John Trotter 1667-1718

John TROTTER 1667-1718

Armorial bookplate of John Trotter on the front pastedown of PN6154 P6, Foyle Special Collections Library, King's College London.

Biographical Note

John Trotter was the son of John Trotter, first Baron of Mortonhall, an Edinburgh merchant who bought the estate in the middle of the 17th century. The younger John Trotter was a keen book collector and frequenter of auctions. He left some manuscripts containing notes on the French language.

Books

Trotter’s collection included works on grammar, logic, lexicography, and contemporary religious controversy, with some medical books from the library of Francis Bernard.

The Foyle Special Collections library at King’s College London has a copy of Dissertationum ludicrarum et amoenitatum scriptores varij (1638), which contains John Trotter’s inscription on the front free endpaper, "Cost 10. d at Dr Scattergoods auction London aug. 1697". The reference is to the auction of the library of Anthony Scattergood, Bishop of Lincoln.

Books from Trotter's library can also be found in Princeton University Library (3620.64.332) and the Othmer Science Library (Q155 .S783 1670). The Trotter family library, comprising over 1,000 titles, was sold at auction in 1947. Many of the books were bought by M.A. Bera of the Institut Français d’Ecosse, Edinburgh.

Trotter's inscription on the front free endpaper noting the book's cost at the auction of Anthony Scattergood's library, in PN6154 P6, Foyle Special Collections Library, King's College London.

Characteristic Markings

Books from the Trotter family library contain an armorial bookplate dating from the late 18th century, featuring the motto ‘in promptu’. John Trotter often made distinctive inscriptions in his books, noting the price alongside where and when they were purchased.

Sources

• Dissertationum ludicrarum et amoenitatum scriptores varij, [Leiden, 1638], Special Collections [Rare books Coll.] PN6154 P6.
• Bera, M.A. "Remarques upon the French Language by John Trotter, Gentleman", The Modern Language Review; Cambridge Vol. 45, (Jan 1, 1950): 518.
• "Survey of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, 214 Mortonhall", City of Edinburgh Council.
• Fulton, J.F. The great medical bibliographers: a study in humanism, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1951, 33-34.
• Griffiths, L. "A clerical diversion: retracing the provenance of a 17th century volume in the Rare Books Collection" King's Collections, 2 December 2021.
• "Trotter family library copy: armorial bookplate with motto: In promptu", Princeton University Notabilia Blog.
• Information from King’s College London, Foyle Special Collections Library.