Scottish National Exhibition, 1908
The Scottish National Exhibition in Saughton Park, Edinburgh, ran for only six months, opening on May 1 1908 and closing on October 31, 1908. Admission was 10 shillings 6 pence (roughly $20 in today’s dollars, adjusted for inflation) and 3.5 million people visited the Exhibition.
The fair included an Incubator Baby Institute, as did many exhibitions of that era, which appears to have used the Lion incubators and was directed by Moritz Ehrlich.*
THE INCUBATOR
The baby incubator is attracting a great deal of attention. There are at present five little mites under treatment, four boys and one girl .All of them when brought to the incubator institute here were exceptionally feeble little mortals, but without exception they are thriving under the scientific treatment accorded them. The chart placed above each incubator shows a daily improvement in weight. The infants are under medical and nursing supervision of a highly trained character. Visitors will be impressed by the well ordered appearance of the interior and by the means taken to obtain the best results. Mr. Ehrlich calculates that 80 per cent. of the prematurely born children, who would almost certainly die if left to ordinary treatment, are saved by their residence in the incubator. The establishment is well worth a visit.
— The Scotsman, Tuesday, May 19, 1908
WANTED INCUBATED BABY
In a letter to Mr. Knight, the manager of the Scottish National Exhibition, at Edinburgh, a little girl resident in Edinburgh says:
“I have heard you hatch babies in incubators. Do you give any away? If you don’t I would like one about 3s: one that has been hatched for a week or two. I would like a fair-haired and blue-eyed little girl; one that is nice and healthy and does not squeal much. If you have no fair-haired at 3s, a brown-haired and brown-eyed will do. It must be healthy and a girl; I will not have a boy.”
The letter concludes: “I am expecting to be at the exhibition on Saturday. Please will you have one ready?”
— Lloyd’s Weekly News, May 17, 1908
Above: A map of the exhibition.
Above: Listing of the incubator exhibit, from the catalog, courtesy of Brian Duncan. “404 – M. Ehrlick [sic], Baby Incubator Institute.”
* Moritz Ehrlich, referred to in most news accounts as M. Ehrlich is a somewhat mysterious figure. I have not been able to find much information about him other than his origin in Vienna. He used Lion incubators, and his exhibits usually were named “Baby Incubator Institute.” He is known to have exhibited at Glasgow in 1903-1904, Bradford in 1904, Liege in 1905, Budapest in 1906, Dublin in 1907, Edinburgh in 1908, and Brussels in 1935.
- Exhibition Study Group page on the Scottish Exhibition of 1908 (captured as a PDF)
- Saughton’s Glorious Summer of 1908, Edinburgh Libraries
- Moving Images of the Scottish National Exhibition, National Library of Scotland
Last Updated on 04/13/26