The Bannatyne Club, named in honour of George Bannatyne and his famous anthology of Scots literature the Bannatyne Manuscript, was a text publication society founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest, whether in history, poetry, or general literature. The club was established in 1823 and printed 116 volumes before being dissolved in 1861.

Membership Membership in the Bannatyne Club was much more diverse than that found in more elite clubs such as the Roxburghe Club, including members from the publishing and printing trades in addition to lawyers. While the club was still elite, contributions by amateurs was considered valuable. This made the Bannaytne club a transitional organization between the elitism of previous clubs and the open policy of its successors. Like many Gentlemen's club's of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Bannatyne Club allowed members engage in homosocial relations. For its members, the club served to emphasize Scotland's distinct identity by publishing literary and historical texts. Between 1823 and 1827, membership expanded rapidly, increasing from thirty-one to one hundred members. Members were required to contribute five guineas each year as a membership fee.

Members

Founder members of February 7, 1823 Sir Walter Scott Thomas Thomson Thomas Kinnear David Laing William Adam of Blair Adam Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet James Ballantyne William Bannatyne, Lord Bannatyne Robert Bell John Clerk, Lord Eldin Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn Archibald Constable David Constable Robert Dundas of Arniston Robert Graham of Balgowan Henry Jardine of Harwood Rev. John Lee James Maidment Gilbert Laing Meason John Murray, Lord Murray Robert Pitcairn Sir Samuel Shepherd James Skene of Rubislaw George Smythe Patrick Fraser Tytler (1823)

Further Members admitted November 25, 1823

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto George Chalmers William Blair of Avonton James T. Gibson Craig Andrew Skene Thomas Maitland, Lord Dundrennan

Later members

George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (1827) Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1828) Earl of Ashburnham John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland Cosmo Innes Rev John Jamieson (1827) Robert Pitcairn

February 1859 The Earl of Aberdeen William Patrick Adam, Esq The Earl of Ashburnham Lord Belhaven and Hamilton William Blair Beriah Botfield, Esq., MP Marquess of Breadalban Sir Thomas MakDougall Brisbane George Brodie, Esq Charles Dashwood Bruce, Esq Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry Dean Richard Butler Sir Hugh Hume Campbell James Campbell, Esq Thomas Carnegy, Esq Earl of Cawdor Patrick Chalmers, Esq Right Hon. Sir George Clerk David Constable, Esq Thomas Constable, Esq Andrew Coventry, Esq David Cowan, Esq James T. Gibson Craig, Esq (Treasurer) Sir William Gibson Craig Marquess of Dalhousie George Home Drummond, Esq Henry Drummond, Esq, MP Right Hon. Sir David Dundas George Dundas, Esq. William Pitt Dundas, Esq Earl of Ellesmere Joseph Walter King Eyton, Esq Lieut.-Col. Robert Ferguson, MP Count Mercer De Flahault Earl of Gosford William Gott, Esq Robert Graham, Esq Earl of Haddington Duke of Hamilton and Brandon Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn James Maitland Hog, Esq Right Hon. John Hope, Lord Justice-Clerk Cosmo Innes, Esq Daved Iriving, LL.D Hon. James Ivory, Lord Ivory David Laing, Esq (Secretary) John Bailey Langhorne, Esq The Earl of Lauderdale Very Rev. Principal John Lee, DD Lord Lindsay James Loch, Esq The Marquess of Lothian Lord Lovat James MacKenzie, Esq John Whiteford MacKenzie, Esq Keith Stewart MacKenzie, Esq William Forbes MacKenzie, Esq James Maidment, Esq Sir William Maxwell, Bart The Hon. William Leslie Melville The Earl of Minto James Moncreiff, Esq., MP The Earl of Morton James Patrick Muirhead, Esq Hon. Sir John A. Murray, Lord Murray Robert Nasmyth, Esq Hon. Charles Neaves Lord Neaves The Earl of Northesk Lord Panmure Alexander Pringle, Esq John Richardson, Esq Duke of Roxburghe Reverend Hew Scott James R. Hope Scott, Esq Earl of Selkirk James Young Simpson, MD Alexander Sinclair, Esq James Skene, Esq William Smythe, Esq John Spottiswoode, Esq Edward Stanley, Esq Reverend William Stevenson, DD Hon. Charles Francis Stuart Duke of Sutherland Archibald Campbell Swinton, Esq Alexander Thomson, Esq Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan William B. D. D. Turnbull, Esq. Adam Urquart, Esq Alexander Maconochie Welwood, Esq.

Publications Full texts of the complete Bannatyne Club publications are available online through the National Library of Scotland. Memoirs touching the Revolution in Scotland, originally published 1714, Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres (1841) The Bannatyne Miscellany; Containing Original Papers and Tracts Chiefly Relating to the History and Literature of Scotland [Published in Edinburgh] (1827) Melville of Halhill, Sir James, Memoirs of His Own Life, ed. T. Thomson (1827) Laing, D. ed., Original Letters relating to the Ecclesiastical Affairs of Scotland, 2 vols (Published in Edinburgh, 1851) Siege of the Castle of Edinburgh MDCLXXXIX, presented to the Bannatyne Club by Robert Bell (1828) The Æneid of Virgil Translated into Scottish Verse by Gavin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, 2 vols. (1839)

References

Further reading The Bannatyne Club- Lists of members and the rules with a catalogue of the books. Edinburgh 1867. Bannatyne Club Publications - National Library of Scotland