Laing, David, c 1843-1847

From a typed note pasted on the page: "Laing, David (1793-1878), Scottish antiquary; second son of of William Laing [q. v.], bookseller; educated at Edinburgh University; became partner in his father's business, 1821, and employed abroad in search of rare books; edited old Scottish ballads and metrical romances; secretary of the Bannatyne Club, 1823-61; fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1826; issued first collected edition of the poems of William Dunbar [q. v.], 1834; librarian to the Signet Library, 1837; edited antiquarian works, 1840-78; hon. professor of antiquities to the Royal Scottish Academy, 1854. [xxxi. 401]."