CLELAND, James.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Description of the banquet in Honour of the Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel Bart M.P. on his election as Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. First edition, inscribed "To the Right Honourable Sir Robert B. Finlay. John M. MacLeod. Glasgow October 1911" on the first blank. Both men had connections to the event, as Finlay explains in his additional annotation. MacLeod (1862-1931) was the descendant of two speakers at the dinner: his grandfather the Reverend Dr Norman MacLeod (pp. 73-78) and father Mr Norman MacLeod (pp. 102-3).Finlay (1842-1929) defeated Sir Robert Peel's son in a heavily publicized local election for Inverness in 1886. He received the book while MP for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities and likely knew MacLeod through shared connections to the Liberal party. The book contains six engravings depicting events and memorabilia from the inauguration, including the vast temporary pavilion that seated 3500 dinner guests, mostly from Glasgow, and an appendix of noble- and gentlemen who attended the banquet.

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