Many helped in the production of my 1988 doctoral thesis on Nairn’s library, and in the version of the catalogue of the library published in 1990 by Edinburgh University Library. They are thanked in these works. For the present work I must thank in addition: Julie Alcock for advice on ancient Greek; Dr. Iain Gordon Brown for general encouragement and advice; the Director of Library and University Collections at Edinburgh University for waiving the copyright in the 1990 publication, and Library staff for efficiently making many items from Nairn’s library available for consultation; Colin Galloway for help with matters concerning the parish of Wemyss; Dr. David McOmish for helping over a provenance; Professor Andrew Pettegree for suggesting I revisit Nairn for the Library of the Written Word; Michael Wemyss of Wemyss for allowing publication of quotations from the diary of the second Earl of Wemyss and from the record by the Countess of Wemyss of Nairn’s sermons; and Dr. William Zachs for alerting me to an early use of the term ‘University of Edinburgh’. Finally, I should like to express my deep thanks to my wife, Dr. Elizabeth Cumming, for putting up with the continuing presence of James Nairn in our lives over many years and in particular for reading over my text and making valuable suggestions. This book is dedicated to her.