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            D E P A R T M E N T   O F   M A N U S C R I P T S
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                      National Library of Scotland

The Department of Manuscripts in the National Library Scotland acquires,
catalogues, and preserves manuscripts of all kinds and of all periods
relating mainly to Scotland and to Scotsmen, and makes them available to
the public. Manuscripts are fully catalogued and indexed to give readers
easy access to them, and the compilation of the catalogue forms a major
activity of the Department.

Although the Department was formally established by the appointment of a
Keeper in 1927, two years after the founding of the National Library, its
predecessor, the Advocates' Library, had been collecting manuscripts since
the 1680s. The collections formed by the Faculty of Advocates were, not
surprisingly, rich in legal manuscripts, but important historical
collections were also required, such as the Balcarres Papers (16th
century), the archives of the Darien Company, and the papers of Robert
Woodrow relating to the history of the Church in Scotland.  Literary
manuscripts, such as those of Blind Harry's Wallace and Barbour's Bruce,
and the Bannatyne Manuscript of early Scottish poetry, came to the Library
as well as notable collections of Gaelic and Icelandic manuscripts. A large
and distinguished collection of western medieval manuscript books was also
assembled over the years, and in the 20th century two great family and
estate archives, those of the Oliphants of Gask and the Dundases of Dundas,
were acquired.

After the Faculty of Advocates handed over their library (with the
exception of the legal books and manuscripts) to the nation in 1925, the
acquisition of manuscripts continued. Among the major accessions of the
first ten years of the National Library's existence were the correspondence
and other papers of Sir Walter Scott and of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle,
accessions which are regularly added to. Since the end of the Second World
War the range of the collections has expanded considerably. For example,
many more family and estate archives have been added, among them those of
the Elliots of Minto, the Hays of Yester, the Fletchers of Saltoun, and the
Keith Murrays of Ochtertyre. These archives contain not only correspondence
but also journals, accounts, domestic and medical recipes, music books, and
extensive records of land tenure and estate management. The careers of men
who made their mark in public life and in the professions both at home and
abroad are frequently well documented in these family archives, but papers
of this kind are also sought independently. The Department has thus built
up collections relating not only to the people who generated them, but also
to the various parts of the world in which they served - India, North
America, and Africa, for example, not to mention European countries.
Notable among these are the papers of Sir Robert Liston and Lord Stuart de
Rothesay (ambassadors), Sir Alexander and Sir Thomas Cochrane (admirals),
Lord Lynedoch, Sir George Murray and Earl Haig (generals), John Rennie
(engineer), David Livingstone and J. A. Graham (missionaries), and the 5th
Earl of Rosebery, Viscount Haldane, Emrys Hughes and J. P. Mackintosh
(politicians), as well as collections relating to institutions such as the
Church of Scotland Foreign Missions, and a wide selection of Scottish trade
unions.

In more recent years the Department has systematically collected the
archives of business firms, particularly those of publishing houses. The
most notable and extensive of these are the archives of William Blackwood
and Sons, the major portion of which was presented by the firm, and those
of Oliver and Boyd and W. and R. Chambers, both received on deposit. The
papers of modern Scottish authors have also been sought, particularly since
the mid-1960s, and the Department now has in its keeping an unrivalled
collection of manuscripts and correspondence of 20th century writers,
including Neil Gunn, C. M. Grieve ('Hugh MacDiarmid'), John Buchan, O. H.
Mavor ('James Bridie'), William Soutar, Edwin and Willa Muir, Eric
Linklater, Leslie Mitchell ('Lewis Grassic Gibbon'), and Robert Garioch.

Manuscripts are accquired by gift, deposit and purchase. Purchases are made
in the sale-rooms, through dealers whose catalogues are sent to the
Library, and by private arrangement with owners who wish to sell. (Private
treaty sales to national collections can attract some remission of Capital
Transfer Tax and Capital Gains Tax.) The Library is always anxious to
acquire manuscript material relating to Scottish history (in its widest
sense) and literature, and would welcome information from prospective
donors, depositors, and sellers. It should be added that the Department,
with its knowledge of the special interests of other British repositories,
is always prepared to advise on the most appropriate location for
manuscripts, which need not necessarily be itself.

With a very extensive collection of manuscripts built up over a period of
almost three centuries, and with a continuing policy of' acquisition,
cataloguing and conservation, the Department of Manuscripts in the National
Library of Scotland is one of the best equipped centres for research into
Scottish and other topics, and in the exercise of its functions it plays
an important role in safeguarding that part of the national heritage which
finds its expression in the written record.

Any enquiries should be directed to the Keeper of Manuscripts, National
Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EW

Dd.8695048 5M 12/85 BPLtd, Hawick
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