The Material Culture of the Jacobites

The Jacobites, adherents of the exiled King James II of England and VII of Scotland and his descendants, continue to command attention long after the end of realistic Jacobite hopes down to the present. Extraordinarily, the promotion of the Jacobite cause and adherence to it were recorded in a rich and highly miscellaneous store of objects, including medals, portraits, pin-cushions, glassware and dice-boxes. Interdisciplinary and highly illustrated, this book combines legal and art history to survey the extensive material culture associated with Jacobites and Jacobitism. Neil Guthrie considers the attractions and the risks of making, distributing and possessing ‘things of danger’; their imagery and inscriptions; and their place in a variety of contexts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Finally, he explores the many complex reasons underlying the long-lasting fascination with the Jacobites.

Reviews of The Material Culture of the Jacobites

'Neil Guthrie presents an impressive range of subject matter and a wealth of learning in this original, erudite, and perceptive book. He is not only well-versed in eighteenth-century history and literature, but also knows the relevant fields of law – necessary for an understanding of the limited room for manoeuvre available to Jacobites – and Latinity, the medium for so many tags, allusions and inscriptions in Jacobite literature.' Colin Kidd, University of Glasgow