Antique Scottish Highland Clans Book First Edition Blue Cloth 1908
Antique Scottish Highland Clans Book First Edition Blue Cloth 1908
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Frank Adam spent years collecting what the oral tradition of the Scottish Highlands was losing. By 1908, the clan system had been disrupted for generations since Culloden, and the families scattered across four continents were asking the same question his earlier book had put plainly in its title: "What is my tartan?" This first edition is his fullest answer, and it remains one of the most serious treatments of the subject. The blue cloth binding is Art Nouveau at its most considered, the lion rampant blocked in the centre panel and the gilt lettering still sharp on both board and spine. Inside, the chromolithographic tartan plates are vivid and unfaded after 117 years, and the maps of medieval Scotland add a layer of historical grounding that most tartan books never attempt. A previous owner, M.B. Buchanan, signed the front endpaper, and the Buchanan name appears in this very book's index, cross-referenced to its pages on clan identity. That's a provenance coincidence worth mentioning on camera.
The original blue cloth binding shows honest age. The head of the spine has fraying and some cloth separation, visible and notable but not affecting the integrity of the binding. Corners are bumped and lightly worn. The boards retain their colour and the gilt and black blocking is well-preserved throughout, with the Art Nouveau decorative design and lettering still clear on both front board and spine. The text block is clean and free of significant foxing; the pages show the expected light tanning at edges consistent with a book of this age but the interior is not heavily spotted or marked. The chromolithographic tartan plates are bright, with colour that has not faded. Maps intact. Endpapers intact and attractive, with a manuscript ownership inscription (M.B. Buchanan) in ink on the front pastedown. A previous owner's name written neatly, fully legible. No stamps, no library markings, no plates missing. A sound and presentable copy of a first edition that survives more often in worse shape than this.
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