Scottish Stock Buckle Maker - Alexander Aitchson ?

buckler · Post by **buckler** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:16 pm

I’m fairly useless on Scottish marks and this maker is a new one to me. The dealer I bought in from thought Alexander Aitchison of Edinburgh as the only one in Jackson (Pickford Edition) whose a possibility and I ( for once !) agree . But Jackson is my only source for Scots marks.

Aitchison’s name appears in Jackson on page 561 as first mentioned in 1770 in the Edinburgh Goldsmiths Incorporation, and also on page 661 as a Montrose Goldsmith ( first mention 1785 )

The only assay mark is the thistle in a rather crude punch, which to me seems more provincial than Edinburgh . But I’ve never understood subtleties of the Scots marks

Can anyone shed any light please ?

We really need Henry Fotheringham’s long awaited Scottish marks book — but although promised for early this Spring there is an embarrassed silence from the publisher !
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Post by **dognose** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:28 pm

Hi Clive,

That appears to be the mark of Alexander Aitchison II.

Born 1747. Died 1807.

Francis Howden was one of his apprentices.

For more info, go to:http://www.incorporationofgoldsmiths.co.uk/index.html

Regards Trev.
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buckler · Post by **buckler** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:43 pm

Thanks Trev.
I'd forgotten that site
Unfortunately the Alexander Aitchison II mark on the Incorporation of Goldsmiths (of Edinburgh) although very similar, is not the same as the one on the buckle. The Incorporation site one has an irregular pellet, perhaps a faint multi -rayed star, wheres the one on the buckle is a very distinct four rayed star. The lettering is also different. The punch shape and proportions are very similar so it could be he had two punches (even a Scotsman must have some indulgences !).

One wonders if this is the Montrose version ?
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buckler · Post by **buckler** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:45 pm

The pellet is also much higher up the punch in the buckle specimem
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buckler · Post by **buckler** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:53 pm

Aitchison was an interesting character. In 1793 he was involved in what appears to have been an anti -monarchy Jacobin organisation in Scotland calling itself the British Convention. (Jacobin is the term for French Revolutution supporters. Not to be confused with Jacobite - supporters of the Stuart pretenders )
The Sun (no relation - it's a very old newspaper name!) reports him on the 6th November 1793 as a member and describes him as "sometime a goldsmith in Edinburgh, now student of medicine at Cannongate"
His views were certainly extreme and it is not surprising that when given as a witness to the trial of certain other members for High Treason he was said, by the Morning Post and Fashionable World of 16th October 1794 to be " prisoner in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh"
It seems likely he did very little silversmithing after 1793 !
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buckler · Post by **buckler** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:32 am

Thanks to an input from Tongtwister (thanks Graham) I now know a little more about the political side of Alexander. He was involved in the High Treason trial of Robert Watt and David Downie (another former Goldsmith) in 1794. Watt was actually sentenced to be hung drawn and quartered, but this was later commuted to being merely hung and then beheaded with an axe. There are some very detailed accounts of the sentence and actual execution which make one realise that the eighteenth century judicial system was not far removed from Medieval times. David Downie was given a pardon from execution, a years jail sentence and banished. He seems to have been quite popular, including some elements of the press and emigrated to America , sending back at least one published letter praising the "Land of the Free" .

It seems that Aitchison may have been influenced at the Medical school - certainly another student there , Edward Stock was involved.
Reading between the lines I get the impression that Aitchison - sometimes spelt Aitcheson may have bought his own life by giving evidence against the others, although his anti monarchy stance was firm. It looks as if the ringleaders only were prosecuted and the small fry merely watched in future but this is merely supposition based on the absence of newspaper reports

Anyone trying to follow the case via the Cengage Times and Burney Collection sites should be aware that the Find function, using optical character recognition, misses a good proportion of key words . It hates italics in particular . Personally I think it's a near miracle it works at all given the state of the newspaper originals
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Post by **dognose** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:53 am

Hi,

A full account, nearly 200 pages, of Downie's trial can be found here:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WQkK ... 2#PPT86,M1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For many years I've had a picture of David Downie hanging on my wall, if I get time later, I'll post a scan.

Trev.
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Post by **dognose** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:52 pm

Hi,

Apologies for the slight glass reflection, I had to photograph it as it would not scan through the glass.

See also: Jackson, page 561

Trev.
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buckler · Post by **buckler** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:37 pm

The following information was kindly provided by Elspeth Morrison, the Archivist of Incorporation of Goldsmiths of Edinburgh

The Incorporation of Goldsmithshave no registration plates for Aitchison’s period, most records from this time having been lost in a fire at Goldsmiths’ Hall in 1796, thus no positive identification is possible of this mark.

Alexander Aitchison II was the son and business partner of Alexander Aitchison. He was a freeman in 1770 and appears in the trade directories from 1776-1784; he is the same man as mentioned in Montrose in 1786, where he was described as a jeweller. He became a student of medicine in Edinburgh c1784, the same year he escaped his creditors by seeking refuge at the sanctuary of Holyroodhouse. He received charity from the Incorporation of Goldsmiths on a number of occasions from 1784-1786 and in 1788. He was in calamitous circumstances by 1790 and died in 1807, the Incorporation paying Â£5 towards his funeral.
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buckler · Post by **buckler** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:05 pm

Putting together my notes on Mr Aitchison, an inconsistancy arises.

A medical student and also avoiding pressing creditors in Edinburgh in 1784, and receiving charity from the Incorporation in 1784 - 1786, how could he have been a jeweller in Montrose in 1785 (Jackson) and 1786 ?

Was the Montrose Aitchison :-
(a) The Father, retired to the country - Alexander Aitchison I
(b) A totally different man of the same name - Alexander Aitchison III
(c) A crafty Alexander Aitchison II , with a very fast horse - as Montrose must have been two or three days from Edinburgh - leading a double life !
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MCB · Post by **MCB** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 2:05 pm

Hello All,
To try and obtain some further detail to explain the anomolies I made reference to http://www.familysearch.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you don't mind, to save space, Alexander Aitcheson will now be simply AA.

Assuming the AA said by Jackson's (p561) to have been first mentioned in 1746 was ending his apprenticeship in that year he'd have been born around 1725. The web site identifies 6 AAs born in Scotland between 1717 and 1730, most of them in Midlothian. Which one is AA I is not clear.

Assuming again the AA said to have been free in 1770 was born around 1749 there are 7 of them shown born between 1743 and 1750 but only two with the father's name AA. Significantly there was one born in 1747 in Edinburgh . There's a later reference to an AA marrying in Canongate Edinburgh in 1774 who said he was born in 1749. There are no AAs recorded on the site as born 1749. My guess is that this is AA II and born 1747 (he lied about his age).

The main detail to come out of the research is the large number of AAs around at this time where one would expect the name to be fairly limited.

With the large number of AAs around born between 1717 and 1750 the one in Montrose in 1785 might not be AA I or II and unlikely to be AA II's son AA III as a 1774 marriage would make him only 15 years or so old at most (yes I know a son could have been born before the marriage but none is on the web site!).

Mike
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Post by **dognose** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:31 pm

Hi Mike,

That's great work.

Your spelling of Aitcheson is also how it appears in the transcript of the trial of David Downie and also the trial of Thomas Hardy that Aitcheson makes an appearance in.

Regards Trev.
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buckler · Post by **buckler** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:35 pm

Very interesting Mike - it confirms my own thought the Montrose AA was a third man, and almost certainly not AA1, AA2, or AA2son .
The fact that the IGI, which is notoriously incomplete, produced so many AA's for you is very supportive of this.

The Third Man could be a relation of course.
The Whitford family of bucklemakers for example seemed to use three forenames, William, Samuel and Thomas in each generation and by 1790 - 1800 I think there were about 10 related Whitfords alive sharing those three names - to my endless confusion. And I suspect theirs !
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