Camera in hand, Margaret d'Este toured all of Mallorca, as evidenced in her book With a Camera in Majorca (1907).

As we get down into the zone of olives again, a warmer air meets us – the rain has been left behind, and we are once more in sunshine; passing the picturesque village of Selva, with its church perched on the very top of a hill, we soon find ourselves at Inca - a large and prosperous - looking town of fine Stone houses and shops. Here we took the train for Palma, and packed ourselves and our valises into a little first - class compartment which we shared with and aristocratic - looking old gentleman travelling with a large wicker basket, apparently containing the week’s wash, and with a lady in a graceful black mantilla, who had a market basket, and a big bundle done up in a check tablecloth.

With a camera in Majorca, 1907

(Lago Como, Italia, 1876 - Wiltshire, Inglaterra, 1930). A British traveller and writer, Margaret d'Este (Margaret Moss King) visited the Balearic Islands in 1906. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Augusta Egerton, a pioneering photographer referred to in Margaret de Este’s work as R.M. King, and Robert Moss King, who worked in India for the colonial administration. The name Este, used as a pseudonym, stems from the place where she was born, Villa de Este, close to Lake Como.

She became interested in southern Europe’s islands and wrote three books where she describes her travel experiences: Through Corsica with a Camera (1905), With a Camera in Majorca (1907) and In the Canaries with a Camera (1909). All of them were published in English, with photographs that accompany the descriptions by Mrs. R. M. King, who travelled with her on her journeys. The book about Mallorca also includes an outline of her trip to Minorca and Ibiza. The extract that we have chosen refers to one of the trips she made during her stay in Mallorca, travelling by train from Inca to Palma.

The Inca railway dates back to 1875, with a line between Inca and Palma covered by the English steam train “Mallorca”. This first railway line in Mallorca mainly carried commercial freight and some early passengers, heralding a change in the island’s economy, industry and society.

In the 1930's Mallorca’s railway network was made up of 10 lines and 40 stations, although it fell into a decline with the construction of roads and the increasing presence of motor vehicles.