Sir John Sinclair: 'The Statistical Account of Scotland draw...

Estimate

£400 - £600

Sir John Sinclair: 'The Statistical Account of Scotland drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes', Edinburgh, Creech, 1791-1799, 1st edition, 21 volumes, 4 folding engraved plates, 7 engraved plates, 2 folding engraved maps (of which 1 coloured), 4 folding tables, other single page tables, the complete set of this major survey of Scotland's geography, economy, and population, "the most frequently quoted of all Scottish historical sources" (ODNB); uncommon complete with all volumes, uniform contemporary quarter calf gilt, armorial bookplate of Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet (1817-1898), Braemore. ""In 1790, as an elder in the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, he launched the idea of a survey of the state of the country, which was to become the twenty-one volumes of the Statistical Account of Scotland. It is a detailed account of the geography, history, economy, and society of every parish. He had gathered the word 'statistical' from Germany on his northern tour. He used it to mean information which was desirable for legislative purposes, though not necessarily numerical in form." (21)