Finlay MacQueen snaring puffins, Carn Mòr

Finlay MacQueen catching puffins with a long snare during a return visit to his native island, St Kilda, eight years after it was evacuated in 1930. Seabirds provided food, oil for lamps, and feathers which could be sold or exchanged for goods.

The photograph was taken by Robert Atkinson (1915-1995) who visited St Kilda in 1938. There he met islanders who had returned for the summer following the evacuation in 1930.

University of Edinburgh, School of Scottish Studies Archives: SSSA 0014736c