John Tait Letter Volumes
Three volumes with copies of thousands of letters by John Tait, a merchant in Lerwick from 1877-1903, using an early method of reproduction. The books contain thousands of letters about Tait’s business, preserved in the books using the ‘wet copy’ method: the letter was placed in the book while the ink was wet, and then pressed by hand or with a copy press so that the ink transferred to the page. The books are of special interest because they contain many letters by Tait to his son James Alexander, who emigrated to Canada and became a well-known ethnographer and friend of Indians.