew now had four children, and she was pregnant again. At 11.55 pm on June 18 and at 30 minutes past midnight on June 19, 1887, she gave birth to twins, Andrew and Thomas - no doubt named after her husband and his brother.

Four days later, on June 23, 1887, her husband Andrew died, age just 32. Then on July 20 and 22 both the twins died. It must have been a heartbreaking time for Catherine. But she was a strong enough woman to fight for her livelihood, and become the owner of a successful business. There's much much more to be written about her life, but that will be for another time. I'm still looking for a photograph of this remarkable woman who deserves to be better known. Look at the linked page on the map to read of the history of the Andrew Kay Company through the twentieth century.

One mention in an old newspaper shows that Catherine Kay obtained the rights to a quarry on the Sorn estate. After a bit of research, I found this to be a quarry on Tin Corn Hill (which is still operational today). At some point, when communication was mostly verbal, the name of the stone was garbled as 'Tinkernhill' and it is by this name that stones from this quarry became known to curlers of the time.

The Scottish Curling Stone Company began life in the 1960s in Polmadie in Glasgow. I was excited to find the image above showing the inside of the factory. This was the front cover of the North American Curling News of November, 1966. The Polmadie area has long since been redeveloped, and I do not know exactly where these premises were. I'm wondering if they were in part of the old locomotive works? The company was to move to Inverness later in the decade. The image is a rare one indeed, and captures a moment in time in the sport's history. The stone being used was from Ailsa Craig, to which the company had the rights at the time.

Finally, the name 'Keanie' turns up often in any study of curling stone makers. The new map has four 'Keanie' entries. I had been intrigued a couple of years ago, when visiting the National Library of Scotland at the Kelvin Hall, to find a relatively recent photograph of a Keanie Company based in Bellshill, Glasgow. When looking for information on this company, I came across a similar image and an article in The Sphere newspaper from October 1954. It shows curling stones being packed into barrels to be shipped to Canada. What sort of stone were these made from? The image caption reads, 'Curling stones earn dollars for Britain', so it is clear that most of the stones were to be exported to North America.

The penny dropped when looking at the website of the Canada Curling Stone Company, in Ontario. The company today makes new stones using Welsh Trefor, and refurbishes old stones. On their page titled 'granite types' see here, there is a description of 'Keanie' stone, below.

I recognised this material immediately as I had visited the quarries at Furnace on Loch Fyne a year ago. From this article I knew that Furnace had supplied curling stone blanks, as well as granite setts for roads, in the 1950s. It was clear that 'Keanie' stone was from Furnace, and so the curling stones exported in 1954 by the Keanie Company in Bellshill were made from stone from the side of Loch Fyne. I have a wonderful image in my mind of the stone blanks being transported from the quarry by puffer! Since then the quarry at Furnace has been opened up again and is part of the Breedon Group, see here. But the days of that quarry supplying curling stone material are long past.

The curling stone and curling stone makers project is very much a work in progress. To quote David Smith from 2008, "I personally couldn’t recognise a Blantyre, whether black or silver grey, and although I know where Muthill and Earnock are, I have no idea what a stone bearing the name of these places looks like. As for Giells, is this a place or a person?" Yes, there's still much more to be discovered. 

Lindsay Scotland says, "We would welcome any more information that is out there, whether that would be new places, and corrections to, or expansion of, what we currently have documented." 

Thanks, as always, to the British Newspaper Archive. The image of 'Keanie' stone is from the Canada Curling Stone website. The other images are from my own archive, or are as indicated.