Footnotes

• The presentation inscription reads:
  
  'Presented to Sir James Thompson with an address by the Officers of The Caledonian Railway Company on the occasion of Her Majesty conferring on him the honour of Knighthood 12th July 1897'
  
  Sir James Thompson worked at the Caledonian Railway for the whole of his working life. Born in Kirtlebridge, Dumfries and Galloway, Sir James started working at the railway at the age of 14, and worked up through every level of the company until being made general manager in 1882. His work over that 30 year period enabled him to fully empathise with all members of staff regardless of position. He was well respected and admired by all. Generally considered to be 'a willing servant of the masses', Sir James introduced a number of new regimes to the company, to include third class carriages, special fares and trains for workmen, reduced weekend fares and improved quality and conditions of lower class carriages. In the 1901 book 'Captains of Industry', William Murphy highlights how 'amity and mutual regard ruled the relations of one governing man and the thousands of workmen he employed.' In addition to being a representative of the people, Sir James was an astute and successful business man. Under his leadership the railway flourished; passenger traffic increased from 15 million per annum to 38 million, the miles of line controlled by the company rose from 917 to 1165, revenue went from £907,376 to £1,800,000 in the first year alone, the amount of minerals conveyed again increased from 14 million tons to 20 million, engines were enlarged and power increased, the trains got faster... the list is somewhat never ending. In 1897 Queen Victoria conferred upon him the honour of knighthood and later appointed him Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Glasgow. Sir James Thompson's popularity extended to all classes of society. Writing upon Sir James' success, William Murphy stated: 'His keen sense of humour saves him from that giddiness which high position frequently causes, and specially pardonable in men who have scaled up from the lowest rung of the social ladder. When congratulated on receiving the honour of knighthood, he replied: "It was conferred on the general manager of the Caledonian Railway.'
  
  Literature: Murphy, W. S. Captains of Industry. Pub. 1901. Pp. 19-21.
  
  David MacGregor, who styled himself "Jeweller to the Queen", was an engraver of great talent who worked in Perth from about 1860 until his death in 1908. His recorded works include salvers, caskets and an engraved card case, now in the collection of Perth Museum, which is decorated with an image of Gainsborough's portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire. His most significant work however is the The Bredalbane Cup, a monumental two-handled trophy, surmounted by a stag, which was sold by Christie's Scotland, 26th May 1998, lot 94, and which is now in the National Museums, Scotland.