[ John Borthwick, 13th of Crookston, Scottish landowner and member of the Bannatyne Club ] Manuscript 'General Account book, spanning two decades, and meticulously noting payments to tradesmen including booksellers and bookbinders, and other expenses

148pp., small 4to. In contemporary red leather half bindings with marbled boards and edges and gilt tooling. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper, in lightly aged and worn binding. Signed on reverse of front free endpaper: 'J. Borthwick | 1820', and on the page facing this: 'General Account | book. | N.B. The Vouchers are tied up with Labels marked for the respective years. Where particulars will. | See also my Journal. | See towards end account of money received.' Meticulously and neatly kept accounts, with each year's entries in a numbered sequence, and providing more information than is usual with such items. A member of the Bannatyne Club, Borthwick is described in Burke's 'Landed Gentry' (1847) as 'a magistrate, and deputy-lieutenant for the county of Edinburgh'. He married, firstly, Ann Dundas, daughter of Robert Dundas of Arniston, MP for Edinburghshire; and secondly, Elizabeth Sutherland Dallas, daughter of Alexander Dallas, of Riddockshill. His father - John Borthwick (1752-1830), 12th of Crookston - was still alive at the start of this volume. The last five pages in the volume give an account of 'Money received from my father' between 1819 and 1827, including the following: 'Having occasion to join the Yeomanry at Musselburgh before I could see my father (July 10, 1820) borrowed from Mr. Wm. Bell, which is debited in my account with him [£20 0s 0d]'. Of particular interest are regular payments to various booksellers (Constable & Co, Budd & Kalkin, J. T. Smith, Blackwood, Bell & Bradfute, Tait, Waugh & Innes, Lothian, Carfrae, Cadell & Co), indicating the growth of the library of a member of the Bannatyne Club, and also payments to bookbinders. (In 1822 £1 5s 0d is paid to 'Duncan bookbinder, Dalkeith for binding Tableaux de Revol. Francaise &c.') In 1827 £15 is paid to 'Mr George Home, being the balance of his account for arranging amending & making an Inventary [sic] by my directions, of the Crookston Title Deeds (N.B. there are 2 copies of this inventary, the scroll bound in red, & the clean copy which is very neat bound in a large folio vol. parchment)'. Also interesting is the indication the volume gives of changes in fashion, for example, in 1838, £26 to 'Clark, for Venetian Blinds to Crookston & Athol Crescent'. The first page indicates the general style: '1 Contribution to Company of Archers [£1 1s 0d] | 2 Lizars, Engraver, for printing visiting cards [£1 6s 6d] | 3 Laing, Bookseller, for Copy of the Spectator given by me to Miss Joanna Dundas [£2 6s 0d] | 4 Main Point Manufactory, for a Patent Mangle, placed in Washing house [£14 16s 9d] | 5 Thorburn, Upholdsterer, [sic] for work in cleaning, & repairing house [£14 5s 0d] | 6 Paterson, Merchant Tailor, Hunter's square for clothes up to May 8, [£27 13s 0d] | 7 Water-duty to City of Edinr. for 1819 [£1 0d 0d]'. The first year's entries alone feature booksellers, jeweller, bootmaker, picture-framer, hatmaker, auctioneer, hairdresser, plumbers, glass merchant, bell hanger, candlemaker, iron monger, haberdasher. The volume includes assessed tax, land tax, police assessment, and even 'Seat-rent for two, in St. Andrew's church'. Money is regularly 'Sent, in charity, to Joseph Gillon, London'. The following entry, for £10 5s 0d, is a 'Contribution to the Coursing meeting & the ball given by them on the Duke of Buccleuch coming of age at Dalkeith'. In 1829: 'Rent of Chesterhall, including taxes, [£77 10s 10d] | Wages paid to Sanders Anderson as Gardener at Chesterhall [£15 0s 0d]'. And in 1837: 'In May 1836 I purchased the farm of Kirktonhill, parish of Channelkirk, as being desirable from its contiguity to Glengelt & Mountmill, from William Patrick Esqr. W.S. for the price of £7999 - the account for the transaction of this matter, which was entrusted to Mr. Thomas Johnston, S.S.C. was settled May 22, 1837 being £100 0s 0d'.