Scottish Scientific Instrument-Makers 1600-1900

This preliminary essay is based on a paper read at the winter meeting of British Society for the History of Science in January 1970. It outlines the pre-history of the trade in the 17th century and considers the development in Edinburgh and Glasgow during the 18th and early 19th centuries, examining the activities of those Scottish mathematical practitioners whose livelihood was dependent on the construction and sale of scientific instruments. Most of the illustrative material has been drawn from the 18th and early 19th centuries, when the trade was almost totally based on craft techniques. Further investigation is necessary before the change to a factory-based system can be examined. Other aspects awaiting further research are the exact relationship between the Scottish trade and the large and important centre of instrument manufacturer in London, and a detailed comparison with English provincial centres of a similar size. The terminal date of 1900 is historically arbitrary; it was chosen because there are few instruments in the Royal Scottish Museum's collection that are later than that date.