SCOTTISH SILVER ARCHIVES
Edinburgh Castle from the gardens below. Photograph by Janice M Dietert.
INTRODUCTION
This website is designed to further the interest in and study of Scottish gold and silver. The novel style of antique Scottish
silver and the interesting history of goldsmithing in Scotland make it a fascinating area of study for the antique collector,
genealogist and history enthusiast. With two decades plus research into the area, and with the wonderful assistance of
many Scottish silver scholars, we have developed our information on this subject in the form of a series of books and
articles.
Our most recent book is Scotland's Families and the Edinburgh Goldsmiths (Dietert Publications, projected release November 2008). This book provides Scottish genealogical information for families connected to the freemen Edinburgh goldsmiths. Entries span a period of more than 500 years from approximately 1490 to the present and are organized into a series of 214 family trees. Significant ancestral locales are provided in maps, diagrams, and photographs. Indexes of goldsmiths are provided by surname, chronology of freedom dates and family tree. Some of the surnames that can be found in this reference include:
AIKMAN, AITCHISON, ALLAN, ANDERSON, AULD, AYTOUN (AITON) , BANNATINE, BARTANE (BARTON), BEECH, BELL, BENNET, BETHUNE, BLAIR, BORTHWICK, BOWMAN, BRODIE, BROWN, BRUCE, BURN, BURRELL, BURTON, CAMERON, CAMPBELL, CARSTAIRS, CAW, CLARK, CLEGHORNE, COCHRAN, COCKBURN, COULTER, COUTTS, CRAIG, CRAW, CRAWFORD, CRICHTON, CROSBIE, CROSS, CUNNINGHAM, DAVIE, DEMPSTER, DENNISTOUN (DANIELSON), DICKSON, DOUGLAS, DOWNIE, DRUMMOND, DUNCAN, FORBES, FORSYTH, FOULIS, FRASER, GARDNER, GED, GIBSON, GILBERT, GILCHRIST, GILMOUR, GORDON, GRAEME (GRAHAM), GREIG, HALLY, HAMILTON, HART, HAY, HENDERSON, HERIOT, HEWITT, HILL, HOPE, HOUSTON, HOWDEN, HUTCHISON, HUTTON, INGLIS, IRVING, JACKSON, JAMIESON, JUSTICE, KAY, KER (KERR), KINCAID, KING, KIRKWOOD, KYLE, LAMB, LAW, LESLIE, LINDSAY, LOTHIAN, MACKAY (McKAY), MAIN, MARSHALL, MAXWELL, McEWAN, McINTOSH, McKENZIE, McLEAN, MEIKLE (MICHAEL), MITCHELL, MILLER, MITCHELSON, MONTGOMERY, MOSMAN, MURRAY, NISBET, OLIPHANT, PALMER, PATON, PATERSON, PEARSON, PEAT, PENMAN, PITCAIRN, POLLACK, PRIMROSE, RAE (RAY), RAMSAY, REID, ROBERTSON, ROBB, ROLLAND, ROLLO, RUTHERFORD, SCOTT, SEATON, SIMPSON, SINCLAIR, SMITH, SPENCE, STEVEN, STEWART, SWAN, SYME (SIM), TAIT, TATTON, TAYLOR, THOMSON, TROTTER, TURNBULL, VEITCH, WALLACE, WARDEN, WARDLAW, WATSON, WATT, WEIR, WELSH, WEEMS, WILKIE, WILSON, WOOD, YORSTOUN, YOUNG, ZIEGLER
The book should be available in the U.S through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and in the U.K. through Amazon.co.uk, Tesco.com and WHSmith.com on-line sites before the end of 2008.
Rod and Janice Dietert
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 1763/64 sauceboat by Alexander Gardner, Edinburgh, p463 in the Compendium of Scottish Silver II. |
Alexander Gardner
Alexander Gardner was the son of Alexander Gardner, a schoolmaster in the Canongate. He was apprenticed to William Aytoun in 1744 and became a freeman in 1754. Through his marriage to Clementine Carnegie, Gardner had two daughters and a son, John, who probably worked with his father. Alexander Gardner died in 1803 and is buried in Greyfriars Cemetery.
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 Thistle mug by Edward Penman. |
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We are interested in hearing from people who search the Compendium and/or purchase The Edinburgh Goldsmiths I and Scotlands Families and the Edinburgh Goldsmiths. If you
find an error, know of a significant piece of Scottish silver that we have managed to neglect, or simply wish to send us a
message, please Contact Us.