Alexander Kincaid (1710–1777) was an 18th-century Scottish printer and publisher who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1776/77.

Life

He was born on 17 March 1710 in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

the son of James Kincaid of Bantaskine House and his wife Isabell Russall. He was apprenticed to James McQueen (or McEwen) printer in Edinburgh from 1724 to 1734. From 1735 he operated independently as a printer in a sequence of premises on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Alexander Kincaid In 1737 he joined the Town Council of Edinburgh (located immediately adjacent to his shop) and he served various roles in the council for the rest of his life. He became His Majesty's Printer to Scotland in June 1749. From 1751 to 1758 he was part of the firm Kincaid & Donaldson and from 1758 to 1771 was a partner in Kincaid & Bell. In 1758 he purchased the bookshop of

Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to: *Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet *Allan Ramsay (artist) or Allan Ramsay the Younger (1713–1784), Scottish portrait painter *Allan Ramsay (diplomat) (1937–2022), British diplom ...

in the Luckenbooths next to

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

. He then went into business with a new partner creating Kincaid and Bell. In 1764 he employed

Alexander Adam Alexander Adam (24 June 174118 December 1809) was a Scottish teacher and writer on Roman antiquities. Life Alexander Adam was born near Forres, in Moray, the son of a farmer. From his earliest years he showed uncommon diligence and persevera ...

to tutor his sons (including Alexander Kincaid jr). From 1771 he went into business with William Creech, and in 1773, following his marriage to

William Creech William Creech FRSE (12 May 1745 – 14 January 1815) was a Scottish publisher, printer, bookseller and politician. For 40 years Creech was the chief publisher in Edinburgh. He published the first Edinburgh edition of Robert Burns' poems, and ...

's mother, he passed the bookshop element of his business to Creech. It was thereafter known as "Creech's Land". In 1775 he is described as "The King's Printer" with premises on the

Cowgate The Cowgate (Scots language, Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, ...

.Edinburgh Post Office directory 1775 He held the role of Lord Provost for only four months, being elected in September 1776 and dying in office on 21 January 1777. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard on 23 January.

Family

Little is known of his first wife. Four of his sons are said to have fought in skirmishes following the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

in 1746 as Jacobite supporters. They fled to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in America in 1746 to escape punishment. His eldest son, also Alexander Kincaid, took over the family printworks in 1777 and is often confused with the father. Alexander, the younger, wrote "A History of Edinburgh" in 1787. In 1751 he married Caroline Ker, daughter of Sir Charles Kerr. From 1771 he was a "stepfather" to

but it is unclear if he married his mother. The relationship was very close from 1773. He also appears strongly connected to "Mrs MacKenzie" a trader in the Luckenbooths in 1773 next to his old shop, and mother to Thomas Kincaid Mackenzie. Given the clear connections he may be presumed to be either his biological father or in some way related.

Notable publications (as printer)

* Edinburgh Evening Courant from 1735 to 1777. *

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...

's "Essays Moral and Political" (1742) *

Lord Kames Henry Home, Lord Kames (169627 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher, advocate, judge, and agricultural improver. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, a founding member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and act ...

's "Essays on British Antiquities" (1747) *From 1747 he had the monopoly for printing bibles, hymnaries and psalters *The works of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

(1755) *The works of

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

(1756) *

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

's "Theory of Modern Sentiments" (1759) *Lord Kames's "Elements of Criticism" (1762) *

Thomas Reid Thomas Reid (; 7 May ( O.S. 26 April) 1710 – 7 October 1796) was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher. He was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he wa ...

's "Inquiry into the Human Mind" (1764) *

Adam Ferguson Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. Ferguson was sympathet ...

's "Essay on the History of Civil Society" (1767) *The sermons of

Hugh Blair Hugh Blair FRSE (7 April 1718 – 27 December 1800) was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse. As a minister of the Church of Scotland, and occupant of the Ch ...

(1777) sold after his death

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kincaid, Alexander 1710 births 1777 deaths People from Falkirk Scottish printers Lord Provosts of Edinburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard