The Riddell Collection of Wax Seals

In 1893 a box of seals was presented to the Library of the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet, along with papers belonging to the Riddell family in Haddington. The seals formed a collection made by James, John, and Robert Riddell between 1800 and 1817 when the boys were in their teens.

Rediscovered 200 years after its creation, the collection has a great deal to say about the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet, correspondence practises in Northern Europe, social networks of the early C19, personal identity and authority, and the culture of antiquarianism.

Click here to visit conservator Jo Hockey’s research and description of the collection.

William Miller Sketchbooks

The Sketchbooks of William Miller (1796-1882) are a collection of early drawings by J.M.W. Turner’s favourite interpreter of his own works, the Edinburgh artist and engraver William Miller.

William Miller was the scion of an ancient Edinburgh family of Quakers, and spent most of his working life at his Edinburgh home at Hope Park, renamed Millerfield late in his life. Miller’s sketchbooks were part of an extraordinary gift made by his family to a number of leading British libraries during World War II in which Miller’s archives were distributed to institutions which would record and care for them.

The Signet Library holds two Miller sketchbooks, a volume of Miller proof engravings, the Miller family’s original annotated copy of Miller’s biography and a number of personal photographs and drawings, some of which are shown in this part of the exhibition.

Click here to view our selection from the Miller sketchbooks and photographs.