The Glasgow Philosophical Society was founded in 1802 to create a centre for discussion of the sciences and arts, with a view to helping the city’s trade and development through the exchange of ideas and exploration of new research. Over its history it has been able to count some of the greatest names in Scottish science and philosophy amongst its members, including Joseph Lister and William Thomson, Lord Kelvin.
The Society continues to thrive today and its website is here. A history of the Society has been produced and this can be read here.
The Signet Library has been chosen as the custodian of the Society’s set of its publications and these can be consulted at the Library by researchers and scholars – see here for details.
Holdings of Glasgow Philosophical Society Publications
We hold the following on behalf of the Glasgow Philosophical Society:
Proceedings [of the Society]
Vols 1-25 Three-quarter bound in leather 1841-1893-4
Vols 26-51 Bound in red cloth 1894-1922
Vols 52-62 Tall format, brown cloth (vol. 61 unbound, 62 modern brown cloth) 1922-1936
Vol 62 Modern brown cloth 1936
Vol 63-76 Smaller format modern brown cloth 1938-1952
The Philosophical Journal
Vol 1-14 modern brown cloth 1964-1977
Proceedings [New Series]
Nos One to Six 1984-1987
No. 1 November 1984. Jan McDonald What is a Citizens’ Theatre? [3 copies]
No. 2 February 1985. George Wyllie The Grammar of Science. [2 copies]
No. 3 March 1986. Sally Macintyre Marriage is Good for your Health, or is it? [2 copies]
No. 4 June 1986. Neil Bell The Scotland Dilemma
No. 5 April 1987. Michael Stanley The Making of a Chemist – Thomas Graham in Scotland [3 copies]
No. 6 July 1987. David Land Microwave Thermography – A New Medical Technique?
Constitutions and Regulations
Regulations etc of the Glasgow Philosophical Society [with a list of members] 1812 [modern facsimile]
Constitution of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, instituted 1802. 1862. Bound with: Catalogue of Books in the Library of the Philosophical Society of Glasgow 1862. [Bookplate of Thomas A. Mathieson on rear of front soft cover].
Constitution of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, instituted 1802. 1863. [Bookplate of Thomas A. Mathieson on rear of front soft cover].
Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow 1932 (loose within notices of EGMs Oct 1934, April 1938, September 1944, March 1949, November 1953)
Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow (1989)
Indices and Finding Aids
The Glasgow Philosophical Society has created full indexes for its publications which can be downloaded as follows: