Biography

David Laing, eminent historian, antiquary and bibliographer, was the second son of the Edinburgh bookseller William Laing (1764-1832) and his wife Helen Kirk, and was born on 20 April 1793. He was educated at the Canongate Grammar School and later on attended Greek classes at the University of Edinburgh. At the age of fourteen, he became apprenticed to his father who, at the time, was the only bookseller in Edinburgh dealing in foreign literature. Laing was able, occasionally, to travel abroad in search of rare or curious books. In 1821, he became a partner in his father's business and throughout his life he was an avid collector of manuscripts and rescued many from destruction. The first published work of his own was Auctarium Bibliothecae Edinburgenae sive Catalogus Librorum quos Gulielmus Drummondus ab Hawthornden D.D.Q. Anno 1627 (1815). Among other works, Laing also reprinted Thomas Craig's Epithalamium on the marriage of Darnley and Mary Stuart (1821). When Sir Walter Scott founded the Bannatyne Club in 1823 for the printing of material and tracts relating to Scottish history and literature, Laing - a friend of Scott's - became Secretary of the Club and chief organiser until its dissolution in the 1860s. Laing was also associated with the Abbotsford Club, the Spalding Club, and the Wodrow Society, each of which had been set up for the publication of manuscripts and for the revival of old texts. When the keepership of the Advocates' Library fell vacant in 1818, Laing was a candidate but was not elected. He became Keeper of the Library to the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet, a post which he occupied from 1837 until his death. On his appointment to the post, he gave up his business as a bookseller and disposed of the stock in a public sale. Laing died at Portobello, in Edinburgh, on 18 October 1878.

Found in 15 Collections and/or Records:

La.III.522: Specimens of calligraphic styles of writing, 1570-1624 (approximate)

 Item

Identifier: La.III.522

Scope and Contents MS La.III.522 is a composite manuscript of late-sixteenth and/or early-seventeenth century pieces of calligraphy, assembled by a later collector. The bulk of the manuscript is a combination of two different calligraphic alphabets with sample-texts, which follow the aspect and structure of early-modern writing-books. One of these decorative alphabets is composed of gothic, knotwork intials, while the other is structured by Roman capital letters against backgrounds of delicate, swirling vines....

Dates: 1570-1624 (approximate)

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Laing Collection / Section III. Bound volumes

MS 27: Composite manuscript including two texts, early 14th century; early 15th century

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Identifier: MS 27

Contents Contains two texts bound together, in five different hands.The manuscript is a Sarum Breviary with a full Sarum Litany, and a Kalendar. This is in four different hands.Additionally, ff.ir-iiv and ff.231v-232v feature a Chronicle of Scottish History.The texts are described separately, under MS 27/ff. ir-iiv, 231v-232v and MS 27/ff. 1r-482v. Writing The script is good and...

Dates: early 14th century; early 15th century

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Western Medieval Manuscripts

MS 120: Composite manuscript containing three texts, 15th century

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Identifier: MS 120

Contents This manuscript is a composite manuscript containing three main texts and some miscellaneous notes. It was made in Italy in the 15th century, probably at or for the Aragonese Library in Naples. It is a collection of texts about Greek and Roman history and learning.The contents are as follows:Flyleaves: Some notes, poems, etcetera, in Latin and Greek (italic hand) on two vellum fly-leavesff. 1v-2r: Two miniatures (see “Illumination”)f. 2v: Note...

Dates: 15th century

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Western Medieval Manuscripts

MS 123: Composite manuscript containing four texts, 12th-13th century

 Item

Identifier: MS 123

Contents This major text contained in this manuscript is Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae, one of the most important texts of the Middle Ages, which was probably originally written around the start of the 7th century. It is accompanied by other related works in this manuscript, which dates from the 12th or 13th century and was probably made in Lucelle, France. The contents are as follows:ff. 1r-144v: Etymologiae by Isidore...

Dates: 12th-13th century

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Western Medieval Manuscripts