Peter Buchan (4 August 1790 – 19 September 1854) was a Scottish editor, publisher, and collector of ballads and folktales.

Biography

Born in

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

, Buchan apprenticed with a , and in 1814 produced his first book, a collection of verse which failed to be taken notice of. As his hometown lacked any printer shops, in 1816 Buchan went to

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

to learn the printing process, becoming proficient enough to produce samples within a matter of ten days. He established business as a printer in Peterhead in March 1816, with the support of the

Earl of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male l ...

who recommended a friend to fund the purchase of the press. In the early years of business, he printed a series of chapbooks. He also invented his own printing press named the "Auchmedden", a pedal-operated devise that accepted stone, copper, as well as type surfaces for printing. He operated the press from a building on Peterhead's

Longate Longate is a street in Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port ...

. His ''The Annals of Peterhead'' (1819) had copper-plate illustrations which he himself engraved. ''Scarce Ancient Ballads'' (1819), ''Gleanings of Scarce Old Ballads'' (1825) were early publications that foreshadowed what would be his lifelong interest. After this, he held a position in London from which drew a £150 annual income, but having compromised his health, he retired to Peterhead and devoted himself to the collection of Scottish

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

from oral sources, and their publication. His ''Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland'' (1828) contained a large number of hitherto unpublished ballads, and newly discovered versions of existing ones.

Works

Another collection made by him was published by the Percy Society, under the title ''Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads'' (1845). Two unpublished volumes of Buchan's ballad collections are in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Buchan also compiled a collection of folktales, and his manuscripts were known to

John Francis Campbell John Francis Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Frangan Caimbeul; Islay, 29 December 1821 – Cannes, 17 February 1885), also known as Young John of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Òg Ìle) was a Scottish author and scholar who specialised in C ...

who discussed them in his ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands''. Buchan's folktales were later published as ''Ancient Scottish Tales'' (1908).

Animal rights

Buchan was an early

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

writer. In 1824, he authored a book that argued that animals have souls and are immortal. Buchan argued that God must recompense the "undeserved pain" of animals by appointing them a "

future state "Future State" is a comic book storyline published by DC Comics in January and February 2021, consisting of multiple limited series released in place of DC's regular ongoing series during those months. The event is set in the aftermath of the " ...

".Perkins, David. (2003). ''Romanticism and Animal Rights''. Cambridge University Press. p. 28.

Selected publications

*''The Annals of Peterhead'' (1819) *''Scarce Ancient Ballads'' (1819)
''Scriptural & Philosophical Arguments; or Cogent Proofs From Reason & Revelation that Brutes Have Souls; and That Their Souls are Immortal''
(1824) *''Gleanings of Scarce Old Ballads'' (1825)
''Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland''
(1828)

Footnotes

References

;Works * * (Reprint) ;Studies * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchan, Peter 1790 births 1854 deaths 19th-century Scottish people British animal rights scholars Burials at West Norwood Cemetery People from Peterhead Scottish editors Scottish printers Scottish folk-song collectors 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Christian writers about animal rights and welfare 19th-century British musicologists