The Wolfe of Badenoch; an historical romance of the fourteenth century

Hardback. Fair. Robert Stewart, Elgin, 1863, third edition; 8vo, pp 593; lacks covers and spine, binding a little cracked in a couple of places; heavily foxed over a clutch of pages at the start and end, somewhat browned though generally reasonably clean elsewhere; early ownership note (Shepherd, Mossend Castle, Burntisland) on front end paper and partially repeated on the title page. WAF. Dick Lauder, 7th baronet, was a close friend of Sir Walter Scott and this novel, first published in 1827, perhaps reflects that connection. In politics, however, he was quite different being an active Liberal and a strong supporter of the 1832 Reform Bill. This particular edition of the work is illustrated with 11 albumen prints, a process which had been developed in usable form some 13 years earlier and which subsequently became very popular, particularly for photographic visiting cards. Four of these prints are of paintings or other ilustrations while seven are original views of places like Forres, Elgin, Elgin Cathedral, Lochindorb, Spynie Palace and the like. The photographer is not identified and I've not so far found out his or her name but the probability is that it was a person local to Moray or that general area, given the publishing of the book in Elgin and the sites selected. The prints are of carte de visite size and are mounted on thick paper, each titled with the subject. They're in good condition although, as generally the case with 150 year old photographic prints, faded.