Playfair Architectural Drawings

An extensive collection of over 5000 architectural drawings by William Henry Playfair (1790-1857).

The drawings themselves range from his student drawings, sketch designs and preliminary schemes, to many presentation drawings in watercolours. The earliest catalogued plans, elevations and sections relate to the commission to complete the University (Old College), 1817 onwards. The Advocates' Library, Royal Terrace, Regent Terrace, the National Gallery, the National Monument, and New College also feature in the collection. Other material relates to the Observatory, Edinburgh, and Dollar Academy and Bathgate Academy, and other commissions up to around 1849.