History of the Speculative Society of Edinburgh, from Its Institution in M.DCC.LXIV.

485 pp. Brown cloth, gilt titles. A historical account of the purpose and membership of the society, which was originally founded in 1764, and still exists today. Notable members of the Speculative Society include: Sir Walter Scott; William Creech (publisher of the first Edinburgh edition of Robert Burns's poems); Henry Mackenzie; William Robertson; Robert Louis Stevenson; etc. Each member is listed both in an alphabetical index, and in a series of nearly a thousand biographical sketches, some of which comprise several pages. The society's purpose was to encourage public speaking and literary composition.