The History of Scotland: Volume I
 
From the Earliest Period ... up to 1568 by Thomas Wright (continued by William Melven)
Overview
 
A richly detailed historical volume chronicling early Scottish history through 1568, Volume I of this work was continued from 1874 by William Melven. It features 15 full-page engravings on plates, protected by tissue guards, all bound in an elegant half leather and blue cloth binding with gilt decoration.
 
Dating Clarification
 
The volume explicitly states it continues from 1874, confirming it must have been published after that date, likely in the late Victorian era (circa 1880–1900).
 
Publisher & Printer Context
 
Publisher: Thomas C. Jack, operating in Edinburgh and at 45 Ludgate Hill, London.
Printer: Ballantyne, Hanson & Co., a renowned Edinburgh firm active under that name from the 1860s to at least 1931 
These confirmed timelines support assigning the book to a post‑1874 publication window, likely between 1880–1900.
 
Exterior Condition
 
Half-bound in black leather on spine and corners with blue cloth boards.
Gilt decoration/tooling on boards and spine; the leather shows light wear, small splits at the spine, edge rubbing, and minor scratches; structurally sound.
Five raised bands on the spine with gilt tooling and title.
Yellow pastedowns and endpapers; edges gilt.
 
Interior Condition
 
Pages remain bright for their age.
Light foxing and tanning to prelims, last couple of pages, and title page; text and illustrations remain clear.
Minor pen mark on pastedowns; otherwise clean with few creases or small marks. These do not obscure the text.
Small patch of rubbing on the first contents page, where the remnants of the text ‘Vol. 1’ remains.
A small rip on inner margin of page 466 does not affect text.
Binding tight; all pages (vi + 680) are present and intact.