The Signet Library 200th Anniversary Online Exhibition
an online history of the ws Society and signet Library
Thomas H. Shepherd, New County Hall, and Advocate’s Library [sic], in Shepherd, Modern Athens, 1829. The former is now the French Consulate, the latter is the Signet Library.
A series of online presentations building into a full online history of the Signet Library.
Architect Sir Robert Reid’s drawing for the north front of the Library Block, 1810
This part of the exhibition begins with digitisations of excerpts from the WS Society’s historic minute book (which extends back to 1594), and of the accounts of the WS Society’s history printed in the 1890 and 1936 editions of The History of the Society of Writers to His Majesty’s Signet along with the further account presented in the 1983 Register of the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet. This will be followed shortly by a transcription of the Register of Members of the Society of Writers to the Signet publishing details of all known Writers to the Signet up to 1936. We will be exhibiting traveller accounts of the Library and exploring the many ways in which the Library has contributed to the society and culture of Scotland during its lifetime.
We are also adding brief biographies of the Signet Librarians. To date, these are:
Thomas Graves Law (1836-1904; Librarian 1878-1904)
James Christie (1894-1974; Librarian 1961-1968)
